Rollins, James 1961–

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Rollins, James 1961–

[A pseudonym]
(James Clemens, James Czajkowski)

PERSONAL:

Born 1961, in Chicago, IL. Education: University of Missouri, D.V.M., 1985. Hobbies and other interests: Amateur spelunking and scuba diving.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Sacramento, CA. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Former veterinarian in Sacramento, CA; currently full-time freelance writer.

WRITINGS:

"THE BANNED AND BANISHED" FANTASY SERIES; UNDER PSEUDONYM JAMES CLEMENS

Wit'ch Fire, Del Rey (New York, NY), 1998.

Wit'ch Storm, Ballantine (New York, NY), 1999.

Wit'ch War, Ballantine (New York, NY), 2000.

Wit'ch Gate, Del Rey (New York, NY), 2001.

Wit'ch Star, Ballantine (New York, NY), 2002.

"GODSLAYER" FANTASY SERIES; UNDER PSEUDONYM JAMES CLEMENS

Shadowfall: The First Chronicle of the Godslayer, Roc (New York, NY), 2005.

Hinterland, Orbit (London, England), 2006.

NOVELS

Subterranean, Avon (New York, NY), 1999.

Excavation, HarperTorch (New York, NY), 2000.

Amazonia, William Morrow (New York, NY), 2002.

Ice Hunt, William Morrow (New York, NY), 2003.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (movie novelization), Del Rey (New York, NY), 2008.

"SIGMA FORCE" SERIES

Sandstorm, William Morrow (New York, NY), 2004.

Map of Bones, William Morrow (New York, NY), 2005.

Black Order, Morrow (New York, NY), 2006.

The Judas Strain, William Morrow (New York, NY), 2007.

The Last Oracle, Morrow Avon (New York, NY), 2008.

SIDELIGHTS:

American author James Rollins developed an appreciation for reading and writing in high school, but instead followed his interest in medicine by earning a doctorate of veterinary medicine from the University of Missouri. He later opened a veterinary clinic in Sacramento, California. Rollins, whose real name is James Czajkowski, also writes under the pseudonym James Clemens. He began writing short fiction in his spare time, and eventually graduated to book-length manuscripts. At the Maui Writers Conference in 1996, he entered a manuscript into a writers' contest and earned the attention that led to the publishing of his first novel. Rollins, who counts Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, and H. Rider Haggard among his literary influences, eventually gave up his veterinary clinic to become a full-time novelist who primarily writes fantasy as Clemens, and science fiction and suspense as Rollins.

Under the name James Clemens, Rollins published his first novel, Wit'ch Fire, in 1998. This title is also the first book in the author's "The Banned and the Banished" series. The book and series focus on main character Elena, a young woman searching for the answer to why she suddenly developed magical powers. After her parents are killed and her brother captured, Elena is pursued by villains looking to steal her magic and cause her harm. She is helped along the way by odd characters that include a nymph, giant, and ogre. Many reviewers welcomed Wit'ch Fire as an enjoyable read, sometimes commenting on Rollins's clever imagination in creating his characters and plot. "It's a good start to the series with appealing characters, nasty monsters, action and adventure," wrote Hilary Williamson in a review for the BookLoons Web site. Others appreciated the author's development of a multidimensional story and exciting premise. Rollins "demonstrates considerable skill at combining swift pacing with character development in this gracefully written beginning to a projected high fantasy quest," observed Library Journal contributor Jackie Cassada.

Rollins went on to write four more books in his "The Banned and the Banished" series. Wit'ch Gate was published in 2001, and was the series's fourth book. This story continues to follow the witch Elena, who is searching for the weirgates, which must be destroyed in order to relieve the blight brought on by the Dark Lord. Elena and her friends split up, and each group pursues one of the four weirgates, encountering many hazards along their respective paths. Critics continued to respond positively to Rollins's work with this installment. The book is "a solid addition to the growing body of panoramic fantasy," commented Cassada in another review for Library Journal. "The author supplies enough plot twists to keep the reader guessing what will happen next," concluded a Publishers Weekly contributor.

Rollins is also the author of several novels that are not part of his first series. In 2002 the author wrote Amazonia, the story of a group of scientists searching through the jungles of the Amazon for a lost biopharmaceutical exploratory expedition. They also seek the answer to why a U.S. Special Forces agent from that expedition went from having only one arm to emerging from the jungle with two. The agent died shortly after coming out from the jungle, and his dead body has now launched a disease that could wipe out the U.S. population. Rollins's novel "reads like an adventure flick with breakneck pacing and lots of gory details," wrote Gavin Quinn in a review for Booklist. Many critics, in fact, liked the author's adherence to the adventure novel tradition. "This is old-fashioned, rugged adventure in the tradition of Haggard and Crichton, told with energy, excitement and a sense of fun," observed a Publishers Weekly contributor.

Rollins followed up the success of Amazonia with the release of Ice Hunt in 2003. Also an independent novel, Ice Hunt finds another group of U.S. scientists uncovering the secrets stored in an abandoned World War II-era Russian base in the Arctic. Meanwhile, the U.S. military finds itself in a covert power struggle over the Russian base. Nearby, a mythical and frightening creature hunts the people living around the base.

Ice Hunt was met with positive reviews overall. For some readers, the author's sense of humor was a welcomed addition to typical books written in the action-adventure genre. The author "writes with intelligence, clarity, and a refreshing sense of humor," attested a Kirkus Reviews contributor. According to others, Rollins again delivers an imaginative and exhilarating story that keeps readers guessing about the outcome. "New readers will be delighted and established fans will find exactly what they have come to expect: a fun and fast-paced story that is full of suspense," wrote Quinn in another Booklist review.

In 2005, Rollins, writing as Clemens, began work on another series, "Godslayer." The first novel in this series is Shadowfall: The First Chronicle of the Godslayer. Here the author tells the story of Tylar de Noche, a knight who witnessed the murder of one of the hundred gods of the Nine Lands. On the run, Tylar is searching for the creature who is responsible for the murder, and he finds a collection of various outcasts crazy enough to help him. Rollins again earned praise for his work; readers particularly enjoyed the author's intense development of another fictional and fantastical world. "Clemens, a seasoned fantasist, has broken darkness down into its various aspects and developed at great, possibly excessive, length how those aspects affect the world and the characters he creates," observed Roland Green in Booklist.

Sandstorm is the first volume in Rollins's "Sigma Force" series. The action begins when there is a major explosion in the British Museum, destroying a giant portion of the antiquities wing. A team made up of Safia al-Maaz, who is a scientist, her friend Lady Kara Kensington, who donates heavily to the museum, scientist Omaha Dunn, and American Painter Crowe, who has links to the government agency behind Sigma Force, set out to discover the cause and the culprits behind the explosion. Their search takes them as far as Arabia and the city of Ubar, best known in legends. Having determined that the explosion was caused by antimatter, they must now discover its source. The book includes science, history, and intriguing facts along with the mystery and adventure. Pam Johnson, in a review for School Library Journal, commented that "the characters tend to be a bit stereotypical at first, but fit into the plot and support the action. And they evolve."

The "Sigma Force" series continues with Map of Bones. With a plot that revolves around Vatican spies and a secret religious order, as well as a biblical object shrouded in mystery, the novel has drawn more than one comparison to the best-selling novel The DaVinci Code, by Dan Brown. When a break-in at the Cologne Cathedral in the dead of night results in the theft of the bones reputedly belonging to the Three Wise Men, Sigma Force assigns one of its top agents, Grayson Pierce, to investigate. Pierce takes a team with him and heads to Rome, where he then joins forces with a local Italian police lieutenant, Rachel Verona. The plot thickens as the missing bones turn out to be a deadly substance capable of starting the planet on the road to Armageddon. A reviewer for Publishers Weekly found the dialogue appropriately believable, and remarked that "Rollins has few peers in the research department, which makes the historical material fascinating."

In Black Order, the next of the "Sigma Force" novels, strange events have been occurring around the globe. A disturbing plague spreads like wildfire through a monastery in Nepal, and in a nearby cave, a swastika is found on the wall. Meanwhile, in Denmark, any available artifacts of a number of Victorian scientists, such as Charles Darwin, are being gathered together, some purchased legitimately, while others have been taken by deadly force. In South Africa, animals are being hunted by a mythical beast come to life. Sigma Force sets out to unravel these mysteries, and the group finds itself searching for a much broader answer: the origin of life. Library Journal contributor Jeff Ayers observed that "all of these diverse elements blend seamlessly in Rollins's hands." David Pitt, reviewing for Booklist, opined that "Rollins keeps getting better with every novel, and his fast-paced thrillers are feasts for the imagination."

The Judas Strain is the fourth book in the "Sigma Force" series, and finds the members of the team facing the resurgence of an ancient and deadly virus that has the potential to wipe out all life on the planet if it cannot be controlled: the Judas Strain. Scientists have reason to suspect this particular virus was responsible for huge dips in the population during previous eras, and therefore are adamant that it be stopped. Sigma Force goes up against a group of terrorists who call themselves the Guild. The Guild is just as anxious as Sigma Force to put a halt to the spread of the virus, but its motives are far less altruistic than those of Sigma Force. While the government agency seeks to save lives, the members of the Guild intend to harness the power of the virus in order to rule the planet. Robert Conroy, in a review for Library Journal, commented that "as with all Rollins books, this book is great good fun, if readers suspend their disbelief and sense of logic." Booklist reviewer David Pitt praised the novel for "characters rendered in broad strokes, punchy dialogue, short paragraphs that propel us headlong through the story."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, February 15, 2002, Gavin Quinn, review of Amazonia, p. 971; June 1, 2003, Gavin Quinn, review of Ice Hunt, p. 1746; December 15, 2003, Barbara Baskin, review of Ice Hunt, p. 762; May 1, 2005, David Pitt, review of Map of Bones, p. 1534; July, 2005, Roland Green, review of Shadowfall: The First Chronicle of the Godslayer, p. 1911.

Kirkus Reviews, September 15, 2001, review of Wit'ch Gate, p. 1331; February 1, 2002, review of Amazonia, p. 135; May 15, 2003, review of Ice Hunt, p. 711; March 15, 2006, David Pitt, review of Black Order, p. 6; February 1, 2007, David Pitt, review of The Judas Strain, p. 36.

Library Journal, June 15, 1998, Jackie Cassada, review of Wit'ch Fire, p. 111; May 15, 1999, Jackie Cassada, review of Wit'ch Storm, p. 131; August, 1999, Denise Dumars, review of Wit'ch Fire, p. 176; July, 2000, Jackie Cassada, review of Wit'ch War, p. 147; November 15, 2001, Jackie Cassada, review of Wit'ch Gate, p. 100; June 15, 2005, Jackie Cassada, review of Shadowfall, p. 65; June 15, 2006, Jeff Ayers, review of Black Order, p. 59; March 1, 2007, Robert Conroy, review of The Judas Strain, p. 78.

Publishers Weekly, November 4, 1996, Paul Nathan, "Deep-sea Adventure," p. 23; April 12, 1999, review of Wit'ch Storm, p. 59; May 3, 1999, review of Subterranean, p. 73; July 3, 2000, review of Wit'ch War, p. 53; October 8, 2001, review of Wit'ch Gate, p. 50; March 4, 2002, review of Amazonia, p. 58; June 30, 2003, review of Ice Hunt, p. 54; June 21, 2004, review of Sandstorm, p. 44; May 16, 2005, review of Map of Bones, p. 39; June 13, 2005, review of Shadowfall, p. 37.

School Library Journal, November, 2004, Pam Johnson, review of Sandstorm, p. 177.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer, June 17, 2005, Jeff Ayers, "Author Sets Team on Trail of Religious Relics in ‘Map of Bones.’"