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14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The end is nigh, April 16, 2008
This review is from: Resonance (Paperback)
There have been predictions that the world as we know it will end on December 21, 2012 (122112). This is apparently supported by the Mayan Calendar and the I-Ching, as well as a crazy-eyed man wearing a signboard outside the pizza store. As I understand it, the Winter Solstice of 2012 is going to be a humdinger of a day, so mark your calendars, and just to be safe, make sure you take that long overdue vacation really soon.
Which brings me to the subject of this timely book, which warns of a phenomenon called "the shift". As far as I understand from the book, as well as a few doomsday websites, the shift occurs when the magnetic poles of the earth play switcheroo, and this happens every 65 million years or so, give or take a few million years. Apparently, the dinosaurs didn't like the last shift at all, so chances are we won't be too happy with the next one.
This work of fiction blends scientific fact with a lot of hypothesis in a slightly long, but riveting plot which provides a lot of food for thought. A geologist discovers that there are places on earth where the shift is already occurring. At the same time, two doctors find themselves in the middle of a deadly epidemic, and another discovers mutated frogs and other animals behaving badly. The story involves their interaction when their areas of research converge, and the surprising way that the shift affects each one, and also the rest of the population.
Although the size of the book was a bit frightening at first, it is an easy read and quite a page turner in places. A few sections ramble on a little too long, and the romantic bits are more clinical than passionate, but we can excuse this, because after all, it IS the end of the world, and the doctors are under a lot of pressure. Sci-fi fans should try to read this one before 2012.
Amanda Richards, April 16, 2008
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Shift happens, April 27, 2008
This review is from: Resonance (Paperback)
As if you didn't have enough to worry about in today's world already, consider the fact that the Earth is long overdue for another magnetic shift. When the next shift happens (and recent findings suggest it can happen much more rapidly than previously believed), the fact that South is the new North will be the least of our problems. Mankind may, in fact, be lucky to survive it at all. No one really knows the extent of the problems caused by a magnetic shift, but A. J. Scudiere's take on the possible effects and ramifications makes for fascinating reading. Resonance is an absorbing work of speculative science fiction filled with characters you'll feel as if you've known for years. Scudiere is a wonderful storyteller, so potential readers should not worry about getting bogged down in a lot of technical mumbo-jumbo; Resonance is as reader-friendly a science fiction novel as you're likely to find.
Scudiere can't possibly explore all of the possible ramifications of a magnetic shift, but he does approach the subject from several different angles. As the early warning signs begin to appear, only geologist David Carter, having discovered what he believes to be a hotspot of reverse polarity, suspects that a shift is coming soon. On the biological side of things, Dr. Becky Sorensen discovers a group of frogs sporting four hind legs and orienting themselves in a way that reveals some kind of magnetic anomaly, as well as a species of birds manifesting a radical change in their migratory habits. Jordan Abellard and Jillian Brookwood, a couple of young medical school graduates just hired by the Centers of Disease Control, are at a loss to explain the nature and cause of an unknown illness claiming human lives in several localized areas. Not until these multiple investigations cross paths is the full nature of the problem made clear to all. The big question then becomes what to do, as many people exposed to the hotspots are slipping into comas and dying. Time is a luxury that the scientists and doctors do not enjoy, as the hotspots are spreading more and more rapidly, suggesting that the Shift could happen at any time.
When the Shift actually does take place, it is accompanied by what I consider a pretty dramatic shift in the storyline, as well. It took me by surprise, as it represented quite a break from the realism that had driven the story up to that point to introduce a strong measure of the surreal, thus weakening the overall story to some degree. The writing is just as crisp and riveting as ever, and the interaction between characters is, if anything, even more intense, but I felt as if the underlying science of the novel sort of had the rug pulled out from under it in the concluding chapters.
Despite my slight misgivings over the way the novel ultimately played out, Resonance is still a tremendously enjoyable read that should appeal to science fiction fans of every stripe. I daresay it should also win over many a reader from outside the science fiction genre, as well. Part mystery, part action thriller, and part apocalyptic novel, all built upon a firm foundation of science fiction, Resonance makes for one of the most interesting speculative novels I've read in some time.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Takes magnetic pole shift and turns it into an interesting story, July 15, 2008
This review is from: Resonance (Paperback)
Earth's magnetic poles have reversed in the past, and according to geologic history we are overdue for a new reversal. What do findings of mutating frogs, deaths that don't actually seem related to a disease and the last death of the dinosaurs have in common? Earth is about to find out that magnetic pole reversal isn't just a theory any more when all these things come together.
This is well written Sci-Fi novel based on some of the current theories of pole reversal. Small press novels can be wildly varied in their quality, but this is one of the better ones I have read. The characters are well written and the writing smooth. The author isn't heavy handed with his reversal theories and his characters don't do the impossible. This said, the book is still enjoyable and if you like your Sci-Fi to have a basis in fact then this is worth taking the time to read as it easily kept me reading without pause from beginning to end.
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