Supervolcano: Eruption (A Supervolcano Novel) Mass Market Paperback – December 4, 2012

One thing I have learned reading Turtledove novels: you really don't know what you are going to get. Some series are great reads, others not so much. The Supervolcano series falls into the latter category. The premise is alluring. Yellowstone Park erupts, blanketing the midwest in ash and causing abnormal weather patterns worldwide. The possibilities are endless for a writer as creative as Turtledove. Instead we get three or four pages devoted to a cat who likes balloons. We get characters that are, frankly, boring beyond belief. We get settings as varied as backwoods Maine, central Nebraska and an L.A. neighboring community (snore). Nothing much happens to the characters except self doubt and dumb musings; how can it be otherwise when everyday is the same (rain or snow) and human existence is merely an exercise in humdrum tasks (yes, the author devotes several pages to washing dirty dishes. Really.)Where is the breakdown of civil society? The riots, the heart of darkness descent of the social compact in the face of unrelenting climatic change and economic shortage? Rather we get treated to characters who are as follows: a veteran cop (who manages to capture a serial killer which has absolutely nothing to do with the Supervolcano); a messed up woman who leaves the cop for reasons I still don't understand, even after three volumes of prose; three kids of the cop who basically do nothing of note despite the unusual circumstances in which they find themselves (although the daughter does perform sexual acts to get out of a refugee camp). In short things plod along...and plod...and plod.There is also a new wife for the cop, a couple of babies, a wise cracking country ex historian and other assorted types. None of this follows necessarily from the inviting premise of this series. The paths the characters follow are those they would likely have trod without said eruption. And this, sadly, is the major problem with Turtledove's effort. It is a fictional account that focuses on every banal and uninteresting aspect of life, whether it has anything to do with the major catastrophe or not. As the author often has his characters say or think, it is not "even a little bit" exciting. If a real volcanic eruption occurs we can only hope it turns out as dull and plodding as Turtledove portrays.

Finished this novel in four days, clearly it is a fast read averaging just over a hundred pages per day. The story in its own way reads very much like a Herman Wouk classic historical fiction, like the Winds of War or War and Remembrance both of which I have read twice.This is the closest I have had a novel by Harry Turtledove go in the romance/soap opera style of disaster romance style. The novel is basically the story of a broken family and their life and love affairs that take place over a three year period. Because all of the family members are adults with their own paths to follow you get an over view of what things are like through the eyes of seven main characters and their close associates as events take place. I rather enjoyed reading this book, but the jarring way it went through all the set up of the main cast and then jumped forward two years was mildly confusing.I did rather want to reach out and grab two of the viewpoint characters by the shoulders and give them a good shake for being so immature, but in this type of historical romance/ genre that is more of the rule than the exception. I felt the same way reading The Winds of War way back in High School, it is a feature of the genre, not a glitch. Having been through a messy divorce I completely sympathized with the first main character and found him to be the most believable, but I have read complaints from other members on his portrayal. The good news is with the seven main characters that each have a different personality there is likely to be someone in the Dramatis Personae who you will find sympathetic or believable, and that always helps me to get immersed in the story.

I expect authors of "scientific" apocalypses to get their science right. Turtledove disappoints. Storm tracks and their winds passing through Yellowstone move off to the the southeast of eastsoutheast. Not relevant. A supervolcano generates a mushroom cloud and the debris fall forms an oval pattern Missoula probably would have gotten more ash than Denver. Not so bad. A USGS computer analysis done in 2008 estimates that Denver might have gotten somewhere between 4 and 10 cm, Not good, but not likely to kill most of the population. T corn belt would have had about the same. Modern farm equipment is fully capable of turning that ash under, making the land half-way productive rather quickly. Bigger problem would have been the supervolcano winter. How long would it last? Studies of the Mount Toba event (similar volume to Turetledove's Yellowstone eruption) suggest somewhere between 5 to 10 years with a long cool spell afterwards, perhaps as long as 1000 years. Not wonderful, but not likely to destroy civilization. This is different post-catastrophe series. It is seen through the eyes of Colin Ferguson, family and friends. Fascinating. A few quibbles about the science don't really matter. Turtledove has captured the essence of the catastrophe's aftermath. Worth reading it and the sequels

Well, only b/c I am a very long fan and follower of Turtledove and have loved some of his did I go with three stars. In actuality, about 2.5 would have gotten it.While the premise was interesting, the story moved at a snail's pace. It hopped around constantly between characters and those that became more interesting not enough was written about them and those who were boring got too much.Parts of it were very predictable like in many other post apocalyptic books. Does someone always have to get pregnant when they're not expecting it? Even close to 50 year olds?I honestly don't really know what the point of this book was. If it came out in a sequel I would not buy it. Just not enough action. Very plodding.

You have to get beyond page 150 before the action starts but it's a pleasant journey.I thought the American reaction to the catastrophe was somewhat muted.Despite five states being devastated and another half dozen or so being severely "impacted",life appears to carry on mostly as normal.I would have thought massive inflation/scarcity/unemployment would have been rampant. Even affordable civilian air traffic has recommenced. Not a hint of martial law being declared.I shall now read the sequel to see how things progress.

I like disaster novels. This by an author out of his comfort zone is not too bad. Story focuses on a LA cop and his friends and family scattered across the US who all make it to the end of the book. However the disaster doesn't begin till a third of the way through and the rest of the book covers only the first few months afterwards with plenty of hints that there is much worse to come, thus answering those critics who complained that life seemed to go on much as normal. So it demands a sequel. Whether there will be one will depend on sales and the author who is prolific and may prefer to go back to his comfort zone of alternate history. Will I buy it? Yes but I will probably wait for the cheaper paperback.

Got to be honest and state that I am not a huge fan of Harry Turtledove as he always drags his stories out to the point that I get bored and lose interest. Decided to give this a go despite knowing that at least two more novels are planned as sequels. It was okay which isn't exactly glowing but was what I expected. Very much doubt I will read the rest of the series.Ray Smillie

Good condition and came with a lovely Christmas card. Only downside was the faint smell of tobacco smoke.

Great