I enjoyed Primeval: Extinction Event far more than I thought I would. This is not the case of me judging a book by the cover – that features the character Abby Maitland, played by the actress Hannah Spearrit and would therefore rate very highly – but me worrying too much about the troubled Primeval TV series.
Yes, you see, despite the ribbing it gets me from some geeky friends – I rather enjoy Primeval. I can’t claim to follow it religiously. It’s not Doctor Who. It is, however, an easy way to pass the time. The best of the TV series can certainly get me caught up in the plot. In that sense this book is akin to the best of the TV series. I was caught up in the plot.
Step in writer and comic book icon Dan Abnett. He’s the author of Primeval: Extinction Event and… wow, can he write. His Primeval story – one which features Cutter but also Hemple – is thoroughly engaging, well written and perfectly paced.
Abnett, who wrote the script for Ultramarines, is popular among comic fans for a reason. Last month Geek Native was lucky enough to interview him and we discovered he had a Primeval crash course, including set visits, when he started to write for Extinction Event.
Extinction Event is an interesting title for a show that’s been cancelled, or so it seems, a few times and yet managed to hang on in there. It’s clear, though, that Abnett managed to capture the essence of the show and why fans like it. Sure, it’s about dinosaurs – but it’s about more than that, it’s about where the dinosaurs come from and the implications of that. Primeval: Extinction Event isn’t a monster hunting book, although there’s certainly monster hunting in it, it’s also about the people and the teams of people who cope with the situation.
Perhaps Primeval: Extinction Event’s greatest trick is to set up a situation where we can step back and watch different types of dinosaurs, which of these beasts are monstrous brutes and which are dangerously intelligent and, at the same time, use the same situation to view different types of humans and determine what might turn a person into a monster and how different people might use their intelligence.
Taking a step back and worrying less about the hidden depth of the book is probably the best thing to do with Primeval: Extinction Event. This book isn’t about being a smarty pants. This story is about having fun. Abnett manages to give us an entertaining story that’s easy and fun to read through. Events come at exactly the right pace and are exactly the right size. If you’ll excuse the pun; this is a bite sized book. Rather like a good meal, each bite tempts you to take another and then another.
Recommended.
Disclaimer: My copy of the book was provided by the publisher for the purposes of reviewing. It was accepted on the grounds that a bad book would review poorly. Neither money nor incentives were involved.
