4 star science thriller (top 25% of the genre). A rollicking good tale, first of Rollins' Sigma Force series. For my full review, see ScienceThrillers...more4 star science thriller (top 25% of the genre). A rollicking good tale, first of Rollins' Sigma Force series. For my full review, see ScienceThrillers.com(less)
ScienceThrillers Review: The Romanov Cross by Robert Masello came to my attention because one of its two interwoven plots involves the 1918 influenza,...moreScienceThrillers Review: The Romanov Cross by Robert Masello came to my attention because one of its two interwoven plots involves the 1918 influenza, the last "great" pandemic that killed uncounted millions of people. The flu virus burned hot through the human population worldwide, and disappeared as suddenly as it appeared.
It is fact that real-life scientists from the U.S. Armed Forces Institute of Pathology sought the lost 1918 flu virus in order to sequence its genome. To find specimens still preserved--and possibly infectious--after all these years, they turned to nature's deep freezer: the bodies of flu victims buried in Arctic permafrost. (The quest was successful; I highly recommend Gina Kolata's excellent nonfiction account in her book Flu.)
This reality is used as the basis for part of Masello's novel. In The Romanov Cross, recent warming of the permafrost disrupts a Russian cemetery on a remote Alaskan island. A casket drops into the sea, liberating the corpse of a victim of the Spanish flu. Army epidemiologist Frank Slater is dispatched to the island on a poorly-defined mission to determine if the disintegrating cemetery poses any threat of releasing the 1918 flu virus into the modern world.
Needless to say, because this is a thriller things go very, very wrong with the expedition. What makes this book interesting and original is the source of the complications, which are linked to the other major plot line of the novel, set in the Russian Revolution. The Romanov Cross is really a combination of a historical horror/thriller story and a present-day medical/science thriller. The two story lines are told in loosely alternating chapters that merge in the end.
The historical horror story is about the lost Romanov princess Anastasia, one of the children of Russia's last tsar. The tsar and his family were murdered in 1918 but for decades, in the absence of identifiable remains, rumors persisted that the young duchess had escaped. Masello creates a story of Anastasia's fate, linking it to the "mad monk" Rasputin, to an artifact carrying cursed magic, and to the flu.
The genre combination in The Romanov Cross is highly unusual and I felt made for an enjoyable read. Masello makes the alternating storylines work. Also, I normally abhor supernatural elements in my science thrillers, but the supernatural/horror aspects of this story mesh nicely.
There are some weak links in the scientific and medical content but nothing glaring enough to bother most readers. (I actually thought one element was totally wrong but looked into it and found the author was right. Mice are not normally affected by human influenzas, but the 1918 Spanish flu virus is an exception. It kills mice.) The expedition to the island is questionable in its goals and methods (including bringing mice, whether flu affects them or not) but I was willing to go with it because it's key to the story. A few times I was pulled out of the story for sci/med reasons on more minor points, including an emergency surgery scenario that was a stretch, and when a character with possible flu exposure is not put into isolation/quarantine at the logical time.
Characters: Frank Slater is a stereotypical thriller hero. He's smart, compassionate, and willing to defy authority, so much so that he gets court martialed for trying to save the life of an Afghan girl. Of course he has a failed marriage in his past because he is so dedicated to his work. For an epidemiologist, he is given an impossible spectrum of medical skills, including surgeon and manager of an infectious disease ICU. The love interest Nika Tincook is a more interesting character. She's a trained anthropologist, native Inuit, and mayor of a tiny Alaskan town. The "villains," Harvey Vane and his brother Charlie, are two-bit criminals and general screw-ups whose petty greed and stupidity get them in trouble way over their heads. My main problem with them and their sidekicks was they were irritatingly, beyond believable stupid. As in, here's a laboratory, let's bust open some vials and mess around with mice in the biohazard area-stupid. Characters in the Russian plot are reasonably well-drawn; Rasputin is particularly intriguing.
Readers intrigued by the subplot set in revolutionary Russia should treat the rating as higher. Overall, The Romanov Cross is good read but could be a lot tighter. I skimmed quite a bit and felt the book should have been at least 1/4 shorter.
{An advance reader copy was given to me for review; I made no promises or assurances of a review or positive comments.}(less)
4 star science thriller (top 25% of the genre). Who knew the DUNE master wrote a science thriller, a very forward-thinking (for the time) bioterrorism...more4 star science thriller (top 25% of the genre). Who knew the DUNE master wrote a science thriller, a very forward-thinking (for the time) bioterrorism tale about a pathogen that only kills women. For my full review, see ScienceThrillers.com(less)
3 star science thriller (top 50% of the genre). A clever combination of plausible science, religion, mythology, and Middle East history by a debut aut...more3 star science thriller (top 50% of the genre). A clever combination of plausible science, religion, mythology, and Middle East history by a debut author to watch. For my full review, see ScienceThrillers.com(less)
3 star science thriller (top 50% of the genre). Not so much a thriller as a terrifying exploration of what might happen to an average suburban family...more3 star science thriller (top 50% of the genre). Not so much a thriller as a terrifying exploration of what might happen to an average suburban family in Ohio if the world was struck low by a flu pandemic. For my full review, see ScienceThrillers.com(less)
ScienceThrillers.com review: 3 stars (very good; top 50% of SciThri) Year published: 2012 Category: science thriller; historical thriller; mystery Tech ra...moreScienceThrillers.com review: 3 stars (very good; top 50% of SciThri) Year published: 2012 Category: science thriller; historical thriller; mystery Tech rating (out of 5): {special: 19th century technology} SUMMARY (from publisher): Boston, 1868. The Civil War may be over but a new war has begun, one between the past and the present, tradition and technology. On a former marshy wasteland, the daring Massachusetts Institute of Technology is rising, its mission to harness science for the benefit of all and to open the doors of opportunity to everyone of merit. But in Boston Harbor a fiery cataclysm throws commerce into chaos, as ships’ instruments spin inexplicably out of control. Soon after, another mysterious catastrophe devastates the heart of the city. Is it sabotage by scientific means or Nature revolting against man’s attempt to control it?
The shocking disasters cast a pall over M.I.T. and provoke assaults from all sides—rival Harvard, labor unions, and a sensationalistic press. With their first graduation and the very survival of their groundbreaking college now in doubt, a band of the Institute’s best and brightest students secretly come together to save innocent lives and track down the truth, armed with ingenuity and their unique scientific training.
Led by “charity scholar” Marcus Mansfield, a quiet Civil War veteran and one-time machinist struggling to find his footing in rarefied Boston society, the group is rounded out by irrepressible Robert Richards, the bluest of Beacon Hill bluebloods; Edwin Hoyt, class genius; and brilliant freshman Ellen Swallow, the Institute’s lone, ostracized female student. Working against their small secret society, from within and without, are the arrayed forces of a stratified culture determined to resist change at all costs and a dark mastermind bent on the utter destruction of the city. REVIEW: The Technologists is another historical thriller by bestselling author Matthew Pearl (The Dante Club, The Last Dickens, The Poe Shadow) and his first story to deal with science and technology.
I loved the concept for this novel. Essentially, Pearl takes the idea of techno-terrorism and transports it to 19th century Boston, mixing it up with a society already fearful of technological change and anxious about the young college devoted to new, scary sciences. (I see many parallels to present-day scientific ignorance and fear of replacing humans with machines.) The author cleverly comes up with several plausible-enough terrorist attacks that fit with 19th century tech, and gives us a brilliant cast of young heroes--the first graduating class from MIT. As a bonus, he makes the neighboring Harvard guys real jerks.
I confess that some of my affection for this tale is rooted in the fact that graduated from Harvard College (where women now roam freely...) and I also took classes at MIT. I have a real fondness for and fascination with "the 'Tute" as some call it. This, plus the singular concept of setting a science thriller in the 19th century, had me hooked before I turned the first page.
And I did read through to the satisfying conclusion. However, I skimmed a lot of the middle-to-end of the novel. My sense of The Technologists is author Pearl was working on a deadline and didn't have enough time to digest and properly edit what he'd written. The novel is too long. Some scenes could be eliminated, many should be significantly shorter. While trying to emulate the speaking style of the time, the dialogue frequently becomes ponderous. Repeated and unnecessary use of characters' names in dialogue also grated on me after a while (e.g., "Bob, we must go.").
The other major weakness of this novel is a series of twists at the end which didn't feel believable to me. I simply didn't buy the villain's motivation. But the action sequences that wrap up the finale were great.
Given the inherent appeal of the plot, setting, and characters of The Technologists, and the liberal use of real history, I still recommend this novel for science thriller fans. Read it and don't feel guilty about skipping parts if you wish.
Key words: MIT; Harvard; Cambridge; Boston; Civil War; machine man; Edwin Hoyt; Albert Hall; Ellen Swallow; William Barton Rogers; Whitney Conant; Louis Agassiz FCC disclaimer: A free e-copy of this book was given to me by the publisher for review. As always, I made no guarantee that I would read the book or post a positive review. If you like this book, try: Deadly by Julie Chibbaro(less)
4 star science thriller (top 25% of the genre). Part of James Rollins' always-fun Sigma Force series featuring military special ops scientists. For my...more4 star science thriller (top 25% of the genre). Part of James Rollins' always-fun Sigma Force series featuring military special ops scientists. For my full review, see ScienceThrillers.com(less)
New release in the tremendously popular Sigma Force series by James Rollins! I had the privilege of reading an advance copy :)
Year published: 2012 Cate...moreNew release in the tremendously popular Sigma Force series by James Rollins! I had the privilege of reading an advance copy :)
Year published: 2012 Category: science thriller; series (Sigma Force #8) Tech rating 3 out of 5
ScienceThrillers Review: James Rollins does it again with an action-packed, can't-stop-reading thriller loaded with plenty of science-y plot elements. The Sigma Force series is now eight volumes deep; Bloodline continues the team's adventures and follows their personal lives. This installment has a special focus on development of the character Seichan. {If you're a thriller fan and you haven't read any Sigma Force novels, you simply must. I recommend you start at the beginning, with Sandstorm, though Rollins makes it easy for new readers to pick up and enjoy any volume in the series. Check out the whole list of Rollins' books here.}
What's new in Bloodline? The science themes are related to advanced reproductive technologies, a molecular biology secret kept by a hidden society across millenia, and the key to immortality.
What fans will really be talking about, however, is two new characters who temporarily join Sigma Force in this novel: Captain Tucker Wayne and his war dog Kane, who are absolutely sensational. Rollins' veterinarian bona fides shine through with scenes set in the dog's point of view. (Get a glimpse of this duo in the short story ebook exclusive TRACKER now available for download.)
I've said it before and I'll say it again: Rollins' novels are just plain fun to read. Highly recommend. As a bonus, they're suitable for a wide audience (PG-13 at most), are always imaginative, and have excellent portrayals of female characters--some of the best written by a male author.
Biohazard rating: 3 out of 5. Science is an essential part of the plot, but as is typical of Sigma Force novels, the tech wanders (happily) from science into speculative fiction.
Note: Author James Rollins begins a nationwide book signing tour on June 26. Check here to find out when he will be in your neighborhood.
FCC disclaimer: I received a free digital ARC of this book and did not make any promises in exchange.
4 star science thriller (top 25% of the genre). One of the best beginning chapters in all of thriller-dom. For my full review, see ScienceThrillers.co...more4 star science thriller (top 25% of the genre). One of the best beginning chapters in all of thriller-dom. For my full review, see ScienceThrillers.com(less)
3 star science thriller (top 50% of the genre). Can you say, cheesy killer prehistoric shark story? Yes you can, AND you can really enjoy reading it o...more3 star science thriller (top 50% of the genre). Can you say, cheesy killer prehistoric shark story? Yes you can, AND you can really enjoy reading it on the beach. (Well, not too close to the water...) For my full review, see ScienceThrillers.com(less)
Someone has kidnapped Tyler Locke’s father, but the ransom isn’t money (which Tyler, a self-made tech wizard, has plenty of). Instead of writi...moreSUMMARY:
Someone has kidnapped Tyler Locke’s father, but the ransom isn’t money (which Tyler, a self-made tech wizard, has plenty of). Instead of writing a check, Tyler is forced to help the kidnapper solve a two-thousand-year-old puzzle left behind by the ancient Greek engineering genius Archimedes. With the help of Stacy Benedict, an expert on archeology and ancient Greece whose sister has also been taken, Tyler has five days to find the most valuable treasure of all time: the “gold touch” of King Midas.
REVIEW (ScienceThrillers.com):
The Vault is a smart, contemporary thriller recently released by author Boyd Morrison, himself an engineer, Jeopardy! champion, and all-around smart guy. Morrison’s fascination with puzzles and clever mechanical devices shines through this story. The Vault has a great premise (linking Archimedes, King Midas, and a ruthless present-day treasure hunter), multiple villains, plenty of action, and un-put-downable pacing. Like many popular thrillers today, The Vault uses a popular myth as the basis for a treasure hunt using ancient artifacts and texts. The story flies through a variety of exotic European settings (all easily accessed using Locke’s private jet), where our heroes must defuse bombs, commit a heist, escape the mafia, translate dead languages, and more while racing a deadline and dodging a lot of bullets.
This isn’t a hard-core SciThri novel because the scientific content takes a back seat to the historical/archeologic detail, bur Morrison is enough of a geek to incorporate a fair amount of cool and largely accurate tech. I was particularly pleased with the way he handled the issue of the Midas Touch itself, stretching reality a little but keeping it believable. SciThri fans should enjoy Morrison’s respectful attitude toward science and technology even if the plot isn’t science-driven.
Some original stuff to look for in this novel: great use of sign language, a thrilling scene set in a robotic parking garage, a high speed car chase that’s one of the best, radioactive strontium, and clever engineering-based puzzles like I’ve never read before. (less)
In The Cloud, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and novelist Matt Richtel does it again, giving readers a beautifully writ...moreScienceThrillers.com Review:
In The Cloud, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and novelist Matt Richtel does it again, giving readers a beautifully written novel of suspense that defies categorization. Brooding, San Francisco-based journalist Nat Idle from Richtel’s 2011 novel Devil’s Plaything, is back with another complex tale of conspiracy, technology, and altered perceptions. In a fascinating back-and-forth between Richtel’s real-life technology reporting for the New York Times and his fiction, The Cloud uses a fictional investigative reporter to ask hard questions about the power and danger of omnipresent electronic devices, constant digital multitasking, intrusive digital surveillance, and the impact these technologies have on human brains.
As with Devil’s Plaything, The Cloud is no potato-chippy beach read. This is an ambitious novel that reflects a deep intelligence (Richtel freely uses words like sartorially and hubris). Readers expecting a standard genre thriller will be disappointed. But for readers who lean toward smart fiction and also want suspense, twisty plot, and some action, The Cloud is an excellent choice. Likewise, if you detest formulaic, made-for-movies plots, this book is for you because it refuses to follow predictable paths.
In his previous novel Devil’s Plaything, Richtel used a clever device to create an uncertain reality for the protagonist: Nat Idle’s sidekick was his grandmother who had dementia; her memories and perceptions could not be trusted. In The Cloud, Richtel takes this “unreliable narrator” idea one step further. From the first pages of this first-person narrative, when Nat Idle suffers a concussion, the reader knows that our hero’s brain is not functioning the way it should. For the next several hundred pages, Richtel rises to the challenge of showing that Idle’s thinking and memory are unreliable and that Idle is aware of this problem but incapable of doing anything about it. All the while the reader is kept guessing as to just how badly messed up is the protagonist’s point of view. As far as the reader can tell, locked in Idle’s world-view with him, Idle might be a little bit off his game, or he might be well on his way to a clinical diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia.
In other words, is there a conspiracy, or is he making one up in his head?
A major strength of this novel is the sense of place. San Francisco, or more precisely, the South Bay technology corridor which includes Silicon Valley and Palo Alto, is a constant, colorful presence. The physical climate and the social environment are key parts of this tale. As I read The Cloud I started a list of wonderful tidbits that show local character. I quit about a third into the book because the list grew so long. Here are some examples from the early pages:
It’s a first-generation iPhone, which in these parts makes me a Luddite, joke fodder, recipient of sad looks on public transportation.
Maybe this company, like many on the Peninsula, provides bus service from San Francisco, ostensibly an environmental play to reduce traffic and car emissions, but also so employees can get the first wave of emails knocked out during the commute.
Thanks to our hills, valleys, stretches of trees and lush park that suddenly give way to swaths of concrete jungle, I live in microclimate central. This city’s motto should be: Don’t like the weather? Take two steps to the left.
The Cloud earns 4 biohazard symbols for a unique combination of tech and medical themes. Globally, this novel is about technology but it’s not a technical novel. Richtel isn’t interested in engineering; he’s interested in sociology and psychiatry. The Cloud (like Devil’s Plaything before it) explores the negative influences of technology on individuals and on society. Some of these influences can be measured biologically, hence Richtel’s fascination with brain research, which comes out in the novel.
Overlaid atop the tech are peripheral medical themes. Nat Idle is a med school dropout with an odd habit: he makes quick medical diagnoses of people he sees. Blepharospasm, camptocormia, scleroderma, acromegaly: all these awkwardly-named medical conditions get a nod of recognition from Nat.
Throughout, The Cloud works by generating a sense of uncertainty in the reader. Readers who like things clearly explained and who enjoy connecting the dots in a mystery might be put off. The Cloud has a reality-bending feel and some revelations that will have you turning back the pages to see how you missed it. Because of the possibility of multiple interpretations of many previous events, this is a hard book to wrap up in the end. Richtel opts to use the Tolkien-esque technique of serial endings, spiced with yet more twists. I was left with a bit of a head-spin as I tried to trace back the plot lines and understand them in the context of the final revelations. My advice: don’t bother. Richtel intentionally leaves some issues unresolved, and others are, I’m sure, logically intact from start to finish, but that’s not the point.
Let The Cloud envelop you in its mists. You’ll want to keep reading ’til the end, and you’ll carry some of that fog with you as you think about this book in the days after you finish reading.
I have to go now. I need to unplug everything in my children’s rooms except the light bulbs.
FCC disclaimer: An advance reader copy of this book was given to me for review. As always, I made no guarantee that I would read the book or post a positive review.(less)
3 star science thriller (top 50% of the genre). Mega tsunami bears down on Honolulu while geologist tries to save the day. Good clean fun. For my full...more3 star science thriller (top 50% of the genre). Mega tsunami bears down on Honolulu while geologist tries to save the day. Good clean fun. For my full review, see ScienceThrillers.com(less)
4 star science thriller (top 25% of the genre). A science-themed thriller that wins points for being a really good book, even if the science is window...more4 star science thriller (top 25% of the genre). A science-themed thriller that wins points for being a really good book, even if the science is window-dressing. For my full review, see ScienceThrillers.com(less)
1 star science thriller (for hard-core genre fans only). I can only suspend my disbelief for so long, plus, the author's attacks on Japan and Japanese...more1 star science thriller (for hard-core genre fans only). I can only suspend my disbelief for so long, plus, the author's attacks on Japan and Japanese culture felt over the top, even though the bad guys are evil genocidal Japanese gene splicers. For my full review, see ScienceThrillers.com(less)
ScienceThrillers.com review:Altar of Eden is a stand-alone novel, not part of Rollins’ popular Sigma Force series. It bears his signature strengths:...moreScienceThrillers.com review:Altar of Eden is a stand-alone novel, not part of Rollins’ popular Sigma Force series. It bears his signature strengths: a strong, believable female character, and best-in-the-business action sequences. Altar of Eden adds two things to the Rollins repertoire: a veterinarian protagonist and vivid scenes + characters in the Louisiana bayou.
But overall, in my opinion Altar of Eden is not James Rollins’ finest work. His weaker books are still better than most writers’ best, so if you’re a fan, read and enjoy Altar of Eden. But if you have not yet discovered the thrill of reading a really good James Rollins novel, start with a different title.
The main shortcoming of this book is a somewhat disjointed plot. The novel is divided into three distinct sections, which is fine, except I felt they didn’t flow together into a unified whole. Act One, “First Blood,” has a terrific opening sequence with plenty of action and mystery but gets bogged down in a too-lengthy scene set in a swamp. Again plenty of action, but I missed an overall sense of real threat; the hunt through the swamp is a distraction from the main story line and the evil behind it.
When the real bad guys are revealed, their actions are clearly evil but the more the reader learns, the more those actions seem ridiculous. I never did quite understand how their unethical, bizarre machinations could have any military applications, nor was it clear to me how much manipulation the people had done and how much was due to the mysterious virus.
Parent alert: Altar of Eden contains more profanity than most Rollins novels (all the language is character-appropriate and used well). Be aware that abortion is a plot element. It is not prominent, politicized, or inflammatory, but if you don’t want to even go there, I’m giving you a “heads up.”
Biohazard rating: 3 out of 5. Science is part of the plot, but as is typical of Rollins novels, the tech wanders from science into speculative fiction. I’d say the science in this one is even more loosey-goosey than usual; I’m having a hard time coming up with a list of key words. The story does touch on junk DNA, bioweapons, latent viruses, biomagnets, animal behavior, extinction, EEGs, coma (though not always with depth or clarity). In this novel, Rollins finally explores some veterinary medicine–for this veterinarian/author, home turf that he has largely avoided in his other books.(less)
2 star science thriller (good book but below average for the genre). Bioterrorism, New York, and anthrax. Honestly, I probably would've given this boo...more2 star science thriller (good book but below average for the genre). Bioterrorism, New York, and anthrax. Honestly, I probably would've given this book a better star rating if somebody other than Robin Cook had written it. Cook (of COMA fame) is capable of so much better. For my full review, see ScienceThrillers.com(less)
4 star science thriller (top 25% of the genre) about the rescue of a talking ape from an animal research lab. For my full review, see ScienceThrillers...more4 star science thriller (top 25% of the genre) about the rescue of a talking ape from an animal research lab. For my full review, see ScienceThrillers.com(less)
3 star science thriller (top 50% of the genre). Genetically-altered apes show up their creators. No, this is not Rise of the Planet of the Apes. For m...more3 star science thriller (top 50% of the genre). Genetically-altered apes show up their creators. No, this is not Rise of the Planet of the Apes. For my full review, see ScienceThrillers.com(less)
ScienceThrillers.com review: Author Mark Alpert has hit his stride. Extinction, his third novel, is a great science thriller. It combines the lighten...moreScienceThrillers.com review: Author Mark Alpert has hit his stride. Extinction, his third novel, is a great science thriller. It combines the lightening-fast pacing of a “beach read” with cutting-edge science and technology (primarily robotics and neuroscience) and thought-provoking themes. Extinction intrigues, frightens, thrills, horrifies, and ultimately delivers a satisfying conclusion.
Our hero is Jim Pierce, an ex-military smart guy who now builds robotic prostheses for injured veterans. His prosthetic arms–including the ones he built for himself–aren’t mannequin molds. They’re like a superlative version of Batman’s tool belt: all-in-one devices that can really get a guy out of a bad situation. What makes his creations exceptional is their direct neural connection to the wearer’s brain.
And this is the heart of Alpert’s story: technology interfacing with the brain. The arm that Jim Pierce wears, the bionic glasses of his NSA friend Kirsten, cyborg drone insects used for military surveillance and assassination, and Extinction’s big villain “Supreme Harmony” all involve neuro-computer technology that is alarming, exhilarating, and based on either existing technology or near-future extrapolations.
If you think our society’s rules and ethics are not evolving quickly enough to keep up with technology such as location tracking using cell phones, wait until it’s possible to extract people’s visual memories straight from their brains.
In Extinction, secret police organizations in both the U.S. and China fail the ethics test, but the Chinese fail it far more spectacularly. Let’s just say that Alpert probably won’t be getting any more visas to enter the People’s Republic. The monster the Chinese create makes Frankenstein look like a teddy bear–and like Frankenstein, it turns on its creator. When I first read the passages describing Supreme Harmony, I wrote in my notes “seriously creepy.” Think Star Trek‘s the Borg and you’ll be in the ballpark.
Extinction is an ambitious book because not only does it incorporate imagination-stretching technology, it also uses globetrotting settings and international politics with a threat of nuclear annihilation. Thrillers painted on such a large canvas are popular but challenging to get right. Usually the reader is forced to severely suspend disbelief multiple times, ignoring practical questions for the sake of indulging the plot. Alpert does a darn good job of escaping this trap. Extinction’s internal logic is solid; you can imagine things happening the way they do. Only a couple of times did I fall out of the story because of believability problems (most significantly, in a scene involving a PostIt Note and another involving escape from a rather large flood). Both moments were forgivable in the overall scope of the tale.
Also be patient if you feel there’s too much info dump in the opening chapters of the novel. The information is fascinating, and this latent science reporting does not continue throughout the story. Plot will soon take over!
Watch for all of these terrific elements (learn what they are as you read!): InfoLeaks, a WikiLeaks lookalike; a chase set in the Panama Canal; a Texas ornithopter; hutongs; the Guoanbu; the 7th fleet; retinal implants; the pulvinar nucleus; Kachin Independence Army; and the Singularity. {Alpert provides concise notes at the end of the book on the science behind Extinction.}
Alpert’s success with this novel is all the sweeter because I was terribly disappointed by his 2008 debut Final Theory. I wanted to love Final Theory; it’s a science thriller about physics (Einstein’s “lost” unifying theory) and nobody writes physics thrillers. Alpert has a degree in physics from Princeton (therefore possessing the knowledge) and writes about science for the general public as an editor at Scientific American (the writing skill), but in my opinion, that first book was rife with problems, none of them related to the science content.
Now, with his third novel, Alpert shows us he was merely on the early part of the learning curve. Thanks for the persistence, Mark. (less)
5 star science thriller (top 10% of the genre). Deep-ocean mystery surrounding a buried spaceship. Creepy, tense, and original. Dances on edge of sci-...more5 star science thriller (top 10% of the genre). Deep-ocean mystery surrounding a buried spaceship. Creepy, tense, and original. Dances on edge of sci-fi not science thriller, but close enough. For my full review, see ScienceThrillers.com(less)
{special: 19th century technology}
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