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Bone Quarry
Revised Bone Quarry - An adrenaline-charged, edge-of-your-seat, Science fiction thriller
When the Oceanic Research Institute sends out a team of biologists to find out why there are dead fish washing ashore off the Brazilian coast, they never dreamed of what dangers awaited them. Dive leader, Megan Gerhart and her team discover what appears to be an underwater graveyard, heaped with bones…human bones!
When they call in paleontologist Rourke Wolf to investigate their chilling findings, the team is thrown into a spine-tingling adventure that could cost them their lives, both in and out of the water. Faced with death-defying odds, they must confront dinosaurs believed to be extinct for 8 million years … Does the team have the grit to escape this terrifying encounter alive, when the odds are not in their favor?
When the Oceanic Research Institute sends out a team of biologists to find out why there are dead fish washing ashore off the Brazilian coast, they never dreamed of what dangers awaited them. Dive leader, Megan Gerhart and her team discover what appears to be an underwater graveyard, heaped with bones…human bones!
When they call in paleontologist Rourke Wolf to investigate their chilling findings, the team is thrown into a spine-tingling adventure that could cost them their lives, both in and out of the water. Faced with death-defying odds, they must confront dinosaurs believed to be extinct for 8 million years … Does the team have the grit to escape this terrifying encounter alive, when the odds are not in their favor?
- GenresHorrorScience Fiction
251 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 12, 2019
163 people are currently reading
87 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
April 28, 2020
REVISED Bone Quarry- It's always unusual to write your own review, but perhaps good because others can see the depth of passion you had for writing your story. Bone Quarry, though a science fiction thriller, still holds true to the action/adventure novels I have already written. It is a fast-paced thriller with Megan Gerhart as the major character. Megan is gutsy. She refuses to allow fear to back her off a dangerous conflict. I enjoyed creating her character, and she turned into one of my favorites.
The story takes place off the Brazilian jungle, near the Amazon River. A dive team is sent to investigate why dead fish are being washed to shore, but what they find is much more of a challenge than fish rotting on the banks. Dive leader, Megan Gerhart takes her team out and discovers a stack of bones on the bottom of the seafloor. With further investigation, the bones prove out to be more than just fish bones, but human as well. When they go to shore, they also come upon giant footprints, too big to be one of the indigenous caimans, and also what appears to be a tooth. Run through the lab, the tooth, and the prints prove out to be from extinct dinosaurs, the Purussaurus. But how could that be?
Paleontologist Rourke Wolfe joins the team and confirms their findings- that's when the action begins, and the team finds themselves in the middle of a scientist's 'gone-wrong' experimentation, and with the dinosaurs voracious appetites, anything that gets in their path becomes a potential meal.
Can this team find the means to eradicate these beasts before it's too late? Well, I won't spoil the ending by answering that. Bone Quarry is at the top of my book chain. I had a wonderful time writing it and I hope the reader will enjoy it as well.
The story takes place off the Brazilian jungle, near the Amazon River. A dive team is sent to investigate why dead fish are being washed to shore, but what they find is much more of a challenge than fish rotting on the banks. Dive leader, Megan Gerhart takes her team out and discovers a stack of bones on the bottom of the seafloor. With further investigation, the bones prove out to be more than just fish bones, but human as well. When they go to shore, they also come upon giant footprints, too big to be one of the indigenous caimans, and also what appears to be a tooth. Run through the lab, the tooth, and the prints prove out to be from extinct dinosaurs, the Purussaurus. But how could that be?
Paleontologist Rourke Wolfe joins the team and confirms their findings- that's when the action begins, and the team finds themselves in the middle of a scientist's 'gone-wrong' experimentation, and with the dinosaurs voracious appetites, anything that gets in their path becomes a potential meal.
Can this team find the means to eradicate these beasts before it's too late? Well, I won't spoil the ending by answering that. Bone Quarry is at the top of my book chain. I had a wonderful time writing it and I hope the reader will enjoy it as well.
December 9, 2019
I adore creature features, and even more so if they’re marine creatures, so when I read the description for Bone Quarry I was immediately interested. Mystery marine fauna die-off? Check. Underwater graveyard of human bones? Check. Living dinosaurs which should have been dead for around 8 million years? Check. A cover showing something vaguely like a Mosasaur sweeping up from the depths, jaws gaping beneath a helpless human diver? Check!
I’m not going to give the plot away, because it’s transparent once you have a small amount of information. I will say that for a science fiction it’s very light on the science. The relationships are obvious and trite, the behaviour of the cast often makes no sense, and the palaeontologist expert brought in to help the team uses terms interchangeably which absolutely are not interchangeable, and at one point describes reptile skin as slimy. For some reason the author decides to give the creature a double row of teeth, which isn’t borne out in the fossil record, and doesn’t appear to know that sharks don’t have bones.
The text appears to have been ‘proofread’ solely by Spellcheck, as multiple errors have slipped through the net by virtue of being synonyms. In all, a very frustrating and disappointing read.
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I’m not going to give the plot away, because it’s transparent once you have a small amount of information. I will say that for a science fiction it’s very light on the science. The relationships are obvious and trite, the behaviour of the cast often makes no sense, and the palaeontologist expert brought in to help the team uses terms interchangeably which absolutely are not interchangeable, and at one point describes reptile skin as slimy. For some reason the author decides to give the creature a double row of teeth, which isn’t borne out in the fossil record, and doesn’t appear to know that sharks don’t have bones.
The text appears to have been ‘proofread’ solely by Spellcheck, as multiple errors have slipped through the net by virtue of being synonyms. In all, a very frustrating and disappointing read.
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
April 27, 2020
I’ve read a few of K.D. McNiven’s books. I keep going back because her work is full of action, has rich characters, interesting storylines, and is just plain fun to read. Bone Quarry hits on all of these points.
Divemaster Meg Gerhart and her team are anchored off the coast of Brazil, looking into why dead fish have been washing ashore. Their routine mission soon takes an ominous turn when they come across a bone graveyard while they're in the water gathering samples and testing vegetation for whatever may be killing the marine life.
They soon find they are in over their head when they encounter fresh footprints on land and find a tooth from an animal thought to be long ago extinct, causing them to enlist the help of a renowned paleontologist to make sense of their findings. What could be an exciting, fact-finding, prehistoric expedition soon turns the team’s world upside down.
McNiven is a pro at providing heart-stopping excitement in her Decker and Callie adventure series, and she brings that same expertise to her newest action-adventure thriller. I had to keep checking to make sure I wasn’t actually reading a story written by Michael Crichton, Peter Benchley, or James Rollins. That’s how immersed the reading experience was for me, and that’s how good McNiven’s storytelling is.
Give this one a try… you will be glad you did!
Divemaster Meg Gerhart and her team are anchored off the coast of Brazil, looking into why dead fish have been washing ashore. Their routine mission soon takes an ominous turn when they come across a bone graveyard while they're in the water gathering samples and testing vegetation for whatever may be killing the marine life.
They soon find they are in over their head when they encounter fresh footprints on land and find a tooth from an animal thought to be long ago extinct, causing them to enlist the help of a renowned paleontologist to make sense of their findings. What could be an exciting, fact-finding, prehistoric expedition soon turns the team’s world upside down.
McNiven is a pro at providing heart-stopping excitement in her Decker and Callie adventure series, and she brings that same expertise to her newest action-adventure thriller. I had to keep checking to make sure I wasn’t actually reading a story written by Michael Crichton, Peter Benchley, or James Rollins. That’s how immersed the reading experience was for me, and that’s how good McNiven’s storytelling is.
Give this one a try… you will be glad you did!
November 18, 2019
I’ve enjoyed two previous books by K.D. McNiven but now she has steered into my wheelhouse. Check out the cover! A bloodthirsty sea creature is chasing a diver! I love sea creature books, but I also love her work. McNiven has upped her game here; she’s reined in her tendency to overwrite, while maintaining her colour and delightful Manichean excess of good and bad. As always the bad guys are loathsome and the good guys sexy and charming. We’re off the coast of Brazil this time and something horrible is dining on the locals. Meg Gerhart and her colleagues are attempting to find out what. This is a fun and exciting read and, if you are like me, you are panting for the demise of the baddies. I would also add the scientific detail and research are, as always, pristine. Highly recommended with cold beer and fried alligator.
May 10, 2020
Bone Quarry is a soft sci-fi horror story set in the modern-day Brazil. I am not typically a fan of the horror genre, but I read previous work by McNiven and enjoyed it, so I gave this book a punt. Unfortunately, that punt has not paid off.
I found the story very 1 dimensional, extremely predictable and a little boring. McNiven’s usual writing style is there, but I felt that this book was not up to the same level as previous books, not least due to the number grammatical errors present.
The characters are flat, and their motivations is a bit confused. I don’t think it’s spoiling anything in a horror genre story to say that some characters do not reach the end of the book, but I didn’t develop enough of a connection to any of them for their deaths to affect me.
The book does end, and that ending wraps up the few plot elements well, but I will not be thinking about this story for longer than it takes me to write this review.
Overall, I have given this book 2.75 stars. Knowing McNiven, I am sure a revised edition will be released which addresses the grammatical errors, which will certainly make the book easier to read. If you are after a very light intro to sci-fi horror, give this book a shot.
I found the story very 1 dimensional, extremely predictable and a little boring. McNiven’s usual writing style is there, but I felt that this book was not up to the same level as previous books, not least due to the number grammatical errors present.
The characters are flat, and their motivations is a bit confused. I don’t think it’s spoiling anything in a horror genre story to say that some characters do not reach the end of the book, but I didn’t develop enough of a connection to any of them for their deaths to affect me.
The book does end, and that ending wraps up the few plot elements well, but I will not be thinking about this story for longer than it takes me to write this review.
Overall, I have given this book 2.75 stars. Knowing McNiven, I am sure a revised edition will be released which addresses the grammatical errors, which will certainly make the book easier to read. If you are after a very light intro to sci-fi horror, give this book a shot.
December 31, 2019
Extremely frustrating book.
Very hard to read because of overly dramatic words used constantly. It felt like a highschool english teacher trying to show off her impressive Harvard vocab, or a teenager who thinks they are the world's next great poet, but isnt. That probably doesn't make any sense to anyone, but that was exactly how I felt reading stuff like this example: " He chased her off the golden sand and into the rolling waves. He sliced his hand across the surface, shooting a salty spray in her face." Oh boy... Please stop trying to be fancy. This isn't a romance novel.
The premise is fun, but there were a lot of amateur mistakes with research. Please, please do exstinsive research before you put out a book. Because... I'm sorry, but there is no excuse for some of these mistakes. Sharks have BONES???? ....... O___O *Speechless* ........
I love the author's passion for a sea creature archeology action story, but you need to tighten the story up a lot so it sounds professional and not like someone's fan fiction. D:
Very hard to read because of overly dramatic words used constantly. It felt like a highschool english teacher trying to show off her impressive Harvard vocab, or a teenager who thinks they are the world's next great poet, but isnt. That probably doesn't make any sense to anyone, but that was exactly how I felt reading stuff like this example: " He chased her off the golden sand and into the rolling waves. He sliced his hand across the surface, shooting a salty spray in her face." Oh boy... Please stop trying to be fancy. This isn't a romance novel.
The premise is fun, but there were a lot of amateur mistakes with research. Please, please do exstinsive research before you put out a book. Because... I'm sorry, but there is no excuse for some of these mistakes. Sharks have BONES???? ....... O___O *Speechless* ........
I love the author's passion for a sea creature archeology action story, but you need to tighten the story up a lot so it sounds professional and not like someone's fan fiction. D:
May 28, 2020
GREAT READ
I really enjoyed this book. It was everything I want in my books. It was full of action, and menacing creatures.
GREAT JOB!
I loved the book, the story, and the characters. It's just what I love in my books. Lots of action and menacing creatures.. Ms. C loach
Ms. C Loach
I really enjoyed this book. It was everything I want in my books. It was full of action, and menacing creatures.
GREAT JOB!
I loved the book, the story, and the characters. It's just what I love in my books. Lots of action and menacing creatures.. Ms. C loach
Ms. C Loach
May 31, 2020
This needs a sequel........
What happens next??? We need more Roark and Meg!!! The ending is a perfect lead-in to a sequel. I luved this book. A different take on cloning of dinosaurs. It was thrilling and a little bit scary. A little romance with a lot of action. Well written and very few typos. I will read more by this author. Highly recommended.
What happens next??? We need more Roark and Meg!!! The ending is a perfect lead-in to a sequel. I luved this book. A different take on cloning of dinosaurs. It was thrilling and a little bit scary. A little romance with a lot of action. Well written and very few typos. I will read more by this author. Highly recommended.
December 15, 2019
Interesting and suspenseful!
Characters are pretty interesting, fairly well-rounded. Story holds the reader although I have not heard of this particular kind of dinosaur! Fast reading, only took me one day! High mortality rate but that was expected! Liked the authors style!
Characters are pretty interesting, fairly well-rounded. Story holds the reader although I have not heard of this particular kind of dinosaur! Fast reading, only took me one day! High mortality rate but that was expected! Liked the authors style!
September 4, 2020
Well paced and written
Ms. McNiven has produced a spectacular work of fiction. The two main heroic figures survive a harrowing ordeal with "dinosaus, " however, these are not Jurassic Park creatures.
Ms. McNiven has produced a spectacular work of fiction. The two main heroic figures survive a harrowing ordeal with "dinosaus, " however, these are not Jurassic Park creatures.
June 15, 2020
Riveting
Keeper me reading, couldn’t put it down. Definitely a page turner. From the very beginning she brought you into the story and keeps you there
Keeper me reading, couldn’t put it down. Definitely a page turner. From the very beginning she brought you into the story and keeps you there
December 23, 2019
I have to admit that I went in to this book predicting that it would be a 3 star read at best. Part of that was because of the subject matter, dinosaurs. Now, I am a huge fan of dinosaurs, in fact I am sitting here writing my review wearing a Jurassic Park t-shirt (coincidence, honest). But I have never read a dinosaur fiction book. I was absolutely sure that I wouldn't enjoy it that much as the scenes and beasts wouldn't be portrayed as well as they are in movies/tv. Well, I went through this same journey with zombies and now I'm obsessed with reading zompocs so I really should have known better!
The book is a really easy read. The characters are likeable, if a little predictable and quite black & white. For example the 'good guys' are all amazing, talented and incredibly good looking. The 'bad guys' aren't described anywhere near as favourably.
The story line is a little predictable as is the ending but I still enjoyed the book.
I don't know anything about diving so any mistakes regarding that I am unaware of, however, despite having minimal knowledge of sealife even I know that sharks don't have bones! Also there were a few quite obvious typos that I can see being frustrating to some readers.
Overall Bone Quarry is a very light intro to the science fiction genre and I enjoyed it so much that I am now looking forward to trying another dinosaur fiction book :)
Thank you to Book Sirens and the publisher for a free copy of this book in return for an honest review
The book is a really easy read. The characters are likeable, if a little predictable and quite black & white. For example the 'good guys' are all amazing, talented and incredibly good looking. The 'bad guys' aren't described anywhere near as favourably.
The story line is a little predictable as is the ending but I still enjoyed the book.
I don't know anything about diving so any mistakes regarding that I am unaware of, however, despite having minimal knowledge of sealife even I know that sharks don't have bones! Also there were a few quite obvious typos that I can see being frustrating to some readers.
Overall Bone Quarry is a very light intro to the science fiction genre and I enjoyed it so much that I am now looking forward to trying another dinosaur fiction book :)
Thank you to Book Sirens and the publisher for a free copy of this book in return for an honest review
January 14, 2020
Sorry to say that this book is not as good as the title. It starts off as a direct rip-off of the first Jurassic Park film where the people on the beach get attacked by something unknown.
Skip to the present day where our heroine, Meg, is in charge of a dive team off the coast of Brazil. Being as this is a current novel, they are there to check pollution levels in the ocean. This is followed by a detailed explanation of dive equipment and procedures. I don't dive. I'm not interested in knowing all the details. Those who do dive don't need it. The author could have condensed two pages into one sentence: "She checked the equipment". We also don't need the minutiae of their after dive rituals. "They got ready to go ashore" would have been enough. Also, who is funding this dive. These people are always drinking wine or beer. I've never heard of a dive team having all that alcohol aboard.
Now for the evil scientists. With German accents in South America, natch. As a dinosaur, sorry, Purussaurus, story, it could just have been so much better. I found myself skipping pages, then whole chapters. Never a good sign.
Skip to the present day where our heroine, Meg, is in charge of a dive team off the coast of Brazil. Being as this is a current novel, they are there to check pollution levels in the ocean. This is followed by a detailed explanation of dive equipment and procedures. I don't dive. I'm not interested in knowing all the details. Those who do dive don't need it. The author could have condensed two pages into one sentence: "She checked the equipment". We also don't need the minutiae of their after dive rituals. "They got ready to go ashore" would have been enough. Also, who is funding this dive. These people are always drinking wine or beer. I've never heard of a dive team having all that alcohol aboard.
Now for the evil scientists. With German accents in South America, natch. As a dinosaur, sorry, Purussaurus, story, it could just have been so much better. I found myself skipping pages, then whole chapters. Never a good sign.
November 8, 2020
I signed up for monsters, not romance.
I'm into horror, mystery, and suspense novels so I thought this one sounded interesting. The suspense was not really built up very much before revealing the creatures and the bad guys behind them (German scientists and Japanese funding, not really original). Soon the main character's ex- husband shows up and all of sudden about half the dialogue and plot is about their failed relationship and lingering feelings for each other. This novel was not very well written and poorly edited; several times it seemed like parts had been left out or that the author was too eager to get to the action and omitted some explanation as a result. Also, plenty of typos and grammatical errors leave the reader to puzzle out sentences for themselves.
I'm into horror, mystery, and suspense novels so I thought this one sounded interesting. The suspense was not really built up very much before revealing the creatures and the bad guys behind them (German scientists and Japanese funding, not really original). Soon the main character's ex- husband shows up and all of sudden about half the dialogue and plot is about their failed relationship and lingering feelings for each other. This novel was not very well written and poorly edited; several times it seemed like parts had been left out or that the author was too eager to get to the action and omitted some explanation as a result. Also, plenty of typos and grammatical errors leave the reader to puzzle out sentences for themselves.
December 5, 2020
Rarely do I find a book impossible to finish. This was one such book. I hopped onboard for a monster-rific horror novel, not a romance with a sprinkle of dinosaur. I made it 50% of the way through and found myself skipping pages and chapters due to complete and utter boredom. I hated the characters, couldn't stomach the Mary Sue "heroine", and the monster wasn't even that good of a monster story. It had a lot of potential, but boy was it dry. Also, it seems as if the author had never considered hiring a proofreader. There were glaring errors, both with the plot and with the grammar. Characters were mentioned before they were ever introduced. Overall, could've done without this one.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 11, 2019
This is my first exposure to this author and although I found the premise of the book interesting there were so flaws that detracted from the overall effort. As someone who grew up in Brazil, I found the reaction of the locals not to be in character. As well the main characters were either too good or too evil. Despite these flaws, I found this to be a fast-paced science-fiction thriller with enough twists and turns to maintain your interest.
Thank you to the author who provided me with an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to the author who provided me with an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
December 19, 2020
Am I desperate for a monster story?
Well, I made 28% through this "monstrosity" (all puns intended). Yes, I really like monster books and movies. I also appreciate proper grammar, of which this novel has none. The author seems so eager to tell the story, it's difficult to interpret who is speaking. Would it be hard to have your EDUCATED SCIENTIST characters speak well? This story is haphazardly tossed together. Don't waste your time or your money! And, YES I am a real person leaving an HONEST REVIEW!
Well, I made 28% through this "monstrosity" (all puns intended). Yes, I really like monster books and movies. I also appreciate proper grammar, of which this novel has none. The author seems so eager to tell the story, it's difficult to interpret who is speaking. Would it be hard to have your EDUCATED SCIENTIST characters speak well? This story is haphazardly tossed together. Don't waste your time or your money! And, YES I am a real person leaving an HONEST REVIEW!
December 13, 2019
Not so good
Very weak in research, such as, scuba diving, grossly underestimating weight of gear, unless she meant kilos. Deflate not inflate to descend. Decompression stops every 15 feet. Geography, mouth not headwaters of Amazon. Biology, sharks have skeletons of cartilage. Ever see a skull with a nose, ears?
Very weak in research, such as, scuba diving, grossly underestimating weight of gear, unless she meant kilos. Deflate not inflate to descend. Decompression stops every 15 feet. Geography, mouth not headwaters of Amazon. Biology, sharks have skeletons of cartilage. Ever see a skull with a nose, ears?
Read
July 4, 2020Yet another page turner from K.D. McNiven. I loved it. It’s a new set of characters but I felt at home with them all. I marvel at all the research that Ms. McNiven must do to write her books. This book ended on a cliff hanger so I am wondering if another book with the same characters is coming down the pike? Worth reading as are all her previous books.
October 6, 2020
Christian Alert ! Much unnecessary God cursing !
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews