Review: Resonance

Resonance by A.J. Scudiere

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Please note: I read this book in August 2011 after winning a copy via LibraryThing in exchange for an honest review. I'm just adding some formatting.

Truth Behind the Tale: According to geological records, the Earth’s magnetic pole switches about every 60 million years. The last such swap was about 65 million years ago – about the same time as the last massive dinosaur die-out. The Earth is 5 million years overdue …

My Synopsis: The story revolves around a group of scientists and doctors – Jordan and Jillian are physicians with the CDCP who work under Dr. Landerly; David is a geologist; and Becky is a biologist. Each of them start noticing things around the same time – Jordan and Jillian notice that people are slipping into comas after being hit by what appears to be some sort of stomach flu and not waking up; David finds evidence of a magnetic reversal being responsible for the die-out of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago, and further evidence hinting that the same thing has happened about every 60 million years; and Becky finds a small area in the Tennessee backwoods with a large number of mutated frogs. There doesn’t seem to be any connection, until the four coincidentally meet up and pool their resources – what they discover is terrifying. The world is due for another magnetic reversal, and it appears to be starting.

My Thoughts: Some reviewers have mentioned that they found the beginning slow and the ending abrupt. I found the beginning to be fascinating as each group makes their discoveries and tries to figure out what is happening. The middle I found incredibly confusing – there is some really weird stuff going on and nobody seems to understand what is happening. But it is all explained, so don’t let the weirdness scare you off – the idea Scudiere comes up with is both fascinating and really scary, but at the same time incredibly nifty! The ending was a bit abrupt – there is no real discussion about the overall effects of the magnetic reversal upon technology, for instance. It seems to me that the magnetic upheaval would have wreaked havoc upon computer systems and networks, as well as the guidance systems and so forth, but this isn’t mentioned and once the actual snap occurs, everything is business as usual. Nonetheless, I found it a very enjoyable read and would recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good bio-medical sci-fi thriller. Check it out!



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