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Dust
When an gigantic ecological eruption causes dust mites to rapidly reproduce and become flesh-eating insects, paleobiologist Richard Sinclair and a group of survivors must try to stop this deadly phenomenon before the world is destroyed. Simultaneous.
5 pages, Audio Cassette
First published January 1, 1998
18 people are currently reading
982 people want to read
About the author
Charles Pellegrino
26 books169 followersCharles Pellegrino is a scientist working in paleobiology, astronomy, and various other areas; a designer for projects including rockets and nuclear devices (non-military propulsion systems), composite construction materials, and magnetically levitated transportation systems; and a writer. He has been affiliated with Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand National Observatory, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Long Island, NY; taught at institutions including Hofstra University and Adelphi University Center for Creative Arts; a member of Princeton Space Studies Institute. Cradle of Aviation Museum, space flight consultant; Challenger Center, founding member. After sailing with Robert Ballard to the Galapagos Rift in the immediate aftermath of the discovery of the Titanic (in 1985), Pellegrino expanded from the field of paleontology “into the shallows of archaeological time.”
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 76 reviews
June 28, 2024
“So the history of life on Earth is … a never-ending symphony … written on nucleic acid and performed by protein.”
If you’re not fond of a science-based, technical thriller plot moved forward at high speed by an awesome number of info-dump essays on an equally awesome and disparate variety of topics then DUST is probably not a novel you’re going to enjoy. Me? I loved it – entomology; evolution and paleontology; ecology and the importance of bio-diversity; domestic terrorism; submarines, nuclear war and the operation of nuclear missile silos; extinction cycles; cloning, genetics, gene-splitting and recombinant DNA; the exploration of Saturn and its moon Enceladus; prions and mad cow disease; economics; right-wing politics and talking heads - you’ve got to admit that it would be a challenge to come up with a more diverse list than that!
The plot of DUST is simple enough to describe without wandering into spoiler territory. What happens when the world wakes up and discovers that a wide variety of its insects have catastrophically become extinct? And make no mistake! We’re not talking about the imagined joy of life without mosquitoes and black flies here. DUST hypothesizes a tumultuous cascade of terrifying possibilities up to and including global nuclear warfare piled on top of the existential threat of mankind’s biological extinction following hard on the heels of the insects. This is a story which will guarantee that a reader pays more attention to the news when topics of climate change, bio-diversity, ecology, and care for the environment reach the headlines.
On a side note pertaining urgently to today’s political environment. Pellegrino’s portrayal of the conduct of an ultra right-wing radio celebrity makes it VERY clear that conspiracy theorists, radio hosts and media stars like Alex Jones, Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh are dangerous. What should be done about their lies and their fomenting of hatred, racism, and violence up to and including domestic terrorism is an open question that MUST be addressed as a matter of national survival!
Definitely recommended and happy reading.
Paul Weiss
If you’re not fond of a science-based, technical thriller plot moved forward at high speed by an awesome number of info-dump essays on an equally awesome and disparate variety of topics then DUST is probably not a novel you’re going to enjoy. Me? I loved it – entomology; evolution and paleontology; ecology and the importance of bio-diversity; domestic terrorism; submarines, nuclear war and the operation of nuclear missile silos; extinction cycles; cloning, genetics, gene-splitting and recombinant DNA; the exploration of Saturn and its moon Enceladus; prions and mad cow disease; economics; right-wing politics and talking heads - you’ve got to admit that it would be a challenge to come up with a more diverse list than that!
The plot of DUST is simple enough to describe without wandering into spoiler territory. What happens when the world wakes up and discovers that a wide variety of its insects have catastrophically become extinct? And make no mistake! We’re not talking about the imagined joy of life without mosquitoes and black flies here. DUST hypothesizes a tumultuous cascade of terrifying possibilities up to and including global nuclear warfare piled on top of the existential threat of mankind’s biological extinction following hard on the heels of the insects. This is a story which will guarantee that a reader pays more attention to the news when topics of climate change, bio-diversity, ecology, and care for the environment reach the headlines.
On a side note pertaining urgently to today’s political environment. Pellegrino’s portrayal of the conduct of an ultra right-wing radio celebrity makes it VERY clear that conspiracy theorists, radio hosts and media stars like Alex Jones, Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh are dangerous. What should be done about their lies and their fomenting of hatred, racism, and violence up to and including domestic terrorism is an open question that MUST be addressed as a matter of national survival!
Definitely recommended and happy reading.
Paul Weiss
January 9, 2020
Wow! I was honestly caught by surprise by this book. I feel like the plot synopsis really does not do all of what happens in this book justice - and even seems to indicate that this book ends on a happy note (spoilers: it does not).
Having just finished another book, "Cold Plague," which was a viral techno-thriller, I was expecting more of the same. But this book went with the unexpected apocalypse route - complete with nuclear warfare.
The basic premise of the book (the cyclical-seeming nature of mass extinctions) is an interesting topic to cover; however, a deep dive into the actual science so far does not yield the exact evidence to support the book's idea - especially coupled with the "genetic time bomb" (so far, that is...science is always evolving, and who knows, he could be on to something). However, I was highly entertained by the book, and in the book universe, I found the story to be highly plausible.
If I have any complaints, it would be the sections regarding the Darwin II and its expedition/discoveries on Enceladus (one of Saturn's moons). It's interesting in its own right, but I don't really see how it fits into the story other than maybe a reminder that life exists elsewhere / life goes on / we are not important. There's also the thought that, although the survivors may have started the road to recovery, the very nature of the author's cyclical mass-extinctions still looms over the horizon...and unless the survivors get cracking on another survival strategy, they've only kicked the can down the road until the "main event" occurs (a sequel is in order, perhaps?)
I liked almost all of the characters, although no one stood out as too awesome or too cringe-worthy. I really disliked the radio talk show host as a person, specifically because he bears far too many similarities to the modern American right-winger.
Overall, I would totally recommend this book. It's definitely a good read.
Having just finished another book, "Cold Plague," which was a viral techno-thriller, I was expecting more of the same. But this book went with the unexpected apocalypse route - complete with nuclear warfare.
The basic premise of the book (the cyclical-seeming nature of mass extinctions) is an interesting topic to cover; however, a deep dive into the actual science so far does not yield the exact evidence to support the book's idea - especially coupled with the "genetic time bomb" (so far, that is...science is always evolving, and who knows, he could be on to something). However, I was highly entertained by the book, and in the book universe, I found the story to be highly plausible.
If I have any complaints, it would be the sections regarding the Darwin II and its expedition/discoveries on Enceladus (one of Saturn's moons). It's interesting in its own right, but I don't really see how it fits into the story other than maybe a reminder that life exists elsewhere / life goes on / we are not important. There's also the thought that, although the survivors may have started the road to recovery, the very nature of the author's cyclical mass-extinctions still looms over the horizon...and unless the survivors get cracking on another survival strategy, they've only kicked the can down the road until the "main event" occurs (a sequel is in order, perhaps?)
I liked almost all of the characters, although no one stood out as too awesome or too cringe-worthy. I really disliked the radio talk show host as a person, specifically because he bears far too many similarities to the modern American right-winger.
Overall, I would totally recommend this book. It's definitely a good read.
March 16, 2015
Scientist and marine archaeologist Dr Charles Pellegrino turns his hand to this thought provoking eco-horror story. At time it might seem that the author gets bogged down in scientific explanation but to many this will only serve to back up the chilling spiral of events with a plausible reason for the reader to think: Oh, but this could happen... couldn't it?
The insects are disappearing and the ecological repercussions are devastating. A group of scientists provide some of the focus of the book as they desperately race to find a solution to global events that could lead to the extinction of the human race.
The insects are disappearing and the ecological repercussions are devastating. A group of scientists provide some of the focus of the book as they desperately race to find a solution to global events that could lead to the extinction of the human race.
July 31, 2021
_Dust_ was a gripping and unique end-of-the-world novel, unlike any that I have read before and I consider myself a fan of the genre. The book is set in the relatively near future, in the first decade or two of the 21st century.
The action begins when Richard Sinclair, a paleontologist, working at a scientific research facility near his Long Island home, narrowly escapes with his nine year old daughter Tam - purely by accident - an attack by an unknown entity on his neighborhood. Taking dozens of people by complete surprise, the entity looks like a living black carpet. Killing in minutes innocent bystanders, police officers, and later a television reporter crew (as well as Sinclair's wife), the media dubs the threat motes. As the area is quarantined, Sinclair and other scientists come to the conclusion after a harrowing trip into the infected town that the "motes" are mites, a massive horde of starving mites that attack and devour literally to the bone anyone that cannot escape them.
Sinclair and the other researchers of Brookhaven (also called the City of Dreams) discover that the threat of the motes - however bad - is merely the tip of the iceberg and not only the United States but all of humanity faces a grave threat. Looking at data from bee keepers - who were virtually of business - the astronomical rise in orange juice prices, and a host of other bits of data not previously integrated by researchers (bringing to mind for me some of the separate bits of intelligence prior to September 11th), Sinclair and the others come to a startling conclusion; the world's insect have vanished. They have all died out, disappeared completely, and this seemingly good bit of news (at least at first glance, to the uninitiated) rapidly produces vastly dire consequences. With the extinction of fungal gnats (a bit of data an entomologist died procuring), massive fungal blooms are spreading throughout the world's crops (aided by the fact that most of the world's crop plants are of extremely limited genetic diversity). With no insects to control the fungus (and farmers having gotten away from spraying their crops due the gradual decline in insect pests the last few years), the fungus spreads amok, first wiping out crops in India (precipitating an ugly war between it and Pakistan and Sri Lanka as India seeks to annex areas with uninfected croplands, dragging the U.S. into the conflict), later to other countries. Large numbers of animals die throughout the world - insect eating bats, later, fruit eating-bats (which as they die out no longer pollinate plants themselves), many omnivorous animals, freshwater fish that rely upon larval aquatic insects for food - and with no flies or other insect scavengers to remove the bodies, freshwater throughout the world is rendered toxic by the massive amounts of bacteria that now teem in it. Much of this runoff spreads into the sea, creating low or no oxygen areas, wiping out those fish species not already being depleted by frantic nations desperate to replace declining crops as a food source. Even the motes are a result of the end of insects; no longer held in check by insect predators nor having to compete with insects, reach plague proportions in some areas, once harmless mites killing hundreds of people.
Things of course in this novel get worse, much worse. The economy goes into a freefall in the United States as non-mote infected areas refuse to have anything to do with those under quarantine or even suspected of having a mote problem. Entire industries collapse, such as the trucking industry, while those reliant on trucking, such as grocery stores which need regular shipments of goods, collapse as well. As crops start to fail in the United States and as gasoline starts to become scarce thanks to a broken down transportation system, riots begin to happen. Stepping into these chaotic and turbulent times is Jerry Sigmond, a corrupt former talk-show host with unfortunately real skills in making others into fanatical followers of a new mass movement he begins to lead, one that sees scientists and engineers ("eggheads" and "Einsteins") as the real cause of all these problems. Sigmond emerges as a major villain in the book and a direct threat to Sinclair's efforts.
But wait! It gets worse! In some of the scariest parts of the book - it is a horror story after all, though one firmly grounded in science fact with an extensive non-fiction epilogue and bibliography - vampire bats emerge as a villain (yes you read right). The booming cattle industry of Central and South America unfortunately becomes infected with Mad Cow disease and the disease jumps vectors. Transmittable now by vampire bats -which won't feed on sick cattle - they move onto humans, wiping out virtually the entire population of several Caribbean islands as they move in vast numbers from the mainland in search of food. Those that do not die directly from being fed on (a harrowing chapter described one such incident where two researchers meet a very unfortunate demise), die from rapid onset of the disease, a disease that was to have major repercussions in the novel's endgame.
A very enjoyable novel, I found myself really rooting for Sinclair as he and his colleagues race to uncover the nature of the problem - the sudden demise of insects worldwide - and conclude that it is perhaps due to a genetic "timebomb," that the Earth's mass extinctions approximately every 33 million years are not due to a comet or asteroid impact but from the dormancy of the world's insect species (in a manner not unlike the massive periodic bamboo die offs in China that nearly wipe out the pandas periodically). They race to find a solution to this, working in an increasingly chaotic world, working with research stations in other parts of the world that one by one gradually drop off the face of the earth in the growing chaos. A gripping book, it had an action-packed ending.
The action begins when Richard Sinclair, a paleontologist, working at a scientific research facility near his Long Island home, narrowly escapes with his nine year old daughter Tam - purely by accident - an attack by an unknown entity on his neighborhood. Taking dozens of people by complete surprise, the entity looks like a living black carpet. Killing in minutes innocent bystanders, police officers, and later a television reporter crew (as well as Sinclair's wife), the media dubs the threat motes. As the area is quarantined, Sinclair and other scientists come to the conclusion after a harrowing trip into the infected town that the "motes" are mites, a massive horde of starving mites that attack and devour literally to the bone anyone that cannot escape them.
Sinclair and the other researchers of Brookhaven (also called the City of Dreams) discover that the threat of the motes - however bad - is merely the tip of the iceberg and not only the United States but all of humanity faces a grave threat. Looking at data from bee keepers - who were virtually of business - the astronomical rise in orange juice prices, and a host of other bits of data not previously integrated by researchers (bringing to mind for me some of the separate bits of intelligence prior to September 11th), Sinclair and the others come to a startling conclusion; the world's insect have vanished. They have all died out, disappeared completely, and this seemingly good bit of news (at least at first glance, to the uninitiated) rapidly produces vastly dire consequences. With the extinction of fungal gnats (a bit of data an entomologist died procuring), massive fungal blooms are spreading throughout the world's crops (aided by the fact that most of the world's crop plants are of extremely limited genetic diversity). With no insects to control the fungus (and farmers having gotten away from spraying their crops due the gradual decline in insect pests the last few years), the fungus spreads amok, first wiping out crops in India (precipitating an ugly war between it and Pakistan and Sri Lanka as India seeks to annex areas with uninfected croplands, dragging the U.S. into the conflict), later to other countries. Large numbers of animals die throughout the world - insect eating bats, later, fruit eating-bats (which as they die out no longer pollinate plants themselves), many omnivorous animals, freshwater fish that rely upon larval aquatic insects for food - and with no flies or other insect scavengers to remove the bodies, freshwater throughout the world is rendered toxic by the massive amounts of bacteria that now teem in it. Much of this runoff spreads into the sea, creating low or no oxygen areas, wiping out those fish species not already being depleted by frantic nations desperate to replace declining crops as a food source. Even the motes are a result of the end of insects; no longer held in check by insect predators nor having to compete with insects, reach plague proportions in some areas, once harmless mites killing hundreds of people.
Things of course in this novel get worse, much worse. The economy goes into a freefall in the United States as non-mote infected areas refuse to have anything to do with those under quarantine or even suspected of having a mote problem. Entire industries collapse, such as the trucking industry, while those reliant on trucking, such as grocery stores which need regular shipments of goods, collapse as well. As crops start to fail in the United States and as gasoline starts to become scarce thanks to a broken down transportation system, riots begin to happen. Stepping into these chaotic and turbulent times is Jerry Sigmond, a corrupt former talk-show host with unfortunately real skills in making others into fanatical followers of a new mass movement he begins to lead, one that sees scientists and engineers ("eggheads" and "Einsteins") as the real cause of all these problems. Sigmond emerges as a major villain in the book and a direct threat to Sinclair's efforts.
But wait! It gets worse! In some of the scariest parts of the book - it is a horror story after all, though one firmly grounded in science fact with an extensive non-fiction epilogue and bibliography - vampire bats emerge as a villain (yes you read right). The booming cattle industry of Central and South America unfortunately becomes infected with Mad Cow disease and the disease jumps vectors. Transmittable now by vampire bats -which won't feed on sick cattle - they move onto humans, wiping out virtually the entire population of several Caribbean islands as they move in vast numbers from the mainland in search of food. Those that do not die directly from being fed on (a harrowing chapter described one such incident where two researchers meet a very unfortunate demise), die from rapid onset of the disease, a disease that was to have major repercussions in the novel's endgame.
A very enjoyable novel, I found myself really rooting for Sinclair as he and his colleagues race to uncover the nature of the problem - the sudden demise of insects worldwide - and conclude that it is perhaps due to a genetic "timebomb," that the Earth's mass extinctions approximately every 33 million years are not due to a comet or asteroid impact but from the dormancy of the world's insect species (in a manner not unlike the massive periodic bamboo die offs in China that nearly wipe out the pandas periodically). They race to find a solution to this, working in an increasingly chaotic world, working with research stations in other parts of the world that one by one gradually drop off the face of the earth in the growing chaos. A gripping book, it had an action-packed ending.
August 21, 2017
I thought I would never finish this book. And its not because the science could drag the story down while preaching at you at the same time; the 'story' part was just so bad. There was no possible way to feel any thing for any of the characters, they were all one dimensional and tedious. I gave it two stars because the science was pretty scary. It was also cool that all the characters were real people even though the way Pellegrino wrote them they would be insufferable to meet.
June 22, 2024
Michael Crichton on steroids, which makes sense considering it was this author's research on "dino DNA" in amber, not Crichton's (along with a well-timed Omni magazine article), that led to the hugely successful Jurassic Park books and films. This novel has gotta be the best thriller to combine the collapse of ecosystems with evolution and museum butterfly cloning and experimental genetic sequencing and global politics and crazy comet theory and the nuclear arms race and vampire bat guano brain worms and mass extinction events and a rise in value on commodities markets due to apocalypse forecasting and rogue DJs and interstellar travel and the environment at the end of a cigarette with... ravenous dust mites. I kinda had a hard time visualizing the attack of the "motes," and they get sidelined after awhile, but I still think this particular threat would make a fascinating movie, ironically because the most memorable destructive force here (and there are a *lot* of destructive forces) are the microscopic dust munchers, which are virtually invisible to the naked eye (even when they kill you?) Anyway, who's up for that challenge, Hollywood? Actually, strike that. They'd just zoom in for some minuscule computer-generated Pac-Man-looking bullshit. Best to remain a book. Also, despite not remembering any of the characters at all, I found the escalating mayhem in the final third as the world goes bonkers to be full of creatively gruesome detail and an impressively harrowing experience.
August 29, 2012
Apocolyptic page turner based on real facts where the arachnids take over the world. Scary!
If you are into science and love a mystery thriller also then this book is for you. Its not for the weak however since it is based in science fact it tends toward the truly chilling side of the spectrum. Yep, global warming and climate change are one thing, but what if all the insects died? What if this story is based on actual fossil record that indicate every 33 million years or so there is an insect die off. The implications are very scary... and what if we are not the cause and can't do anything to stop it????
Read this fascinating tale of apocolypse by earth change. It will make you think.
If you are into science and love a mystery thriller also then this book is for you. Its not for the weak however since it is based in science fact it tends toward the truly chilling side of the spectrum. Yep, global warming and climate change are one thing, but what if all the insects died? What if this story is based on actual fossil record that indicate every 33 million years or so there is an insect die off. The implications are very scary... and what if we are not the cause and can't do anything to stop it????
Read this fascinating tale of apocolypse by earth change. It will make you think.
January 26, 2014
Dust provides a unique perspective on the potential biological disaster that could result from modern man's aggressive and ever more effective efforts to destroy bacteria, crop damaging insects, and indoor and outdoor pests.
I did not even know what a paleobiologist was until I read this book.
Now, whenever I instinctively prepare to step on or swat an annoying flying or crawling creature, I remind myself that they are here for a reason and that every action has a consequence - sometimes disastrous.
I did not even know what a paleobiologist was until I read this book.
Now, whenever I instinctively prepare to step on or swat an annoying flying or crawling creature, I remind myself that they are here for a reason and that every action has a consequence - sometimes disastrous.
January 22, 2018
This book may not be the best writing on the planet, but it does take a fairly accurate look at what could happen should all the insects disappear - the collapse of ecosystems, food crops, the economy and ultimately civilization. The book is rather interesting, scarey and thought provoking. The author doesn't provide all the answers and the reader needs to pay attention. It does not have zombies! (despite the prions). It does have some unusual voracious, hungry critters. Most of the science discussed in this book is accurate, which is what makes this book so fascinating.
December 17, 2021
Not the worst book I have ever read, but as I said earlier, it really could have used more character development. As I muscled through this read there were characters mentioned in the later chapters, that had apparently been introduced previously, that I had completely forgotten about and had no clue who they were or their role in the story. Let me say though, I am a VERY slow reader. I started this book several months ago. I would read...put it down...pick it up and read...put it down...and I don't think that works with this author's writing. That lead to too much inconsistency of the plot and characters. If you're a fast reader and can finish this one in a short period, it may actually be a pretty good read.
July 14, 2018
I liked this scenario of one way that the Earth could get rid of us, its pestilent virus. Many reviewers said they did not care for the scientific explanations; I don't know why. They may be the type of reader that thinks this, or something similar, could never happen to human civilization.
I'm fascinated by insects, and admire their role in ecology. Insects are our friends, despite our efforts to eradicate them. This book demonstrates just how much of a treasure we have in the Earth's insects, and just how much of a death warrant will be served on humans in our near future, when we have unbalanced the ecology of the planet to its tipping point.
I'm fascinated by insects, and admire their role in ecology. Insects are our friends, despite our efforts to eradicate them. This book demonstrates just how much of a treasure we have in the Earth's insects, and just how much of a death warrant will be served on humans in our near future, when we have unbalanced the ecology of the planet to its tipping point.
December 15, 2012
This has got to be one of my favorite books of all time. And if you saw the size of my personal library, you would realize that is saying a lot. I am a fan of science fiction, and as the description says, this book is written in the spirit of a Michael Crichton thriller. A environmental disaster is traced back to a collapse of the world's ecosystem, with gaps in the natural order of things leading to horrific results and threatening all mankind. A must read for anyone interested in environmental thrillers.
August 2, 2016
This book scared me quite a bit. Some of the early "warning signs" that are referenced in this book, are actually already happening in our world. The decline in bee and bat populations, break outs of urban mites...
The author is an incredibly learned scientist and really knows his stuff so most of the book felt perfectly plausible in a lot of ways - which made it even more scary. There were times when the scientific jargon got a bit heavy (in particular when they follow the Darwin probe) but I was ok with that for the most part.
And then they had to mention a guinea worm.... shudder.
The author is an incredibly learned scientist and really knows his stuff so most of the book felt perfectly plausible in a lot of ways - which made it even more scary. There were times when the scientific jargon got a bit heavy (in particular when they follow the Darwin probe) but I was ok with that for the most part.
And then they had to mention a guinea worm.... shudder.
April 29, 2020
Dust is a better story the second time around. A number of situations and character mirror the current (2020) political and cultural situation. While pandemic is affecting the world, science deniers and political hacks push conspiracy theories and radical policies. Scientists try to resolve the effects of the pandemic under increasingly difficult circumstances. The result is an intense, exciting attempt to save humanity while insanity reigns. The science is a bit out there but not too far. This is a decent read even with the characters on a par with other pandemic novels.
March 19, 2024
I did a big purge of books a long time ago, but this beauty still remains on my shelf. It's a very intriguing and horrific story of a plague of teeny tiny critters. There was a lot of science and some political things going on, but I focussed on the stories action and what was happening and I really liked it.
July 10, 2022
Loved the story 🙂
65 cases of Mars bars??! 😂😹🤣
Life is sweet 🍫
65 cases of Mars bars??! 😂😹🤣
Life is sweet 🍫
May 31, 2008
I like books about the end of the world, and this one was no exception. It seemed more like the lack of insects caused major ecological havoc than the strange carnivorous dust... The theory that every so often insects will completely die out, which will then affect the life that eats insects as well as plants that depend on them for pollination, leading to the deaths of animals that eat plants or small insect-eating mammals and in this chain result in mass extinction a la the dinosours, really intrigued me as it wasn't something I had ever considered.
Read
July 30, 2011This book is absolutely amazing. Charles Pellegrino takes disparate but insanely interesting scientific facts on such diverse topics as DNA sequencing, evolution, ants, nuclear weapons, politics, human nature, vampire bats, species extinction, comets, and interstellar exploration and turns it into a compelling novel, where the science doesn't overwhelm the plot or character development.
This is a must-read for anybody interested in what may happen to our planet if we don't put all of our resources into understanding how we are impacting.
I highly recommend it.
This is a must-read for anybody interested in what may happen to our planet if we don't put all of our resources into understanding how we are impacting.
I highly recommend it.
April 1, 2020
Written by someone who has inspired Jurassic Park! How about that to rope you in? First few paragraphs really read like an 80s disaster movie. Brilliant. But that's where the best bits stopped. It then dragged on....and on....with a large number of characters haphazardly brought in and a plot that went all over the place.
Fun enough to read, but happy when it ended!
Fun enough to read, but happy when it ended!
December 14, 2020
One of the scariest books I have read!
October 24, 2024
Wow.
It's been a while since I've been blown away by a book and this one wasn't even on my radar at all! Hugely scary and definitely gives you food for thought.
It starts off with a bang - flesh-eating mites descend on Long Island and wipe out most of the population before anyone really knows what is going on. But this is only one symptom of a world approaching a major reboot - starving vampire bats turn on humans as an alternative food source, crops start to fail or are overgrown with fungus, water environments collapse as fish starve ... and pollution is rife when nothing starts to work on the decaying flesh. Soon a desperate world is plunged into war as starving populations are forced to take what they need to succeed.
Meanwhile, a group of scientists work on solving the fundamental problem behind it all - the dying off of the world's insect population. But can they find a way to reverse the process and reseed the world before it's destroyed completely?
There is a lot of science here - but I found that all the more fascinating and made it even scarier to read - if the people in the know, the clever ones at the top of their game, are scared - then we should be scared too! The author does a great job at balancing teh different horrors - one chapter will deal with the bloody, visceral horror of being trapped in a lighthouse surrounded by hungry vampire bats - the next will focus on the slow horror or a country starving to death and bringing nuclear weapons to bear on its neighbours. And the final horror - that we might not survive this, or survive only to face a different end of the world and go the same way as the Dinosaurs.
A fab read and one I will have to find more copies off to distribute around - everyone should read this and have a rethink about all those pesticides and insecticides we like to throw around when a few creepy crawlies get a bit too close to 'our' space.
It's been a while since I've been blown away by a book and this one wasn't even on my radar at all! Hugely scary and definitely gives you food for thought.
It starts off with a bang - flesh-eating mites descend on Long Island and wipe out most of the population before anyone really knows what is going on. But this is only one symptom of a world approaching a major reboot - starving vampire bats turn on humans as an alternative food source, crops start to fail or are overgrown with fungus, water environments collapse as fish starve ... and pollution is rife when nothing starts to work on the decaying flesh. Soon a desperate world is plunged into war as starving populations are forced to take what they need to succeed.
Meanwhile, a group of scientists work on solving the fundamental problem behind it all - the dying off of the world's insect population. But can they find a way to reverse the process and reseed the world before it's destroyed completely?
There is a lot of science here - but I found that all the more fascinating and made it even scarier to read - if the people in the know, the clever ones at the top of their game, are scared - then we should be scared too! The author does a great job at balancing teh different horrors - one chapter will deal with the bloody, visceral horror of being trapped in a lighthouse surrounded by hungry vampire bats - the next will focus on the slow horror or a country starving to death and bringing nuclear weapons to bear on its neighbours. And the final horror - that we might not survive this, or survive only to face a different end of the world and go the same way as the Dinosaurs.
A fab read and one I will have to find more copies off to distribute around - everyone should read this and have a rethink about all those pesticides and insecticides we like to throw around when a few creepy crawlies get a bit too close to 'our' space.
September 13, 2023
Now I don't consider myself an intensive and eager person for non-fiction or scientific discussion regarding ecology and it's relation to humanity, but yet this book peaked my interest so much that I didn't mind the constant paragraphs of info dumps. Everything here was so well research that it's hard to say I didn't only admire Pellegrino's astonishing backing of acquaintances and research to pull this story together, but the fact that it hit the nail just right to mix it all together pretty good.
Now I'm a horror fan, and when I read the back of this book I felt like this would've been a perfect existential sci-fi book to read since horror is imbedded in the genre to some level. After reading the book I gained not only a scary perception of what humanity could look like if you took insects out of the equation, but for how horrific every scene in this played out. Not everything here, kudos to the Reality Check chapter at the end of the book, is 100% idealistically possible, but the fact that there is research and a possibility makes this savory to no end whatsoever.
Don't skimp on this book. If you want an end of the world story, read it. If you want an existential collapse of humanity with strong hints of info dumps of science, read it. Space travel and moons of Saturn via probe exploration: read it. Insight into time periods of our civilization to today, including evolution? Read it. Bug lover? Read it. If you found this book at a local bookstore, shelved away and wondering why it was there, don't get discouraged. Pick up this book if any of those things above gets your skin crawling like it did to mine.
"And so, as Richard slept and the governor's side pleaded for advice, the world of their commonplace habits and social order was dead already, although to itself alive-seeming still." Pellegrino 1998
Now I'm a horror fan, and when I read the back of this book I felt like this would've been a perfect existential sci-fi book to read since horror is imbedded in the genre to some level. After reading the book I gained not only a scary perception of what humanity could look like if you took insects out of the equation, but for how horrific every scene in this played out. Not everything here, kudos to the Reality Check chapter at the end of the book, is 100% idealistically possible, but the fact that there is research and a possibility makes this savory to no end whatsoever.
Don't skimp on this book. If you want an end of the world story, read it. If you want an existential collapse of humanity with strong hints of info dumps of science, read it. Space travel and moons of Saturn via probe exploration: read it. Insight into time periods of our civilization to today, including evolution? Read it. Bug lover? Read it. If you found this book at a local bookstore, shelved away and wondering why it was there, don't get discouraged. Pick up this book if any of those things above gets your skin crawling like it did to mine.
"And so, as Richard slept and the governor's side pleaded for advice, the world of their commonplace habits and social order was dead already, although to itself alive-seeming still." Pellegrino 1998
August 28, 2024
Страшно много ме изкефи тази книга!
Първите 130-40 страници едвам я издържах и бях напът да я зарежа. Дори я четях едвам-едвам, защото само се влачеха, но в крайна сметка Чарлз Пелегрино успя да ме хване за гърлото с апокалипсиса в който ме навря! Честно - вече ще гледам на праха по пода с други очи!
Невидимият с просто око убиец - акария е главният герой тук! Ние, а и всичко по пътя му сме само негова храна! Миниатюрните унищожители имат всичко на всичко две цели - папкане и умножаване, превръщайки се лека-полека в една критична маса от подвижен, кръвожаден прах.
Птичките спряха да пеят. Прилепите изчезнаха! Екосистемата даде на късо.
Самата структура на книгата ми напомня силно на начина по който се движи повествованието в "Мегалодон" - отново стартът е много назад във времето, а отзвукът е в наши дни! Страхотна книга, препоръчвам я на всеки почитател на технотрилърите.
Бих искал да отбележа, че Чарлз Пелегрино е свързван, подчертавам свързван, но мисля, че няма достоверно посочени източници, с използвания метод за клониране на динозаврите от Майкъл Крайтън в Джурасик Парк. пелегрино е учен, историк, който силно се интересува от т.нар. псевдонауки и нека ги наречем, тъмните кътчета на научните доклади, където има безумни, но полагащи добри основи за написването на книги теории.
От мен висока оценка за книгата! Мотах я дълго време, но накрая си струваше дочитането!
Първите 130-40 страници едвам я издържах и бях напът да я зарежа. Дори я четях едвам-едвам, защото само се влачеха, но в крайна сметка Чарлз Пелегрино успя да ме хване за гърлото с апокалипсиса в който ме навря! Честно - вече ще гледам на праха по пода с други очи!
Невидимият с просто око убиец - акария е главният герой тук! Ние, а и всичко по пътя му сме само негова храна! Миниатюрните унищожители имат всичко на всичко две цели - папкане и умножаване, превръщайки се лека-полека в една критична маса от подвижен, кръвожаден прах.
Птичките спряха да пеят. Прилепите изчезнаха! Екосистемата даде на късо.
Самата структура на книгата ми напомня силно на начина по който се движи повествованието в "Мегалодон" - отново стартът е много назад във времето, а отзвукът е в наши дни! Страхотна книга, препоръчвам я на всеки почитател на технотрилърите.
Бих искал да отбележа, че Чарлз Пелегрино е свързван, подчертавам свързван, но мисля, че няма достоверно посочени източници, с използвания метод за клониране на динозаврите от Майкъл Крайтън в Джурасик Парк. пелегрино е учен, историк, който силно се интересува от т.нар. псевдонауки и нека ги наречем, тъмните кътчета на научните доклади, където има безумни, но полагащи добри основи за написването на книги теории.
От мен висока оценка за книгата! Мотах я дълго време, но накрая си струваше дочитането!
December 20, 2024
2.4 stars. The concept and science around this book is interesting but the writing of characters and narrative fluidity is lacking. At the time this book was written the author’s bibliography was filled with more nonfiction than fiction and it shows here in the writing.
I had an ok time with the book but it felt more like reading a text book during significant stretches. I thought some of the best writing came at the end of the story but it was not quite enough to get it over the hump as a page turner.
Concept - strong
Science - strong
Character writing - weak
Narrative/Storytelling - weak
I had an ok time with the book but it felt more like reading a text book during significant stretches. I thought some of the best writing came at the end of the story but it was not quite enough to get it over the hump as a page turner.
Concept - strong
Science - strong
Character writing - weak
Narrative/Storytelling - weak
February 15, 2023
This book was a fantastic read. I had to find out more about this author after "The Killing Star" and this did not disappoint. When an ecological collapse threatens humanity after an investigation the story kicks into high gear. I ended up finishing this book in one sitting and was unable to put it down. I hope this story gets it's time of day on the big screen. However I worry this will be lost to time due to its availability.
A little short but still a fun read. Sometimes a short read is what is needed.
A little short but still a fun read. Sometimes a short read is what is needed.
December 17, 2024
I just want to say this is the stuff of my nightmares. This is quite literally the scariest tale I have ever read in my life. If you like sci-fi horror, look no further... This one had me freaking out when it was reported that bees were dying in our world! I love this book. It needs more love as Pellegrino is known more in the scientific writings and not the fiction circles. All I can say is this is one hidden gem the world needs to remember.
May 25, 2024
Well, that was depressing. I don't have much to say about the book except that there was some hope at the end. I hated Sigmond.
My book club will be discussing this book on Thursday, June 6, 2024 at 7pm EST at the Athens-Clarke County Library. Please contact me if you would like a link to join us virtually.
My book club will be discussing this book on Thursday, June 6, 2024 at 7pm EST at the Athens-Clarke County Library. Please contact me if you would like a link to join us virtually.
November 24, 2024
If you're looking for a charming little end of the civilized world read for the bathroom, please consider Dust. Just realistic enough to be frightening, just dated enough to be charming. You don't get too invested in any specific characters but you know there's the entire 'end of our world' aspect which should get you at least mildly interested.
April 17, 2020
Read this book a long time ago. Just thinking of the prologue sends chills down my spine!
This book is a study of "what if...", and honestly, when the news started talking about the disappearing honey bees, my brain went into a tailspin remembering just the prologue.
This book is a study of "what if...", and honestly, when the news started talking about the disappearing honey bees, my brain went into a tailspin remembering just the prologue.
May 30, 2025
This book was a lot heavier and a lot more real than I expected going in. It’s right up there with Michael Crichton and Kim Stanley Robinson. I had expected a sorta sci fi monster thriller, but it turned out to be a very human driven nightmare of global collapse.
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