52 in 25: #16 - Extinction

Next up was a novel I heard about not too long ago, and I had to read it because it was compared to Jurassic Park.  This was Extinction by Douglas Preston, published just last year in 2024.  I was actually going to wait for this as summer reading, but the last stinker pushed it further up my list. 

I read it fairly quickly because it is a page-turner.  I have to give him credit; he definitely kept me interested.  It was hard to put down at points.  In that way, he is Crichton-esque.

The book ended up being something a bit different from another Jurassic Park (which he references a few times).  It sucks you in with a cover similar to Jurassic, a park with ancient “de-extinct” beasts similar to Jurassic, and some interesting science.  But soon, I realized it is much more of a detective novel than anything else.  It wasn’t bad, just not what I was expecting.

Essentially, a couple mysteriously dies at a resort with ancient Pleistocene mammals in Colorado.  Law enforcement officials arrive to investigate.  It quickly escalates into chaos.  I don’t want to give anything more away, because I don’t want to spoil it for anyone who might read it (or watch the inevitable movie that will be made from it).  In the end, the message is clear (again, like Jurassic), just because science can do something doesn’t mean it should.  Or, as one of the characters says: “If something can be done, it will be done—no matter how dangerous.”  We actually are closer to this technology than we may want to acknowledge, but we should stay far away.

Overall, it was a good, fun, read.  Calling it “Crichton-esque” is big praise from me.  I recommend it for any fans of Crichton or detective stories.  I will be reading more from Preston.