After being presumed dead for over four years, Gerald Clark stumbled into a small village in Brazil. Before sunrise he was dead. Had the Amazon claimed another victim, or was something else responsible?

Clark, who had lost an arm during an Army Special Forces mission, was shipped back to America. However, Clark’s body now had two arms. It also carried another small, unknown visitor.

A killer plague is now running through the United States, and the only hope of finding a cure is hidden somewhere in the Amazon.

James Rollins unleashes jungle terror, ancient Indians and supercharged mutants in “Amazonia.”

The CIA commissioned a group of scientists and military personal to go into Brazil and find a cure for the virus. What waits in the jungle could be the biggest medical breakthrough ever.

But what will be the price to pay for trying to obtain this miracle cure?

Clark had been part of an expedition that disappeared four years earlier. The CIA’s mission objective is to retrace the steps taken by that ill-fated group.

Nathan Rand, an American living with Amazonian Indians, is hired to come along. His father was the leader of the missing expedition.

To find a cure the group must avoid the natural predators of the Amazon, including jaguars, alligators and poisonous plants.

And if that is not enough, a second militant group is following their trail.

The goal of this group is to steal the cure and sell it to the highest bidder.

What neither group expected to battle were unnatural predators. Hybrid piranhas, super-alligators and the rumored ban-yi, are hunting them.

The ban-yi are an ancient tribe fueled by war and surrounded by ancient myths. No one knows for sure if the ban-yi exist, because those who have gone to search for the tribe have never returned.

At first glance “Amazonia” may seem like another run-of-the-mill adventure story. But don’t be fooled – this is not an Indiana Jones or Tomb Raider knockoff.

Rollins has created a combination of action, sci-fi, adventure and mystery that is nearly flawless.

The strongest part of Rollins’ writing is the element of believability. He always begins his novels with an incident that could occur. The information he provides logically explains the situation.

Then Rollins starts to put his unique spin on the plot line. He waits until the reader is drawn in by giving the readers characters that they can relate to.

After a personal bond starts to form Rollins starts to leave the world of reality behind. It is a subtle change that normally occurs in a remote part of the world that has not been explored.

This new fantasy world, while unbelievable on the surface, holds many strange possibilities. After being hit with facts, the reader is fooled into believing this fantasy world exists. And since this area has not been explored, who’s to say it doesn’t exist?

Making the impossible seem possible is what makes “Amazonia” so enjoyable. Rollins is so original that it is impossible to guess what will happen next.

Original ideas are few and far between these days, which is why James Rollins is one of the most promising writers today.

Matthew Carlson is senior in journalism and mass communication from De Witt.