The Fifth Horseman by Richard SherbaniukMike Zammit runs the International Environmental Response Team or INERT, and is therefore one of the first alerted when it is found that the Ataturk dam on the Euphrates river is releasing something that is killing the people who drink its water. This is a major disaster, with political consequences that are elevated further when it is found that the poison in the water is produced by an ancient cyanobacteria that has recently mutated, probably purposefuly. If that cyanobacteria is not stopped, then war will ravage the world, and then the chemical composition of the earth will change such that humans will become extinct. But someone with an antidote does exist- the evil mastermind who planted the cyanobacteria in the first place. Zammit and INERT must go through a dizzing series of foreign agencies to solve the puzzle and save the world.
The cyanobacteria is planted in an alternate world's 2003, with the politics changed subtly. In Zammit's world, Sadam Hussein has been assassinated and suceeded by his son Anwar, who is just as vicious as his father. The characters are confusingly many, but they do become clearer after the first chapters. There is no deep character development. The plot twists are clever and the science is sound.
Question: One of the ideas discussed through this book is what evil is. The characters conclude that evil is knowing right from wrong and choosing wrong. Do you agree?
Tense reading.
