Andrew K. (kuligowskiandrewt) -
When Jimmy Buffett sang âI don't know where I'm a gonna go / When the volcano blowâ, he was talking about the mountain in Montserrat. Small (relatively) and contained (ditto). The biggest volcano in North America isn't in the Caribbean, nor along the Pacific Coast â it's underneath Yellowstone National Park. What if IT blew?
Author Harry Turtledove provides one possible scenario to answer that question in âSupervolcano: Eruptionâ. Colin Ferguson is a cop in southern California. On a trip to Yellowstone, he meets and gets involved with a geologist, Kelly Birnbaum. Kelly and her fellow geologists are warning of a potential disaster, but of course, politicians aren't listening â there's too many tourist dollars riding on it not happening, and people not worrying about it possibly occurring. Harry's daughter has just moved to Denver; that's way too close to Ground Zero for his tastes. His son is touring New England in a just-barely-making-it rock band; that's far enough to avoid any eruption affecting him, isn't it?
Of course, as the book's title reveals from the outset, Yellowstone DOES explode. The immediate death and destruction is documented (on a limited scale, it would take volumes to tell EVERYONE's story!). The aftermath, however, takes up a good portion of the book. What will all of that ash do to the surrounding land? To the atmosphere? To the animals and plants â especially the crops â surrounding Yellowstone. And just how far way does constitute âsurroundingâ?
An interesting book, and one that kept my interest throughout my reading. A perfect book? No, not really. Colin stereotypically reflects a white cop's supposed prejudices against minorities. His ex-wife works for a Japanese import business, and Asian stereotyping can be found there, as well. (In fairness, I listened to this on audio; the narrator may have exaggerated this particular aspect of the book in voicing her boss; he did not, however, change Colin's words and thoughts.)
Still, I enjoyed book number one, and am looking forward to obtaining and reading the other two books in this series.
RATING: 4 stars.
Author Harry Turtledove provides one possible scenario to answer that question in âSupervolcano: Eruptionâ. Colin Ferguson is a cop in southern California. On a trip to Yellowstone, he meets and gets involved with a geologist, Kelly Birnbaum. Kelly and her fellow geologists are warning of a potential disaster, but of course, politicians aren't listening â there's too many tourist dollars riding on it not happening, and people not worrying about it possibly occurring. Harry's daughter has just moved to Denver; that's way too close to Ground Zero for his tastes. His son is touring New England in a just-barely-making-it rock band; that's far enough to avoid any eruption affecting him, isn't it?
Of course, as the book's title reveals from the outset, Yellowstone DOES explode. The immediate death and destruction is documented (on a limited scale, it would take volumes to tell EVERYONE's story!). The aftermath, however, takes up a good portion of the book. What will all of that ash do to the surrounding land? To the atmosphere? To the animals and plants â especially the crops â surrounding Yellowstone. And just how far way does constitute âsurroundingâ?
An interesting book, and one that kept my interest throughout my reading. A perfect book? No, not really. Colin stereotypically reflects a white cop's supposed prejudices against minorities. His ex-wife works for a Japanese import business, and Asian stereotyping can be found there, as well. (In fairness, I listened to this on audio; the narrator may have exaggerated this particular aspect of the book in voicing her boss; he did not, however, change Colin's words and thoughts.)
Still, I enjoyed book number one, and am looking forward to obtaining and reading the other two books in this series.
RATING: 4 stars.
