Aftermath
2 journalers for this copy...
I found this slightly-battered paperback at the Used Book Superstore, and thought it looked like an interesting candidate for the Chills & Spills challenge. It's about an end-of-the-world scenario: a supernova causes a massive electromagnetic pulse that disables most high-tech electronics and disrupts weather patterns as well.
Intriguing take on the end-of-the-world premise, with some entertaining speculation and a mix of personal and political subplots. (In some cases the personal plot-arcs seemed a bit out of place in the context of this truly global catastrophe; I mean, under the circumstances, I really didn't care that much about the President's love life! Though the author managed to work some of the relationships into the furtherance of other plots, so I guess it was fair {wry grin}.)
I liked the variety of characters from whose viewpoints we experience the story. There's a small group of middle-aged-and-up cancer survivors who have been benefiting from experimental treatment methods; for them, the EMP has shut down their access to the treatments, and they have a strong interest in attempting to rescue the one person who may be able to concoct something for them. Luckily, they know where he is; unluckily, he's a serial killer as well as a brilliant scientist, and has been sentenced to multiple "life" terms under deep, coma-like sleep, the current method of coping with criminals. [That aspect of the story could have made an entire novel in itself, but it serves to drive several subplots here and bring some characters together.]
There's also the crew of a Mars-landing mission, who were on their way home when the EMP hit - and, as they were in a spacecraft built to be shielded from that kind of thing, were among the very few to still have functioning electronics. Sadly, their hope of landing involves orbiting stations that were not so well shielded, and they have to try some risky procedures to attempt to get home.
The President of the US is, of course, highly concerned with all this - as are the rest of the world leaders (at least in the northern hemisphere; the southern hemisphere took the worst hit from the weather disruptions), but the focus here is on this man and his immediate staff - and a few key rivals. [Several subplots have to do with some form of "deal with the devil", as it happens; one could certainly debate whether these are worth it or not.]
These and other characters first have to cope with the immediate aftermath of the supernova, and then, as things begin to bounce back - with some entertaining side effects, including the drafting of a number of senior citizens who know how to operate older machinery that's not sensitive to EMPs! - some new crises come along to keep them on their toes...
I liked some of the more unusual sub-plots, and the attempts to be at least moderately consistent with the science of the events, especially the idea that one can't fix the fallout from a supernova overnight. And somehow the author darts happily from fire-forged friendships to eerie, destroyed landscapes, from a brilliant serial killer to religious zealots, and from a world in crisis to - er, a world still in crisis, but with a trace of hope?
In the right hands this could make a dandy mini-series. And there's even a sequel hook, leading to Starfire, which I may read if I come across a copy...
[There's a short TV Tropes page for this novel that may be of interest.]
I liked the variety of characters from whose viewpoints we experience the story. There's a small group of middle-aged-and-up cancer survivors who have been benefiting from experimental treatment methods; for them, the EMP has shut down their access to the treatments, and they have a strong interest in attempting to rescue the one person who may be able to concoct something for them. Luckily, they know where he is; unluckily, he's a serial killer as well as a brilliant scientist, and has been sentenced to multiple "life" terms under deep, coma-like sleep, the current method of coping with criminals. [That aspect of the story could have made an entire novel in itself, but it serves to drive several subplots here and bring some characters together.]
There's also the crew of a Mars-landing mission, who were on their way home when the EMP hit - and, as they were in a spacecraft built to be shielded from that kind of thing, were among the very few to still have functioning electronics. Sadly, their hope of landing involves orbiting stations that were not so well shielded, and they have to try some risky procedures to attempt to get home.
The President of the US is, of course, highly concerned with all this - as are the rest of the world leaders (at least in the northern hemisphere; the southern hemisphere took the worst hit from the weather disruptions), but the focus here is on this man and his immediate staff - and a few key rivals. [Several subplots have to do with some form of "deal with the devil", as it happens; one could certainly debate whether these are worth it or not.]
These and other characters first have to cope with the immediate aftermath of the supernova, and then, as things begin to bounce back - with some entertaining side effects, including the drafting of a number of senior citizens who know how to operate older machinery that's not sensitive to EMPs! - some new crises come along to keep them on their toes...
I liked some of the more unusual sub-plots, and the attempts to be at least moderately consistent with the science of the events, especially the idea that one can't fix the fallout from a supernova overnight. And somehow the author darts happily from fire-forged friendships to eerie, destroyed landscapes, from a brilliant serial killer to religious zealots, and from a world in crisis to - er, a world still in crisis, but with a trace of hope?
In the right hands this could make a dandy mini-series. And there's even a sequel hook, leading to Starfire, which I may read if I come across a copy...
[There's a short TV Tropes page for this novel that may be of interest.]
Journal Entry 3 by 
GoryDetails
at Lobster Tail Restaurant in Windham, New Hampshire USA on Tuesday, January 31, 2012
GoryDetails at Lobster Tail Restaurant in Windham, New Hampshire USA on Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Released 12 yrs ago (1/31/2012 UTC) at Lobster Tail Restaurant in Windham, New Hampshire USA
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
I left this book on a bench in front of the Lobster Tail Restaurant in Windham Plaza at about 3:30; hope the finder enjoys it!*** Released as part of the 2012 Chills & Spills release challenge. The January theme is "end of the world". ***
Decent science good continuity,
