Dystopian books aren´t necessarily my thing. In full honesty, I rarely fancy books and stories set in the future, as I am more interested to discover stories about the ongoing times or, as a historian, from the past. However, dystopian novels, particularly those with an ecological, often apocalyptic topic, do resonate with our present. A careless present when we focus too much on now, forgetting at what extent our intentions and thoughts or lack of action can influence the next generations.
Last year, almost 12 months ago, I had the chance to discover The Forcing, a fantastic eco-dystopian drama published by Orenda Books. Traumatic ecological catastrophies are forcing populations to run to better places, leaving behind histories and memories. It may not sound as dystopian as it may look like, as such displacements are already ongoing, although at a more moderate scale as those described in the book.
The Descent is a prequel, trying to go backwards, back to where all started. Kweku Ashworth wants to understand what happened with his mother during her journey half the world. There are topics and characters that may sound similar, however the book can be read and very good understood as an individual installment. The action and the character development are synchronised, offering both the background for action and the opportunity to get to know individual characters.
Both the images and the flow of ideas are very powerful, and I think this book - or both of them, suit very much a visual/movie-like rendition. Hopefully, someone will have this idea soon.
Rating: 4 stars
Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own
Thanks for the blog tour support x
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