Lifeform

This book is the third in a trilogy, and it jumps right into the action. The very first page features Doc and Malone preparing to break into a high-security base in the middle of the rainforest. Three people who are very important to Doc (Dr. Waterstone, her daughter April, and Doc’s son H.I.) are being held hostage, but there is a lot more going on here. The base also contains a crashed object from space and the deadly virus that came with it.

The pace remains fast, and the tensions remain high even after Doc and Malone enter the base. The reunited team of five must now fight their way free again while also trying to save the world from this rapidly changing threat. What they thought was a simple virus turns out to be much, much scarier and more powerful than they ever imagined. While they’re trying to destroy it, the dastardly Rykoff is trying to profit from it – and torture them in the process, just because he can.

This is, first and foremost, an adventure book. It is exciting and fast-paced, and the stakes are constantly changing. Artistry has been sacrificed a bit in order to maintain the edge of your seat thrills, meaning that the book is very plot-heavy. You won’t find any excess description or larger metaphors here. This is a pretty straightforward tale of some very intense events, but luckily, Jacobs does an excellent job of making those events as breathtaking as possible. While there were a few points where it was easy to guess what was going to happen, other parts completely shocked me. Even the more predictable parts are written in such a way that they are a pleasure to read. This is a whirlwind of a book, and it is extremely fun. Plus, you don’t have to have read the other two books in the trilogy in order to understand what’s going on. Lifeform is great both as part of the larger series and on its own.