Excavation is a very fast read, grabs you from the first page and doesn't let go. This is my first James Rollins book and I was very impressed. The story and characters hold up well, and yes I do believe the catholic church is arrogent enough to TRY to bring about the second coming... The only problem I had with the book was that the climax was too short, it was almost like Rollings had just so many pages to work with, because the book just ended. But the last couple of pages are very interesting. Leaves you thinking, Could this book be the first of a series? Now if you liked Raider's or the X-Files you will enjoy this book.