Book Review: Extinction

by Bonnie Tollefson

Review – Extinction, Douglas Preston, Tor Publishing Group, 2024.

How to review a book of horror, suspense, technology, and crime detection without giving away any spoilers? It won’t be easy but I will do my best. Extinction is a fiction book about a company that specializes in DNA work to bring back animals from extinction. This de-extinction has resulted in 6 types of animals wandering a valley in the Colorado mountains. There is a lodge, a ghost town, that is currently a film location, and an extensive laboratory. Developed by and for the very rich, Eberus Resort features woolly mammoths at watering holes at sunset and offers back country hiking tours. They especially cater to the honeymoon crowd. The son of a billionaire has recently married a bronze medal Olympic skier and they are hiking with a guide. During the night, a scream rings out. The guide runs to their tent to find the fly ripped and two large puddles of blood. Enter the local sheriff and an agent from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.

All of the characters in the book seem to conform to their stereotype. There is the narcissistic actor, the insufferable billionaire father, the reclusive CEO, the jaded CBI agent, etc. At first I found these stereotypes to be annoying but as the action developed, I found that it helped to be able to predict their actions and reactions in difficult situations.

Now that the stage is set, we can move on to the discovery of the secret portion of the laboratory, the non-animal experiments, the stolen dynamite, the press conference gone wrong and everyone running for their lives. Nope, no spoilers here. I hope you enjoy Extinction by Douglas Preston.

This book is available from the RVM library in regular print and from the JCLS in a variety of formats.