A young man and his young family set out on a perilous voyage across a devastated planet to uncover the origin of the events that set the world on its course to disaster … The prescient, deeply shocking prequel to the bestselling, critically acclaimed Climate Emergency thriller, The Forcing.
Kweku Ashworth is a child of the cataclysm, born on a sailboat to parents fleeing the devastation in search for a refuge in the Southern Ocean. Growing up in a world forever changed, his only connection to the events that set the planet on its course to disaster were the stories his step-father, long-dead, recorded in his manuscript, The Forcing.
But there are huge gaps in his stepfather's account, and when Kweku stumbles across a clandestine broadcast by someone close to the men who forced the globe into a climate catastrophe, he knows that it is time to find out for himself.
Kweku and his young family set out on a perilous voyage across a devastated planet. What they find will challenge not only their faith in humanity, but their ability to stay alive.
The devastating, nerve-shattering prequel to the critically acclaimed thriller The Forcing, a story of survival, hope, and the power of the human spirit in a world torn apart by climate change.
What did I think?
Wow! The Descent is very cleverly both a prequel and a sequel to The Forcing with a dual timeline set both before and after events in book 1. Whilst it does read well as a standalone, I think it's worth reading the books in order to appreciate the sheer devastation of the future world that Paul E Hardisty has imagined.
The Descent is Kweku's story and to understand Kweku's world we need to go back to the past via diary entries from a mysterious woman called 'Sparkplug'. Sparkplug is part of business man Derek Argent's team and I didn't think he could be more odious than he was in The Forcing but I was wrong. He's a character that you love to hate and boy did I detest him!
With so much going on in both timelines, the novel has a blisteringly fast pace and I couldn't read it fast enough. It's bleak, earth-shattering and mind-blowing in its brilliance as it forces us to consider our actions today to make a better world for tomorrow.
Devastating, shocking and thought-provoking, The Descent is a book I can't stop thinking about long after turning the final page. A highly recommended read and I can't wait to read the final book in the trilogy.
I received a digital copy for the readalong and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.
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