Extinction [Paperback]

Ray Hammond (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 7, 2005

Only one quarter into the 21st century and our planet is displaying disturbing symptoms: storms, floods, mud-slides, tornadoes and blizzards afflict the globe's surface, while heatwaves, droughts and deep-freeze are regular occurrences. Not to mention volcanoes and earthquakes. Many believe that mankind's consuming lust for economic growth is fast wrecking the world, while others insist these changes are all part of the planet's natural cycle. Whatever the truth, the most alarming factor is that the Earth is beginning to tilt on its axis ...and worldwide panic is looming. As governments, experts, corporations and disruptive forces squabble to be heard, it is up to individuals to seek a solution to the most horrifying geophysical scenario we have ever faced.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Ray Hammond is a world-renowned futurologist, technology analyst and commentator on the digital age, also the best-selling author of books on internet commerce and the computer revolution. His first novel was Emergence (published in 2001), and this is his second.

Product Details

• Paperback: 250 pages
• Publisher: Pan Macmillan (October 7, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0330485962
• ISBN-13: 978-0330485968
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,132,715 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not quite Crichton but sufficiently thrilling for that plane journey, October 17, 2005

By 

ilmk "ilmk" (UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Extinction (Paperback)

Ray Hammond's second effort, `Extinction' apparently "explodes off the page with the dramatic force of a smart bomb' according to one rather over enthusiastic periodical on the front jacket. Perhaps a trifle overstated but nevertheless, this packs the kind of techno-thriller punch one would expect from say, Crichton.
Hammond's premise is the fulfilment of the line `And the meek shall inherit the Earth' as the left over cast extras from Waterworld find themselves floating around the Southern Ocean, shunned by a futuristic earth where we seem to have gone so eco-friendly we've harnessed the power of the sun itself to create a huge global corporation that controls the very weather. Tampering with delicate Gaian systems at its arrogant worst. Having set the global scale of the imminent catastrophe before us, our author presents us with a select group of misunderstood scientists who manage to see the truth at the eleventh hour and desperately try to stop the evil corporation and its lackey governments. By failing dismally this means the author can treat us to no less than Armageddon, polar reversals and the emergence of a nice clean planet.
The story focuses around lawyer Michael Fairfax who is attempting to launch a huge writ against the Ergia climate control corporation who are about to launch a new venture of generating solar power reflected from the moon. Covering this huge news story is Perdy Curtis of the BBC whilst we have our geophysicist, Dr Emilia Knight, who becomes increasingly aware that all the volcanic eruptions and earthquakes are part of a greater change in the planet.
So, Hammond takes us on a rollercoaster ride as San Francisco is flattened, the Samoan volcanoes erupt, Vesuvius and Etna lose their top and one by one every earthquake and volcanic zone starts venting her fury upon the hapless human race. By the time Cumbre Vieja slides into the Atlantic and washes out the entire eastern US seaboard there is a horrified group of people on the Moon watching the Earth's polar reversal and tectonic upheaval that effectively shrouds the planet in cloud for months and erases nearly all life.
There is the habitual rebirth, along with it a much chastened and more humble remnant of humanity with a greater respect for the planet that tolerates our existence that gives hope for a brighter and cleaner future.
All in all this is a novel that passes away the time on that long plane or train journey. The plot is world-shaking and the action would do justice to a Hollywood blockbuster. The novel is very screenplay in approach, the characters fairly static and standard for this type of end-of-the-world scenario. They are tolerable without engendering much empathy and you put down the novel having been entertained for a few hours. Worth a read if you like techno-thrillers or end-of-the-world books.