Synopsis:
We assume extinction level events are cataclysmic events, but what if they were microscopic, like our history teaches us?
To the rest of the world, a random tsunami is but one disaster among other events to speculate over. Unbeknownst to most of the world, the disaster is but a single ripple caused by a clandestine experiment in the South Pacific. For one newly arranged rescue team, their mission to rescue researchers will lead them to confront terrors mankind was never intended to meet, and unravel an enigma that may be the extinction of life as humanity knows it.
Review:
A Fold to Extinction grabbed my attention immediately. Fitzgerald begins this tale with a doctor working on an island, tending to the locals mostly mundanely: stomach aches and minor injuries. But when a young boy is brought in, the doctor is in for a case he had never experienced before and likely never would again. The situation is tense. Besides the language barrier, the child has endured a bite that the doctor cannot quite place the source of. The creature that bit him seems to be part bird but also contains reptilian features. It appears almost…prehistoric.
When a group of military operatives gears up to move in on the island, an array of characters is introduced. From different branches, each man specializes in different areas of expertise and has been specifically selected for this scenario that must be handled with delicacy. Each man also carries a unique personality that plays out expertly throughout the tale.
The information given regarding the operation is authentic yet accessible. Though the author is prior military, he is able to craft a story that is easy to understand by all readers. I never felt lost by the terms being used. In fact, the descriptions helped set the scene and paint a vivid picture.
When the group of special forces arrives on the island, the danger is understood nearly right away. The island is rife with creatures unseen before. The men’s mission is to rescue whoever remains on the island and get them to safety. Sounds easy enough. Except what ensues is far from what they could have ever imagined.
This story gives off a Jurassic Park vibe if the dinosaurs were part reptile and part abomination. Some of the lifeforms described seem fairly docile, even cute. Others are horrific and deadly. Fitzgerald provides many graphic scenes of gory destruction caused by these otherworldly beasts.
As the operators worked with the researchers of the island to abort the phenomenon causing the creatures, I was on the edge of my seat. The time seemed to be ticking too fast as they raced to restore power and shut down the machine used to bring monsters to our world. Every time I was sure the group would succeed, an obstacle pushed them back several steps.
In A Fold to Extinction, the tension is high, the stakes are higher. The horror is unthinkable. The writing is crisp, and the descriptions are terrifying in all the best ways. Fitzgerald does not just bring us a horror tale. He delivers a myriad of possibilities and what-ifs that leave unsettling feelings. The best horror stories involve situations that are so well-explained that they become plausible. A Fold to Extinction is one of those books.
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