Ardent Forest: A Novella

by Nancy Jane Moore

“All the world’s a post-apocalyptic stage.” A re-telling of As You Like It set in a balkanized Texas after climate change and bad economic policies have brought about social collapse.

Genres: Dystopia

ebook

First published October 8, 2013

About the author

Nancy Jane Moore is the author of the science fiction novel, The Weave; the novellas Changeling and Ardent Forest; and the collections Conscientious Inconsistencies, Flashes of Illumination, and Walking Contradiction and Other Futures. Her short fiction has appeared in a number of anthologies and in magazines ranging from Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet to the National Law Journal.

A native Texan, Moore lives for many years in Washington, DC, and now makes her home with her sweetheart in Oakland, CA.

She has studied martial arts since 1979 and holds a fourth degree black belt in Aikido.

Reviews

[John Wood · Rating 4 out of 5]

This dystopian novella is set in Texas after the collapse of organized society.
We find out that Texas is divided into several fiefdoms based in the cities with less organized areas in between. As we follow the exploits of the two main protagonists, two young women who say they can't live without each other, we consider the structure of society and many types of human love. The characters are very interesting and I would love to see them developed more deeply in a full novel or series of novels. The author could then commit to a more well described society and develop the characters more fully. I enjoyed the interludes that allow the reader to get an idea of the author's thinking.
I received this book free from librarything.com.

[Tsipi Erann · Rating 2 out of 5]

Shakespeare sucks, and no attempt at pseudo queer friendliness will save it. Also he-she is not a brilliant new way to refer to intersex people, FFS.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ardent Forest by Nancy Jane Moore
This was a nice, if not overly complex, quick read that did not take much effort to get through.
The two privileged girls, Rosa and Cecily, are the step daughter and daughter, respectively, of the governor of Texas in a post economic meltdown of the US (and apparently that means the world too.)
The Governor, Guy Gisborn, seized the governorship from Rosa’s mother 5 years before the story takes place and in a fit of paranoia exiles Rosa from the city.
This sets up the rest of the story but I felt that everything came to the girls without the hardship and trials that make a good science fiction/ fantasy story. It had all the elements and the set up but the complexities were not there. The people or things they were looking for were found almost effortlessly.
If Moore was trying to also make a statement about sexuality and gender stereotypes in the modern world, that was also done poorly as the characters that were addressing these issues did not face any sort of judgement or hardship because of who they were, which is unfortunately the case at this point in time.
I gave this 2 out of 5 stars.
I received this book to review through Library Thing Early Reviewers

[Angie ~aka Reading Machine~ · Rating 3 out of 5]

After The Collapse, Texas is now governed by local governors. Guy Gisborn ousted Robin his wife seizing control and holding Robin's daughter Rosa hostage. He wants to dispose of Rosa keeping her away from Cecily at all costs. Robin wants to rescue her daughter from her ex husband clutches but cannot make a move against that would hurt Rosa. Guy's paranoia increases as his control slips away from him steadily. Can Rosa and Cecily get out of Gisborn's sight? Will Rosa contact Robin? Your answers await you in Ardent Forest.

Interesting take on divided country. This book had dystopian feel to it. I didn't like Guy or his actions. The characters were honest, real, and likeable. The story was quick read. I'd be interested in this author's work in the future.

[Matt Kurjanowicz · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel quite ambivalent about this novella. The story is simple. The author insists on switching between telling the story and telling me about the story. The part that really got to me was that I feel like the author was telling me how to think and what I should think about the story. I would have really enjoyed the book a lot more if I had been given the option of thinking critically about it.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

A strange little book (I usually prefer to read a BIG book and this is a novella. Got this as an early review copy from Librarything. Financial collapse leads to anarchy.. so the Doomsday Peppers were right! LOL. Didn't really enjoy the book but gave it 3 stars due to its haunting quality and it is well written. I won't forget it in a hurry - just not my cup of tea.