2 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
The subject of human civilization's impact on the environment has grown a considerable amount in recent years. We are becoming painfully aware that uncontrolled industrialization might impart irreversible changes on inorganic and organic life on Earth – including ourselves. Heaven and Earth is a piece of work that sets out to educate about the dangers of heavy metal poisoning. Incidentally, it also happens to have aliens in it.
The narrative centers around Dr. Olga Ramos – an aeronautical engineer whose recent findings in deep-space research have attracted special attention of Department of Defense and the Pentagon. Alarmed by what it could mean for integrity of her work as well as her safety, she is keen to find out why. Olga turns to an old university friend Gavilan whose research in Earth Sciences and specifically heavy metals is driven by personal experiences. Together, they discover that their respective fields of interest are linked in a most spectacular way – through existence and visits of an alien race on Earth. With them, te aliens carry their own goals as well as a cautionary tale for Dr. Ramos, Gavilan, and the rest of the human race.
The one thing that the book charmed me with is the characters and their relationships. Both Olga and Gavilan are well-established in back story, consistent personalities, and motivations. More importantly, their genuine concern and care for each other makes you root for their success. Not once are their actions put in question, either positive or negative, as they do not contradict what we already know about them. Rather, they add to existent knowledge of these characters.
However, the same cannot be said about the structure and flow of the book itself. The chapters end in a series of detailed facts about cadmium poisoning. However, there are characters and situations in the narrative that could provide this kind of exposition. Also, the narrative style is often mechanical, exposing author’s scientific background.
The book walks the line between fiction and non-fiction: it has extraterrestrials with advanced technology visiting Earth to forewarn of self-inflicted dangers to come, and then cuts to matter-of-fact recount of chemistry and biology more suited to an academic article. While it is an educational read that follows a set plot, it does not do so organically and thus feels more like a mash up of two books on one subject than one book with two perspectives. Therefore, I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars. The depth of characters and the educational value puts it above 1. However, lack of overall coherence does not warrant it a firm 3. I know more about heavy metal poisoning after reading it than I did before (and might never eat shellfish again), but I felt like I read a research paper rather than a book. That does not make it a negative thing, but would mean that it needs to be published as such.
******
Heaven and Earth
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like Greywarren's review? Post a comment saying so!
