[Yavicleus]

If you were going to write a fiction novel where the characters are facing first the plateau of peak oil, with all of its recessions, high gas prices, etc., followed by a steep decline, followed by another plateau, and then further moderate decline, then what would you want to see put in it?

I'm brainstorming things for my next novel. Hopefully I can get it written and published before the downslope kicks in.

Any suggestions would be welcomed.

Current ideas I'm mulling over:

An civil war in Saudi Arabia caused by the death of King Abdulla between various royal factions fighting for power, that escalates into a fight between Islamists and Royal clan A and Royal Clan B, which takes all of Saudi Arabia's oil production offline, which causes mass havoc in world economies.

The US, with it's military tied up in Iraq and Central Asia is unable to immediately halt the civil war there.

So in this case, the oil would still be there, but it just isn't being pumped, but would theoretically be pumped later once the fighting stops. In the meantime, the world is faced with a temporary crash in the oil markets and all kinds of government and economic chaos.

In such a scenario, I think a China vs US fight would be defused since suddenly both countries would have bigger problems to deal with domestically. Say, peasant revolutions in China when they can't get food or electricity, and massive political unrest in the US when people can't get gas for their SUV's, Walmart hasn't got any goods, and food has become rare and expensive, but still available.

I don't want the Peak Oil issues to dominate the plot of the novel, just to provide an interesting 'backdrop' for the rest of the villainies that the characters will go through.

But yeah, a general brainstorming here would be nice.

And no, I am not going to write any sort of Mad Max type stuff.

[EnergySpin]

Lot's of sex ... always work. Chinese chick sleeps with the Party Officer to feed her children, American chick sleeps with the fat slob who runs the gas station close to home, to feed her RAV. Show familiy relation detoriarations ... and yes the end of Reborn Christians in a big sexual-oil scandal

[venky]

Why do you want peak oil just to be the backdrop of the novel? Why dont you make it the central theme?

You could write about how various types of people would react, leaders of the west, the corrupt despots in the middle east, demagogues who spread hatred during the chaos, the average guy who can no longer afford to commute using his SUV and perhaps the poor guy in the third world who starves because he can no longer afford to buy food.

[Daculling]

If you have not, read Steven King's The Stand. Don't watch the movie. I know, it's 1000 pages but it flys by. It's about a super bug that destroys civilization but it's not about the bug...

That will give you a lot of ideas.

[doufus]

My novels never need a plot- which is probably why they don't
get published. Although i did actually have a real live LA movie
producer ready to sign an options contract once. I think i was no. 268
on his list of pitches...

Anyway, how about chaos as a theme .e.g. new saudi ruler confesses
on Oprah that he's gay (civil war); iranians invent new form of AIDS not from
funny biz with african green monkeys, but camels and threaten to use
it in an invasion. Huge number of camels imported to virus labs in
US to develop an antidote.

Goes nowhere but that's the point.

[venky]

What about a simple scenario, such as oil production peaks. At first its explained away with all the nonsense such new technology, fields, greedy Arabs and all that. But prices continue to rise and one day, sometime post 2010, the market wakes up and the stock market collapses like in 1929.

[Tanada]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Yavicleus', 'I')f you were going to write a fiction novel where the characters are facing first the plateau of peak oil, with all of its recessions, high gas prices, etc., followed by a steep decline, followed by another plateau, and then further moderate decline, then what would you want to see put in it?

I'm brainstorming things for my next novel. Hopefully I can get it written and published before the downslope kicks in.

Any suggestions would be welcomed.

Current ideas I'm mulling over:

An civil war in Saudi Arabia caused by the death of King Abdulla between various royal factions fighting for power, that escalates into a fight between Islamists and Royal clan A and Royal Clan B, which takes all of Saudi Arabia's oil production offline, which causes mass havoc in world economies.

The US, with it's military tied up in Iraq and Central Asia is unable to immediately halt the civil war there.

So in this case, the oil would still be there, but it just isn't being pumped, but would theoretically be pumped later once the fighting stops. In the meantime, the world is faced with a temporary crash in the oil markets and all kinds of government and economic chaos.

In such a scenario, I think a China vs US fight would be defused since suddenly both countries would have bigger problems to deal with domestically. Say, peasant revolutions in China when they can't get food or electricity, and massive political unrest in the US when people can't get gas for their SUV's, Walmart hasn't got any goods, and food has become rare and expensive, but still available.

I don't want the Peak Oil issues to dominate the plot of the novel, just to provide an interesting 'backdrop' for the rest of the villainies that the characters will go through.

But yeah, a general brainstorming here would be nice.

And no, I am not going to write any sort of Mad Max type stuff.

[Timo]

I'm just noting this thread, so pardom me for the 8 year delay in posting a response. My response is fairly self-serving, though, since i, too, have been pondering the basis for a post-peak oil novel. My original concept was to focus on the protagonist suffering from Alzheimer's with the PO chaos being the backdrop for his own, personal decline. The twist in the story, however, would be that he is able to maintain a very happy, contented disposition, whereas all of his family and caretakers are facing daily struggles to make ends meet. On his frequent walks, as Alzheimer's sufferers always tend to take, he discovers sources of naturally growing foods, like strawberries, tubers, edible berries, and other seasonal foods. For some reason unbeknownst to his caregivers, he's able remember the locations of these food sources, or rather, his knowledge of their locations becomes instinctual, rather than conscious memory. He ends up surviving quite well, even with his disease, while the world around him falls apart. Also, given his pleasant demeanor, he personally becomes a refuge for other people, seeking to be in his company to offset the misery they're experiencing in their other, outside lives. I haven't established an actual "plot" to the story yet, but that's the gist of the characterizations i've established, thus far. I do also share Tanada's question of your progress on you novel. Anything to report?