"Altar of Eden" by James Rollins, Orion Books, in all good bookstores January 2010

James Rollins, alter-ego of Jim Czajkowski  (from the copyright notice), has a background in veterinary science, and he brings that expertise to his new novel "Altar of Eden", mixing it up with a rollicking sense of adventure that's wrapped in a plot that just never lets go. Reading this book is like watching a relentless action movie that jumps from battle scene to battle scene, and it all rolls up with a conclusion that is rather Bond-esque - from the bumbling extras, through mad scientists and exploding helicopters, to the scarred epitome of evil that causes the heroine, Lorna Polk, so much trouble.

Once you start reading this book you'll want to keep going until the end. The action will bite you and shake you until you bleed.

Despite the bouquets above, I do have some minor brickbat criticisms about "Altar of Eden". Firstly, the text suffers a little from adverbial overload, lending everything an air of "tell" instead of "show" — and the clichés, at times, flow like the Amazon (oops). Secondly, Rollins sometimes throws away chances at creating tension by mistiming and telling us about events rather too soon.

But these are minor criticisms, as I said. Certainly, once the book gets going, the action is enough to overcome all faults. The story wins out — so much indeed that I'll make a prediction that this story will one day soon grace a cinema screen near you.