The Hope (The Forcing Trilogy Book 3) - Paul E Hardisty

In a ravaged future ruled by the descendants of those who caused the climate collapse, a teenager with a remarkable gift must flee for her life – and fight to save the last hope for humanity. The searing, unforgettable conclusion to the internationally acclaimed The Forcing trilogy.

The year is 2082. Climate collapse, famine and war have left the world in ruins. In the shadow of the Alpha-Omega regime – descendants of the super-rich architects of disaster – sixteen-year-old Boo Ashworth and her uncle risk everything to save what’s left of human knowledge, hiding the last surviving books in a secret library beneath the streets of Hobart.

But Boo has a secret of her own: an astonishing ability to memorise entire texts with perfect recall. When the library is discovered and destroyed, she’s forced to flee – armed with nothing but the stories she carries in her mind, and a growing understanding of her family’s true past. 

Hunted and alone, and with the help of some unlikely allies, she must fight to save her loved ones – and bring hope to a broken world.

Spanning three generations before, during and after the fall, The Hope is the shattering conclusion to Paul E. Hardisty’s critically acclaimed climate-emergency trilogy – a devastating, visionary thriller that dares to imagine the possibility of redemption in the face of near-total collapse. In a dying world, it asks the most urgent question of all: what if there’s still time? 

What did I think?

The Hope is the third and final book in The Forcing Trilogy and it is the perfect ending to a magnificent and hugely thought-provoking series.

Each book focuses on three generations of one family and The Hope is Boo's story.  I remember Boo from the previous book The Descent so it was good to catch up with her and other members of the family to see what happened next.  Although it is still a very dark and devastating story, the book is called The Hope after all so there is a more hopeful and uplifting end to this poignant tale.

It's almost like a book within a book as Boo's amazing memory recalls every word from her Uncle Kweku's book, The Descent.  I just love how all of the books link together to create one memorable and relevant story but you could read each one independently and still enjoy each book.

The world that Paul E Hardisty has built is disturbingly easy to imagine and although this is a fantastic dystopian novel, I don't want to pick it up in 40 years time (if I'm still alive) and see how much has come true.  Novels like this have the power to change the world and I just hope that people take notice.

Unmissable, unforgettable and powerful, The Hope is a thrilling conclusion to an outstanding trilogy that every reader should read.  Very highly recommended.

I received a gifted copy for the readalong and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

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The Descent (The Forcing Trilogy Book 2) - Paul E Hardisty

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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BLOG TOUR: Scorched Planet Policy - Bob Fairbrother

 

Captain Zail Jent has crashed her malfunctioning craft on Earth.

She gets out in time before it slips into a river, marooning her in a climate-ravaged, hostile part of the planet. And her smart suit that mind controls and protects her through a meds feed has failed, causing drug withdrawal amnesia and sickness. If she doesn’t get help soon, she is going to die.

With Zail’s memory gone, she puzzles over who she is, where she comes from, and what she is meant to do here. And how is she going to get home?

As her memory returns, Zail begins to question whether home is what she thought it was, forcing her to cast doubt on everyone.

But what if she is the one who should be feared?

What did I think?

Wow!  What an incredibly thought-provoking and entertaining read.  I don't read a lot of science fiction but I do like dystopian novels so I am so pleased that Scorched Planet Policy straddles both genres as it's an absolutely cracking book.

When Captain Zail Jent crashes her craft on Earth, she is shocked to see the damage humans have caused on their own planet.  Seeing Earth through alien eyes is incredibly powerful and it's actually heartbreaking to see what it looks like from space in Bob Fairbrother's imagined not too distant future of 2054.

It's quite a short book at 194 pages but it's worth taking your time over it to appreciate the intelligent plot and to consider the powerful and very realistic issues that face the planet.  To lighten the somewhat heavy storyline, it is written with a sprinkling of humour that did actually make me laugh out loud on numerous occasions.

Intelligent, thought-provoking and scarily realistic,  Scorched Planet Policy is an unforgettable and unmissable novel that will appeal to readers of all genres.  Even if you don't normally read science fiction or dystopian, you will not regret picking up this important and timely novel that entertains from start to finish.

I received a gifted paperback for the Love Books Tours bookstagram tour this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

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About the author:

Mentor and coach, trail runner, hiker, skier, French language mangler, book reader, junior football league volunteer, Brighton and Hove Albion FC supporter, player of the occasional game of table football, creator of the South Devon Book Festival and writing.

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The Forcing (The Forcing Trilogy Book 1) - Paul E Hardisty

Civilisation is collapsing…

Frustrated and angry after years of denial and inaction, in a last-ditch attempt to stave off disaster, a government of youth has taken power in North America, and a policy of institutionalised ageism has been introduced. All those older than the prescribed age are deemed responsible for the current state of the world, and are to be 'relocated', their property and assets confiscated.

David Ashworth, known by his friends and students as Teacher, and his wife May, find themselves among the thousands being moved to 'new accommodation' in the abandoned southern deserts – thrown together with a wealthy industrialist and his wife, a high court lawyer, two recent immigrants to America, and a hospital worker. Together, they must come to terms with their new lives in a land rendered unrecognisable.

As the terrible truth of their situation is revealed, lured by rumours of a tropical sanctuary where they can live in peace, they plan a perilous escape. But the world outside is more dangerous than they could ever have imagined. And for those who survive, nothing will ever be the same again… 

What did I think?

Oh my goodness, this book chilled me to the bone.  It's not a murder mystery (unless you consider what we're doing to the planet as murder) but it is so scarily realistic that it gives me goose bumps just thinking of it now.

The Forcing is a cli-fi dystopian thriller that acts as a timely reminder of what we could be facing as we overpopulate and destroy our planet.  The government have put a relocation programme in place, not unlike the 'relocation' of the Jewish population in World War II but this programme relocates older people to make room for the young.

There is a dual timeline as David aka Teach tells his story many years later so spoiler alert he clearly survives the relocation.  I really felt for Teach when he got his relocation letter and his only comfort is that his wife is going with him...although it's no comfort to his wife as she was happy to think that Teach would be going on his own!  Married life, eh?

I couldn't help but compare the plight of the people to the concentration camps of WWII and what is more scary is that I could imagine it actually happening now.  The Forcing is a powerful and timely reminder of how fragile and precious life is.

Compelling, thought-provoking and relevant, The Forcing is a chilling dystopian thriller that feels so incredibly possible.  A highly recommended read.

I received a digital copy for the readalong and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

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The Water That May Come - Amy Lilwall

As rising seas threaten to engulf Britain, four lives are on the brink: Pinko, a privileged heir clinging to decadence; Jane, a working-class veterinary nurse racing to reunite her family; her pregnant teenage daughter Ashleigh, grappling with impending motherhood; and humble young artist Gavin. With sanctuary beckoning across the Channel, each faces impossible choices. Who will they save? What will they sacrifice?

A lyrical, thought-provoking novel which blurs borders and challenges notions of identity and belonging. In a future where we all may become refugees, it asks: how far would you go to stay afloat? 

What did I think?

I. Am. Broken.  What an outstanding novel!  I didn't expect The Water That May Come to break my heart as much as it did but it really affected me and I have to admit that I may have shed a tear or two.

The timeline in the book ebbs and flows like the tide as the past is gradually revealed.  It is so incredibly thought-provoking and really made me think about the consequences of your actions, however small, causing ripples across time.  It's very much a sliding doors moment where things could have been completely different if only...

It is so beautifully written by Amy Lilwall with tension and suspense of the possible flood weaving through the prose as people try to flee to safety.  The four main characters all have contrasting circumstances and views but they are linked together by fate.  It made me wonder what I would do in the same situation and also made me consider refugees of today who leave their homeland in search of a better and safer life.

I went into The Water That May Come expecting a speculative, dystopian cli-fi thriller but it is so much more than that.  My heart was pounding so much it's no wonder that it eventually broke and I was absolutely devastated at a particularly poignant moment.  I'm feeling upset just thinking about it now; thar's how much the beautiful, evocative writing affected me.

Unputdownable and unforgettable, The Water That May Come is one of the most addictive books I've read this year.  A very highly recommended and unmissable read.  An easy five stars!

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

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BLOG TOUR: Strange Islands - Philip Stanier

A blind survivor.

A ship on an unknown voyage.

Islands that are both stories and worlds.

Rescued from a fire at sea, you are taken aboard a drifting ship. Each night, the captain describes a new island — places of wonder, ruin, satire, and sorrow. From hollowed out mountains to beaches rebuilt with every tide, these islands form a fractured atlas of a broken world. Strange Islands is a voyage told through fragments, fables, and uncanny visions.

 

What did I think?

Strange by name and strange by nature.  That was my initial impression of Strange Islands by Philip Stanier but as I turned each page I was drawn deeper and deeper into the weird and wonderful web that had been woven by the dreamlike and lyrical prose.

It's a very difficult book to describe as I think every reader needs to experience it for themselves.  I was just coasting along on a crest on a wave when I had a moment of clarity that made me exclaim out loud.  I think it was the chapter about skyscrapers that made me pause to reflect on the damage we have done to our planet.

Strange Islands is a book I would like to read again now that I have finished reading it.  It is so vividly described that I felt as if I had been pulled into the book to experience every island for myself.  It's a book that refuses to sit in any one genre; fantasy, cli-fi, dystopian, speculative...it has a foot in each one but is something very unique and unusual.

Captivating, thought-provoking and poetic, Strange Islands is a book that is difficult to put down once you pick it up and it is a book that has stayed with me long after turning the final page.  If you're looking for something extraordinary and original to read then I would highly recommend Strange Islands.

I received a gifted hardback to read and review for the Love Books Tours Bookstagram Tour and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

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BLOG TOUR: Manhattan Down - Michael Cordy

A propulsive rollercoaster high concept international thriller which dares to take the world to the edge of oblivion.

THE CITY THAT NEVER SLEEPS JUST SAID GOODNIGHT.

On the anniversary eve of the 9/11 terror attack, New York swelters under a heat dome of record temperatures. Even the global leaders assembled at the UN HQ are forced to admit that the climate crisis has reached boiling point and the world’s time is running out.

That same day, at precisely 5:25 p.m., everyone on Manhattan Island – every man, woman and child, including all the world leaders at the UN – falls unconscious. Everyone that is, except for Samantha Rossi, a single mother reeling from devastating personal news and Nick Lockwood, a wounded NYPD detective who wakes from a coma just as the City That Never Sleeps falls into one.

Rossi’s first concern is her daughter. Lockwood’s is his city. As night draws in, they must work together to unravel the mystery of what has happened and why. Each must decide how far they will go and what lines they will cross to save what matters most to them.

Manhattan Down is a pulse-pounding contemporary thriller which dares to imagine the unimaginable, a leaderless world being held to ransom by forces unknown for reasons unknown. The questions it asks are terrifying – and so are some of the answers.

 

What did I think?

That chilling strapline really made me sit up and take notice of Michael Cordy's new thriller, Manhattan Down, and it delivered chills and thrills on every page.  It's an incredibly original and highly imaginative thriller that takes the reader to the real, and scarily empty, streets of Manhattan in a breathtaking race against time.

When Manhattan falls asleep on 10th September, only a handful of people are left walking the streets: a group of eco-terrorists, a wounded detective and a single mother.  Nick Lockwood has sworn to protect and serve so he only has one thing on his mind: save the city.  Samantha Rossi is like a lion with its cub as she trawls the streets of Manhattan to find her daughter.  It's only a matter of time before the pair cross paths with both each other and the people responsible for bringing Manhattan to its knees.

I have got goosebumps just thinking about the book and my thoughts have been well and truly provoked.  It's like a cross between Die Hard and 24 and it would be an absolute travesty if this amazing book is not picked up for the big screen.  There are so many interesting subjects running alongside the razor-sharp plot to provoke debate, which makes this book a great choice for book groups.

Chilling, gripping, blisteringly fast-paced and scarily realistic, Manhattan Down is a breathtaking cli-fi thriller that had me on the edge of my seat from start to finish.  I couldn't put it down and would highly recommend this completely unmissable and unforgettable book.  An easy five stars!

I received an ARC to read and review for the blog tour and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

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