One of the series that I have devoured recently and adored, is the Preston and Child series. When I ran out of those books, I read books written by each author, and loved them as well. Extinction is the next book out by Douglas Preston, and it doesn't disappoint.

It starts off with a mysterious double murder at a prehistoric park that sounds similar to Jurassic Park, which is referred to multiple times in the early chapters. But apparently, these owners have learned from the mistakes of that novel, and made sure to only breed herbivores and use genetic editing to take out aggressive tendencies. That said, something is not right in paradise, and it's clear pretty fast that perhaps they haven't learnt their lesson as well as they should have.

Preston has an archeological background and through his books, I've learned a lot about the field and have been fascinated by all the research he has done as much as by the plot of the book. While some of what he does here is standard thriller fare, and while I don't love the trope of the bad evil scientist, I can also see how things can slowly devolve when there is enough money to play god and there are no rules to hold one back. The afterword was just as interesting as the book itself. Definitely a must read.

I lobve Dougas Preston and this book didn't disappoint. Looking forward to recommending this book in April. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy!

Jurassic Park with Neanderthals. A typical Preston (no relation) thriller, with a fast-paced plot, a strong storyline, and a good denouement. However, the plot line really is too much like Jurassic Park: a wealthy man "de-extincts" animals, editing our their genetic traits for violence. Instead of smart velociraptors, though, the scientists secretly breed Neanderthals in a lab so that certain snippets of their DNA (strength, etc) can be inserted into human embryos.. We've known for a long time that Neanderthals and humans co-existed and interbred (consensually and not), and that they were smart, so the depiction of them here isn't particularly new; in fact, some of Preston's info, given in the afterword, is out-of-date. Finally, I remain unimpressed by Preston's writing of women characters, and his fatphobia and other issues are on display here in large amounts. I'm also annoyed by the constant name- and brand-dropping in the book. Is the author getting paid to mention Pringles by name? How about the tent manufacturer, or Reese's candy? He drops his own book (with Lincoln Child) into teh conversation, which took me right out of the book. It's unnecessary.

A gripping, fast-paced, action adventure novel that is difficult to put down. It features a compelling and timely story of scientific breakthroughs coupled with the hubris of man. Fans of Michael Crichton should read this book.

Fast-paced read that did not disappoint!

First off, this is not Jurassic Park - yes, there are creatures brought back from extinction but don't get too hung up on the similarities. This novel shines all on its own.

Setting: a beautiful mountain park in Colorado that has become home to several de-extincted creatures, most notably the wooly mammoth.. It's also a luxurious tourist spot for the uber rich.

A young couple who are enjoying their honeymoon, marveling at the amazing surroundings, is suddenly attacked and presumed kidnapped...or worse. Because something or someone is out there that seems bent on destruction.

It's up to a smart CBI agent and a local sheriff to find the couple and uncover the weird happenings in such an idealic place.

Loved this one and fingers crossed it's the start of a fantastic new series.

To start off, unfortunately or fortunately, any book that involves de-extinction is going to be compared to Michael Crichton and his masterpiece, Jurassic Park. Douglas Preston is fortunate because that's what drew me in. The similar science-y writing based on what we know in science currently meshed in with the sci-fi aspect had a hold on me. I read the book in one sitting.
Now, I did read a bit about what this was about when I requested the ARC...however, I was still thinking this would be more like big hunters killing off the woolly mammoth again.

I didn't expect the level of terror I'd feel as I delved deeper into the story. My theory from a smilodon being the culprit to a cult from within Erebus was just so far off. I had started thinking early on if they de-extincted these herbivores whose to say they can't do the same with...culprits of this book. I shan't reveal too much.
But those most accurate and terrifying part of the book? It's this:
<bold>That's the problem with science. If something can be done, it will be done - no matter how dangerous. </bold>

Direct quote. And after reading the authors afterword. This is a believable scenario in our future. We really don't stop to think if we should when we could. As the infamous Ian Malcom has said "Life finds a way."

This felt familiar. Similar. Not exact. I got some Wayward and Jurassic Park vibes off this. So if you're a fan of Douglas Preston's prior work, a fan of Michael Crichton or Blake Crouch, this is a read for you. Or if you follow the science of bringing back the wooly mammoth, probably you want to read this. You know what, if you're a sapien, you need to read this book. It's our future.

I was so excited to receive this ARC being a big fan of all Preston/Child books. I liked but did not love this book. The concept was very interesting regarding the "de-extincting" of different types of animals but the book then took some leaps I was not ready for. I felt like there were too many characters fighting for time/space and the book vs. narrowing it down and spending more time with less characters. The motivations for different characters seemed like a stretch and there were side stories (like the group filming a movie) that seemed extraneous. I still appreciate the ARC and all opinions are my own.

Extinction by Douglas Preston is a thrilling sci-fi ride. It grabs your attention and keeps it until the very end. Great characters with an exciting plot that have you thinking “what-if?”. Totally unexpected ending, with an exciting ride along the way.
I rated this story 5 out of 5 stars as it was absolute perfection in my opinion and highly recommend others to read. If you enjoy books like Jurassic Park that deal with the repercussions of using science to bring the past to life, this one is a MUST-READ for you!

A heartstopping thriller that made me bite my nails. The premise is highly unique and reminded me a lot of Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton and the thrill of Dan Brown's writing. Severely enjoyed it!

Every evening, guests at the Erebus Resort in the mountains of Colorado gather to watch 'de-extincted' Pleistocene animals like wooly mammoths; giant armadillos; rhinoceros-like indricotheres; giant ground sloths; Irish elk; and giant beavers. The luxury resort, a kind of Disneyland for rich people, is comprised of a magnificent lodge in a valley surrounded by 144 square miles of rugged, mountainous terrain.

Honeymooners Olivia and Mark Gunnerson - who happens to be the son of a tech billionaire - stay at the lodge for a few days before they embark on an eight-day guided hike along Erebus Resort's 110-mile Barbican Trek. On their first night out the couple set up camp on a ridge, dine on freeze-dried chicken tetrazzini, and retire to their tent. Later that night Olivia and Mark are attacked and abducted.

To investigate the Gunnersons' disappearance, Agent Frankie Cash of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is sent to Erebus along with a CSI team. At the resort Cash collaborates with Sheriff James Colcord to search for the Gunnersons. Cash - a sharp-tongued woman who comes from Maine, and Colcord - an old-fashioned guy who hails from Colorado, start out as uneasy partners, but ultimately work well together.

Cash and Colcord study the crime scene, speak to Erebus's managers and security experts, visit Erebus's research laboratory, and interview Erebus's chief scientist, Dr. Marius Karman. Karman supervises the 'Erebus Project,' which uses DNA from extinct creatures to produce 'de-extincted' animals for release into the Erebus Resort. When Cash and Colcord question the project's safety, Karman insists the new fauna are non-aggressive herbivores.

When the investigators search the woods they sense silent shapes flitting through the trees and hear hideous yowling. Cash and Colcord realize cryptic creatures are scurrying around the resort, which is made even more evident by additional frightening occurrences.

Meanwhile, a film crew is making a movie on the resort property, directed by Slavomir Doyle. Doyle tells Cash and Colcord the film, called 'Hannibal and the Baron,' is about a herd of mammoths that get caught in a time warp and appear in the 1880s. Cowboys then tame the mammoths and ride them into town to save the residents from a robber baron. Some of Doyle's crew weren't on the movie set when the Gunnersons disappeared, and Cash and Colcord reserve the right to question them.

As all this is happening, Marc Gunnerson's wealthy father, drunk and grief-stricken, lashes out about his missing son. Gunnerson Sr. insists that Erebus's billionaire founder, Maitland Barrow, be called on the carpet to answer for what's happened.

As evidence is collected and analyzed, Cash and Colcord conclude that a good deal of lying and deception is occurring. The investigators probe into events more deeply, and shocking secrets are revealed.

The novel, a combination police procedural and adventure story, is engaging and suspenseful, with an interesting array of characters. I especially 'loved to hate' Cash's boss at the CBI, Wallace McFaul, who tries to take credit for Cash's discoveries, and to blame her for his deplorable mistakes.

In the Afterword, author Douglas Preston explains that seemingly fictitious elements of his story are based on scientific research. Moreover, Preston asserts that a company called Colossal - founded by geneticist George Church and technology entrepreneur Ben Lamm - is focused on rapidly advancing the field of species de-extinction.

For a glimpse of things we might see in the future, read the book. Highly recommended.

Thanks to Netgalley, Douglas Preston, and Tor Publishing Group for a copy of the book.

As a fan of the Pendergast series, as well as Preston's nonfiction work, this was a great read! It was enthralling, fast-paced, and had me on the edge of my seat. I have to admit it was a tad predictable, but when the story is so good, it doesn't really matter! The descriptive language really sold the eerieness of the situations, and I had trouble putting this down.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book. This was a generically good thriller in the vein of Michael Crichton. It was compelling and kept me interested, and had some twists I wasn't expecting. The creepiest part was the end note from the author about how close the science is at present to making this scenario a potential reality.

A remote resort in Colorado is famous for "unextincting" woolly mammoths and allowing them to roam free around the resort for people to view. When two guests disappear from their campsite, the state FBI and the local sheriff's department combine forces to investigate. Their investigation leads them down a very "Jurassic Park" kind of path, with many shocking events thrown in. The story is fast-paced, the characters are well-drawn and interesting, and the action is thrilling and surprising. Thanks to NetGalley, Tor Publishing Group, and Forge Books for providing an ARC. I highly recommend this book!

To begin with, I live in Eagle County, Colorado so I was incredibly distracted by the inaccuracies found throughout the book. I know it's not real and I understand it's fiction, but making up a river and geographic aspects and saying we have "a few ski resorts" (we have two and they're fairly well-known) is the same as watching someone run around NYC and go from the Cloisters to Wall Street in the matter of minutes. No, just...no. I also recognize that as one of the 55k year-round residents in Eagle County, there won't be too many other people who take issue with the inaccuracies, but I really did need to point this out (mostly because my husband is tired of listening to me complain about them).

Now that the inaccuracies are out of the way, the book: great book! Lots of fun, and I really appreciated that Preston addressed the elephant (heh) in the room: it's similar to Jurassic Park but then, not at all. The characters were interesting and well throught out and different enought that I was never confused by who was whom. It was a little man-heavy, but that's life, isn't it?

Erebus Resort is along the Erebus River (there is no such river in Colorado) and offers quiet and relaxation, camping in the majestic Rocky Mountains, and...prehistoric mammals (but no predators). There are mammoths, giant sloths, giant deer, and a weird rhino-type animal. All seems idyllic and fine until a couple of honeymooners are killed in a pretty horrific way. Enter Colorado Bureau of Investigation Cash, who is lead agent on her first case. She partners up with the Eagle County Sheriff (who mirrors the real Sheriff by being extremely tall and always wearing a cowboy hat but our sheriff has a full head of hair). The two of them don't get along very well to start, but they quickly realize they're in this together, and the resort is hiding something. From there, the pace of the book picks up rapidly.

Overall, a great read. Douglas Preston rarely disappoints, and this one is as entertaining as ever. I was engaged throughout the book and once the climax hit, it was fast-paced and super fun (and kinda gross, but that's to be expected).

Many thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan Publishers for the ARC of this book.

I’ll be upfront and say I’m a long-time fan of Michael Crichton and the Jurassic Park series of books and movies. If you enjoy that sort of sci-fi/thriller, this is the book for you. I read it in its entirety in one night. I simply couldn’t put it down.

Erebus Resort, a safari-type resort populated with prehistoric animals recreated via genetic manipulation, is set in the Colorado wilderness. The uber-wealthy can pay for backpacking trips to see wooly mammoths and other creatures up close and personal. When a newly-wed couple disappears, law enforcement presumes an eco-terrorist group is responsible. As incident piles upon incident, the resort starts to crumble. The last ten chapters or so reveal how wrong they are.

Preston takes current genetic research and turns it in a horror story as he depicts the pros and cons of mankind resurrecting extinct species. He does this quite successfully without bogging the reader down in arcane scientific terms. Like Jurassic Park, it’s a marvelous cautionary tale on hubris of man as well as our rapacious appetite for destruction in the guise of progress. The afterword was an interesting read as well.

Preston’s prose is tight. The suspense bounds off the page. The female protagonist, Frances Cash, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation’s agent in charge, is an atypical female in modern fiction: overweight but fit, sharp-tongued, and outspoken. However, Preston seems overly concerned about her diet and size. The remaining characters are full-realized and interesting (other than the surprise folks at the end who work as a mob rather than individuals).

When I read the premise for this book, I knew I had to read it. Jurassic Park with ice age animals? Right up my alley! The Erebus preserve has unlocked the mystery of "de-extinction" and has resurrected several animals from the Pleistocene, most recognizably the woolly mammoth. The preserve is also home to an exclusive resort where guests can observe the wildlife and take wilderness treks to see them up close and personal. I was surprised to find that the genetically engineered animals weren't the focus of this book. Instead, we are pulled into the disappearance of two guests after they were attacked in their camp. I at first assumed there would be some kind of ice age chimera loose in the resort, but the real culprits are much more intriguing. I really enjoyed the ethical questions that were discussed towards the end of the book, as well as the tense investigation into the mountains. I did find the ending to be a bit unsatisfactory, but otherwise this was a solid read.

I love a good Douglas Preston book. This is no exception. Sometimes he can get bogged down in a lot of technical descriptions but overall this is a good story. I found that it took a while to get to the point at times with some of the characters taking extra trips and side quests that may not have pushed the narrative along but rather distracted from arriving at the end too quickly. But, I enjoyed the characters (not your average leading man and lady) and when you do arrive at what is actually happening and by whom, it is very intriguing. I recommend you jump in and take the ride Mr. Preston has created in Extinction. It will definitely make you think once you finish that last page.

It’s been a while since I’ve read a Douglas Preston novel, so I was excited to have the early opportunity to read this one. This story is told in third person and primarily follows Colorado Bureau of Investigations Agent in Charge Frances Cash as she investigates the disappearance of a pair of newlyweds from their camp site on a personally guided trip into the Erebus Resort in the Colorado Rockies where scientists have de-extincted six mammals from the Pleistocene epoch.

Cash is assisted in the field by the local county Sheriff James Colcord. Initially I was struck by how both characters immediately misjudged each other, but their partnership settled into an easy and respectful professional relationship as they investigated the situation and played to each of their strengths. I enjoyed both their characters and found them to be savvy and observant with good strategies for coping with difficult circumstances, bosses and suspects. I did find Cash’s preoccupation with her fitness and weight to be a tad annoying given her eating habits. And I still have questions about the incident that led her to work for the CBI so I’m wondering if there will be more books featuring Cash in the future.

I thought the story had good pacing with a balance of suspense, action and investigation. The mechanism for the DNA used to de-extinct the animals was interesting and thought provoking though not overwhelming in its presence. I included the science fiction tag due to the nature of the resort, but most of the primary characters in this story are law enforcement so the emphasis here is on the mystery not necessarily on the science.

Recommended to readers who enjoy books such as Jurassic Park and the Relic.

Thank you to Netgalley and Forge Books for a copy provided for an honest review.

This felt like a retelling of Jurassic Park and not one that I particularly cared for. Some attempts at humor that fell flat, ex. giving a plug of your own book. I think i'll just stick with the Prendergast books.

This page-turning thriller explores the possible and unintended dangers of the efforts to resurrect long-extinct animals.

Situated on a 100-acre valley high up in the Colorado Rockies, Erebus Resort created a new technology to de-extinct wooly mammoths, Irish elk, giant sloths, and other extinct creatures.

The resort grabbed the attention of a billionaire’s son and his new wife who decided to spend their honeymoon at the resort. While out camping with their guide, the couple disappears, leaving behind a pool of blood.

Colorado Bureau of Investigation Agent Frances Cash partners with the county sheriff James Colcord to help investigate the couple’s disappearance.

More violent events occur. What is going on at Erebus Resort? Who killed the young couple?

As the killings escalate and the valley is evacuated, Cash and Colcord must confront an ancient, intelligent, and murderous presence at Erebus.

I like most of the books that Douglas Preston writes and this is no exception. He has been creating wild stories for decades, by taking a possible reality and developing a story around it.

The plot is well-written, intense, and keeps your interest. The only problem is finding a place to put it down. The characters are mostly likeable. The pace is intense and escalates through the final pages.

While the idea of bringing back extinct species is not a new idea, it isn’t totally science fiction any longer. The Afterward of the book states, as man pushes further and further into the arena of resurrection biology, who can say what our future might bring? Preston says this book was influenced by the real-life effort to resurrect the wooly mammoth, and he incorporated enough real science to give credibility and depth to his story.

But unlike Jurassic Park, the huge de-extincted creatures were not the dangerous predators. That twist was enough to keep the ending interesting for me.

This was an action packed rid of a book, and I’d recommend it to Preston fans or those who like realistic sci-fi thrillers.

Look for it on bookshelves or Amazon in April.