The Swarm

TV version was easier to understand although vastly different from book. Too much unnecessary scientific detail for a fiction novel. Most readers want to get directly to the thriller parts of a novel, rather than read about quasi-science. Also resented the implication that US was primarily responsible for the situation, as any climate issues are world-wide (and mostly third world.)

It started when the whales, tourist attraction along the Canadian Pacific Coast, went missing. Leon Anawak, a scientist specializing in whale behaviour, is worried, and not only for the whale watchers on Vancouver Island. When the whales eventually arrive, their behaviour is nothing like the ordinary: they assault boats and people with inexplicable viciousness. More oceanic disasters come to light in countries across the globe: fishermen and boats disappear in Peru; masses of toxic jellyfish frighten people off Pacific beaches; lobsters explode, releasing an unknown substance that eventually seeps into a city's water supply. Off the Norwegian coast, ice worms eat into gas hydrates with such ferocity that dangerous methane levels are released into the atmosphere, destabilizing the coastal shelf. These and other events, while seemingly unrelated, have scientists, business and politicians increasingly worried. Their anxiety compounds when their deep-sea monitors show large areas of bioluminescent slime materializing suddenly from the deep, like blue clouds, flashing lights and changing shapes. Divers compare them to huge translucent jellyfish, then to shoals of microbes, attaching themselves to ships, fish and crustaceans, attacking everything in their path. Oceanographers and other experts from the affected coastlines, seeking their colleagues' advice, focus on analysing causes and connections... Are these shoals connected to the disasters? How can it be that usually harmless ocean inhabitants turn dangerous and violent? Frightening scenarios emerge that indicate major ecosystem shifts, with tsunamis occurring in the Atlantic and the Gulf stream slowing down dramatically. Norwegian marine biologist, Sigur Johanson, has a theory about an unknown intelligence deep in the ocean that might coordinate the attacks. When and how can he and his colleagues stop the threat to human life, if at all? For most of us understanding of the oceans is superficial. Our knowledge of what lies below the scuba-diving depth is usually sketchy. The Swarm will change that for the interested reader. Many of the phenomena described in the book are realistic and the resulting fictional speculations based on extrapolation of solid science. For example, the ice worms are real, and while they do munch away at methane hydrates, they are harmless and only known in the Gulf of Mexico. The "ocean conveyer belt" ensuring the exchange of cold and warm water across the oceans is well discussed in today's media. The danger signs of it collapsing are recognized by marine and climate scientists alike. Our knowledge of microbes and bacteria and their ability to change animal behaviour is growing and their conduct a subject of much serious investigation, whether on land or in the ocean's depths. The majority of the dozen or so protagonists are realistically developed as concerned and hard working scientists. The author regularly takes time out from the action, providing the read

I don't think there is any other way of saying this... The Swarm, by Frank Schatzing, is for the intelligent sci-fi/adventure/mystery novel reader. The less intelligent will quickly become bored with the detailed explanations of marine biology, physics, AI, SETI, and marine exploration techniques. The rest of you will find it fascinating how Schatzing weaves these fields together in one heck of a yarn. The less disciplined and easily entertained will be bored with the pace. The rest of you will wonder how you can still be at the 500 page mark and anticipating even more of a build-up in the story. The lazy will not read it. The rest of you, enjoy! The action, the dialogue,... the science! How will Schatzing's world be different in another 10, 50, or 100 years? How many copycat novels will Schatzing's ideas spawn? I understand a movie is in the works. Please, please, put Frank Schratzing on the creative production team!

Yeah, guess what, I just reread it. Actually, I gave my copy away and had my daughter send her English copy over to me for a re-read. I was absolutely floored by this book, which is so good I read all eight hundred and something pages both times in four days. There is just so much interesting information in here that it can be read over and over. It's kind of like watching the best bits of the National Geographic channel with no commercials. It is absolutely mesmerizing. What its about. I don't think any other reviewer actually mentioned this. What the book is about is a superior intelligence existing since time immemorial on earth...a sort of hive mind consisting of microbes and inhabiting the oceans and seas. It is everywhere, knows everything and forgets nothing. And humans have become a plague polluting its environment. And it decides to fight back and get rid of this thing. So the book is about the discovery of this entity and(well, of course, politics rears its ugly head) how to contact it and what to do about all the damage it is causing to humans. There is so much interesting information in this book that it becomes an obsessive read. As well, the main characters are very well developed, not just card board figures functioning in the midst of a lot of scientific jargon. Yes, this is an eco-thriller, I guess, but so packed with information that I, at least, couldn't put it down through two readings. And, it asks quite a few philosophical questions about humans and their place on this planet and in the universe. I recommend this book absolutely. As a reader who reads three or four books a week, running into something like this is stupendous. Books like this, filled with such a wealth of information and so many intense ideas are very rare indeed.

This is the best beach book to come along in a while; if you dare to read it on the beach. It concerns deep ocean threats, but is much more than a common eco-disaster thriller. There are elements of horror, science fiction and thrillers/political intrigue, all mixed together in a briny stew. I love environmental disaster books, and The Swarm is one of the best. The translation is, for the most part, excellent, and the "Britishisms" are easy to understand. Unfortunately, some typos exist (not very many for an 880 p. novel), in addition to some "unusual phrasings" that show mistranslations. For example, remember the scene in Die Hard 3 when the guy gives himself away by saying "it's raining dogs and cats"? That sort of thing occurs 3-4 times, and should have been caught by the American proofers. There is also some "eco-propaganda", including one 3 p. "insert" that should have been omitted. But this is not the overwhelming kind, and the story flows, at breakneck pace, with only a couple of small bumps. All-in-all, this was one pleasurable read, and my only regret is that there aren't another 15-20 novels by Schatzing. Maybe this will open the door to translating some of the new German horror writers (hint hint). Pegleg

Frank Schaetzing's "Der Schwarm" has been so immensely popular in Europe because it combines technological (science) fiction with characters who think (and don't constantly just act) and thought provoking passages between the action pages. If you forgive me this comparison, this novel is not for the fast food pizza consumer, but a delicate feast that requires deliberate tasting and chewing. I was disappointed, yet not suprised by some reviews that complain about volume, style and scarcity of heavy action. Sorry my friends, this ain't AVP or StarWars. I recommend this novel only for the ones amoung you who still like to use the brain they have. You'll love it.