A brilliant concept, which draws the reader in right from the very beginning and keeps them wanting more -- all the way up until the fascinating way everything unravels.

A fascinating and gripping technothriller that mixes element of sci-fi and thriller.
Interesting characters and world building, fast paced plot full of twists and turns.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This is a good read. It really is. But the blurb doesn't quite capture what you'll find here. I was expecting more Neanderthals and less climate change (which is supposed to be a "backdrop" to the story, but actually takes centre stage). It's well-written and an entertaining story, but it ends in a place where I wished it would go further. Ignore the blurb and you'll love it.

My thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley. This review was written voluntarily and is entirely my own, unbiased, opinion.

I received a copy of the book from Netgalley to review. Thank you for the opportunity.
An interesting idea behind this story but it kind of got bogged down in the details which detracted from the atmosphere of the book.
An OK read.

A very compelling read, engaging and well-researched. A convincing blend of drama and hard sci-fi, and a strong voice in Australian writing.

With ambitious plans to save the planet, a social media billionaire enlists a cadre of brilliant scientists in the hope of reintroducing long extinct creatures back to the world. With the clock ticking, it’s potentially the last throw of the dice for humanity - but can it work, or have we already lost too much?

Very much the man of the moment, social media entrepreneur Davis is equal parts Zuckerburg and Musk - chillingly distanced and almost at a remove from humanity in his mannerisms and personality, whilst seemingly driven to solve the world’s problems through the judicious application of technology. He’s a character who is creepy not just because of how he acts, but because he feels both believable and relevant. His explanation for why extinct species need to be resurrected seems entirely justifiable too, and despite the presence of a little jargon, easy to follow. Unlike the scientists in Jurassic Park, who “were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should,” here it seems as if resurrecting these creatures is not just plausible, it’s necessary; urgently so.

But comparisons to Jurassic Park are misleading. This is a much more intimate and personal tale, one of loss, family and humanity, and especially of what that last word means. Recruited by Davis to serve as project leads, Kate and Jay can barely believe their eyes when confronted with the living, breathing proof of concept. For Jay, the possibilities clearly set his mind whirring, but Kate has reservations - Davis intends to “de-extinct” Neanderthals, and not only does Kate have moral and ethical concerns over this, she has deeply personal emotional ones too.

Once the initial, exciting concept has been outlined, the story becomes far more focused on Kate and Eve, the Neanderthal child the programme has successfully created. At times, it might seem like the bold, high concept ideas have fallen by the wayside slightly - certainly the middle third or so of the book is very much focused on the developing relationship between Kate and Eve - but they are never far from Bradley’s mind. References to the progress of the other experiments are dropped in throughout, and the changes being wrought on the world by climate change are also mentioned frequently. Without getting lost in endless extrapolation and exposition, there are some extremely sobering moments with regard to some of the potential effects on society; Bradley has clearly given ample consideration to just how things might look in a few years, and it’s not good.

What is good though - or rather, beautiful - is the relationship between Kate and Eve. While it might at first seem like Kate doesn’t always behave with the clear-headed rationality or logic of the scientist she’s supposed to be, the reasons behind this are addressed more than adequately. The way her own experiences and troubled childhood play on her mind and inform her decision-making mean that her maternal instincts feel hardwired, inevitable even, her fierce and unconditional love for Eve a natural result of the events in Kate’s life that led up to her birth.

Eve herself is a completely beguiling and utterly charming character, her development (both mentally and physically) differing from her peers in such a way that it’s easy to become invested in it. Kate often finds herself wondering just how different Eve might be in the way that she thinks about the world, and it’s likely you’ll find yourself wondering along with her, curiosity at the person Eve might become pulling you along.

The prose itself also adds to that feeling of momentum, the use of present tense imparting a wholly appropriate transitory feeling to events. The writing style mirrors the reality of our current situation, in essence, as we circle the drain and spin ever faster toward the point of no return. In this way, Eve acts as a totemic reminder of our destructive nature; her ancestors long wiped out by Homo sapiens, she is an unwitting witness to our desperate attempts to undo our past mistakes, the ghost species of the title haunting us unknowingly.

An engaging premise and propulsive narrative make Ghost Species very readable, with the surprisingly affecting emotional beats elevating it and giving it more staying power than might be anticipated. A cautionary tale that can take its place alongside recent climate fiction highlights such as John Lanchester’s The Wall or Ben Smith’s Doggerland.

Okay, so Ghost Species is a great example of why I changed my rating system a few months back. If I give a book a five star rating because at the time it’s a five star book but then what happens when I read a book that is much better than that five star book?? I can’t give it a six star rating, can I? Or… maybe I have been too generous with my ratings in the past. Well this is exactly what happened when I read Ghost Species. Ghost Species is a fantastic read and I will be giving it a ‘Book Vagabond Top Pick’ banner.

Ghost Species sounded great when I read the synopsis and I knew I had to read it ASAP. It is science fiction that tackles climate change and the moral responsibilities that we play as guardians of this planet but what I wasn’t ready for was just how much Ghost Species would challenge, change and reinforce my opinions regarding climate change and just how my actions as a human can affect the environment around me. As you know I enjoy when I get the opportunity to learn while I read and James Bradley fills the book with information about long lost species and habitats that once populate the Earth and I took the chance to further dig into the information provided with my own research.

I can’t stress just how much character development there is within the pages of this read. Specifically that of Kate and Eve, our main characters. We get to see the relationship between the two grow and just how much they change within the book is mind boggling. Now, as a parent I was able to easily connect to Kate and understand Kate’s actions and I soon become much attached to Kate and Eve. I became so attached that I often felt my eyes welling up and the strings of my heart being tugged. Ghost Species is a rollercoaster of emotions so be warned.

Ghost Species wasn’t the usual science fiction that I read. I am far more familiar to futuristic deep space epics and those that are set off Earth. Ghost Species however is set on Earth and what could be assumed the present day. If I remember rightly there is no mention of dates but forgive me if I’m wrong. In fact Ghost Species felt more like a dramatized documentary that reads like a science fiction novel looking into the efforts and the lives of those tackling the current climate issues we face today.

I’m going to close this review up by saying that Ghost Species by James Bradley is a must read and a Book Vagabond Top Pick. I’m not going to do the normal recommendations as I usually would because I feel that everyone can enjoy this read and that if more people did read it then maybe this world be a much happier place to live.

It could be a while till a find another book that changes and entertains me in the way Ghost Species has.

When scientists Kate and Jay are summoned to Tasmania by an unknown person to discuss a mysterious project, they decide that the trip is worth it just for a change of scenery on somebody else’s expense account. The last thing they expect is to be asked to head a secretive and ethically questionable rewilding project, a project which may be the only thing standing between the world and total climate collapse.

Billionaire Mark Zuckerberg-alike Davis Hucken has found the key to de-extinction, and wants to restore whole ecosystems, starting with pre-historic megafauna to slow or even stop the loss of permafrost, snow, and ice in the Arctic. He has teams working on the animals, but he wants Kate and Jay for something further – he wants to de-extinct Neanderthal man. Despite Kate’s reservations, the couple agree to work on the project, but has anybody really thought through the ethical morass of recreating another species of man? When the first baby, Eve, is born, who and what is she?

Genre-wise, this is difficult to pin down. Peri-apocalyptic cli-fi, definitely, but also sci-fi, speculative fiction, and even literary fiction.

The premise of Ghost Species is excellent, but I’m a little disappointed by the direction in which it went. For me, the book concentrated too much on Kate. In parts it became quite boring and pedestrian, which is quite the achievement when you consider the subject matter.

There are obvious parallels to Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park, but the de-extinction process is more scientifically sound than extracting DNA from blood-sucking mosquitoes stuck in amber. The permafrost is melting, releasing stored carbon dioxide and potentially problematic bacteria and viruses, but it’s also giving up animal remains that contain soft tissue and even liquid blood. The theory of driving ecosystem change through reintroduction of certain animals is sound, too. The example given of the Yellowstone wolf reintroduction causing a trophic cascade is factual and is well worth finding out more if you’ve not come across it before.

Personally, I would have preferred more of a spotlight on the science side, and the public and legal reaction to the experiment. Is Eve human? What rights does she have? Does the fact that she was produced in an experiment mean that she is the property of the foundation? I also would have liked more on the public reaction and environmental reaction to release of megafauna.

Ghost Species is currently available in e-book form, but a paperback version is being released in January 2021.

I received an advance reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.