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This paper analyses the use of the rhetoric of the Apocalypse and the concept of nature's revenge in Frank Schatzing's eco-thriller The Swarm. Ecocritical research has identified these narrative patterns as characteristic of contemporary environmental literature. In The Swarm, the apocalyptical rhetoric fulfils the double function of providing thrill and pleasure to the readers and warning them about imminent environmental peril, thereby combining conventions from the two genres of eco-thriller and science fiction. Contrasting reviews have described the novel as either enlightening or pseudo-religious. This ambivalence is the effect of various strategies employed to popularise scientific knowledge in the novel. The narrative embraces various scientific fields, for example the depiction of a network in contrast to swarm theory. The key conflict in the story embodies conflicting concepts of nature - anthropocentric vs. eco-systemic - which are represented by two contrasting groups of characters: one aiming to extinguish the alien superorganism that attacks the human race, the other aspiring to integrate the alien organism into the human world and propagating a holistic view of the Earth. The concepts of a 'tragic' and a 'comical apocalypse' correspond to the double closure which first features a show-down, the annihilation of the 'bad' characters, and then, in the epilogue, a warning message delivered by a 'good' character which confirms - in contrast to, for example, Michael Crichton's State of Fear - the ongoing environmental crisis. Although the epilogue extensively appeals to the human ability to rethink attitudes towards nature, the novel's support for environmental concerns is limited, not only because this message remains rather abstract but also because the vision of a reconciled, pseudo-religious ecosystem as a holistic superorganism has a highly ambivalent meaning for humanity. Resumen Este trabajo analiza el uso de la retorica del Apocalipsis y el concepto de la venganza de la naturaleza en la novela de eco-suspense El Quinto Dia de Frank Schatzing. Estudios realizados en ecocritica han identificado estos patrones narrativos como caracteristicos de la literatura medioambiental contemporanea. En El Quinto Dia, la retorica apocaliptica cumple una doble funcion: proporciona emocion y placer a los lectores y les advierte sobre el peligro ambiental inminente - combinando asi las convenciones de los dos generos de eco-suspense y ciencia ficcion. Resenas opuestas han descrito la novela como instructiva o pseudoreligiosa, siendo esta ambivalencia el efecto de las estrategias variadas para popularizar el conocimiento cientifico en la novela. El relato abarca diversos campos cientificos, por ejemplo, la representacion de una red, en contraste con la teoria de enjambres. El conflicto clave en la historia incorpora conceptos contradictorios de la naturaleza - antropocentrico vs eco-sistemico - que estan representados por dos grupos opuestos de personajes: uno con el objetivo de extinguir el superorganismo alienigeno que ataca a la raza humana, y el otro que aspira a integrar al organismo alienigeno en el mundo humano y a propagar una vision holistica de la Tierra. Los conceptos de un "apocalipsis tragico y comico" corresponden con el doble final: en primer lugar se nos presenta una confrontacion donde se aniquila a los "malos" personajes y, luego en el epilogo, un mensaje de aviso emitido por una figura "positiva" que confirma la crisis ambiental que continua - en contraste con, por ejemplo, Estado de Miedo de Michael Crichton.

Popular Science and Apocalyptic Narrative in Frank Schätzing’s The Swarm