RTW – Best Book Read in September

As it’s the last Wednesday of September, YA Highway asks what’s the best book we’ve read this month. It’s a bit of a blur as to what books I read in September. I might have finished a Lois McMaster Bujold SF book early on. Part of the month I’ve been doing a beta read on an urban fantasy for another writer in exchange for her beta reading my YA paranormal. I’ve also been busy working on the synopsis for Revolution, the third book in the Tankborn trilogy. Plus I was a little under the weather so I didn’t read as much this month.

But I did make time to read James Rollins excellent thriller/adventure novel, Map of Bones, which is part of his Sigma Force series. While I’ve read a number of other books by James, this is the first Sigma Force book I picked up, and it wasn’t the first in the series. But he doesn’t leave new readers of the series confused about who is who and what Sigma Force is. Although he jumps right into the action, he introduces the characters in a nice balanced way so that new readers can get to know them, and returning readers aren’t overwhelmed by a data dump they don’t need.

For those who love intriguing twists and turns, who like learning about arcane bits of history (in this case, of the Vatican and the Catholic Church) made fascinating by a breakneck plot, who like cool gadgets and clever characters, you’ll love this book. His ensemble of characters get into some dire fixes, are surely doomed, can’t possibly succeed, but a new twist and their quick wits pull them out of disaster.

If you’re squeamish about violence, fair warning–this book has its fair share. Map of Bones doesn’t contain nearly as much on-the-page gore as say, Lee Child’s books. But it opens with a pretty hard-to-take scene for a wimp like me. I kept reading and I’m glad I did. It’s a great read.

How about you? What did you read this month?