Product Description A neo-primitive cult, possessing secret government documents filled with terrifying information about global warming, kidnaps a famous fashion model and holds her hostage, forcing her to act as their spokesperson. As time runs out, her estranged daughter allies with a dangerous activist group to rescue her, while battling dark agendas from the government and Big Oil.
From the International Thriller Writers' Interview With Author Mark Nykanen
By Cym Lowell |
Thrillers includes a wide range sub-genres. Primitive, by Mark Nykane, explores the world of environmental terrorism. Mark flourished in his career as an on-camera investigative correspondent for NBC, often toiling in undercover assignments, and winning four Emmys and an Edgar for his achievements. He learned the world of environmental threats firsthand.
In Primitive, Sonya Adams, a maturing model, is kidnapped by a neo-primitive cult sequestered in the remote beauty of the Pacific Northwest. Cult members call their compound Terra Firma, and want to draw attention to their doomsday environmental message, which is based on a terrifying government document that they've obtained. They want to use Sonya as their spokeswoman in podcasts, assuming that her beauty and presence will enhance their chilling message.
Surrounded by majestic mountains and picturesque forests, Sonya is outraged by what is done to her, and fights for her life against her kidnappers. But she also faces dangers unknown to her from big energy companies and the government, which collude to try to silence her along with her kidnappers. The heroine's only hope might be her estranged daughter, Darcy, who is determined to rescue her mother, requiring a hunt akin to tracking down Islamic militants. But Darcy, in turn, is stalked by a ruthless bounty hunter, Johnny Bracer, who plans on following the young woman to her mother so he can claim a huge reward.
We asked Mark a few questions about himself and his writing:
If you were stranded on a desert island, what one book would you like to have with you and why?
I would want the latest, most definitive history of the world, hopefully heavy in natural science and cosmology. Why? Because I could learn while I am stranded.
If you were stranded on a desert island, what one character from your book would you like to keep you company and why?
I would choose Darcy because she has a spirit much like my own: curious, a fighter, relentless. I know your readers will think it must be sexual attraction. Truly, that's not the case..
That said, Darcy is an attractive young woman. [Editor: h-m-m]
Who is your favorite thriller character in the genre?
I know it's always diplomatic to point to the characters created by other authors when you're asked this question, but the blunt truth is that my favorite characters are the ones who have come to life for me and changed me as much as they've changed one another on the page. So with that in mind, I'd have to say that my favorite characters are Sonya and Darcy in Primitive, because they have such a conflict-ridden relationship, yet they're both profoundly affected by the deep feelings that they hold for each other - and by the tumultuous events that quickly overtake them. But I also love Ashley Stassler and Diamond Girl in The Bone Parade. Again, it's probably the relationship between the two of them that captivates me most. They are both extraordinarily willful characters who come up against each other continually. Diamond Girl utterly shocked me - and readers, too, I should add - time and again.
Enviroporn. This is a terrible book 2010-08-20 nashBridges (Hippity Hoppityville) 1 out of 1 found this review helpful This is a terrible book. I make it a point to finish every book I start, but this book had me starting to question my dedication. I don't even know where to begin.
The plot set-up seems standard enough for a middling thriller: an aging model getting a little more desperate for work is kidnapped going to a fake photo-shoot. The crew that kidnaps her is a ragtag band of environmental nutjobs who want to make a point about global warming by sending out videos of the captured model.
The book falls apart right after this. I suppose doing any research about how the FBI handles kidnapping cases was too much work for the author, so he has the model's daughter unconvincingly attempt to find her mother by speaking to one of the numerous underground groups that pepper the novel. Instead of following the daughter directly, the FBI disappears and is replaced by either a bounty hunter or a freelance FBI hit man, the book isn't clear what he is, and said hit man then conveniently pops up to torture some people whenever a little suspense is needed. He's eventually dispatched in a manner that is hardly believable given the skill the author grants him earlier in the book.
The preaching is intolerable. It's one thing to have dedicated characters. It's quite another to stop the story altogether so a character can lecture you, the reader, about any number of topics the author seems passionate about: veganism, religion, global warming, animal rights, oil companies, politics, nation building, wars, and pollution. Every single secondary character in this story is an extremist, good guys and bad guys alike. The military is involved presumably because there's also a super-secret CIA document about global warming, or some such nonsense.
A good thriller can stretch the bonds of believability - the Dirk Pitt novels are hardly realistic - but the base has to be grounded in reality. There's no such base here. Characters behave unconvincingly, other characters show up without explanation just long enough for something to happen and then disappear. Subplots pop up just long enough for a description and then are never mentioned again. By the time a barely-explained singing, roving, bus-bound band of hippies showed up to rescue one of the primary characters I wanted to throw the book away. By the end of the novel, when I was supposed to be feeling something for the characters, I found myself cheering every time the military killed one of them. That's Ed Wood levels of badness.
I got this book for free as a Kindle promotion. Even at free I wouldn't recommend it. At $8 you'd be better off spending your money on a foundation that kills puppies for fun.
Rating:
3/5
A bit convoluted... 2010-07-30 J. Easton This had potential to be a really great thriller but gets too caught up on itself about halfway through. It ends up as a book with too many plot turns, too many unnecessary characters with long unneeded back stories and ends somewhat unfulfillingly. I would not read this book if you do not already believe we suffer from global warming and/or think our government may abuse citizens of other countries in the name of "truth." The author conveys a strong political message that would easily offend those not already converted to his message. I give it three stars because there were parts that were truly suspenseful and I got the book while it was free on Kindle...but I probably won't recommend it or read it a second time.
Rating:
2/5
Mildly interesting, but overall too preachy 2010-07-30 Heather L. Reasby (Pacific Northwest) 1 out of 1 found this review helpful I found 'Primitive' to be troubling on a number of levels; primarily in the portrayal of nearly every single male character as a predator. We have almost every stripe of evil shown in the book: the rapist, the sadist, and the negligent father (this one even 'allows' a friend of his to take his young daughter away for a week so he can use and abuse her). Authority figures fare even worse. Watch out women, every cop wants to ogle you or falsely accuse you. The military is treated even more shabbily. The only even remotely 'nice' males are members of ALF (Animal Liberation Front) which has operated for years as a terrorist organization.
While I found the story interesting enough to read the entire novel, the preachiness of the agendas presented along with the constant portrayals of the two main female characters as having been haplessly victimized was both jarring and annoying. Had I not picked the kindle version up for free, I would certainly have returned it long ago.
There were some intriguing ideas presented, and I do think that author has at least an IDEA of what makes a good thriller, but this one seems to have fallen far short of the mark he was aiming for.
Rating:
1/5
terrible book... filled with cliches, wildly unbelievable 2010-07-05 Gwenhyvhar 1 out of 1 found this review helpful I don't usually bother reviewing a book unless it's really great...or really terrible. This book is definitely one of the latter. Now, before someone accuses me of being some right-wing "denialist" when it comes to climate change, let me say that I'm neither. In fact, I'm a scientist who believes very firmly in some of the very dire predictions being made by the scientific establishment with regards to our impact on our environment. However, books such as "Primitive" only hurt the cause. What started off as a mildly entertaining read with an interesting opening hook--super model kidnapped by environmental terrorists--quickly devolved into an amazingly unbelievable pile of US-hating, eco-terrorist garbage. My only consolation is that I downloaded the Kindle version during a free trial... and not a single tree was killed (or a dollar wasted) for me to read this trash.
For one thing, the idea that the *CIA* would have possession of some "top secret" environmental bombshell paper is absurd. The CIA is not in the business of doing scientific research, nor would they have the means to provide either the necessary data for such work or the ability to keep the results "top secret". And no halfway reputable scientist would be silent if they did discover such dire results as are mentioned in this novel. Science is collaborative in nature. Any planetary changes on the scale envisioned by this ridiculous plot would have been percolating in the peer-reviewed scientific journals for months, if not years...not squirreled away in a top secret CIA paper...unless, of course, the entire scientific community is in on the conspiracy.
Second, the author's portrayal of all military and federal personnel in this book borders on the absurd--jack-booted, one-sided villains that could only be written by someone who has had no exposure to any of the men and women who do those jobs every day. Oh, and by the way, "CENTCOM"--short for Central Command refers to a geographical combatant command in the Middle East; it has nothing to do with events taking placing within North America...not counting that whole "posse comitatus act" that severely restricts the use of the US military on US soil. Even in the event that the military was called in to conduct an operation in Canada, NORTHCOM (or Northern Command) would take the lead. Plus, any such operation that might conceivably be undertaken would be so heavily constrained by Rules of Engagement and civilian governmental oversight that the final "showdown" in the book would never have happened.
Don't waste your time on this book.
Rating:
3/5
Not a real page turner but pretty good read 2010-06-07 Jennifer K. Baird (Texas) And so what if there was an obvious message - what's wrong with that? I thought it was a pretty good message although a little exaggerated. It made me think about my values a little more.
