Independent+novel+study

Deep Storm by Lincoln Child

December 2, 2011

Pages read: 1-78
Questions:

1: The reason I chose this novel was because of the title ,the summary, and the topic. I find books on machinery and military operations fascinating, and this one is both rolled into one! The story is about an oil rig in the North Atlantic that is being used as cover for a secret facility named Deep Storm on the sea bed two miles below. I was originally drawn in by the oil rig, but then was even more fascinated when I discovered that it was only cover for Deep Storm, and the physics behind how the facility can survive without being cut to pieces and crushed by the pressure still surprise me at their plausibility.

4: As the novel begins, one of the men on the oil rig Storm King meets with a man named "Wallace" at a gas station. The man has sold information to "Wallace" about what he discovered on the oil rig, but makes the classic mistake of trying to get more money out of "Wallace" after providing the information.He threatens "Wallace' and his organization by telling him that "people would be very interested to learn that I just told you what I told you"."Wallace" then kills him with the air hose, and disappears. Meanwhile, a naval doctor named Peter Crane is being flown in to Storm King to treat some strange symptoms found in some of the people working on the rig. He soon discovers ,though, that the problems are not aboard Storm King, but aboard Deep Storm, the secret government research facility found two miles below the oil rig. Dr. Crane is originally told they have discovered Atlantis, but soon begins to believe he is being lied to by the project manager who first called him in, Howard Asher, about what they really have discovered. Meanwhile, he and his co-workers, Dr. Bishop and Dr. Corbett are struggling to find the cause of the strange symptoms found in the patients. Some have sudden dizziness, nausea, and inability to focus, while others have bizarre psychotic episodes, one even trying to commit suicide because the "sounds" are driving him insane.

8:The author keeps the readers interest with a seemingly endless supply of cliffhangers that keep you wanting to know more about what's going to happen next. December 9, 2011

Journal 2

Pages read:79-158

6: The setting of the novel is in the North Atlantic, aboard the oil rig Storm King, and then later aboard Deep Storm, the secret underwater facility hidden on the sea bed. The setting is vital because you cannot place a deep-sea oil rig on land, and since whatever the characters in the book are excavating is located in the North Atlantic, the drilling could not take place anywhere else, either. Also, since whatever the characters are excavating is placed beneath the Moho, or Mohorovicic Discontinuity, they have to drill at the thinnest part, which happens to be where the signal they are digging towards is located.

13: I believe the age group the book is aimed at is teens. The book contains some minor bad language, so it's not meant for children, but is not as sophisticated as books for adults. It's also a little gory, unpleasant, and focused on medical procedures, so it's not for kids or those afraid of a little medical science or blood and guts. Interestingly, the book is nowhere near as violent and gory as some adult books, though, so it's probably not as interesting for those who enjoy more violence. Finally, the book is focused on the principal that there are other beings in the universe, and that they have planted something on our planet, which we mistakenly believe to be a gift from more advanced beings. This rules it out completely as a children's book, because aliens like this would be far to frightening and difficult for children, but perhaps too immature for adults.

20: The book's plot is possible, but impossibly unlikely, because it concerns solid proof of alien life, and that they have buried something, which may or may not be a massive threat to the human race.

December 15, 2011

Journal 3

Pages read: 159-240

21: I would recommend the novel, because it has a gripping plot, interesting characters, and a creative storyline that keeps you hanging on to the end. The action never stops, which I really like in a book, and the storyline concerns aliens and the possibility of life on planets other than earth, which has always fascinated me.

16:The climax is when Commander Korolis takes control of Deep Storm, knocking Admiral Spartan unconscious and locking him in his room, and takes Marble Three down the drilling shaft for the final dive as the Moho is reached, and the object that is buried below it. Meanwhile, Michele Bishop, one of the doctors on board, is uncovered as a saboteur, and while trying to disarm the explosives she has planted, Dr. Corbett accidentally triggers one, rupturing the pressure spoke keeping the facility from being crushed and flooded. The result is a tidal wave of water on the 8th level, and the outside area between the facility and the dome protecting it begins to fill up with water. On the lower levels, a manhunt has started for Hui Ping, the radiologist Commander Korolis has labeled the saboteur, and all the men in his power are out to find her. Somehow, she and Dr. Crane manage to discover what Howard Asher had discovered earlier about the Sentinels, the mysterious cubes found during the drilling, and are forced to climb through the water spraying from the ruptured pressure spoke to get to the upper levels, where some allied scientists have been asked to meet with them to choose the best course of action with Commander Korolis diving towards what appears to be the weapons cache of an alien race, completely unaware of the danger. As Dr. Crane and Dr. Vanderbilt attempt to load the scientists onto the escape pod, a marine under Korolis' command arrives and orders them to unload. Luckily, Admiral Spartan has broken out of his quarters, and arrives on the deck in time to shoot the marine, and allow the scientist to finish boarding the pod. The climax ends when Korolis reaches the Moho, and encounters "active countermeasures" defending what appears to be an alien weapons cache that would destroy the galaxy if it should go off. The "countermeasures" destroy Marble Three, Korolis, his assistants, and any chance of using the weapons, because the resulting explosion irradiates and destroys the Deep Storm complex, nearly killing the escaping scientists as the pod races for the surface.

7: The initial problem facing Dr. Crane is the strange medical crisis happening aboard Deep Storm. Scientists, staff, and even the workers on the top-secret part of the ship all have strange symptoms appearing. Some report nausea, others lack of concentration, and Dr. Crane has to find the common factor which is affecting the workers.

January 6, 2012

Journal 4

Pages read: 240-310

10: One of the biggest plot twists is when Dr. Bishop is found by Dr. Corbett planting Semtex explosive on the bulkhead opposite the southern pressure spoke. She then shoots him when he phones his intern and tries to alert him to the danger. Dr. Corbett then uses his dying strength to disarm three of the charges, but when startled by Dr. Bishop returning, accidentally sets off the fourth and kills himself and Dr. Bishop in the explosion. Another one is when Admiral Spartan comes around, realizing Commander Korolis has tried to subdue him, and makes his way up to Level 12, shoots a marine trying to stop the scientists boarding the escape pod to escape the flooding facility, and then stays on Level 12 to defend the controls from Korolis' Black Ops troopers while the scientists try to escape.

3: Before the story begins, two workers and their supervisor, aboard the oil rig Storm King, are using a tool called the "pig" to clean the oil pipes used to bring the oil up from the sea bed. The "pig's" feedback to the console controlled by one of the workers goes wonky, and the supervisor orders the electromagnet in the pig shut down, and a full system check done, but when one of the workers shuts off the electromagnet, something strange begins to happen. The men then make a strange discovery, which is used as a cliffhanger to keep people reading. We then discover that the U.S. government has heard about the strange discovery, and paid AmShale, the company who owns Storm King, to use it as a base for Deep Storm. They then constructed the facility over a 20 month period, and began the drilling towards the Moho.

9: Several new problems arise as the story goes on, adding to the main medical problem with people throughout the facility. The first is that Admiral Spartan initially refuses to let Dr. Crane through the "barrier" to the classified levels. He also refuses to acknowledge the truth in Dr. Crane's findings about the Theta spikes and the "Sentinels". This becomes worse when Commander Korolis assumes command, and has him arrested for trying to stop the final Marble dive. Dr. Crane then has to climb through the spray from the ruptured pressure spoke that was blown up by Dr. Bishop, and avoid detection so he can reach Level 12 and the escape pod.

Jan.13, 2012 Journal 5 Pages read: 311-end

18: There were several major things that helped to resolve the conflict in the book.The first was Dr. Asher giving Dr. Crane a hint to what he discovered right before he died. This convinced Dr. Crane to try and reconstruct Dr. Asher's hard drive on his destroyed computer, and discovered what they might actually be digging towards. The second was when Dr. Crane and Dr. Ping climb up to the 12th level of the facility and meet with the scientists, telling them what is happening below decks, and then loading the escape pod. The third is when Admiral Spartan breaks out of his quarters, saves the escape pod from the marine, and then stays behind to defend the emergency controls so the scientists can escape. The final is when the "active countermeasures" against people messing with or using the weapons goes online and blows up the facility, killing Korolis before he can tamper with them.

5: The story is told in third-person, and mainly follows Dr. Crane, and is told from his perspective, but occasionally diverts to other important characters to show vital bits of the story. Thus, it shows Dr. Crane as the generic "good guy", Dr. Ping as his sidekick, and Commander Korolis as the "bad guy", even though he is acting in the interests of the U.S. military, trying to retrieve beneficial technology (though he is oblivious until the last moment to the cost of his actions).

22: The novel completely met my expectations by keeping me riveted and on the edge of my seat until the last page. I quite literally could not put the book down. It had a captivating plot, round, deep characters, and a reasonable conflict that is improbable, but still possible (and not cheesy).

Characterization

Admiral Spartan

Why he is important in the novel: Admiral Spartan is an important character in Deep Storm because he is in effect the base commander, and in charge of the drilling, and making the base run smoothly. He is the only one with the authority to stop the dig when Dr. Crane makes his discovery about the weapons cache, and the only one brave and trained enough to stay behind and defend the escape pod from the attacking Black Ops troops and marines.

Ideas: Admiral Spartan believes wholeheartedly in the Deep Storm project, and is cautious of Dr. Crane at first, but later decides to trust him, and starts to doubt Commander Korolis instead. He thinks logically, and seems to believe in the philosophy “give me solid proof, or get out of my way until you find some”, which he demonstrates when Dr. Crane tells him his theory about what they are actually drilling towards, and what the Sentinels are for.

Reaction of others to the character: Most of the characters in the book are directly or indirectly under the command of Admiral Spartan and the military, whether they be soldiers and lackeys or top-level scientists like Dr. Asher. Dr. Crane and Dr. Asher are both a bit afraid of the Admiral, and while he and Dr. Asher are supposed to be co-running the base, it’s really him that’s in charge.

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