Bill Clem knows how to write a riveting action scene. The plane crash that starts OFF his new book Replica was more exciting than watching an episode of Lost. I felt like I was lying ON the island with the other battered and bruised survivors.

A 747 is flying above the Indian Ocean and south of Java. In the passenger cabin and Jack Baker wakes when the plane begins to tremble. All four engines fail and the plane becomes a glider. It breaks into three parts and the cockpit and first class lands ON a remote island and by some miracle Jack is one of a handful of survivors. But they've only exchanged one nightmare for another.

The castaways have been catapulted onto Poguba, an uncharted island that is home to GenSys and a secret genetics lab where Dr. Peter Carlson is trying to resurrect an extinct animal. But something has gone horribly wrong and the survivors will soon become the prey.

Clem got the idea for his story from an article about Australian scientists and a project to clone the extinct Tasmanian tiger. It began in 1999 when scientists extracted DNA from an ethanol-preserved female pup in its collection. The project was abandoned in February 2005 after the DNA was found to be degraded and the museum said it lacked the skills and facilities to continue.

Clem's plot combines the science with all the drama and suspense I've come to expect from his books. There's always a price to pay when you mess with Mother Nature. This is fiction rooted in reality and his story is believable and that makes it all the more frightening. It would make a great movie.

The pace is quick and the characters behave realistically and there's enough blood and gore to satisfy. It's an entertaining read and a thriller with an unexpected ending. If you enjoyed Jurassic Park pick up a copy and you won't be disappointed.

Publisher: Vision Books (March 1 and 2009)
ISBN: 978-0979580857
Pages: 244
Price: $14.95