Global Climate Change -- the New "It" Antagonist

Yet another author writes about the cataclysm of global climate change, carving an even keener definition of the sub-genre "eco-thriller." *Sixty Days and Counting* completes Kim Stanley Robinson's trilogy on the subject, pitting scientists and politicians (yikes!) against total collapse of the environment. Robinson has won many prestigious awards, including the Nebula, Asimov, World Fantasy, and Hugo, and his wife is an environmental chemist so, he must know what he's talking about. I'll have to find a copy of his 1st book in the trilogy, *Forty Signs of Rain*, and get started. For more from him, listen to his interview on Planetary Radio.

At the other end of the climate change perspective, well-known author/filmmaker Michael Crichton stands staunchly with, or at least in the same rose garden as, the Supreme Decider after denying the existence of any true quantifiable climate change data in his novel *State of Fear*. Personally, I found this book a bit, well, slow, which surprised the hell out of me since I thoroughly enjoyed so many of his other stories. For his comments on the topic, see and/or listen to his interviews and debates on his "official" website. Crichton -- one Hollywood insider who is NOT going with the flow. Who woulda thunk it? Actually, the real question is: if Al Gore accepts an Oscar for a movie filled with persuasive data, august scientific personages, and cool uber-PowerPoint graphics, does Crichton clap in his Santa Monica office?

Finally, of course, there's our own Electric Spec editor, Lesley L. Smith, who surfed the leading edge of the eco-thriller genre with her novel, *Neutrino Warning*. Hey, she's been recognized by the SFWA, and she works daily with this "It" antagonist in real life. More on her book and her at lesleylsmith.com.

So, global climate change is blowing hot in the fiction markets now (sorry, couldn't resist). Will it outpace all the cross-genre vampire stories out there and lend some profundity to commercial fiction? More broadly, will life imitate art? Ya picks yer data and takes yer chances.