Tsunami

Pretty Good but Needs a Little Work

Tsunami is a story of survival and determination in the face of overwhelming odds. Seismic activity in the Antarctic causes a series of tsunamis to pound the West coast of North America (no mention of any effects anywhere else).

The United States is already in economic trouble and oil dependency is becoming a real problem. Most of the story follows two separate groups of survivors and how they try and cope with the changed world.

I had two main problems with the book. The first was that there was not adequate information given for the failure of the rest of the country. The West Coast gets absolutely no help from the rest of the country and world. The book is short enough that it could have stood some extra wordage.

The second problem was late in the book when there is cause for many buildings to collapse. At this point in the story there is no electricity and no fuel (the abundance of wood mentioned at the start of the disaster seems to have dried up). For some reason, when buildings collapse the almost immediately catch fire without electricity or gas to cause it.

The pacing of the book is a little slow although the action starts right at the beginning. Big waves, ice ages, and greenhouse effects will remind many of the newer Day After Tomorrow, but the science in this one is much more firmly grounded in reality. If you loved all of those Irwin Allen disaster pics you will probably get a kick out of this one.