A remote Florida swamp has been targeted for theme-park development, and the swamps inhabitants are none too happy. It doesnt help that the residents are a colony of intelligent, prehistoric, dinosaur-like birds. This flock of beasts has escaped the mass extinction that killed off the dinosaurs, relying on stealth, cunning, and killer instinct. The creatures have been living in secret, just outside our developed world. As the developers push to have the recently-discovered animals exterminated, a billionaire rogue environmentalist step in to protect these rare, predatory creatures. A naø¯ve young Fish and Wildlife officer finds himself caught in between these two incredibly powerful forces, and may find out the hard way that man is the most dangerous predator of them all . . . The Flock is a contemporary eco-thriller about what can happen when man violates nature, and when nature fights back. An evil Disneyesque media empire takes on giant dinosaur birds in this eco-thriller first novel. The Berg Brothers Studios has embarked on an ambitious plan to turn a remote swamp in south Florida into “the perfect American township.” This does not sit too well with the original inhabitants of the land: 10-foot-tall, half-ton, prehistoric birds that escaped the extinction of their dinosaur brethren and have been living secretly in Florida ever since. In an attempt to eradicate the birds before their discovery by the authorities puts an end to their “perfect township,” the studio hires a crazed survivalist with his own private army as exterminators. Opposing the bloodthirsty aspirations of the developers and their hired mercenaries is a billionaire environmental activist who is willing to protect the birds at any cost. Swept up into this dangerous high-stakes altercation is a dedicated but hapless Fish and Wildlife warden who survives numerous close calls only through the audacious actions of his trusty gal pal, a resourceful alligator trapper. Recommended for those who like to read about “animals running amok.” --Michael Gannon "Smith maps out a complex living environment that makes the flock's continued existence almost believable and depicts human characters who match the killer birds in adaptability." -- Publishers Weekly "This book has everything a crypto fan could want; prehistoric beasts with near human intelligence; a large corporate entity intent on turning the last wild areas of Florida into suburbia; a self made billionaire ecologist intent on preserving these same areas; and a retired Marine colonel with his own militia and a desire for mayhem. Smith does a wonderful job of brewing these disparate ingredients into a tasty story. And the fact that the hero is not much of a hero leaves a pleasant after taste on the palate." -- Cryptozoology.com "I read a lot of fiction, little of it sticking to the mental ribs, but The Flock delivered and will be one of those I revisit down the road, for sure. Give it a read, you won't be sorry!" -- Steve Bissette JAMES ROBERT SMITH lives with his wife, son, and two requisite cats near Charlotte, NC. He has made more than sixty short story sales, has had his comic scripts published by Marvel Comics, Kitchen Sink, Spyderbabies Grafix, and others. He is co-editor of the Arkham House anthology, Evermore . The Flock is his first novel.