Arkangel

I'm continuing on the Russian roll with James Rollins' latest Sigma Force novel Arkangel (#1,254).  The folks at Sigma are still recovering from the bombing of their underground headquarters at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.  But the world doesn't stand still as the Russians seek to push their claims to the entire Arctic region by finding and claiming Hyperborea, a mythical land supposedly located somewhere near the North Pole.  

Even the Greeks and Romans wrote about their contacts with inhabitants of this land, but the Russian Empress Catherine the Great pursued it.  What is written about those explorations is used as justification in the Kremlin and the Russian military for subjugating all of Europe, starting with the Crimea and Ukraine, with the full blessing and backing of the Russian Orthodox Church.  

Sigma's formidable enemy has been recruited to aid Russia in its quest, and Valya Mikhailov intends to take advantage by destroying the agency.  Non-stop action here with the usual scientific undergirding to make the threats to mankind all the more plausible.  Throw in some despicable villains and a potential new love interest for former K-9 Army Ranger Tucker Wayne and his dogs, and what's not to like about this reliable thriller series?  At the end, as usual, Rollins separates fact from fiction in his novel, and it's always amazing to me just how much of his story is built on facts.  Though you could read Arkangel as a stand-alone novel, much of the plot does rely on events from previous books in this series.  Be warned.  Tick-tock.