Circumference of Darkness

Circumference of Darkness (titled Maximum Impact in the UK) by Jack Henderson is a thrill ride of terrorists, hackers, and political corruption.

After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Jeannie Reese of DARPA is authorized by the US government to release the ultimate spyware on the Internet - IRIN will catalog all information (net, phone, video) and hunt the people who planned the attack. But when her program begins to track people high up in the government, she is shut out of the process.

With the help of her assistant, her Marine bodyguard, and the publisher of a long-standing underground hacker magazine, she must track down the one man whose computer skills match her own. A man only known by Phr33k.

If Jeannie and Phr33k combine their efforts the US may survive the second wave of attacks planned by an international group of terrorists.

Henderson, Jack. (2007). Circumference of Darkness. New York: Bantam Books.

The Dead & the Gone (Last Survivors #2)

The Dead & The Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer is a companion novel to her Life As We Knew It. It is the same set of events in another location, with different characters.

An asteroid hits the moon, changing its orbit. With the moon closer to the Earth, its gravitational influence is stronger. Tides raise by feet, volcanoes erupt, earthquakes and tsunamis are frequent.

Alex Morales and his family live in NYC. When the moon is hit, his father is away in Puerto Rico for a funeral and his mother is on her way to work in Queens.

Alex and his sisters Briana and Julie are on their own. Will they be able to survive without adults around to help? As events worsen and food and clean water become scarce, how with three teens make their way in the new world?

Both of Pfeffer's novels on this theme are intense. The contrast between the rural community and New York City's upper west side is interesting. Two novels from different points of view is brilliant.

Pfeffer, Susan Beth. (2008). The Dead & The Gone. New York: Houghton Mifflin Inc.

Life As We Knew It (Last Survivors #1)

In Susan Beth Pfeffer's novel, Life As We Knew It, the Earth goes through a major change. What at first sounds like a fun event to witness turns to chaos when a meteor hits the moon.

The moon is pushed into an orbit closer to Earth. This changes the gravitational effect it has on the oceans, rising the tides 20 feet. Coastal cities and islands are wiped out. Weather patterns change. Volcanoes erupts. And ash blocks out the sun.

Miranda and her family are better off than most. Her mother was smart enough to get all of her money out of the bank in cash. They stocked up on food and water to wait out the changes. Miranda is sure the scientists are coming up with ways to help, but with no electricity she cannot watch the news or go online to find out.

This young adult novel, written through journal entries, is a thrill ride into the unknown. Will Miranda and her family survive a winter that started in September and has no end in sight?

Pfeffer, Susan Beth. (2006). Life as we knew it. New York: Harcourt.