Usually, the worst outcome becomes real a couple of chapters later. Human civilization has changed the balance just enough that this time, multi-cellular life forms might not bounce back. Pellegrino himself is a paleontologist, rocket systems designer, and undersea explorer who came up with the notion of extracting dinosaur DNA from amber-trapped mosquitoes and who was consulted by James Cameron on the factual details of the Titanic sinking. A good piece of science fiction makes the reader think. This story spun around my head for days, making me look at everything around me in a different light.
Environmentalism seems like a really good idea after reading the book.
Although this particular disaster is mostly natural, it takes little imagination to picture mass extinctions caused by pollution or other effects of human civilization. The space program also appears to be an excellent long-term bet, with Earth looking like a very shaky basket to store all humanity's eggs in. The combination of rigorous scientific logic and gripping dramatic pacing makes this an excellent candidate for a Hugo nomination next year. Read Dust . While you still can.