Edit

By: Rick Chesler

Narrated by: Dan Delgado

Length: 8 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's Summary

An accomplished geneticist, known for trailblazing work with a gene editing technology known as CRISPR, is found dead at his desk in his South Florida home by apparent suicide. His jugular vein punctured with a foot-long T-rex claw. However, the claw is not a fossilized one. A simple note signed by the scientist reads, “I’m sorry”.

A team of researchers and park rangers is hastily and quietly assembled to find out what it is he’s apologized for, suspecting he has unleashed a genetically altered animal atrocity into the wild. Unsure of exactly what to look for, the expedition sets out into the Everglades in a desperate search of what they fear might be a living predator not seen on Earth for millions of years.

What they find is even worse - The entire Everglades has been transformed into an illicit breeding ground for the living, breathing results of unauthorized genetic tampering with extinct predators.

Will the harried band of park rangers and scientists be able to contain the most outlandish bio-threat the world has ever seen? Or will the terrifying genetic edits made by the rogue scientist prove too ferocious to contain?

©2020 Rick Chesler (P)2020 Rick Chesler

Critic Reviews

"Michael Crichton meets Matthew Reilly in this action-packed creature thriller!" (USA Today best seller David Wood, author of Primordial)

"Awesome. Simply Awesome. Chesler strikes again with another unpotdownable saga." (USA Today best seller, Nick Thacker, author of the Harvey Bennett thrillers)

Just not good

I have a deep love for all things monster related. I have found some very entertaining books on audible that disagreed with listener reviews so I ignored the reviews for this one. That was a mistake. There were some fun moments and some interesting facts and science but this story had so many plot holes and verbal issues I just couldn't get into it. While the idea of the creatures was pretty cool they seemed very rushed and unoriginal. A main character armed with a weapon and didn't use it at all for a long drawn out action sequence, incorrect terms for creatures being used several time, a rock hitting concrete making sparks...... That part just about ruined the whole book for me. Lazy story telling. The narrator wasn't terrible but his style of reading and voice didn't seem like it belonged in a bleak action horror setting. Of over 60 books I have almost all involving monster horror this is easily in the bottom 5. Look elsewhere.

someone get the torch

Spoliers be warned!!!
The novel was under original in plot are diversity of how you made the narrative feel threw the story has cut and paste ideas. This lead to me dislike the story has there where dumb plotpoints like if the scientist no longer worked for the company why did they let him keep company property or if the company is go to start selling dino secretly why hid them in attraction tourist where anyone could have found. An even at end when I thought you give a proper ending to the novel you don't have the company explain what they had planned or why the scientist chose to give the animals human DNA, and finale the greatest crime of all you wrote a bloody open ending the ending type I hate the most to truly put the nail in my opinion.

I wouldn't

it was a hard listen, the story jumps around , it was a struggle to finish, the narration was OK but the story needed alot of work.

A fun, wild ride!

Fantastic fun! A truly great sci-fi creature thriller. I listened to the audio version. Fantastic narration and hours of spine-tingling fun. The only problem is, with genetic manipulation becoming more practical every year, the events of this story are becoming just a little too plausible.

I returned it. Here is why:

I didn't like the story or the narration. I couldn't finish it and requested a refund.

One of the action sequences had a female park ranger and civilians being terrorized by something (won't spoil it), and she NEVER drew her side arm to shoot it. She had one, because it mentions her reaching for it earlier in the book. That really clinched it for me. Apparently, the author is interested in having female characters as leads, but won't actually allow them to use their BRAINS in an emergency. Nobody that read this story mentioned that to him? Nobody said, "Hey, man! Doesn't she have a pistol? Couldn't she save them all by shooting that thing?" I won't attribute sexism to someone who just may be a forgetful writer, but it was truly irritating.

The narrator's voice was waaaay too cheerful and bouncy for a book like this. He would be great for children's books. The word zoology is pronounced zo-ology, not zoo-ology. Notice there are only two "o"s, not three. He mispronounces it all the way through the book (or at least until I gave up in disgust at the issue above.) As a member of the grammar police, it bothered me. That was another indication to me that it was time for a refund.

Keeps you on the edge of your seat!

Pretty good read, ending was disappointing but love the energy and how it kept you on the edge of your seat.

Great Idea, Mediocre Execution.

"Edit" by Rick Chesler tugs at many of the most interesting threads at the fraying ends of the Sci-Fi, creature-feature, tapestry. Genetic engineering, savage creatures, a shadowy corporation...and very poorly developed, and forgettable characters. The character development was pretty uninteresting, even for a sci-fi novel. I purchased this audiobook because of a review by another author saying it was "Michael Crichton meets Matthew Reilly", my top 2 favorite authors. That review is about the only comparison to those two authors I could find besides the obvious (Genetic Engineering).

The story feels like it was written on a pizza box in a lot of places. Subplots with no payoff, characters that are made to seem crucial that just disappear, and a very anticlimactic climax. It will be on the return list.

It’s okay

The idea is cool, maybe would’ve enjoyed it more if someone else was reading it. The voice constantly annoyed me so I had to take breaks

I live in Florida. I loved this story!

Welcome to Jurassic Park in the Everglades. Genetic experiments gone wrong and released/escaped into the wild. Now the residents of the area and the park rangers must combat the genetic Jurassic creations for survival. Can they do it? Love Jurassic Park, Meg, etc? This is for you. I loved it so did my teen boy. I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator or publisher

Author has Promise

I liked his story, though not original, it had some nice quirks. The author had great pacing but also had some procedural issues, a few continuity issues and implausible character responses. Despite these correctible shortcomings, i was able to suspend disbelief and wanted to find out what happened next.