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Ill Wind
It's the largest oil spill in a crashed supertanker in San Francisco Bay. Desperate to avert environmental damage―and a PR disaster―the multinational oil company releases an untested "designer microbe" to break up the spill. An "oil-eating" microbe, designed to consume anything made of oil, gasoline, synthetic fabrics, and of course plastic. What the company doesn't realize is that their microbe propagates through the air. But when every car in the Bay Area turns up with an empty gas tank, they begin to suspect something is terribly wrong. And when, in just a few days, every piece of plastic in the world has dissolved, it's too late...
576 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published June 1, 1995
About the author
Kevin J. Anderson
1,095 books3,209 followersYes, I have a lot of books, and if this is your first visit to my amazon author page, it can be a little overwhelming. If you are new to my work, let me recommend a few titles as good places to start. I love my Dan Shamble, Zombie P.I. series, humorous horror/mysteries, which begin with DEATH WARMED OVER. My steampunk fantasy adventures, CLOCKWORK ANGELS and CLOCKWORK LIVES, written with Neil Peart, legendary drummer from Rush, are two of my very favorite novels ever. And my magnum opus, the science fiction epic The Saga of Seven Suns, begins with HIDDEN EMPIRE. After you've tried those, I hope you'll check out some of my other series.
I have written spin-off novels for Star Wars, StarCraft, Titan A.E., and The X-Files, and I'm the co-author of the Dune prequels. My original works include the Saga of Seven Suns series and the Nebula Award-nominated Assemblers of Infinity. I have also written several comic books including the Dark Horse Star Wars collection Tales of the Jedi written in collaboration with Tom Veitch, Predator titles (also for Dark Horse), and X-Files titles for Topps.
I serve as a judge in the Writers of the Future contest.
My wife is author Rebecca Moesta. We currently reside near Monument, Colorado.
I have written spin-off novels for Star Wars, StarCraft, Titan A.E., and The X-Files, and I'm the co-author of the Dune prequels. My original works include the Saga of Seven Suns series and the Nebula Award-nominated Assemblers of Infinity. I have also written several comic books including the Dark Horse Star Wars collection Tales of the Jedi written in collaboration with Tom Veitch, Predator titles (also for Dark Horse), and X-Files titles for Topps.
I serve as a judge in the Writers of the Future contest.
My wife is author Rebecca Moesta. We currently reside near Monument, Colorado.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 100 reviews
January 12, 2020
This is a big "disaster" novel that appeared in 1996; Tor reissued it in 2010 after the big Gulf spill that year, so it's a bit dated but still interesting. There's nothing particularly innovative; the characters are all rather one-dimensional stocks and the plastic/petroleum eating plague has been an sf staple for decades. Nonetheless, it's nicely paced and put-together, and you hope the tree-huggers and good scientists will defeat the evil military and evil government goons, even though you already know they will, and you hope the cowboy and the rock'n'roll loving scientist babe will end up with each other, even though you already know they will. No surprises, but a nice comfortable read.
June 25, 2011
Ill Wind (1995) by Kevin J. Anderson and Doug Beason.
"We expose our insecure spots..."
This novel seemed to be an extremely logical followup to Michael Crichton's book _The Andromeda Strain_ (1969). For starters, the story's pacing is up to the expectations of contemporary readers, in contrast to the aforementioned work. While "Dramatis Personae" listings sometimes raise a caution flag for me, the wide slate of characters helps provide a variety of backgrounds and perspectives of many real modern-day North Americans.
While _The Andromeda Strain_ essentially involves a space probe bringing back mutated bacteria to Earth, _Ill Wind_ outlines what might happen if intentionally mutated microbes were released to digest an oil spill near San Francisco, California 4 to 5 times the size of the Exxon Valdez spill in Prince William Sound, Alaska in 1989 -- and what happens when the bacteria get out of hand.
I was halfway through the book before I read the back cover blurbs, and was quite surprised to find the pithy assertion from drummer Neil Peart of the Canadian rock group Rush that "_Ill Wind_ is compelling reading. A clever, believable, and adventurous epic." Anderson and Beason manage to weave the diverse characters' individual stories into a satisfying whole, with a hopeful ending.
Be aware there is occasional profanity, sexual activity, and acts of violence depicted, if you're offended by those things. Aside from that, the characters are real (even though a few aren't exactly likable), and "Ill Wind" gave me reason enough to look up other novels by the Anderson-Beason duo, not to mention their individual works.
(20 Dec 2005)
"We expose our insecure spots..."
This novel seemed to be an extremely logical followup to Michael Crichton's book _The Andromeda Strain_ (1969). For starters, the story's pacing is up to the expectations of contemporary readers, in contrast to the aforementioned work. While "Dramatis Personae" listings sometimes raise a caution flag for me, the wide slate of characters helps provide a variety of backgrounds and perspectives of many real modern-day North Americans.
While _The Andromeda Strain_ essentially involves a space probe bringing back mutated bacteria to Earth, _Ill Wind_ outlines what might happen if intentionally mutated microbes were released to digest an oil spill near San Francisco, California 4 to 5 times the size of the Exxon Valdez spill in Prince William Sound, Alaska in 1989 -- and what happens when the bacteria get out of hand.
I was halfway through the book before I read the back cover blurbs, and was quite surprised to find the pithy assertion from drummer Neil Peart of the Canadian rock group Rush that "_Ill Wind_ is compelling reading. A clever, believable, and adventurous epic." Anderson and Beason manage to weave the diverse characters' individual stories into a satisfying whole, with a hopeful ending.
Be aware there is occasional profanity, sexual activity, and acts of violence depicted, if you're offended by those things. Aside from that, the characters are real (even though a few aren't exactly likable), and "Ill Wind" gave me reason enough to look up other novels by the Anderson-Beason duo, not to mention their individual works.
(20 Dec 2005)
December 18, 2011
Blah blah thought blah blah apocalyptic scenario blah. Started good blah blah but blah blah. Blah blah wrong. Utterly blah blah and blah blah blah horrible blah blah mediocre. Blah blah suicide blah preferable. Blah blah waste blah time blah blah blah. Blah blah at any blah cost do not blah blah this blahking book.
Blah Stars.
Blah Stars.
March 9, 2014
-Catástrofe de origen humano y camino hacia el apocalipsis.-
Género. Ciencia-Ficción (por poco, en algunos casos).
Lo que nos cuenta. Tras el naufragio de un gigantesco petrolero en la bahía de San Francisco, la enorme marea negra que provoca tiene consecuencias biológicas, políticas y sociales. La compañía responsable del barco decide usar una bacteria en pruebas para eliminar la mayor parte de los hidrocarburos liberados en las aguas, pero el alcance del microorganismo será mucho mayor de lo esperado por casi todos.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
Género. Ciencia-Ficción (por poco, en algunos casos).
Lo que nos cuenta. Tras el naufragio de un gigantesco petrolero en la bahía de San Francisco, la enorme marea negra que provoca tiene consecuencias biológicas, políticas y sociales. La compañía responsable del barco decide usar una bacteria en pruebas para eliminar la mayor parte de los hidrocarburos liberados en las aguas, pero el alcance del microorganismo será mucho mayor de lo esperado por casi todos.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
August 15, 2012
This book is perhaps more topical now than when it was first written. Instead of the Gulf Coast, an oil spill occurs in San Francisco Bay, prompting outrage & cries for a quick response. The oil company that owns the tanker turns to one of their R&D experts, who has developed a microbe that consumes petrocarbons such as crude oil, gasoline, synthetics, styrofoam and plastic. Spray the microbe over the Bay, dissolve the oil, avoid an environmental and PR nightmare. Simple.
What the company doesn't know is that the microbe's inventor, after successive family tragedies, has become an emotionally unstable man; he's falsified his research, lied to management: the microbe doesn't stay where it's sprayed, it can propagate through air.
What starts as a local catastrophe becomes instead a global cataclysm...
But enough of my moonlighting as a synopsis writer, if you enjoy the occasional disaster story, this is a good one. No heroes here, just regular people dealing with a world without fossil fuel combustion, Ziploc bags, or recorded music (the horror!).
What the company doesn't know is that the microbe's inventor, after successive family tragedies, has become an emotionally unstable man; he's falsified his research, lied to management: the microbe doesn't stay where it's sprayed, it can propagate through air.
What starts as a local catastrophe becomes instead a global cataclysm...
But enough of my moonlighting as a synopsis writer, if you enjoy the occasional disaster story, this is a good one. No heroes here, just regular people dealing with a world without fossil fuel combustion, Ziploc bags, or recorded music (the horror!).
March 9, 2014
-Catástrofe de origen humano y camino hacia el apocalipsis.-
Género. Ciencia-Ficción (por poco, en algunos casos).
Lo que nos cuenta. Tras el naufragio de un gigantesco petrolero en la bahía de San Francisco, la enorme marea negra que provoca tiene consecuencias biológicas, políticas y sociales. La compañía responsable del barco decide usar una bacteria en pruebas para eliminar la mayor parte de los hidrocarburos liberados en las aguas, pero el alcance del microorganismo será mucho mayor de lo esperado por casi todos.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
Género. Ciencia-Ficción (por poco, en algunos casos).
Lo que nos cuenta. Tras el naufragio de un gigantesco petrolero en la bahía de San Francisco, la enorme marea negra que provoca tiene consecuencias biológicas, políticas y sociales. La compañía responsable del barco decide usar una bacteria en pruebas para eliminar la mayor parte de los hidrocarburos liberados en las aguas, pero el alcance del microorganismo será mucho mayor de lo esperado por casi todos.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
January 12, 2010
A plan to clean up an oil spill in San Francisco by using "bugs" meant to digest the fuel goes horribly wrong. The world is thrown into what may be the last oil crisis, and society doesn't fare well.
The book follows several characters as they try and survive, defend themselves, and return to some semblance of civilization in a post-petrol world.
Anderson creates a compelling world, and we become very aware of how reliant we are on oil. How long would you last?
The book follows several characters as they try and survive, defend themselves, and return to some semblance of civilization in a post-petrol world.
Anderson creates a compelling world, and we become very aware of how reliant we are on oil. How long would you last?
December 29, 2012
It's not often that I am disappointed in a book by an author I like, but this one definitely was disappointing. It starts out with a great premise - an oil tanker rams the Golden Gate bridge and creates one of the worst oil spills in history. The oil company, desperate to mitigate the disaster, tries an experimental microbe that eats long chain hydrocarbons which breaks down the oil and makes the clean-up much faster. The microbe is supposed to be safe and unable to spread but it becomes airborne and starts eating a long list of hydrocarbon compounds that are part of everyday products we have grown to rely on. The result is the end of our convenient life and the breakdown of society.
Unfortunately the story also breakdowns here. Instead of focusing on a few key characters and a main story, the book wanders through the lives of too many unimportant and uninteresting characters telling partial stories but never getting us interested in them or what happens to them. In fact, one of the characters I was the most interested in is killed off very early and with him dies the chance to get many of the answers I would like to have seen revealed.
The most interesting side story is that of the scientist who has a line on how we can generate electricity from the sun and sent it all over the world but even that is undeveloped and folded into a military sideline which is so predictable it is uninteresting. I had hoped for a better ending but even it is unsatisfying and dull.
This book was written before Anderson started on the Dune prequels and before his great series the Saga of the Seven Suns - all of which are much better books than Ill WInd. Possibly his collaborator Doug Beason may have been more responsible for this story but in any case, it is mediocre at best and fortunately Anderson has done much better.
Unfortunately the story also breakdowns here. Instead of focusing on a few key characters and a main story, the book wanders through the lives of too many unimportant and uninteresting characters telling partial stories but never getting us interested in them or what happens to them. In fact, one of the characters I was the most interested in is killed off very early and with him dies the chance to get many of the answers I would like to have seen revealed.
The most interesting side story is that of the scientist who has a line on how we can generate electricity from the sun and sent it all over the world but even that is undeveloped and folded into a military sideline which is so predictable it is uninteresting. I had hoped for a better ending but even it is unsatisfying and dull.
This book was written before Anderson started on the Dune prequels and before his great series the Saga of the Seven Suns - all of which are much better books than Ill WInd. Possibly his collaborator Doug Beason may have been more responsible for this story but in any case, it is mediocre at best and fortunately Anderson has done much better.
December 17, 2022
I've read a lot of different stories and styles from Kevin J. Anderson. I've read his Wake of the Dragon Fantasy trilogy, his Saga of the Seven Suns Epic Sci-Fi series and his media tie-in fiction Star Wars books. I have yet to read a standalone from him, let alone an apocalyptic/soft sci-fi book.
And still, Kevin continues to deliver entertaining and great, (but not necessarily amazing) storytelling.
The book has a very simple premise. What would happen if we attempted to clean up an oilspill and inadvertantly destroyed all of our oil and plastics in the world. All of the various characters in the book explore this idea, although all of them from very different backgrounds.
This book's dramatis personae could be daunting to some people. Who wants to read a book that's only 500 pages but has over 30 characters in the Dramatis Personae. Well, most of the characters here actually don't have much storytime, let alone viewpoints. Some of the characters are dead before the book even begins, and the dramatis personae simply exists to help you remember names a little better.
Honestly, this book does a good job of having so many viewpoint characters in the classic way that Kevin. J. Anderson does. Sometimes he has viewpoints that are unecessary and boring, and other times he has viewpoints that are amazing and have me hooked throughout. Every view point character was interesting, and only 1 character, Speaker Mayeaux, really felt unecessary.
I'll go ahead and get the bad out of the way. Mayeaux really serves as a way to bring in a political perspective, as well as have an instantly dislikable villain. However, other than a few small areas, he actually was very unecessary to the story, unlike many other characters, who had less page time but were more important to the main plot. His storyline could have been cut, and it might have even made the book more intriguing not having a perspective from the outside leadership.
If I'm talking about negatives, I think the ending is exciting and the action is good, but the resolution was not big enough. I believe that Anderson and Beason were hoping to set up a potential sequel if the book sold well, and thus decided not to persue some storylines. I think that was unecessary, because this really could have been a spectacular standalone. Because it decides to make the ending "smaller" than it needs to be, Anderson and Beason's book becomes "great" instead of "fantastic!".
Going back to positives, I liked how we saw relationships in this book. The permiscuous characters all had huge flaws and had consequences to their actions. Meanwhile, the main character Todd Severyn (who I believe is the main character based on the tropes) was celibate and honorable and was really likeable and was rewarded for his lack of promiscuity. Very traditional male hero.
This book also has some great environmental themes. I do think that anyone of any political background could read it, as everyone gets hit here. Obviously, the book's main theme is about the peril's of relying too much on oil and plastic as a society. Anderson and Beason really promote solar power here as a better alternative. However, Anderson doesn't just hit the oil companies here. He also takes the time to demonstrate the dangers of eliminating fossil fuels too quickly from our economy and environment, and shows that changes toward renewable energy must be gradual, not instant.
There are a few moments in this book that are slightly on the absurd side, but were just delightful enough that I really enjoyed them! If you accept the premise of the book, you will really enjoy just how absurd and wacky/fun it gets!
Overall, I quite enjoyed this book. It hinders itself in a few ways from being an Amazing book, but still manages to be enjoyable and memorable. I give this book an 8.7 out of 10!
And still, Kevin continues to deliver entertaining and great, (but not necessarily amazing) storytelling.
The book has a very simple premise. What would happen if we attempted to clean up an oilspill and inadvertantly destroyed all of our oil and plastics in the world. All of the various characters in the book explore this idea, although all of them from very different backgrounds.
This book's dramatis personae could be daunting to some people. Who wants to read a book that's only 500 pages but has over 30 characters in the Dramatis Personae. Well, most of the characters here actually don't have much storytime, let alone viewpoints. Some of the characters are dead before the book even begins, and the dramatis personae simply exists to help you remember names a little better.
Honestly, this book does a good job of having so many viewpoint characters in the classic way that Kevin. J. Anderson does. Sometimes he has viewpoints that are unecessary and boring, and other times he has viewpoints that are amazing and have me hooked throughout. Every view point character was interesting, and only 1 character, Speaker Mayeaux, really felt unecessary.
I'll go ahead and get the bad out of the way. Mayeaux really serves as a way to bring in a political perspective, as well as have an instantly dislikable villain. However, other than a few small areas, he actually was very unecessary to the story, unlike many other characters, who had less page time but were more important to the main plot. His storyline could have been cut, and it might have even made the book more intriguing not having a perspective from the outside leadership.
If I'm talking about negatives, I think the ending is exciting and the action is good, but the resolution was not big enough. I believe that Anderson and Beason were hoping to set up a potential sequel if the book sold well, and thus decided not to persue some storylines. I think that was unecessary, because this really could have been a spectacular standalone. Because it decides to make the ending "smaller" than it needs to be, Anderson and Beason's book becomes "great" instead of "fantastic!".
Going back to positives, I liked how we saw relationships in this book. The permiscuous characters all had huge flaws and had consequences to their actions. Meanwhile, the main character Todd Severyn (who I believe is the main character based on the tropes) was celibate and honorable and was really likeable and was rewarded for his lack of promiscuity. Very traditional male hero.
This book also has some great environmental themes. I do think that anyone of any political background could read it, as everyone gets hit here. Obviously, the book's main theme is about the peril's of relying too much on oil and plastic as a society. Anderson and Beason really promote solar power here as a better alternative. However, Anderson doesn't just hit the oil companies here. He also takes the time to demonstrate the dangers of eliminating fossil fuels too quickly from our economy and environment, and shows that changes toward renewable energy must be gradual, not instant.
There are a few moments in this book that are slightly on the absurd side, but were just delightful enough that I really enjoyed them! If you accept the premise of the book, you will really enjoy just how absurd and wacky/fun it gets!
Overall, I quite enjoyed this book. It hinders itself in a few ways from being an Amazing book, but still manages to be enjoyable and memorable. I give this book an 8.7 out of 10!
July 9, 2011
The book starts with a bang , literally! An oil tanker crashes into the Golden Gate bridge in SF. Cue loads of scientists, politicians and environmentalists clashing heads. A prior experiment with oil eating microbes is pushed as the Saviour solution to the disaster..... BUT ( and there's always a but) the microbe is not what it say it is! Cue wIling and knashing of teeth as the end of the known world, oil, petrol , plastics even cling film melts into a gloopy stinking mess & mankind is knocked back into the 19th C . Really enjoyed this apocalyptic book, a different take on an End of the World scenario , can recommend it!
November 12, 2011
A good idea (the sudden end of the petroleum economy) spoiled by truly awful plotting. Does feature a non-stereotypical mixed race Alaskan Native character, but the plot coincidences are so incredibly implausible as to shatter any suspension of disbelief.
July 12, 2015
Ill Wind
The short of the story is everything is made of oil.
Starting on an oil carrier that is heading into the San Francisco harbor, wait that can't be real can it? Holy Shit they really do are we a fucked up species or what? Anyway on board the boat is a man, Conner, who has gotten in trouble for stealing from his ship mates. His plan is to get everyone out of the bridge so that he can steal his employment papers, including his identity, and any evidence of his wrong doings. He pulls the fire alarm and while everyone is investigating he locks the bridges door, grabs his papers and crawls out of the window. Unfortunately he decided to do this just at the tanker is heading towards the Golden Gate Bridge. Hyjinks happen the boat crashes into the bridge spilling oil everywhere.
Unsurprisingly, people are upset about this turn of events. It gets worse when operations to remove oil from the boat before it sinks fail, leaving a lot of oil at the bottom of the bay that will leak for years. The company who owns the tanker, Oilstar, is looking at being responsible for the worst man made pollution disaster in all of history. This doesn't make the execs happy. So when they are given an option by one of their departments they jump on it without hesitation.
One of their departments, bio remediation, has a germ that will eat a certain component of oil. It is bred to only eat this and is not able to move through the air or survive very long without food. The agency sprays the germ and everything is OK....Oh wait that would be a pretty boring book.
Instead, what they do not know is that the lead researcher of the department is experiencing serious depression after losing every member of his family to accidents or war. On top of that he is suffering from terminal cancer. He has decided that this kind of disaster will never happen again. The reports and samples he provided for testing did do what it claimed to do, but that is not what he puts into the sprayer. Instead he puts in a stronger strain that eats anything petroleum based and is airborne.
In the White Sand desert a group of scientists have successfully tested a solar power beaming system. Using small satellites in space they beam energy to a field of antennas. The satellite only beams for five to 10 minutes but the idea is to put up a lot of them and as each one passes over they beam the power. Their small scale test of just 7 satellites works as predicted providing uninterrupted power the whole time. Even better, near by is a governmental experiment to build a large rail gun. With modifications this project could be used to launch the 20 satellites waiting for deployment. However, they are hampered by a governmental bureaucrat named Nedermyer is opposing this plan because of reasons, yes that is the best I can come up with for his motivation.
The germ is sprayed and soon it has cleaned up the oil, then it moves onto cars eating the gas right out of them and then onto other oil based products such as plastic and condoms. Quite rapidly the world is regressed back to the steam age.
The team in White Sands realizes that most of their system is non plastic based and what is made of plastic can be replaced. Within months they have electricity running and batteries to save it. They then start working on moving the electricity to the surrounding area.
In Washington D.C. The Speaker of the House finds himself the President of the United States, a job he never wanted, he planned on retiring and being a lobbyist. Still he tries and most of his trying is making more and more draconian laws and not understanding when they are not carried out. Isolated from most of the world he grows increasingly paranoid but determined to hold the US together. One of his orders is for all military bases to take control of civilian populations around their bases and put them under martial law. In Albuquerque a General Bayclock takes over the city and enforces martial law with great strictness. Soon, despite declaring he is reluctant to be in control, he is hanging dissenters and people who are stealing to survive. He hears about White Sands and decides it would be nice to have power. He sets off with some of this troops to take over the program and bring it back to Albuquerque. Along the way he uses his forces as a tool to project power with activities such as raiding from smaller communities food that he does not need but takes anyway to show who is the boss.
Todd Severyn was an oil company contractor who was tricked into spreading the wrong germ. He has been spending the time since the disaster trying to make up from it. When he hears that White Sands has electricity and with the satellites that are in JPL can produce more, he decides this is his chance at redemption. He has a cross country set of adventures that includes crashing a steam powered train, cannibals, and a crazed killer. Eventually he gets 10 of the satellites to White Sands only to have them captured by Bayclock before he can make the last mile to deliver them.
The scientists believe their facility is possibly the last chance to keep humanity from slipping back and decide to stand up to the General, with science. So they Macguyver some bombs, a catapult and a freaking rail gun powered shot gun that takes out 30 people with a shot, too bad it only works once.
Eventually the conflict comes down to a fist fight between the General and a pilot who has joined the scientists. After the General is killed his army quickly gives up and a majority of them join with the scientists.
In DC the president watches as one by one he loses contact with his military bases or receives reports that they have deserted and joined with the civilian population rather than rule. There are a few nuclear subs left that have stayed deep enough in the water to be safe from the oil plague. He orders his military staff to have them start to nuke American cities. In response everyone leaves the office and the president is now just a man in an empty office with no power.
Likes: This story was pretty engrossing. I stayed up till 1:30 am on a work night to finish it. A good number of characters but not so many that I was lost. And I feel that you can definitely tell the Beason influence/meld with Anderson as it does not quite read like his Saga of the Seven Sun books, and this is a good thing.
Bad: The lack of effects portrayed. We are told a couple of times that there will be mass starvation but it never seems to happen, or if it does it's swept under the rug and never covered. Nedermyer's motivation, in the beginning of the book. It's never explained why he is not supportive of the White Sands project. Then after when they are one of the few places producing working electricity he still seems opposed to the project eventually deserting them for the General's camp. It almost felt like he was added to give tension but never really flushed out enough to explain why he was causing the tension.
The short of the story is everything is made of oil.
Starting on an oil carrier that is heading into the San Francisco harbor, wait that can't be real can it? Holy Shit they really do are we a fucked up species or what? Anyway on board the boat is a man, Conner, who has gotten in trouble for stealing from his ship mates. His plan is to get everyone out of the bridge so that he can steal his employment papers, including his identity, and any evidence of his wrong doings. He pulls the fire alarm and while everyone is investigating he locks the bridges door, grabs his papers and crawls out of the window. Unfortunately he decided to do this just at the tanker is heading towards the Golden Gate Bridge. Hyjinks happen the boat crashes into the bridge spilling oil everywhere.
Unsurprisingly, people are upset about this turn of events. It gets worse when operations to remove oil from the boat before it sinks fail, leaving a lot of oil at the bottom of the bay that will leak for years. The company who owns the tanker, Oilstar, is looking at being responsible for the worst man made pollution disaster in all of history. This doesn't make the execs happy. So when they are given an option by one of their departments they jump on it without hesitation.
One of their departments, bio remediation, has a germ that will eat a certain component of oil. It is bred to only eat this and is not able to move through the air or survive very long without food. The agency sprays the germ and everything is OK....Oh wait that would be a pretty boring book.
Instead, what they do not know is that the lead researcher of the department is experiencing serious depression after losing every member of his family to accidents or war. On top of that he is suffering from terminal cancer. He has decided that this kind of disaster will never happen again. The reports and samples he provided for testing did do what it claimed to do, but that is not what he puts into the sprayer. Instead he puts in a stronger strain that eats anything petroleum based and is airborne.
In the White Sand desert a group of scientists have successfully tested a solar power beaming system. Using small satellites in space they beam energy to a field of antennas. The satellite only beams for five to 10 minutes but the idea is to put up a lot of them and as each one passes over they beam the power. Their small scale test of just 7 satellites works as predicted providing uninterrupted power the whole time. Even better, near by is a governmental experiment to build a large rail gun. With modifications this project could be used to launch the 20 satellites waiting for deployment. However, they are hampered by a governmental bureaucrat named Nedermyer is opposing this plan because of reasons, yes that is the best I can come up with for his motivation.
The germ is sprayed and soon it has cleaned up the oil, then it moves onto cars eating the gas right out of them and then onto other oil based products such as plastic and condoms. Quite rapidly the world is regressed back to the steam age.
The team in White Sands realizes that most of their system is non plastic based and what is made of plastic can be replaced. Within months they have electricity running and batteries to save it. They then start working on moving the electricity to the surrounding area.
In Washington D.C. The Speaker of the House finds himself the President of the United States, a job he never wanted, he planned on retiring and being a lobbyist. Still he tries and most of his trying is making more and more draconian laws and not understanding when they are not carried out. Isolated from most of the world he grows increasingly paranoid but determined to hold the US together. One of his orders is for all military bases to take control of civilian populations around their bases and put them under martial law. In Albuquerque a General Bayclock takes over the city and enforces martial law with great strictness. Soon, despite declaring he is reluctant to be in control, he is hanging dissenters and people who are stealing to survive. He hears about White Sands and decides it would be nice to have power. He sets off with some of this troops to take over the program and bring it back to Albuquerque. Along the way he uses his forces as a tool to project power with activities such as raiding from smaller communities food that he does not need but takes anyway to show who is the boss.
Todd Severyn was an oil company contractor who was tricked into spreading the wrong germ. He has been spending the time since the disaster trying to make up from it. When he hears that White Sands has electricity and with the satellites that are in JPL can produce more, he decides this is his chance at redemption. He has a cross country set of adventures that includes crashing a steam powered train, cannibals, and a crazed killer. Eventually he gets 10 of the satellites to White Sands only to have them captured by Bayclock before he can make the last mile to deliver them.
The scientists believe their facility is possibly the last chance to keep humanity from slipping back and decide to stand up to the General, with science. So they Macguyver some bombs, a catapult and a freaking rail gun powered shot gun that takes out 30 people with a shot, too bad it only works once.
Eventually the conflict comes down to a fist fight between the General and a pilot who has joined the scientists. After the General is killed his army quickly gives up and a majority of them join with the scientists.
In DC the president watches as one by one he loses contact with his military bases or receives reports that they have deserted and joined with the civilian population rather than rule. There are a few nuclear subs left that have stayed deep enough in the water to be safe from the oil plague. He orders his military staff to have them start to nuke American cities. In response everyone leaves the office and the president is now just a man in an empty office with no power.
Likes: This story was pretty engrossing. I stayed up till 1:30 am on a work night to finish it. A good number of characters but not so many that I was lost. And I feel that you can definitely tell the Beason influence/meld with Anderson as it does not quite read like his Saga of the Seven Sun books, and this is a good thing.
Bad: The lack of effects portrayed. We are told a couple of times that there will be mass starvation but it never seems to happen, or if it does it's swept under the rug and never covered. Nedermyer's motivation, in the beginning of the book. It's never explained why he is not supportive of the White Sands project. Then after when they are one of the few places producing working electricity he still seems opposed to the project eventually deserting them for the General's camp. It almost felt like he was added to give tension but never really flushed out enough to explain why he was causing the tension.
October 3, 2011
I was sorely tempted to keep this book. It is a very solid read and made me desperately flip pages. I enjoyed reading it, but I am going to let this blessing pass on to someone else. I am really picky what sci-fi books I keep because I only have so much room. My to-read pile is enough for two bookshelves and something has to give. I can't bump one of my beloved fantasy books for this volume, but rest assured it is well worth the time to read. =)
July 26, 2019
A great story and well-developed characters. The action is fast-paced. What I most enjoyed about this book is the fact I haven't read about the reason for the breakdown of society being caused in the way created by Kevin Anderson. That makes it unique and new to me. I always enjoy being served up something new, not the same stale old nuclear disaster, human killing plague, etc.
August 13, 2008
What could have been an interesting exploration of a realistic disaster instead turned out to be an exploration of stereotypes an caricatures. I made it through about 70-80 pages of full on reading, skimmed through for about the same more, then set it in my "to give away" pile.
December 21, 2021
I read this book on a 'trust me' from a friend and I am sooo grateful to that friend. It is a fascinating fictional account on what might happen if a terrible disaster rendered the country without those things we now consider 'givens'. (read a galley of the original published version)
September 14, 2024
This was a decently written book but the villains were a little too villainy and the heroes too heroic. There were also a lot of coincidences that weren’t really necessary. That being said it was reasonably readable!
June 21, 2009
Interesting premise - but tedious story
July 26, 2017
Rubbish writing! such a waste of time!
May 27, 2018
Saw this at B&N. Pretty cool story.
November 5, 2019
I actually read this quite a few years ago...and now feel compelled to read again!! In light of the world today, it’s a good reminder!
October 15, 2022
Honestly I'm amazed I finished this book. Way to many POV's ended up not caring about anyone, or anything! I kept hoping it would get better, but it never did. 🤯😵🥴
Currently Reading
May 12, 2020Spoilers follow, read at you're own peril.
I thought Ill Wind was a great book. It incorporates many genres of books like technology, apocalypse, peak oil, adventure and even a bit romance. The premise of Ill Wind is based on a massive oil spill, in fact, the largest in history. The company responsible for this spill thinks they have a solution to not only save the local environment from the spill, but also save their reputation. They have developed a microbe that eats oil. Although it's still under development, the oil company decides to spray the oil slick with the microbe. All appears to be going well until cars in the surrounding area start to stall out. Their worst fears are now being realized. They deployed the microbe before it was fully tested and have now learned that the microbe has become airborne. Not only is it airborne, but it's also eating more than just oil. It's eating everything made from oil including plastic.
In almost no time at all the microbe has spread around the United States, then around the world devouring every petroleum based product in it's path. Since most everything we use contains plastic it isn't long before virtually every modern convenience in the world has stopped working.
The speed at which the microbe spread around the world reminds me of our current situation with the Corona virus. It also spread around the world quickly and essentially put everything on pause for a while.
In the book our characters begin to adapt to world without electricity and look back to old technology to help solve modern problems. An example of this is using an old steam locomotive to transport food from the farm lands to the desperately hungry people of Los Angeles.
If you like science fiction, technology or adventure, this book has plenty for you and I would strongly recommend it. The authors do a great job of not only moving the story along at a great pace, but also taking time to describe what's happening in enough detail that you don't feel lost and you are able to visualize what's happening in your mind.
I thought Ill Wind was a great book. It incorporates many genres of books like technology, apocalypse, peak oil, adventure and even a bit romance. The premise of Ill Wind is based on a massive oil spill, in fact, the largest in history. The company responsible for this spill thinks they have a solution to not only save the local environment from the spill, but also save their reputation. They have developed a microbe that eats oil. Although it's still under development, the oil company decides to spray the oil slick with the microbe. All appears to be going well until cars in the surrounding area start to stall out. Their worst fears are now being realized. They deployed the microbe before it was fully tested and have now learned that the microbe has become airborne. Not only is it airborne, but it's also eating more than just oil. It's eating everything made from oil including plastic.
In almost no time at all the microbe has spread around the United States, then around the world devouring every petroleum based product in it's path. Since most everything we use contains plastic it isn't long before virtually every modern convenience in the world has stopped working.
The speed at which the microbe spread around the world reminds me of our current situation with the Corona virus. It also spread around the world quickly and essentially put everything on pause for a while.
In the book our characters begin to adapt to world without electricity and look back to old technology to help solve modern problems. An example of this is using an old steam locomotive to transport food from the farm lands to the desperately hungry people of Los Angeles.
If you like science fiction, technology or adventure, this book has plenty for you and I would strongly recommend it. The authors do a great job of not only moving the story along at a great pace, but also taking time to describe what's happening in enough detail that you don't feel lost and you are able to visualize what's happening in your mind.
August 15, 2024
For me, this was a return to one of my all-time favorite books, one that I first read over 20 years ago when it first came out in the 1990s. Because science changes as we uncover new knowledge, science fiction often fails the test of time. Ill Wind, however, has held up amazingly well.
Like 1984 and The Handmaid's Tale, Ill Wind is a classic piece of dystopian literature. It follows the aftermath of a supertanker crashing into the Golden Gate Bridge and a misguided deployment of an untested oil-eating bacteria in response to demands that the spill be cleaned immediately. A mutable bacteria that eats oil? What could possibly go awry?
The book could have been written yesterday. We developed oil and plastic-eating bacteria (e.g., E coli https://www.acs.org/pressroom/presspa...), and as in the book, they are being touted as potential saviors from plastic and oil pollution.
Although oil-eating bacteria don't live in high enough numbers to pose a threat, the book challenges us with the "what if" question about altering or enhancing them. Thoughtful and possibly prophetic. Great character development
Like 1984 and The Handmaid's Tale, Ill Wind is a classic piece of dystopian literature. It follows the aftermath of a supertanker crashing into the Golden Gate Bridge and a misguided deployment of an untested oil-eating bacteria in response to demands that the spill be cleaned immediately. A mutable bacteria that eats oil? What could possibly go awry?
The book could have been written yesterday. We developed oil and plastic-eating bacteria (e.g., E coli https://www.acs.org/pressroom/presspa...), and as in the book, they are being touted as potential saviors from plastic and oil pollution.
Although oil-eating bacteria don't live in high enough numbers to pose a threat, the book challenges us with the "what if" question about altering or enhancing them. Thoughtful and possibly prophetic. Great character development
August 27, 2026
I would rate this book 3.5 stars. The story idea was really great and I enjoyed the sci-fi concept, but found that the multiple points of view really didn’t keep me hooked. I found that every time one storyline started to get interesting, the story would change to another more uninteresting storyline. Instead of it feeling like many cliffhangers, it felt more like many let downs and disappointment. I found myself counting how many more pages I had left in the book, as opposed to being so engrossed that I was flying through it. I’m not sure if this is because this book was written in the early nineties, and perhaps story telling/writing style has changed since then. I found the characters to be mostly one dimensional, and didn’t feel like I really cared about any of them. I enjoyed the story, but wouldn’t re-read it. There are better sci-fis out there.
July 26, 2017
Not his best. The plot veers all over the southwest. I hope this is a series, although I can't find any indication of it, because otherwise Anderson just leaves it where it is on the last page, unresolved. He does kill off several evil, obstructive characters, but it remains unresolved. There are several possible resolutions, but having just kind of walked away from the summation, it's hard to tell. This one goes back to the used book room.
November 18, 2023
At first it was a slog with too many characters. Then it got better/more fun when shit hit the fan. But then the last third was another slog til the end.
There were some cool and memorable moments but overall I agree with some other reviewers. Characters didn't evolve, were generally one-note, and there was a lot of technical/topical stuff that seemed to be placed in the book just to fluff it up but didn't enhance the plot. Was there a point to it all? I dunno.
There were some cool and memorable moments but overall I agree with some other reviewers. Characters didn't evolve, were generally one-note, and there was a lot of technical/topical stuff that seemed to be placed in the book just to fluff it up but didn't enhance the plot. Was there a point to it all? I dunno.
July 3, 2021
Ill Wind is a finely written novel with absolutely fantastic character work and plotting that leads to an explosive ending. Reads like a poor man's Michael Crichton, and that's while that isn't necessarily a knock on the book, the writing itself seems to lack a certain flair at times. Nevertheless, really enjoyed this one, and look forward to reading more from the duo.
October 24, 2024
After so many gruesome murders and deaths, the Bay Area dissolving, and one of the longest stories I have ever tried to finish, the ending was an incredible disappointment. Was this author attempting to show he was high tech savvy rather than a story teller? I'm sorry I ever started this sad story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 30, 2025
ecological catastrophe apocalypse
Always a good read, I enjoy the amount of hope that is throughout the story. The world seems to be falling down around our ears, so it's nice to have the comfort of people banding together in the face of adversity.
Always a good read, I enjoy the amount of hope that is throughout the story. The world seems to be falling down around our ears, so it's nice to have the comfort of people banding together in the face of adversity.
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