Chimera

By: Michael McBride

Narrated by: Joe Hempel

A team of scientists has awakened an organism that has lain dormant beneath the ocean floor for millions of years.

“This is Dr. Mira Stone at Academy Station…”

When the Air National Guard receives an emergency call for help from a remote Arctic research station in Greenland, Senior Master Sergeant Dan Cameron is chosen to lead the rescue mission. All he and his team know for sure is that the facility has lost primary power and the integrity of the complex has been compromised.

“Something is in here with us. Six of us are already dead.”

In an attempt to combat climate change, the scientists have genetically engineered an aquatic biofilm capable of generating oxygen and lowering the temperature of the underlying seawater, producing environmental conditions that awaken an organism that has lain dormant beneath the ocean floor for millions of years.

“Academy Station is lost. Do not - I repeat - do not attempt to reclaim...”

By the time Cameron arrives, the scientists have abandoned the smoldering ruins of the station. He discovers their trail leading across the glacier, but theirs aren’t the only tracks he finds. Something inhuman is hunting the survivors, and he needs to find them before it does, because the most terrifying thing about the creature is…you’ll never see it coming.

©2021 Michael McBride (P)2021 Fireside Horror

Chimera

When the national guard station receives a eerie message from Academy Station, and despite warnings they send a team to see what happened. What they find is beyond belief, there is no power the staff are missing or dead and everything is torn up. Now they search to see what could have caused this and for any survivors.

This was a really good book full of action, even more suspense, and even a few twists and turns just to keep you on your toes. Narrator Joe Hempel really brings this book to life and though he makes me feel like I am there at Academy Station I am secretly glad I wasn't in that cold.

Good Listen

Overall the tale was a good listen. There were some holes in the plot and the story was not my favorite but the narrator was good

Arctic Horror

Michael McBride is an author of over twenty books and I have read and enjoyed multiple books by McBride but CHIMERA was my first McBride book in a few years. CHIMERA was a very entertaining read with quite the finish. Fans of Arctic Horror will not want to miss out on CHIMERA which is given a first class narration by Joe Hempel.

Cool Story (no pun intended)

The concept of genetically engineering new organisms to fulfill specific needs has become fairly prevalent over the last decade. While some real life examples have thus far proven innocuous, such as glowing mice, in fiction the results often prove disastrous. The movie Splice is a prime example, though Jurassic Park and several zombie genre stories are equally effective at providing warnings.

This story exemplifies the quote, “The road to Hell is paved with good intentions.” In an effort to combat climate change, two female scientists team up to genetically engineer microorganisms to fast-track the natural processing of greenhouse gases. While the initial results are promising, some immediate consequences are revealed. What initially appeared as a quirk rapidly develops into an increasingly problematic scenario. What follows is bedlam and death.

Some narrators seem to fit perfectly within a genre. Joe Hempel is a true professional who is perfectly suited for the horror genre. His delivery is consistent and crisp, with a tone that subtly frames and develops the suspense of a situation.

A Drawn Out Adventure

I was looking for a rollicking adventure novel and I got an overly drawn out short story with limited character development and an overly repetitive storyline.

The premise of the book is humanity’s genetic tinkering accidentally interacting with long dormant Antarctic orgasms to create havoc and mayhem. It is told in two merging storylines one following a rescue team sent to save survivors at a remote Antarctic laboratory and the other is the backstory of what happened at said laboratory. Their merge point is the present. This premise does work.

Where things go off the rails for me are are in the stilted character interactions and motivations, as well as sloppy plot points, some of which are pretty cringeworthy. These combined to take me out of the story several times.

For three quarters of the book we listen to the military leader of the rescue team’s misgivings, distrust and dislike of the tech entrepreneur accompanying the mission. Tense exchanges between the two, accompanied by hollow and silk threats abound. I can only listen to “don’t make me turn this car around” type dialogue for so long.

Next, the main Antarctic-based scientist accidentally behind, and desperately trying to resolve, the unfolding biological nightmare is a hot mess. One moment she is all insights and bravery, then moments later she is confused and quite dense. She is very hard to relate to. For example at several points she knows she has to stop this insanity at any cost, but in an inexplicable series of actions manages to derail the rescuers attempts to do. This leads to unnecessary deaths which for some reason she does not seem to fret much about. The creates several “Wait. What?” moments.

Overall a reasonably good premise that, in my opinion, was not that well executed. The narration was fine.