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Chimera
A team of scientists awakens an organism that has lain dormant beneath the ocean floor for millions of years.
“This is Dr. Mira Stone at Academy Station…”
When the Air National Guard receives an emergency call for help from a remote arctic research station in Greenland, Senior Master Sergeant Dan Cameron is chosen to lead the rescue mission. All he and his team know for sure is that the facility has lost primary power and the integrity of the complex has been compromised.
“Something is in here with us. Six of us are already dead.”
In an attempt to combat climate change, the scientists have genetically engineered an aquatic biofilm capable of generating oxygen and lowering the temperature of the underlying seawater, producing environmental conditions that awaken an organism that has lain dormant beneath the ocean floor for millions of years.
“Academy Station is lost. Do not—I repeat—do not attempt to reclaim—”
By the time Cameron arrives, the scientists have abandoned the smoldering ruins of the station. He discovers their trail leading across the glacier, but theirs aren’t the only tracks he finds. Something inhuman is hunting the survivors and he needs to find them before it does, because the most terrifying thing about the creature is…
You’ll never see it coming.
“This is Dr. Mira Stone at Academy Station…”
When the Air National Guard receives an emergency call for help from a remote arctic research station in Greenland, Senior Master Sergeant Dan Cameron is chosen to lead the rescue mission. All he and his team know for sure is that the facility has lost primary power and the integrity of the complex has been compromised.
“Something is in here with us. Six of us are already dead.”
In an attempt to combat climate change, the scientists have genetically engineered an aquatic biofilm capable of generating oxygen and lowering the temperature of the underlying seawater, producing environmental conditions that awaken an organism that has lain dormant beneath the ocean floor for millions of years.
“Academy Station is lost. Do not—I repeat—do not attempt to reclaim—”
By the time Cameron arrives, the scientists have abandoned the smoldering ruins of the station. He discovers their trail leading across the glacier, but theirs aren’t the only tracks he finds. Something inhuman is hunting the survivors and he needs to find them before it does, because the most terrifying thing about the creature is…
You’ll never see it coming.
366 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 13, 2021
287 people are currently reading
513 people want to read
About the author
Michael McBride
123 books479 followersMichael McBride was born in Colorado and still resides in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains. He hates the snow, but loves the Avalanche. He works with medical radiation, yet somehow managed to produce five children, none of whom, miraculously, have tails, third eyes, or other random mutations. He writes fiction that runs the gamut from thriller to horror to science fiction...and loves every minute of it.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 91 reviews
March 26, 2022
This is a mad scientist story. Trying to save the world from global warming, Dr. Mira Stone has genetically engineered a biological organism that should stop the warming of the oceans. To test it, she joins a team of scientists in the artic and they don’t stop their experiments even after they go wrong and the organism starts mutating, evolving, and taking over other creatures which it then mutates as well in frightening ways.
There is a lot of tension as a rescue team is sent in together with some bigwigs from the company who owns the research station. The rescue team figures out pretty quickly that they are not being told what is really happening and the plot is somewhat predictable in that regard. The big problem with the plot is that we are supposed to care about Mira Stone who created this mess and I frankly didn’t. She’s well intentioned, but the road to hell is paved with that kind of intention. As happens often in this genre—totally predictably for a genetically created organism that is loose in the wild—there is very little chance that the organism can really be stopped at this point no matter how much short-term success the rescue team might have. Most of the story is told from Stone’s POV and yet I, like most readers, I assume, was cheering for the monster to finish her off since she caused all the trouble.
If you liked this review, you can find more at www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.
There is a lot of tension as a rescue team is sent in together with some bigwigs from the company who owns the research station. The rescue team figures out pretty quickly that they are not being told what is really happening and the plot is somewhat predictable in that regard. The big problem with the plot is that we are supposed to care about Mira Stone who created this mess and I frankly didn’t. She’s well intentioned, but the road to hell is paved with that kind of intention. As happens often in this genre—totally predictably for a genetically created organism that is loose in the wild—there is very little chance that the organism can really be stopped at this point no matter how much short-term success the rescue team might have. Most of the story is told from Stone’s POV and yet I, like most readers, I assume, was cheering for the monster to finish her off since she caused all the trouble.
If you liked this review, you can find more at www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.
October 23, 2023
Was a fan of Sunblind so was looking for more from the author but came away a little disappointed (maybe the lesson is to try and stick to the earlier books). Anyway it’s a serviceable creature feature, a Crichtonesque science thriller and an homage to The Thing. Some scientists in the arctic try to develop a plastic eating bacteria to help the oceanic ecosystem, but something goes wrong. It evolves too rapidly and escapes its testing area becoming a threat to the scientists and potentially the world. The rich characterization that made Sunblind so compelling is almost nonexistent and it’s fairly boring until the third act where, to its credit, it turns into a decent monster yarn. I don’t want the world to end or anything, and god forbid a majestic whale falls victim to the bacterial menace; but these scientists are dumb and way too cavalier about inventing a new kingdom of life. So what happens, happens.
September 30, 2021
Another fantastic read from Michael McBride
Chimera is non-stop excitement from the first page to the last. Combining frighteningly real science with action-packed military adventure, this is one of the best eco-thrillers you will read this year. Once you start it, you won't be able to put it down.
Chimera is non-stop excitement from the first page to the last. Combining frighteningly real science with action-packed military adventure, this is one of the best eco-thrillers you will read this year. Once you start it, you won't be able to put it down.
February 6, 2022
2.5 stars
A sort of difficult book to rate, because while I was entertained, I had this constant buzzing in my head saying: "I've already seen this movie."
The book being very movie-like in its storytelling was nice, but at the same time... It was as infested with tropes as a street dog is with fleas. And that was less nice.
I mean, sure... It kind of did its own thing with old horror movie tropes and that worked well enough, but it wasn't great. Not bad, exactly either, but ... predictable.
Mira, the main character, is the only real substantial character in the book and when she can't even kill an infested fish you know she's going to be the one bawling her eyes out over the Big Bad towards the end because .... nOOooooOOoo, dOn'T kIlL iT!!!!
.
.
.
.
.
I've seen other reviewers comment that you sort of need a PhD in biology to keep up with the lingo in the book, but I sort of disagree (but then again, I do like science and have dabbled in the matter in school).
Anyway: The "science" bit in this book leans very heavily on sci-fi though. Or should we plainly say fiction.
My main issue with the whole thing is that I can't even in my wildest imagination suspend enough disbelief to buy that the bio film Mira and her colleague Sammy tests should even be allowed in close approximation of any other organisms without more thorough testing first.
It simply rings so bloody untrue that they just plop the thing in what's basically a pond with precious whales and other beings the very first day.
But... Then there's a whole lot of other issues you just have to buy for the whole thing to work.
It did however not work very well for me. I could see the "jump scares" come a mile away and the foreshadowing was so heavy it was breathing down my neck, basically.
One thing I did like was the polar bear. It crept around and acted really creepy in a good way.
But how all that exposure to other animals in the area couldn't have spread the Big Bad chimera to more animals (carrion birds - hello?) just didn't make sense.
The story was intense though. So while judging it alongside other stories in the same category, I thought it did well enough.
Compared to other books in general though... Well... Room to improve.
A sort of difficult book to rate, because while I was entertained, I had this constant buzzing in my head saying: "I've already seen this movie."
The book being very movie-like in its storytelling was nice, but at the same time... It was as infested with tropes as a street dog is with fleas. And that was less nice.
I mean, sure... It kind of did its own thing with old horror movie tropes and that worked well enough, but it wasn't great. Not bad, exactly either, but ... predictable.
Mira, the main character, is the only real substantial character in the book and when she can't even kill an infested fish you know she's going to be the one bawling her eyes out over the Big Bad towards the end because .... nOOooooOOoo, dOn'T kIlL iT!!!!
.
.
.
.
.
I've seen other reviewers comment that you sort of need a PhD in biology to keep up with the lingo in the book, but I sort of disagree (but then again, I do like science and have dabbled in the matter in school).
Anyway: The "science" bit in this book leans very heavily on sci-fi though. Or should we plainly say fiction.
My main issue with the whole thing is that I can't even in my wildest imagination suspend enough disbelief to buy that the bio film Mira and her colleague Sammy tests should even be allowed in close approximation of any other organisms without more thorough testing first.
It simply rings so bloody untrue that they just plop the thing in what's basically a pond with precious whales and other beings the very first day.
But... Then there's a whole lot of other issues you just have to buy for the whole thing to work.
It did however not work very well for me. I could see the "jump scares" come a mile away and the foreshadowing was so heavy it was breathing down my neck, basically.
One thing I did like was the polar bear. It crept around and acted really creepy in a good way.
But how all that exposure to other animals in the area couldn't have spread the Big Bad chimera to more animals (carrion birds - hello?) just didn't make sense.
The story was intense though. So while judging it alongside other stories in the same category, I thought it did well enough.
Compared to other books in general though... Well... Room to improve.
September 26, 2021
Human Hubris Leads To Disaster. This is a creature feature tale combined with a disaster tale, with a unique and fairly inventive creature combining with a massive blizzard in the Arctic Circle to create one hell of a ride. McBride uses a dual timeline approach to show us how the creature came to be and just how one scientist in particular had their noble goals turn out so horrifically, along with showing the "now" of having to rescue any possible survivors once the creature runs on its inevitable (due to the genre) rampage. McBride actually teases some even more horrific creatures, but the focus is completely on the titular Chimera. While not in any way a political book (similar to the greats of the genre in that regard), in showing yet another way that altruism and hubris can in fact lead to disaster, this book actually makes some solid points about caution and even corporate and government interests - and back-room dealings - in the areas at hand. But again, these are more minor points in the tale, more throw-away commentary that fleshes out minor characters than truly central to the actual story. Truly a story that fires on all cylinders and offers much for anyone that is remotely a fan of science fiction in general or creature features in particular. Very much recommended.
August 22, 2022
Scientists on an arctic research station finds an interesting organism and they splice it with spider DNA and are shocked that it all goes a muck.
My issue is that the Arctic animals really suffered with this one and I did not like that at all.
Can we please leave the polar bears out of it???
I mean my god, have they not suffered enough? With their little fluffy faces.
Ahem, anyway some good scares and lost of gross. If animals being brought in on the horror doesn't bother you might enjoy more then me. Characters were a bit one dimensional though.
My issue is that the Arctic animals really suffered with this one and I did not like that at all.
Can we please leave the polar bears out of it???
I mean my god, have they not suffered enough? With their little fluffy faces.
Ahem, anyway some good scares and lost of gross. If animals being brought in on the horror doesn't bother you might enjoy more then me. Characters were a bit one dimensional though.
November 8, 2021
I've been a fan of Michael McBride's for longer than I care to remember, andhave enjoyed each and every novel I've read. The same goes for CHIMERA.
Mostly SciFi with flourishes of horror that is a blending of The Thing and Theodore Strugeon's "The Girl Had Guts", it lavishes detail on two of Mankind's most universal fears: being cut off from civilization and faced by an unknown menace. With a plot that could, to quote a popular TV series, be "ripped from the headlines," it also is a story of corporate greed and the government's ability to look the other way at the wrong time.
There might be a little too much technical and scientific jargon for the average reader but the more in-the-know fans will understand that part, and it still doesn't detract from the plot.
Keep 'em coming, Michael!
Mostly SciFi with flourishes of horror that is a blending of The Thing and Theodore Strugeon's "The Girl Had Guts", it lavishes detail on two of Mankind's most universal fears: being cut off from civilization and faced by an unknown menace. With a plot that could, to quote a popular TV series, be "ripped from the headlines," it also is a story of corporate greed and the government's ability to look the other way at the wrong time.
There might be a little too much technical and scientific jargon for the average reader but the more in-the-know fans will understand that part, and it still doesn't detract from the plot.
Keep 'em coming, Michael!
October 12, 2021
The Thing if it was written by a scientist
This book tries to be a spiritual successor to The Thing and falls flat. It had a really interesting premise. Isolated science station, mysterious warnings, science project gone wrong, and a heavily armed team unaware of what's waiting for them. But the book gets bogged down in the excessive scientific explanations. This book could've been 60% shorter if the author hadn't gone into so much scientific detail. Anyone without a PhD in biology or genetics is going to be lost, confused, or bored.The mystery is there, the horror is there, the action is there, but all that gets buried under pages and pages of unnecessary science talk. Readers don't need to know the genetic make up of amoebas and chimeras.
Another big problem I had was the two time lines and how they were written. One was written using past tense like most books and the other was written using present tense. I get what the author was trying to go for, but it was super distracting.
The dialogue between the scientist sounded like it was a written by professors giving speeches to college students. No normal person talks the way the scientists did. Super complicated and overly indulgent speeches were everywhere in the book. It made no sense for a character to launch into a five minute explanation of what they were working on. If you work for the CDC or a genetics company then I'm sure you had a blast. I did not.
This book had the potential to be a top tier survival story like Predator and The Thing. Instead it takes a good story and buries it under a ton of scientific explanations that turn it into a boring snoozefest. I legitimately struggled to get through it and had to scan through paragraphs and pages to skip through the boring speeches.
This book tries to be a spiritual successor to The Thing and falls flat. It had a really interesting premise. Isolated science station, mysterious warnings, science project gone wrong, and a heavily armed team unaware of what's waiting for them. But the book gets bogged down in the excessive scientific explanations. This book could've been 60% shorter if the author hadn't gone into so much scientific detail. Anyone without a PhD in biology or genetics is going to be lost, confused, or bored.The mystery is there, the horror is there, the action is there, but all that gets buried under pages and pages of unnecessary science talk. Readers don't need to know the genetic make up of amoebas and chimeras.
Another big problem I had was the two time lines and how they were written. One was written using past tense like most books and the other was written using present tense. I get what the author was trying to go for, but it was super distracting.
The dialogue between the scientist sounded like it was a written by professors giving speeches to college students. No normal person talks the way the scientists did. Super complicated and overly indulgent speeches were everywhere in the book. It made no sense for a character to launch into a five minute explanation of what they were working on. If you work for the CDC or a genetics company then I'm sure you had a blast. I did not.
This book had the potential to be a top tier survival story like Predator and The Thing. Instead it takes a good story and buries it under a ton of scientific explanations that turn it into a boring snoozefest. I legitimately struggled to get through it and had to scan through paragraphs and pages to skip through the boring speeches.
October 19, 2021
great
Love most of his books. This one should Have a sequel! Only thing that bothered me a bit was Dr Mira and her sentimentality.
Love most of his books. This one should Have a sequel! Only thing that bothered me a bit was Dr Mira and her sentimentality.
December 11, 2021
Creepy fun!
Climate change and conservation are definitely not boring topics in this book. It’s violent, well written, and set in one of the scariest locations on earth.
Climate change and conservation are definitely not boring topics in this book. It’s violent, well written, and set in one of the scariest locations on earth.
November 7, 2021
Wow! What a ride!
If there were six stars, I'd give it. Books are written to entertain, to provoke thought, and, for me, to live vicariously through the pages.
Michael McBride never fails to deliver. The characters are perfectly drawn, the science rings true, and the chills and horror actually had me jumping at unexpected noises! Very highly recommended. One of his best!
If there were six stars, I'd give it. Books are written to entertain, to provoke thought, and, for me, to live vicariously through the pages.
Michael McBride never fails to deliver. The characters are perfectly drawn, the science rings true, and the chills and horror actually had me jumping at unexpected noises! Very highly recommended. One of his best!
October 25, 2021
When the national guard station receives a eerie message from Academy Station, and despite warnings they send a team to see what happened. What they find is beyond belief, there is no power the staff are missing or dead and everything is torn up. Now they search to see what could have caused this and for any survivors.
This was a really good book full of action, even more suspense, and even a few twists and turns just to keep you on your toes. Narrator Joe Hempel really brings this book to life and though he makes me feel like I am there at Academy Station I am secretly glad I wasn't in that cold.
This was a really good book full of action, even more suspense, and even a few twists and turns just to keep you on your toes. Narrator Joe Hempel really brings this book to life and though he makes me feel like I am there at Academy Station I am secretly glad I wasn't in that cold.
October 26, 2021
This was a little more SciFi than horror to me, but I still loved it thanks to the great narration by Joe Hempel! Joe is one of my favorite horror narrators! For the types of stories I usually listen to with his narrations, this was mild in comparison lol. For a sci-fi though, it was awesome! Scientists should never try to play God. It never ends well! LOL
October 13, 2021
I received a copy of the audiobook through Fireside Horror in exchange for an honest review.
My personal feelings are that this book is a must read/listen to for anyone who is interested in “what can a biological threat do to us if we are the ones that created it” type of horror.
The story starts out simple enough, the science behind it sucked me in, and the way that the characters interacted with one another really made it all come together for me. This is my first McBride novel and I wasn’t disappointed. The story moves at a slow pace at first but amps up sooner than expected and goes full throttle until the end.
As for Fireside Horrors audio book… per usual it was fantastic. The narration was on point and i believe the narrator really helped this story jump off the pages and into my brain visually.
All around fantastic and would recommend highly.
My personal feelings are that this book is a must read/listen to for anyone who is interested in “what can a biological threat do to us if we are the ones that created it” type of horror.
The story starts out simple enough, the science behind it sucked me in, and the way that the characters interacted with one another really made it all come together for me. This is my first McBride novel and I wasn’t disappointed. The story moves at a slow pace at first but amps up sooner than expected and goes full throttle until the end.
As for Fireside Horrors audio book… per usual it was fantastic. The narration was on point and i believe the narrator really helped this story jump off the pages and into my brain visually.
All around fantastic and would recommend highly.
October 16, 2021
Fast paced sound science
Characters are well developed and engaging. The scientific basis of the plot is well developed and exp!and without being teachy.
Characters are well developed and engaging. The scientific basis of the plot is well developed and exp!and without being teachy.
Read
October 3, 2021Good reading
Wow Mr Mcbride! This was great reading. Will there be others like this? I have passed the book to my friend to enjoy.
Wow Mr Mcbride! This was great reading. Will there be others like this? I have passed the book to my friend to enjoy.
October 25, 2021
DNF was boring....
September 6, 2022
As sci-fi/horror stories go, this one is pretty common: scientists create something that they lose control of, and it goes nuts and kills people. It's a well-worn trope, but unfortunately Chimera doesn't find any ways to break new ground. The monster is created, the monster kills people. Perhaps the new-ish angle is that the creation was going to fight global warming, but in the end, that wasn't important.
The first half of the book is filled with long explanations of the science. Interesting if you enjoy biology info dumps, but not really otherwise.
Add to that characters who speak in exposition and use phrases never uttered by actual human beings, and you have a recipe for a slog.
Things do pick up near the end when the monster actually starts killing people, but yes, you have to wade through about 2/3 of the book to actually get to that point.
The first half of the book is filled with long explanations of the science. Interesting if you enjoy biology info dumps, but not really otherwise.
Add to that characters who speak in exposition and use phrases never uttered by actual human beings, and you have a recipe for a slog.
Things do pick up near the end when the monster actually starts killing people, but yes, you have to wade through about 2/3 of the book to actually get to that point.
December 29, 2023
Pretty good monster horror and gripping suspense. I feel like some of the opportunities to integrate the animals weren't taken and the scenes with them fall a bit flat for me because of that. The book also takes a little too long to get to the action in my opinion and the science is a bit clunky. I recommend his book Subhuman, it's similar but better. But this one is still a fun read for monster horror fans.
July 6, 2023
This book was disappointing. I had high hopes for it, and it had such high potential but it just didn't stand. The majority of this book just felt like filler words and just information to make you feel like there was a great story but nothing was hidden behind those words. It wasn't until the end that I started to feel invested, but the ending disappointed me as well.
November 19, 2021
I actually really enjoyed this one. Unlike some of the other readers, I loved the scientific aspect, especially the parts pertaining to marine biology and the evolution of the *critter*. I'm pleased with who lived and died, for once, and it ends in the right way for it to either be a standalone, or for potential for a sequel, which is a nice touch.
McBride does it again! :)
McBride does it again! :)
August 5, 2025
Bearable but cliché ridden.
Every once in a while I enjoy a good monster B-side to cleanse the palate and enjoy a few hours of chilling entertainment. This time I decided to pick up Chimera by McBride, who I often see recommend for fans of the monster-horror genre. While I always try to keep my expectations low, I ended up feeling rather... mild about Chimera.
The story is as typical as it can gets, and while that didn't really detract me from it, as I was expecting to try and be a little different from the usual "horror in the arctic" trope, it ended up being, well, exactly that plus a ton of plotlines that feel like straight rip-offs from different pop movies.
This is The Thing meets Prometheus meets The Abyss. It reads like a movie for the whole duration of it and it fails to take advantage of the literary medium as a way to convey emotion and thoughts that expand the characters and create a deeper story. The protagonist —and pretty much every other character— is very forgettable, without any depth or interesting traits other than the usual "good intentions lead to hell" trope. The rest of the cast sole purpose is to act as exposition devices, and oh dear there is a lot of that here. Entire chapters dedicated to explain the biology of how everything works, with some heavy lingo that won't make any sense to the average reader. I'm not saying you need to dumb down the story, but there's a line between showing and telling, and that line was destroyed.
Despite being slightly on the short side, it takes a good chunk to start pumping some gas. The first half of it is pretty much a massive setup for the final act, but because of the way the story is structured and the dry prose, you can guess with accuracy what is going to happen, and it happens, so the twist? Well, there's not much of a twist.
Still, it's not all bad. It is a decent story but there's nothing original about it. Some of the concepts are pretty incredible, like the lake of blood, and the way the chimera can splice up DNA and adapt to it (not original, though, but still fun) and mutate things. Some of the gory scenes can be pretty interesting and add up a bit of tension, but because we care little about the characters it comes down as meh.
I would recommend this book to people that don't mind reading the same typical pop-tropes again and again, and are in the mood for some cold horror with a techno-biology spice on top of it. Other than that, I wasn't really satisfied.
Every once in a while I enjoy a good monster B-side to cleanse the palate and enjoy a few hours of chilling entertainment. This time I decided to pick up Chimera by McBride, who I often see recommend for fans of the monster-horror genre. While I always try to keep my expectations low, I ended up feeling rather... mild about Chimera.
The story is as typical as it can gets, and while that didn't really detract me from it, as I was expecting to try and be a little different from the usual "horror in the arctic" trope, it ended up being, well, exactly that plus a ton of plotlines that feel like straight rip-offs from different pop movies.
This is The Thing meets Prometheus meets The Abyss. It reads like a movie for the whole duration of it and it fails to take advantage of the literary medium as a way to convey emotion and thoughts that expand the characters and create a deeper story. The protagonist —and pretty much every other character— is very forgettable, without any depth or interesting traits other than the usual "good intentions lead to hell" trope. The rest of the cast sole purpose is to act as exposition devices, and oh dear there is a lot of that here. Entire chapters dedicated to explain the biology of how everything works, with some heavy lingo that won't make any sense to the average reader. I'm not saying you need to dumb down the story, but there's a line between showing and telling, and that line was destroyed.
Despite being slightly on the short side, it takes a good chunk to start pumping some gas. The first half of it is pretty much a massive setup for the final act, but because of the way the story is structured and the dry prose, you can guess with accuracy what is going to happen, and it happens, so the twist? Well, there's not much of a twist.
Still, it's not all bad. It is a decent story but there's nothing original about it. Some of the concepts are pretty incredible, like the lake of blood, and the way the chimera can splice up DNA and adapt to it (not original, though, but still fun) and mutate things. Some of the gory scenes can be pretty interesting and add up a bit of tension, but because we care little about the characters it comes down as meh.
I would recommend this book to people that don't mind reading the same typical pop-tropes again and again, and are in the mood for some cold horror with a techno-biology spice on top of it. Other than that, I wasn't really satisfied.
January 26, 2022
Originally posted on the book blog Creature From the Book Lagoon.
Man….. I really…. REALLY wanted to love this book. I have enjoyed everything else I’ve read from McBride so far! Chimera just was not on the same level as his previous books. This isn’t a terrible book! Just not his best?
What I loved:
The premise is straight up my alley! I love science gone wrong creature stories. The plot was so much fun! I absolutely loved all the creatures. Um, spider BEAR? YES! YES! YES! How can you NOT want to see that?? All of this was just so much fun.
So what was it that I disliked?
Well, for starters, the main female character, Mira, was extremely frustrating. I’m trying to keep spoiler free, so sorry for being a little vague. There were just a TON of red flags that she missed or straight up ignored. I know she was blinded by science and saving the world, blah blah, but these red flags were NOT subtle. Like, at all. She should have had more of a clue to what was going down. With her ignoring them or missing them just made this very intelligent lady look so very stupid. :/
Also making her look dumb was how she acted when confronting the creature in the last half of the book. UGH! She kept talking about saving it and healing it, even after she watched it kill everyone again and again. She knew it was too dangerous. It was obvious there was no “fixing” it or returning it to normal. She also knew it could destroy every ecosystem in the WORLD if it escaped… yet time and time again she interfered with people trying to stop it or kill it.
As if this character was not frustrating enough, she goes on and on about saving her friend. Ok, I get it, you had a work friend you shared a lab with and you want to make sure she’s ok. But about half way through the book, the main character starts to act like Sammy is her BFF times 1000. However there was no build up of this friendship whatsoever! It is built up like a working friendship and once they meet up at the station, it never EVER felt like close friends. No closer then any of the other scientists at the station. It just felt so odd at the end how Mira talked about their friendship because I never once felt like it was anything more then a friendly work relationship. I can’t say more without spoilers, sorry!
I think for me, the flaws with the main character, Mira, is more frustrating than anything else. Then you had a few little minor hiccups with clunky science expositions and the story being a little predictable…. Sadly Chimera was just a miss for me. I really want to like it though! This is a talented author, and this book has a lot of fun stuff in it…
Man….. I really…. REALLY wanted to love this book. I have enjoyed everything else I’ve read from McBride so far! Chimera just was not on the same level as his previous books. This isn’t a terrible book! Just not his best?
What I loved:
The premise is straight up my alley! I love science gone wrong creature stories. The plot was so much fun! I absolutely loved all the creatures. Um, spider BEAR? YES! YES! YES! How can you NOT want to see that?? All of this was just so much fun.
So what was it that I disliked?
Well, for starters, the main female character, Mira, was extremely frustrating. I’m trying to keep spoiler free, so sorry for being a little vague. There were just a TON of red flags that she missed or straight up ignored. I know she was blinded by science and saving the world, blah blah, but these red flags were NOT subtle. Like, at all. She should have had more of a clue to what was going down. With her ignoring them or missing them just made this very intelligent lady look so very stupid. :/
Also making her look dumb was how she acted when confronting the creature in the last half of the book. UGH! She kept talking about saving it and healing it, even after she watched it kill everyone again and again. She knew it was too dangerous. It was obvious there was no “fixing” it or returning it to normal. She also knew it could destroy every ecosystem in the WORLD if it escaped… yet time and time again she interfered with people trying to stop it or kill it.
As if this character was not frustrating enough, she goes on and on about saving her friend. Ok, I get it, you had a work friend you shared a lab with and you want to make sure she’s ok. But about half way through the book, the main character starts to act like Sammy is her BFF times 1000. However there was no build up of this friendship whatsoever! It is built up like a working friendship and once they meet up at the station, it never EVER felt like close friends. No closer then any of the other scientists at the station. It just felt so odd at the end how Mira talked about their friendship because I never once felt like it was anything more then a friendly work relationship. I can’t say more without spoilers, sorry!
I think for me, the flaws with the main character, Mira, is more frustrating than anything else. Then you had a few little minor hiccups with clunky science expositions and the story being a little predictable…. Sadly Chimera was just a miss for me. I really want to like it though! This is a talented author, and this book has a lot of fun stuff in it…
October 6, 2021
A group of scientists on a base in Antarctica are working on a new species of biofilm in hopes of combating climate change by rising oceanic temperatures. Their experiments show promising results but, unexpectedly, things get out of hand.
This was an interesting book, with plenty of scientific references and concepts to keep track of. Microbiology enthusiasts will enjoy reading about the archaea, an ancient organism that can be found in the oceans but also in the human gut. The first part of the book reminded me a bit of Jurassic Park, as the experiments are explained with plenty of details, giving the impression that everything is accounted for, just before things go terribly wrong. The second part of the book is more strong on the horror aspect, and it reminded me somehow of Alien in how McBride uses psychological horror mixed with the fear of the unknown.
There are two storylines in this book. One tells the story of the group of scientists as an event that happened some days in the past, while the other storyline narrates present-day events, after things have gone wrong, and a military group is sent to rescue the scientists. There are several POV changes, as can be expected with two storylines. The military group storyline is told in present tense, which I found strange, but I guess it was done to differentiate it from the other one and make the POV changes easier for the reader. In my opinion, this difference was not necessary, as this literary technique is often used in books without using different tenses. It just didn’t feel natural and I was not able to get used to it.
There are many characters in the book, and while McBride makes the effort of presenting them at the beginning of it, they were all bare-bones. I also missed some character development for the main characters, a fact that didn’t allow me to completely relate to them. I got sometimes confused with the characters in the army.
Joe Hempel’s narration was absolutely amazing. Even though there were many characters in the book, Hempel managed to give each one a unique voice and style. He even used a different accent for the Finnish scientist. I love when narrators can deliver a compelling narration, but when the characters’ interpretations are so well done, it becomes an excellent experience for the listener.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
This was an interesting book, with plenty of scientific references and concepts to keep track of. Microbiology enthusiasts will enjoy reading about the archaea, an ancient organism that can be found in the oceans but also in the human gut. The first part of the book reminded me a bit of Jurassic Park, as the experiments are explained with plenty of details, giving the impression that everything is accounted for, just before things go terribly wrong. The second part of the book is more strong on the horror aspect, and it reminded me somehow of Alien in how McBride uses psychological horror mixed with the fear of the unknown.
There are two storylines in this book. One tells the story of the group of scientists as an event that happened some days in the past, while the other storyline narrates present-day events, after things have gone wrong, and a military group is sent to rescue the scientists. There are several POV changes, as can be expected with two storylines. The military group storyline is told in present tense, which I found strange, but I guess it was done to differentiate it from the other one and make the POV changes easier for the reader. In my opinion, this difference was not necessary, as this literary technique is often used in books without using different tenses. It just didn’t feel natural and I was not able to get used to it.
There are many characters in the book, and while McBride makes the effort of presenting them at the beginning of it, they were all bare-bones. I also missed some character development for the main characters, a fact that didn’t allow me to completely relate to them. I got sometimes confused with the characters in the army.
Joe Hempel’s narration was absolutely amazing. Even though there were many characters in the book, Hempel managed to give each one a unique voice and style. He even used a different accent for the Finnish scientist. I love when narrators can deliver a compelling narration, but when the characters’ interpretations are so well done, it becomes an excellent experience for the listener.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
November 19, 2021
I completed this book because I had come so far to have wasted time. For me, it only started getting interesting at 65%. There is far, far too much bulk of words - attempting to make it a 'hard sci-fi' story with plenty science in it. That doesn't work for me, I found myself skimming pages and skipping some entirely, yet I still fully followed the story, that in itself says plenty.
Let's start with the characters, there's only really a few - with the spotlight being on Mira - who I would rank as my top three WORST characters ever. In all my years of reading. She is inexplicable. How do you not want the creature who has brutally murdered almost everyone else, to be killed? She is infuriating. The other characters are just side notes and that is a great flaw, the majority of the book focused on one useless character. She does nothing worthwhile all story.
The only aspects that save this book are the relentless action & suspense after 65%, as well as the quote by an antagonist about Covid. Which was brilliant.
The story does highlight the hubris, folly, pride and condescending nature of science and scientist who proudly think they are above the rest of humanity and are correct about everything yet they cause calamity after calamity.
Let's start with the characters, there's only really a few - with the spotlight being on Mira - who I would rank as my top three WORST characters ever. In all my years of reading. She is inexplicable. How do you not want the creature who has brutally murdered almost everyone else, to be killed? She is infuriating. The other characters are just side notes and that is a great flaw, the majority of the book focused on one useless character. She does nothing worthwhile all story.
The only aspects that save this book are the relentless action & suspense after 65%, as well as the quote by an antagonist about Covid. Which was brilliant.
The story does highlight the hubris, folly, pride and condescending nature of science and scientist who proudly think they are above the rest of humanity and are correct about everything yet they cause calamity after calamity.
April 23, 2022
Reminded me too much of The Thing with mild bits of AVP movies with none of the action.
Interesting idea, perfect location in the isolated regions of Greenland.
Scientists working on reversing climate change create a genetically altered monster.
What was interesting here was that there were many scientific references and concepts discussed here including novel tracking methods of wild animals and cutting edge work being done in these research stations. Microbiology enthusiasts should enjoy reading about the archaea, an ancient organism that can be found in the oceans but also in the human gut.
I have loved Michael's other books but this one has somehow missed the target.
There could have been something solid made up but the final output is just readable.
Took me a lot of time to complete this one.
Interesting idea, perfect location in the isolated regions of Greenland.
Scientists working on reversing climate change create a genetically altered monster.
What was interesting here was that there were many scientific references and concepts discussed here including novel tracking methods of wild animals and cutting edge work being done in these research stations. Microbiology enthusiasts should enjoy reading about the archaea, an ancient organism that can be found in the oceans but also in the human gut.
I have loved Michael's other books but this one has somehow missed the target.
There could have been something solid made up but the final output is just readable.
Took me a lot of time to complete this one.
Read
October 11, 2022DNF
Too many scientific terms. The premise of the story is so good and gripping, but the scientific terms are hard. The writer should keep in mind too many scientific words is hard for some people to understand! Or should I be a science student to understand the story!? Novels are made to make people enjoy it!
Too many scientific terms. The premise of the story is so good and gripping, but the scientific terms are hard. The writer should keep in mind too many scientific words is hard for some people to understand! Or should I be a science student to understand the story!? Novels are made to make people enjoy it!
February 13, 2022
Terrible
Cliche and formulaic. Skimmed the book as it was too terrible to read. The science is dumb, and the characters are unbelievable. Neither scary nor gripping.
Cliche and formulaic. Skimmed the book as it was too terrible to read. The science is dumb, and the characters are unbelievable. Neither scary nor gripping.
Read
November 27, 2021Need to be a biologist...
You pretty much need to be a biologist to understand most of this book. It's not easy to read. X-ray isn't included either, and there are quite a few characters with many different titles. There is a research facility in Greenland involved, bad guys from a company called XGen that has its own people in that facility trying to create, basically, a biological weapon capable of wiping out an entire country, & at the same time creating a marketable product that is stronger than steel.
The researchers believe that they are doing something good, and researching how to combat climate change, and how temperature and light affects different animals and bodies of water. There is a department that tracks polar bears, one that tracks sharks, etc, and the one that tracks changes in fish is the one where the researcher from XGen is. She's keeping secret logs, doing secret experiments, etc and keeping things from her partner, who was very excited to join the project.
When the fish begin acting strangely, the XGen researcher becomes ill, and the polar bears are able to be found on GPS using their tracker, but can't be seen via drone, then begin exhibiting strange behavior also, the new researcher tries to find out what happened by looking at the main (XGen) scientists files & discovers what she'd been doing.
Be sure to have your dictionary downloaded, & be prepared to use it! Not all words were even in mine (& there's NO point at which the scientific talk stops)
It's a very good book, if you can get past the big, biological words
You pretty much need to be a biologist to understand most of this book. It's not easy to read. X-ray isn't included either, and there are quite a few characters with many different titles. There is a research facility in Greenland involved, bad guys from a company called XGen that has its own people in that facility trying to create, basically, a biological weapon capable of wiping out an entire country, & at the same time creating a marketable product that is stronger than steel.
The researchers believe that they are doing something good, and researching how to combat climate change, and how temperature and light affects different animals and bodies of water. There is a department that tracks polar bears, one that tracks sharks, etc, and the one that tracks changes in fish is the one where the researcher from XGen is. She's keeping secret logs, doing secret experiments, etc and keeping things from her partner, who was very excited to join the project.
When the fish begin acting strangely, the XGen researcher becomes ill, and the polar bears are able to be found on GPS using their tracker, but can't be seen via drone, then begin exhibiting strange behavior also, the new researcher tries to find out what happened by looking at the main (XGen) scientists files & discovers what she'd been doing.
Be sure to have your dictionary downloaded, & be prepared to use it! Not all words were even in mine (& there's NO point at which the scientific talk stops)
It's a very good book, if you can get past the big, biological words
June 29, 2022
Equipped with a way to halt global warming, Sr. Mira Stone attends an arctic research station to test her solution in a somewhat closed environment. Things go great at first and then the biological experiment goes south in a hurry. The result is the infection of a co-worker resulting in a creature capable of taking on a polar bear.
The writing switches between the present with a rescue team reacting to an emergency call from the station and the past several weeks at the research station leading up to the emergency with both timelines meeting up at the rescue.
I tried to like this book but there were too many scientific terms that you needed to be a biologist to understand. I was either looking up words or suffering through scientific explanations. It took 2/3rds of the book to actually start seeing some action. The story was predictable and would make a good B horror flick. Wait, I think "The Thing" was very similar.
I needed to suspend my disbelief on several aspects of the storyline including the miraculous global warming solution and then the creation of a monster that happens to be invisible and nearly indestructible. But I guess that is the genre.
A lot of folks like this book, but for me, it was a "meh".
The writing switches between the present with a rescue team reacting to an emergency call from the station and the past several weeks at the research station leading up to the emergency with both timelines meeting up at the rescue.
I tried to like this book but there were too many scientific terms that you needed to be a biologist to understand. I was either looking up words or suffering through scientific explanations. It took 2/3rds of the book to actually start seeing some action. The story was predictable and would make a good B horror flick. Wait, I think "The Thing" was very similar.
I needed to suspend my disbelief on several aspects of the storyline including the miraculous global warming solution and then the creation of a monster that happens to be invisible and nearly indestructible. But I guess that is the genre.
A lot of folks like this book, but for me, it was a "meh".
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