glitch25

I recently finished a copy of The Flood by Stephen Baxter. It is a chronicle of four characters, and people surrounding them over the course of 42 years as the earth slowly is enveloped in the sea. Not your typical global warming/sea levels rise sort of book. Stephen took a unique approach backed in part by some interesting factual science.

Fictional science aside, you really get into the lives of the characters and the understanding of where things go when what is our current world is rather quickly snuffed, and the remaining survivors struggle to find a way to stay alive and persist. Everything from millionaires building their fortresses to survivalists doing their part to keep themselves and theirs alive. And of course the mass chaos and devastation that ensues for those that get caught in the middle.

Being a lover of apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, I did enjoy the story, though there are parts that seem slow. Parts of the book are written as journal entries to denote the passage of time, and there were definitely parts where I remember thinking, "Ok.. sea level rose another foot... what happens next? Can we get to the part where something major happens?" But really, I suppose if this is to have any basis in reality, this is how it could happen. It may not happen exceptionally quickly, and even the book nods to this idea by describing children born during the 42 years who grow up not understanding that there was once a planet with mountains and plains and trees and plants and animals. Not a blue marble where life is struggled out on rafts and boats and where deep beneath the sea lies a tomb where both riches and relics reside.

Unlike some books where the protagonist has "planned ahead" and gets by a little easier because of it, this book slams home the idea that almost no one has nor will plan that far ahead. And even those few that do will not have such an easy time of it.

It is a story of great suffering and loss, and also wonder at what would possibly come next.

Speaking of next, Stephen wrote a sequel called The Ark which I guess I'll have to read to see how this tale of Noah ends.

Overall, not bad. :-)

So with the freeze/sleet/snow thing that happened last week, I finally got a chance to break out the new toys.

Back when we had the bigger snow, I finally caved and bought both C and I a set of Kahtoolah Microspikes. They are basically a set of chains and spikes for your shoes that you slip on, and they increase your traction significantly.



They are not the cheapest things in the world, but they are built to last, and I'm happy to say that testing them out on the black ice in the parking lot at home proved successful. My footing was rock solid even when I was deliberately trying to slip.

I've heard mixed reviews about the YakTrax and the biggest complaint is that they don't seem to last very long. These, on the other hand, get great reviews, should last a long time, and have thus far been worth every penny.