Oh, I definitely read this back in the day. Bleak. ( )

I liked this scenario of one way that the Earth could get rid of us, its pestilent virus. Many reviewers said they did not care for the scientific explanations; I don't know why. They may be the type of reader that thinks this, or something similar, could never happen to human civilization.
I'm fascinated by insects, and admire their role in ecology. Insects are our friends, despite our efforts to eradicate them. This book demonstrates just how much of a treasure we have in the Earth's insects, and just how much of a death warrant will be served on humans in our near future, when we have unbalanced the ecology of the planet to its tipping point. ( )

This book may not be the best writing on the planet, but it does take a fairly accurate look at what could happen should all the insects disappear - the collapse of ecosystems, food crops, the economy and ultimately civilization. The book is rather interesting, scarey and thought provoking. The author doesn't provide all the answers and the reader needs to pay attention. It does not have zombies! (despite the prions). It does have some unusual voracious, hungry critters. Most of the science discussed in this book is accurate, which is what makes this book so fascinating. ( )

My reaction to reading this novel in 1998. Spoilers follow.

This is the second Pellegrino novel I’ve read, and I really liked this disaster tale though I thought the ending of resurrecting old insects to save humanity was improbably cheerful. The premise that insects might have a millions of years death cycle – and that this death cycle preceded, and perhaps caused, the decline of the dinosaur (which were finished off by an asteroid impact) was novel and speculation based on science according to the Afterword in which Pellegrino outlines the historical and scientific facts behind his tale. (I like that feature of his novels.)

The effects of insects dying off – lethal swarms of dust mites, plagues of fungus, the death of higher level insectivores, a lack of plant pollinators – were horrifying and fascinating – exactly what a sf disaster novel should offer. Pellegrino is a fascinating writer not only for the hard science details but for including his scientist friends as characters. (He’s a working scientist in several fields including biology, archaeology, paleontology, and starship engineering.) . Here entomologist E. O. Wilson meets his death at the jaws of dust mites. I also liked the bits with the berserk missileman.

If the novel has any flaws, one lies with Pellegrino’s penchant for quotes. Sometimes they’re interesting and relevant; sometimes they aren’t. (I also am surprised to see Pellegrino repeat the oh-too-ironic story about Charles Drew, the inventor of organized American blood banks, bled to death after being denied a blood transfusion because he was black. The other flaw was the villain Jerry Sigmond. I appreciate that Pellegrino was attempting to show how socially destructive sociopaths (i.e. demagogues in some cases) are not obviously different. Still, Sigmond seemed a bit implausible though I appreciate that anti-intellectual and science rhetoric is on the rise. ( )

I enjoyed this but there was little character development. The science was fun, especially with the afterword that gives the bases for the disasters referred to or encountered in the story. I had to wonder, though, whether the prospect of surviving extraterrestrially was based on an assumption that whatever caused the die-off wouldn't occur or wouldn't be germane in space or on another planetary body. Seems to me that unless they had an insect-free ecology, any extraterrestrial solution would be vulnerable to the same problem. While we're at it, if "dust lanes" are the cause of at least part of the problem, wouldn't cloned insects also be vulnerable? Just a thought. These seem like the work of poor editing rather than poor writing per se. ( )