UCLA graduate student Christina Gonzalez wanted to use biotechnology to free America from its dependence on Middle Eastern oil. Instead, an act of eco-terrorism unleashes her genetically-modified bacteria into the fuel supply of Los Angeles, making petroleum useless. With the city paralyzed and slipping toward anarchy, Christina must find a way to rein in the microscopic monster she created. But not everyone wants to cure the petroplague—and some will do whatever it takes to spread it. From the La Brea Tar Pits to university laboratories to the wilds of the Angeles National Forest, Christina and her cousin River struggle against enemies seen and unseen to stop the infection before it’s too late.
An environmental disaster leads to global chaos in this science fiction thriller by the authors of Assemblers of Infinity. It is the largest oil spill in history: a supertanker crashes into the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco Bay. Desperate to avert environmental damage (as well as a PR disaster), the multinational oil company releases an untested designer oil-eating microbe to break up the spill. What the company didn’t realize is that their microbe propagates through the air…and it mutates to consumer anything made of polycarbons: oil, gasoline, synthetic fabrics, plastics of all kinds. And when every piece of plastic begins to dissolve, it’s too late . . . Praise for Ill Wind “A high-action, best-seller-caliber disaster novel grounded in unsettlingly accurate science. . . . Using the standard disaster novel format of multiple characters and plot lines, Beason and Anderson maintain a suspenseful, breakneck pace that carries us to a thrilling finish.” —Booklist “A big, near-future disaster novel straddling the border between science fiction and technothriller, likely to appeal to fans of both.” —Kirkus Reviews “A real winner . . . [the authors’] grasp of the science, the technology, and the political scene is unique.” —Dr. D. Allan Bromley, former assistant to the president for science and technology
This book analyses how narrative fictions can be used by faculty and staff in the teaching of professionals in higher education. As professional life becomes ever more demanding, this book draws together the work of researchers and practitioners who have explored the tremendous impact that narrative fictions – novels, short stories, drama and poetry – can have on development. The editors and contributors posit that fiction can help professionals imagine new ways of being, reinvent their roles and tackle problems without a road map. Using fiction can also provide a safe place for the exploration of ethics and decision making, as well as furnishing tools for the development of empathy and engagement by offering vicarious experiences of drastically different lives and situations. A medium that by its very nature contains a multiplicity of interpretations, using fiction in professional education can enhance the education of professionals working in a range of disciplines, including health, education, social care, law and science.
The concept of 'peak oil' - the moment when global oil production peaks and a train of economic, social and political catastrophes accompany its subsequent decline - has captured the imagination of a large number of Americans and created a quiet, yet intense underground movement. This book delves deep inside the world of 'peakists', showing how their hopes and fears about the postcarbon future led them to prepare for the social breakdown they foresee. By exploring their worldview, and the unexpected way that these fears transformed many members of this left-leaning group into survivalists, it builds a larger analysis of the rise of libertarianism, the role of oil in modern life, the political impact of digital technologies, racial and gender dynamics of post-apocalyptic fantasies and the social organisation of environmental denial.
Rabies kills. Can it also cure? Dr. Tessa Price knows what it's like to lose a child to a genetic disease. To spare another mother this pain, she invents a radical new gene therapy that might save the life of seven-year-old Gunnar Sigrunsson. Unable to get regulatory approval to treat Gunnar in the US, she takes her clinical trial to the Palacio Centro Medico, a resort-like hospital on a Mexican peninsula where rich medical tourists get experimental treatments that aren't available anywhere else. When the hospital is taken over by a brutal drug cartel, Tessa hides with a remarkable trio of Palacio clients-rich Texan Lyle Simmons, his much-younger Brazilian girlfriend, and his protection dog, a German shepherd named Dixie, only to learn that the gangsters aren't the only deadly threat they face. A rabies-like infection that began in the Palacio's research chimpanzees has spread to humans. Tessa investigates and finds a shocking connection to her gene therapy experiment. In the wake of this discovery, Tessa must weigh the value of one human life against another-including her own. "A smart, tightly written, scary science thriller." --Kirkus Reviews "Rogers artfully blends science and suspense in this top-notch thriller. Fans of Michael Palmer and Robin Cook novels will love this book." - Brian Andrews, author of The Calypso Directive "Revertant has everything I love about science thrillers: an exotic setting, a brilliant protagonist, a terrifying villain, and a story that takes readers on a wild ride across the frontiers of science. It's a fun, frightening and memorable novel." --Mark Alpert, author of Extinction
What if bacteria turned all the gasoline in Los Angeles into vinegar? Carmageddon doesn't begin to describe it. PETROPLAGUE does. Christina Gonzalez expected her research to change the world. But not like this. The UCLA graduate student wanted to use biotechnology to free America from its dependence on Middle Eastern oil. Instead, an act of eco-terrorism unleashes her genetically-modified bacteria into the fuel supply of Los Angeles, turning gasoline into vinegar. With the city paralyzed and slipping toward anarchy, Christina must find a way to rein in the microscopic monster she created. But not everyone wants to cure the petroplague-and some will do whatever it takes to spread it. From the La Brea Tar Pits to university laboratories to the wilds of the Angeles National Forest, Christina and her cousin River struggle against enemies seen and unseen to stop the infection before it's too late. ______ Amy Rogers is the crisp, haunting new voice of science thrillers. If you think global warming is scary, wait till you read PETROPLAGUE. Norb Vonnegut, author of The Gods of Greenwich PETROPLAGUE is a terrific thriller debut and Amy Rogers really knows her science. From a killer premise--scientists create a bacterium that stops the industrial world in its tracks--PETROPLAGUE ratchets up the tension and danger with every chapter. The tense, tight plot and interesting characters kept me reading late into the night...Amy Rogers is one to watch--I can't wait for her next book. Paul McEuen, author of international bestselling science thriller SPIRAL PETROPLAGUE has earned a spot in the top five on my best of 2011 list. Amy uses her extensive science background and research connections to create an intense thriller that balances technology with well-defined, likeable, and believable characters. ThrillersRockTwitter book review Compellingly written, technically literate...an author who knows her way around hydrocarbons--from the lightest methane to the heaviest La Brea tar sands--and who also treats her readers to freshly-drawn characters... L. A. Starks, amazon reviewer and author of 13 Days: The Pythagoras Conspiracy
One man holds the key to the most revolutionary and powerful technology since the invention of the atom bomb. The press wants to interview Factor Man. The Chinese government wants to kill him. And the FBI wants to protect him. But first, they need to find him. William Burkett is a statistics-savvy journalist, but he isn't qualified to judge the extraordinary claims in an anonymous email he receives from "Factor Man." Is FM a crackpot, or has he discovered what computer scientists call "God's algorithm?" As FM solves increasingly complex math problems in a public countdown to the day his identity will be revealed, the momentous consequences of his apparent invention draw the attention of a Chinese assassin. Will Factor Man survive until his coming-out party, or will his technology die with him? Advance praise for Factor Man "Factor Man gives us a hero for our times: a tech genius with common sense and a commitment to social responsibility. An original, smart thriller that stretches your imagination and keeps you engaged to the end."--AMY ROGERS, author of Petroplague "Ben Stiller should play me in the movie!"--ROBERT HASDAY, Partner, Duane Morris LLP "A fantastic job of taking us on a ride featuring engaging characters, exciting action and deep-thinking heroes and villains of a type all too rare in the genre. I greatly enjoyed this book." --BART MASSEY, Associate Professor of Computer Science, Portland State University "A real page-turner, thanks to the characters, plot twists and humor. Even though I'm nicer than the guy in the book, I still loved it." --BRIAN FINN, ex-president of Credit Suisse "A classy and clever thriller best read with your phone off and your brain on."--MARK BLACKABY, author of You'll Never Be Here Again
A harrowing thriller based on real-life discoveries in cell theory and the battle against aging and death by the bestselling author of Darwin’s Radio and War Dogs Scientist Hal Cousins is on the brink of success in his quest to determine the biological underpinnings of immortality. Funded by angel investors, the brilliant researcher makes a trip by submersible to the bottom of the sea, searching for primitive one-celled organisms that may be related to the earliest life forms on Earth. But the trip turns into a nightmare when Cousins’s pilot goes berserk and turns on him. The homicidal attack is only the first in a series of events that sends the biochemist on the run, pursued by faceless enemies who want his studies terminated and Cousins dead. Cousins must face the realization that his research has brought him into contact with a vast conspiracy. Across the country, scientists are being murdered to cover up the fact that someone has discovered how to control minds through bacterial manipulation—and that the trigger bacteria now infects much of the world’s population. Discredited and not knowing whom to trust, Cousins must gamble everything with Earth’s very survival at stake. Award-winning author Greg Bear creates a tense, stunningly plausible thriller all too firmly rooted in scientific fact.
Forget about Bernie Madoff or Gordon Gekko—there's a new villain on Wall Street... Norb Vonnegut didn't realize how close he skirted to non-fiction when he was writing his spectacular debut Top Producer. Penned before tumultuous revelations and scandals rocked the financial world in late 2008, Vonnegut's novel depicts, with an insider's solid knowledge, the tricks that the industry's real top producers pull in their frenzied pursuit of billions. Now Vonnegut sets his electrifying follow-up in the high-rolling world of hedge funds, lending his seasoned perspective to a riveting thriller. Jimmy Cusack is the tough kid from a blue-collar neighborhood who made good on Wall Street. Well, almost. After a sterling start to his career, things have soured. His hedge fund has collapsed. The bank is foreclosing on his upscale condominium. And his wife is two months pregnant. That's the good news. When Cusack takes a "must-have" job with Leeser Capital, a Greenwich fund impervious to the capital market woes, his real troubles begin. Vonnegut's unique insider's perspective and his intuitive, darkly humorous writing are once again on full display in this fast-talking suspense thriller. A high-stakes poker game of a book, The Gods of Greenwich is a timely and gripping read that will keep you glued to the edge of your seat until the last card is played.
