Thomas Starbuck‘s masterpiece, “Deadly Ground,” was featured in the April 27th issue of The New York Times Book Review (NYTBR) Magazine of 2025.
The New York Times Book Review (NYTBR), a weekly paper magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of The New York Times (an American daily newspaper with a global audience estimated at 6 million paid digital subscribers in 2020), reviews current fiction and non-fiction books. It is among the most renowned and important book reviews in the industry.
Author Thomas W. Starbuck started to develop the storyline of “Deadly Ground” back in May of 2006 when he was driving home from an extended road trip when he was hearing some reports on the radio about Bird Flu and SARS viruses breaking out in Southeast Asia countries.
Hearing this news triggered his imagination and curiosity, which leads him to write this gripping sci-fi novel. He then further conceptualized the main character, AB, who has a chimeric individual.
“Deadly Ground” by Thomas W. Starbuck tells the story of AB, a brilliant scientist working for the CDC, who survives a deadly virus.
As it spreads globally, AB stands alone in a world devoid of human existence with his companion, Winnie.
The novel explores the concept of being the last person on Earth and the search for a new Eve.
Thomas was interviewed by Logan Crawford of Roku TV. The anchor of the said program is an actor and Emmy award-winning anchor, reporter, talk show host, and comic with recurring roles on such hit TV shows as The Irishman (2019), The First Purge (2018), Teenage Mutant Ninja, 40-Love (2021), and many others.
He was also interviewed by Benji Cole of CBS Radio in the People of Distinction program. The said program is one of the most extensive and wide-ranging radio shows in the United States. It airs on Apple’s iTunes Radio Network (Professional News/Talk), featuring CBS Radio, Fox News, NPR, and C-Span. Listen to the full interview here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRITXNYHiUI&t=43s.
Mark Heisey of the US Review of Books gave his praise for this compelling sci-fi narrative, to wit, “The author offers a fast-paced, pandemic-related, post-apocalyptic novel. The writing is simple but the speed at which the novel moves will help maintain interest for those often bored with books that develop more slowly. The plot continues to throw new circumstances at the protagonist and the reader with almost every chapter.”
He also held a successful book signing event during the 2024 Frankfurt International Book Fair. The said event is the world’s largest book fair. It is a vibrant celebration of global cultures, stories, and creativity, drawing over 215,000 attendees and 4,000 exhibitors from more than 130 countries each year.
