Extinction Horizon

The Extinction Cycle, Book 1

By: Nicholas Sansbury Smith

Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot

Length: 9 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

The worst of nature and the worst of science will bring the human race to the brink of extinction.

Master Sergeant Reed Beckham has led his Delta Force Team, codenamed Ghost, through every kind of hell imaginable and never lost a man. When a top-secret Medical Corps research facility goes dark, Team Ghost is called in to face their deadliest enemy yet - a variant strain of Ebola that turns men into monsters.

After barely escaping with his life, Beckham returns to Fort Bragg in the midst of a new type of war. The virus is already spreading. As cities fall, Team Ghost is ordered to keep CDC virologist Dr. Kate Lovato alive long enough to find a cure. What she uncovers will change everything.

Total extinction is just on the horizon, but will the cure be worse than the virus?

©2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc. (P)2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Tense, exciting story

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

This book was like listening to an action movie. The compelling science made it a great afternoon listen. Unlike any Post Apoc book I've read lately.

A great start to the series

4.75 out of 5 stars

They thought they had a cure for ebola -- what they did have was so much worse. The potential cure ends up turning the ebola patients into crazed monsters out for flesh and blood. Beckham and his Delta Force team thought they'd seen it all when they were called to check out an off-the-grid research center where the virus was being tested. They had no idea what they were walking into.

The narration of Extinction Horizon was done by Bronson Pinchot who does a really nice job. This book is gritty and at times nasty -- having Pinchot narrate it really helped move some of the goriest parts along. My only complaint was that either the author or narrator never looked up or have ever read a book with USAMRIID in it -- even if you jump over to the Wikipedia page about it, you'll quickly see that it's commonly referred to as "you-sam-rid" -- every time Pinchot said it, he said every letter. And it was said enough times that it started to get on my nerves by the end. If you didn't know that or just honestly don't know/care it won't both you at all.

This story was good. Smith really went into detail about the virus (which I really enjoyed) giving the readers a lot of background on the why and the how. A lot of times, books like these will skip over these details because they think they're not needed or take too long to explain, but I'm glad that Smith took a while explaining it. The science behind everything he wrote seemed real to me, which makes this an even scarier book.

The action in this book was brutal. Lots of quick scenes with brutal and needed gore. This is one of those books that I wouldn't have expected anything less. I knew that it was going to be a gore-fest, but Smith made it feel needed.

I thought that the characters were well thought out and explained. Sure some of them are just army hardasses, but there are also people who care and act on emotion rather than on instinct. Even the way that he wrote about the infected people felt emotional and real.

Overall, Extinction Horizon was a great introduction to this absolutely terrifying world, and I'm glad that I'll be reading at least 2 more books in the same world. I also completely understand why there is an entire world open for writers in the Kindle Worlds for this series. There is just so much to cover. So many places and angles that Smith couldn't cover in 10 books if he tried.

It starts a bit slow but picks up

Ok so when I first started listening I spent the first 10 minutes looking for a different audiobook to purchase as this one seemed really dumb. Around the 15 minute mark it got really good and I ended up finishing the whole book in a couple days. All in all I gotta say while my re recommendation may not seem glowing I highly recommend checking this book out I'm about to start the second one now.

SIMPLE but entertaining

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

This book did not require much thought or attention. It was very simple entertainment. I listened to it while doing other tasks.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

The endings in these books seem to be designed to encourage the listener to buy the next one. I've listened to the first three, but won't buy the next one.

What aspect of Bronson Pinchot’s performance would you have changed?

He was fine. Perhaps a little "over-the-top", but so was the book. He used the same voice for all women and nonmilitary characters which was annoying to listen to, but probably fit with the spirit of the book.

Could you see Extinction Horizon being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

I could see it being made into a B movie on Sci Fi. Not much complexity here but plenty of action. I have no idea who should star in this movie, but maybe a good script and really good actors could bring some depth to the story.

Any additional comments?

I was intrigued by this book because one reviewer compared it to The Martian and World War Z. Nothing could be farther from the truth! This book had simple, one dimensional characters, not many surprises and zero humor.

Great start to a military ZA series

This series is defiantly in the "badass operator" zone of ZA novels. I was impressed at the execution of military terms and scenarios. (There are a few inconsistencies with geography at Bragg, but if you hadn't been stationed here for a decade you wouldn't notice). His female characters are secondary, but not annoying or constantly trying to get everyone killed. I loved the pace and the action. Sort of the Die Hard of ZA. I will be reading the rest of the series soon.

Great book!!

Love the plot and the variance (you eventually will get it) on the apocalyptic zombie stories. Like the use of medical terminology to explain the cause of the outbreak.

World War Z meets Outbreak with a dose of 28 Days

This is the first novel by Smith that I have listened to and will definitely not be the last. The book features a fast paced story line, enough blood and gore to scare off the squeamish, very credible science and characters that you just have to root for (though there are some you will come to hate). This is definitely not a zombie book, though the Variants do crave flesh and blood. Think of it as a cross between the rage induced humans in 28 Days Later mixed with the Plaga in Resident Evil, except they have a giant sucker with pointy teeth for a mouth. If you enjoy military/horror/sci-fi/medical mystery genre combos (I know, it's a cluster) or even just one of those genres, then you will love this book as much as I did. I can't recommend it enough and I look forward to reading Book 2, Extinction Edge.

Also, I thought Bronson Pinchot did a phenomenal job on the audio. His pacing was perfect and his narration actually added creepiness to the story.

Wonderful! My heart pounded for hours!

It was so easy to get caught up in the action that it was hard to stop listening. Awesome reader!

AMAZING

This book is incredible. It immediately hooks you at the first chapter. The detail is so amazing, it almost makes you sick just imagining everything. It's written wonderfully. Never a disappointed or dull moment!

You can't turn it off!

As you're listening to this book, you cannot help envisioning every scene. You cannot help becoming attached to the well developed characters. You crave more even though you are afraid to know what is next to come. If you enjoy horror and gore, and fantastic writing. This is the book for you.