Extinction: Dear Reader…

Dear Reader, 

I am thrilled Extinction has made it to North America! It’s been a whirlwind, getting here, to today… publication day! With a million thanks to Blackstone Publishing for turning this story into a positively stunning book, here is a little of what you, dear reader, are in for…

Extinction is the story of a ranger fighting to protect the last remaining grizzly bear from poachers. The premise is simple enough and the story has the engine of a propulsive thriller, which’ll keep the pages turning, as any ripping good read should do! But woven into this adventure is a ton of ecological and climate theory, archaeology, and a hearty dose of futurism, so the story can be excavated through to find a lot more, too.

We have not evolved to be travelling at the speed at which we find ourselves moving, and understanding our past is vital in getting a glimpse at the twisting road ahead. I wanted Extinction’s premise to take a few big ideas, a few massive questions, and distill them down to the smallest scale possible. In that, the book’s narrative is carried by only a few characters, over the course of a couple days, and asks these fundamental questions: What remnants of our waning natural world do we choose to preserve? And, how far would you go to protect them?

Extinction has been shelved as a: thriller, science fiction, dystopia, cli-fi, adventure, and as a futurist’s cautionary tale. It’s even been called a horror, nature writing, and literary fiction, as well. None of these are wrong. It’s a big book, even though it clocks in at under three hundred pages. To some early readers, what happens in the book is fiction, but a lot of what’s in these pages is indeed fact; it’s already happened, is already history. This is a book is about the past and the future, together.

And here at the end, I see an exciting new beginning. Writing a book is only a fraction of the discussion. Readers will carry the rest. And without readers, a book is a lonely thing. So, thanks for taking the time to read these words, and if you pick up a copy of Extinction, thanks for reading those ones, too!

— Bradley Somer 11/22/22