Doug Beason

This near-future sci-fi terrorism thriller dives right into the action after just a bit of technical description to set the scene in the space station. The story is rich in these technical details, which helped me feel like I was right there. A couple of times the acronyms did get a little dense but those parts were short and didn’t interfere with my enjoyment of the book.

I liked that the main character Kimberly is a scientist and uses her ingenuity to devise means of self-defense and show more formulate countermoves in her struggle to thwart the terrorists’ plans. Suspense builds throughout the book as threat piles on threat, and the scenes have the feel of an exciting action-thriller movie. The fast-paced story drew me in and kept me reading as the clock ticked closer and closer to a disaster with the potential to kill millions – and Kimberly herself.

A very entertaining, diverting read!

(I received a free advance copy of this book with no obligation to post a review. The opinions in this review are my own. (Read June 2020.)) show less

The characters are flat caricatures, it was too easy to tell who the Bad Guys & Good Guys were going to be. Women were either ugly & too smart, or enticing (even if smart). Couldn't really call it post-apocalyptic, since half the book describes how the environmental meltdown occurs--all the regulations & safety features (that of course major corporations have in place) are useless in the face of human error & malfeasance. And the scenario isn't well thought out---months after the destruction show more of petroleum-based products, with no transport of goods, people still haven't run out of food, or paper towels, or...hey, how are they cooking food? Out in the desert areas of NM, still have plenty of wood for fires?
Without wanting to appear sexist, I'd still have to say it was written for men: lots of military action, hierarchical decision-making, to say nothing of the (above) portrayal of women.
Similar to Dies the Fire by SM Stirling, portions of which matched up the macho scene pretty well. show less

This is one of the worst apocalypse books I have read. The premise was good with oil eating microbes gone wild but these authors have no idea about the breakdown of society in a disastrous event.

Wooden characters, stereotypes, written in 2-4 page chapters (76 of them!!)and ridiculous scenarios combined with gratuitous violence in places... yes there should be violence but this was simply used for shock value... it was not part of the story... which it should have been. Millions of people show more just seem to disappear... the characters spend much of their time wandering deserted streets at times with little or no confrontations to worry about...main characters don't even carry knives for protection.

If you like apocalypse books... this is one to pass. show less

Ill Wind is a somewhat formulaic disaster story, but is never-the-less quite entertaining. In the very near future, an oil company has developed an experimental method of cleaning up oil spills. When a tanker breaches in the San Francisco Bay, panicked executives decide to try it out without vetting the science fully. Before they can be stopped, they unleash a genetically engineered bacteria to "eat" the spill. It works - and then it starts eating other long-chain polycarbons. You know, like show more plastic! As with many disaster stories (both on screen and in books), the plot follows various characters concurrently as they deal with the fallout. The book is somewhat dated with many pop culture references, but the story is as pertinent now as when it was published. A good book for those that like disaster stories, or post-apocalyptic ones. Recommended. show less