Thank you Netgalley and Cranthorpe Millner Publishers for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

In “The Rewilding,” Robert Evans delivers a blood-soaked, adrenaline-charged thriller that fuses climate fiction, eco-horror, and speculative science into a chilling modern parable. Think Jurassic Park—but grittier, gorier, and far more plausible.

The story opens with a mystery: a young boy is found dead in the Scottish wilderness, mauled by a creature no one can identify. Enter Steph Patel, a sharp, morally driven field biologist and bestselling author, who sees both scientific intrigue and career opportunity in the strange case. But what begins as research for a potential book quickly turns into a fight for survival as Steph uncovers the horrifying truth behind a secretive rewilding project hidden deep in the Highlands.

The project, funded by a reclusive billionaire and run by ethically bankrupt geneticists, aims to resurrect extinct apex predators—cave lions, wolves, and monstrous cave bears—using cutting-edge gene manipulation. But the ecosystem they’ve been reintroduced into is nowhere near capable of supporting them. Confined, hungry, and modified to be stronger and more aggressive, these creatures are unleashed in an environment that was never meant to contain them. As the body count rises and the lines between predator and prey blur, it becomes clear: the real threat isn’t nature, but humanity’s arrogance in thinking it can control it.

Evans does a fantastic job creating a claustrophobic atmosphere soaked in dread and punctuated with scenes of raw, animal terror. The pacing is relentless, and while the scientific plausibility toes the line of speculative, the world-building feels disturbingly close to real. The book’s ecological undertones ring loud and clear—this is a cautionary tale about playing god, about tampering with nature for profit, and about the monstrous consequences of unchecked human ego.

What elevates “The Rewilding” beyond a simple creature-feature is its characters. Steph is a compelling lead—observant, principled, and thrown into a situation where reason and science quickly give way to instinct and survival. Around her, a cast of shadowy billionaire and cold-blooded researchers flesh out a world in which humans are the true chaos agents. In the end, it’s not just about beasts with teeth—it’s about the wildness we carry inside ourselves.

There are moments where you wish the story had spent more time delving into the inner lives of the animals themselves, especially given their central role. And the final revelations—while satisfying—leave a few threads dangling. But the story sticks the landing, with a conclusion that is both bleak and deservedly cathartic. The animals may win, but the victory feels like a grim eulogy for the hubris of modern civilization.

Overall, “The Rewilding” is a visceral, high-stakes thriller that doesn’t just ask what if we brought back extinct predators?—it asks what would drive us to do it in the first place? With sharp commentary on climate collapse, corporate greed, and the dangers of unchecked science, Robert Evans crafts a horror-tinged survival story that’s as smart as it is savage.

The Rewilding isn’t just a novel—it’s a gut punch disguised as a survival story. I went into it expecting dystopian fiction with a climate edge, but what I got was something far more visceral, urgent, and emotionally unsettling. Robert Evans doesn’t pull punches. He drops you into a world unraveling at the seams and dares you to look away. Spoiler: you won’t.

The premise is terrifyingly plausible: climate collapse, societal breakdown, and the rise of eco-terrorism as both rebellion and survival. But what really gripped me wasn’t the big picture—it was the people. The characters in The Rewilding feel like real survivors: damaged, messy, fiercely alive. Watching them navigate the ruins of the old world and the brutal logic of the new one was both thrilling and heartbreaking.

Wow! Absolutely loved this book. Great characters, intricate details and a unique jurassic park style world. Definitely going to check out more from this author!