An incoming large comet called UD3 is the existential threat we never wanted to see. When Ben Schwartz, manager of NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies, learns the comet has been spotted approaching from the direction of the sun, he knows Earth won’t have long to prepare. THE EFFORT is the codename given to the massive collaboration to destroy or deflect the missile. If the world’s scientists fail, the impact will destroy humanity and most life on the planet.
Ben previously modeled many simulations of comet strikes. They include what-ifs, such as what if China or Russia thinks the comet will strike a rival and refuses to lend aid. With his partner Amy Kowalski, who is a talent recruiter, he is bundled off to Guiana in South America, near the equator. Here the Ariane rocket can be launched. The first thing that struck me, is that this novel is obviously written before / set in a time before the SpaceX Dragon was available, as the only other rocket is the Russian Soyuz, and the Russians are keeping a lid on their plans. Everyone else is represented in THE EFFORT, almost. Love Mwangi is a UN interpreter who communicates in many languages, though it’s not mentioned that English is the universal language of science. Zhen Liu is an engineer from China who is brave enough to break a prohibition on joining the Effort.
Before the news is broken, a Coast Guard polar icebreaker heads out to survey the diminishing Arctic wildlife. Jack Campbell is a photojournalist on board. He’s horrified that sea birds and eagles are in mass die-offs. Maya Gutiérrez is a marine biologist trying to understand why. Then the comet arrives and their lives change drastically.
THE EFFORT reminds me a lot of The Martian and Project Hail Mary, but I have to say, it’s greatly more depressing. Life in cities swiftly breaks down. People hoard, then loot, then starve. The threat of the comet seems to be as great as the comet itself when it comes to destroying humanity and its achievements. Don’t read this for a feel-good story – it’s not – but for a calculated look at what humanity could do to avert such a threat, and what we might have to sacrifice to carry out such plans. I think THE EFFORT is a nondescript title, and I notice translations of this book call it Comet instead – but the author Claire Holroyde barely gives us a look at the comet, the teamwork being the focus. Some people followed seem to be padding – when we go back to someone’s memories of previous years, it slows the action and seems to be serving other purposes. Sci-Fi fans will want to add this bleak, but exciting, comet thriller to their shelves.
For readers of Station Eleven and Good Morning, Midnight comes an electric, heart-pounding novel of love and sacrifice that follows people around the world as they unite to prevent a global catastrophe.
When dark comet UD3 was spotted near Jupiter's orbit, its existence was largely ignored. But to individuals who knew better -- scientists like Benjamin Schwartz, manager of NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies -- the threat this eight-kilometer comet posed to the survival of the human race was unthinkable. The 150-million-year reign of the dinosaurs ended when an asteroid impact generated more than a billion times the energy of an atomic bomb. What would happen to Earth's seven billion inhabitants if a similar event were allowed to occur?
Ben and his indomitable girlfriend Amy Kowalski fly to South America to assemble an international counteraction team, whose notable recruits include Love Mwangi, a UN interpreter and nomad scholar, and Zhen Liu, an extraordinary engineer from China's national space agency. At the same time, on board a polar icebreaker life continues under the looming shadow of comet UD3. Jack Campbell, a photographer for National Geographic, works to capture the beauty of the Arctic before it is gone forever. Gustavo Wayãpi, a Nobel Laureate poet from Brazil, struggles to accept the recent murder of his beloved twin brother. And Maya Gutiérrez, an impassioned marine biologist is -- quite unexpectedly -- falling in love for the first time.
Together, these men and women must fight to survive in an unknown future with no rules and nothing to be taken for granted. They have two choices: neutralize the greatest threat the world has ever seen (preferably before mass hysteria hits or world leaders declare World War III) or come to terms with the annihilation of humanity itself. Their mission is codenamed The Effort.
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