Customer Reviews

8.4

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

Many readers will be unfamiliar with the New Madrid Seizmic Zone (unless they studied geology in college, as I did). This book's factually researched action will not only bring New Madrid's history and current threat to life, it will have readers checking maps to make sure *they* don't live in the New Madrid Zone. I couldn't put this book down. Note: the scientific facts presented in this novel might seem incomprehensible to the lay reader, but the information imparted not only educates but helps advance the plot.

After you've read all the other reviews, with all their nitpicking, give Hernon a read. You'll love it. To those other reviewers I say, "C'mon, get a life -- this is FICTION!!" Sure, I even spotted a misuse of the possessive "its" (in the book it's printed as "it's). But give the author his due, he's done a magnificent job of stringing together a whole bunch of boring factoids, so his plot really rocks. Short chapters, each one ending with a hook to throw you forward to the next scene; plenty of power-packed verbs and adjectives to add spice.

So there's little "romance!" Big deal. There's enough. I say you should cut Hernon plenty of slack for the way he's snapped up a little-known subject (the New Madrid Fault) and given it vivid credibility. I've been a "drive by" amateur geologist for many years. I've followed the San Andreas Fault nearly every inch of the way and gazed with awe at the site where New Madrid lit up with a triple play in 1811-1812, so this book hit me right square in the gut.

About my 5-star rating: I awarded five for "readability." On other grounds I might drop to four or four-and-a-half, but I guarantee you this: I can't wait for Peter Hernon's next novel.

I'd never heard of author Peter Hernon, but when I saw the subject matter of "8.4", and that it was on the clearance shelf for practically pennies, I gave the book a try. And, while I can't say that this is one of the top 500 books that I've read, it passes the mark. As one would guess from the title, this is a story about earthquakes. It particular, the "Mother of All Earthquakes" that being the one that seismologists have been predicting for years, the quake along the New Madrid Fault.

I've been somewhat interested in this topic for some time now since I live in an area that might be affected by such a quake. And as people in this area know, the New Madrid Quake may be even more devastating that the San Francisco and Alaskan quakes that created such widespread damage in the last 100 years. And, if you too live along this faultline, you may not want to read this book because if Hernon is right about "the big one" you might choose to find a new address.

Hernon has done a good job for the most part with his research and in some cases, the book reads like something out of Michael Crichton. Seriously limited though, is Hernon's character development and any "connection" that the reader might have with these characters. They're just not very interesting. I don't know if that flaw is by design or not, because the real star of the story, of course, is the quake or quakes.

The book has suspenseful moments and even includes a little sabotage and deceit along the way. It's a very quick read and good for passing the time. In reality, though, this book will probably have only limited appeal to those readers who don't live in this area.

For better books about the New Madrid faultline and the coming quake, I'd suggest "The Rift" by Walter Williams and "The New Madrid Run" by Michael Reisig (a superior, yet too short book, from an outstanding storyteller).

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.

Being a resident of St. Louis, I was thrilled at the prospect of learning more about the nearby New Madrid Fault. Peter Hernon has distinguished himself as a first-rate researcher. His non-fiction history of the Anhueser-Busch dynasty is a terrific read. On a technical level, I thought 8.4 was interesting and well researched - as I expected it would be. Although I found the crazy nuclear bomb scenario, starring the President of the United States, strange, I could accept it. After all, this is a techno-thriller. I can suspend my disbelief on many levels. However, the one thing I will not accept is a cliche romantic subplot. I may be naive about the publishing industry, but I just don't understand why every techno-thriller must have a love story. Why the embarrasing, endless dribble about how Atkins looks into Holleran's eyes and sees "intelligence and beauty?" Here's an alternative and more appropriate love story for 8.4: Neutron, the robot - a sensitive and misunderstood soul, falls in love with the nuclear bomb he cradles in arms during the harrowing descent to 1,800 feet below the surface of the Earth. He refuses to allow the scientists to explode the bomb - a bomb he has grown to love for its beauty and (artificial) intelligence. Their love triggers a thrilling battle between man and machine - a battle that will seal the fate of the entire nation... What do you think? Yeah, that would be pretty bad too. Maybe the best solution would be to avoid writing sappy romance. Seriously, great science, the plot was silly, but fun - like a Dean Koontz novel.

I first read this book at least a decade ago when I lived in Western Tennessee. It was then and still is a fantastic thriller that is hard to put down until you have finished reading it. I researched the earthquake precursor facts mentioned in 8.4, and am planning to read the book again (more than a decade later). I am now in a location near where birds fell dead from the sky and fish floated up dead from the river. Could it be from radon gas escaping due to the buildup of a new seismic event?? This book is riveting reading.

I live in Bowling Green, which is in the beginning of Western Kentucky. Actually, we sort of get obliterated in his book... I found his accuracy to be extremely good in regard to the area. A few small mistakes exist, such as a woman wearing a "University of Kentucky" red sweatshirt. UK Blue fans would die if they saw that. Red is of course, U of L and WKU. He also refers to the Kentucky State Police as both that, and also as the Kentucky Highway Patrol. Might be some better proof reading there... My nit-pick. He seems a bit obsessed with references to Mayfield in his book. What does amaze me is how fast his characters move from Kentucky Lake to Mayfield, to the far-western end of the state and back and forth, and into Tennessee. I've driven that area many times during good weather, and it takes longer that the descriptions in the book. During an earthquake??? Happenings at Kentucky Lake get discussed at a town meeting in Mayfield--well over 30 minutes away (haven't driven it in a while, but it might take longer). Much closer towns line each side of the Kentucky Lake/Lake Barkley area. Poetic license does lend to working the distances into the flow of the book and a sense of consistency with town names. But overall, I tremendously enjoy reading this book every couple of years. It has a regular place on my bookshelf. As I got in on a bargain shelf, a "backup" copy is at a friend's house. The facts seem pretty solid, and characters believable. I actually experienced a minor earthquake in western Kentucky a couple of years ago. Although in his book, it seems like people in the area are used to minor tremors all the time. As a former emergency services worker, I went to a disaster preparedness training about what if the fault does rupture again? Experts said that Elizabethtown would have the closest operational hospital and WKU would probably be a memory. Being from the western end of the state, and going camping a lot at Land Between the Lakes (I like the Kentucky Lake side the best), give it a real sense of personal identity to me. I guarantee you that state disaster services officials have a lot of plans in place should this ever happen. Read it. You'll enjoy it.

A roller-coaster ride of a book! Excellent! Non-stop action and fascinating detail about earthquakes make this book addictive. It is well-crafted plot and well written. Perhaps some of the characters are a bit shallow (you would like to know them a bit better), but on the whole, it is an excellent read. Not a summer read or light fancy, but a really good book.

I work in Emergency Management in the mid-west and I found the book very scary..I have heard much of the technical information in the book from scientists and seismologists at seminars on emergency preparedness planning. I wish more people in the New Madrid Seismic Zone would read this book and think about the possibilities that it does contain some facts. There will be an earth quake in this area some day and I hope Mr. Hernon's book contains a great exaggeration of the truth...But we won't know until it happens.

I give 8.4 a 3.0. This book is obviously about earthquakes. The New Madrid Faultline (NMSZ) - think Memphis - is infamous for the historical triad of earthquakes that happened in 1811-1812. It's present day, and one of our heroes, Elizabeth Holleran (seismologist), comes into some information that leads her to believe that it's probably going to happen again.

As she's on her way to Memphis, to tell the Big Earthquake Guys, the first earthquake hits (great & scary descriptions of what an earthquake IS exactly - how the earth is shifting) - at a 7.1 on the Richter scale.

Of course we have to go through the scene where all the politicians (and our other hero, John Atkins - geologist) don't believe Holleran's theory, dismiss her ... and we all know what happens next. The 8.4 earthquake hits, and this causes massive destruction all across the land. The fault line has doubled in size! Holleran reiterates her belief that the 7.1 and 8.4 earthquakes that strike along the NMSZ are just a precursor to the really big one.

The character development and the unnecessary romantic storyline are what garnered this a 3.0 and not a 5.0. Atkins and Holleran aren't very interesting characters - and I just never grew to like Atkins. He was kinda slow on figuring things out (ignoring classic earthquake signs, totally dismissing the Triad-Earthquake theory) - especially considering he's supposed to be 'an expert' in the field. Although, my mom pointed out that the main character of the book is the earthquake - not Atkins or Holleran. So, I guess if you look at it that way, the main character rocked my world.

My mom read this book 2 weeks before needing to go to Memphis for a conference ... it shook her up a bit. We live only three hours from Memphis, and it is a bit disturbing to hear of how far the destruction from an earthquake there would reach. In the 1811-1812 quakes, lakes formed in Tennessee, church bells rang in Boston, and the mighty Mississippi ran backward. Isn't the earth amazing?