Comet Dis'Aster

Rating:
Summary: AN ACTION BOOK ABOUT TRYING TO SURVIVE AFTER A COMET IMPACT.
Review: "COMET DIS'ASTER", BY L. EDUARDO VEGA:

In my novel "COMET DIS'ASTER" I bring forth the saga of a few North America families (San Francisco, Tucson, Chicago, Syracuse and Quebec), as they try to survive in a world destroyed by a major comet impact.

A planet-sized "asteroid" from outer space invades our solar system. It fragments into million of pieces which crowd our interplanetary space with comets and asteroids (planetesimals). The celestial display of comets, asteroids, new moons and meteors is awesome but alarming, for it is a harbinger of destruction to all humankind.

One of these comets eventually hits the planet Earth. "Dis'Aster", as humans call it ("dis" is Latin for evil, and "aster" is Greek for star), has a seven mile solid core; massive destruction of the planet's ecosystem is inevitable. The effects of this hypothetical comet impact are similar to those that made for the extinction of the dinosaurs (and also 70 % of all species living at the time !), 65 million years ago.

The few million humans that survive the directs effects of the impact try then to endure an ice age that lasts many years, and then the massive floods that result from the inevitable greenhouse thawing of the frozen planet. Can any humans at all survive ? Will Homo sapiens become extinct ?

Extensive research in the areas of astronomy, biology, geology, medicine and other sciences, helped me provide the readers with a scientifically correct representation of the origins of comets showers, the detailed physical results of a collision between a large planetesimal and the Earth, and the human tribulations of starvation and other survival issues.

The science portrayed is factual and all happenings plausible. On the other hand, the human drama is fictional: the desperate attempts of a few survivors to avoid extinction under the worst possible of all environmental disasters.

If, like me, you enjoy dynamic books full of fascinating and scientifically correct data coupled with griping human drama, you will love this novel.

Enjoy!

Dr. Ed Vega

[e-mail]

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic Science Fiction in the Asimov Tradition
Review: I read my first science fiction book in the fourth grade, a book filled with wonder and scientific facts and speculation and became a true fan of science fiction. In recent years I've drifted away from the genre as it drifted away from hard science and more toward fantasy. Comet Dis'Aster renews my faith in science fiction and left me wanting more. The writing reminded me of my favorite science fiction writer of all time, Isaac Asimov, an engrossing combination of hard science and an exciting plot. The description of the fast moving events that took place around the world at the comet's impact are so riveting that I could not put the book down for one second and the human drama that takes place afterwards left me both disturbed and hopeful. I may be just a little prejudiced since the author is my son's uncle and I have the honor of knowing him personally, but I can heartily recommend this book to any lover of science fiction, especially those who love science fiction that is really based on science. Excellent writing and well-thought-out scientific speculation truly make this a five-star book.

Rating:
Summary: Thumbs Up ! And heads up (the comets are coming) !
Review: I truly enjoyed Comet Dis'Aster. I couldn't put it down and carried it everywhere with me. The premise/plot is so increidibly plausible, its scares you witless into enjoying the best out of every day, especially the food we eat (those who have read it will understand what I mean). L.E. Vega's use of his knowledge of science is extraordinary, his insight into human behavior is reminiscent of George Orwell and his predictions for future technology and health are inspiring. I highly recommend it those intregued by predictions by Nostradamus, Jeanne Dixon and the final chapters of the Holy Bible. Even though comet and asteroid disasters have been exploited in the recent past by Hollywood, this is the most complete, refreshing and engaging hypothesis on the subject I have read. It makes you wonder where the researchers of these movies were looking when they came up with their screenplays!

Rating:
Summary: Thumbs Up ! And heads up (the comets are coming) !
Review: I truly enjoyed Comet Dis'Aster. I couldn't put it down and carried it everywhere with me. The premise/plot is so increidibly plausible, its scares you witless into enjoying the best out of every day, especially the food we eat (those who have read it will understand what I mean). L.E. Vega's use of his knowledge of science is extraordinary, his insight into human behavior is reminiscent of George Orwell and his predictions for future technology and health are inspiring. I highly recommend it those intregued by predictions by Nostradamus, Jeanne Dixon and the final chapters of the Holy Bible. Even though comet and asteroid disasters have been exploited in the recent past by Hollywood, this is the most complete, refreshing and engaging hypothesis on the subject I have read. It makes you wonder where the researchers of these movies were looking when they came up with their screenplays!

Rating:
Summary: Science fiction with real scientific thought
Review: I was fortunate enough to be an early reader of Ed Vega's new science fiction account of a factually sound senario for what might transpire should our home planet sustain a major asteroid impact during our life time. Of course, such an impact will eventually happen again, the much publicised impact at the end of the Cretacious at the time of the demise of the dinosaures being only one of many impacts in our planet's four and a half billion year history. The topic has had weakly scientific treatment in popular media of the Bruce Willis ilk, but never before has a fictional account based on up to date science been attempted. Dr. Vega does just this, and with resounding success. The characters are full of life, many based on real people, and the reader cannot help but care about them as they struggle to survive in the long and harsh aftermath of the disaster. The plot is enthralling, prompting rapid turning of pages to find out what befalls the protagonists next. The depictions of the consequences for humanity and for the ecology of our planet are soundly rooted in scietific data, the pace of the story is riviting, and the conclusion is one of hope. When I got my copy, I stayed up until 3 in the morning, unable to put the book down. One word of caution, however. This is not science fiction for children; the accounts of heroic behavior, suffering, and savagery are quite graphic, and unsettling even for adult readers. The original text was to consist of alternating chapters of fictional story line and scientific discussion, but this part of the concept was a casualty of the publication process. I thought it to be a grand idea, and I hope that a future edition can include these chapters. Maybe I can talk Dr. Vega into a kid oriented science fiction book with this concept included. Congratulations to Ed Vega on an enthralling read that smashingly (pun intended) points out the need for scientific literacy. Well done!

Rating:
Summary: Excellent! Stupendous! Book. Couldn't put it down!
Review: L. E. Vega's Comet Disaster is a masterpiece. Glord, the book's evil protagonist, is a monster! What he does in the name of survival is truly shocking and outrageous. This book will not bore you. Robert, the good protagonist, struggles to survive and make it to the end of the book. One cannot help but cheer for him and I nearly dropped the book and applauded when he did something truly grand at the end. I don't want to take anything away from readers by giving you the plot, but the plot is outstanding. I wanted more when I finished the book. It's that kind of book. You can't put it down and then you don't want it to be over when you have finished it. I am a bigtime reader of books of all types and Comet Dis'Aster accomplishes something few books can do - it puts the science back in science fiction! It is filled with amazing scientific information that I would never have been exposed to if I hadn't read Comet Dis'Aster. It's a great book. It's easily 5 stars - the highest ranking. Inside the back jacket, the book explains that the author, L. E. Vega is both a physician and an astronomer. He knows his stuff!

Rating:
Summary: Excellent! Stupendous! Book. Couldn't put it down!
Review: L. E. Vega's Comet Disaster is a masterpiece. Glord, the book's evil protagonist, is a monster! What he does in the name of survival is truly shocking and outrageous. This book will not bore you. Robert, the good protagonist, struggles to survive and make it to the end of the book. One cannot help but cheer for him and I nearly dropped the book and applauded when he did something truly grand at the end. I don't want to take anything away from readers by giving you the plot, but the plot is outstanding. I wanted more when I finished the book. It's that kind of book. You can't put it down and then you don't want it to be over when you have finished it. I am a bigtime reader of books of all types and Comet Dis'Aster accomplishes something few books can do - it puts the science back in science fiction! It is filled with amazing scientific information that I would never have been exposed to if I hadn't read Comet Dis'Aster. It's a great book. It's easily 5 stars - the highest ranking. Inside the back jacket, the book explains that the author, L. E. Vega is both a physician and an astronomer. He knows his stuff!

Rating:
Summary: Excellent, unflinching look at the worst possible disaster
Review: Mr. Vega needs to write more books! He is a well-read amateur astronomer and pathologist living in Tucson. This is an unflinching and serious novel postulating the effects and aftereffects of an extinction-level cometary impact on a near-future Earth in 2040 AD and the lives of the few survivors. It pulls no punches and is scientifically accurate with the exception of a few dubious future technologies (they definitely do NOT change or help the fate of the protagonists). I read it in one long day and evening and enjoyed every minute. It is rather unrelentingly grim in large parts, it sure isn't a re-novelization of Armageddon or even Deep Impact (thank GOD). There is no reset-button ending although the final few chapters feel rushed and not fleshed out very well. Don't skip the epilogue, which contains some of the best descriptive text in the book.

Rating:
Summary: Our Fate May Well Be In Our Stars
Review: We all had teachers and professors who challenged us. We also had a long line of teachers who have dimmed in memory going back to the origin of our educations. With concentration we can make their faces appear and in so doing we realize they did more for us than those one or two sticklers. They gently shared their insights and wisdom. They imparted a way of looking at the world that is still part of all of us. Dr. L. Eduardo Vega resembles these gentle teachers. Writing as L.E. Vega, the pathologist who created his own observatory in Benson, Arizona has created a book that teaches rather than preaches. He shares what he knows in a non-intimidating, yet constantly entertaining manner. That's a tall order for a book about a comet-asteroid slamming into earth 50 years from now. Titled Comet Dis'Aster, Dr. Vega hits all the high notes with themes of horror and survival. He takes misery to the limits of my imagination then goes a step forward, revealing what a glimmer the sheen of civilization really is. Nature itself, a placid pleasure to most of us, turns out to be mindless in its harsh realities of celestial mechanics and resulting climate change. Yet Dr. Vega reamins an optimist. Although the worst happens, the best does too. Sacrifice and goodness run through the story--even when they are in vain. As interesting, though, are the undercurrents rippling through the book. Why do all human cultures fear comets as harbingers of death and destruction? Why do apocalyptic writings seem so full of descriptions which resemble comets and their impact? Are the mass exstinctions in the geologic record the results of planetesimals striking earth? In the author's notes Dr. Vega suggests the frequency of strikes on earth may mean some have occured within human memory, say between 4,000 and 12,000 years ago. These human witnesses created words like "disaster" (evil star) and "catastrophe" (falling star). Further, apocalyptic writing across cultures accurate describe the look of the sky and aftermath of a comet strike. As for mass exstinction, Dr. Vega tells us it has happened before and will happen again. The optimist appears when Dr. Vega says humans have the ability to understand this and prepare. Unlike many who posit the best thing for earth would be for humans to disappear, Dr. Vega says human beings can ensure simple beauties like flowers and bees survive the long winter after a comet strike. He suggests we do it soon. If comet Hyakutake, which passed earth on March 25, 1996 had only a slightly different course, we would have had only three months warning prior to impact. So Comet Dis'Aster becomes a cautionary tale. Unlike science fiction with slimy aliens and ray guns, Dr. Vega uses science to create a realistic story to prove we are not alone. There are lots of rocks out there.