Customer Reviews

Resonance

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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

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.

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.

Could a magnetic shift much like the one theorized to send the dinosaurs into extinction be around the corner? "Resonance: Earth is Overdue..." is a fictionalized doomsday scenario that follows Dr. Jordan Abellard and Dr. Jillian Brookwood. With few believing their claims, they are faced with the task of finding some way to save the human race from the same fate as their distant reptilian cousins. "Resonance: Earth is Overdue..." is an action packed thriller, highly recommended for community library collections.

This book is 27 chapters of polar shifting. The author writes very good science fiction, the book is easy to comprehend-especially for those of us who may not be science fiction buffs. The great thing about this science fiction book? The author makes no mention of 2012...the concept that is so prevalent in books these days.

The main character? Well, there really is no main characters, but there are a bunch of characters that the author focuses on. The book was a little bit reminiscent of, say, Jurassic Park; like Jurassic Park, this book skips around between characters, but the reader gets to know them pretty well. It is a good idea to maybe write the names down so you can keep them separate.

The scientists work on numerous projects before the plot really takes hold. The reader will learn background information and gather up hints of what is to come. Even with their best efforts, the polar shift takes place and what can only be described as unearthly occurs. The author delves into the possibility of a second earth or second dimension. The ending was very good, the reader will find it ties up loose ends nicely. This book is recommended to young adults/adults.

"The planet's northern magnetic pole is drifting slowly but steadily towards Russia -- and it's throwing off planes in Florida.
Tampa International Airport was forced to readjust its runways Thursday to account for the movement of the Earth's magnetic fields, information that pilots rely upon to navigate planes. Thanks to the fluctuations in the force, the airport has closed its primary runway until Jan. 13 to change taxiway signs to account for the shift, the Federal Aviation Administration said." Read more: Here

I couldn't put it down, thank goodness it is a rather longish book at 484 pages. As the ominous (really?) 21 December 2012 approaches I imagine we will be accosted by many doomsayers and fear mongers. So, while this book was originally published in 2008 it is also a rather timely read (especially considering the recent slow drift of the poles that is currently happening...well, now. Cue spooky music here, dum, dum, dum).

I love books like this. It is solidly based in scientific fact with a dash of creative license thrown in. It doesn't repeat itself over and over again the way some authors are wont to do especially when trying to explain rather complex ideas. There is a bit of medical mystery, romance, scientific quandaries, quantum physics, biological mystery, and even some archeology in the mix. So if you, like me, enjoy a good old fashioned race to beat the ticking clock type novel this one will leave you well sated.

Book Title: Resonance
Author: A. J. Scudiere
Publisher: Griffyn Ink
ISBN: 0979931003
Reviewed by Michele Tater for Review The Book

I found this book scientifically fascinating. It was divide up into 27
chapters, which takes the reader through what is called a polar shift. I found that the scientific jargon, that is found all through "Resonance, to be explained in such a way that most would understand what was happening. It also showed that mother earth is an unpredictable and uncontrollable force that we have to respect. I do not think the author wrote this to give a explanation of the Mayan 2012 doomsday theory. If anything it does give another hypothesis on how the dinosaur may have gone extinct.

Since that was no real main character, the reader is given several options to choose from to like, dislike and possibly to relate to. In the beginning each person in the book is doing research in different scientific fields, such as biology, geology and disease control. Sometimes this array of scientists was difficult to keep track of, I actually found it helpful to list them on a sheet of paper, just in case I forgot who was who. I found that I could associate with some personality tract of each character and I became engrossed in the events they all had to experience. Although the best minds were at work, the event was not fully understood or somehow stopped. After the polar shift has occurred there are even more questions and events to be analyzed. In my opinion, one of the most shocking of these questions was why were just a few people seem to be going into a coma like state and then wake up several hours later describing a visit to second earthlike place. Also later in the book two characters have to make a moral decision which to me was a difficult dilemma, but one that had to be done.

This book had made science fun and interesting. It is a quick read with likable characters. I would recommend it to adult and even to younger advanced readers, especially for science buffs and doomsday theory enthusiasts.

Absolutely loved this book! Great for all Sci-Fi lovers, but if you also happen to be "into" reading about 2012 and the polar shift (which we are a few million years overdue for), then this story will rock your world!

Isolated scientific researchers are working their projects separately at the same time, but each draws similar concerned conclusions on the phenomena they study. Geologist David Carter finds an anomaly that frightens him as his research affirms an isolated reverse polarity that he believes is the part of the natural magnetic polar shift that occurs every 65 million years or so. Biologist Becky Sorensen finds a strange frog species that has two extra hind legs in what the scientist wonders might be an abrupt evolutionary change and acts radically different than other amphibians as if they prepare for a radical shift; that is scary but it is her aviary and insect findings of changing migratory patterns in terms of direction and time that makes the scientist wonder if the planet's magnetic poles are reversing. CDC medical researchers Jordan Abellard and Jillian Brookwood are looking into several similar but localized epidemics of sudden death syndrome amongst people of all ages; they so far have failed to find the hotspot link that ties the locations together and somehow not spread beyond a particular radius; as if being at the wrong place at the wrong time literally means death.

Soon each of them and others will understand the greatest crisis to hit humanity has begun. The poles are switching magnetism and none know how to stop. Time is running out on what may prove a natural disaster of dinosaur proportions.

This is an exciting science fiction thriller that for about three fourths of the story line sets up the magnetic shift catastrophic disaster. The four lead characters rotate perspective as each with their differing scientific expertise draw the same conclusions. The last part of the novel takes an odd spin (pun intended) with the description of the shifted earth feeling more metaphysical fantasy than post apocalyptic physical sci fi. Still with a strong science base that is not dumped down, A.J. Scudiere's well written thriller will resonate with the readers as the earth no longer spins on its axis like it has for the last 65 million years.

Harriet Klausner

The shift is coming soon - people are dying now - what is happening? Are the poles really shifting?

Dr, Carter, a geologist, know this but soon could be today or a thousand years from now. The last shift was sixty-five millions years ago when the dinosaurs became extinct,

Dr, Jordan Abellard and Jillian Brookwood work for the Center for Disease Control - CDC. They are thrown right in middle. It is their job to determine what is causing the people to become ill and die. Dr, Becky has some seriously mutated frogs in her lab. In LA, bees are making abnormal columns along the freeway, and in Georgia, birds are migrating out of season.

As Dr, Carter digs deeper in his archaeological digs - the rocks tell him that the shifty is happening now. There is a magnetic shift in the poles occurring in "hot spots": - a pocket of reversed polarity. Drs. Abellard and Brookwood are unable to find the source of the illness. It is spreading very rapidly throughout the whole country. People are dropping everywhere - some die immediately and some linger for a few days. Jillian and Dr,Carter are the only ones immune to the disease, Will they be able to find the cause and save the people or will all perish just as the dinosaurs did?

Everything changed when the poles shifted - some species wound up on one side of the shift and not the other. The whole ecological structure has altered.

The book is part mystery, part action thriller - a page turner. You will be amazed at the outcome. This book is a keeper! Ms. Scudiere is an amazing writer and fast becoming one of my favorites. Read one book and you will be hooked.

Highly recommended.

Review originally published at BookGateway. This book was provided by the publisher as a review copy.