The Extinction Trials by @susanwilsonbook @Usborne
From Goodreads: Betrayal. Sacrifice. Survival.
Welcome to the Extinction Trials.
In Stormchaser and Lincoln’s ruined world, the only way to survive is to risk everything. To face a contest more dangerous than anyone can imagine. And they will do anything to win.
But in a land full of monsters – human and reptilian – they can’t afford to trust anyone. Perhaps not even each other…
Buy it here https://www.amazon.co.uk/Extinction-Trials/dp/1474927343/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1509827914&sr=8-1&keywords=extinction+trials
Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34865995-the-extinction-trials?ac=1&from_search=true
My first thoughts
Described as Jurassic Park meets Hunger Games, Extinction Trials was always going to be something I loved. This description doesn’t quite do this wonderful book justice; it’s so much more.
The Characters
Storm and Lincoln are wonderful, strong and focused protagonists; they become people you root for from the very beginning.
Lincoln is well motivated and head strong, but there’s a mystery surrounding him that makes him more human. Storm finds herself questioning why she gets involved, she’s our moral compass within this ethical story. Her love of dinosaurs is all of us. The characters, together, move the story along without bogging it down with retreads.
They are joined by many other characters including an interesting collection of antagonists. All are well developed, motivated and positioned within the narrative.
The Plot
A McGuffin plot with action sequences that are enveloped within a dystopian world beyond our imagination. The narrative takes a wonderful episodic approach and follows the protagonists through their entrance, training and mission to the dinosaur populated part of earth.
Of course, knowing this is the first of what is going to be a wonderful trilogy, it’s not that simple and there’s a gut wrenching finale that has your heart in your mouth and sets up the sequel that I cannot wait to read.
The Writing
The comparisons to Jurassic part don’t end with the pre-historic species headlining the novel; Wilson’s writing opens the novel up to a clear translation to a cinematic interpretation. Something Michael Crichton was famous for.
It’s quite interesting that Wilson has used a third person narrative, allowing for an omnipresent view point, yet choses to follow Storm and Lincoln exclusively. It works so incredibly well and helps the characters to keep things from the reader.
One of my favourite things about this novel was the chapter lengths; there was a beautiful inconsistency to the length of chapters. There was no discernible pattern and it fascinated me; it felt like a visual representation of the chaos that would ensue.
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