Praise for Fade to Black:

 “A beautifully crafted, adrenaline-drenched thriller, written with all the skill and passion
of a master novelist.”
—T.C. Boyle

“A fast-paced, tightly-laced page turner with the fun of bitter cold, taut prose, scientists,
and surprises. Pryor knows how to hang us over the cliff.”
—Aimee Bender

Summary:

At the nexus of a top-secret government conspiracy to develop a doomsday-style bio-weapon, cutting edge science and ancient primal bloodlust collide when a team of ill-fated explorers unlocks the eons-old secrets of humankind’s savage evolutionary past lurking miles beneath the killing cold of Antarctica.

The beautiful and troubled Dr. Claire Matthews, a disgraced evolutionary biologist, attempts to resurrect her career in the deadly wastes of earth’s most inhospitable climate. To earn her keep, Claire must determine the role played by S. iroquoisii, an ancient microscopic organism critical in the evolution of primitive man, in the catastrophic accident that decimated the previous expedition, before her crew falls prey to a similar fate.

Employing the latest in forensic investigation, Claire and a joint team of military and civilian personnel
undertake the gruesome task of piecing together the events that led to the massive explosion that destroyed the previous research station. As a nightmare of unimaginable proportions begins to coalesce, Claire is drawn ever deeper into a maze of deception and savage violence. Pitted against a primordial foe they can scarcely fathom, Claire and her colleagues must battle the cold, each other, and the growing madness within themselves to survive the infinite polar night.