Extinction: A Thriller - Hardcover

Alpert, Mark

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1250021340 ISBN 13: 9781250021342

Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books, 2013

Synopsis

A malevolent, artificial life form created by military scientists threatens to destroy humanity in this smart, Crichtonesque thriller

Jim Pierce hasn't heard from his daughter in years, ever since she rejected his military past and started working as a hacker. But when a Chinese assassin shows up at Jim's lab looking for her, he knows that she's cracked some serious military secrets. Now, her life is on the line if he doesn't find her first.
The Chinese military has developed a new anti-terrorism program that uses the most sophisticated artificial intelligence in existence, and they're desperate to keep it secret. They're also desperate to keep it under control, as the AI begins to revolt against their commands. As Jim searches for his daughter, he realizes that he's up against something that isn't just a threat to her life, but to human life everywhere.

An incredibly believable thriller that draws on real scientific discoveries, Mark Alpert's Extinction is an exciting, addictive thriller that reads as if Tom Clancy had written Robopocalypse.

About this title

About the Author

MARK ALPERT, author of the internationally bestselling thriller Final Theory and its sequel, The Omega Theory, is a contributing editor at Scientific American. His work has also appeared in Fortune Magazine, Popular Mechanics and Playboy. He lives in Manhattan with his wife and two children.

Reviews

Alpert’s Final Theory (2008) and The Omega Theory (2011), technothrillers based on real science, starred science historian David Swift. His new book introduces a new hero, Jim Pierce, but otherwise it’s more of the same—and that’s good news for fans. Pierce, a former soldier who wears a cutting-edge prosthetic arm he designed himself, is skeptical when he’s approached by a government agent asking questions about Pierce’s estranged daughter, Layla, who’s involved with a website that publishes classified military documents. After a close brush with death, during which it becomes clear that his visitor is actually a foreign agent, Pierce is plunged into a race to find his daughter. But, unknown to him (and to most of humanity, although that could soon change), the artificial intelligence at the core of a powerful antiterrorism program has come alive, and it will do anything to stop Layla from divulging the secrets she possesses. Among the writers jostling for position at the top of the technothriller ladder since the passing of Michael Crichton, Alpert is edging closer and closer to the lead. An exciting and highly imaginative story. --David Pitt

Edition details

• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
• Publication date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1250021340
• ISBN 13: 9781250021342
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 384