Deep Past by Eugene Linden

First Line: There are places on the planet whose scale reminds us that we are but a crushed bug on the windshield of time.

Anthropologist Claire Knowland has replaced the leader of a dig in Kazakhstan that's really going nowhere, which is fortuitous when a stranger turns up at the site with a bizarre find from a remote section of the Kazakhstan Steppe. Initially skeptical, once she checks out the location of the find, she realizes that this could shake the very foundations of our understanding of evolution and intelligence.

The corrupt politics of Kazakhstan means that Claire has not only to gather open-minded and hard-working experts around her but also take reckless chances with the discovery. Ultimately, she finds herself fighting for the discovery, her reputation, and her life in an unstable area of the world filled with chaos and greed.

Eugene Linden draws on his investigations into what makes humans different from other species in creating Deep Past, a fast-paced story with a vivid setting. One thing that he makes crystal clear is all the plotting, schemes, and political machinations that are rife in that area of the world. Paleontology and archaeology buffs are also going to enjoy this book that gathers power and speed like a freight train.

I hadn't realized quite how difficult it is to get the scientific community to accept new thinking, so that's one thing that I'm grateful to Deep Past for. If it doesn't concern data that can be seen, touched, and turned into a statistic for a report, discoveries can be easily dismissed, which means that anything to do with animal intelligence gets very short shrift indeed.

One character in Deep Past says, "Oddly, the public is ready to embrace animal intelligence, but not the notion that climate change is a killer." This particular member of the public believes climate change is a clear and present danger and also embraces animal intelligence. Linden's book contains so much food for thought about animal intelligence, but even though I enjoyed the story and am still ruminating over what the author has to say, I didn't quite buy the complete premise of the book. But what a fascinating and recommended read!
 

Deep Past by Eugene Linden

eISBN: 9780795352232

RosettaBooks © 2019

eBook, 336 pages

Thriller, Standalone

Rating: B+

Source: Purchased from Amazon.


 

The Dinosaur Hunter by Homer Hickam

Title: The Dinosaur Hunter
Author: Homer Hickam
ISBN: 9780312383787
Publisher: Thomas Dunne, 2010
Hardcover, 320 pages
Genre: Western
Rating: C
Source: Paperback Swap

First Line: Old Bill Coulter used to say a quiet day in Fillmore County is a temptation to God and sure enough, come sundown after a day of blue skies and fair winds, distant pulses of lightning began to play along the horizon, heralding a big storm on its way.

Life on a Montana ranch is not for the faint-hearted, but some people seem to enjoy it. One of them happens to be retired homicide detective Mike Wire who left Hollywood to spend his days helping run the Square C and secretly love its owner, Jeanette Coulter.

Montana isn't just about ranching; however, the Square C lies in the midst of some of the richest areas of dinosaur fossils in the world. When a paleontologist and his assistants show their permits allowing them to search for fossils on BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land, Mike has a feeling that they're bringing trouble with them-- and he's right. Dinosaur bones can mean a fortune to whomever finds them first, and it's not long before the buzzards start circling.

I originally chose this book to read because it was supposedly a mystery, but the further I read, the less like a mystery it became. When the mystery arrived with the first murder about two-thirds of the way through the book, the Russian mob angle was a bit too far-fetched for me. Although the solution entailed a humorous section with a group of local survivalists that made me laugh, that, too, was a bit too much for me to swallow.

Mike Wire, the main character, also has his share of problems. (Must be that Hollywood influence still clogging a few of his brain cells....) His reasons for being a cowboy-- and a vegetarian one at that-- are good ones, but he has two annoying characteristics. One, he certainly does fall in love with a new woman quickly for a man who's been pining away for his boss lo, these many years. Two, this book is written from his point of view, his voice-- and Mike Wire is constantly telling us that he's done one thing when he's really told us that he wanted to do. He then has to backtrack and tell us what actually happened. The first couple of times he does this, it's a bit confusing. The next couple of times, it's amusing. From then on it's just plain annoying.

If I forget all about expecting this book to be a mystery and concentrate on its true strengths, I am left with a book that I still enjoyed quite a bit. Like the books of Peter Bowen, The Dinosaur Hunter is a paen to the wild and rugged landscape of Montana and the fiercely independent souls who live there. It also takes the reader on several digs for dinosaur bones. These are the truly fascinating passages in the book and will have anyone who's interested in the subject glued to the page.

If you're willing to ignore the main character's bad habits and forget about the mystery and concentrate on the dinosaurs, you're in for an enjoyable read.

Learn More from Amazon.

Learn More from The Book Depository.

Learn More from Your Indie Bookseller.

[A note about reading this book that has everything to do with its previous owner and nothing to do with the story. I received this book through Paperback Swap. One afternoon I realized that, as I was reading, I was scratching my itchy, runny nose. I happened to look down and see that the top of my navy blue swimsuit was literally covered with white cat hair. From the amount of cat hair that came out from between this book's pages, I'd swear there was a bald Persian winding around someone's ankles out there.

People complain about receiving books that smell of cigarette smoke and contain food stains, but for some reason, my receipt of a book filled with cat hair bothers me more than the previous two offenses!]