Beware the Crudetastrophe …

[Edward M. Lerner]

Hello, Edward M. Lerner reader!

I'm pleased to announce the release (on July 17) of my energy/
technothriller, ENERGIZED. Very timely, I believe, considering:

An oil-well explosion and blowout in the Gulf of Mexico.

Chaos, revolution, and oil-supply disruptions across the Middle East.

Post-tsunami meltdowns of four Japanese nuclear power reactors,
leading to the total shutdown of *all fifty reactors* across that
country.

Sanctions and a looming oil embargo to persuade Iran to halt its
nuclear program, countered by Iranian threats to blockade others' oil
exports through the Gulf of Hormuz.

Those are merely some recent energy-related crises -- and they don't
hold a candle to the Crudetastrophe, the energy disaster that kicks
off ENERGIZED.

===

What -- if a global-economy-wrecking catastrophe isn’t enough -- is
the novel about? I’m glad you asked:

One geopolitical miscalculation sufficed to taint major oil fields
with radioactivity and plunge the Middle East into chaos. The oil that
remains usable is more prized than ever. No one can build solar farms,
wind farms, and electric cars quickly enough to cope. The few
countries still able to export oil and natural gas -- Russia chief
among them -- have a stranglehold on the world economy.

And then Phoebe appeared. Rather than divert the onrushing asteroid,
America captured it into Earth orbit.

Solar power satellites -- cheaply mass-produced in orbit with
resources mined from the new moon, to beam vast amounts of power to
the ground -- offer America its last best hope of avoiding servitude
and economic ruin. As though building miles-across structures in space
isn't challenging enough, special interests, everyone from
technophobes to eco-extremists to radio astronomers, want to stop the
project. And the remaining petro powers will do *anything* to protect
their newfound dominance of world affairs.

NASA engineer Marcus Judson is determined to make the powersat
demonstration project a success. And he will --

Even though nothing in his job description mentions combating an
international cabal, or going into space to do it.

===

Reviews have begun to appear, for which AFAIK pride of first
appearance goes to Publishers Weekly:

"A taut near-future thriller about an energy-starved Earth held
hostage by a power-mad international cartel ... Lerner's vision of the
future is both topical and possible in this crisp, fast-paced hard SF
adventure."

If you're at all curious, check out the publisher's website for a high-
res copy of the (seriously cool) cover:

http://jacketupload.macmillanusa.com/jackets/high_res/jpgs/9780765328496.jpg

and for an excerpt:

http://us.macmillan.com/BookCustomPage_New.aspx?isbn=9780765328496

Thanks,

- Ed

===

ENERGIZED
Edward M. Lerner
Tor Books
Released July 17, 2012 / available immediately for preorder
ISBN 978-0765328496 (Hardback)
Also in many ebook and audio formats

===
Edward M. Lerner
edwardmlerner.com
blog.edwardmlerner.com