Extinction
A Novel
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4.1 • 34 Ratings
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- $2.99
Publisher Description
With Extinction, #1 New York Times bestselling author Douglas Preston has written a page-turning thriller in the Michael Crichton mode that explores the possible and unintended dangers of the very real efforts to resurrect the woolly mammoth and other long-extinct animals.
Erebus Resort, occupying a magnificent, hundred-thousand acre valley deep in the Colorado Rockies, offers guests the experience of viewing woolly mammoths, Irish Elk, and giant ground sloths in their native habitat, brought back from extinction through the magic of genetic manipulation. When a billionaire's son and his new wife are kidnapped and murdered in the Erebus back country by what is assumed to be a gang of eco-terrorists, Colorado Bureau of Investigation Agent Frances Cash partners with county sheriff James Colcord to track down the perpetrators.
As killings mount and the valley is evacuated, Cash and Colcord must confront an ancient, intelligent, and malevolent presence at Erebus, bent not on resurrection—but extinction.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Cross Jurassic Park with the wildest crime story you’ve ever read, and you’ll get this gripping, unpredictable thriller from best-selling novelist Douglas Preston. A newlywed couple are honeymooning at Erebus, a luxury resort where scientists have brought back woolly mammoths and other docile prehistoric creatures from extinction, when they’re brutally murdered. Francine Cash of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation is put in charge of the case, and it isn’t long before she suspects the heads of Erebus aren’t giving her the whole story—especially when evidence suggests a cannibalistic cult has made its home in their reserve. Cash is a tough, no-nonsense hero who leads us through a taut, mind-boggling thrill ride that blends science with toxic greed and ambition to create a deadly army that cannot be controlled. It’s another entertaining thriller from Preston, but don’t be surprised if, after reading it, you’re wary about your next luxury vacation.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Bestseller Preston (coauthor of the Agent Pendergast series) spins a creepy and creative variation on Jurassic Park. In the near future, advances in gene editing have led to breakthroughs in de-extinction, bringing prehistoric mammals back to life by rebuilding their genomes and muting genes for aggression. The scientists behind the project have focused on reviving herbivorous megafauna, including mammoths and Irish elk, with the animals allowed to roam inside the spacious confines of Colorado's Erebus Resort, a luxury attraction near the Rocky Mountains. When honeymooners Mark and Olivia Gunnerson fall victim to a savage attack at Erebus—their tent is slashed open, pools of blood are left at the scene, and authorities find no signs of their remains—the incident brings Frankie Cash from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to the resort. She initially believes the attack to be the work of eco-terrorists who object to Erebus's mission, but as she investigates, more bodies pile up, and the evidence points toward a threat more terrifying than she could have imagined. Preston tweaks the "resurrected species go haywire" trope with a series of ingenious plot twists, and his well-rounded characters make this more than a knowing genre exercise. The results are as smart and spine-chilling as the best of Michael Crichton. , Correction: An earlier version of this review used the wrong pronouns for one of the characters.
Customer Reviews
So badly written
I’m not one to throw shade - truly - and I have this book an honest shot (I read about 75%) but I have higher standards of quality for writing. There were so many little things I couldn’t get past: explaining that a helicopter trip began with hovering and THEN flying toward its destination; listing three items of clothing and then explaining that the character put them on in a totally nonsensical order; assuming the dynamite was stolen instead of just reporting to us - the readers - that it was missing. Almost constantly while reading I got the distinct impression Preston was think as he wrote, “This is how you write a book!” instead of actually creating a world born in his imagination and then framed by research.