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Frank Schätzing
Der Schwarm
(The Swarm)
Verlag Kiepenheuer & Witsch, February 2004. 1008 pp. As we start to explore the surface of Mars, our knowledge of outer space continues to grow. But how much do we know about what happens in our own ocean depths? According to Frank Schätzing's formidable ecological thriller, Der Schwarm, the answer is, dangerously little. The novel's thousand-plus pages spell out in grim and fantastic detail the dangers that lie, or could lie, in our ignorance. As the story opens, marine biologist Sigur Johanson is hired by an oil company to investigate the activities of a certain type of sub-aquatic worm, which has bred prolifically and threatens to destabilise the North Sea continental shelf, not to mention the company's oil rig. At the same time the world of sea mammal expert Leon Anawak is turned on its head as the behaviour of the whales he is watching changes dramatically and they start attacking ships and killing humans. Then the North Sea shelf collapses killing thousands in Europe and causing many other catastrophes besides. Is there a mysterious presence behind all this destruction? An unidentified swimming object encountered in a terrifying episode suggests that there is, and soon a battle between good and evil, with sub-oceanic as well as human and political forces engaged, is in full swing. Will the world's fragile ecology survive? And will the swimming creature, nicknamed the Yrr, be outwitted, persuaded, or tamed?
From catastrophic explosions and a deranged general to pestilence, plague and old-fashioned shoot-outs, the book is full of excitement and suspense. The subject is original, topical and thought-provoking, and its scientific and technical material well researched. A gripping cocktail of fact, thriller and sci-fi, this book will appeal to admirers of Jules Verne's exploration fantasies as well as to fans of cult films such as Alien and Jaws. In fact, Der Schwarm has all the ingredients of a blockbuster, and will keep you on tenterhooks until the very end.
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