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Primitive Editorial Reviews
Source: 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.
Primitive Customer Reviews:
Average Rating: 3.0 (77 reviews)
Rating: 5 (I stayed up all night reading this...) Was helpful to 0 from 3 votes
...and couldn't put it down until I finished in the morning, it's that gripping. I admit, at first the beautiful model didn't grab me, I figured she'd be too shallow; but then the author sucks you in and before you know it you're hooked on a story that's much larger and raises disturbing questions about whether violent means by a crazy eco-cult justify the ends of trying to keep the world from self-destructing. Yet the novel isn't preachy, and the mother/rebellious teenage daughter subplot makes it all very human. A real gem!
Rating: 5 (Superbly crafted thriller) Was helpful to 0 from 3 votes
I thoroughly enjoyed this thriller. I found it to be a well-crafted literary adventure. Mark Nykanen has managed to accomplish the improbable....educate me on global warming and entertain me at the same time. This is a fine read of a book, compelling enough to mess-up my evening schedule. At times I had to put it down, but certainly didn't want to.
Rating: 5 (A LOT to Cheer About) Was helpful to 0 from 3 votes
I just finished Primitive. It is excellent! It totally "gets" the zeitgeist, and all of us who are just sick and tired of the never-ending delays in efforts to eliminate -- or at least slow down -- global warming will take heart in the passions unleashed in this book. And those of us who are just as tired of U.S. war mongering and the country's "war on terror" justifications of torture, and surveillance of citizens, will also find plenty to celebrate in a work of fiction that takes you into a subculture that most of us have never known. But the emotions that come alive in this book -- the disgust with profoundly misguided and often brutal government policies -- will be very familiar to many readers.
I read Nykanen's first two books, HUSH and THE BONE PARADE, but his last one, SEARCH ANGEL, was just too dark for me. PRIMITIVE is very different. There's no serial killer in this one, unless you want to include "climate chaos," as some of the characters refer to climate change. There's a lot to cheer about in this novel, not the least of which is seeing a talented author, using strong thriller elements, take on the big issues of our time so convincingly that they become more real than the headlines and horrors we see about them every day on the tube. But most of all, it's a great story. I loved Sonya's relationship with Darcy, how complicated it was, and how real world events turned their lives upside down. I hope this means that we're going to see a lot more books that place great characters into gripping stories teeming with issues of real substance. You can just feel the strength of conviction in some of the most surprisingly sympathetic characters in recent memory. This one's a keeper.
Rating: 5 (TWO GREAT WOMEN---WHAT A RELATIONSHIP!) Was helpful to 0 from 3 votes
Primitive is a page turner. Is it ever! I love the two main female characters. Nykanen skillfully presents Sonya and her twenty-three year-old daughter Darcy. They are extremely different people, and this amazing story shows what happens to their relationship when the mom, Sonya, gets abducted by the more radical elements of the environmental underground movement. There's a lot in this book about real issues, and you'll learn some scary stuff about methane, but the heart of this book is the mother-daughter relationship. My feelings about them changed a number of times as I got to know them better and better. Like another reviewer said, the whole model thing didn't really appeal to me, but this is not the glamor of New York Fashion Week. Sonya's a middle age woman who may be seeing the last days of her career as age takes its toll, not the paint-by-number model I've read about so many times. But she's no saint, and still really embodies the consumption attitude of someone who makes a living selling stuff, even if it is yoga mats and orthopedic pillows.
So I love all the issues that get raised, but it's Sonya and Darcy that got me to write a review, and will make this a favorite book to give away this year.
Rating: 5 (Scientific truths and human passions intertwined) Was helpful to 0 from 3 votes
As per any self-respecting thriller, Primitive moves fast and furious; you'll sit on the edge of your seat until the end. Given the author's extensive experience as an investigative reporter of shenanigans inside the Beltway, it also offers a chillingly accurate picture of how governmental agencies, the military, and big corporations are leading us toward ecocide.
The science behind our portentous future is embedded seamlessly within the story, whose characters are sympathetically compelling and rendered with an uncommon psychological acumen--a point personally important because of my background as a psychiatrist.
I happened to be reading Michael Parenti's Contrary Notions coincidentally with Nykanen's Primitive; if an analytical knowledge of how we created our global crises can be understood with Parenti's non-fiction, caring enough to do something about them may well require fiction writers like Nykanen.
