It is the near future and signs of an impending global disaster are multiplying. Earthquakes, floods and volcanic eruptions sweep the earth. As the storms and tempests rage, a series of ominous events signal the emergence of a new and terrifying force. While scuba-diving on the Great Barrier Reef a diver watches fascinated as a tiny light floats past him towards the surface. Moments later he is torn to pieces as the reef erupts with colossal power. On the banks of the Ganges, a young boy pauses from his back-breaking labours, transfixed by the play of a mysterious light amidst the monsoon rains, before a towering geyser of boiling water bursts from beneath the streets, scalding him to death. In the Chinese city of Kashi travellers bring back reports of a strange light seen shining above the endless dunes of the Taklimakan Desert. And as the city's inhabitants watch for its return, the desert rises up to engulf them in a tidal wave of sand. All have seen a portent. A sign of unimaginable powers about to be unleashed. A sign that something incredible is about to begin...From Publishers WeeklyFast on the trail of Twister is this drawn-out apocalyptic novel replete with meteorological mayhem. Shimmering lights precede a slew of natural disasters and plunge British climatologist James Rivers into a cliched battle between good and evil. A contrived twist of events brings Rivers to Hazelrod, a deteriorated Georgian estate nestled in the English countryside. There, Rivers meets adopted Romanian twin children who possess not only phenomenal healing powers but also answers to why the planet is destroying itself. Herbert spreads his story to the remotest corners of the earth, bringing in characters of many countries (and dialects?which can make for tough reading) whose sole purpose is to observe the shimmering phenomena mentioned above and then die in some disaster or another. The only significant characters beyond Rivers and his Hazelrod companions are a Scottish Highlands hermit and the grotesque high priestess of a New Orleans earth cult. Fortunately, both characters also hold evidence crucial to the novel's outcome. Still, Herbert (The Ghosts of Sleath), has a brilliant descriptive sensibility and uses it to create unforgettable disaster scenes. His obvious knowledge of meteorology also lends credence to an otherwise far-fetched premise. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Library JournalThe world is undergoing an epidemic of earthquakes, wind storms, and other catastrophes, and bright lights have been sighted prior to each new calamity. What does it all mean? Is the world coming to an end? Weather researcher James Rivers isn't sure, but in the course of his investigations he discovers two children who can help save the world. Despite all the terrifying weather, the plot builds slowly. Veteran horror hack Herbert (Ghosts of Sleath, Harper Prism, 1995) expertly sketches characters he is about to kill off, and though these vignettes are compellingly written, they compete with the plot and sometimes confuse the reader. For Herbert's fans and large fiction collections.?Robert C. Moore, DuPont Merck Pharmaceuticals Co., Information Svces.,N. Billerica, Mass. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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