Nomad: A Thriller (The New Earth Series Book 1) by Matthew Mather
I learned about this title on Facebook and decided to give it a look because of the description on Amazon.com.
Ben Rollins is an astrophysicist who learns of a massive gravitational anomaly in space headed for our solar system. The anomaly called Nomad will, at best, lay waste to the surface of the Earth. Nomad will cause tidal forces on the planet that will result in massive tsunami, major seismic disturbances, as well as rampant volcanic activity. At worse, Nomad will tear the solar system apart sending the sun and the planets careening off into space in different directions. What’s more, Nomad is just weeks away from passing through the heart of our solar system and there is nothing that can be done about it.
Meanwhile, several hundred miles to the south in Italy, Ben’s daughter, Jennifer and her mother are vacationing when they become caught up in the middle of a feud between two families that only want to be sure they come out on top, even knowing that the world is about to come to an end.
All over the world, there are wars starting, or escalating, there is looting and violence breaking out across the globe and, of course, the religious fanatics are fueling the fire by preaching that their “god” is bringing this about because of the evil that has gripped humanity.
Matthew Mather has penned an awesome picture of a possible apocalypse in this first of four novels. This book is awesome in how scary it is as well as the feel of realism and plausibility of the events that take place in the narrative. I honestly found myself reading every spare minute I had to digest this story from the very first page. There is a lot in this book; it is very fast paced and engaging.
Nomad is touted to be a thriller which veils the Science Fiction aspects of the book. It is very much a work of Sci-Fi that reflects some of what we have learned scientifically over the past few decades.
The author has taken great pains to be sure that his work is scientifically accurate. Mather consulted with astrophysicists and astronomers to make sure his creation would work scientifically. In Mather’s scenario, Nomad is a binary primordial black hole system. That is, two black holes orbiting each other as they move in a straight line through interstellar space. Each of the black holes has a mass that is forty times that of our own sun, which means that Nomad’s gravitational effect on objects that it comes near is huge. Mather crafted his story so that Nomad would pass the Earth and the Sun at very near the same distance, which means that Earth’s orbit around our star isn’t affected as much as some of the other objects in our solar system. As far as the inner planets are concerned, two of the four are thrown completely out of their orbital plane. Saturn, is pulled into a new orbit that has the probability of a very close encounter with the Earth some time after Nomad has passed through the solar system. In the meantime, the Earth will stay within the “Goldilocks Zone” in relation to the Sun, which has also been sent on a new path through the galaxy. The end result is that, in Mather’s scenario, the Earth experiences cataclysmic destruction but remains intact allowing for future stories. I found a video of the author demonstrating the science behind the story...
The question in my mind is whether something like this is
actually possible. We often refer to the universe as a cosmos, which can be defined as a complete, orderly, and harmonious system. The reality of space is hardly cosmic in nature. Even within the confines of our own planet there are forces at work that cause disasters all the time. They are recorded as part of recent history in the forms of earthquakes, volcanoes, massive fires, and weather events that we read about or see in the news. On the scale of the galaxy, or let alone the universe, the distances are so vast that encounters between objects happen on equally astronomical time scales.
As to the story, there are actually two main plots that run through the book. That of the approaching Nomad anomaly itself, and that of Jennifer and her family. There isn’t a lot to say about the Nomad part of the plot because it is headed into the heart of the solar system and there is nothing that is going to stop it. For its part, There are small vignettes of stories that are in the form of reports of events that are, or have taken place before and during Nomad’s encounter with our planet. They are just little snippets that are ominous themselves, to remind us that something big is about to happen.
Jennifer’s story is not what I would consider a sci-fi theme as she and her mother are trapped in Italy while on vacation and they become caught up in a feud between Italian families. Jennifer herself is an interesting character in that she is a veteran, a rock climber, and an amputee, having lost a part of a leg in an IED attack during a war. She is a dynamic character and in this story, we find that she is a survivor. She knows how to stay calm in seemingly impossible situations and cope with surprises. Not only that, she seems to be a well educated young woman that knows what the implications of Nomad’s approach to Earth will be, and thanks to that, she will survive to carry on in future novels. Many have said that she is not a very likable character, to which I can somewhat agree. Along with her strengths, she seems to have a number of emotional issues that are more of an impairment than her physical challenge.
The major theme of the book is how the human race decides to cope with the approach of Nomad. Will everyone just accept what is about to happen, and quietly succumb to extinction? According to the author, that may be the case for some, but others are going to be sure they get their last shots in at their enemies. All over the globe there is rioting, and looting. There are numerous skirmishes that would seem to be carried out by government entities, and nuclear weapons are exchanged. After all is said and done, the end result of the wars will not matter, most of the population will perish. No one will be able to enjoy what they have looted, it won’t be of use after Nomad passes. It is really sad that I share Mather’s vision of our behavior in the true last days; I fear he may be
all too right.
I recommend this book and intend to read the rest of the New Earth Series that is in four volumes.
Well, there it is…
Qapla’!
Edited by Benjamin Arrowood
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