Book Review: Extinction by Douglas Preston
Extinction is a thrill ride that’s as convincing as it is entertaining. Even better, it’s intellectually stimulating without making me feel over my head. By book’s end, I was just as interested in the author’s afterword about cloning and the de-extinction process as I was in the story. His thorough research made reading it like a trip to an exotic locale, without actually having to run for my life.
I’d recently heard about current real-life efforts to de-extinct a wooly mammoth. I wondered, out of all the extinct animals of the past, why do they think we need to bring back gargantuan creatures with no natural predators whose major contribution to the planet (aside from the Wow! factor) will be enormous piles of dung. They must expect to make piles of cash if they go the route of Jurassic Park. I hope they know how Jurassic Park ends!
I chose this book to see how Douglas Preston deals with the de-extinction premise and learned that I was extremely naive in my estimation of how much and how quickly things can go horribly, horribly wrong. There were several points where I thought I knew what would happen, but I kept being surprised until the end. Science and business don’t often look to novels for advice, but I really wish they would. Extinction’s theme should catch on in the ethical Zeitgeist as a morality tale!
Preston’s central characters, Agent Cash and Sheriff Colcord, make a great team. I love how Preston skillfully raises the stirrings of romance yet keeps it light, allowing the amazing premise to keep center stage. The Hollywood contingent gave some fun contrast to the other characters. The administration and other staff at the resort weren’t deeply developed, but they added further color to the cast, especially through the finale.
Thank you so much to Douglas Preston, Tor Publishing/Forge Books, and NetGalley for the free advance reader’s copy of Extinction. I’m not compelled by them to write a positive review, but am so glad that I can! It’s a great read!
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