Extinction Plague by Greig Beck
Publisher: Pan Macmillan Australia
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Horror, Action/Adventure, Paranormal
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by FernAround the world entire towns are being wiped out, a trail of boneless bodies left behind.
Professor Matt Kearns, paleo-linguist, and a team of scientific and military specialists, rush to decipher the hidden secrets of a pair of ancient stones that prophesise the next great extinction on Earth. They soon discover that the ominous predictions are linked to a plague of unstoppable creatures that have risen from the centre of the Earth.
In a heart-pumping adventure that begins in the hold of a sunken German U-boat, Matt Kearns travels to the lost Nazi treasure tunnels in Poland and dives deep down to sunken caves below Easter Island. Matt is fighting for his life, the ones he loves, and the existence of the entire human race.
Matt Kearns, paleo-linguist, is back once again for another adventure. A Nazi-era German U-boat is discovered down in New Zealand, leading to a series of strange discoveries and all too soon all over the world swarms of bugs start devouring everything in sight – killing humans, animals and everything in it’s wake. Matt and the team need to first discover what’s going on, and then once again save the world.
I’m a huge fan of Grieg Beck’s but I admit I have a particularly soft spot for Matt Kearns and his adventures. Beck somehow keeps Matt’s stories a little lighter to my mind – and less heavily invested in all the military/ammo aspects of the storyline. With a Kearns adventure I know there will be not just science and thriller aspects with a solid and well woven plot, but usually there is an excellent dose of paranormal and a strong influence of a more intellectual/academic and research based side to the adventure. For me, personally, this hits a really good spot and I’ve never yet been disappointed by one of these stories.
And this book delivers in spades. From Nazi Germany to Easter Island, the Polish mountains and all across the globe Matt and the team piece together what’s actually happening and then fight to save the world from extinction. It’s a magnificent adventure and I thoroughly enjoyed every moment. I particularly liked how solidly Beck wove together a number of different plotlines. It’s clear he’s put a good amount of research into each different element and while the final picture pushes the boundaries of realism, each aspect is clearly weighted strongly in reality and is both exciting and also totally plausible.
This fine line between fact and fiction is a very delicate balance and I really love how Beck seems to straddle it perfectly. That, coupled with the adventure and scare-factor is an absolute highlight for me of all the Matt Kearns stories and one of the reasons they’re an auto-buy for me and one of my favorite series.
Readers looking for a fast paced, fun adventure novel where the hero and his team race against the clock (and where the bad guys are not just a few horrible people, but the bone-eating, creepy, bug kind) this is an excellent story and one I can strongly recommend.
No zombies?! Oh well, at least those creepy bugs are around. They reminded me of those undead scarabs in the movie The Mummy though, so that’s a plus. 🙂 Thanks for a great review, will look this one up.