First Bird

Matt Kearns, linguist, archaeologist and reluctant explorer from Beneath the Dark Ice and Black Mountain returns in his first full-time adventure. And this time he doesn't have Alex Hunter to save him when things get weird. When a fame-hungry scientist brings an impossible, living specimen of a creature long thought extinct back from the wild jungles of South America he unwittingly brings along a passenger. Something with the potential to destroy every living thing on our planet. The infestation begins, rapidly overtaking medical resources and resisting all treatment. One woman knows the danger, Carla Nero, chief scientist of the Centre for Disease Control. She makes Matt an offer he can't refuse and together they join a team heading to the deep jungle in a desperate race to locate the hidden place where the specimen was taken. Only by finding the location of the specimen can the team – and the world – hope to uncover the secret of how to survive the ancient, horrifying parasite that has been released. This title is a novella-length episode of The First Bird. It will conclude with Episode 3 on 1 August. Please visit www.momentumbooks.com.au for release dates, further information and to sign-up to be notified of the next release. Greig Beck grew up across the road from Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia. His early days were spent surfing, sunbaking and reading science fiction on the sand. He then went on to study computer science, immerse himself in the financial software industry and later received an MBA. Today, Greig spends his days writing, but still finds time to surf at his beloved Bondi Beach. He lives in Sydney, with his wife, son and an enormous black German shepherd.

Matt Kearns and the remnants of the scientific team return to a ravaged America. Modern medicine has failed to halt the spread of the flesh-consuming parasite, and humans have been forced to hide, even from each other. The infected roam the cities and suburbs of a ruined nation. But the devastating effects on human physiology are only the beginning. Something has been let loose, something that the team were not prepared for – human nature itself. Matt and Carla must make it back to the CDC headquarters, crossing the apocalyptic countryside that proves every bit as dangerous and deadly as the South American jungle. The race is on to test their eradication cure, before their world suffers the same fate as that of the giant saurians of prehistory. But there is something they don't count on – the solution has a high price. If they don't use the cure it means the end of mankind, but what if the remedy is worse than the disease? This is a novella-length episode of The First Bird. To read the full story, check out The First Bird: Omnibus Edition. Greig Beck grew up across the road from Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia. His early days were spent surfing, sunbaking and reading science fiction on the sand. He then went on to study computer science, immerse himself in the financial software industry and later received an MBA. Today, Greig spends his days writing, but still finds time to surf at his beloved Bondi Beach. He lives in Sydney, with his wife, son and an enormous black German shepherd.