The Bone Labyrinth

The Bone Labyrinth is the eleventh Sigma Force novel from James Rollins, published in 2015. The premise weaves together genetics, anthropology, and Cold War era research in the way Rollins’s readers have come to expect, with a high concept hook involving the secret genetic legacy of the Neanderthals and the strange chambers found inside the cave systems of Croatia and the catacombs of Rome.

The plot opens with twin attacks. A team of researchers studying the connection between modern human and Neanderthal DNA is killed in Croatia, and the genetics laboratory of an archaeologist studying ape cognition is hit in Atlanta. The attacks turn out to be connected to a much larger conspiracy involving a research project that began in Nazi Germany and continued in secret through the second half of the twentieth century. Sigma Force assembles to figure out what was being studied, who is trying to keep it hidden, and what the implications might be for the human future.

Rollins handles the science and history in characteristic style. The Neanderthal genetics material is solid enough to ground the speculation that follows. The historical chapters on the wartime research in central Europe and on the long postwar continuation of similar projects in various locations are well researched. The action sequences move at the pace Sigma Force readers expect, with set pieces in Croatia, Italy, China, the Pacific, and the United States. The team dynamics, with Painter Crowe at headquarters and the field team handling the active leads, run on the practiced rails of the long series.

What makes The Bone Labyrinth one of the more interesting Sigma novels is the central scientific question. The book asks what makes us human and where the boundaries of consciousness actually lie. The ape cognition material gives Rollins room to incorporate real research on chimpanzee and gorilla intelligence, and the Neanderthal angle adds another layer to the question. The result is a thriller with more philosophical weight than some entries in the series.

For longtime Sigma fans, this is a strong middle period entry. New readers can pick it up as a standalone.