Reviews

Review Excerpts

Washington Post – July 9, 2006
“An earnest Michael Crichton-style thriller that respects science and its audience’s intellect…. In a day and age when ‘intelligent design’ is touted as respectable credo, a piece of pop entertainment that takes the time to uphold Darwin’s thesis in readable fashion is to be heartily endorsed.”

USA Today – May 25, 2006
“Jaws meets Charles Darwin in Dave Freedman’s debut novel, Natural Selection. The novel opens with a question: ‘Aren’t dinosaurs, crocodiles, lions and sharks really monsters? … Every single one of them a product of evolution. So could evolution make another monster?’
Of course it can in a thriller with a budding romance between scientists and a lot of marine biology thrown in. The formulaic writing won’t win any literary prizes, but it doesn’t slow down the plot. OK, everybody in the water!” – Bob Minzesheimer

Booklist – May 15, 2006
“Remarkable… Is it the author’s enthusiasm, or his characters, or his research? Whatever the reason, there comes a moment when you feel the first twinge of fear, and then you realize that you’re buying into this story. Some of the imagery… evoke a visceral terror in the reader. And the protagonists, a research crew struggling to figure out what these creatures are…are a likable bunch. Like all the best horror authors, Freedman takes his story well beyond the safety of camp; by making it believable, he makes it genuinely terrifying–and when that happens, large audiences follow.”

Kirkus Reviews – May 2006
“Action scenes will have Hollywood animation artists salivating.”

Publishers Weekly – April 17, 2006
“An awesome beach read.”