[Extinction] opens with a lawyer visiting a large group of people who are adrift in old tankers in the ocean. These people are now without homes as several countries (largely developing countries) have been submerged under the melting polar icecaps. No one has been willing to allow them refuge status to their country. They have been adrift for over 20 years. The lawyer hopes to successfully sue the corporations that were largely responsible for global warming in international court to get them some status/supplies.

Add to the problems of these refuges the fact that the global climate/weather patterns have become increasingly unstable recently. Larger more violent storms, more earthquakes/volcanic eruptions etc. Corporations have learned how to somewhat alter weather patterns by reflecting light extra light back from the sun. This means that countries that can afford to pay can be assured of predictable weather, sun at the beach, etc. Those who cannot such as developing countries and the refugees are left at the mercy of the strange weather. And it is getting worse, with volcanic eruptions and earthquakes that seem to be unpredictable and that they are unable to control. Could this be tied to the changes in the weather?

I found this to be a great/fun dystopian book. If you enjoy reading about storms/earthquakes/survival then I highly recommend this book for you. ( )

Ray Hammond, in Extinction, creates a clever sceanrio which pits science versus humanity, with a consequence which is global in scale. The scientific concepts that Hammond introduces are intriguing and insightful. The story presented in Extinction is set fifty years in the future, upon an Earth that has undergone ecological and climatic changes, a result of rising sea levels. Improvements in technology have also allowed corporations to affect the weather, selling sunshine and rain, and the planet has also become more unstable, with increasing volacanic and tectonic action. Are they linked? Well, read Hammond's tale of global upheaval, which is full of large scale action, with twists and turns aplenty. Enjoyable stuff. ( )