Listened to the audiobook with Stefan Rudnicki and Gabrielle de Cuir. Fine narrators.

With the relatively recent news concerning the de-extinction of the dire wolf, I thought it would be fun to review a novella by Ray Nayler on the de-extinction of the woolly mammoth.

The Tusks of Extinction isn’t so much a fun story as it is a thoughtful one, with a literary style and themes. It is a science fiction story on paper, but I would argue that the story might be more about the threatening extinction of the elephant than it is about the de-extinction of the mammoth.

That is not unusual of course, many science fiction stories are meant to reflect on the present by presenting a possible future. But The Tusks of Extinction makes the link rather explicit by incorporating the experience of rangers protecting the last elephants into a story about the mammoths – in a very interesting way.

I don’t want to give away the ‘twist’ that happens early in the story, but The Tusks of Extinction personifies the mammoths in a very literal way. I will have to say that the twist made the start of the novella a little confusing – it does get cleared up, but after the first 30 minutes or so I thought I missed something so I rewound back to the beginning to double check.

Overall, the de-extinction angle of The Tusks of Extinction is a good hook, but the science fiction elements are honestly not that special. The novella is most worth reading for the little melancholy vignettes of the three main characters’ origins. I like how Nayler gives us an very neutral view of each of their lives and allows the reader to decide on their morality for themselves. I am not sure there are good guys or bad guys in The Tusks of Extinction – but I did like asking myself that question.