NEW YORK, May 14, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- An array of bones discovered in the far steppes of Kazak; a mining operation comprised of a dangerously unstable alliance between Russian, Canadian and Kazakhstan interests; and a young woman scientist who is willing to risk her reputation to uncover a story five million years old. Deep Past: A Novel by Eugene Linden (RosettaBooks/May 14, 2019/$25.99), hailed by bestselling novelist and journalist Douglas Preston as “an extraordinary novel on so many levels,” challenges our ideas about intelligence, evolution and the impact of climate change.
Eugene Linden has long been on the forefront of those ideas reporting for Time, National Geographic, and Foreign Affairs, as well as with his award-winning and critically praised books including The Winds of Change, The Ragged Edge of the World, The Parrot’s Lament, Silent Partners, and The Future in Plain Sight. With his experience in not only reporting the news but also analyzing its implications, he has created a thriller that seamlessly weaves cutting-edge science as it collides with the realpolitik of nations, institutions, and ambitions. What would it mean if sometime in the deep past evolution had produced a non-human intelligence equivalent to ours in its ability to plan and deal with complexity, but utterly different in the way it operated? And what if the message from the past also turned out to be a warning about what we face now: the disastrous impacts of climate change? Mixing science and fantastical extrapolation, Linden opens up a conversation about the ways in which science, the academy, and human industry both reveal and conceal the story of the earth each for their own aims—and at a price.
Anthropologist Claire Knowland is happily leading a team of researchers studying elephants when her proposal for additional funding brings her into an unexpected bargain: the funder will give the funds only if Claire agrees to take over a pet project of his that is leaderless in the steppes of Kazakhstan. She agrees knowing it might be a challenge—what she knows about the behavior of elephants is unlikely to help in the arid research camp.
When a Westerner working on the mining project comes to her asking for her opinion on an unusual find in the midst of their operations, she agrees to take a look hoping it might be what her new team needs—the proof they’ve been looking for in their digs. Instead what she gets is an array of bones of a species that has never been known to be in that region, arranged in what can only be seen as astonishingly purposeful fashion—and something for which her knowledge of elephants turns out to be critical.
The discovery threatens to overturn long-held notions in the scientific world, but Claire’s efforts to bring it to light run a gauntlet of entrenched views in the academic world as well as geopolitical havoc in an already unstable region. Claire, a Russian geologist on the mining operation who has secrets of his own that could put them all in danger and the team members from the research project who join them, will find themselves at the center of what turns a deadly gambit over a five-million-year-old message about climate change and survival.
Deep Past is a thriller that delivers not only the requisite veracity and tension but delivers a final message of unsurpassing beauty and emotive power. Available in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook wherever books are sold.
PRAISE FOR DEEP PAST: A NOVEL
“DEEP PAST is an extraordinary novel on so many levels. It is a gripping thriller in terms of pacing, vivid characters and exotic settings, a book you won’t be able to put down.”
—Douglas Preston, co-creator of the #1 bestselling Pendergast series of novels and author of THE LOST CITY OF THE MONKEY GOD
“A fascinating thriller… Linden does a masterly job of integrating intriguing speculative science into a page-turning plot.”
—Publisher's Weekly, starred review
“An excellent thriller with real meat on the bones … makes you think as well as sweat.”
—Lee Child, author of the Jack Reacher novels
“Entertaining, educational, and absolutely original, Deep Past is a fascinating debut novel.”
—Foreword Review
About the Author: Eugene Linden is an award-winning journalist and author on science, nature, and the environment. Deep Past draws on his long career in non-fiction as the author of ten books, including his celebrated works on animal intelligence and climate change: Apes, Men, and Language, the New York Times “Notable Book” Silent Partners, and the bestselling The Parrot’s Lament. His book, Winds of Change, which explored the connection between climate change and the rise and fall of civilizations, was awarded the Grantham Prize Special Award of Merit. For many years, Linden wrote about nature and global environmental issues for TIME where he garnered several awards including the American Geophysical Union’s Walter Sullivan Award. He has also contributed to the New York Times, Foreign Affairs, and National Geographic, among many other publications.
About RosettaBooks: RosettaBooks is a leading independent trade publisher headquartered in New York City. Launching in 2001, it pioneered the exclusive ebook publication of iconic titles, including those from Arthur C. Clarke and William Manchester. Today RosettaBooks focuses on publishing high visibility nonfiction titles. For more information, please visit RosettaBooks.com and follow the publisher on Facebook and Twitter.
CONTACT:
Publicity: SallyAnne McCartin, McCartin | Daniels PR, 860-435-6464, SallyAnneMcCartin@gmail.com
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