Kingdom of Bones, by James Rollins (William Morrow, 435 pages)

Jim Czajkowski — you might know him by his pen name, James Rollins — writes about viruses with such authority you might think he has a secret medical degree. That’s almost right.

He was a veterinarian in California before his side gig as a novelist became so successful that he couldn’t do both anymore. He told a veterinary trade publication that at one point he was working 15 hours a day at his veterinary practice while writing a novel a year in between appointments.

Now he’s written 23 novels by himself and co-authored five others. His latest is Kingdom of Bones, the 16th in what is known as his “Sigma Force” series, named for the covert team of highly trained specialists — Rollins has called them “scientists with guns” — called in to save the world from various perils. (Think the Avengers, without the otherworldliness, and with a military war dog.)

The story involves a mysterious malady that emerges in Africa and threatens the human race, which Rollins is somewhat apologetic about, given the ongoing pandemic. He writes in an author’s note that he pitched the book before Covid-19 and had reservations about going forward with the project, saying “it felt insensitive to tackle such a subject at this moment, to seek to entertain with ‘plague fiction’ when the world was suffering.”

He worried needlessly; the book never once feels exploitative, and in fact is at its most interesting when Rollins expounds on topics with relevance to Covid, such as the fact that “Each hour, some thirty-three million viral particles cascade onto every square meter of this planet.” And the fact that some scientists believe that “ancient viral invasions” may comprise up to 80 percent of the human genome. (I could have done without this knowledge; it is far better to think we are made of stardust than viral mutations.)

This is the sort of information that Rollins scatters throughout the story, making Kingdom of Bones a thriller that is deeply intelligent.

It begins in the Congo, where a cadre of large, angry winged ants are floating in floodwater and making their way onto land, where they are attacking humans in a refugee camp with unusual ferocity. While some people who are bitten appear unaffected, others fall into a catatonic state. Before all of the people can be evacuated, the camp is also overrun by a band of aggressive baboons, creatures that had previously been shy around humans but suddenly seemed set on destroying them.

As if this isn’t chaos enough, a band of militants bursts onto the scene and abducts the handful of people that they don’t kill, including a mother and her now catatonic baby, who had been bitten by the ants. All this sets up the bat signal to flash for the Sigma Force and Commander Gray Pierce to step in and try to figure out why animals are suddenly becoming more bloodthirsty and cunning — even moths are turning deadly. As one young doctor says, “It’s as if all of Nature is about to turn against us.”

As the team tries to discover what is infecting the animals, they encounter killer bats, jackals, aardwolves (an animal that looks like a striped hyena and eats insects), and even hippopotamuses that seem to have been weaponized. This leads to snappy dialogue like “We’re about to play the worst game of Hungry Hungry Hippos,” but fortunately, that sort of banter is limited, as is the side story about a sinister mining executive who may or may not have a hand in what’s going on.

Rollins’ prose is generally sophisticated, certainly for the genre, although I confess there came a point where I started rolling my eyes every time a character’s eyes or face “shone.” But that’s more a problem of the editors, not the writer.

I should note that while many of the Sigma Force characters were featured in previous books, Kingdom of Bones works as a stand-alone novel; you don’t have to know the history of the force (I didn’t) although Rollins says the characters evolve throughout the series. I also suspect the book would be easier to digest knowing some backstories. Although the plot is easy enough to follow, the characters are many and complex.

Although the book is somewhat moralistic (ye climate deniers, stay away), and wanders slightly into The Overstory territory toward the end, it doesn’t feel preachy. It’s a solid summer read that raises interesting questions about whether the world at some point will rear back and retaliate for the damage we’ve done to it. (And here I’m not talking about climate but pesticides and exposed power lines.)

Also, it has an opening line that dares us not to read more: “The Reverend William Sheppard silently recited the Lord’s prayer as he waited for the cannibal to finish filing his teeth.” Five stars for that opener, four for the rest of the book. B

Book Notes

Endurance athlete Cameron Hanes is probably the opposite of what we think of when we hear the word “bookish.”

His passion is bowhunting in Alaska and to be prepared for it he runs ultramarathons (200-plus miles) in the mountains. According to his publisher, his goal is to become the “ultimate predator.” In the zombie apocalypse, you want to be on this guy’s team. Somehow, however, he found time to sit down and type things, resulting in a book, Endure: How to Work Hard, Outlast and Keep Hammering (St. Martin’s Press, 336 pages), that’s selling well this month.

If you like to be outside in ways that are a little less extreme, check out Outdoor Kids in an Inside World (Random House, 208 pages) by Steven Rinella.

That’s not to say that Rinella isn’t a man of extremes; he is also the author of 2020’s The MeatEater Guide to Wilderness Skills and Survival (Random House, 464 pages) and host of a Netflix show called MeatEater. But his new book encourages families to get “radically engaged with nature.” I’m not a big fan of hunting, but the opening pages, wherein he describes butchering a deer his 10-year-old had shot, and then feeding the fat to the birds, was rather riveting.

Also out this month to help us channel our inner woodsman, there’s The Rugged Life: The Modern Guide to Self-Reliance (Rodale, 272 pages) by Clint Emerson, a retired Navy SEAL who reminds us of another Emerson (Ralph Waldo) and his call for a “greater self-reliance.”

Got to confess, the title of The Rugged Life is not nearly as compelling as that of Emerson’s first book, 2015’s 100 Deadly Skills. But he promises to teach three essential skills: how to build, how to farm and how to hunt. Pretty good for 272 pages.

And if you’re not too tired after all that, check out The Workout Bucket List (Running Press, 400 pages), Greg Pesto’s compilation of more than 300 “life-changing races, epic challenges and incredible hikes, bikes, lifts and runs” to do before you die. And yes, some are in New Hampshire: he recommends various Pinkham Notch hikes and a climb up Mount Washington.

If you haven’t already figured this out yet, one of these titles might make an excellent Father’s Day gift. Not that women won’t enjoy them, too.

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Book Events

Author events

• TAMMY SOLLENBERGER Author presents The One Inside: 30 Days to Your Authentic Self. Bookery, 844 Elm St., Manchester. Wed., June 1, 6 p.m. Visit bookerymht.com or call 836-6600.

• JAMIE RASKIN Author and congressman presents Unthinkable: Trauma, Truth and the Trials of American Democracy. Gibson’s Bookstore, 45 S. Main St., Concord. Fri., June 3, 11 a.m. Visit gibsonsbookstore.com or call 224-0562.

• PAUL DOIRON Author presents Hatchet Island. Gibson’s Bookstore, 45 S. Main St., Concord. Wed., June 29, 6:30 p.m. Visit gibsonsbookstore.com or call 224-0562.

• PAUL BROGAN Author presents A Sprinkling of Stardust Over the Outhouse. Gibson’s Bookstore, 45 S. Main St., Concord. Thurs., June 30, 6:30 p.m. Visit gibsonsbookstore.com or call 224-0562.

• SARAH MCCRAW CROW Author presents The Wrong Kind of Woman. Gibson’s Bookstore, 45 S. Main St., Concord. Tues., July 19, 6:30 p.m. Visit gibsonsbookstore.com or call 224-0562.

• CASEY SHERMAN Author presents Helltown. Bookery, 844 Elm St., Manchester. Sun., Aug. 14, 1:30 p.m. Visit bookerymht.com or call 836-6600.

Poetry

• DOWN CELLAR POETRY SALON Poetry event series presented by the Poetry Society of New Hampshire. Monthly. First Sunday. Visit poetrysocietynh.wordpress.com.

Writers groups

• MERRIMACK VALLEY WRITERS’ GROUP All published and unpublished local writers who are interested in sharing their work with other writers and giving and receiving constructive feedback are invited to join. The group meets regularly Email [email protected].

Writer submissions

• UNDER THE MADNESS Magazine designed and managed by an editorial board of New Hampshire teens under the mentorship of New Hampshire State Poet Laureate Alexandria Peary. features creative writing by teens ages 13 to 19 from all over the world, including poetry and short fiction and creative nonfiction. Published monthly. Submissions must be written in or translated into English and must be previously unpublished. Visit underthemadnessmagazine.com for full submission guidelines.

Book Clubs

• BOOKERY Monthly. Third Thursday, 6 p.m. 844 Elm St., Manchester. Visit bookerymht.com/online-book-club or call 836-6600.

• GIBSON’S BOOKSTORE Online, via Zoom. Monthly. First Monday, 5:30 p.m. Bookstore based in Concord. Visit gibsonsbookstore.com/gibsons-book-club-2020-2021 or call 224-0562.

• TO SHARE BREWING CO. 720 Union St., Manchester. Monthly. Second Thursday, 6 p.m. RSVP required. Visit tosharebrewing.com or call 836-6947.

• GOFFSTOWN PUBLIC LIBRARY 2 High St., Goffstown. Monthly. Third Wednesday, 1:30 p.m. Call 497-2102, email [email protected] or visit goffstownlibrary.com

• BELKNAP MILL Online. Monthly. Last Wednesday, 6 p.m. Based in Laconia. Email [email protected].

• NASHUA PUBLIC LIBRARY Online. Monthly. Second Friday, 3 p.m. Call 589-4611, email [email protected] or visit nashualibrary.org.