At a safari park in South Africa, rangers are inexplicably disappearing and strange creatures have been seen battling with wild animals. Danny and Lester fly in to investigate and are drawn into a dark and dangerous conspiracy which could have terrible consequences. Back in London, Connor, Abby and Sarah have been left to cope on their own. As torrential rain pours down over the city, an enormous anomaly opens up in East London...

Fire and Water is the latest Primeval book to be release through Titan Books and what a treat fans are in for. Author Simon Guerrier manages to stuff 231 pages with way more action, adventure and twists than I thought possible.

Each of the main characters gets an equal amount of time in Fire and Water, which is very unusual as normally in these sort of books only a few of the characters step into the limelight leaving the others to play more of a background role. There are plenty of twists and turns too, which will keep fans on their toes eagerly turning the pages.

In fact, due to Guerrier's writing style, you will indeed find this book next to impossible to put down. He writes short, punchy chapters which flip between the characters so quickly - with an endless supply of cliff-hangers - that you are constantly on the edge of your seat as the twists and turns are thrown at you.

Quick examples include one of the main team accused of being a spy; huge dinosaurs getting stuck in a tube tunnel on the East London Line; a helpful new character who has hidden agendas; the appearance of one of Lester's old adversaries; and a secret organisation that intends to use the anomalies to tap into the planet's natural resources.

The only possible complaint to be had is that those that prefer their stories to feature the old ARC team (from the show's first and second series) may not enjoy this . If you stopped watching the show when Danny and Sarah were introduced, then you won't find this quite so much fun.

However, for everyone else who has kept up to date with the TV series, this could be the most enjoyable book you purchase this year - it's certainly one of the best Primeval books to be released so far.

9

Nick Smithson