Extinct [Mass Market Paperback]

Charles Wilson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 15, 1997

Charles Wilson has received the highest praise from authors such as John Grisham and from reviewers, including being termed "Wizard Plotter" by the Los Angeles Times. Now, he has created his most chilling story yet-- a fast-paced thriller so realistic it will take your breath away and keep you riveted to the page.

From the Gulf of Mexico's warm shallow waters...to the deepest parts of the Pacific...terror comes to the surface...

Six-year-old Paul Haines watches as two older boys dive into a coastal river...and don't come up. His mother, Carolyn, a charter boat captain on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, finds herself embroiled in the tragedy to an extent she could never have imagined.

Carolyn joins the marine biologist Alan Freeman in the hunt for a creature that is terrorizing the waters along the Gulf Coast. But neither of them could have envisioned exactly what kind of danger they are facing.

Yet one man, Admiral Vandiver, does know what this creature is, and how it has come into the shallows. And his secret obsession with it will force him, as well as Paul, Carolyn and Alan, into a race against time...and a race toward death.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Eminently plausible, chilling in its detail, and highly entertaining straight through to its finale." -- Dr. Dean A. Dunn, Professor of Oceanography and Paleontology, University of Southern Mississippi

"With his taut and fast words, Charles Wilson will be around for a long time. I hope so."-- John Grisham

About the Author

National bestselling author Charles Wilson has become known for edge-of-your-seat tension and fast-paced action in his novels. His first work, Nightwatcher, a psychological thriller, was called "splendid" by John Grisham and "quite an achievement" by the Los Angeles Times. Ed Gorman, publisher of Mystery Scene magazine says, "Wilson might flat-out be the best plotter of our generation." Wilson's Direct Descendant and Extinct, novels exploring the chilling consequences of so-called scientific advances, have been optioned by Hollywood filmmakers. Other Wilson novels are Game Plan, Fertile Ground and Embryo; three suspense novels, When First We Deceive, Silent Witness and The Cassandra Prophecy; and coming soon in hardcover, Deep Sleep-- a psychological thriller set in a Voodoo-influenced swampy parish in South Louisiana. Charles Wilson currently lives with his wife and three children in Brandon, Mississippi, where he is at work on his next novel.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks (May 15, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312962126
• ISBN-13: 978-0312962128
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (82 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #965,979 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars There's always a bigger fish..., May 10, 2000

By 

Cody Menzies - See all my reviews

This review is from: Extinct (Mass Market Paperback)

A young boy watches two of his friends go under water. His dog starts barking. His friends never resurface. And so begins Extinct, which will probably before ever known as the 90's other giant shark book, getting nowhere near the publicity (or blasting) of Steven Alten's Meg. But unlike Meg, this book takes it's plot seriously, and despite the name, revealling the Megalodon's presence is a big spoiler, as when the marauding shark is first discovered, it is mistaken for a normal great white. As for characters, well, I'm sure Wilson read a lot of Peter Benchley before writing this, because most would be right at home on the pages of Beast, Jaws or Creature. There is drama and action, with some mystery added, and in the end it is entertaining. But the twist in the end, while jaw-dropping storywise, is highly unlikely reality wise, which is not such a good idea for a novel whose main draw is it not as comicbook as Meg. Still a good read.

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Jaws who?, May 4, 2000

By 

Kevin Peeples (Cleveland, Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Extinct (Mass Market Paperback)

If I could give this book four and a half stars I would. I love books about predators, they are so fun to read about if the author is skilled as much as Charles Wilson is. He brings forth the best elements in writing: making you feel for the people, and making you understand that animals are just doing what they do. I want to say that I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Rarely is a thiller such as this one, with a prehistoric 'star' so beleivable and put together so well. The family thing at the end is a little far out, but I of how Jaws ended with you saying "is that all?", and with the megalodon in "Meg" ramming submarines and sinking them, the ending Charles Wilson came up with is the best of them so far. The story was so believable, with the shark understanding angles(as real animals do) and how one Admiral Vandiver believed that megalodons still existed. There are over one thousand new animals discovered every year! The coelacanth was supposedly extinct for millions of years when one was caught in '38, so it is possible that as large and as deep as the ocean is a shark could go undetected for a long time. As big as whale sharks and great whites are, how often do we see one of them? Back to the book, this book is an absolute page turner. I find myself torn between rooting for the shark and worrying about the people. Not enough books are written about the possibilities of science, technology, and nature (Jurassic Park, Extinct, Jaws, aand Meg are exceptions). I am currently reading this book again, (so I am writing about two years after reading Extinct for the first time) and I still enjoy this book. This book goes in my collection along with the aforementioned books and "Thinning the Predators". Great book Charles Wilson.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, December 22, 1999

By 

HerBriteIz (Minnesota) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Extinct (Mass Market Paperback)

I think alot of people were a little too critical over the book. I think it was a great idea with a wonderful story line. It was a science fiction type of story not meant to be taken so literally and seriously. This book was very interesting and gave us information on the shark, but not so extensively that it would have bored a person who was not a shark fanatic. I am a fanatic myself, though, and I still thought it was a great book! :0)Also, Great Whites are the only shark that can actually stick its head out of the water and look around, so it is plausible that the Meglodon could do the same. Maybe not for extended periods of time, but it could. All in all, it was a suspenceful and interesting book!