Ray Nayler is a conceptual genius. He comes up with some of the most fun concepts in science fiction. The twin stories of a scientist doing her best to protect the last of the elephants from poachers and that same scientist's digital scan of a brain placed in the body of a cloned mammoth decades after being murdered are a brilliant concept.

That being said, I thought the execution lagged in a couple of spots, and there were times I felt that the anger as written didn't come through as well as I'd hoped.

Now, that's not to say this isn't an excellent novella. It's one of the better novellas published in 2024 that I've read so far. Simply stated, the concept exceeds the execution, which speaks more towards how much I love the concept than anything else.

Nayler does a great job of balancing his themes with his story. We see strong conservationist messaging throughout the story, but the themes of memory and ancestry are well-infused throughout the novella.

At the end of the day, if you're looking for a quick, thoughtless eco-thriller, look somewhere else. This is a novella with a few layers, and if you're willing to give it the time, it'll give you a reward.

This sounded very interesting, but it didn't really work for me.
The message of the story is very good.
But with the audio it was confusing especially in the beginning, it was not clear when they switched characters.
And for me the view of the hunter husband didn't add anything to the story.

Whether you call it an eco thriller, science fiction, or some sort of cosmically weird drama, it's quite the literary dish to devour. Nayler has created a genre all its own. Futuristic, fantastical, and full of heart in ways that are hard to describe.
Never as a reader had I thought I would read a story about bringing back the dead that wasn't a horror about zombies. Not only do they bring back the mammoth but they put a murdered scientist brain into one, in hopes that disaster, extinction of a species will be averted. While this is the most minimal of a blurb that I can muster, this is a must read.
My only qualm was that like every read, I went in blind, the beginning was hard to follow due to the convergence of the minds, it took me a bit to catch on to what was happening.

I received this one from NetGalley and this is actually one of two mammoth cloning books coming out this year!

This starts as a pretty typical eco-thriller, at least from my experience, but when the book has the elements of scifi mixed in, things truly take off. In a not-so far off future, computers can make a copy of your brain and conscious. One such conscious is the late expert in elephant behaviors, Dr. Damira Khismatullina. Not just a doctor, but a strict protector of the remaining elephant population, readers have to understand just how far some people will go to protect them. And when Russias newly cloned mammoths end up more like blubbering, stagnant copies then re-evolved miracles, they have to ask if they can imbed the doctor’s conscious into one of the mammoths in the hopes that she can teach them to survive and have future generations be born with intact instincts.

All of the above alone should be enough to entice a scifi or eco reader to grab at this one. But unfortunately for me, the other parts of the book were kind of a confusing blend of “what?” That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy this, because I did enjoy more than I disliked, I just found there to be issues.

To be honest, I did start this one on a long drive right after finishing a much longer story that I really loved. As a novella, this one didn’t last long enough for me to connect past that initial changing of setting and characters. So the “tense eco-thriller” promised in the blurb didn’t hit for me, as I really didn’t find this thrilling.

The messages behind the not-so distant future worked for me, as well as the continued greed of humanity with high priced mammoth hunting, but there was a decent amount that was simply flat for me. Personally a 3/5* for me.

The Tusks of Extinction was a heavy novella and I really enjoyed the world building. the animal cruelty was hard to stomach though.

DNFed at 35%

Sorry, this just wasn't keeping my attention. I expected something different, a bit quicker pace would probably keep me interested. Short reads need to say things quickly or else they usually fail to say enough and I wasn't in the mood to see for myself

This one's okay there's something significant about it that stands out, but there's also nothing about it that makes me angry. It's a pretty average rate overall

Initially I wasn't sure about this sci-fi look at extinction and ressurection. The writing seemed almost combative. However after a couple of chapters I was hooked. This was introspective, clever and just slightly disturbing. Highly recommend.

The overall premise was interesting but nothing had a lasting impression. It may be that the story was too big for a novella but regardless, its great commentary didn't save the underwhelming execution.

A novella with a sound concept whose ambitions outgrew execution at times. The perspective jumps were a little confusing, and the plot itself required a bit more oomph to be truly engaging, but I finished the book which gave me many thoughts to chew on.

This is a story about memory.

I enjoyed this quick, interesting scifi read. I wish it had been a much longer book bc the world built was fascinating and it moved so quickly there wasn’t a lot of time spent on individual elements.

Thank you so much Netgalley & Spotify for the Alc!

This was an interesting and impactful story, which was a little confusing to follow at times. The notion of putting the consciousness of a human into the brain of a re-introduced extinct species is fascinating and I think I would have liked more exploration of this element of the plot. I thought the book had a lot to say about the horrors of ivory poaching and definitely made me think, but the plot could have been a bit tighter for me.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Actual Rating 2.5

Scientists in Moscow have resurrected the mammoth, but as they don’t know how to behave like mammoths, they are on the verge of extinction yet again. And since elephants throughout the world are now extinct due to the ivory trade, they have no way to learn. Elephant expert Dr. Damira is called upon to aid in teaching the mammoths in a rather unique way – by having her consciousness implanted into the brain of a mammoth. Will science triumph in reestablishing mammoths, or are they doomed yet again?

This short work of science fiction had a premise that was intriguing. I enjoyed that the author included dangers from not just poachers, but also due to the absence of learned behavior relating to general survival. These two aspects created an interesting look at what it could take to bring a species like this back from extinction. I also enjoyed that this work didn’t delve deeply into the science behind the story. There was enough included to keep it compelling, but it didn’t get bogged down in the technicalities of it all. Similarly, the discussion of the ethics of reversing extinction was included but rather than being incorporated in a way that would encourage discussion/thought, it was rather too on-the-nose and simplistic for me to enjoy that aspect.

The story is told from multiple POVs, including from Dr. Damira, the son of a poacher, and from a luxury hunter’s husband. While I enjoyed the first two perspectives, the inclusion of the hunter’s husband’s POV didn’t do much for me but muddy the story overall. The perspectives did come together by the end, but I still think it would have been more compelling without the addition of the hunter’s husband. Unfortunately, since this work was so short and packed so much into it, the characters were lacking in development and meaningful personalities. I couldn’t feel an emotional connection with any of the characters. This lack made the story lose some of the punch I’d hoped it would have, and certainly kept it from feeling like the “eco-thriller” it was advertised to be. I also wanted much more from Damira’s time with the mammoths and felt like that whole aspect of the story was greatly underutilized.

If you’re interested in light science fiction relating to reversing extinction, you’ll likely enjoy this short read. While I did like it, it was lacking in too many areas for me to fully enjoy. My thanks to NetGalley and Spotify Audiobooks for allowing me to read this work. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I didn’t like this book. It didn’t work as an audiobook. I’ve listened to a lot of audiobooks, a book can have the best narrator but if the writing style doesn’t suit being an audiobook, it’s not going to work, I had to listen to this twice to get any idea what was happening, to me the writing style was very old fashioned, like something out of the 70s, it was slow paced, too full of description, and there wasn’t enough action and dialogue. It was messy. I’ve studied creative writing, I knowing writing is subjective, what I like and don’t like is not what Fred down the road will think. I will say though, a woman turning into a mammoth and having sex with other mammoths is just gross.

TW: Language, drinking, toxic family relationships, death of parent, poachering, smoking, mourning, animal death, gory scenes

*****SPOILERS*****
About the book:Moscow has resurrected the mammoth, but someone must teach them how to be mammoths, or they are doomed to die out, again.

The late Dr. Damira Khismatullina, the world’s foremost expert in elephant behavior, is called in to help. While she was murdered a year ago, her digitized consciousness is uploaded into the brain of a mammoth. Can she help the magnificent creatures fend off poachers long enough for their species to take hold?And will she ever discover the real reason they were brought back?
Release Date: January 16th, 2024
Genre: Science Fiction
Pages: 192
Rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

What I Liked:
1. Liked the writing style
2. Loved the idea of Mammoth coming back (Hello Jurassic Park)
3. Liked that we follow Damira Khismatullina and

What I Didn't Like:
1. Made me so mad reading about the hunters
2. Some parts bored me

Overall Thoughts:
Reading this book it was so completely sad. My heart goes out for all the mammoths that were in this book even though I know mammoths are a stand in for elphs. Poaching is such a controversial thing. And it doesn't make it right.

Following the characters we have the doctor that's trying to save the mammoths from the poachers. She does everything she can to study them and learn about their lives all the while trying to protect them from the poachers that are trying to kill them for their ivory. Reading about that was very heartbreaking and reading about them losing a fellow mammoth was very sad.

We also get the POV of a young boy who's been dragged into this lifestyle but his father. He doesn't really want to do this and he wants to quit. His father has been murdered but he still has to survive so he goes with the other Hunters to kill the mammoth.

Did enjoy where the author took this book. Acknowledging that the boy no longer wanted to do this he was willing to save the mammoth with the help of the doctor whose consciousness was put into one of the mammoth.

I hated that they left him behind but in the end he wasn't one of them.

Final Thoughts:
I really enjoyed the tone of this book even though it's such a short story.

I thought the author did a really great job at describing the heartbreak and sadness that comes with the murder of extinct animals and near extinct animals. In the end humans just don't really care about something that has no value to them unless it has money attached to it.

Some parts of the book though I did feel like they dragged and we're a little boring. They came off very dry.

I enjoyed the authors note.

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Thanks to @netgalley and @Tordotcom for this ebook and @SpotifyAudiobooks for the audiobook. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

One of the most unique books I've ever read!

Taking conservation and animal protection to the next level, this novella was such an interesting and one of its kind experiences!

Exploring the oftentimes morally grey and dangerous practice of protecting an endangered species from poachers, this novella was equal parts cool science, love of nature, and the complexity and similarlties of humankind and the animal kingdom.

I enjoyed the concept of the story moreso than the execution, but the authors future works are definitely something I'm going to check out!

The audiobook was honestly one of the only audiobooks I've ever struggled to get through. I feel horrible critiquing someone's voice, but the male narrator had a flat voice that lacked emotions and I really struggled to engage with it. Gabrielle De Cuir on the other hand had an engaging narrative style, really enjoyed her!

Thank you so much to the publishers for the Audio Arc of this book. All opinions are my own

Mammoths have been brought back from extinction, but they don’t know how to behave like mammoths or to protect themselves from ivory hunters. Dr. Damira Khismatullina was an elephant expert until she was murdered by poachers. Scientists transplanted her consciousness into a mammoth who could teach the rest of the herd and keep them alive.

As with the first book by this author that I read, “The Mountain in the Sea”, the premise of this book is fascinating but I found the structure confusing. I don’t think that I would have known what was going on in the beginning of the book if I hadn’t read the blurb. There is a lot of time jumping. There is also a lot of head jumping among humans and animals. However, the book held my interest and raised a lot of important issues about extinction, conservation and hunting.

I received a free copy of this audiobook from the publisher.

This was an interesting read, how awesome would it be if we could do something like that?! The ivory trade and destruction of the elephant population is so gross and rage-inducing. Humans are garbage and we learn nothing from our past mistakes are the takeaways from this book! This was my 1st book by Ray Nayler but will not be my last.


#TheTusksofExtinction
#NetGalley

Thank you netgalley for an advanced ARC of this as an audiobook

Listening to this as a audiobook was interesting and I found it hard to follow at times, but it was an enjoyable listen

THE TUSKS OF EXTINCTION by @raynayler was a short, sci-fi romp that is sort of the same conceptually as JURASSIC PARK except scientists bring back wooly mammoths long after all the elephants have even died off. These present day scientists embed the lead resurrected mammoth with the consciousness of a scientist/activist from the last years before elephant extinction that they hope will help the mammoths learn and survive. The scientist was a passionate activist for endangered elephants and died while fighting off poachers so their perspective is thought to be a strength for the potential of mammoth survival.

I really loved the concept of this one and particularly enjoyed the narration from the mammoth POV. I did feel a little bit like more of a story was warranted here. This book had a similar vibe to a book by Kelly Robson called GODS, MONSTERS AND THE LUCKY PEACH that IMHO is highly underrated. If you liked this one, you should give that one a shot too!

If you could bring back one species of animal that has gone extinct, which would you choose (yes, dinosaurs are fair game here!). I think I would choose either the Dodo bird or Pterodactyls (but only if I could be sure they would not get all murdery on people).

Thank you to the author, @netgalley and the publisher @spotify audiobooks for the audio-ARC.

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