Definitely a p age turner. The Darwin Strain was written in such a way that kept me captivated until the very end. Interesting storyline and well-developed characters.

When I began reading this book, an ARC copy, I thought I had mistakenly been given a non-fiction title. The first several pages goes into details about sonar technology in 1948 being used off the coast of Greece. Then in the first chapter Jacques Cousteau shows up on an assignment to evaluate the same area off the coast of Greece after recent volcanic activity.

That's when fiction started to weave into historical events that occurred in 1948. That's when I became very interested in what was happening as it was a seamless blending of fact, fiction and fantasy. Fantasy is the only way I can describe how Schutt and Finch use a cephalopod to create a new aquatic species that is rivals the intelligence of man. I was reminded of a 1950s horror movie, but at the same time I could see this happening. We just don't know what is in the depths of the oceans as we've barely scratched the surface of exploring them.

As this is not my usual genre of book to read, I did not know that this is actually the final book in a trilogy featuring characters R. J. MacCready and Yanni Thorne. But after looking into the two previous books, I can see that they all build on each other. So I would suggest that you begin with "Hell's Gate" before reading "The Darwin Strain" or "The Himalayan Codex". But even being late to the party, I thoroughly enjoyed this story. It is well written and keeps you focused because at one point you're not sure what is fact and what is fiction.

Thank you to Netgalley for the chance to read "The Darwin Strain" as an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Schutt and Finch have written a very good thriller in The Darwin Strain featuring zoologist and adventurer Captain R. J. MacCready. Worth the read!

Put well-known characters like General MacArthur, Jacque Cousteau, and Ian Fleming into a geological environment of volcanos and hot water sea vents with strange extremophile growth that has already been well documented in several scientific documentaries and you have the freedom to write a story that keeps your reader’s attention from the first sentence. As these characters are already known, the author had little need for character development other than setting the story’s date and contextual political factors.

Being free of much of the character building and scene-setting, (hot water spewing sea vents need not be described as they can easily be visualized from documentary coverage), the author was able to write an engrossing story about giant cephalopods habiting the waters of the Greek Isle of Santorini. They were self-aware and had been at a sentient level similar to man since the beginning of human existence.

Using human sentient standards, the cephalopods do not measure up. From the cephalopod’s measurements, humans do not measure up to cephalopod standards. Both races are alien to each other so little mutual empathy exists. Bill Schutt’s story is about conflict when both these races compete for the same resource, i.e. control of an underwater hot water vent with healing properties.

In order to make the story even more interesting, Schutt elected to include a cold war conflict between the US and the Russians. Both countries wanted the healing vents that the cephalopods had controlled and protected for thousands of years.

Most of the events in the book were taken from fictionalized historical events from the late ’40s and early ’50s. Old and ancient events are mentioned throughout the book. For lovers of history and geology, there is a well-written appendix at the end of the book that references and gives some background for all authentic events in the book. I enjoyed reading this appendix as much as I enjoyed reading the fictionalized story.

The Darwin Strain is a must-read for history buffs and thriller book lovers.