Phytosphere

Most avid sci-fi fans have read hundreds of books in which somehow, the world ends (or has ended) and the survivors are left to struggle through, or recover from, the apocalypse. Phytosphere is a refreshing and unique novel which takes this concept in a different direction. You still have the tumbled emotions of people in this time of crisis, the looters, the hoarding of supplies, the fighting for food in the streets, and so on - but Phytosphere is not only a new 'kind' of threat, the novel itself also gives you two different perspectives, from two scientists, one who is on Earth, inside the sphere, and one who is outside it. While it has a solid science fiction theme and story, Mackay also writes very believable characters with very believable emotions and puts them into unexpected situations. This is a book that I honestly could not put down.

Angry as they failed to gain special status including expediting of immigration to earth, the Tarsalans decide honey does not work; they turn to vinegar to force the recalcitrant earthlings to agree to their terms. They do this by constructing a phytosphere curtain around the planet that keeps sunlight from reaching earth. On the Moon, alcoholic scientist Gerry Thorndike feverishly works on a means to eliminate the phytosphere that is destroying the planet and subsequently his family as his wife Glenda, struggles to put food on the table and protect their children from marauders willing to kill for a meal on a world in which the lack of sunlight is turning Earth into a wasteland. This is a refreshing alien invasion tale that also provides a warning on a curtain (pollution) blocking the sun. The story line rotates between two fault lines that are quite different in design. On the one hand, the fascinating debates between the two brothers is quite interesting as the science seems pertinent, but in fairness also takes away from the dying earth doomsday countdown as time has run out. The other segue focuses on Glenda's survival track as she battles with odious officials demanding handouts or else, now nasty neighbors turned into deadly enemies and the foreboding Tarsalans. PHYTOSPHERE is an innovative well written apocalyptic science fiction thriller. Harriet Klausner