The Darwin Strain

R.J. MacCready #3

by Bill Schutt, J.R. Finch

The authors of Hell’s Gate and The Himalayan Codex deliver their third high-octane thriller—a page-turning blend of science, history, and suspense featuring zoologist and adventurer Captain R. J. MacCready.

Though the fighting has stopped and Hitler is vanquished, a dangerous new war between America and the Soviet Union has begun. Invaluable in defeating the Nazis, accidental crypto-zoologist R. J. MacCready and Yanni Thorne, an indigenous Brazilian and expert in animal behavior, are working for the Pentagon once again. Sent to a mysterious Greek island in a remote corner of the Mediterranean, they are investigating rumors about a volcanic spring with “miraculous” healing properties that the locals say is guarded by sea monsters from ancient legends.

The islanders believe that, like Fatima, the spring is a gift from God. To the Greek Orthodox Church, it is a sign of a deadly evil foretold in apocalyptic texts. Alongside French and Chinese researchers—men who share their strange, blood-stained past—Mac and Yanni discover that the volcanic spring’s undersea plumes release an exotic microbe that can transform life with astonishing speed.

To find the source of the Volcanic spring, Mac and Yanni must find a way to neutralize “the Dragons of Revelation”—a fearsome aquatic species also known as “Kraken,” which are preventing the scientists from exploring deep beneath the sea’s surface. Mutating at an astonishing pace, the Kraken have evolved into a chillingly high alien intelligence. As the race to possess the “miracle” microbe heats up, tensions between geopolitics, religion, and ordinary scientists confronted with the unknown escalate into chaos. Mac and Yanni know all too well that one wrong choice can easily set in motion a biological chain reaction that will reach across the decades to enhance—or destroy—everything that lives.

Genres: Fiction, Science Fiction, Adventure, Thriller

416 pages, Hardcover

First published August 6, 2019

About the author

Bill Schutt's latest nonfiction book "Bite: An Incisive History of Teeth, from Hagfish to Humans" received a rave review in The New York Times Books https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/13/bo..., a starred review in Kirkus Reviews https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-re... and raves from Publisher's Weekly (https://www.publishersweekly.com/9781...) and elsewhere. "Bite" debuted on August 13, 2024 and can be purchased or ordered anywhere books are sold.

Bill is currently working on "Desi the Vampire Bat" his first children's book, as well as a popular science book on the natural history of feet.

Bill Schutt is a long-time research associate at the American Museum of Natural History and Emeritus Professor of Biology at LIU-Post. Born in New York City and raised on Long Island, he received his B.A. in Biology at C.W. Post, his MA at SUNY Geneseo, and a Ph.D. in Zoology from Cornell University. He has published over two dozen peer-reviewed articles on topics ranging from terrestrial locomotion in vampire bats to the precarious, arboreal copulatory behavior of a marsupial mouse. Schutt has written for the New York Times and Natural History magazine and his research has also been featured in those publications, Newsday, the Economist, Discover, and others. He is a member of the North American Society for Bat Research.

"Pump: A Natural History of the Heart", published in 2021 was a critical success, with great reviews from Publisher's Weekly, The Wall Street Journal, Library Journal, Booklist, Kirk's Reviews and more.

Published in 2017, Cannibalism: A Perfectly Natural History garnered rave reviews from The New York Times, Boston Globe, Publishers Weekly (Starred Review), The New Yorker, Scientific American and many more. Cannibalism was also a 2017 Goodreads Choice Award Finalist (Science and Technology) and a Chicago Public Library "Best of the Best books of 2017".

Bill Schutt's first book, Dark Banquet: Blood and the Curious Lives of Blood-Feeding Creatures, was selected as a Best Book of 2008 by Library Journal and Amazon, and was chosen for the Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers program.

Schutt's co-authored WWII thriller Hell's Gate (R.J. MacCready novel #1) was published to widespread critical acclaim in 2016 (with starred reviews in Publishers Weekly and Library Journal), as was The Himalayan Codex, a year later. The Darwin Strain, the final book in the R.J. MacCready trilogy debuted in Aug. 2019.

Schutt’s TED-Ed video "Cannibalism in the Animal Kingdom" came as the 9th most viewed TED-Ed video of 2018 (and currently has over 3.3 million views). His followup, "A Brief History of Cannibalism", had 1.2 million views in the first two months and came in as the 5th most viewed TED-Ed video of 2019. Schutt's 3rd TED-Ed video, on blood transfusions, had a quarter million views in the first 10 days.

Schutt lives in New York with his wife.

For Interviews & Media, contact  Katrina Tiktinsky - Publicity Assistant, Hachette Book Group, Katrina.Tiktinsky@hbgusa.com

For Speaking Engagements, contact Ashley Himes at Hachette Speakers Bureau, ashley.himes@hbgusa.com

Agent for nonfiction: Gillian MacKenzie - Gillian MacKenzie Agency - gmackenzie@gmalit.com

Agent for Fiction and Young Readers: Elizabeth Rudnick - Gillian MacKenzie Agency - erudnick@gmalit.com

Reviews

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I came late to this party, not realizing this novel was well into a series and not a stand alone work, even though the authors describe it as such. I was confused at first as there were references to people and events in the previous novels. There is also a time slip element I initially found quite distracting.

Now that I have finished the book, I realize that it is part science, part fable, and part biological conjecture. The authors' note at the end identifies several aspects of the novel as reflecting actual historical events. Much of the science and technology incorporated into the plot is identified as actually existing at the time. I learned some new aspects of history, such as the Japanese experiments on humans during WW II in Unit 731. Reading the author's note was a real science lesson on what might be under the vast oceans as well as a review of what might have happened historically.

While it is set in the 1940s, it reflects issues faced today. Can (and should) man subdue the earth by destroying some forms of life? Could there be a type of animal, such as the cephalopods in this story, considered intelligent, perhaps even more intelligent than man? Could there be biological healing possibilities found in extremophiles, as anecdotal stories report?

I enjoyed the novel in the end. I liked the combination of actual science and imagined possibilities. It certainly contains a great deal of action and suspense. I did find the author's writing style a little less clear than I'd like. I suggest potential readers begin with the first in the series to obtain the greatest enjoyment out of this last novel in the series.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

[Tyler Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was interested in this book because it sounded sort of unusual and different from what I normally read. “A volcanic spring with ‘miraculous’ healing properties that the locals say is guarded by sea monsters from ancient legends,” sort of grabs the attention. It’s the third in a series and I can’t remember if it was advertised as a stand alone or I read some reviews saying as much, but only a few times I felt out of the loop on what some of the characters were talking about.

Unfortunately, It didn’t take long for me to realize that this book was just not for me. I got through the first quarter of the book quickly but then there was a lot of picking it up only to read a few more pages off and on, and then I was deep enough that I was committed but it took me a very long time to finish. It seemed every other paragraph I would stop and realize that I have no idea what was going on. There was a lot of re-reading happening and there was a lot going on all at once and not much of it was making it easy to paint a clear picture of what was happening. It was just hard for me to follow. I never felt like I could get a rhythm down while reading it.
Some people might really enjoy this style of writing but I decidedly did not.

Thanks to William Morrow and Goodreads for the ARC.

[Kelly Roll · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed the first part of the book. However, the second half veered into US versus Russian politics. I would have far preferred to learn more about Yanni and her communication attempts as well as following Boule on a dig and finding out more about the hominids benefiting from the red substance. Fun science all throughout though and I'll definitely pick up another in the series.

[Ronald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Put well-known characters like General MacArthur, Jacque Cousteau, and Ian Fleming into a geological environment of volcanos and hot water sea vents with strange extremophile growth that has already been well documented in several scientific documentaries and you have the freedom to write a story that keeps your reader’s attention from the first sentence. As these characters are already known, the author had little need for character development other than setting the story’s date and contextual political factors.

Being free of much of the character building and scene-setting, (hot water spewing sea vents need not be described as they can easily be visualized from documentary coverage), the author was able to write an engrossing story about giant cephalopods habiting the waters of the Greek Isle of Santorini. They were self-aware and had been at a sentient level similar to man since the beginning of human existence.

Using human sentient standards, the cephalopods do not measure up. From the cephalopod’s measurements, humans do not measure up to cephalopod standards. Both races are alien to each other so little mutual empathy exists. Bill Schutt’s story is about conflict when both these races compete for the same resource, i.e. control of an underwater hot water vent with healing properties.

In order to make the story even more interesting, Schutt elected to include a cold war conflict between the US and the Russians. Both countries wanted the healing vents that the cephalopods had controlled and protected for thousands of years.

Most of the events in the book were taken from fictionalized historical events from the late ’40s and early ’50s. Old and ancient events are mentioned throughout the book. For lovers of history and geology, there is a well-written appendix at the end of the book that references and gives some background for all authentic events in the book. I enjoyed reading this appendix as much as I enjoyed reading the fictionalized story.

The Darwin Strain is a must-read for history buffs and thriller book lovers.

[Kaiju Reviews · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had tons of potential, and I mostly enjoyed it. In fact, I think the missed opportunity here hurts more than the book fails... almost as if had it been a little worse, I'd have been less disappointed. That makes no sense, I know...

This starts out pretty much as Dirk Pitt vs. monsters. Which sounds pretty awesome. Especially if Dirk Pitt is 'updated' a little bit (cough cough).

The authors tie in cool historical stuff too!!

As a pitch, this works great.

As a book, it didn't. Here's why:

1) The authors try to shoe in too much history. It not only feels forced, it feels irrelevant. And the second half of the book turns into a mess of asides.
2) The authors don't have a solid focus on their core story and characters. The story bounces all over the place - and includes an entire side plot occurring millions of years beforehand, which though interesting, gets way too much page-time.
3) The writing is solid, but is loaded with gaps. This is hard to describe, but I felt like I never really knew exactly what was going on, where people were, what they were doing.
4) The characters: I really liked them and wish I had the opportunity to get to know them better, spend some more with them.
5) The plot: act 2 just kind of bleeds out into an unsatisfying end... tragic really.

And yet, 2.5 stars. I'm pretty confident that had I read the two prior R.J. MaCready novels, I'd have liked this one a little better. And if I didn't have more books than I can read in a lifetime on my shelves right now, I'd maybe pick up one of the older ones. Who knows, maybe I'll audio them some day. Thanks Goodreads Giveway for the ARC.

[Nancy Reynolds · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unfortunately, although I found the writing good, I felt this story just got bogged down. It never really "took off" for me. I really had to push myself to read.

[Jennifer Stanley · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I began reading this book, an ARC copy, I thought I had mistakenly been given a non-fiction title. The first several pages goes into details about sonar technology in 1948 being used off the coast of Greece. Then in the first chapter Jacques Cousteau shows up on an assignment to evaluate the same area off the coast of Greece after recent volcanic activity.

That's when fiction started to weave into historical events that occurred in 1948. That's when I became very interested in what was happening as it was a seamless blending of fact, fiction and fantasy. Fantasy is the only way I can describe how Schutt and Finch use a cephalopod to create a new aquatic species that is rivals the intelligence of man. I was reminded of a 1950s horror movie, but at the same time I could see this happening. We just don't know what is in the depths of the oceans as we've barely scratched the surface of exploring them.

As this is not my usual genre of book to read, I did not know that this is actually the final book in a trilogy featuring characters R. J. MacCready and Yanni Thorne. But after looking into the two previous books, I can see that they all build on each other. So I would suggest that you begin with "Hell's Gate" before reading "The Darwin Strain" or "The Himalayan Codex". But even being late to the party, I thoroughly enjoyed this story. It is well written and keeps you focused because at one point you're not sure what is fact and what is fiction.

Thank you to Netgalley for the chance to read "The Darwin Strain" as an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Jennifer Stanley · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I began reading this book, an ARC copy, I thought I had mistakenly been given a non-fiction title. The first several pages goes into details about sonar technology in 1948 being used off the coast of Greece. Then in the first chapter Jacques Cousteau shows up on an assignment to evaluate the same area off the coast of Greece after recent volcanic activity.

That's when fiction started to weave into historical events that occurred in 1948. That's when I became very interested in what was happening as it was a seamless blending of fact, fiction and fantasy. Fantasy is the only way I can describe how Schutt and Finch use a cephalopod to create a new aquatic species that is rivals the intelligence of man. I was reminded of a 1950s horror movie, but at the same time I could see this happening. We just don't know what is in the depths of the oceans as we've barely scratched the surface of exploring them.

As this is not my usual genre of book to read, I did not know that this is actually the final book in a trilogy featuring characters R. J. MacCready and Yanni Thorne. But after looking into the two previous books, I can see that they all build on each other. So I would suggest that you begin with "Hell's Gate" before reading "The Darwin Strain" or "The Himalayan Codex". But even being late to the party, I thoroughly enjoyed this story. It is well written and keeps you focused because at one point you're not sure what is fact and what is fiction.

Thank you to Netgalley for the chance to read "The Darwin Strain" as an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Maria Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel is set in the time period after WWII, near the start of the Cold War period., during the age of developing technology on both sides. What the 2 authors have done is taken a few wee known individuals whose names we know quite well today and created a fictional story into which they were key involved characters. It was a bit confusing to follow the storyline because it also tells the story of past time period involving the same location, involving nonhuman but intelligent creatures. But the main connecting theme of this story was the cause of the the evolution abilities that came form exposure to what is explained in this book as a red spore that once ingested by living creatures helps develop positive helpful traits that help the creature survive better, hence the reference in the book title. In today's world, we understand the theory of evolution from what Darwin figured out from his studies, which he was just starting to do in the time period of this novel. The other famous names used in this book were Jacques Coustau, Moe Berg, better known as baseball star , than his polymathic genius and fluency in multiple languages. I liked how the authors incorporated reality events and just added them within get fiction of this novel, like using and showing the Intrepid aircraft carrier being involved in a sea battle. Today she rest in state at the New York Pier as an exhibit for everyone to visit with many types of aircraft onboard. If you can get through the technical stories, the adventure and ending of this book is quite satisfying.

[Dhanya Jothimani · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of my friends lent me this book earlier this year – so, I didn’t realise it is a part of a series until now (after looking at “R.J. MacCready #3” in goodreads). Though the authors mention that it could be read as a standalone book but it did give a weird a feeling (while reading) that I am missing something, in between.

Positive points – interesting note on cephalopods (more focused on mythological Kraken), well researched book, i.e., the premise on which the events were set is based on many actual events and places, well written synopsis of the book that makes one curious enough to read it, enjoyed the Author’s notes on real incidents more than the actual story.

Limitations (in my opinion) – abrupt ending, too many characters to keep/lost track of, though appreciate the authors’ effort to give in many details but it became really confusing – it drifted from being a sci-fi to a political fiction!

In short (quoting from the book), I had the following feeling:

“Utter confusion. Too much was happening and in too many directions.”

[Craig Wakefield · Rating 4 out of 5]

When a creature and it's ancestors has lived for millions of years should it be revered or feared? Surely something species that has lived so long can tell us much about the world that was, the world that is and the world that is to be. But when the species, now known as Kraken, intersects with another species now known as homo sapiens, who too thinks that he knows so much about the world intersects with the Kraken we are taken the world discussed in The Darwin Strain. Into this mix is an exotic microbe that's properties cannot be explained.

Schutt tries to include too many millions of years in this book to give us what we truly want to see. Not the violence of two species interacting, but the potential for understanding.

[Bill Riggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 3rd McCready novel. Accidental cryptozoologist R.J. MacCready and animal behaviorist Yanni Thorne are drawn into a conflict on the Greek Island Santorini in 1948. Caught between the Orthodox Church, the Russians and fearsome aquatic species known as Kraken they must find a way to neutralize a mysterious microbe that pushes evolution forward in leaps and bounds in both humans and animals before is spreads globally. Interesting mix of science and speculative fiction featuring many historical figures of the time.

[Gerin Moblo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really quite interesting main plot. Took me forever and a day to get through bc very easily bogged down in politics and sometimes even the science. Bet friends with more interest in those two areas would have an easier time. Still enjoyed and made myself plow through it. Read many other books between the start and finish line.

[Michelle]

First, I didn't realize that this was a part of a series, and I definitely felt like I was missing something almost immediately. Second, I love these types of stories usually, but there were so many characters and POVs that kept coming up, it became too much for me. DNF at 40%.

[Vince Waechter · Rating 3 out of 5]

3-1/2 Stars. I was well into reading this book before I truly got interested. Once I got hooked, I liked it and will read others in the series. These books are stand alone and do not have to be read in sequence.

[Csimplot Simplot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book!

[Sherry · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Author's Notes at the end of the book make the book even that much better. Excellent read.

[Michael Bell · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were some really interesting, even fascinating, ideas in this book. The storyline, however, was fairly hard to follow, and, after finishing the book, I’m not sure it made sense.

[Shirley Perrott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not my typical type of reading but I found myself engrossed in this story. I can see this book being made into a movie.

[Simcha Jacobovici · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic adventure! Great characters. Brings the science to life. Couldn't put it down.

[Joyce Lippens · Rating 4 out of 5]

So far not bad at all....

[Ileana Renfroe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely a p age turner. The Darwin Strain was written in such a way that kept me captivated until the very end. Interesting storyline and well-developed characters.

[Kadin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Millions of years of accelerated evolution thanks to a mysterious red algae has placed super smart octopi, or Kraken, on a collision course with humanity that has just finished fighting the Second World War. Soldier scientist R.J. MacCready is on a mission to study the algae off the coast of Greece when, after learning of its healing and other beneficial qualities, the Soviets come swooping in. It's a Cold War clash, with some eight-legged adversaries thrown in, that quickly heats up.

[Rachel M. · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF... got 42% through the audio book and couldn't take it anymore. Boring!

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent story,but I thought the ending was way too abrupt..