Summary

Seveneves, by Neal Stephenson, is an epic science-fiction novel chronicling humankind's struggle to survive after a mysterious astronomical event fragmentizes the Moon.

Chapter 1 opens in present-day Utah, where an amateur astronomer observes a dust-cloud near the Moon's equator. He takes his cell phone from a pocket to blog about what he takes as a meteor strike. Before he can key the first letter, the moon is shattered. Several hours later, after the dust is pulled back by the still-existing gravity between seven tremendous remnants, people in North and South America see a red blur in the dawn sky. Around the world, confused scientists can only theorize about the event, and simply refer to what might have caused it as the Agent.

In Chapter 2, Alaskan mine operator Rufus MacQuarie witnesses the catastrophe unfold over the ridge-line of the Brooks Range, and straps to his...