REVIEW: Danger Rising

Danger Rising
Author: E. D. Richards

Climate change has devastated the world by 2100, but mankind is working to repair the damage. There are stiff penalties for breaking environmental laws, science has developed cleaner power, transportation, medicine and product packaging, and great strides have been made to clean up the planet. But, it might be too late. Dr. Abbey Bertrand has been called in to investigate a strong earthquake in Antarctica and the emergency system that failed to operate when needed. It turns out the situation is much more complex than just a failing earthquake defense system. A group of ecoterrorists want to destroy the planet. Can Abbey and her fellow scientists stop the evil plan in time?

I enjoy disaster suspense stories. I'm always up for a good earthquake, global warming, asteroid, plague, out of control tech or other scientists-come-running-to-save-the-planet action tales. For the most part, this was an interesting and entertaining read. But, there were many places where the plot, pseudo-science and thinly veiled political commentary got to be just too much. While I believe our current president has some real issues, the constant hints of Trump bashing/blaming really made me roll my eyes while reading this book. California became a wasteland that was passed off to Russia for awhile and now is home to a huge bank of solar panels. Climate change got out of hand during the worst presidency in the history of the United States. On and on. Ok....we get it. The author is not a Trump fan. The political jabs really pulled me out of the story. Not to mention impossible science.....like injecting lubricating gel between tectonic plates to lessen the severity of earthquakes and freezing large expanses of ocean to lower the planet's temperature....kept me from really getting into this story like I wanted to.  The writing is a bit hit and miss as well. In places, the story flowed perfectly. And in others I found the style choppy and in need of editing. That all being said.....I still enjoyed the story and the characters. Could it have been better? Yes. Is it all bad? No, not at all.

I like Abbey Bertrand as a main character, but my favorite character, by far, was her grandmother. Both are strong female characters. The other characters, especially the "bad guys'' tend a bit to the melodramatic side, but that's really a given in any disaster story. The evil doers construct grandiose plans to bring about destruction and fight to protect their wicked plans to the bitter end. I think it's that melodrama and over-the-top villainy that draws me to stories like this. The heroes always emerge victorious in the end....or do they?? Read the book to find out. :)

This book has some flaws that kept me from getting completely lost in the story. It might have benefitted from another round of editing. The science involved really gets to be a bit much, but this is a futuristic, environmental disaster story......I think I can let a bit of cheesy science go by without analyzing it to death.

All in all, an entertaining read. Some weak spots, but still a good story. There are some exciting action scenes involving much butt-kicking and narrow escapes.

**I voluntarily read an advance readers copy of this book via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**