Extinction

May 1, 2023

In Preston's Extinction, a billionaire's son and his new wife are found murdered within the precincts of the Erebus Resort, a 100,000-acre expanse in the Colorado Rockies where resurrected woolly mammoths, Irish elk, and giant ground sloths roam, and Colorado Bureau of Investigation Agent Frances Cash joins with county sheriff James Colcord to discover the culprits. Prepub Alert.

Copyright 2023 Library Journal

Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2023

Best-selling juggernaut Preston gets a 250K-copy first printing for his latest solo endeavor, a new take on Jurassic Park, this time with woolly mammoths and others from the Pleistocene. When murders mount on the hundred-thousand-acre resort, two agents go on the hunt through the vast landscape--and it's not clear what they are searching for. Prepub Alert.

Copyright 2023 Library Journal

Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2024
As one-half of a writing team with Lincoln Child, Preston is known for the splendid Special Agent Pendergast novels. On his own, he's written some excellent thrillers, including The Codex (2003) and Blasphemy (2008). His new one has echoes of Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park. In a resort park, extinct animals are brought back to life using cutting-edge science, but in no way is this a retread. In fact, for quite a while, it's a murder mystery. A billionaire's son and wife are murdered inside the resort by ecoterrorists, or so it seems. But, as Colorado Bureau of Investigation agent Frances Cash and sheriff James Colcord will discover, there may be other, frighteningly nonhuman forces at work. Preston's novels are a lot of fun because he really commits to the stories. He might be writing about ordinary people in a fantastic situation, but he isn't writing a fantasy. The villain of the story, as out-of-this-world as it might be, is presented as realistically as any human villain, which gives the story an unsettlingly plausible atmosphere. Highly recommendable.

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Starred review from February 19, 2024
Bestseller Preston (coauthor of the Agent Pendergast series) spins a creepy and creative variation on Jurassic Park. In the near future, advances in gene editing have led to breakthroughs in de-extinction, bringing prehistoric mammals back to life by rebuilding their genomes and muting genes for aggression. The scientists behind the project have focused on reviving herbivorous megafauna, including mammoths and Irish elk, with the animals allowed to roam inside the spacious confines of Colorado’s Erebus Resort, a luxury attraction near the Rocky Mountains. When honeymooners Mark and Olivia Gunnerson fall victim to a savage attack at Erebus—their tent is slashed open, pools of blood are left at the scene, and authorities find no signs of their remains—the incident brings Frankie Cash from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to the resort. She initially believes the attack to be the work of eco-terrorists who object to Erebus’s mission, but as she investigates, more bodies pile up, and the evidence points toward a threat more terrifying than she could have imagined. Preston tweaks the “resurrected species go haywire” trope with a series of ingenious plot twists, and his well-rounded characters make this more than a knowing genre exercise. The results are as smart and spine-chilling as the best of Michael Crichton. (Apr.), Correction: An earlier version of this review used the wrong pronouns for one of the characters.

March 15, 2024
Bloody murder spoils folks' fun while megafauna return from extinction. What a glorious way to spend a honeymoon: Mark and Olivia Gunnerson go backpacking through the vast Erebus Resort in the mountains of Colorado, where scientists have "de-extincted" species like the woolly mammoth and other Pleistocene megafauna. Just watch the peaceful beasts at their watering holes. Behold the giant armadillos, and the indricothere that make mammoths look like dwarfs. The scientists have removed genes for aggression in these re-creations, so humans will be safe unless they're accidentally stepped on. And yet, someone doesn't want the newlyweds camping there, made evident by their disappearance without a trace, save only a copious amount of blood outside their tent. Colorado Bureau of Investigation Agent in Charge Frankie Cash takes the case. What happened to Mark and Olivia, and why? The park has no predators, so humans must be responsible. But where are the bodies? A doctor suggests that due to the amount of blood found, the victims may have--gasp!--been decapitated. The matter gathers national attention, and things only get worse as more people die. The late groom's aggrieved billionaire father demands immediate answers, and of course he interferes with the investigation: "You'll see me now, you son of a bitch, and tell me what the fuck you're doing to find my son!" And speaking of F-bombs, surely it is possible to write a thriller with fewer--maybe use one or two to establish a character and then move on to more creative language? Anyway, the investigators are doing a lot. The action seldom lets up, and readers will feel the mounting tension and excitement. The setting itself is a scientific wonder, and it must tie into the murders somehow. Meanwhile, Hollywood is filming an action movie in the park, and the pi�ce de r�sistance will be the spectacular explosion of a train. But wouldn't you know, Preston has other plans. Imagine Jurassic Park with the timeline brought forward to the Pleistocene, and you have the Erebus Resort. Science, imagination, storytelling, and action are all here. Fast-moving fun and a highly creative plot.

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