Seveneves by Neal Stephenson

In the first line of Seveneves, the moon explodes without warning. At first, scientists and lay people alike are astounded and amazed by the seven large chunks of moon hanging in the sky. Dr. Dubois Harris, a popular scientist frequently found explaining science to the masses on television news, even gave them cutesy nicknames based on their size and shape. It soon becomes apparent, though, that the moon is just the beginning; soon the Earth will be destroyed by the “Hard Rain,” a meteorite bombardment that will last for millennia and wipe out all life on the planet. World leaders and scientists devise to send as many people into orbit in arklets that will congregate around the International Space Station, keeping the human race alive for the next 5,000 years.

Stephenson divides his epic tale of speculative fiction into 3 parts: before the hard rain, the first few years of life in space, and 5,000 years later when the Earth is once again habitable. Even full of technical space jargon, the 861 page tome never feels bogged down due to the depth and breadth of the story and a cast of memorable and fascinating characters, from the original residents of the International Space Station to a power-hungry American president to the human race as imagined in 5000+ years.

Neal Stephenson is a fascinating author whose books span a wide variety of topics such as cryptography (Cryptonomicon) and massive multi-player online role playing games (Reamde), and the amount of research and detail he is able to weave into compelling storylines is truly amazing.