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'Christmas Eve, 1953. The crater tlake on Mt Ruapehu bursts, unleashing a giant lahar that sweeps down the volcano like a tidal wave, destroying a Tangiwai rail bridge and plunging a passenger train into the river. One hundred and fifty-one people drown and many others are seriously injured.
'Years later, when the vibrant international seismologist Frances Nelson arrives in New Zealand to start monitoring the dangerously active volcano Mt Ruapehu, she is shocked to find herself embroiled in a battle over the mountain that stretches back centuries. Not realising that Frances has ties of her own to the Tangiwai train crash, local scientists seek to gain her support for their schemes, which range from installing an early warning system to bulldozing the entire mountain top.
'Added to that are the Maori locals - and one in particular - who believe that the volcano is sacred and the railway should never have been built across its path. The mountain is heating up and Frances must decide what to do before it is too late.' (Publisher's blurb)
Notes
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Dedication: In memory of my parents, Jack and Mary.
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Prequel to Pliny's Warning.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Related Works
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y
Pliny's Warning
Auckland
:
HarperCollins Australia
,
2009
Z1613442
2009
single work
novel
'Vulcanologist Frances Nelson is in Italy to work with an international team assessing the world′s most dangerous volcano, Mt Vesuvius, responsible for the destruction of ancient Pompeii.
'Instead of the straightforward scientific task she expects, she finds herself in the midst of political scandal and a web of nepotism on the literally murderous streets of Naples as greed, organized crime, and Il Sistema (the system) fill those same streets with violence and pollute the countryside with toxic waste. To her horror, she realises her work is being compromised and her team's findings suppressed by her superiors.
A vivid and compelling story unfolds, drenched with flavours of Italy and the spice of dangerous passions. In flashback, the tragic events of a fatal explosion on White Island, in the Bay of Plenty provide a dramatic emotional counterpoint to the events Frances is dealing with in Italy, adding a poignance to her budding relationship with a colleague, and providing a romatic twist to this fast-paced contemporary novel.' (From the publisher's website.)
Works about this Work
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Untitled
2006
single work
review
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 22 July 2006; (p. 8)
— Review of Weeping Waters 2006 single work novel -
Other Voices
2006
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 24-25 June 2006; (p. 15)
— Review of Weeping Waters 2006 single work novel ; The Stone Angel 2006 single work novel ; Making Tracks : UTS Writers' Anthology 2006 2006 anthology short story poetry -
Untitled
2006
single work
review
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 20 June vol. 124 no. 6525 2006; (p. 69)
— Review of Shadow Thief 2006 single work novel ; Weeping Waters 2006 single work novel -
The Real Mount Doom
2006
single work
biography
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 10-11 June 2006; (p. 34-35)
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Untitled
2006
single work
review
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 20 June vol. 124 no. 6525 2006; (p. 69)
— Review of Shadow Thief 2006 single work novel ; Weeping Waters 2006 single work novel -
Other Voices
2006
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 24-25 June 2006; (p. 15)
— Review of Weeping Waters 2006 single work novel ; The Stone Angel 2006 single work novel ; Making Tracks : UTS Writers' Anthology 2006 2006 anthology short story poetry -
Untitled
2006
single work
review
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 22 July 2006; (p. 8)
— Review of Weeping Waters 2006 single work novel -
The Real Mount Doom
2006
single work
biography
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 10-11 June 2006; (p. 34-35)
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Tongariro,
North Island,
cNew Zealand,cPacific Region,
