When Fiction Feels Like Reality: Mount Spurr, Global Eruptions, and the World of Inversion

A vigorous eruption column rising over the summit of 1,282-m (4,206 ft)-high Augustine Volcano. Photograph by M.E. Yount, U.S. Geological Survey, March 31, 1986.

 The earth never stops moving beneath our feet, but sometimes, its rumblings are impossible to ignore. Recent reports indicate that Mount Spurr, a towering peak northwest of Anchorage, Alaska, is showing signs of potential eruption. Increased gas emissions, heightened seismic activity, and indications of magma movement have raised concerns that an eruption may be imminent. The last time Mount Spurr erupted was in 1992, covering parts of Alaska with ash and severely disrupting air travel. Now, over three decades later, scientists are closely monitoring its behavior — and the parallels to my novel Inversion are impossible to overlook.

In Inversion, the world is thrown into chaos when a series of simultaneous volcanic eruptions occur across the globe. From Iceland to Antarctica, these eruptions trigger a chain reaction that envelopes the planet in a crystalline ice shell, a cataclysmic inversion of the environment that reshapes life as we know it. The presence of Popocatépetl in Mexico as one of the key eruption sites in the book has always felt like an eerie reflection of reality, but now, with Mount Spurr stirring as well, it feels even closer.

Mount Spurr isn’t the only volcano currently making headlines. Kīlauea in Hawaii, one of the world’s most active volcanoes, is on the verge of resuming its eruption cycle. Great Sitkin in Alaska continues to emit lava, signaling ongoing unrest. Meanwhile, Shiveluch in Russia and Marapi in Indonesia have both recently erupted, sending ash plumes into the sky and disrupting nearby communities. These events echo the very scenario imagined in Inversion — a volatile Earth flexing its muscles in ways we struggle to predict and contain.

In the novel, these eruptions aren't isolated disasters — they mark the beginning of a profound shift in the planet's equilibrium. The ash and vapor released into the atmosphere begin to crystallize, forming a mysterious ice shell that reshapes the environment and unleashes unexpected consequences, including the return of prehistoric creatures long thought extinct.

While Inversion is speculative fiction, the science behind volcanic eruptions is very real. The power these geological giants hold to alter weather patterns, disrupt ecosystems, and even cool global temperatures is well-documented. The eruption of Mount Tambora in 1815 caused the "Year Without a Summer," plunging temperatures and devastating crops worldwide. Imagine a world where multiple volcanoes trigger such effects simultaneously, a chilling reminder that Earth's power can defy our best predictions.

The tension in Inversion isn’t just about surviving the immediate disaster, it’s about adapting to the unknown. As scientists, governments, and ordinary people grapple with a radically altered world, they face questions of resilience, cooperation, and survival.

Watching the recent volcanic updates unfold makes me reflect on those same themes. What happens when nature reasserts control in ways we can’t anticipate? Are we prepared to adapt, not just physically, but socially, politically, and emotionally?

For those who have read Inversion, recent headlines may feel unsettlingly familiar. For those who haven't, the book offers a window into a world where Earth's upheaval forces humanity to confront its limits — and its strength.

The story I wrote may be fiction, but with each tremor from Mount Spurr and beyond, I’m reminded just how thin the line is between imagination and reality.