Extinction
By Bradley Somer
Blurb
In a lonely valley, deep in the mountains, a ranger watches over the last surviving grizzly bear.
With the natural world exhausted and in tatters, Ben has dedicated himself to protecting this single fragment of the wild.
One night, he hears voices in the valley – poachers, come to hunt his bear.
A heart-pounding chase begins, crossing forests and mountainsides, passing centuries of human ruins. Sometimes hunter, sometimes prey – Ben must choose the bear’s fate and his own.
Is he willing to lay down his life for a dying breed?
Is he willing to kill for it?
Our Review
I loved the concept for Extinction as soon as I read the blurb. To an extent Extinction lived up to expectations but there were aspects I wasn't overly keen on.
Ben is a conservationist who has devoted himself to tracking and observing the last known bear. One night he hears voices in the isolated valley and knows that he may have to protect the bear from danger. Upon confronting the trio Ben is digusted and worried to learn that one of them is his former mentor on The Ursa Project and an expert tracker. Shots are fired and Ben realises not only is the bear in danger but so is he.
Is he willing to put his life on the line to protect the bear? Will it change anything? Is he willing to end the life of someone else for a seemingly lost cause?
"Ben sighs, knowing it's a panicked plan, a bad one, but i's hard to think straight.
They tried to kill him.
The bear will be fine on his own, Ben reasons. Or he won't.The chances of them locating him are slim, even with Tomas as a guide. Without a tracker to sniff out his microchip, they won't find him...They probably won't find him."
The environmental aspect of Extinction is a huge draw for me and played a large part in my enjoyment of the book. The sad truth is I could easily imagine a scenario where someone would be trying to protect the last bear in existance from extinction. Poppy was my favourite character in this book because I felt like the anger she felt at the destructive nature of humans was extremely thought-provoking. It was also what I was expecting when I began reading.
The one area of the book that felt out of place was the science fiction elements. I didn't enjoy them as I wouldn't choose to read a book relating to space and I also felt it just didn't gel with the rest of the book.
"I don't look at the moon anymore. Last time was when the lights first went on. It made me dizzy, like I was falling into it."
The author was able to create a sense of suspense throughout the book and I defintely wanted to keep going until the end. Whilst I have said parts of this book were not for me, I did enjoy this book on the whole.
Our Final Rating...
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