Rating: 
Summary: A Ripping Good Yarn
Review: The author could use a bit of work on his chops in terms of creating and sustaining narrative tension, but overall a ripping good yarn. Warm, believable characters and lots of interesting earthquake lore (I used to be a geology major a million years ago, and at least the stuff I remember, he got right).I guess how much you will enjoy this book depends on whether you concentrate on its flaws or its strengths. I found it quite entertaining. My suspicion is that it would have taken a much longer book to cover as much ground as this one does while fully developing all the plot elements, and that unless you're Stephen King, you don't get to publish 1100-page novels.
Rating: 
Summary: Fast Paced and factual
Review: The book was very fast paced and hard to put down. The research was totally supberb and explained in very simplistic terms. The characters could have used a little more developing and the ending did leave a couple of unanswered questions, but overall the book was nonstop and hard to put down. Living in the area of the "zone" this book has opened my eyes to the potential danger that is lurking just below the surface.
Rating: 
Summary: Weak Thriller
Review: The most interesting parts of this book had to do with the factual descriptions of the New Madrid Seismic Zone. Knowing that the faults in this area are all too real, the underlying idea of a devastating earthquake's hitting this area is believable. Nothing else in this book kept my attention. The plot was weak and the characters annoying. I read the entire book because I always give the author a chance to redeem himself, but in this case I should have just put it down 50 pages into the book like I wanted to. The stereotypical characters all lacked depth and development and were practically Hollywood parodies -- the image-obsessed politician, the beautiful earthquake scientist, etc., etc., etc. This book actually would've been far more interesting as a documentary about the New Madrid Seismic Zone instead of the weak semblance of fiction that it is.
Rating: 
Summary: interesting but plotless
Review: The posibility of a major earthquake hitting the Mississippi Valley and the damage thereof is interesting. This book makes you want to read on, but I found the author repeats himself and describes the same scientific causes and effects over and over, as if the reader didn't understand it the first time. It needed editing. The plot is, there isn't one. A bunch of stereotypical scientist debated and running all over the earthquake zone searching for seismic data. Thats it. It's like the movie "Twister" but with an earthquake. No substance. Setting off a nuclear bomb to stop another earthquake was rediculas. Man thinking he can stop the power of the earths plate movements is like plugging a volcano with cement. The vanity of it all is insane. The author describes unbelievable devastation of an 8.4 quake, but yet another quake would be worse? Of course it would be worse, but the devastation he describes the first time, there wouldn't be much left if another one hit after it, so infact you can say the first quake would be worse then the second. The reader had to believe a 2nd quake would be the end of life as we know it in the US and alternative is to just "do something", that something is setting off a nuke? Give me a break! Theres a fine line between fantasy and insulting the readers intelligence and the author had no trouble crossing it.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting seismology, awful writing.
Review: This author feeds us a great deal of seismology, which is fairly interesting, but I do not have the expertise to say if it is correct. He also feeds us an action melodrama and I do have the expertise to say that this is a dreadfully written and edited book. I see that it has been picked up by NBC, for whom he was presumably writing. But don't they read before they buy? The cover should have been a tip-off; it shows a landscape fitting to New Mexico or Arizona, nothing like West Kentucky where this takes place. When he refers to Lake "Barclay" and says that it and Kentucky Lake were formed in the 1930's, I should have quit reading immediately. (It is Lake Barkley, and it was formed in the 1960's, long after Kentucky Lake.) As the writing got worse and worse, and the melodrama more ridiculous, I started skimming so I could get to the inevitable happy ending. In between, the citizens of West Kentucky are slandered over and over with the implication that they are stealing guns and shooting people after the first quake. (That doesn't happen other places where large quakes occur; I wonder why this author thinks it would happen in Kentucky? ) The governor of Kentucky is made to look like a lawless buffoon, defying the federal government, but I daresay the governor of Kentucky (or any other state) could write better than this. Luckily, I saved money by reading a library copy, but it did consume a couple of hours of my time. Save both money and time; skip it.
Rating: 
Summary: on solid ground?
Review: This book is wonderful! Being a resident of Minnesota earthquakes have always intrigued me. I have never been anywhere an earthquake nor have ever felt one. This book is so accurate in the information that I have read about in the past. I recommend this book to anyone that is just learning about quakes or someone that is trained in this field!
Rating:
Summary: Action!Action!Action!
Review: This book starts out with a bang and seldom lets up for all 460 pages. It is a dynamic action-packed thriller that makes Earthquake with Charlton Heston look like a romp with the Bobbesey Twins. I had a terrible time putting it down. The scenic descriptions were incredible. Having spent vacation time in Tennesee and at Land Between the Lakes brought his depiction of a New Madrid earthquake disaster a little too close to home for comfort. The only complaint I have is that towards the end it became predictable. However, if you live in the Midwest and have even the remotest interest in earthquakes, you want to read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Superior thriller with a few faults
Review: This techno-thriller is characterized by clear writing and a swift plot that utilizes eight or nine key characters who struggle through an immense catastrophe. The writing is way above the level of average thrillers. The romance is fine. To hell with complicating things with a romantic robot(as suggested in another review). Let's not be too recherche. This should make an excellent movie. Hernon should move into the top line with Stephen Hunter et al.
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