If you are willing to wade through a lot of scientific terms for bacteria and plankton, you'll should enjoy this ecological tale of disaster by way of Jaws. The only major problem I had with the book was the sheer number of jaw-droppinly stupid maneuvers made by various characters, major and background, in the book. After the third one I wasn't sure if I was reading this book or 'How Not To Contain A Dangerous Plankton'.
Like in Jaws, something weird is killing people along a coast--in this case, the Pacific Northwest. Like in Godzilla, something we've done to the environment has caused simple creatures--in this case, tiny marine protozoa--to go crazy and mutate into a new killer entity. The Titanic touch comes when billions of these nasty creatures gather together to form a huge floating blob the size of an iceberg, which gives off a noxious gas that not only dissolves human tissue but also stops boat and plane engines dead.
A life-threatening plankton bloom (a fast-growing colony of microorganisms that eats every living thing in its path) is gathering strength off the coast of Washington State. Meanwhile, marine microbiologist Brock Garner and his ex-wife, Carol, who are investigating the mysterious death of Carol's brother, slowly realize that Mark is not the only fatality and that whatever is causing mass destruction among the marine population is a serious threat to all life in the area. Mobilizing what resources they can, the Garners and a small group of like-minded individuals set out to stop the colony from moving into Puget Sound. Biologist and oceanographer Powlik brings a great deal of real-life knowledge to this fantastical story of microorganisms running rampant. The possibility that such an event could actually happen helps make this a suspenseful and gripping tale. A good summer read; suitable for most fiction collections.
LIBRARY JOURNAL REVIEW
