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Supervolcano #2
All Fall Down
In Supervolcano: Eruption, one of nature’s most destructive forces released its ferocity on an unsuspecting world. Now, New York Times bestselling author Harry Turtledove reveals how the survivors of the disaster adapt to their new environment…
In the aftermath of the supervolcano’s eruption in Yellowstone Park, North America is covered in ash. Farmlands cannot produce food. Machinery has been rendered useless. Cities are no longer habitable. And the climate across the globe grows colder every day.
Former police officer Colin Ferguson’s family is spread across the United States, separated by the catastrophe, and struggling to survive as the nation attempts to recover and reestablish some measure of civilization…
In the aftermath of the supervolcano’s eruption in Yellowstone Park, North America is covered in ash. Farmlands cannot produce food. Machinery has been rendered useless. Cities are no longer habitable. And the climate across the globe grows colder every day.
Former police officer Colin Ferguson’s family is spread across the United States, separated by the catastrophe, and struggling to survive as the nation attempts to recover and reestablish some measure of civilization…
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First published December 4, 2012
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About the author
Harry Turtledove
564 books1,964 followersDr Harry Norman Turtledove is an American novelist, who has produced a sizeable number of works in several genres including alternate history, historical fiction, fantasy and science fiction.
Harry Turtledove attended UCLA, where he received a Ph.D. in Byzantine history in 1977.
Turtledove has been dubbed "The Master of Alternate History". Within this genre he is known both for creating original scenarios: such as survival of the Byzantine Empire; an alien invasion in the middle of the World War II; and for giving a fresh and original treatment to themes previously dealt with by other authors, such as the victory of the South in the American Civil War; and of Nazi Germany in the Second World War.
His novels have been credited with bringing alternate history into the mainstream. His style of alternate history has a strong military theme.
Harry Turtledove attended UCLA, where he received a Ph.D. in Byzantine history in 1977.
Turtledove has been dubbed "The Master of Alternate History". Within this genre he is known both for creating original scenarios: such as survival of the Byzantine Empire; an alien invasion in the middle of the World War II; and for giving a fresh and original treatment to themes previously dealt with by other authors, such as the victory of the South in the American Civil War; and of Nazi Germany in the Second World War.
His novels have been credited with bringing alternate history into the mainstream. His style of alternate history has a strong military theme.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 106 reviews
September 9, 2018
dear god.
i mean, i knew what i was getting into, because i did read the first one, but still...
i will review this when i can force myself to revisit even thinking about this book.
ugh. i have been putting off the writing of this review for ages, because i want to write it about as much as i ever want to read this book again, which is to say "not at all." if you like that sentence, by the way, you will love harry turtledove.
but anyway, while i was reading this book, i was very excited. not to read it, but to write the review for it. i took pages of notes, planning to write the most hilarious, snarkiest review ever, but when i finished, i realized that i had written nearly every single page number as a reference-point for where there was a) corny dialogue, b) weird racial preoccupation, c) unbelievable ideas of how people behave, or d) just boring-ass plot that went nowhere. and then i misplaced a couple of pages of these notes, and then the holiday season overtook me, and the whole project just became this exhausting burden to me. so i'm not going to write anything more than a moderately-entertaining review and call it a day, because this whole situation has been dragging on forever, and i need to get on with my life, you know?
so - i am going to pick 5 (five) pages at random, and just quote all the things that are wrong on that page. i do mourn my best-laid plans, because if ever a book needed to be torn apart, it is this one, but maybe one of y'all can bite the bullet and fulfill my master plan. i'm too tired, and even just looking at the book now weakens me.
so, random page number one:
page 65:
after one character provides oral sex to one of the gentleman running the refugee camp where she has been living in exchange for special favors:
Micah had himself wiped off and his trousers (as opposed to his cock) up again. He looked over her shoulder. "How unfortunate for you," he said.
just - gross.
and later on that page:
"You must have relatives you could get a loan from," Micah said.
She'd chewed on that before. Her father probably would front her the money to get back to California, or at least out of the camp. She'd had too much pride to ask him. She'd made her own way since she dropped out of college to try the real world instead. Asking him for anything would seem like a failure.
So what exactly do you call sucking this guy's joint in exchange for a better tent and a chance to use the Net once in a while? she asked herself. But this was - or she'd always figured this was - temporary. Once she got the hell out of here, she could always pretend Micah Husak had never been born. Taking money from her old man was different. She wouldn't forget it. Neither would he.
i mean - what?? she has too much pride to ask her father for money to get her out of an insanely disgusting situation, but not too much to give hummers to play on the internet?? i do not understand these characters! how does this make sense??
page 134:
You know, after Louise and I had our three, she was always after me to get a vasectomy so she wouldn't have to go on using her manhole cover."
"Her what?" Kelly was glad Colin couldn't see her blank stare.
"Diaphragm," he explained.
"Oh." She poked him again, less successfully this time. He would make a bad joke like that. He not only would, he had.
(OH GOD KILL ME NOW!!)
"Yeah, well," he went on, "I didn't feel like doing anything when the odds of undoing it weren't so great. I didn't think anything was wrong - which only shows how much I knew, doesn't it? But I even used condominiums every once in a while so she wouldn't need the Frisbee."
To do that justice, Kelly would have had to poke him eight or twelve times. She contented herself with snorting instead. Colin hadn't made the smallest of sacrifices, though, not from the male point of view. Guys used condoms, but the next man she found who liked them would be the first.
i think i am just going to avoid commentary, and let you think your thoughts.if you don't know what is wrong with that passage, there is something wrong with you. this whole book is like this, i am telling you...
page 235:
After thinking about Susan - quite a bit after thinking about her - Bryce remembered his mother. Barbara Miller hadn't been thrilled when he moved up to the Valley. What would she say if he went two thousand miles away?
I want you to be happy. That's what she'd say, sure as God made Greek irregular verbs. And she'd be lying through her teeth. That was what math guys called intuitively obvious.
and later..
His stomach rumbled, loud enough to startle his cat if only he'd had one.
seriously - is there no editor here?? is no one telling mr. turtledove that sentences shouldn't just take up space - they should have a purpose??
No, first step was dealing with those leftovers. Whatever Susan thought wouldn't change a hell of a lot in the next half hour. Yes, people were animals. Better not to be a hungry animal.
zzzzzzzzzzzzzz
page 240:
"All right, Mrs. Ferguson, now I need to see the evidence that you've been actively seeking employment during the past fortnightly period," the clerk said. Could anyone who didn't work for the EDD bring out things like actively seeking employment or fortnightly period as if they actually belonged to the English language? Louise wouldn't have bet six inches of used dental floss on it.
None of which had anything to do with the price of beer (high, like the price of everything else). Louise pulled out application letters from her purse and shoved them at the clerk. They were genuine, all right. She would have done anything short of turning tricks to escape the EDD's clutches. Christ on a crutch, who wouldn't? The only trouble was, nobody wanted to hire her...or, by appearances, anyone else.
later:
"Good," answered Louise, who would have hit the ceiling in seventeen different places if he'd tried to tell her anything else.
later:
She put her applications and the check into the purse. Then she got out of there as fast as she could. Who hung around the EDD one second longer than they had to? Nobody, that was who.
every page is as scintillating as this.
page 355:
"A joke. Uh-huh." Rodney didn't sound like somebody who was going to ROFL.
later
"Would I be talking about it with you if I didn't believe it?"
"Not fuckin' likely," Ellis answered, which was also the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
later, instead of nodding, Colin made his head go up and down one more time.
so you see what we are dealing with here.
the problem with this book is that it totally lacks urgency. you know how boring small talk is?? and how boring it is listening to people complain? that is basically what this book is. no one seems to be in any danger. they are annoyed, but nothing seems life-threatening. the complaints are basically spotty cellphone reception and internet connections, difficulties getting gas (but not the kind that comes from your rear - that particular joke is made se-ver-al times) new babies keeping a mother up all night, long lines at the employment office, traffic, late buses, smelly people, students who won't pay attention, the boredom of corporate jobs,the difficulties of a classics major in finding employment, how hard it is to get short stories published after the supervolcano, i mean JFC!! both Ashfall and Ashen Winter, books intended for a YA audience about the same subject matter, have marauding gangs of cannibals, and richly detailed information about rebuilding the agricultural infrastructure. this has a character moping about the bread at applebees. this book has crankiness when the power going off spoils the food in the icebox. i cannot think of a more boring book. connor always gets mad when people complain of a movie "nothing happens." but you know what??? NOTHING HAPPENS HERE!! babies are born, people go to the diner, board games are played, blowjobs are administered as payment, but nothing happens. there is no unifying plot. the whole book is basically "bitching about having to ride a bike." oh, and a serial killer is caught. which has nothing to do with, you know, the supervolcano.
it is corny as a motherfucker. his puns and his unattributed quotations and his extra extra extra words drove me up a wall. i cannot believe that i thought this would be fun to read.
i kind of want to die.
makes a great holiday gift for someone you hate!
come to my blog!
i mean, i knew what i was getting into, because i did read the first one, but still...
i will review this when i can force myself to revisit even thinking about this book.
ugh. i have been putting off the writing of this review for ages, because i want to write it about as much as i ever want to read this book again, which is to say "not at all." if you like that sentence, by the way, you will love harry turtledove.
but anyway, while i was reading this book, i was very excited. not to read it, but to write the review for it. i took pages of notes, planning to write the most hilarious, snarkiest review ever, but when i finished, i realized that i had written nearly every single page number as a reference-point for where there was a) corny dialogue, b) weird racial preoccupation, c) unbelievable ideas of how people behave, or d) just boring-ass plot that went nowhere. and then i misplaced a couple of pages of these notes, and then the holiday season overtook me, and the whole project just became this exhausting burden to me. so i'm not going to write anything more than a moderately-entertaining review and call it a day, because this whole situation has been dragging on forever, and i need to get on with my life, you know?
so - i am going to pick 5 (five) pages at random, and just quote all the things that are wrong on that page. i do mourn my best-laid plans, because if ever a book needed to be torn apart, it is this one, but maybe one of y'all can bite the bullet and fulfill my master plan. i'm too tired, and even just looking at the book now weakens me.
so, random page number one:
page 65:
after one character provides oral sex to one of the gentleman running the refugee camp where she has been living in exchange for special favors:
Micah had himself wiped off and his trousers (as opposed to his cock) up again. He looked over her shoulder. "How unfortunate for you," he said.
just - gross.
and later on that page:
"You must have relatives you could get a loan from," Micah said.
She'd chewed on that before. Her father probably would front her the money to get back to California, or at least out of the camp. She'd had too much pride to ask him. She'd made her own way since she dropped out of college to try the real world instead. Asking him for anything would seem like a failure.
So what exactly do you call sucking this guy's joint in exchange for a better tent and a chance to use the Net once in a while? she asked herself. But this was - or she'd always figured this was - temporary. Once she got the hell out of here, she could always pretend Micah Husak had never been born. Taking money from her old man was different. She wouldn't forget it. Neither would he.
i mean - what?? she has too much pride to ask her father for money to get her out of an insanely disgusting situation, but not too much to give hummers to play on the internet?? i do not understand these characters! how does this make sense??
page 134:
You know, after Louise and I had our three, she was always after me to get a vasectomy so she wouldn't have to go on using her manhole cover."
"Her what?" Kelly was glad Colin couldn't see her blank stare.
"Diaphragm," he explained.
"Oh." She poked him again, less successfully this time. He would make a bad joke like that. He not only would, he had.
(OH GOD KILL ME NOW!!)
"Yeah, well," he went on, "I didn't feel like doing anything when the odds of undoing it weren't so great. I didn't think anything was wrong - which only shows how much I knew, doesn't it? But I even used condominiums every once in a while so she wouldn't need the Frisbee."
To do that justice, Kelly would have had to poke him eight or twelve times. She contented herself with snorting instead. Colin hadn't made the smallest of sacrifices, though, not from the male point of view. Guys used condoms, but the next man she found who liked them would be the first.
i think i am just going to avoid commentary, and let you think your thoughts.if you don't know what is wrong with that passage, there is something wrong with you. this whole book is like this, i am telling you...
page 235:
After thinking about Susan - quite a bit after thinking about her - Bryce remembered his mother. Barbara Miller hadn't been thrilled when he moved up to the Valley. What would she say if he went two thousand miles away?
I want you to be happy. That's what she'd say, sure as God made Greek irregular verbs. And she'd be lying through her teeth. That was what math guys called intuitively obvious.
and later..
His stomach rumbled, loud enough to startle his cat if only he'd had one.
seriously - is there no editor here?? is no one telling mr. turtledove that sentences shouldn't just take up space - they should have a purpose??
No, first step was dealing with those leftovers. Whatever Susan thought wouldn't change a hell of a lot in the next half hour. Yes, people were animals. Better not to be a hungry animal.
zzzzzzzzzzzzzz
page 240:
"All right, Mrs. Ferguson, now I need to see the evidence that you've been actively seeking employment during the past fortnightly period," the clerk said. Could anyone who didn't work for the EDD bring out things like actively seeking employment or fortnightly period as if they actually belonged to the English language? Louise wouldn't have bet six inches of used dental floss on it.
None of which had anything to do with the price of beer (high, like the price of everything else). Louise pulled out application letters from her purse and shoved them at the clerk. They were genuine, all right. She would have done anything short of turning tricks to escape the EDD's clutches. Christ on a crutch, who wouldn't? The only trouble was, nobody wanted to hire her...or, by appearances, anyone else.
later:
"Good," answered Louise, who would have hit the ceiling in seventeen different places if he'd tried to tell her anything else.
later:
She put her applications and the check into the purse. Then she got out of there as fast as she could. Who hung around the EDD one second longer than they had to? Nobody, that was who.
every page is as scintillating as this.
page 355:
"A joke. Uh-huh." Rodney didn't sound like somebody who was going to ROFL.
later
"Would I be talking about it with you if I didn't believe it?"
"Not fuckin' likely," Ellis answered, which was also the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
later, instead of nodding, Colin made his head go up and down one more time.
so you see what we are dealing with here.
the problem with this book is that it totally lacks urgency. you know how boring small talk is?? and how boring it is listening to people complain? that is basically what this book is. no one seems to be in any danger. they are annoyed, but nothing seems life-threatening. the complaints are basically spotty cellphone reception and internet connections, difficulties getting gas (but not the kind that comes from your rear - that particular joke is made se-ver-al times) new babies keeping a mother up all night, long lines at the employment office, traffic, late buses, smelly people, students who won't pay attention, the boredom of corporate jobs,the difficulties of a classics major in finding employment, how hard it is to get short stories published after the supervolcano, i mean JFC!! both Ashfall and Ashen Winter, books intended for a YA audience about the same subject matter, have marauding gangs of cannibals, and richly detailed information about rebuilding the agricultural infrastructure. this has a character moping about the bread at applebees. this book has crankiness when the power going off spoils the food in the icebox. i cannot think of a more boring book. connor always gets mad when people complain of a movie "nothing happens." but you know what??? NOTHING HAPPENS HERE!! babies are born, people go to the diner, board games are played, blowjobs are administered as payment, but nothing happens. there is no unifying plot. the whole book is basically "bitching about having to ride a bike." oh, and a serial killer is caught. which has nothing to do with, you know, the supervolcano.
it is corny as a motherfucker. his puns and his unattributed quotations and his extra extra extra words drove me up a wall. i cannot believe that i thought this would be fun to read.
i kind of want to die.
makes a great holiday gift for someone you hate!
come to my blog!
April 25, 2013
Oh. Dear.
I knew I was in for a boring ride after reading the first book in this series. Because I am a completist, and something of a glutton for punishment, I decided to check out the second book in this series.
I've read a lot of Harry Turtledove; I mean, an awful lot, but nothing prepared me for this ridiculous mess.
In my review for the first title in this series, I decided that that book should have been called Crappy Family: And a Volcano Blows Up. This sequel should be entitled Crappy Family: Babies, Unemployment, and That One Time a Volcano Blew Up. In the Supervolcano series, following a global natural disaster unprecedented in recorded history, the buses still run, unemployment offices still hand out checks, Catholic high schools still hire Latin teachers, and writers of fiction still struggle to make a living. I get that civilization is not going to screech to a halt the instant we get a supervolcanic eruption, but this is just silly.
At one point in the story, a character complains that the kimchi in Nebraska is kind of lousy. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people have died. Folks are starving and freezing to death all over the world. There has been a nuclear war between Iran and Israel. A few pages later, this same character mourns the lack of Thai takeout and sushi.
This is the conflict we're given in this story. In a world where there probably won't be a Summer for generations, our characters complain of smelly people on public transportation. Instead of Humankind's Struggle to Survive in a Suddenly Perilous World, we get Humankind's Struggle to Deal With the Fact That it Now Rains Quite a Bit in Los Angeles and Sometimes it Even Snows.
I knew I was in for a boring ride after reading the first book in this series. Because I am a completist, and something of a glutton for punishment, I decided to check out the second book in this series.
I've read a lot of Harry Turtledove; I mean, an awful lot, but nothing prepared me for this ridiculous mess.
In my review for the first title in this series, I decided that that book should have been called Crappy Family: And a Volcano Blows Up. This sequel should be entitled Crappy Family: Babies, Unemployment, and That One Time a Volcano Blew Up. In the Supervolcano series, following a global natural disaster unprecedented in recorded history, the buses still run, unemployment offices still hand out checks, Catholic high schools still hire Latin teachers, and writers of fiction still struggle to make a living. I get that civilization is not going to screech to a halt the instant we get a supervolcanic eruption, but this is just silly.
At one point in the story, a character complains that the kimchi in Nebraska is kind of lousy. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people have died. Folks are starving and freezing to death all over the world. There has been a nuclear war between Iran and Israel. A few pages later, this same character mourns the lack of Thai takeout and sushi.
This is the conflict we're given in this story. In a world where there probably won't be a Summer for generations, our characters complain of smelly people on public transportation. Instead of Humankind's Struggle to Survive in a Suddenly Perilous World, we get Humankind's Struggle to Deal With the Fact That it Now Rains Quite a Bit in Los Angeles and Sometimes it Even Snows.
December 27, 2012
I'm not entirely sure why I picked up this book from the library considering the fact that I only gave the first book in the series 2 stars. And the editor seemed to be asleep at the wheel, letting multiple cases of information being repeated over and over again get through.
And yet, here we are again, following the events in the lives of the most dysfunctional family in a country falling apart after Yellowstone went boom, covering more than three years. Colin Fergusson (dad) is now married to Kelly, the geologist who predicted the explosion. He's making do as a cop in California, just outside of LA, trying to stop a serial killer (but no really doing much about it), and by the end of the book, he and Kelly have a baby.
Older son, Rob, is still stuck in Maine, where there is barely any growing season at all any more. His band have stayed where they were, and gradually fell into the community, getting married and everything.
Daughter, Vanessa, is still in a resettlement camp (because while dad will call in favors to get his girlfriend out of the path of the ash cloud, his daughter is on her own), in part because she'd rather give blowjobs to an asshole to get basic amenities than consider asking dad for help. Then she gets into a crew that is scavenging abandoned areas, and finally heads home to California, where she promptly falls for a violent trucker, originally from Eastern Europe.
Youngest son, Marshall, is trying to make a living as a writer while living with dad and step-mom. He gets some extra money babysitting for his mother, who he still hates for leaving dad for a younger man. At least dad waited until after the divorce to hook up with someone much younger.
Ex-wife, Louise, is dealing with being a single mom, then losing her job when the company she works for closes up US offices. Needless to say, new jobs are hard to find in the new reality.
And finally there is Bryce, Vanessa's ex who is trying to find a job after graduating with a doctorate in ancient history, which has become one of the most useless fields to be in.
Basically, we follow them all for about three years in which pretty much nothing happens. They bitch and complain, and try to keep on the way they always do. The only characters that I actually liked were Bryce and Rob. Everyone else is a self-centered asshole.
And yet, I'll probably check the next book out of the library this time next year. Why, I don't know.
And yet, here we are again, following the events in the lives of the most dysfunctional family in a country falling apart after Yellowstone went boom, covering more than three years. Colin Fergusson (dad) is now married to Kelly, the geologist who predicted the explosion. He's making do as a cop in California, just outside of LA, trying to stop a serial killer (but no really doing much about it), and by the end of the book, he and Kelly have a baby.
Older son, Rob, is still stuck in Maine, where there is barely any growing season at all any more. His band have stayed where they were, and gradually fell into the community, getting married and everything.
Daughter, Vanessa, is still in a resettlement camp (because while dad will call in favors to get his girlfriend out of the path of the ash cloud, his daughter is on her own), in part because she'd rather give blowjobs to an asshole to get basic amenities than consider asking dad for help. Then she gets into a crew that is scavenging abandoned areas, and finally heads home to California, where she promptly falls for a violent trucker, originally from Eastern Europe.
Youngest son, Marshall, is trying to make a living as a writer while living with dad and step-mom. He gets some extra money babysitting for his mother, who he still hates for leaving dad for a younger man. At least dad waited until after the divorce to hook up with someone much younger.
Ex-wife, Louise, is dealing with being a single mom, then losing her job when the company she works for closes up US offices. Needless to say, new jobs are hard to find in the new reality.
And finally there is Bryce, Vanessa's ex who is trying to find a job after graduating with a doctorate in ancient history, which has become one of the most useless fields to be in.
Basically, we follow them all for about three years in which pretty much nothing happens. They bitch and complain, and try to keep on the way they always do. The only characters that I actually liked were Bryce and Rob. Everyone else is a self-centered asshole.
And yet, I'll probably check the next book out of the library this time next year. Why, I don't know.
July 12, 2020
This was overall fairly cringe worthy. The amount of crap innuendos and stereotypes was honestly too much... this one instance the ex-wife looks at a "slightly Hispanic man" and wonders if he is legal??????????????????????????????????????????????????
Then of COURSE the adult daughter comes home after going through "a lot" of highly preventable things and of course doesn't like her new step-mom. I'm talking the second she walks in they have an "ice cold"altercation. I mean I understand the daughter would feel less inclined to like the step-mom but the step-mom immediately picking a fight? And then the dad choosing the stepmom over the daughter?
Okay...................
And the daughter, instead of asking for some money to leave the Camp she was in after the Volcano blew up, she just blows guys to get everywhere?????
And everyone is having babies. Wtf?
Then of COURSE the adult daughter comes home after going through "a lot" of highly preventable things and of course doesn't like her new step-mom. I'm talking the second she walks in they have an "ice cold"altercation. I mean I understand the daughter would feel less inclined to like the step-mom but the step-mom immediately picking a fight? And then the dad choosing the stepmom over the daughter?
Okay...................
And the daughter, instead of asking for some money to leave the Camp she was in after the Volcano blew up, she just blows guys to get everywhere?????
And everyone is having babies. Wtf?
July 2, 2020
I'm not quite sure why this novel / series seems to be getting such low ratings. I have a couple of theories on that subject, which I will expand upon in a bit. But, firstly, my review:
It's depressing...but, in a good way. The trials and tribulations of the Ferguson family on here on display, again, and sadly, this time, there are layoffs, unexpected babies, turning tricks for advantages in desperate times, etc. It's very relatable and, in my opinion, it's easy to identify with the characters and their struggles.
Overall, the book is well-written and what I've come to expect from Mr. Turtledove, with a colorful cast of characters who I like, admire, despise, sympathize with, and feel apathetic towards, respectively. We learn more about how life is continuing to carry on in the aftermath of the supervolcano explosion and how they are continuing to deal with the increasing shortages that are resultant from.
Now, many of the critiques that I have read seem to center on the fact that the "apocalypse" isn't apocalyptic enough in this novel. It's not "world-ending" and life seems to be carrying on. And, well, it wouldn't be and it would. The eruption of the Yellowstone supervolcano would not end the world. It would be, and in the novel is, very, if not completely, devastating to the Midwest, but that is not the world. Human civilization would not collapse if the American Midwest disappeared, and to think otherwise, in my opinion, only reveals how chauvinistic and self-important many Americans tend to be.
Likewise, the Yellowstone supervolcano has exploded in the past before, quite a few times...and life on Earth has carried on, and many times, has not even cared. Yes, this happened hundreds of thousands and millions of years ago, respectively, but to think that such an event would be world ending and unrecoverable, again, reveals the self-importance that Humanity seems to put upon itself, seeing its 12,000 year history as the end-all and be-all of everything.
Another complaint is Mr. Turtledove's focus on "unimportant nobody" characters. But, I ask you, who has been his main protagonists in his other novels? In the World War series, it was Sam Yeager, an unimportant nobody. Yes, there were others - many others in fact - and the leader of the aliens was one of them - but the main focus was on Yeager. "In The Presence of Mine Enemies" focused on an unimportant German Jewish family. "Days Of Infamy/End Of The Beginning" focused on a unimportant family of Japanese fishermen. The Crosstime Traffic series focuses on a series of random nobody families. I would say that the Southern Victory series is the anomaly in that it does focus on very important characters, but since he needs to tell a very convincing narrative of the South winning the Civil War, and a second war, and then the American division in both World War One and World War Two such a focus is required.
This novel depicts, in my opinion, a very real scenario and resulting reactions. People and life would continue to carry on in the best fashion possible. We would continue to go to work and go to school and adapt as best we could. The novel definitely hints that worse things are to come, as agriculture is suffering heavily from the colder weather, shortages are increasing, modern conveniences are lessening, and there is no relief in sight...in fact, it looks as if things are going to get worse.
On to book three.
It's depressing...but, in a good way. The trials and tribulations of the Ferguson family on here on display, again, and sadly, this time, there are layoffs, unexpected babies, turning tricks for advantages in desperate times, etc. It's very relatable and, in my opinion, it's easy to identify with the characters and their struggles.
Overall, the book is well-written and what I've come to expect from Mr. Turtledove, with a colorful cast of characters who I like, admire, despise, sympathize with, and feel apathetic towards, respectively. We learn more about how life is continuing to carry on in the aftermath of the supervolcano explosion and how they are continuing to deal with the increasing shortages that are resultant from.
Now, many of the critiques that I have read seem to center on the fact that the "apocalypse" isn't apocalyptic enough in this novel. It's not "world-ending" and life seems to be carrying on. And, well, it wouldn't be and it would. The eruption of the Yellowstone supervolcano would not end the world. It would be, and in the novel is, very, if not completely, devastating to the Midwest, but that is not the world. Human civilization would not collapse if the American Midwest disappeared, and to think otherwise, in my opinion, only reveals how chauvinistic and self-important many Americans tend to be.
Likewise, the Yellowstone supervolcano has exploded in the past before, quite a few times...and life on Earth has carried on, and many times, has not even cared. Yes, this happened hundreds of thousands and millions of years ago, respectively, but to think that such an event would be world ending and unrecoverable, again, reveals the self-importance that Humanity seems to put upon itself, seeing its 12,000 year history as the end-all and be-all of everything.
Another complaint is Mr. Turtledove's focus on "unimportant nobody" characters. But, I ask you, who has been his main protagonists in his other novels? In the World War series, it was Sam Yeager, an unimportant nobody. Yes, there were others - many others in fact - and the leader of the aliens was one of them - but the main focus was on Yeager. "In The Presence of Mine Enemies" focused on an unimportant German Jewish family. "Days Of Infamy/End Of The Beginning" focused on a unimportant family of Japanese fishermen. The Crosstime Traffic series focuses on a series of random nobody families. I would say that the Southern Victory series is the anomaly in that it does focus on very important characters, but since he needs to tell a very convincing narrative of the South winning the Civil War, and a second war, and then the American division in both World War One and World War Two such a focus is required.
This novel depicts, in my opinion, a very real scenario and resulting reactions. People and life would continue to carry on in the best fashion possible. We would continue to go to work and go to school and adapt as best we could. The novel definitely hints that worse things are to come, as agriculture is suffering heavily from the colder weather, shortages are increasing, modern conveniences are lessening, and there is no relief in sight...in fact, it looks as if things are going to get worse.
On to book three.
July 20, 2013
The 2nd book in Harry Turtledove's "Supervolcano" series, "Supervolcano: All Fall Down" continues the story of the Ferguson family in the aftermath of the eruption of the Yellowstone supervolcano. In this installment, each of the various family members go through their own sequence of trials in just adapting to life whether it be in rainy California, an escape from Camp Constitution, or the frozen tundra of Maine. The problem with this book isn't so much that the stories of this family as they continue to move on aren't interesting, but I got to a point where I ceased to care. The adaptations are relatively minor save the few things that aren't available, but it's the bigger picture of the economy & the rest of the US & even planet that Turtledove seems to ignore. It's those aspects to me that would help make this book & even this series better if the cast of characters increases outside of this nuclear few & their tasks in life. A disappointing sequel in a series that will need a lot of help to salvage in book 3.
December 15, 2020
All together, this book is obviously very researched and it has good characters and plot progression. What I didn't enjoy about the book was that there were some parts that were very repetitive in the writing, using the same words over and over or going back to the same thing. Also, it jumps from serious problems to small, unimportant problems a few times throughout the book, and it gives it a feel like the characters are just waiting for problems to come their way and take on as much as they can. One example of this is like when Colin and Kelly have a baby; I understand that this might be around Colin's last years to be able to have a baby and such, but I feel like it's just a bad time. I really would wait a few years more for things like the electricity and economy to stabilize more. Otherwise, the writing was very good and tense and made you want to read more. And I do put emphasis on how well crafted the characters are, they all fit well together and with the overall story of the book.
December 30, 2018
So, the first one was just stupid. Stupid enough that I guess the racism didn't immediately stand out amid the generally terrible dialogue. I'm also a completist who reads fast. I'll usually finish even terrible books just out of sheer stubbornness. But, this boom went far enough to warrant not only giving up on it, but warning others. The second one got so bad that I feel compelled to call it out. Harry Turtledove is a bigot. How he got a contract to write such disgusting racial stereotypes boggles my mind. Thank goodness I got both books from the library. I feel gross having even started the second book now, but at least I didn't contribute financially to Mr. Turtledove's bigotry. I definitely didn't finish it, and was offended enough to warn others.
March 10, 2017
Not as good as the first book in the series, but still an entertaining read about people coping after the center of the US is wiped out by the eruption of the Yellowstone volcano.
October 7, 2018
In the second book of the Supervolcano series, the titular volcano under Yellowstone National Park has erupted, and sent the United States into a catastrophic tailspin. All Fall Down details just how things crash and burn, from the millions killed outright, or die quickly after from lung disease, to the additional millions living in refugee camps, and the rest of the country learning to adapt to the new status quo, without enough food or resources for the country, a crashing economy, and re-defining what technology standards are the norm without reliable power in many areas. The drastic climate change from the millions of tons of ash in the atmosphere also change vast swathes of the country.
The story is mostly told through the eyes of a half dozen point of view characters, who while connected, have different enough lives to show the story across vastly different parts of the country, and how places from Los Angeles to NE Maine adapt. On top of the broader issues, Colin Ferguson, a police detective, still tries in vain to catch the serial killer who's eluded police for years, his daughter Vanessa deals with being a refuge, and struggles to find a way to return to LA, and his son Rob adapts to living in 19th century technology in rural Maine, having given up on touring with his bandmates across a country which is now largely impassible in places. Additional characters tell their own stories on how the economy and climate impact their lives.
Turtledove does an admirable job plotting out how a singular event can have a huge rippling cascade of effects across the country and world, while tying the story to the human tales of regular people coping with the chaos. That being said, this series does suffer from the fact that it's mostly about the day to day struggles of the characters, especially after the first book has the eruption itself. There's not a suitable climax to the book or ongoing story, but more of an advancing timeline, showing how things can go from bad to worse, and how it affects characters which are compelling and make you want to care about them.
The story is mostly told through the eyes of a half dozen point of view characters, who while connected, have different enough lives to show the story across vastly different parts of the country, and how places from Los Angeles to NE Maine adapt. On top of the broader issues, Colin Ferguson, a police detective, still tries in vain to catch the serial killer who's eluded police for years, his daughter Vanessa deals with being a refuge, and struggles to find a way to return to LA, and his son Rob adapts to living in 19th century technology in rural Maine, having given up on touring with his bandmates across a country which is now largely impassible in places. Additional characters tell their own stories on how the economy and climate impact their lives.
Turtledove does an admirable job plotting out how a singular event can have a huge rippling cascade of effects across the country and world, while tying the story to the human tales of regular people coping with the chaos. That being said, this series does suffer from the fact that it's mostly about the day to day struggles of the characters, especially after the first book has the eruption itself. There's not a suitable climax to the book or ongoing story, but more of an advancing timeline, showing how things can go from bad to worse, and how it affects characters which are compelling and make you want to care about them.
September 30, 2021
A big letdown after the first book. Maybe because we didn't have the excitement leading up to and the eruption of the super volcano. I do think Turtledove might have done better to have some characters scattered around the globe. I'd love to know how people are coping in Europe and Asia and the Middle East. Instead, we get the unlikable (aside from Colin and Kelly) Ferguson family scattered in the U.S. They're not even all that scattered. Everyone ends up in Southern California except Rob. About the only information we get regarding the effects of the super volcano is that everywhere is cold. We hear about it on every other page, in fact. The second installment of the Supervolcano series has diddly squat to do with the super volcano. The entire scenario could have happened without the cold and the volcano.
The writing feels like it is being phoned in. Harry Turtledove has never met a cliche he doesn't like. And the repetition is sleep-inducing. Each character replays the same scene over and over. The book could be 50 pages long instead of 450. Talking about beating a dead horse (thought Turtledove would like that cliche). Sentences are so sloppily strung together, I had to read some two or three times to try and figure out the meaning.
One other thing bothered me to no end. What woman in her right mind would rather suck off a creep she couldn't stand multiple times instead of asking her father for a loan so she can get out of a horrifying refugee camp? If Harry Turtledove thinks Vanessa or any other woman would make the choice Vanessa does, he does not know one thing about women.
The only character I really like is James Henry, but I'm sure Louise will find a way to screw him up. I guess I'll read the last book, but I've lowered my expectations considerably.
The writing feels like it is being phoned in. Harry Turtledove has never met a cliche he doesn't like. And the repetition is sleep-inducing. Each character replays the same scene over and over. The book could be 50 pages long instead of 450. Talking about beating a dead horse (thought Turtledove would like that cliche). Sentences are so sloppily strung together, I had to read some two or three times to try and figure out the meaning.
One other thing bothered me to no end. What woman in her right mind would rather suck off a creep she couldn't stand multiple times instead of asking her father for a loan so she can get out of a horrifying refugee camp? If Harry Turtledove thinks Vanessa or any other woman would make the choice Vanessa does, he does not know one thing about women.
The only character I really like is James Henry, but I'm sure Louise will find a way to screw him up. I guess I'll read the last book, but I've lowered my expectations considerably.
June 19, 2020
This is another one I really wanted to like. I suppose if I'd gone into it expecting it to be the drama that it is, I might not have been quite as disappointed. As in the first book, I had trouble caring about what happened to most of the characters, and I get the impression that it may be because Turtledove might have tried a little too hard to make them more like real people. That, and there wasn't a whole lot at stake from a storytelling point of view--in fact, the whole narrative felt flat. The first novel at least had the impending eruption supplying the ticking time bomb and motivating the characters. Still, if you want to get a feel for what life might be like in the aftermath of a supervolcano eruption, Turtledove paints a convincing picture of post-disaster America.
November 27, 2020
4.25 Less dramatic than the first part, the second part of the Supervolcano series is even better in my eyes. Society is trying to cope with an unprecedented disaster and failing to really adjust properly. About the only criticism I have is that I would have liked a little more variety of all white, hetero characters - a drawback of the all-American family as the main vehicle - and the female characters should have had a little more spotlight than getting pregnant or throwing themselves into relationships. Not the guys are much different though.
What I really liked was the resolution of the South Bay Strangler mystery. The twist could have done with one sentence less foreshadowing, but then we always like to feel smarter than the protagonists.
Starting the next one today.
What I really liked was the resolution of the South Bay Strangler mystery. The twist could have done with one sentence less foreshadowing, but then we always like to feel smarter than the protagonists.
Starting the next one today.
July 10, 2019
This continues the story of the Yellowstone caldera erupting and destroying most of middle America and the global climate. I am very interested to see where this story goes. However some of the characters are poor. Describing them as wooden is a compliment. Cardboard maybe?
With a "rock" band doing songs about Byzantium Emperors, a poet writing in Ancient Greek, and an aspiring author trying to cut it in the writing business ? Where did Harry Turtledove reach to find such characters... (Sarcasm) Seriously! I like it when the author drops a subtle wink from the pages, but this is dead set lazy, or he is getting so low on ideas he has to borrow from himself.
With a "rock" band doing songs about Byzantium Emperors, a poet writing in Ancient Greek, and an aspiring author trying to cut it in the writing business ? Where did Harry Turtledove reach to find such characters... (Sarcasm) Seriously! I like it when the author drops a subtle wink from the pages, but this is dead set lazy, or he is getting so low on ideas he has to borrow from himself.
May 18, 2018
Went directly into book two of the trilogy. Not stand alone at all, if you didn’t read the more interesting first book the second would stand as boring and not make sense at all. Although Turtledove repetitively tries to rehash basic plot lines, it falls somewhat flat. His attempts at romantic entanglements in this one as well as the next and conclusion tend towards the Virginial, as an unsullied teen might write about a sexual exploit. Nonetheless, this book was more about the inspector and a crime than the Volcano, which readers would be more interested in hearing about.
October 2, 2017
The sequel to his "Supervolcano: Eruption" in which the supervolcano underlying Yellowstone National Park has erupted for the first time in 800,000 years, continues the stories of Los Angeles area cop, Colin Ferguson, and his family members who are scattered across the country, his oldest son in New England. Their scattering allows Turtledove to show the effects of the eruption on the nation as a whole, as the country tries to pull itself together to cope.
January 8, 2018
The major complaint I have with this is the pacing, I understand why the author went with it but seriously at some points you're just grinding your way through like it is a job and not a leisure pursuit that is supposed to be fun. Only looking at a family means that the scope is a lot smaller than I considered it to be when I started book one. I think if you aren't a fan of unsympathetic characters this series is not for you.
June 8, 2018
Second in the Supervolcano series. Still feels sort of like the novelization of a movie or TV special/series.
But still, a good read. And there is a surprise ending to part 2 that I sure didn't see coming. In part because I don't think there were really a lot of clues for the reader to pick up on. But that's okay.
The characters mostly feel like real-life, but also mostly with a bit of over-done drama or something. And again, that's okay, too.
But still, a good read. And there is a surprise ending to part 2 that I sure didn't see coming. In part because I don't think there were really a lot of clues for the reader to pick up on. But that's okay.
The characters mostly feel like real-life, but also mostly with a bit of over-done drama or something. And again, that's okay, too.
June 26, 2020
No more eruptions in this one. Just Colin Ferguson, and his family and friends trying to get on with their lives or starting new lives, after the fact. Just as good as the first one. Maybe better in some ways. And a secondary plot, totally unrelated to the supervolcano takes a completely unexpected, and shocking turn by the end. The third book is going to have a tough act to follow. Hope it's not a let-down.
August 1, 2023
The continuing sexcapades of a family. Oh, also, a handful of references to the supervolcano, which are mostly observations that places where most of characters do NOT live have it kind of hard.
Additionally, lots of repetition. LOTS.
I honestly thought from what other people have said that Turtledove was a good author, but dang. Is this series just a lone piece of crap in an otherwise great career?
Additionally, lots of repetition. LOTS.
I honestly thought from what other people have said that Turtledove was a good author, but dang. Is this series just a lone piece of crap in an otherwise great career?
Read
October 21, 2020If this is your first Harry Turtledove book, you might consider it a 4 or 5 star book. However, I have read over 20 of his books; the characters in this book, their thoughts, and their dialog, seem to be retreads of characters from other books. If I read the phrase “that didn’t mean it was wrong” one more time I might puke. I have been a huge Turtledove fan in the past, but I think I’m done.
June 8, 2021
This volume of the trilogy, in a way, had more substance than the first one. Even though the story doesn't have much to do with the supervolcano and more about the lasting effects of it.....all well in good...but I read this trilogy as a disaster story not a story of trying of raising adult kids and having babies with second spouses. Git to the volcano!!!!!
April 28, 2022
NOT as Good as Book #1
Book #1 had The Volcano; Book #2 just has its aftermath … daily life, such as it is, from one person’s viewpoint to another. Mostly boring, and near zero action. Even Book #2’s “surprise” ending really wasn’t — although The Author tried to do some fancy, confusing writing to throw off The Reader — the surprise was pretty obviously coming.
Book #1 had The Volcano; Book #2 just has its aftermath … daily life, such as it is, from one person’s viewpoint to another. Mostly boring, and near zero action. Even Book #2’s “surprise” ending really wasn’t — although The Author tried to do some fancy, confusing writing to throw off The Reader — the surprise was pretty obviously coming.
June 5, 2018
Another fun read, picking up where the first book left off. Interesting side story about a serial killer is mixed in with the more immediate story about the difficulties surrounding life after a supervolcano eruption in the center of the country.
September 2, 2019
This is not a fast based, we in danger because a super volcano changed the landscape type of book. It is a slow book looking at the tradgedy from normal average American family. There is humour and the dialogue is well written. I listened to this while renovating and it made the time fly bye.
February 6, 2017
People are great and people suck. The background might be a supervolcano eruption but the foreground is human motivation and what people will do to survive.
May 17, 2017
Murder mystery in a post disaster world.
July 26, 2017
Review to come on my blog 7-28-17: www.suzannejohnsonauthor.com.
December 18, 2017
Good Book. Looking forward to the 3rd one.
May 10, 2018
Really began to get bogged down in the story. Continuous repetition of events that anyone reading the first book and the intro to this one know. Expand the storyline.
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