This is my third Ballard novel and I am getting used to the way he writes; heavy use of imagery, plot as a vehicle for the thinly veiled subtexts, characters on a quest to discover something about themselves and cryptic, stilted dialogue with much left unsaid leaving the reader to fill in the gaps.Thought provoking as ever, one really needs time to digest the book and no doubt would benefit from a re-read.
The science behind the premise of this book is mind baffling nonsense as far as I know but then, that's not really the point. Man facing various disasters and apocalypses is a common theme Ballard visits again and again but never are we ever able to effectively fight against nature, to overcome its inexplicable shifts. For Ballard, it is more about how we come to terms with change, how we come to accept nature and our place in it.
For all that, there is something about his writing that doesn't sit well with me. I am never be fully at ease with the way he writes, never quite gel with his style. I can see why many people like him a lot but I guess it is something personal, a kind of barrier. I did enjoy it though and will read more of his work in the hope that I will one day find something I can really engage with.