Set in the future, the world has become overwhelmed and humanity has moved on to greener pastures (or planets to be precise). Left behind are those who can't afford the flight and those interested in conserving the earth until the very end.

In Extinction, a park ranger is out to protect the final brown bear, a creature fondly called The Boss, from poachers who are determined to make a final kill before jetting off into the cosmos. Its definitely a tale of cat and mouse with the protagonist doing his best to divert the invaders attention in order to give The Boss his best chance at life. I went into it expecting a typical SFF novel and instead was given a not too distant future, general fiction - this isn't a bad thing, I just got something unexpected and had to shift my view.

The narrative is constantly fraught with slow burning suspense relating to the plight of everyone involved. The characters, while not particularly deep, performed their assigned roles and pushed the story in the required direction but didn't go very much beyond that.

I will say that the reader can feel the desolation of the entire situation. The world building, while very familiar in its imagery, pushes the envelope to the point of the world feeling alien and depleted.

Overall, while not entirely my cup of tea, this one is a very thought provoking study into where the world is headed if humanity doesn't pull back on its excesses. Well worth a read if you're into end of the world novels with a suburban twist

Extinction is an interesting story of what could happen. It was well written and very thought provoking. I really enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC.

This was a very realistic story of what the world could become. The writer has made the story very believable and the characters were true to life. I was totally absorbed to the very end..

Humanity is departing Earth, and there are not many animals left either. Ranger Ben watches over the last bear, with only a couple of colleagues on radio to turn to. His life is lonely and tiring. One night he hears voices - poachers. How far will he go to try and save the last bear?

This is a starkly written speculative fiction story that will look great on the big screen one day. In some ways it's like an extended chase scene. The plot is not sprawling - it's essentially a whole book about trying to save the bear from a small group of selfish men. You are going to learn a lot about the way trees look and about Ben's aching muscles, with the odd scene looking back to give some context to the few characters on page. Nevertheless, I did find it a compelling read. I wanted to know what came next. And I like the questions the book raises (like so much good SFF) - about how far you'd be willing to go in the face of disaster to achieve your goals.

I'm on the fence about how satisfying I found the ending - I think I need a few more days to sit with it! 3.5 rounded to 4.

Extinction is quite different to anything I have read before. It’s a simple story on the face of things, however it is quite a compelling tale.
Mountain ranger, Ben, has vowed to protect the last surviving grisly bear. When poachers arrive on the hunt for the animal, he has hard choices to make in his mission to survive and protect the species from extinction.
I think what impressed me the most about this book was the beautiful way it is written with such descriptive language. It effortlessly transported me to the mountains and in to the thick of the action.
Ben’s dedication to this animal is admirable. Nature is a powerful thing, but also quite vulnerable at times. We should all do our part to protect our world and all its inhabitants. Ben goes well above and beyond!
This is an action thriller with a difference. One with an important message and a hopeful twist.
I very much recommend.
** Many thanks to the author and publisher for my review copy via #NetGalley **

In a time where wildlife is scarce, our planet on the edge of self-destuction, and humans evacuating to the moon. Hunting should be a big no-no, but not if the price is right.

The apocolypse is a very present danger. Planet earth is ion the brink of collapse. Wildlife has almost completely wiped out. Humans are racing to the moon to escape the inevitable.

A small team, keeps track of what they believe is the last surviving bear. Tracking its location both via gps, and visually.

A small hunting party, headed by an ex-ranger is set on finding and killing said bear.

A cast of six, and a bear in the wild. This leads to the story and plot line being heavily dependant on description. Not only the plot, the landscape and the people.

Don’t get me wrong, this does lead to some very intensive thought provoking situations. But it does get heavy to read in places, as you try to put together everything that is put to you as the reader.

This is a what I would class as a ‘selfish’ book. It is not something that you could read on a train or bus. It demands your whole attention from beginning to end. Several hours in a quiet room, is my recomendation for this one.

Status: Completed.

Rating: 3.8/5.0

Extinction is one of those books that feels like it's written with the movie in mind. I think sci-fi books often lean into that cinematic feel, and although it's probably not a sign that you're reading a book that will be studied at schools for generations, it can work quite well. It is easy to flip into thinking about the book as the potential movie at times, but it's still a book for now.

So let's start with the protagonist - Ben. From the details given he seems around his mid-twenties. An academic background, now working in an environmental study that has him hiking around a valley monitoring the last bear on Earth. That's about as deep as he gets. In fact, that's about as deep as most characters get. Despite the adventure, I came away with little emotional investment. Except for Poppy Freedom - she may not be a main character, but she seemed the most alive out of them all. She's the one I was rooting for above all others, the one whose fate I actually cared about. Which may say more about me than the story to be fair.

Anyway. In the near(ish) future Earth has undergone some kind of vague calamity, there are hints of some pandemic-type event, but it feels more like an environmental disaster. Certainly the general message is we need to care for the planet before we kill it. But I digress. People are fleeing our ever more barren planet. Which is a rather depressing reality - we already have billionaires building rockets and talking of living on Mars. This book rather painfully points out that implies they've already given up on this planet. And that we'll all rush to join them too. Can I honestly say I'd stick around if I had the choice? It does make me think in that regard. And surely that's the core point of this book. It doesn't slap us in the face with a tired, cliche environmental message. It takes a slightly different angle and that makes it more thoughtful and also more enjoyable.

And that's where this book ends up sitting. It's a good example of the story it tells. It's a heavy subject dealt with in an accessible way. It offers enjoyment rather than sermons. If you come away from it planning to try a little harder then it's a win all round. If you dream of being one of the hunters chasing down a near-extinct species then, well, I can oddly see the book working for you too, but we're getting very different aspects of the same story I guess. It's a decent book. The movie would be good too.

An interesting take on the doomed earth scenario, with many people already colonising the moon and preparing to inhabit far off places but some still on Earth trying to save what is left in nature.
I liked the idea that some would go, some can only wish they could afford to go and will do whatever it takes to get there and some would rather go down with the ship.
For a book that centres around a single bear it has some real edgy moments during the hunting/chasing scenes and I was surprised at how quickly it reads.
The ending left more questions than answers but I suppose that will be how it is at the end of the world!!

Really enjoyed this and very different to any other type of extinction / end of the world type of novel. Kept me hooked to the end and had a good twist. Very well worth reading.

This is a very different read to my usual books and I'm not sure why I requested it except that something about it intrigued me.
A dystopian near future "thriller" except it's not a thriller. This book almost defies being put in a box.
Thought provoking it raises more questions than it answers. The characters are highly stereotypical which I suppose given the plot is inevitable and for this reason I would like to read the same book but written by a European or a Japanese author. This would, I feel give the book a very different cultural perspective which I would welcome. The hunters are all trigger happy, the ranger has to be injured, the hunters have to swear a lot, their language enhances their stereotype.
Having said that, the book is important and deserves to be read. There are questions that need to be asked and I actually give the author credit for not trying to answer them all. It is a little preachy which I suppose comes from being passionate about a topic you are writing a book about. The one character I did really like was Emma. The ending was hopeful.
Overall I am pleased I read it

This is a stark and uncompromising glimpse into the planets possible future where shuttle flights to ‘Copernicus’ are the norm. Ben is a ranger and much like the trailblazers of old he is in a desolate frontier where he tracks and monitors the last known bear. When he hears voices from afar, then discovers a ghost camp Ben knows it’s going to be a game of survival as he faces a shocking dilemma. Will he save himself or will altruism win and endeavour to save the bear whatever that takes?

This is undoubtedly well written with some stunning descriptions of the planet, you can visualise the sparkle of the water, sense the coming snow and almost smell the pine of the forest. The writing has a cinematic quality to it and indeed it would make an excellent film which would possibly be more powerful than a book. This is partly because I feel the author can overdo the descriptions of the terrain, they are too protracted.

However, what is conveyed is sobering and thought-provoking and the beautiful descriptions do contrast sharply with the reality of the situation Ben find himself in. There are strong links and connections to the past, he is much like the Trappers on the new frontier except Bens frontier seems to be lost. There are definite shades of The Revenant here but a futuristic one. What unfolds between Ben and the interlopers is dramatic from the start. Initially it seems friendly but there’s a huge sense of challenge and also entitlement from them and your heart sinks. The tension is palpable and it grows exponentially until the stand-off becomes an all hell let loose scenario .

There is physical and mental pain, fear, danger and violence as Ben faces the fight of his life as well as treachery and betrayal. It is a gripping read and it makes you feel a whole range of emotions. There are some good cliffhangers, there’s some welcome humour from one character (Poppy) and it’s mostly fast paced . The ending is good, I like the ghostly haunting vibe though it does make you feel sad.

The cover is exceptional.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to HarperCollins UK/HarperFiction for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

In the not too distant future when Earth is no longer an attractive option and migration to the moon and then on to the deep colonies is something even his fellow ranger, Emma, is always talking about, Ben is tracking his bear. The last bear on Earth. He hears voices down in the valley and knows poachers are coming.

Extinction isn't SciFi, the backdrop for the story probably exists somewhere already, stunted and fire ravaged forest, industrial detritus, abandoned remnants of human habitation in a landscape of mountains, valleys and rivers, reminders of a fundamental natural beauty. I wouldn't describe it as action-packed drama either. Fast-paced in parts certainly but the joy is in the adjectives as much as the verbs. And definitely not a cosy mystery in any sense!

Netgalley is an opportunity to try something different and this wouldn't necessarily be my usual choice but, as is often the case, it's all the more memorable for it. Extinction is not a particularly easy read for good reason and I think it would bear a second read.

Set in a dystopian future where the vast majority of people on Earth are moving to the Moon, because of ecological collapse.

Ben, our protagonist, is one of the few remaining rangers working on 'The Ursa Project' - a conservation programme designed to protect the last remaining Grizzly Bear on the planet.

Spending months at a time alone in the wilderness, whilst everyone else is being shipped off to the moon, with nothing but the crackle of his walkie talkie & the beep of his bear tracker, Ben starts feeling that his role is pointless. Until one night, he hears voices in the darkness of the forest...

I was hooked from the get go, with incredibly fast pacing, my heart was literally nonstop racing. It is a completely action packed book from start to finish. I can definitely see this being adapted into a movie or tv series in the future.

Somer's world building is beautifully immersive, I could picture the environment throughout the whole book & felt like I was trekking through the valley alongside Ben until the end.

And... I cried. I can't remember the last time a book made me cry, it was powerful stuff.

I'd recommend this to any lover of climate fiction. The book highlighted the devastating truth that we almost always start caring about animals & nature when it's too late to prevent damaging a species, destroying an ecosystem or even causing extinction.

I'm not sure if this is a dystopia or it describes our near future, it was a good and gripping thriller.
It's not a long book, it's fast paced and kept me hooked.
I liked the descriptions of the environment, the solid plot, and the characters.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This was a really good book. It was well written with a gripping storyline and well developed characters. I didn't know what to expect from this book but what I got was so much better than I imagined. I couldn't put this book down and I can't wait to recommend it to everyone and anyone.

This book was so much more than I expected and was prepared for. I ve not read any of the authors other books but after this I definetly will be.
The books feels like a dystopia that we re living in right now. It can be hard to do the right thing, follow your beliefs and just survive.
Extinction should be on everyone's 2022 reading list!

This book has definitely earned a permanent place on my top books of 2022 list.
In the mountains and valleys of the dying world, Ben is a ranger with the job of tracking and protecting the last bear.
When he hears voices of men one day and finds out that they are poachers hunting the bear, he must decide if he is to do his job and protect "The Boss" or run.
A fast-paced, gripping, and plausible story. Bradley Somer created a big world by only telling a small part of it, showing how the dying world can change some people and how it can make others.

First impression after reading the book: this would make a great movie!

The book is short and to the point and I liked that. I feel like it could be part of a greater universe of stories centered around man's destruction of the environment.
The message was simple to understand, the pros were (mostly) accessible, the pace was good and the characters (mostly) believable.

Some jargon probably common to hikers was thrown around that I didn't understand and descriptions were often used and reused multiple times.
My main criticism was with the primary antagonist. *Spoiler* once his son was killed, the impression I got was that it was a mission of revenge, but that just felt wrong to me. It wasnt enough, they started it. They hunted a man to desperation. His reaction was entirely predictable. Why would he have put his son in that situation in the first place? I felt like he needed more of a reason to feel hard done by Ben.

The action felt gritty. The characters got believably hurt and struggled with their situations. All in all a pretty enjoyable read.

But seriously, someone option this and send it to Liam Neeson because I would watch that movie.

I wasn't wholly sure about this book at first. It took me a while to understand what was going on. But we're in a world where the topic is incredibly timely - what is our relationship with the animals around us. However, once you stay committed with this book - a few chapters in - you do become engrossed with Ben and what it is he's actually committed to too. What is this bear and what is this difficult situation he's got himself into - who are the key characters involved? There are quite a few twists in this dystopian piece of literature. It is possible to lose sympathy with characters but the book by the end does raise a lot of uncomfortable questions which it's possible to reflect back to the world surrounding us today.

I was drawn to this book by the beautiful cover. Although I wasn't sure I would like the book however I kept reading and I'm glad I did.

This was a fast paced book and I read it in a few hours. It is thought provoking And makes you think about the way we treat animals we share the planet with.

This book was gifted by netgalley in exchange for a honest review.