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Dust

Dust

List Price: $15.95
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A Superior Eco-collapse Book.
Review: A classic page turner, where the plot races towards a climax that you can foresee but not predict. If you like Michael Crichton's books, then you will like this book. Be warned that what starts as mankind surviving an fascinating eco-collapse midway through the book turns into a plot about the heroes surviving against the actions of their fellow men. The more interesting eco-collapse theme takes a backseat to the sometimes contrived and highly coincidental interactions between heroes, villains and victims. Still, Dust is worth reading for the scientific "what-if" alone.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: I'm never going to smash an ant again!
Review: After reading this book, I am very careful to never step on insects. I never want to kill a single bug again (Okay, maybe not cockroaches, but you get the idea). Reminiscent of the Murphy's law style that Michael Christon has, this book is pretty much about the end of the world. It raised some interesting questions about how humans play into the world's ecology, and how much we take for granted in life.

Pellegrino is extremely knowledgable about this subject, and I learned a lot from this book. He based almost all of his characters off of real people, which I thought was cool.Also, in the back of the book, Pellegrino explains many of the questions I had. And while this may not be great literature, it was fun and it kept me going through many boring chemistry classes ( well hidden under my desk).

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Definately above average in its genre
Review: Before I start let me state that another disaster novel that I have seen in several reviews, Lucifer's Hammer, put me asleep. However, I loved Dust. If you're a lover of the survivalist mentality of the former work you'll probably hate this one.

What makes Dust work is that Pellegrino does not give the reader long summaries of scientific explanation encased thin trappings of fiction, like in many other "hard" sci-fi works. He builds an all-around storng novel with a coherent plot and believible characters. The impending doom of humanity is dealt with appropiate horror, but also with bitter irony. We are, after all, getting what we asked for. The book does have weaknesses, the ending dissolves into a predictable disaster movie mess and certain characters will suddenly disappear mid-way through the story, but overall I think this has been one of the more enjoyable reads of the year.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Ok but.....
Review: Dust makes you pick it up because of the chilling hook - insects die off and then so does everyone else. Good enough. And the 'hard' science is fun, as is the domino-like collapse of every species you ever knew (or didn't). But the man needs a co-writer - someone that can flesh out characters, set up suspense, and figure out how to actually tie different plot strands together. If Pellegrino actually had such a partner (Joe Haldeman, where are you?), Dust would be a classic. As is, it's an interesting diversion. Don't buy it - go to the library and get their copy instead.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Hard science, no characters
Review: I enjoyed this but there was little character development. The science was fun, especially with the afterword that gives the bases for the disasters referred to or encountered in the story. I had to wonder, though, whether the prospect of surviving extraterrestrially was based on an assumption that whatever caused the die-off wouldn't occur or wouldn't be germaine in space or on another planetary body. Seems to me that unless they had an insect-free ecology, any extraterrestrial solution would be vulnerable to the same problem. While we're at it, if "dust lanes" are the cause of at least part of the problem, wouldn't cloned insects also be vulnerable? Just a thought. These seem like the work of poor editing rather than poor writing per se.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A Good Read
Review: I have always had an affinity for post-apocalypse novels. This genre has become much less popular since the end of the cold war. But, Dust was really a pleasure to read. It is a story about the fall of civilization due to an ecological breakdown (as opposed to the standard nuclear holocaust). I am not a scientist, nor do I have much interest in that subject - until I read this book.

The author sets forth a compelling thesis that mass extinction on earth is cyclical. Dust is written in a style so that even someone like myself who has little scientific background, can understand the scientific concepts that are put forth.

My only real complaint about Dust is that the author does not fully explain some of the characters and events. For example, I wanted to know more about the worm affliction that one scientists suffered from. I also wanted to know more about society after the fall (perhaps that will be the next book). I do think that the author put in at least one gratuitous scene of attacking bats. I believe that this was done as an homage to Stephen King, since the author also describes a house in Main surrounded by a wrought iron fence that is festooned with bat icons (I read this description of King's house years ago in a magazine). I guess if you're going to write this genre and pay homage to someone, King's the person to do it to.

All in all, Dust is a good book with a few shortcomings, but certainly worth reading. I hope to see more from this author (hopefully, a part 2 to Dust).

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Run for your life here comes the dust mites
Review: I must say I expected a lot more than this book delivered. This book was very scientific to the point to where if you haven't study genetics for the past 4 years you could go completely brain dead trying to figure out what they are trying to explain. It focused on the scientific to the point to where it doesn't really develop any of the characters in the book. It is a very scary what if scenario, but it never really explains some things for example (WHERE DID ALL THE INSECTS GO). They just disappeared.

The action at the end of the book is intense but it is over before it really even develops. It had the potential to be a great science fiction novel but just didn't really deliver to me.

However I do recommend this book. It is a good novel of how humanity can be destroyed without a bomb going off. uhhhhh wait there are bombs also for you actions fans lol. All in all a good book, but only 3 stars here.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Only book that's ever scared me spitless!
Review: I'd have to say this is on my 'Top 5' list. I was so impressed with Pellegrino's grasp of the science involved in his theory. The concept of mass extinction is frightening enough, but throw in facts that make it not just believable but very possible, and it becomes the material of a living nightmare. My two thumbs are hoisted in salute to this mastermind of ecological breakdown!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Only book that's ever scared me spitless!
Review: I'd have to say this is on my 'Top 5' list. I was so impressed with Pellegrino's grasp of the science involved in his theory. The concept of mass extinction is frightening enough, but throw in facts that make it not just believable but very possible, and it becomes the material of a living nightmare. My two thumbs are hoisted in salute to this mastermind of ecological breakdown!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A Crichton-esque Eco Thriller with Far More Brains
Review: Let's face it, not every novel can be considered 'literature'. Sometimes, no matter how much steak you can find, you just want a hamburger. But there are hamburgers, and then there are hamburgers. And Charles Pellegrino's eco-thriller DUST fits the bill nicely, in an intriguing and exciting mix of science and conjecture that, if not exactly high art, at least puts the novels of Michael Crichton to shame.

DUST surrounds the ecological nightmare that may develop were the earth's insect population to die out practically overnight. As scientist Richard Sinclair and his team desperately endeavour to find a solution, the ecological impacts begin to be felt around the globe, and the true importance of the insect world's relationship to humanity becomes apparent. Animals begins to wreak havoc, forests begin to die out, and the worst instincts of man rise to the forefront.

While DUST may not win awards for its writing, it does manage to create tension, as well as reward the reader with an interesting take on an unusual situation. As Pellegrino combines scientific theory and facts within his fictional scenario, he creates an often unsettling portrait of environmental disaster that lingers in the mind well after the last page. This may not be a likely or probable scenario, but when one considers the actual declining state of the environment, the implications of the novel take on a new level of frightening possibility. Some may cling to the idea that humanity will rise above its petty problems to combat environmental destruction, but the scapegoating and terror that result in DUST are far more probable outcomes.

Even if the reader does not care for a thought-provoking hypothesis into the eventual end of existence, DUST is still an exciting read. It has characters more interesting than Crichton's usual fare of one-dimensional cartoons, and it has scenes of real horror, and hope. It deserves mention alongside Frank Herberts's THE GREEN BRAIN, his oft-neglected masterpiece of insect revolt. But DUST deserves mention as taking a more realistic approach to the theme, unlike Herbert's more fanciful novel.


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