8.4

A cataclysmic moment in American history is about to repeat itself in this white-knuckle disaster thriller. Signs point to a contemporary recurrence of the devastating earthquakes that, in 1811 and 1812, ripped through the New Madrid Fault Zone, 140 miles of American heartland along the Mississippi River. Marina owner Lauren Mitchell discovers huge cracks in the Kentucky Lake Dam. Seismologist John Atkins, haunted by the tragic loss of his lover during the 1985 Mexico quake, witnesses abnormal animal activity on a visit to the University of Memphis. When beautiful West Coast seismologist Elizabeth Halloran supplies evidence that upcoming sunspots will trigger the New Madrid Fault, Atkins is still a little skeptical--until the first quake hits at Richter 8.4. After that, amid the chaos that engulfs the ruins of Memphis, the race is on to prevent the next quake in the sequence--if there is a sequence--with a daring and dangerous plan. No tale about science's dash to save civilization from nature would be complete without a contingent of pigheaded and skeptical bureaucrats foiling the protagonists' heroics; in this case a sycophantic group of earthquake experts naysay the probability of another big shake-up. Hernon (Earthly Remains) heightens the scuffle with a believable turf conflict between state authorities and the federal government. The scenes of devastation are both horrifying and awe-inspiring, and although at times Atkins is surprisingly naive about the impending quakes' telltale signs (hibernating frogs evacuating their winter habitats, for example), the characters are, for the most part, believable. The end result is a combination of science and thrills that compares favorably with the best of Michael Crichton, but with a decidedly warmer touch. Hernon's saga, with its meticulous seismic details and galvanizing descriptive immediacy, brings a human angle to the technology of natural disaster. Agent, Richard Pine. 75,000 first printing; $75,000 ad/promo; miniseries rights to NBC; foreign rights sold in Germany, Holland and Japan; audio rights to Simon & Schuster. (Feb.)