The pseudonymous Reiss, in his unsettling debut, depicts a truly frightening scenario: a deadly microbe contaminates the world oil supply, effectively shutting down all cars, planes and machines—anything driven by oil. Food supplies and electricity run out. Police have no way to patrol the streets. Gangs and marauders seize control in the world capitals. Scrambling to find not only a solution to the problem but who's behind it is Greg Gillette, an epidemiologist for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As Gillette furiously tracks the microbe from the Nevada desert to rural Massachusetts, experts predict total chaos will soon sweep Earth. Lost in the maelstrom, however, is a full explanation of how the microbe works and the motive behind the calamity. Still, Reiss, a Hollywood screenwriter, has created a true page-turner of pell-mell action and momentum, already in production as a movie produced by Tom Jacobson. (Feb.)