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terminalfin's review
5.0
*** WARNING: POSSIBLE SPOILERS *** And I am back to the fantastic Extinction Cycle series with book four. This series has truly evolved into a highly unique entry in my audiobook collection. With Kate and Ellis working on a new way to kill the variants, Team Ghost and the newly introduced Variant Hunters (VH) group discover horrifying news which, as the title implies, involves evolution of the variants.
This book had me hooked from beginning to end. Per the norm, we have the ever-present collection of “clicking joints” associated with the variants, a noise I can hear every time I hear Bronson Pinchot describe it in the book. The way Nick describes the variants in these books continues to develop a very detailed picture in my mind of just how these creatures look and behave.
As mentioned in my other reviews, the human condition, and its various forms, are very well depicted in this story. Watching as some of the survivors start to take sides (not something I would have imagined but it lent itself to a plot twist I wasn’t ready for) and introduces a new challenge to Ghost and the VH. Watching as survivors with a lower drive towards helping their fellow man are driven to support variants showcases the various levels of emotional strength present in human kind. With the human species estimated at around 1 million people, some survivors begin hedging their bets.
In this book, we are introduced to the White King and the Bone Collector, two Super-Alphas which produce a whole new dynamic in the evolution of the variants. What should humanity do when the variants begin to exhibit human-like characteristics from their previous, non-infected, selves?
Nick clearly did his research on tactics used throughout the book for the various personnel assigned to the variants fighting teams. It is great to see the drive behind the team members aboard the GW strike group and the folks at Plum Island (for as long as it lasted).
This was another gripping entry in the EC series and one I can wholeheartedly recommend. Nick does not disappoint with this entry and if I was forced to identify even a remotely possible negative, it might be the extremely rapid evolution of the creatures, but then again this is Sci-Fi so psssh to that. This book is awesome. Start with book one and you won’t be able to stop! Now on to “The end”
This book had me hooked from beginning to end. Per the norm, we have the ever-present collection of “clicking joints” associated with the variants, a noise I can hear every time I hear Bronson Pinchot describe it in the book. The way Nick describes the variants in these books continues to develop a very detailed picture in my mind of just how these creatures look and behave.
As mentioned in my other reviews, the human condition, and its various forms, are very well depicted in this story. Watching as some of the survivors start to take sides (not something I would have imagined but it lent itself to a plot twist I wasn’t ready for) and introduces a new challenge to Ghost and the VH. Watching as survivors with a lower drive towards helping their fellow man are driven to support variants showcases the various levels of emotional strength present in human kind. With the human species estimated at around 1 million people, some survivors begin hedging their bets.
In this book, we are introduced to the White King and the Bone Collector, two Super-Alphas which produce a whole new dynamic in the evolution of the variants. What should humanity do when the variants begin to exhibit human-like characteristics from their previous, non-infected, selves?
Nick clearly did his research on tactics used throughout the book for the various personnel assigned to the variants fighting teams. It is great to see the drive behind the team members aboard the GW strike group and the folks at Plum Island (for as long as it lasted).
This was another gripping entry in the EC series and one I can wholeheartedly recommend. Nick does not disappoint with this entry and if I was forced to identify even a remotely possible negative, it might be the extremely rapid evolution of the creatures, but then again this is Sci-Fi so psssh to that. This book is awesome. Start with book one and you won’t be able to stop! Now on to “The end”
vikingwolf's review against another edition
5.0
With Central Command gone and the President's bunker under threat, control of the military situation is moving to the carrier group. Men in boats are casing out Plum Island as General Johnson takes over command there, to the suspicion of Beckham. The variants are adapting and mutating which is making them harder to kill and the population of survivors is dwindling. Fitz and Apollo are sent with a team into the city to try to capture a kid variant for Kate's weapon test. Traitors are joining the variants and betraying their people and Patient Zero is alive and plotting...
We meet some new characters at the beginning of this book, following them on a recon mission. Jose Garcia is the leader of a special ops team known as the Variant Hunters, checking the Florida Keys for variant activity and to see what kind of evolution is occuring in them. However these variants aren't just adapting to the sea, they are now capable of setting up elaborate ambushes. Now Garcia has to negotiate the dangerous streets to evade capture until he can be rescued, as he must get the video footage of the evolved variants back to the top brass. I liked the new Variant Hunter team and my first thoughts about them is that the survivors would probably join Team Ghost later in the book.
Central Command has been destroyed and the last bunkers are being overrun. The President has decided to abandon his bunker and set up base on the naval carrier group as the variants close in on his bunker. His team have no option but to try to escape the compound as the enemy close in but have they left it too late? Secretary of State Ringgold has no idea who she can trust after civil war amongst the Plum Island troops left several dead. Now Team Ghost are having to move onto the naval armada to plan their next move which means saying goodbye to their family and friends including Fitz for now. Their job is to train the teams going out on the next mission.
The variants are changing rapidly to adapt to their new environments. A group have grown gills and can silently hunt under the sea. In Syria they look like crabs, in the colder climates they have grown fur and in the desert they have armadillo type shells. They can sometimes camoflage to blend into the trees. But the most disturbing thing of all is that the variants are finding a way to breed and their offspring are going to be the deadliest variants yet. Kate and Ellis are concerned that their new weapon will have no effect of the new mutated kid variants. I loved the ideas of these mutations and adapting to their environment and I really wanted to see the furry ones which sound like Yetis! The variants are just different to fight in every novel which keeps things exciting!
Fitz and Apollo are about to face their worst assignment yet-going into New York with a team to try and do a live capture of the protected kid variants. Other teams are being sent into different cities in the hope that one team might be successful. This screams SUICIDE RUN to me and I was so worried for Fitz and his doggy companion. New York now has a dangerous Alpha Variant who rules completely and has human traitors working for him, and the tension level on this mission was just through the roof! During this mission, we get updates on what is happening to the other teams so it is an action packed section of the book.
The other dramatic section is when Patient Zero comes back into the story. He was assumed dead but has been experimented on for many years, another of Gibson's dirty secrets. Now he just wants to die and the appalled Kate insists on it. However, he is not content to wait and see what happens and decides to escape. This is a tense event of course as having a zombie creature loose on a ship is pretty dangerous!
This series continues to deliver with tight writing, great characters, ever changing plots and monsters and a ton of action and tension!
We meet some new characters at the beginning of this book, following them on a recon mission. Jose Garcia is the leader of a special ops team known as the Variant Hunters, checking the Florida Keys for variant activity and to see what kind of evolution is occuring in them. However these variants aren't just adapting to the sea, they are now capable of setting up elaborate ambushes. Now Garcia has to negotiate the dangerous streets to evade capture until he can be rescued, as he must get the video footage of the evolved variants back to the top brass. I liked the new Variant Hunter team and my first thoughts about them is that the survivors would probably join Team Ghost later in the book.
Central Command has been destroyed and the last bunkers are being overrun. The President has decided to abandon his bunker and set up base on the naval carrier group as the variants close in on his bunker. His team have no option but to try to escape the compound as the enemy close in but have they left it too late? Secretary of State Ringgold has no idea who she can trust after civil war amongst the Plum Island troops left several dead. Now Team Ghost are having to move onto the naval armada to plan their next move which means saying goodbye to their family and friends including Fitz for now. Their job is to train the teams going out on the next mission.
The variants are changing rapidly to adapt to their new environments. A group have grown gills and can silently hunt under the sea. In Syria they look like crabs, in the colder climates they have grown fur and in the desert they have armadillo type shells. They can sometimes camoflage to blend into the trees. But the most disturbing thing of all is that the variants are finding a way to breed and their offspring are going to be the deadliest variants yet. Kate and Ellis are concerned that their new weapon will have no effect of the new mutated kid variants. I loved the ideas of these mutations and adapting to their environment and I really wanted to see the furry ones which sound like Yetis! The variants are just different to fight in every novel which keeps things exciting!
Fitz and Apollo are about to face their worst assignment yet-going into New York with a team to try and do a live capture of the protected kid variants. Other teams are being sent into different cities in the hope that one team might be successful. This screams SUICIDE RUN to me and I was so worried for Fitz and his doggy companion. New York now has a dangerous Alpha Variant who rules completely and has human traitors working for him, and the tension level on this mission was just through the roof! During this mission, we get updates on what is happening to the other teams so it is an action packed section of the book.
The other dramatic section is when Patient Zero comes back into the story. He was assumed dead but has been experimented on for many years, another of Gibson's dirty secrets. Now he just wants to die and the appalled Kate insists on it. However, he is not content to wait and see what happens and decides to escape. This is a tense event of course as having a zombie creature loose on a ship is pretty dangerous!
This series continues to deliver with tight writing, great characters, ever changing plots and monsters and a ton of action and tension!
vikingwolf's review
5.0
With Central Command gone and the President's bunker under threat, control of the military situation is moving to the carrier group. Men in boats are casing out Plum Island as General Johnson takes over command there, to the suspicion of Beckham. The variants are adapting and mutating which is making them harder to kill and the population of survivors is dwindling. Fitz and Apollo are sent with a team into the city to try to capture a kid variant for Kate's weapon test. Traitors are joining the variants and betraying their people and Patient Zero is alive and plotting...
We meet some new characters at the beginning of this book, following them on a recon mission. Jose Garcia is the leader of a special ops team known as the Variant Hunters, checking the Florida Keys for variant activity and to see what kind of evolution is occuring in them. However these variants aren't just adapting to the sea, they are now capable of setting up elaborate ambushes. Now Garcia has to negotiate the dangerous streets to evade capture until he can be rescued, as he must get the video footage of the evolved variants back to the top brass. I liked the new Variant Hunter team and my first thoughts about them is that the survivors would probably join Team Ghost later in the book.
Central Command has been destroyed and the last bunkers are being overrun. The President has decided to abandon his bunker and set up base on the naval carrier group as the variants close in on his bunker. His team have no option but to try to escape the compound as the enemy close in but have they left it too late? Secretary of State Ringgold has no idea who she can trust after civil war amongst the Plum Island troops left several dead. Now Team Ghost are having to move onto the naval armada to plan their next move which means saying goodbye to their family and friends including Fitz for now. Their job is to train the teams going out on the next mission.
The variants are changing rapidly to adapt to their new environments. A group have grown gills and can silently hunt under the sea. In Syria they look like crabs, in the colder climates they have grown fur and in the desert they have armadillo type shells. They can sometimes camoflage to blend into the trees. But the most disturbing thing of all is that the variants are finding a way to breed and their offspring are going to be the deadliest variants yet. Kate and Ellis are concerned that their new weapon will have no effect of the new mutated kid variants. I loved the ideas of these mutations and adapting to their environment and I really wanted to see the furry ones which sound like Yetis! The variants are just different to fight in every novel which keeps things exciting!
Fitz and Apollo are about to face their worst assignment yet-going into New York with a team to try and do a live capture of the protected kid variants. Other teams are being sent into different cities in the hope that one team might be successful. This screams SUICIDE RUN to me and I was so worried for Fitz and his doggy companion. New York now has a dangerous Alpha Variant who rules completely and has human traitors working for him, and the tension level on this mission was just through the roof! During this mission, we get updates on what is happening to the other teams so it is an action packed section of the book.
The other dramatic section is when Patient Zero comes back into the story. He was assumed dead but has been experimented on for many years, another of Gibson's dirty secrets. Now he just wants to die and the appalled Kate insists on it. However, he is not content to wait and see what happens and decides to escape. This is a tense event of course as having a zombie creature loose on a ship is pretty dangerous!
This series continues to deliver with tight writing, great characters, ever changing plots and monsters and a ton of action and tension!
We meet some new characters at the beginning of this book, following them on a recon mission. Jose Garcia is the leader of a special ops team known as the Variant Hunters, checking the Florida Keys for variant activity and to see what kind of evolution is occuring in them. However these variants aren't just adapting to the sea, they are now capable of setting up elaborate ambushes. Now Garcia has to negotiate the dangerous streets to evade capture until he can be rescued, as he must get the video footage of the evolved variants back to the top brass. I liked the new Variant Hunter team and my first thoughts about them is that the survivors would probably join Team Ghost later in the book.
Central Command has been destroyed and the last bunkers are being overrun. The President has decided to abandon his bunker and set up base on the naval carrier group as the variants close in on his bunker. His team have no option but to try to escape the compound as the enemy close in but have they left it too late? Secretary of State Ringgold has no idea who she can trust after civil war amongst the Plum Island troops left several dead. Now Team Ghost are having to move onto the naval armada to plan their next move which means saying goodbye to their family and friends including Fitz for now. Their job is to train the teams going out on the next mission.
The variants are changing rapidly to adapt to their new environments. A group have grown gills and can silently hunt under the sea. In Syria they look like crabs, in the colder climates they have grown fur and in the desert they have armadillo type shells. They can sometimes camoflage to blend into the trees. But the most disturbing thing of all is that the variants are finding a way to breed and their offspring are going to be the deadliest variants yet. Kate and Ellis are concerned that their new weapon will have no effect of the new mutated kid variants. I loved the ideas of these mutations and adapting to their environment and I really wanted to see the furry ones which sound like Yetis! The variants are just different to fight in every novel which keeps things exciting!
Fitz and Apollo are about to face their worst assignment yet-going into New York with a team to try and do a live capture of the protected kid variants. Other teams are being sent into different cities in the hope that one team might be successful. This screams SUICIDE RUN to me and I was so worried for Fitz and his doggy companion. New York now has a dangerous Alpha Variant who rules completely and has human traitors working for him, and the tension level on this mission was just through the roof! During this mission, we get updates on what is happening to the other teams so it is an action packed section of the book.
The other dramatic section is when Patient Zero comes back into the story. He was assumed dead but has been experimented on for many years, another of Gibson's dirty secrets. Now he just wants to die and the appalled Kate insists on it. However, he is not content to wait and see what happens and decides to escape. This is a tense event of course as having a zombie creature loose on a ship is pretty dangerous!
This series continues to deliver with tight writing, great characters, ever changing plots and monsters and a ton of action and tension!
beingshort's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
beingshort's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
whisk3ytang0foxtr0t's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
monte_83's review against another edition
5.0
This is a great series for anyone looking for action packed, quick moving military action! The characters are well developed, and the plot is continually evolving. Recommend them 100%!
xkay_readsx's review against another edition
4.0
Entertaining read as the previous books. A little stressful thinking how will human win this battle when the monsters just keep getting stronger, better, and smarter. Then the ending just makes you want to grab the next book right away.
ymiranda's review against another edition
4.0
Another winner in this zombie series, but I'm getting exhausted for all involved.
I'm hopeful that #5 will wrap up the series nicely.
I'm hopeful that #5 will wrap up the series nicely.