Deep Green

by Rick Chesler

A MIRACLE CURE STRAIGHT FROM NATURE
A SECRET EXPEDITION TO THE DEEPEST HEART OF THE RAIN FOREST

When a rare plant living within the most remote reaches of the Amazon rain forest is discovered to contain a key ingredient for a promising COVID-19 cure, a high-powered pharmacologist teams up with a renegade botanist to locate and retrieve specimens of the elusive plant.

But the unlikely pair soon learns they are not the only ones who seek the valuable biological resource. When specimens of the plant turn up in the hands of a multinational corporation that begins offering the COVID cure for sale, the search shifts from the rain forests of the Amazon to the farthest reaches of the planet to track down a cabal of ruthless bio-pirates who place profit above all else.

Against the backdrop of a global pandemic, the pair of scientists race to locate and gain control of a population of ultra-rare plants with life-giving properties before they are destroyed forever.

235 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 13, 2022

About the author

Author of over 30 novels, Rick Chesler holds a Bachelor of Science in marine biology and can often be found diving, boating or traveling to research his next thriller idea. A former contractor for the U.S. Deptartment of Commerce and the State of Hawaii, he now lives in South Florida with his family, at the edge of the Bermuda Triangle. Visit him online at twitter.com/rickchesler, facebook.com/rickchesler, or rickchesler.com.

SERIES:
ATLANTIS GOLD: An Omega Files Adventure (Book 1)
ARK FOUND: An Omega Files Adventure (Book 2)
GOLDEN ONE An Omega Files Adventure (Book 3)
CROSS FOUND: An Omega Files Adventure (Book 4)

JURASSIC DEAD (co-authored):
Jurassic Dead
Jurassic Dead 2: Z-Volution
Jurassic Dead 3: Ctrl-Z

OUTCAST Ops:
Game of Drones (co-authored)
The Poseidon Initiative
African Firestorm (co-authored)
Red Ice (co-authored)
Watchlist (co-authored)
Shadow Gov (co-authored)

TARA SHORES THRILLERS
Wired Kingdom
kiDNApped
Solar Island

DANE MADDOCK ORIGINS (co-authored)
Splashdown
Electra
Amber
Treasure of the Dead
Dane Maddock: The Tomb

OGMIOS TEAM ORIGINS (co-authored)
Lucifer's Machine

STANDALONE NOVELS:
Edit: A Prehistoric Thriller
Manuscript 512 (releasing Fall 2018)
Hawaiian Punch (co-authored)
Uncontacted
DMZ: A Dinosaur Thriller
The Tank
The Flat: A Novel of Supernatural Horror (co-authored)
The Yeti (co-authored)
Landing Party
Sawfish
Luna
Hotel Megalodon
Blood Harbor: A Novel of Suspense

Reviews

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Breathless Adventure With A Ripped-From-The-Headlines Hook. This is one of those adventure tales that doesn't sound like it would be an adventure tale... until you read it and realize it is an adventure tale. :D Ostensibly, this is a near-future tale of the race to find a full-on *cure* for COVID-19. Not just a drug or vaccine to alleviate some symptoms, but an actual cure for the disease. Along the way, we get quite a bit of real-world commentary smoothly rolled into the overall plot so that even while it really *is* kind of preachy... it doesn't actually *feel* like it is kind of preachy. There is quite a bit within these sections that some readers will be more familiar with than others, but which anyone outside of academia generally and Big Pharma specifically will likely learn a touch about how things actually work. Which is always interesting to see in fiction. Ultimately the single star deduction here was not for the quality of the tale - it really was excellent - but instead because Chesler uses the race for a *COVID-19* cure, rather than literally any other disease. It is an excellent attempt to tap into the current zeitgeist (though one might argue a race for a cure would have been even more buzzworthy in 2021, prior to full vaccine rollouts), but I am waging a personal war against any book that mentions COVID for any reason at all, and the automatic one star deduction is really the only tool at my disposal in this war. Very much recommended.

[Julie Carter · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had me in its grip from the start and held on until the very end. The story involves a rare plant in the Amazon rain forests that shows great potential for a cure for COVID-19. The search for the plant is difficult as it grows in trees in a very remote part of the forest. The search teams soon realize that someone has beat them to the plants, which kicks off an intense chain of events involving ruthless bio-pirates and those desperate for a cure.
This was a quick read for me as I had a hard time putting it down. I loved the characters, good and bad, and was intrigued by the myriad of settings.
This is such a relevant story for the times, and I found myself nodding along and thinking "I am sure this is going on all over the world".

[Klinsman Hinjaya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who wants to be CUREd?

COVID-19 might not be a household name at the moment, but a few years ago it certainly was. I'm glad that Rick Chesler took this as the basis or theme of this book, presenting a premise that an extremely rare plant in the Amazon rainforest is the base for a cure for this exasperating disease experienced by the bulk of humanity. What follows is a thrilling adventure involving politics and espionage, which I am especially fond of. Deep Green will make you think what IS really going on in the world. Highly recommended!

[Genette Schmeling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Is the Cure Worth It?

In this story we follow scientific researchers as they try to find the plants that cure covid. Rick's story is compelling, as so many lives were destroyed by covid, but greed and fighting between governments prove it is difficult. When a group steals all the plants to sell the cure to those who can
afford it, they take it a step further by trying to destroy the plants habitats. Unfortunately, I can see this happening.
Great book again by Rick Chesler.