EXTANT by Michael McBride

EXTANT by Michael McBride

From the Back Cover

ONE OF HISTORY'S GREATEST MYSTERIES.

In 524 BCE, Cambyses II, King of Persia, dispatched his forces to the Siwa Oasis to destroy the Oracle of Amun, whose priests refused to legitimize his claim to Egypt. According to historical records, 50,000 soldiers marched into the desert from Luxor and vanished into a sandstorm.

NEVER TO BE SEEN AGAIN.

Hoping to discover the lost army’s fate, a team of scientists utilizes satellite archeology to locate ancient ruins hidden beneath the dunes. Subsequent excavation reveals a temple devoted to Sekhmet, warrior goddess of destruction. Hidden within it are chambers filled with bones.

THEY NEVER STOOD A CHANCE.

The scientists quickly realize that they’re not alone. Something is hunting them inside the buried tomb, a creature that has evolved to live in complete darkness, an extant species that will stop at nothing to make sure that no one ever learns of its existence, because in the end…

NATURE ALWAYS FINDS A WAY.

One of histories most enduring myths.

Egyptian tombs and temples have been done to death. 

Still they happen to be the biggest draw for any kind of storyline which deal with doom and death. The Sahara is a very difficult place for survival and its sheer expanse and the continuously shifting dunes make it a difficult place to map and keep track. 

The story of the lost army is itself suspect with Herodotus, the only person who has written about it and not all that he has written stands the test of time. 

But we digress, this story which falls short for a novel, starts with a novel idea. The fate of an army of 50,000 whose fates remain a mystery lost in the desert. The fate which one would attribute to nature, sand storms, shifting dunes, etc. is naturally changed on its head by McBride an author who writes horrific science fiction, mind the pun. 

The story is taut and crisp with the punches coming low and fast but the book lets down on many points. 

First the length makes it an hourly read at best but leaves a lot of character development carcasses on the wayside. The trip to discover the area using scans is not new and our primary mover the Professor's career interest in uncovering the fate of the army drives the story. 

The other characters are best forgotten because they are like Hollywood extras in monster sets, to be trampled rather than eaten as the latter would require a close up shot. 

Intertwining legends and myths is great to continue the story and ancient Egyptian Gods and demons really have descriptions and images that would inspire horror thrillers. Here we have the goddess Sekhmet and serpopards as the animals of terror. 

The mythical animal here is an inspiration from sand lizards which are able to swim in sand, diving to stay hidden and can travel through sand. 

The story wastes no time in getting to destruction mode but the worst part is that you feel outside the story and there is no sympathy for any character, no rooting for a character and with the enemy barely seen till all is lost you have no passion to see its destruction. 

I have loved McBride's books and read them with passion, this one came across as a story that wanted more involvement from him. I don't know whether it was a pressure to deliver a book within a deadline that caused this because all his books are meticulous in their shaping and creation of the story aura. 

3 stars for this effort. Recommend to treat this as a short story.

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https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4974153495