De-Extinction – Extinction by Douglas Preston #douglaspreston #forgebooks #netgalley

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MY REVIEW

Extinction is the rule. Survival is the exception – Carl Sagan

I remember watching Carl Sagan’s TV program, and I am not even a science nerd. His sultry voice made the information he shared entertaining, yet educational. So, let’s dive into some science…fiction.

What do you think? How much genetic engineering is going on? And how much is too much? Do you believe…just because we can do it we should? I sure don’t. And when I read Extinction by Douglas Preston, we can see a fictional version of why sometimes, playing God, is going to backfire.

Olivia and Mark were on the honeymoon of a lifetime, visiting Erebus Resort, where woolly mammoths and other megafauna from the Pleistocene Age have been de-extincted. BUT, they will get much more than they bargained for and it will be a bummer for them. Someone has to be sacrificed and I love an author that has no problem killing off a character or two.

Douglas Preston has created a multilayered mystery that was not easily solved. There were many moving parts and it was hard to decide who was the villain, or villains. Entering into caves, with thousands of tons of rocks overhead doesn’t appeal to me and added an extra layer of fear and creepiness, leaving shivers running up and down my spine. There is more in those caves than rocks.

Cannibalism:

  1. Survival cannibalism
  2. Ritual cannibalism
  3. Sacrificial cannabalism
  4. A tool of terror

Have I totally creeped you out yet? Are dinosaurs not scary enough?

The characters are many and run the gamut. Heroes, villains, cowards, sacrificial lambs, animal and human, weak and strong, those who take credit for the work of others, those who play God, movie stars, egotists, and the innocent.

Could this be a cautionary tale for us and our future? I mean think about it. Dinosaurs had their moment and are extinct for a reason. Evolution is a fact of nature. Is the clock ticking on humanity?

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

With Extinction, #1 New York Times bestselling author Douglas Preston has written an epic thriller in the Michael Crichton mode that explores the very real effort to resurrect the woolly mammoth and other extinct megafauna from the Pleistocene Age.

Erebus Resort, occupying a magnificent, hundred-thousand acre valley deep in the Colorado Rockies, offers guests the experience of viewing woolly mammoths, Irish Elk, and giant ground sloths in their native habitat, brought back from extinction through the magic of genetic manipulation. When a billionaire’s son and his new wife are kidnapped and murdered in the Erebus back country by what is assumed to be a gang of eco-terrorists, Colorado Bureau of Investigation Agent Frances Cash partners with county sheriff James Colcord to track down the perpetrators.

As killings mount and the valley is evacuated, Cash and Colcord must confront an ancient, intelligent, and malevolent presence at Erebus, bent not on resurrection—but extinction.

At the Publisher’s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

  • Genre: Action and Adventure, Fiction, Genetic Engineering, Mystery, Science Fiction, Suspense, Thriller
  • 384 pages, Kindle Edition
  • Expected publication April 24, 2024 by Forge Books

ABOUT DOUGLAS PRESTON (from amazon)

Douglas Preston is the author of thirty-six books, both fiction and nonfiction, twenty-nine of which have been New York Times bestsellers, with several reaching the number 1 position. He has worked as an editor at the American Museum of Natural History in New York and taught nonfiction writing at Princeton University. His first novel, RELIC, co-authored with Lincoln Child, was made into a movie by Paramount Pictures, which launched the famed Pendergast series of novels. His recent nonfiction book, THE MONSTER OF FLORENCE, is also in production as a film. His latest book, THE LOST CITY OF THE MONKEY GOD, tells the true story of the discovery of a prehistoric city in an unexplored valley deep in the Honduran jungle. In addition to books, Preston writes about archaeology and paleontology for the New Yorker, National Geographic, and Smithsonian. He is the recipient of numerous writing awards in the US and Europe, including an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from Pomona College. He currently serves as president of the Authors Guild, the nation’s oldest and largest association of authors and journalists.

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Release Giveaway and Interview

Release Blog Tour: Interview & Giveaway

Posted: 04 Jan 2013 05:00 AM PST

YA Fantasy
Release Date: December 10, 2012

After uniting the shifters and calling in reinforcements, Chase has to face his toughest challenge yet: learning to control his emotions. But as tensions rise and his powers grow, controlling his emotions becomes the least of his problems.

Terrorized by a multi-shifter who is hell-bent on turning him, Chase questions just how far he’s willing to go to stop his father. Meanwhile, Tiki’s virtuous nature has placed him in the middle of Vincent’s past, leaving Chase to oppose a senate of vampires and defend a demon he hates.

Trying to balance his friends, his enemies, and his inner demons, Chase is left searching for answers about the Mark, his destiny, and where he can find the next soul piece. Stopping Riley is his top priority, but as more obstacles arise, he finds himself doubting all the decisions he’s made – especially regarding Rayna.

One thing is for certain: Chase has finally realized that he doesn’t know anything. The light doesn’t always quell the darkness, the monsters don’t always stay in the shadows, and the past doesn’t always stay in the past – sometimes, the demons inside are the hardest to fight.


When did you begin writing?

I’ve always loved writing, but I started writing fiction about two years before I published Exiled. That was the story that really just took me by storm and put the writing bug in me.

Have you ever been discouraged in regard to your writing ability and if so, how did you get past it and move forward?

All the time. I’m so back and forth with it, sometimes I think I’m crazy. Maybe that doubt comes with the territory? You’re always seeking the next level of validation.

What’s your favorite thing about writing?

I love being able to disappear into another world, and know there are no limits. Anything that comes to my mind, I can amplify and create into something bigger, scarier, more beautiful. I love that all I need is my imagination to fabricate something I *hope* people will enjoy.

What is your writing style? Do you like to outline or just write as you go?

This varies from book to book. I don’t know if it will always be this way, but right now I think I’m still trying to find where I fit. Each story requires something different, and I try to be relaxed in that approach.

Do you have a favorite spot where you like to write?

I love writing with my laptop at the kitchen table, after everyone’s gone to bed. Sometimes I get all cramped up there since my table is high, and then I have this really comfortable chaise lounger that I love to sit on. It’s perfect.

What is something you’ve written that will never see the light of day?

Any and all of the poetry I’ve written.

What is your writer food?

Cereal! And Candy. Specifically, Milk Duds.

What inspires you to write?

Everything. But the original inspiration came from telling my daughter bedtime stories. That’s what pushed me to try writing a book, and it’s what has kept me going. Those bedtime stories showed me a passion for story telling I never knew I had.

Would you say you relate to any of your characters? If so, which one and why?

On some level, I relate to all of them. But mostly, Chase. His mindset and thought process works just as mine did when I was a teenager. It doesn’t matter who tells you anything, you always think you’re right and you always learn things the hard way. Sometimes the really hard way.

What’s the hardest thing about writing for you?

Getting out of my own way. I over think things and get inside my own head. Regularly, it destroys all my motivation and takes me time to step back out and get into story telling mode. I really am my own worst enemy.

What authors do you like to read?

Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child, J.K. Rowling, and I’ve recently discovered a love for Stephen King.

This or that. Sweet or Salty?

Sweet!

If you were deserted on an island, which author would you want to be stranded with?

Either J.K. Rowling, or Stephen King. I’d have endless books…err sand-written stories?

About the Author
 M.R. Merrick is a Canadian writer and author of The Protector Series, a Young Adult mash-up between Urban and Epic Fantasy. Having never traveled, he adventures to far off lands through his imagination and in between cups of coffee. As a music lover and proud breakfast enthusiast, he’s usually found at the computer between a pair of headphones and in front of a large bowl of cereal.
                            Exiled (Protector #1)           Shift (Protector #2)
Grande Prize Pack (3 Winners)
 3x Signed paperbacks (Exiled, Shift, Release)
3x Signed 8×10 posters (Exiled, Shift, Release)
5x Bookmarks
1x Notebook (Winner’s choice of cover)
1x Magnet
 
Runner-up Prize Pack (5 Winners)
1x Signed paperback (Winner’s choice of Exiled, Shift, or Release) with signed poster
1x bookmark (Winner’s choice)
1x Magnet
   
 
Secondary Prizes A (10 Winners)
Release eBooks
  Secondary Prize B (10 Winners)
1x bookmark (winner’s choice)
1x The Protector magnet
 Winners will be chosen as followsFirst 3 names drawn from Rafflecopter will get the grand prize. The following 5 names get the runner-up prize. The following 10 names win ebook copies of Release, and the final 10 names win the swag pack.
There will also be multiple opportunities to win signed paperbacks, signed posters, notebooks, swag packs, and bookmarks throughout the tour on both Twitter (@MRMerrick) and Facebook Fan Page .

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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