I'm not really into
science fiction books (I'd rather watch movie adaptations), but last year my
older brother gave me Fred Hoyle's Black Cloud as a must-read. I obliged and
found it a bit contrived but good on the suspense and premise. The author
focuses, however, on the decision-makers in their bunkers, leaving out a wide
arena of possibility within his setting. Sure, its interest and the main
purpose of the book to see how the higher-ups resolve the crisis at hand, but
not that much is said of we, the regular people. As with a good disaster
setting this is what I'd like to have read, in addition to the existing
storyline, maybe by the hand of a different writer:
- A set of characters, independent of the scientists and politicians, carrying out their own lives, trying to solve their own particular affairs when events begin to unfurl.
- How they begin to suspect something's amiss and how news begins to trickle in.
- Transcriptions of the newscasts. Probably these hiding the truth.
- The official crisis plan by the government
- The ways the different new characters prepare themselves for the upcoming bad times, on their homes, work and family relations while still trying to achieve their preexisting goals.
- The inevitable panic and looting
- The reactions of religious groups
- Life during the hot and cold periods, especially during the dark days. The fear,the marauders, the screams from without the shelters
- Reconstruction
![Moon Halo, Moonlight through Clouds, Night; Source: http://publicphoto.org/; credit: Robert & Mihaela Vicol Moon Halo, Moonlight through Clouds, Night; Source: http://publicphoto.org/; credit: Robert & Mihaela Vicol](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM6wYb5xqASrzUCm6BtKLSmwfFjcacVhJPvc5RmIrvDJ4qVHtGvQmuRq34E7sm8dMgdWxWFiGCkW-bBxULxwMjTw1N-75GG9mWJFfEbeDB1YjvkbGewr6cISgPQ6CQFAzuAvkdLquBfrM/s1600/Moon-Halo_Moonlight-through-Clouds-Night__IMG_6037_cr-329x480.jpg)
There is ample room
to still work within Hoyle's universe. I mention all this as a prelude for this
year's Halloween special, in which I post a really modest sci-fi short story
of my own, that kind of belongs to same vein to see if it goes anywhere. This,
next time.
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