Meltdown. This item is unavailable.Meltdown

An erupting volcano spouts ash into the stratosphere which causes disastrous climatic changes. Mark Payton, a climatologist, is convinced that the only way to save the earth is to use nuclear force to disperse the cloud. His love-life mirrors the tumultuous environmental situation.

In the very near future a volcano erupts under the ocean near Iceland, creating an island, Misreal. The English freighter Skyhawk sails by, and suddenly there is another eruption. The Skyhawk rescues scientists who had been observing the phenomenon, among them expert Mark Payton. The first officer, Geoffrey Dunning, has eyes for passenger Liz Bowman. After surviving a terrifying tidal wave, the freighter reaches land. Geoffrey and Liz fall in love; Payton falls in love with Geoffrey's sister Anne; and the ash and smoke from the volcano cause a heavy cloud to hang over England, Europe, and the eastern United States. When the sun does come out, the weather in the northern hemisphere goes berserk--ice melts at the North Pole, and winds, floods, and so forth wreak havoc. Most of the characters survive, but the environmental outlook is bleak. The concept here is fascinating, the characters and dialog less so. Some of the passages and dialog are so veddy English that readers may be turned off. Anglophile disaster lovers will approve.
- Robert H. Donahugh, formerly with Youngstown & Mahoning Cty. P.L., Ohio
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.