Hough, Jason M.

Last Name

Hough

Jason M.

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Open Access
The Exodus Towers
2013 - Hough, Jason M.
The novel follows the story put forth in the first book of the Dire Earth Cycle, which is set in the 23rd century and introduces Skylar, who is immune to an alien plague that makes humans go feral. Along with Dr. Tania, a scientist, he is sent outside the only remaining city on the planet – Darwin, in Australia, that is mysteriously sheltered from the disease after the aliens built a space elevator that creates a protective aura around it –, to gather scientific knowledge on the aliens and the elevator. Now, in The Exodus Towers, Skyler and Tania discover a new elevator (in Brazil) and rapidly establish a colony there, but are threatened by immune soldiers and subhumans alike (those afflicted by the plague), with the first turning out to be part of a religious cult. Meanwhile, Dr. Tania tries to maintain the colony functional and keep up with the gathering of scientific knowledge regarding the aliens and the elevators, while Skyler tries to keep the enemies at bay. Like the first novel of the series, The Exodus Towers emphasises the role of science as a way to understand a foreign threat and to assess and comprehend a changed environment. It also opposes religious zealotry and a newly funded society that holds on to science and discovery as a way of surviving (namely in the figure of Dr. Tania).