Faction about the insiduous coal seam gas industry in Australia.
When little Charlie Paxton aged only six passes away with a mysterious form of cancer, his father, Charles, swears to have his revenge on those who he believes have killed his son.
The water and the air in the Fisher Valley was pristine before the gas companies came to the valley with government endorsed coal seam gas exploration and development licences. Then they marched roughshod over the owners of privately owned highly productive farming and grazing land, treating them with disdain and little in the way of compensation. After drilling they pumped water, sand and toxic chemicals at high pressure hundreds of metres into the ground in a process known as fracking that exploded the coal seams, releasing the methane while paying scant attention heed to the ground, air and water pollution they were creating.
Charles Paxton is determined to stop the gas companies even if it means blowing up their wells and blocking their access to prime agricultural properties. But big gas is powerful and backed by rapacious governments who won’t hesitate to use their police and army to smash through blockades. Can a small group of farmers, greens and right wing conservatives stand against the might of big gas and the governments complicit in helping it?
Helios is an award winning novel about a brilliant inventor of new technology, a fallen CEO seeking redemption, and an idealistic youth who comes of age in corporate America.
