The Life Lottery

The Life Lottery by Ian Irvine is a futuristic eco-thriller first published in 2004.

The Life Lottery

The Life Lottery Australian cover
Author	Ian Irvine
Language	English
Series	The Human Rites Trilogy
Genre	Future eco-thriller
Publisher	Simon & Schuster Australia
Publication date	August 2004
Publication place	Australia
Media type	Print (Paperback)
Preceded by	Terminator Gene
Followed by	-

It is the final book in the author's Human Rites Sequence, set after the events in Terminator Gene.

After the books' initial publication in 2004, it was reprinted by Simon and Schuster in Australia in 2010.

Titles of the Human Rites Sequence

• The Last Albatross (November 2000)
• Terminator Gene (April 2003)
• The Life Lottery (August 2004)

Plot summary

Irith Hardey's life is out of control.

The world's climate is in chaos. Rising seas have flooded out half a billion people. Hundreds of millions of refugees are pouring into the west, the global economy is collapsing and democracies are being crushed by the anti-refugee Yellow Armbands. But there is worse to come. In a desperate attempt to avert the coming ice age that will wipe out civilisation, the Great Powers have agreed to embark on the most monumental gamble of all time 100 Days to Save the World.

Climate scientist Irith Hardey is sure they've got it wrong. The U.S. President's pet scheme isn't going to save the world, but ruin it. Searching for the awful truth behind the 100 Days project, Irith is tormented by the Yellow Armbands, then hunted from blizzard-struck London to the Scottish Highlands and across the wild North Sea.

In a United States terrorized by gun-toting militias trying to bring down the President, Irith is forced to confront the worst nightmare any 21st-century woman can face, as she struggles to uncover the ghastly secret of the Life Lottery before 100 days are up.

Critical reception

Writing in The Sydney Morning Herald reviewer Tim Cadman noted: "Despite its incredibly gloomy theme the book is simply impossible to put down. The pace never slacks off, almost to the point of nervous exhaustion for the reader, since the relentless, action-driven narrative scarcely leaves time even for a coffee break. Besides the morbid attraction of seeing just how bad things can get (and as a scientist, Irvine knows what he's talking about), the addition of satire and farce makes the torment worthwhile."

Publishers

• Simon & Schuster Australia
• Mobipocket

External links

• Interview with Ian Irvine on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation

See also

• Clathrate gun hypothesis