Beautifully written, thought-provoking, strange, and wonderful. This novella provides tension and emotion -- which is surprising in a story about mammoths! Highly recommended.

5 STARS

CW: poaching, death (including of animals), blood, graphic violence

I received an eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This story is a prime example of why I absolutely love science fiction and it touches on a topic that is oftentimes ignored: elephant poaching. It beautifully and also hauntingly connects various themes such as memory and power and the story definitely took me by surprise. I did not expect to love it as much as I did but here we are and I'm already thinking about rereading it before it even came out.

We follow a few different perspectives that at first seem disconnected from each other eventually they all coalesce into one powerful story that drew me in from the very beginning. I loved that not everything was 100% explained at first but only became clear in the first third of the book, e.g. how Damira's story evolves.

The book addresses so many important topics and it made me reflect on many issues beginning with animal poaching but also including the connection of money and power (including the entitlement that comes along with a position of power) and the evolution of one's own identity with different versions of oneself at different stages in life. Overall, I was very pleased with the complexity of the story and also very impressed.

Finally, I can only recommend this to anyone who loves science fiction and likes that to include a good dose of social criticism. The book is a quick read, easy to read and will probably stick with you for a while.

THE TUSKS OF EXTINCTION is a unique science fiction that takes on the topic of animal conservation and what that might look like in the near future. In this novella, the world's elephants are all but dead from the illegal ivory trade. In their stead, scientists bring the mammoth back to life, but notice they don't quite have the instincts to survive. To help them, they download the digitized consciousness of a murdered elephant expert into a mammoth.

Yes, you read that right: there is a human consciousness in the body of a mammoth. Although marketed as science fiction, which it is, THE TUSKS OF EXTINCTION focus mainly on the multi-faceted consequences of human intervention in nature. This means both the negative and good-intentioned sides of this broad topic. I thought this was the most interesting aspect of the story. The soft science fiction is certainly fantastical, but it's the human connection to animals that held my attention.

This novella is somewhat philosophical, but not overly so and is quite approachable. It basically shines a light on the cruelty and detrimental effects of the ivory trade. Not only does this illegal activity kill elephants, but it also results in the deaths of those who try to protect these animals. It is a dangerous job, even today, much less the future. It also explores the cruel irony in allowing trophy hunting of an endangered animal to bring in funds to continue to save said animal.

THE TUSKS OF EXTINCTION also fantasizes about "what if" animals reacted to their shared trauma and turned on humans. This is where human consciousness meets animal naivete. There is some irony to this in that it is the human mammoth who must teach the "pure at heart" animals how to defend themselves.

Finally, the characterization is well done for a novella. I don't feel that the reader becomes too attached to each character. But Nayler provides enough backstory and insight into each person that it keeps the reader turning those pages. It is less thriller and more about the humanity, helplessness, frustration and even hope of ensuring an animal's prosperity. THE TUSKS OF EXTINCTION will certainly appeal to readers of soft science fiction that blends with current societal issues.

This was a great concept. The story was interesting and it felt real even though it was science fiction. I wish this was a little longer but it was good. It would make a great movie.

Thanks to Tor Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing me an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and feedback are my own.

This book's premise is so unique and I'm kind of obsessed with it. Like, our main character is a scientist who has died and whose consciousness has been put into a mammoth. So good. I think there was a good amount of development for a book under 200 pages and I really found myself caring about some of the characters (and loving to hate others). I felt like I was on the edge of my seat for most of the plot, and I thought the book had strong themes about extinction, poaching, and big game hunting.

As it is with most novellas and this one in particular, I tend to wish there were a few more pages. I would have loved to see more depth concerning how Damira adapted to being a mammoth and the herd, and I wish we had spent more time with Vladmir. I found myself wanting more.

I am very excited to read Nayler's debut, The Mountain in the Sea, which I already own, and I greatly look forward to seeing what else he puts out in the future!

This little bite-sized nugget packs quite the punch. A successful story that manages to encompass a lifetime (and longer) and hook you from the start. The characters and voices that come through them are clear and concise. The desperation and longing drip off the page while providing an interesting and emotional narrative. It was truly amazing.

A short, but powerful story about climate change and extinction. I wish it had been longer so I could have spent more time in the world the author built. It definitely made me want to seek out their other titles!

I liked this author’s book The Mountain in the Sea, so when I saw he had a novella coming out I wanted to read it. I should say, if you’re an animal lover, there are some poaching scenes that will be difficult to read, but they are few and quick. After a scientist is murdered protecting elephants, her consciousness is brought back in the future and put into a mammoth body to help them survive as a revived species. Elephants are extinct in the wild, and mammoths have been created with new technology but are having a hard time outside of captivity. That’s where she comes in. And she won’t let harm come to these mammoths. She will fight for them, as one of them, just like she fought for the elephants.

This was a great book. I read it in one sitting. There’s a sadness throughout- the greed of humanity driving extinction, going so far as to start poaching a species brought back from the dead because that makes it worth even more, compromises people are willing to make. There’s a lot to think about. It comes out January 16. Thank you to Tordotcom and NetGalley for the eARC.

The Tusks of Extinction is unlike other recent Tordotcom novellas I have read. In many ways, it reminded me of The Themis Files series by Sylvain Neuvel. While that may seem like a strange comparison, both deal with science fiction from the point of view of scientific and educated individuals. While Themis deals with individuals operating alien technology, Tusks sees a character's consciousness downloaded into the mind of a mammoth. This may sound wildly different, but, in practice, they aren't so dissimilar. I appreciate how scientific The Tusks of Extinction feels, especially when so much of the sci-fi genre is now dystopic and post-apocalyptic.

The Tusks of Extinction is a story of lost species and of long-forgotten dreams. The main narrative voice comes from Damira, a scientist and expert in elephants. Her point-of-view is bittersweet and thoughtful, and I appreciated the context her mammoth-brain brought to the story. While I enjoyed Damira's point of view, there were other points of view I enjoyed more. Vladamir's point of view was probably my favorite; I always enjoyed returning to his perspective and rejoiced in his final choices.

Final Thoughts:

While I believe a novella is normally more than enough to tell a story, for once I wanted more. I wanted more from this world and more points of view. I loved these characters and this world. I loved the juxtaposition of the bleak world and the hopeful resolution. The Tusks of Extinction was perfection.

A full review (including a bit more ancillary commentary) will be posted on Back Shelf Books at the below link on the Friday before the release date, January 12, 2024.

I wasn’t fond of the beginning; personally, I would have liked to read this story chronologically because I found the modular and out of sync way the story was introduced to be confusing and not entirely compelling. It took too long to get a handle on both Damira and the plight of the mammoths when we could have had one and then the other much smoother.

With that being said, I think the way Nayler spoke about the elephants, poaching, and the kinds of people who protect and who destroy was brilliant. The realizations that Damira, Svyetaslov, and Vladimir make and the moments leading up to them were cutting and clear.

Most of my gripes are small. Like the timeline - how Damira recognizes advanced (like well after her time) technology at a glance, or how ubiquitous (or not) the brain mapping/download/whatever was or how Damira was selected for it.

This is a short powerful novella positing de-extinction experiments to bring back mammoths without solving the issues that caused extinction in the first place—the greed and bloodthirstiness of man. Nayler has become my go-to for ecological science fiction through his thought-provoking moving stories.

Beautifully written and emotional. Really loved how short and sweet this was and how even though it’s small, it pacts a big punch.

The Tusks of Extinction by Ray Nayler is a science fiction book following Damira, an expert on elephants and their behavior, after she has her digitized consciousness uploaded into the brain of a resurrected mammoth.

This book was so beautifully written and emotional. Within the first two chapters, I had my heart broken and it doesn’t stop there. I love the idea of transferring someone’s consciousness into someone or something else. There are a lot of discussions in this book revolving around that and it was so interesting.

This is my second book by this author and I think he is definitely going to be an author that I follow because I love this kind of science fiction. The way this is written makes every decision and choice seem like it would actually happen in that way. Like when the reasoning behind why Damira becomes transferred into the mammoth makes perfect sense.

If you like science fiction that feels like it’s actual science and entirely possible, check this book out as well as The Mountain in the Sea by this author!

Beautiful novel and very evocative; I was moved within the first chapter and appreciated how much emotion was drawn out of me through the connection I felt with the characters. It was also a great twist on the transferring consciousness idea. Loved it.

Wow. The Tusks of Extinction is a beautiful and moving and painful novel, short enough to be highly consumable while powerful enough to pack a punch. At once an ethical dilemma, a climate commentary, and an exploration into "should we just because we can," I devoured this in one sitting. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free advance copy.

The Mountain in the Sea is probably the book that I have recommended to most people the past year, so I had very high hopes for The Tusks of Extinction. And I was not disappointed! This is just a perfect book, short, but packs such a punch, filled with ideas, nuance, sorrow and beauty. Ray Nayler is on his way to becoming one of my favourite authors.

I like this book. I wasn't sure about the unclear timeline switches at the beginning but it really worked in the end. I also liked that it didn't explain how the memory record/installing a human in a mammoth worked. The different points of view were a bit confusing but they worked mostly. There were a lot of them for a short book though. I felt like the ending was really satisfying, just open ended enough to not feel like it was trying too hard to wrap everything up but still finishing all the different threads.

Thank you NetGalley for the ability to read this. I am beyond words with how much I enjoyed this book. I felt some confusion in the beginning on what character was talking but it was intentional and clears up quickly as you progress.

There is something that feels so devastating after reading this book. The quick blink of Damira being alive and human to being something completely other is impactful in its speed and simplicity. Learning about her hopes, failures, and what happens to her through out the rest of the novel left me contemplative of my own impact on the world and the future. I will be thinking about this book for a long time.

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Tor Publishing for an advanced copy of this work of environmental science fiction which shows what the future might hold for elephants, returning mammoths, and the humans that try to protect them.

Damira is of two minds. One is of falling in love with elephants, learning about them, and traveling to Africa to work on protecting them. Damira is also matriarch of a group of mammoths roaming the vast Siberian steppe teaching her herd how to forage, the ways of the mammoth, and how to get revenge if and when it will be needed. Ray Nayler, author of the acclaimed The Mountain of the Sea, and one of my favourite books of last year has returned with a novella about the relationship man has with nature, this time on land. The Tusks of Extinction is about the return of mammoths due to science, the cost of their return, and the cruelty that humans are capable of committing on animals, and to each other.

Dr. Damira Khismatullina is a self-made woman, rising from poverty to being the foremost elephant expert on the planet. Damira is also leading the fight against poachers, those who kill the elephants for their tusks, and their skin. The poachers have gotten better, tracking animals by using the scientists own tracking equipment, planting traps for rangers, and ratcheting up he violence as the animals become rarer. Damira is also matriarch of a group of mammoths, her mind imprinted into a mammoth, teaching the others how to survive in the frozen wastes. Two groups of very different people have entered the preserve, unbeknownst to each other. A group of locals, with thoughts of great fortunes, along with a wealthy man, and his husband, accompanied by a scientist who helped recreate the mammoths, with plans for funding more work.

This is the second work that I have read by Ray Nayler, and even with such few titles, I consider him one of my favorite authors. Not just in writing, which is very good, but in ideas, characters, and just empathy. Nayler writes about nature in such a way that everything is new, amazing and seems real. His characters from the most important to a baby mammoth playing tag with something it shouldn't are all very developed, and unique. There are not black and white characters, everyone is grey, and well human. Or mammoth. There are lines of great beauty, and great sorrow with a lot of violence. Sad violence. There will be tears. The story is a novella, almost 200 pages, but a story that will stay with the reader. Just a wonderful story.

Ray Nayler is an author that people need to be reading. Nayler has ideas, the skill to handle multiple narratives one from the point of view of a mammoth, with an emotional aspect that is rare in many books today. I really can't recommend his books enough, and I eagerly await what Nayler is planning next.

I didn't realize this was a short story... I wish it had been a full book. It was such a new and interesting concept and while it was great, I was left wishing Nayler had given us more of this world. I love that there is a bit of a lesson in what we are doing to this world.