Natural Selection, by Dave Freedman
Book Review by Sheri Fresonke Harper
Have you read this book?
Natural Selection by Dave Freedman is an enjoyable read, with an interesting premise involving a manta ray species that has evolved to be the nastiest creature alive. The author keeps the pace tense by first their appearance and second by their deadly capabilities that are slowly discovered by a team of scientists hired to document them for the man financing their operations.
The author's ability to convey the creature's intentions, thought patterns, and responses to stimuli are well executed. Documentation of the creature's aging involves a deep-sea dive in a deep sea suit accompanied by a submarine. Also well done are the many explanations about the feeding patterns of sea creatures, a strange disease mid ocean, and understanding the creature's brain. The feasibility of the new manta ray's long-term existence provides a creepy ending.
The protagonist for the story, Jason Aldridge is a self-involved scientist that is unable to accept help from others with grace. His involvement with Lisa Barton, a biologist that studies sea nutrition is nice. More intriguing for the readers is supporting cast members Darryl and Monique Hollis who provide the tough expertise to lead the hunt for the creature on land. A secondary subplot related to the financier provides additional interest without being overly intrusive to the overall story.
Overall, I'd rate this book 4 stars because some of the political details weren't quite convincing enough, i.e. the financier for the project seemed much too like Donald Trump but without any property and the reader felt somewhat detached from the problems of the main characters. Readers who like mysteries, biology, the ocean, action and science fiction will like this book.
The author's ability to convey the creature's intentions, thought patterns, and responses to stimuli are well executed. Documentation of the creature's aging involves a deep-sea dive in a deep sea suit accompanied by a submarine. Also well done are the many explanations about the feeding patterns of sea creatures, a strange disease mid ocean, and understanding the creature's brain. The feasibility of the new manta ray's long-term existence provides a creepy ending.
The protagonist for the story, Jason Aldridge is a self-involved scientist that is unable to accept help from others with grace. His involvement with Lisa Barton, a biologist that studies sea nutrition is nice. More intriguing for the readers is supporting cast members Darryl and Monique Hollis who provide the tough expertise to lead the hunt for the creature on land. A secondary subplot related to the financier provides additional interest without being overly intrusive to the overall story.
Overall, I'd rate this book 4 stars because some of the political details weren't quite convincing enough, i.e. the financier for the project seemed much too like Donald Trump but without any property and the reader felt somewhat detached from the problems of the main characters. Readers who like mysteries, biology, the ocean, action and science fiction will like this book.
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