Think Jurassic Park but it’s not only dinosaurs that have been resurrected. 🦣🦖🦕🦥🧟‍♂️

The book begins with a (pregnant) newlywed couple being murdered inside a fancy resort. The resort has managed to clone wooly mammoths and other extinct species. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation is brought in to investigate and things get weird…

I think the concept of the book is great, but I was underwhelmed by the writing. This was surprising because I normally love the author’s work. Perhaps it was doomed from the beginning when a word that gives me major icks was used.

I will definitely keep reading books by this author because this is the only time I haven’t really really liked their book, and this one was still ok.

Special thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced copy of the audiobook in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was such an intense and thrilling read! So fascinating and terrifying! The narrator was amazing with his different accents and voices. It’s very Jurassic park, so if you enjoyed that you will LOVE this! It really puts in perspective how quickly technology in the wrong hands could go very very badly.

3.5 stars. Erebus Resort is set in a vast valley in the Colorado Rockies. It is expensive to visit. The Resort's scientific laboratory experiments in genetic manipulation aim to bring extinct herbivores back to life and develop designer babies for millionaire couples.

A large wilderness area welcomes wealthy tourists to view the large animals that became extinct centuries ago. Numerous woolly mammoths roam Erebus' woodlands. Even more enormous are a couple of Paraceratherium, a relative of the rhinoceros and the largest land mammal to ever walk the earth. Other animal sightings that excite the tourists are the Glyptodon, resembling an armadillo but the size of an automobile, and giant land sloths. I thought it would be wonderful to view such animals now brought back to life. They are considered safe since they are herbivorous, with aggressive tendencies removed during development. Designer babies undergo genetic manipulation aimed at eliminating any defects before birth and improving their general health.

Extinction by Douglas Preston was a non-stop action adventure, and another stunning and highly secret experiment was being conducted, leading to deadly results. It begins with the murders of a billionaire's son and his pregnant wife. They are experienced hikers and backpackers and were abducted from their tents. The results were horrific. They had been knifed to death and beheaded, the body parts scattered and cannibalized. As it couldn't be the non-meat-eating, peaceful and much-monitored mammals, could the killers be a group of eco-terrorists who have breached the park?

Agent Frances Case from the state Bureau of Investigation and country Sheriff James Colcord must track down the perpetrators and save the Resort's reputation for safety. I listened to the story by audiobook and felt there were too many characters' names to develop them into distinct and relatable characters. It was confusing. Their crude language was often jarring.

Dynamite was stolen from the set of a movie being made in the town of Erebus. Explosions and fires resulted, destroying many of the buildings in Erebus Resort. Did the same suspected eco-terrorists carry out this crime? I wish there had been a more scientific explanation, as scientists are already discussing the resurrection of mammoths. I would welcome more discussion of the ethical considerations for such possible experiments. There was death and destruction all the way in this thrilling action-adventure.

Thanks to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for the early chance to listen to Extinction, a riveting action story. Its publication is due on April 23. I would recommend it to readers who are fans of the author's action/ adventure mysteries and those who would like to ponder the moral/ethical considerations in this story.

Full disclosure - I am a HUGE Douglas Preston fan and have read 30 of his books (the man writes and writes), so I went into this expecting it to be great. It was really good. It's a typical Preston narrative using enough science to make you think you are learning, without the bogged down details of a Tom Clancy who forces you to earn a PhD when reading his works.

Similar to Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park, Extinction is set on an isolated island for the wealthy, a team of scientists doing secretive research, and, of course, things going horribly horribly wrong. Preston is a solid writer, and if you are a fan, you read everything he writes. This book will not disappoint.

So, as a true Preston groupie, why not 5 stars? I listened to the audio arc from Netgalley and could not connect with the narration. It was ok, but not compelling and I was jarred from the experience with the ridiculous singing/chanting and the high vocalization of many of the characters, as well as the grating droning of some others. I just felt like the narrator was out of his depth.

And, in true Preston fashion, I 100% believe this will be book 1 in a new series with main characters, Colorado Bureau of Investigation Agent Frances Cash and Sheriff James Colcord. Will I read book 2? You betcha.

I love Preston and Child - both their collaborations and their individual stories. There is a unique feel to the "monster" stories that both of the men seem to favor, pairing man vs. man with man vs. nature so, well, naturally... Extinction felt a little like Jurassic Park and a little like Relic and a little like its own animal all at once - in the best possible way. It was a fun listen and an action-packed story, full of all the gory bits and snarky comments and comeuppances I've come to expect from the author.

My one criticism is of the narration. When he was performing the main characters, he did an excellent and spot-on job capturing emotion and differentiating characters. But when he needed an unusual or quirky character or someone on the fringes, he occasionally went so far over-the-top in melodramatic accenting that it was distracting because it felt like a caricature (eg, billionaire dad, hillbilly miner). But I can't imagine coming up with so many individual and unique voices in one sitting, so maybe it's impossible in a story this involved to not have some voices feel overdone!

A very fun story with science that is believable enough. A situation that could happen in the future. Basically a more refined Jurassic Park experiment but instead of vicious dinosaurs we bring back peaceful herbivores. What could go wrong? The story is also quite meta with mentions of Jurassic Park throughout and someone reading a Pendergast novel. Would make an excellent movie.


Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for sending me an audiobook arc title to review.

Well written... and that's about it for the positives. Silly. Meandering. Quizzical. These words are more descriptive for this book.
Humans are being genetically altered with traits from the superior species known as... neanderthals. By choice... so they can be super humanoids! Better yet, a tribe of re-created neanderthals have defected and are wreaking havoc on homo sapiens in colorful Colorado. Oh nooooo!!!!!! They are so much smarter and infinitely resourceful! They want to destroy us! How can they be stopped?!?!?!
Sigh.

Suspenseful and thrilling mystery adventure!

High up in the Colorado Rockies, deep in a beautiful valley, lies the immense Erebus Resort. It draws the most exclusive guests and gives them the unique opportunity to explore and view formerly extinct animals. When a honeymooning couple is kidnapped, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation sends Agent Frances (Frankie) Cash to liaise with county sheriff James Colcord and the Erebus security team to find out what happened to the wealthy newlyweds.

The usual characters are all there with it immediately obvious to see the malevolence and conceit of the bad guys and the righteous clarity of those pursing answers. There is lots of action and I found this impossible to tear away from. I was lucky enough to have both e-book and audio review copies and I found it all great fun in the vein of other wildly popular books written in a similar fashion. If you liked "Jurassic Park" or "The Great Zoo of China", you would also love this one. I wish, however, that just once, these resorts would be successful and provide us all with some sort of validation for continuing to pursue these scientific advances with DNA. It would be such a cool vacation.

This novel explores the science of de-extinction and the ethical and legal consequences of gene manipulation. As always, the author's extensive research and understanding of the topic lends credibility to the story. In addition, the social implications of messing with thousands of years of evolution. Preston is an excellent writer and I always enjoy his books.

Lastly, any movie producer should be vying for the rights to bring this to the big screen. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with advance copies to review and recommend.

Can you remember the first time you read “Jurassic Park”? It was published in 1990 and if you were an original reader 35 years ago, there was a sense of absolute astonishment as well as a sense of dread regarding “could this really happen in the future?” Consider also that 1990 was pre-Internet, pre-cellphones, pre-GPS, pre-social media, pre-satellite technology, pre-DNA testing, pre-gene-editing. Douglas Preston no doubt is expecting the Michael Crichton comparisons but he really has recaptured the WOW in this 21st century book of giant beavers, wooly mammoths, giant sloths, wooly Indricotheres (hornless rhinoceroses), Irish elk, and MORE… I really can’t say much more without spoilers, but by the middle of this book, you might start thinking of another sci-fi movie from 1968.

The initial premise is a double homicide at a billionaire’s exclusive game park, Erebus, in remote Colorado, where less ferocious species (Erebus PR: “we are NOT Jurassic Park”) have been “de-extincted” (oh, look at the cute baby vegetarian wooly mammoth nicknamed “Tom Thumb”). The victims were the son of another billionaire and his newlywed wife, an Olympic medalist, who disappeared while camping, but who left entirely too much blood behind for possible survival. Eco-terrorists? A backcountry cult? One of those gigantic things wandering around that might have decided the couple looked like veggies? Something that was mistakenly de-extincted? Or something so unbelievably and supernaturally evil (like the referenced “Monster of Florence” — a hat tip to the author)? Yikes. At least in Jurassic Park, you knew the cast of dinosaurs.

An agent of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, Frances Cash, and the local county sheriff, James Colcord, are called in and, of course, they are met with less than cooperative resort employees and troubling clues. They are both intelligent, competent and worthy of being heroes. Cash has a boss who’s a jerk, so expect an inconvenience appearance from him eventually.

The result is action-packed, thrilling, fascinating and ultimately terrifying. This turned out to be a book that I do NOT necessarily want a sequel to (but I emotionally needed Cash and Colcord to at least survive — no romance needed). The amount of scientific research that Preston did must be overwhelming and I’m sure he can easily converse about CRISPR technology. I loved every page that alternately horrified and enthralled me — I couldn’t get to the end fast enough! 5 stars!

I did receive “Extinction” as an audiobook and the narrator, David Aaron Baker (a frequent narrator of Dean Koontz books) was terrific. I did, however, find Joey’s high-pitched strange voice extremely annoying (and at odds of what his physical description was — this was more evil leprechaun than blond Viking). That might have been Baker’s intention, however — it succeeded in jarring me every time I heard it.

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): YES I think it was Cash (I listened to the audiobook and green eyes were mentioned only once near the beginning).
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO Or maybe. Bristlecone pine are very rare in Colorado (more a California, Nevada, Utah occurrence), but some of the action of the story took place at 11,000 feet of altitude, which is where these giant gnarled ancient trees can be found.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for a free advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

This was my first Douglas Preston novel, and I was pleasantly surprised. The premise is great for fans of Michael Connelly and James Patterson, while also inviting more fan of science fiction writers like Ray Nayler. The narrator does an excellent job ensuring there are distinct voices for each character, and building tension when needed. There was one duplicated line early in the audiobook which I forgot to take note of, but otherwise, no distracting errors. I will definitely be recommending this to patrons who love a twist (think: designer babies and de-extincting human ancestors).

This is my first Douglas Preston and it will not be my last. It also makes me wonder why I have left Relic on my TBR for so long...

This was an absolute ride. If I had analyzed it, could I have figured out the twists? Oh, probably. But I just went for a ride where it was taking me and it was hugely enjoyable. It was perfectly paced and kept me hooked from the very beginning. The science aspects were enough to appease that side of my interests, while not being overwhelming. It was described in a way that someone who wasn't science-minded could easily follow and not feel lost.

One thing that stood out as unnecessary was the random comments about the FMC's weight.... they felt very out of place and were very disruptive to my immersion.

The narration of this audiobook was excellent, and the different tones and voices used helped to easily keep all the characters identified. I did find the narration a tad on the slower side and I ended up listening at 2.5x speed (my usual speed is in the 1.75x range).

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced listening copy of this audiobook. All opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.