Invasive: A Novel

by Chuck Wendig

Overview

From the author of Wanderers and the Miriam Black series

“Think Thomas Harris’ Will Graham and Clarice Starling rolled into one and pitched on the knife’s edge of a scenario that makes Jurassic Park look like a carnival ride.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

On an isolated island in the middle of the Pacific, a team of scientists is employed by a charismatic billionaire hoping to change the world through cutting-edge research.

In a small cabin on a remote lake in the middle of the Adirondacks, FBI futurist Hannah Stander confronts a barely recognizable human body—one skinned alive by thousands of genetically engineered ants.

Hannah’s investigation ultimately leads her to Kohole Atoll. Though the team there vehemently denies any connection to the body, the more Hannah studies the group, the more she suspects their work has sinister applications. And the more it looks like no one is getting off the island alive.

“Fans of Michael Crichton will feel right at home.” —Publishers Weekly

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062471628
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	05/30/2017
Pages:	384
Product dimensions:	4.10(w) x 6.70(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Chuck Wendig is the author of the Miriam Black thrillers (which begin with Blackbirds) and numerous other works across books, comics, games, and more. A finalist for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer and the cowriter of the Emmy-nominated digital narrative Collapsus, he is also known for his popular blog, terribleminds.com. He lives in Pennsylvania with his family.

Editorial Reviews

Enthralling...Wendig does an impeccable job blending fact and fiction as he describes invasive species and insects being used as biological weapons. This is a propulsive tale that also examines our interaction with — and ma­nipu­la­tion of — the natural world.” — Washington Post

“Wendig crosses, blurs, and smashes genre boundaries more often – and more skillfully – than any author working today...INVASIVE is one part locked room mystery, one part 1950’s monster movie, and one part cutting-edge scientific thriller.” — Crimespree Magazine

“Excellent...Follows the path set forth by Michael Crichton (a la Congo or Jurassic Park) in which Wendig’s exhaustive research brings a convincing story of humanity tinkering with nature — only to have it backfire...Expect to see it on the big screen.” — Men's Journal

“This roller-coaster survival tale with copious amounts of creepy insects will appeal to fans of Michael Crichton.” — Booklist

“Fans of Michael Crichton will feel right at home.” — Publishers Weekly

“Chuck Wendig can congratulate himself on a stunning new achievement: becoming the architect of all of my future nightmares...INVASIVE is a terrifying and tightly written thriller.” — RT Book Reviews

“Think Thomas Harris’ Will Graham and Clarice Starling rolled into one and pitched on the knife’s edge of a scenario that makes Jurassic Park look like a carnival ride. Another rip-roaring, deeply paranoid thriller about the reasons to fear the future.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“[A] rich, darkly funny page-turner with details designed to make those little hairs on the back of your neck stand up with how plausible [it seems].” — Locus

From the Publisher

Chuck Wendig can congratulate himself on a stunning new achievement: becoming the architect of all of my future nightmares...INVASIVE is a terrifying and tightly written thriller.

RT Book Reviews

Wendig crosses, blurs, and smashes genre boundaries more often – and more skillfully – than any author working today...INVASIVE is one part locked room mystery, one part 1950’s monster movie, and one part cutting-edge scientific thriller.

Crimespree Magazine

Enthralling...Wendig does an impeccable job blending fact and fiction as he describes invasive species and insects being used as biological weapons. This is a propulsive tale that also examines our interaction with — and ma­nipu­la­tion of — the natural world.

Washington Post

This roller-coaster survival tale with copious amounts of creepy insects will appeal to fans of Michael Crichton.

Booklist

Excellent...Follows the path set forth by Michael Crichton (a la Congo or Jurassic Park) in which Wendig’s exhaustive research brings a convincing story of humanity tinkering with nature — only to have it backfire...Expect to see it on the big screen.

Men's Journal

Enthralling...Wendig does an impeccable job blending fact and fiction as he describes invasive species and insects being used as biological weapons. This is a propulsive tale that also examines our interaction with — and ma­nipu­la­tion of — the natural world.

Washington Post

Excellent...Follows the path set forth by Michael Crichton (a la Congo or Jurassic Park) in which Wendig’s exhaustive research brings a convincing story of humanity tinkering with nature — only to have it backfire...Expect to see it on the big screen.

Men's Journal

This roller-coaster survival tale with copious amounts of creepy insects will appeal to fans of Michael Crichton.

Booklist

[A] rich, darkly funny page-turner with details designed to make those little hairs on the back of your neck stand up with how plausible [it seems].

Locus

★ 2016-05-30
The world teeters on the brink of destruction once more in this spiritual sequel set in the same world as Wendig's wetwork horror story Zer0es (2015).After the events of the last novel, FBI Agent Hollis Copper is understandably spooked by a world that's becoming increasingly threatened by expanding technology. To help him push back against the things going bump in the night, he's seconded futurist Hannah Stander to his department to help shine a light on bleeding-edge tech gone awry. She's suitably intrigued when he calls her with a dilemma: "I've got a cabin on the lake with more than a thousand dead bodies in it....Think of it like a riddle." What she finds in rural New York is a dead man with no skin, surrounded by hundreds of dead ants. Hannah's investigation leads her to Ez Choi, a punk-rock Asian-American entomologist. Ez discovers that the ants weren't just unleashed, but engineered, and they bear the same genetic markers employed by biotech billionaire Einar Geirsson, a reclusive Icelandic billionaire operating a secret biotech lab off the coast of Hawaii. If the setup sounds very Crichton-esque, it is, but Wendig puts his own stamp on this propulsive techno-thriller with his signature action set pieces, a deeply damaged heroine, and a pervasive threat that will give all but the most hardened readers the creepy-crawlies. The book makes some very salient points about the ethics of genetic engineering but doesn't forego action as the book culminates in a biological catastrophe, not to mention a deadly cat-and-mouse chase on the treacherous Kalalau Trail on the North Shore of Kauai. Hannah Stander is a standout heroine—raised by survivalists and gifted with an unparalleled ability for predictive analysis. Think Thomas Harris' Will Graham and Clarice Starling rolled into one and pitched on the knife's edge of a scenario that makes Jurassic Park look like a carnival ride. Another rip-roaring, deeply paranoid thriller about the reasons to fear the future.

Kirkus Reviews