What do you think?
Rate this book
Extant #1
Extant
Mass Extinction isn't what it used to be...
Dr. Ina Adama time travels back to the dinosaur extinction only to discover another human being in Late Cretaceous Africa. And he has some very, very bad news.
Extant is a sci-fi novella and is the first book of the Extant series.
Dr. Ina Adama time travels back to the dinosaur extinction only to discover another human being in Late Cretaceous Africa. And he has some very, very bad news.
Extant is a sci-fi novella and is the first book of the Extant series.
- GenresAmazon
91 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 3, 2025
29 people are currently reading
56 people want to read
About the author
Jack Croxall
10 books311 followersTrained as a scientist, Jack Croxall concluded a life in the lab wasn't for him. After discovering a passion for words and stories he's now a writer!
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 9, 2025
I loved Extant and I’m giving it five stars without hesitation. I loved it so much that I devoured it in one sitting. I mean, come on. A time traveler headed back to the Cretaceous, just days before the mass extinction event that killed the dinosaurs? That is such a cool premise on its own, let alone expanding on it like Croxall does in this novella. Let me say it again; time travel and dinosaurs. So cool!
There are welcome tidbits of environmentalist themes mixed in amongst the descriptions of prehistoric ecology and principles of quantum physics seasoning the meat of Extant, which allow the author’s scientific background to shine through on the page in a way the deviates from the pseudo-science one occasionally finds in time travelling sci-fi. It was a nice touch and did not go unnoticed.
The structure of this story is really neat. It’s told in a split format that swaps between transcripts recorded by Dr. Adama’s ship and personal logs dictated by Adama herself. This style shows the reader both the inner monologue of our time travelling heroine while she interfaces in real-time with the world, as well as the outward face she puts on when speaking to the man who falls from the sky when he arrives. Not only this, but it sets the tone of a story as what it is: a documentation of her mission, and all the mission-relevant information included therein.
Plus, there’s dinosaurs. Little scavenging dinosaurs, big ol’ herbivores, Jeremy the spinosaurus, and even a couple T-Rexs. No one has ever had a bad time when there’s dinosaurs.
Nothing but high hopes for this series and I am waiting with baited breath for more "Adama drama" when the next books comes out!
For a full in-depth review, check out my Substack: The Word Dump!
There are welcome tidbits of environmentalist themes mixed in amongst the descriptions of prehistoric ecology and principles of quantum physics seasoning the meat of Extant, which allow the author’s scientific background to shine through on the page in a way the deviates from the pseudo-science one occasionally finds in time travelling sci-fi. It was a nice touch and did not go unnoticed.
The structure of this story is really neat. It’s told in a split format that swaps between transcripts recorded by Dr. Adama’s ship and personal logs dictated by Adama herself. This style shows the reader both the inner monologue of our time travelling heroine while she interfaces in real-time with the world, as well as the outward face she puts on when speaking to the man who falls from the sky when he arrives. Not only this, but it sets the tone of a story as what it is: a documentation of her mission, and all the mission-relevant information included therein.
Plus, there’s dinosaurs. Little scavenging dinosaurs, big ol’ herbivores, Jeremy the spinosaurus, and even a couple T-Rexs. No one has ever had a bad time when there’s dinosaurs.
Nothing but high hopes for this series and I am waiting with baited breath for more "Adama drama" when the next books comes out!
For a full in-depth review, check out my Substack: The Word Dump!
April 25, 2025
The first third of Extant is just transmissions of Dr. Ina Adama doing research and it was a little hard for me to get through. It's difficult to write a compelling narrative with only one person involved. It can be done; The Martian works because Mark Watney is bursting with personality. Adama has a personality, but she isn't bursting with it.
However, the details about dinosaurs were really cool, and I enjoyed the intermittent riddles, so there was plenty to keep me reading.
When Callum Everett enters the page, things pick up fast. The plot central's mystery/problem, which I won't spoil here, was so interesting that I didn't want to put the book down until I had answers.
Unfortunately, there were ZERO answers to be had, because this book ends on a cliffhanger. One of my biggest pet peeves is when a book ends on a cliffhanger just so you'll buy the next book. So I'm knocking a star off for that.
Other things I liked:
Everett and Adama have great chemistry. I frequently found myself chuckling at their exchanges.
There is zero body language in this book (because it's all transcripts) and somehow it works.
To be fair, it ends on a really interesting cliffhanger and I probably will read the second book, especially if it's also made available on Kindle Unlimited.
However, the details about dinosaurs were really cool, and I enjoyed the intermittent riddles, so there was plenty to keep me reading.
When Callum Everett enters the page, things pick up fast. The plot central's mystery/problem, which I won't spoil here, was so interesting that I didn't want to put the book down until I had answers.
Unfortunately, there were ZERO answers to be had, because this book ends on a cliffhanger. One of my biggest pet peeves is when a book ends on a cliffhanger just so you'll buy the next book. So I'm knocking a star off for that.
Other things I liked:
Everett and Adama have great chemistry. I frequently found myself chuckling at their exchanges.
There is zero body language in this book (because it's all transcripts) and somehow it works.
To be fair, it ends on a really interesting cliffhanger and I probably will read the second book, especially if it's also made available on Kindle Unlimited.
October 16, 2025
2.75 stars, rounded up to 3 for Goodreads.
This was a well written novella, but....kind of boring? Unfortunately. Things...sort of looked up once we were introduced to the secondary character, but the 'cliffhanger' wasn't a surprise for me. It's a quick popcorn read, just....slow? I might continue the series, who knows.
This was a well written novella, but....kind of boring? Unfortunately. Things...sort of looked up once we were introduced to the secondary character, but the 'cliffhanger' wasn't a surprise for me. It's a quick popcorn read, just....slow? I might continue the series, who knows.
January 16, 2026
Too many switches of point of view. Disjointed.
Extant (the Extant series Book 1)
Sold by: Amazon.com Services LLC
$0.00
Kindle Edition
Purchased on Jan 14, 2026
Read Kindle book using Alexa audio asset.
Extant (the Extant series Book 1)
Sold by: Amazon.com Services LLC
$0.00
Kindle Edition
Purchased on Jan 14, 2026
Read Kindle book using Alexa audio asset.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews