Going back to read some of Gregg Hurwitz's earlier books, I came across Minutes to Burn (#161), a scientific thriller reminiscent of James Rollins, but not nearly as good.
A shift of the earth's tectonic plates off the Galapagos Islands has resulted in years of earthquakes and devastation in the western Americas with resulting political turmoil in the near future. Scientists want to put out detecting equipment on the westernmost Galapagos Island to help them predict future earthquakes and contol the damage they cause. A half team of reserve and on-leave Navy Seals is put together to baby-sit the scientists on this expedition. It's supposed to be a simple in-and-out mission, but everyone has been ignoring the stories coming out of the island about a "tree monster" that has been wreaking havoc. Soon, the team finds itself cut off from the mainland in a fight not just for their lives, but those of the entire planet.
This book is twice as long as it needs to be. The beginning got off to a very slow start, mired in scientific minutiae and jargon that was totally unneccessary to advancing the plot. Even the map in this book was filled with obfuscating details. It wasn't until Hurwitz got to the second half of the book and concentrated on the thriller aspect that it picked up and took off. Not a bad read if you skip the first two hundred pages...
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