Richter Ten by Rob Leininger
Posted: 24 Jan 2016, 13:56
Richter Ten, another of Rob Leininger's foray into a natural disaster novel, scores a ten with me.
Though the template is identical to Sunspot, another of his books involving a catastrophic event, his pace, style, dialogue, scene development and robust characterization completely immerse the reader in the story. This book elicits comparison to the plotlines of Cussler and the detailed research of Crichton with one exception. Rather than a wealthy globe trotting adventurer, the protaganist in Richter Ten is Steve Bell, a middle aged, divorced, geophysicist pursuing his master's degree who along with his teenaged daughter, Lissa, is surveying and studying several fumaroles in a remote section of Oregon.
His research has indicated a potential for a cataclysmic event that could prevent the extraction of the valuable mineral scandium from land owned by a local and powerful businessman named Drew Gannon. Faced with losing a potential $20 million windfall Gannon a manipulative megalomaniac arranges to have his half-niece Kate, a retired Victoria Secret model, spy on his perceived nemesis. Ultimately, things don't quite go as Gannon planned so he is forced to pursue a far more devious course that culminates in an explosive and exciting conclusion as the environment begins to collapse around them.
In spite of the book's 395 page length, the riveting plot and the character dynamics made it an extremely easy and entertaining read and one I believe fans of this genre would thoroughly enjoy
Though the template is identical to Sunspot, another of his books involving a catastrophic event, his pace, style, dialogue, scene development and robust characterization completely immerse the reader in the story. This book elicits comparison to the plotlines of Cussler and the detailed research of Crichton with one exception. Rather than a wealthy globe trotting adventurer, the protaganist in Richter Ten is Steve Bell, a middle aged, divorced, geophysicist pursuing his master's degree who along with his teenaged daughter, Lissa, is surveying and studying several fumaroles in a remote section of Oregon.
His research has indicated a potential for a cataclysmic event that could prevent the extraction of the valuable mineral scandium from land owned by a local and powerful businessman named Drew Gannon. Faced with losing a potential $20 million windfall Gannon a manipulative megalomaniac arranges to have his half-niece Kate, a retired Victoria Secret model, spy on his perceived nemesis. Ultimately, things don't quite go as Gannon planned so he is forced to pursue a far more devious course that culminates in an explosive and exciting conclusion as the environment begins to collapse around them.
In spite of the book's 395 page length, the riveting plot and the character dynamics made it an extremely easy and entertaining read and one I believe fans of this genre would thoroughly enjoy
