Minutes to Burn - Softcover

Hurwitz, Gregg

3.42

467 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0061015512 ISBN 13: 9780061015519

Publisher: HarperTorch, 2002

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In the year 2007, two scientists are accompanied by a team of Navy SEALs to position critical tectonic equipment on a deserted island in the Galapagos and find themselves immersed in a brutal war for survival that could determine the fate of the world. Reprint.

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About the Author:

Gregg Hurwitz's father, sister, and grandfather were all physicians, so growing up, he was regaled at dinnertime with tales of bleeding colons and severed fingers. He was also subjected to vigorous discussion regarding the boundaries of medical ethics, which provided him a foundation for writing Do No Harm. In the course of researching the novel, he shadowed doctors in the UCLA emergency room, harassed government operatives to teach him surveillance techniques, and delved into psychological research on childhood trauma.

Minutes to Burn originated during Hurwitz's research travel in the Gal�pagos, where he confronted marine iguanas on lava plains, hiked through the islands' curious Scalesia forests, and contended with enormous crab spiders in shower stalls and toilet bowls. Upon his return, he spent months tracking down scientific experts around the world -- ecologists, geologists, entomologists, virologists -- continuing to indulge his fascination in the archipelago and to flesh out what would become Minutes to Burn. While undertaking the military research for the novel, Hurwitz dealt with an extensive network of Navy SEALs and related operators. He was obligated to familiarize himself with sidearms, meals-ready-to-eat, M-16s, SWAT ranges, and hand-to-hand techniques -- much to the derisive amusement of attendant Navy SEALs.

Hurwitz grew up in the Bay Area. While completing a BA from Harvard and a master's from Oxford, he wrote his first novel, The Tower, a psychological thriller set in and around San Francisco.

Hurwitz has published several academic articles. He lives in Los Angeles, where he is working on his fourth thriller and the screenplay of Rogue Warrior (based on Richard Marcinko's autobiography) for Jerry Bruckheimer Films.

From Publishers Weekly:

It is the year 2007, earthquakes rattle the globe, the ozone layer is shot and evolution kicks into overdrive in this gripping action-movie-in-waiting. Hurwitz has engineered a deft recombinant blend of a thriller, tossing in lots of scientific speculation ... la Crichton in Jurassic Park mode, a ragtag Navy SEAL crew reminiscent of the Aliens heroes, some Predator and a dash of Rambo. In his jam-packed tale, a rogue virus appears on one of the Gal pagos islands, and soon the remote archipelago is populated by nine-foot-tall man-eating monsters. Unaware of the infestation, scientists are sent from the U.S. to set up seismic sensors, and a team of seven Navy SEALs are assigned to escort them. Team members include husband-and-wife Justin and Cameron, who is not quite showing her pregnancy; squad leader Derek, having problems with concentration, much less command; and the gigantic Tank, among others. Most enjoyable is the 50ish knife-wielding Nam vet, Savage, who practically steals the book. Stranded on the island without guns after a series of screwups, the team is sucked into a nightmarish chase, turned from hunters to hunted and back again. Hurwitz's first novel, The Tower, was labeled a satire of serial killer novels by some reviewers. This page-turner keeps a satiric edge, too, while Hurwitz proves he is perfectly at home with toothy creatures on the rampage and a thrilling array of other soon-to-be FX. Author appearances in Los Angeles.

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