FSHOD - Fearlessly Seeking Honest Open Disclosure

The Sunstorm Effect

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Sunstorm by Arthur C. Clarke & Stephen Baxter:

The following is book review I wrote for Goro Adachi's STRUG earlier this year. This was written in the timeframe when there had been, in this time of the solar minimum, a great deal of remarkable solar activity.

I post this here on FSHOD because there have been some discussions going on with regards to the two author's featured here...Arthur C. Clarke & Stephen Baxter.

So, I hope this post makes sense and interests you in the book:

Goro, you recently mentioned the sci-fi novel Sunstorm, a collaboration by authors Arthur C. Clarke and Stephen Baxter. I recently read this book and enjoyed it, especially considering all the Sun-related news and events that you've been discussing. Being an avid reader, I have noticed an outpouring of books by various authors that feature the Sun and solar events as a focal point in the story plot. Oddly, these books have seemed to appear in my public library about the same time as the recent sunspot and flare activity increased.

The setting of Sunstorm's Earth in our near-future has some interesting features. Global warming, regardless of the cause, has caused temperatures and sea levels to rise markedly. Human society has made the concomitant adaptations in technology and attitudes to deal with these changes. Nano-technology is expanding, and 'smart' technology has become commonplace to the extent that your clothes and even the walls of your home are 'smart'. Civil rights have been extended to chimpanzees and even to sentient computer systems and machines. The Moon has had an active colony for 20 years and Man has landed on Mars. The European Union has morphed into the Eurasian Union,with it's President (elected in a surprisingly conservative touch) being the King of England (!). The Dome of the Rock has, years earlier, been destroyed by means of a nuclear hand-grenade.

The story begins in June of 2037 with a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) of such force that it generates a geomagnetic storm on Earth that exceeds all previous recorded storms. The global impact is one of major disruption on all levels, especially given the extent of computerization in all facets of life. This event was predicted by a neutrino matter expert stationed on the Moon who, when consulted by the Astronomer Royal, lends forth with the prediction that on April 20, 2042, the Sun will erupt with such a storm that the atmosphere, the seas, and all life on Earth will be destroyed! The humans on the Moon and even on Mars will also be killed!

As mentioned in the Publisher's Weekly review you quoted in your CQ Sunstorm post on Jan 18th, the heroine Bisea Dutt is returned to London on the day of the first Sunstorm by the alien Firstborn. Well prior to that, Bisea had been held with a host of other characters from different places and times on a 'composite Earth' (my term) created by the Firstborn called.....Mir. Bisea had been in a UN patrol on June 8....and was returned to London on June 9.....but she had been on Mir for 5 years! After this bit of Time Travel, Bisea plays a vital part in helping save Earth. But why did the Firstborn return only her? When it is the Firstborn who are responsible for setting in motion a chain of events that cause the Sun's deadly eruption?

The story then goes into the efforts to save Earth...which of course, they do. Not without some 2001 Space Odyssey-esque communications shutdowns on the Moon by governments determined to withhold the truth, being concerned about 'causing panic' on Earth.

Sunstorm was a very interesting read and I heartily recommend it. I was amazed that many of the themes and subjects you (i.e. Goro's STRUG') discuss were touched on in this book. You will certainly get some 'hard science' education about the Sun and how it works, but in an interesting and enjoyable manner. And considering the double eruptions of the past two days and other recent solar activity in this solar minimum, it might be quite timely to obtain some of this education!"

Sunking's List of Themes Relevant to STRUG (and FSHOD!) discussions:

- The Sun. CMEs, geomagnetic storms and all the disruptions and impacts they have.

- Time travel. Bisea Dutt is taken by the Firstborn on June 8th 2037 and returned on June 9th... but to her, she has been gone 5 years.

- The world created by the Firstborn where Bisea is taken is named... Mir!

- Alien/Enki/'Contact' Communications. The Firstborn's involvement with humankind and their revealing the circumstances of when the Sunstorm occurs to Bisea.

- Government Cover-ups. There is a 2001 Space Odyssey-esque communications shutdown on the Moon and overall security during the investigation about the Sunstorm.

- The Royal Family. The President of the Eurasian Union in 2037 is... The King of England!

- The Dome of the Rock. Briefly mentioned, having been destroyed by a nuclear hand-grenade.

- NASA. Well, space in general. A colony on the moon, manned landings and colony- establishment on Mars.

- Disasters impacting Earth and Mankind.

No time to refine the above other than the obvious places I did, but I thought it might interest some of you. But I hope your interest is piqued enough to go find the book and read it.

Labels: CME, Disasters, Geomagnetic Storm, Government Cover-up, NASA, Royal Family, the Sun, Time Travel