Booklog 31/2020: Adrian Tchaikovsky: Firewalkers

[jacey]

This novella shines a light on to a dystopian future where climate change, capitalism and class have brutalised the human story on Earth. Mao, Lupe and Hotep are firewalkers. They repair and retrieve tech from the brutal equatorial desert to the Anchor, the base of the space elevator that takes those who can afford it, and who fit the profile, up to the waiting space liner. Given the task of figuring out why the power supply from the solar fields is browning out Mao & co. set off into the desert in a 'bug' which is barely up to carrying the three of them, keeping them cool (ish) and supplying them with water. They make some discoveries that change the way they see the world. The characters, particularly Mao, are well drawn. Mr. Tchaikovsky manages to wrap a gritty, gripping adventure into a piece that starkly outlines our own (current and future?) social problems. It's a quick read, but when it comes, the ending is fast, maybe too fast. This is a novella, but it could so easily have been a novel. The last chapter had enough to fill a book (which I would be happy to read).

 

 

 

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