Extreme Makeover: A Novel
Hardcover | Paperback | Kindle
Written by Dan Wells
Tor Books
Release Date: November 15th, 2016

The never-ending quest for eternal youth and beauty is the bread and butter of the beauty industry, and it looks like NewYew is the company that has hit the winning jackpot. Their secret weapon (literally) is scientist Lyle Fontanelle, who has developed a lotion that can cause a body to create more collagen, good for burn victims, and Lyle hopes, eventually… cancer patients. But the corporate bigwigs want to push through with the testing and manufacturing against Lyle’s better judgment. An accidental lapse in safety protocols cause the lotion to be tainted. During the test run, most of the subjects start turning into Lyle, and one man starts turning into his assistant (a woman). That doesn’t end pretty. The tainted lotion overwrites one’s DNA, and the quick knowledge spread of the lotion’s capabilities start spiraling the drain, leading all to want an Extreme Makeover by Dan Wells.

More below.

A unique apocalyptic novel (almost unheard of nowadays), Wells takes us on the most attractive road to destruction – immortal beauty… which masks the darkest path. If you can think of THE worst case scenario such a premise can devise, I promise you – it’s in here. I was hooked by the phrase “overwriting the DNA,” and kept on the line by the incredible snowball effect of humanity’s destruction. The pages couldn’t turn fast enough. Each chapter heading includes a number of days that begins with:

267 DAYS TO THE END OF THE WORLD

No subtlety there. The scariest thing about it is how believably crazy it is. I mean, I think I would buy the product from its initial promise, and I believe the hysteria and propaganda that followed is exactly how it would really go down. The characters range from the completely victimized, to the misguided, to the ones with the best intentions (on the road to hell), to the greedy, to the evil – just so rich and full!

Dan Wells wrote a superbly horrifying story, and the ending is unforgettable. Buy it. Read it. Love it.

Synopsis:

Dan Well’s Extreme Makeover is a satirical new suspense about a health and beauty company that accidentally develops a hand lotion that can overwrite your DNA.

Lyle Fontanelle is the chief scientist for NewYew, a health and beauty company experimenting with a new, anti-aging hand lotion. As more and more anomalies crop up in testing, Lyle realizes that the lotion’s formula has somehow gone horribly wrong. It is actively overwriting the DNA of anyone who uses it, turning them into physical clones of someone else. Lyle wants to destroy the formula, but NewYew thinks it might be the greatest beauty product ever designed–and the world’s governments think it’s the greatest weapon.

New York Times bestselling author Dan Wells brings us a gripping corporate satire about a health and beauty company that could destroy the world in Extreme Makeover.