This book is from 1973. This book is antique so there is obvious wear and staining. Pages are yellowing from age. There are large, blind, carbon-eating insects, each one capable of emitting a tiny flame, each one mysteriously incapable of reproducing. Their swarm is relentless and unstoppable, leaving a wake of death and charred ruin. Scientists struggle to destroy them before they destroy the earth. All but one man. He has discovered the creatures' remarkable intelligence and a way to breed them.