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Summary: Hope this event is a ways off!
Review: I live in Memphis, right in the middle of where this story is set. The detail that the author puts into the story is amazing, right down to the name of a city park in a small town in Tennessee. The things that happen in the book could easily happen, in my opinion.
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Summary: Close, But No Cigar
Review: I started this book with high expectations - maybe because the beginning reminded me of two of my favorites - Lucifer's Hammer and Footfall - in that there were numerous story lines with "tidbits" of pure scientific data thrown in. There was ample opportunity here for the author to hit a home run, but somehow, things just never came together. The main storylines just seemed to fizzle out and become more ridiculous chapter by chapter, and somehow the book tailed off and ended with a wimper..... HONEST! I wanted to love this book, but it didn't happen.
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Summary: A Earthquake Rollercoaster Ride Of A Read!
Review: I'd equate this book to the likes of Stephen King's "The Stand" or McCammon's "Swang Song" The story, which is hardly supernatural deals with a very possible earthquake that tears through the middle of the country. The New Madrid fault is very real, and the last time it errupted was back between 1811-1812. 8.9 on the richter scale. Literaly liquifide solid earth. It knocked down forests, and changed the course of mighty rivers, in this case the Mississipi river. "The Rift" takes place in modern day America (today). The story follows the lives of 5 integral characters.Omar Paxton, card carrying member of the KKK, has been voted sheriff of small Lousiana town. Omar's hatred of all that is not white anglo saxon protestant ignites after the quake hits and he is cut off from the government. He takes his hatred so far as to imprison all of black people of the town in quasi-concentration like camps. Rev. Noble Frankland. Fanatical Christian who forsees the coming of the Tribulation aka: Judgement Day. His visions become all to real to him as he mistakes the quake and its aftershocks as the start of the 2nd coming. He is the flip side of Omar Paxton, as he imprisons all that do not kowtow to his sermons or his warped views on Christianity. Jason Adams. The son of divorced parents. He and his New Age flaky mother have just moved to the Mississipi Valley. Yearning to pull away from his wacked out mother and move back to California and his hands-off parenting father. Jason is pulled into a nightmare no child should ever go through as he witnesses his mothers death to flooding brought on by the quake. He is practically orphaned as his father tries to push him on a distant relative aunt in N.Y. Nick Ruford. A unemployeed African-American engineer traveling to Lousiana to present a birthday gift to his daughter before she takes off to school in France. He and a friend are caught in the quake. Nick goes from one tense situation to another as his traveling companion is mistaken for a looter and killed, to getting caught in a ravaging flood of the Mississipi. He is saved by Jason, but only to fall into more dangerous ground elsewhere in the story. General Jessica Frazetta. Heads the Army Corps Of Engineers. She fights against the time, the quake, and a emotionally and mentally impaired President Of The United States. Up against insurmountable odds as she deals with coordination a an enormous relief effort, to say nothing about helping contain a critically damaged nuclear reactor. This is a fantastic piece of fiction, that depending on wheither the New Madrid fault ever slips, could become a piece of non-fiction. I give this book the highest recommendations for summer reading.
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Summary: A Disaster of a Novel
Review: I've never written a novel, but I have read enough of them to know that having some sympathetic characters is a necessity especially in a "disaster" novel. If I had to live with the people in this book I'd be praying for the disaster to happen that would wipe them all out. The "bad" characters are so over-the-top they're laughable cliches; and the "good" characters are just pathetic. I wasted my time reading almost 200 pages in this book before I decided it just wasn't worth it. I didn't care what was going to happen. Do yourself a favor and pass on this one. Find a copy of "Lucifer's Hammer" it's a much better and more believable disaster story set in the USA.
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Summary: The weakest of Williams work to date
Review: I'm a big fan of Walter Jon Williams; from his seafaring novels to City On Fire, Aristoi, and Metropolitan, he has provided us with wonderful characterization, interesting plots, and people to care about. This ones a stinker. Not a single character I'd want to spend five minutes with. Of all the interesting things that could happen as the result of a huge New Madrid quake, Williams picks the least interesting, the least revealing of the human condition, the least appealing stories. I'd not recommend this to any Williams fan. Perhaps if you didn't expect the usual WJW quality, this would come across as a good read; I found it bitterly disappointing.
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Summary: Williams Gets Better and Better
Review: This is an enjoyable, well thought out, well characterized disaster book. It starts out slow, as Williams introduces the twenty-some-odd characters and locales necessary for his slice of the great American disaster, but by the end, I couldn't stop reading.
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Summary: Absolutely amazing
Review: This book was incredible. I was impressed with the thought that went into this book. It not only dealt with the concequences of a major disaster in the USA but also the impact it would have on other countries waiting to exploit a weakness in America. The characters were very believable and you develop a fondness for Nick and Jason. The story could be right out of the headlines were this to take place today. The sheriff as a member of the KKK, the concentration camps, the crazy preacher with the end of world teachings, the General and her problems with directing this massive relief effort all these people seemed so real it was hard not to believe this could not happen. To top it all off the "New Madrid Fault" is a real geological fault that has shifted before. The last time in 1811-1812 and could bring this book from fiction to non-fiction in a heartbeat. A very, very good read.
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Summary: Terrific read that I couldn't put down
Review: As a fan of "end-of-the-world" novels, this one is one of my favorites. It reminded of a Stephen King novel with the extensive development of the main characters. If you loved "The Stand", you'll enjoy this one...
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Summary: the rift shakes the continent
Review: This is one of the most amazing disaster novels I have ever read. AStonishingly real in it description of an earthquake and its after math. Combined with insights not only into our own counrtries speculated struggle to pull itself together, but also the global impact of what would happen if america's heartland where ripped apart and we had to turn our resources inward. Disease, toxic spills, nuclear waste occupies our thoughts in addition to a war on a global scale, while tiny dicatators set up camp along the estranged banks of the missippi. I highly recommend reading it.
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Summary: a.k.a "The Raft"
Review: This is a great book that echoes 'Huckleberry Finn' as the characters struggle to survive the after effects of a huge earthquake. They travel down the Mississippi river much like Huck and Jim did over 100 years before them. The level of detail in here is mind boggling. It feels almost as if you were reading the reports of an actual event. The characters are so well written they push past what seem like stereotypes and emerge as fully real people. If you enjoy disaster novels then this will be the ultimate read for you. If you just enjoy good writing you will also be in for a nice long treat. For another Missouri area earthquake book read: "8.4" by Peter Hernon.
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