George S Boughton's action adventure is - space travel to space cities; also environmental, climate change, earthquakes and oil pollution; as well as the reality of dinosaur extinctions
Also, see www.deepstorm.org
Members of an elite young research team, Drs Mei Sai Ling and Steve Nord are defined by their spirit and determination as well as by their remarkable science [see the Glossary]. The UN Security Council's response to catastrophic natural disasters, which have lead to global chaos and war, is to send the scientists out to the Near Earth Territories - vast man-made settlements in space - to observe geophysical developments.
Initially an enigma for inclusion in the genetically honed team of 'fimans', paraplegic Sashia Dubchek results from a pre-birth experiment that went wrong, and yet is also selected as a 'best of breed' following the gruelling InviHundred games - an event aimed at evaluating the highest level of mental prowess and genetically engineered capacities to fit the way of life in the Territories. Lively, curiously intuitive and daring, Sashia moves instinctively to the forefront of the drama that unfolds.
Throughout battles that even reach the Territories, the team grapples with understanding the true dynamics of the changing Earth. Until, finally, aided by an imaginative technique for glimpsing the demise of the dinosaurs, they succeed in developing revolutionary new concepts in the Earth Sciences. Revealed, for the first time, free of mankind's industrial influences, is the relentless and often violent impact that the Earth's planetary ageing has on environments. Subtly different perspectives - on earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, climates, evolution and (with a surprising twist) even oil exploration - gradually unfold before the fimans and best of all you, the reader.
Reviews:
"An interesting and imaginative concept, well-written, researched and conceived." M Pargeter (Pargeter Designs) 28 Dec 2012
The Science:
We are, today, witnessing the world transforming - experiencing extreme weather, earthquakes and tsunamis as well as upheavals in crowded and oppressed nations. DeepStorm OutTack follows the relevant issues and the young scientists who aim to learn from the distant past as they attempt to build a better future for the Earth and new Near Earth Territories.
The Glossary, includes terms ranging from: - Fimans, reconneers and genecrafting to the InviHundred games, terraforming and artificial intelligence
- Spaceports, lighter than air materials and thermoports to the Near Earth Territories
- Cosmic weather and climate change to climate creep, polar warming and an Einsteinian gravitational wave dubbed DeepStorm
- Continental drift and rafts to the Deccan Traps, flood basalt eruption hotspots, the Armstrong Effect and geoshifts
- Gaia to Greenpeace and kerogen (oil)
- The Late-Cretaceous Beringia, Tethys Sea and a variety of dinosaurs and other reptiles to mass extinction, heathland, birds and positioning natural correction alongside natural selection in evolutionary terms
Genres/Categories: - Action Adventure (USA)
- Hard Sci-Fi (USA)
- Space Opera
- Earth Sciences
- Natural History (USA)
- Natural World (UK)
- The Environment (UK)
- Space Science (UK)
Born to English parents in Eritrea, George S Boughton graduated with BSc (Hons) Mech Eng (UK), gained Chartered Engineer status and has lived in all but one continent - including inside war zones - where he developed an impressive track record in the oil industry and later in Information Technology. He liaised closely with geologists and petroleum engineers in designing and building new production facilities for Shell-BP Nigeria, with international consultants to retrofit gas compressors at Shell International's Brent (North Sea) platform, and moved to Creole Production Services International (Texas) to provide oilfield services to Union Oil Co. and Kuwait Oil Co. With change management consultants The Nichols Group (UK) he implemented arguably the world's first government-to-business e-government site, on the construction of express routes for the Chek Lap Kok Airport (Hong Kong). Finally, he furthered e-government strategy with papers he co-authored for the Government while at Azeus Systems Ltd, whom he went on to represent in South Africa. A keen scientific theorist, his research for the revelations presented in DeepStorm OutTack was extensive - and his ultimate conclusions are intriguingly stimulating. Related: Enid Bagnold author of National Velvet and Brig Ralph Bagnold (Fellow of the Royal Society and Founders' Gold Medalist of the Royal Geographical Society) whose sand dune research is used in NASA's Mars Rover designs.
