All Fall Down

December 1, 2012
In the aftermath of a supervolcano's eruption, the world is plunged into a cold, post-apocalyptic, nearly uninhabitable environment. Resources are scarce. Human nature is put to the test. The second in Turtledove's Supervolcano series (following Eruption, 2011) traces the fates of scattered members of police lieutenant Colin Ferguson's family. Rob, stranded in Maine, releases his indie band dreams to embrace a rugged lifestyle, finding love with Lindsey, a local high school chemistry teacher. Practically interned at a concentration camp (euphemistically named Camp Constitution), Rob's sister Vanessa resorts to performing sexual favors to gain at least a modicum of independence and, ironically, dignity. She maneuvers her way onto a salvage team, but are they salvaging or stealing? Back home in California, Louise, Colin's ex-wife, faces wreckage on not only a natural, but also a personal scale. Abandoned by her lover, she decides to have his baby anyway. Her son Marshall, a not-so-struggling writer, grudgingly agrees to baby-sit the baby so Louise can work, but his resentment over his mother's adultery lingers. Geologist Kelly, Colin's second wife, struggles to make sense of her possible role in the supervolcano's eruption. Yet she, like Rob, embraces life in the aftermath, as she and Colin decide to have a baby, too. Meanwhile, Colin must solve the increasingly gruesome case of the South Bay Strangler, who rapes and murders little old ladies. Turtledove strives for a dry, gritty, nearly noir tone, which does underscore the beleaguered world the Fergusons now inhabit. At times, however, the language instead gives the tale a strangely cliched feeling. We already know that each challenge facing the Fergusons--from finding gas to solving crimes--will be resolved in favor of what is good and life-affirming. This disaster tale abounds with plotlines but leaves the reader emotionally detached.

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December 1, 2012

The supervolcano lying beneath Yellowstone National Park has finally erupted (as recounted in Supervolcano: Eruption), covering most of North America with ash and initiating a series of severe climatic and meteorological conditions. As the weather grows unnaturally cold, two major snowfalls cripple Los Angeles, and the nation's prospects for viable crops are dismal. LA cop Colin Ferguson's family is scattered across the country. Colin, his second wife, and son Marshall live in California; Rob, another son, is trapped with his band in Maine; daughter Vanessa, who was nearest to the eruption, struggles to survive under deplorably crowded conditions in one of the many refugee camps. VERDICT Tracking the Ferguson family's fortunes in a vastly changed America, alternative history master Turtledove (The Guns of the South; Days of Infamy) tells in microcosm the story of a nation coping with an unavoidable natural disaster. His chilling look at a plausible future will arouse interest in his fans as well as readers who enjoy ecothrillers.

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2013
The eruption of the Yellowstone supervolcano has dwarfed Tambora and Krakatoa put together, utterly devastating North America and threatening the rest of the world. Retired police officer Colin Ferguson is working 24/7 to stave off Hobbes' War of All against All. This is an all-too-likely outcome of widespread destruction from blast and lava flows the size of major rivers, nearly universal crop failures from ashfall, disrupted or nonexistent communications making the cities uninhabitable, and the increasing chances of a global volcanic winter that will keep help from reaching a devastated North America. Ferguson has his wife with him, but in his copious free time, he wants to track down any surviving members of his own family. (His son, for example, is stranded with his rock band in Maine, a state known for short growing seasons and bitter winters at the best of times.) Supervolcano is clearly intended as Turtledove's latest saga, and, as this is a form of which Turtledove is one of sf/fantasy's authentic masters, readers can relax into optimism about what comes next. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Turtledove is a publishing force in his own right, and readers continue to love his brand.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)