Man versus Nature

Over the years many authors have dedicated fiction writing to honoring humankind's struggle to contain and control nature. This novel is unique in that the nature the characters seek to conquer originates from a comet, and is far more dangerous than anything they could have previously imagined. However, this fact aside, many of the struggles in the book revolve around this central theme. The life-forms that can attack the crewmembers are only one danger. Far more threatening to everyone on the comet are the diseases that wipe out the vast majority of the crew, leaving all but ten percent unable to work at one point. Saul is critical in this battle against nature as a result of the knowledge he possesses, and although his attempts at combating the various forms of alien life are moderately successful, it is only when he realizes that he can modify...