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Watershed
Savage and apocalyptic, this is the new world.
Devoid of rain, the earth has shrunk to dust and salt, hemmed by a swollen sea. Survivors gather to re-establish order but it's nothing like before.
It is Jeremiah's world.
Commanded by the cruel Garrick, Jem is a Watchman and hunter of Disses: rebels who dare to challenge the Tower and its ruling Council. Loner by design and killer by nature, he's unapologetically part of a cruel regime until a new assignment exposes a web of deceit, and past sins demand their reckoning. When a young boy elicits his sympathy, and an enigmatic woman his interest, Jem is made to question everything he believes before undertaking one last terrifying mission. Now he must do unto others if he's to take care of his own.
In this dark and compelling first novel from a stunning new voice in fiction, it is impossible to know who is friend or foe, hero or villain.
Devoid of rain, the earth has shrunk to dust and salt, hemmed by a swollen sea. Survivors gather to re-establish order but it's nothing like before.
It is Jeremiah's world.
Commanded by the cruel Garrick, Jem is a Watchman and hunter of Disses: rebels who dare to challenge the Tower and its ruling Council. Loner by design and killer by nature, he's unapologetically part of a cruel regime until a new assignment exposes a web of deceit, and past sins demand their reckoning. When a young boy elicits his sympathy, and an enigmatic woman his interest, Jem is made to question everything he believes before undertaking one last terrifying mission. Now he must do unto others if he's to take care of his own.
In this dark and compelling first novel from a stunning new voice in fiction, it is impossible to know who is friend or foe, hero or villain.
440 pages, Paperback
Published May 30, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
January 19, 2020
‘Whenever we’re faced with something new, we can only measure it by what we already know.’
Imagine. A world where rising sea levels have sunk low-lying countries. A world where rain over the remaining land mass is non-existent. Imagine. In the post-apocalyptic world depicted in ‘Watershed’, water is the only currency. The Last Rains fell over land many years ago, and while ships are sent far out to sea to try to reclaim water from the rainfall, people recycle their urine in order to survive.
Imagine. It’s a world in which most animals have been lost, along with energy generation, and most technology. A desolate landscape burnt to ash.
‘Before the rains stopped, there was the rule of threes: three minutes without air, three days without water, three weeks without food. When the water disappeared, people learned to extend the second rule, eke out the time, stretching it to four days or more.’
Imagine. Somewhere in the southern hemisphere, where those who remain, who live in relative safety in the Citadel, are ruled by the Council in the Tower. A shadowy, powerful group controlling food, water, population movement and weapons. Not everyone lives in the Citadel, there are dissidents who try to survive outside, who challenge the regime, its guards and its rule.
Jem is a Watchman:
‘By the time I’d killed a hundred, I was already in my twenty-fourth year. Or maybe it was my twenty-third or my twenty-fifth. I don’t know, we never kept track of our ages, just our scores.’
Jem’s job is to kill dissidents, to try to wipe out rebellion.
Forty years earlier, Jem’s mother is born as her family flees the rising seas. They flee from one danger to another: inland there are roaming vigilantes, a lack of food and water.
Two narratives: the earlier narrative gives a still recognisable past; the present narrative gives us a brutal present. And the future? Is there a future? Can there be?
I picked up this novel and, against the background of Australia’s terrible drought and raging bushfires, was immediately drawn into this horrifying dystopian world. I finished reading the book on Christmas Day, have been dipping in and out since. While Jem and some of the other characters held my attention, it was the description of the landscape that has had me rereading.
‘There’s something real spooky about a dead tree … It’s the desolation, the look-what’s-left-of-me condemnation.’
If I’d read this novel when it was first published in 2016, I would have been comfortable seeing it as purely dystopian reading. Reading it in December 2019, revisiting it in January 2020, it feels all too real. It’s uncomfortable.
This is Ms Abbott's debut novel. Imagine.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Imagine. A world where rising sea levels have sunk low-lying countries. A world where rain over the remaining land mass is non-existent. Imagine. In the post-apocalyptic world depicted in ‘Watershed’, water is the only currency. The Last Rains fell over land many years ago, and while ships are sent far out to sea to try to reclaim water from the rainfall, people recycle their urine in order to survive.
Imagine. It’s a world in which most animals have been lost, along with energy generation, and most technology. A desolate landscape burnt to ash.
‘Before the rains stopped, there was the rule of threes: three minutes without air, three days without water, three weeks without food. When the water disappeared, people learned to extend the second rule, eke out the time, stretching it to four days or more.’
Imagine. Somewhere in the southern hemisphere, where those who remain, who live in relative safety in the Citadel, are ruled by the Council in the Tower. A shadowy, powerful group controlling food, water, population movement and weapons. Not everyone lives in the Citadel, there are dissidents who try to survive outside, who challenge the regime, its guards and its rule.
Jem is a Watchman:
‘By the time I’d killed a hundred, I was already in my twenty-fourth year. Or maybe it was my twenty-third or my twenty-fifth. I don’t know, we never kept track of our ages, just our scores.’
Jem’s job is to kill dissidents, to try to wipe out rebellion.
Forty years earlier, Jem’s mother is born as her family flees the rising seas. They flee from one danger to another: inland there are roaming vigilantes, a lack of food and water.
Two narratives: the earlier narrative gives a still recognisable past; the present narrative gives us a brutal present. And the future? Is there a future? Can there be?
I picked up this novel and, against the background of Australia’s terrible drought and raging bushfires, was immediately drawn into this horrifying dystopian world. I finished reading the book on Christmas Day, have been dipping in and out since. While Jem and some of the other characters held my attention, it was the description of the landscape that has had me rereading.
‘There’s something real spooky about a dead tree … It’s the desolation, the look-what’s-left-of-me condemnation.’
If I’d read this novel when it was first published in 2016, I would have been comfortable seeing it as purely dystopian reading. Reading it in December 2019, revisiting it in January 2020, it feels all too real. It’s uncomfortable.
This is Ms Abbott's debut novel. Imagine.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
July 21, 2016
I love discovering a new Australian author and reading genres that are a bit outside my comfort zone. Watershed, the debut novel by Jane Abbott, was absolutely unputdownable. I was hooked from the first pages because of Jane's sympathetic and realistic portraits of her characters, along with a racing narrative that keeps a tight tension for the entire book. Watershed is set in a post-apocalyptic world where there is no longer any argument about climate change. Rising sea levels have decimated low-lying countries. The Last Rains fell many years ago, and the scarcity of water has now become a valuable commodity; the only currency, in fact. People must recycle their own urine in order to survive. With the loss of most of the animal kingdom, electricity, computers, and most infrastructure as we know it, clusters of people are forced to survive in a desolate landscape burnt to ash. The rain only falls - frustratingly - far out to sea; ships are sent to try and reclaim what they can. The setting (somewhere in the southern hemisphere, probably Australia) is ruled by the Council in the Tower, a shady group who control population movement, food, weapons and of course, water. Dissidents challenge the regime and try to survive outside the Citadel and its rules and Guards. Jem is a Watchman whose sole objective is to crush rebellion, but when a young injured boy steals his heart, and a feisty woman engages his emotions, he is forced to rethink his motivations and allegiances in order to care for his own, and to ensure his own survival.
The narrative is told in an interesting parallel form: we begin 40 years earlier, with the birth of Jem's mother, as her family flees the rising seas, facing the even greater dangers of the outback and the roving groups of vigilantes. Interspersed with these sections are 40 years on, when Jem is grown and part of the cruel ruling regime. This twin narrative is executed skilfully, and as the two parallels converge, like train tracks on a distant horizon, we begin to understand how the past has caught up with the future, to become the present.
The world of Watershed is grim, gripping, raw and confronting. Brutal violence, sexual violence and torture are commonplace. But these aspects of the novel never feel gratuitous. The harsh living conditions and the barbaric way in which people treat each other seem entirely warranted, under the circumstances. And in fact, this constant level of greed, selfishness, fierce competition and ruling power of the haves over the have-nots only serves to emphasise the moments of tenderness and compassion peppered throughout the book. For there are such moments - of friendship, loyalty, protection and self-sacrifice - and they are all the more moving and potent because of the grinding severity and mercilessness that pervades the atmosphere generally.
Another thing that tempers the brutality and violence is Jem's sharp and droll sense of humour - even in the worst situations, his wit relieves the tension.
As I said, the dystopian genre is not one I am usually drawn to, but the story in this novel far outweighs genre, time or place. I cared about these characters from the very first pages and - the sign of a good novel - I cared not only for the protagonists, but also the antagonists, too, because I could clearly see where they came from and how they came to be the way they are; I could comprehend their motivations and their history. Even good people have to make choices between the lesser of two evils, and this is very confronting and thought-provoking.
I also think that this novel draws some valid and interesting comparisons with the asylum seekers of today - with the rising tide of people forced to move from one place to another, with ill-equipped and dangerous refugee camps, and with the tentative uncertainty of displaced people trying to care for their families. By the end of the book, you can understand actions that at the beginning would have seemed unthinkable and outrageous, much as I imagine if most of us were put in the place of asylum seekers, we might find ourselves comtemplating actions that would seem to us - now - beyond comprehension. The survival instinct is innate, and people find the strength and courage to do the impossible when the fate of those they love is in their hands.
I can easily picture this book as a movie. And Jane has rather cleverly ended it with a satifying resolution, but with scope for a sequel (I hope?!)
The narrative is told in an interesting parallel form: we begin 40 years earlier, with the birth of Jem's mother, as her family flees the rising seas, facing the even greater dangers of the outback and the roving groups of vigilantes. Interspersed with these sections are 40 years on, when Jem is grown and part of the cruel ruling regime. This twin narrative is executed skilfully, and as the two parallels converge, like train tracks on a distant horizon, we begin to understand how the past has caught up with the future, to become the present.
The world of Watershed is grim, gripping, raw and confronting. Brutal violence, sexual violence and torture are commonplace. But these aspects of the novel never feel gratuitous. The harsh living conditions and the barbaric way in which people treat each other seem entirely warranted, under the circumstances. And in fact, this constant level of greed, selfishness, fierce competition and ruling power of the haves over the have-nots only serves to emphasise the moments of tenderness and compassion peppered throughout the book. For there are such moments - of friendship, loyalty, protection and self-sacrifice - and they are all the more moving and potent because of the grinding severity and mercilessness that pervades the atmosphere generally.
Another thing that tempers the brutality and violence is Jem's sharp and droll sense of humour - even in the worst situations, his wit relieves the tension.
As I said, the dystopian genre is not one I am usually drawn to, but the story in this novel far outweighs genre, time or place. I cared about these characters from the very first pages and - the sign of a good novel - I cared not only for the protagonists, but also the antagonists, too, because I could clearly see where they came from and how they came to be the way they are; I could comprehend their motivations and their history. Even good people have to make choices between the lesser of two evils, and this is very confronting and thought-provoking.
I also think that this novel draws some valid and interesting comparisons with the asylum seekers of today - with the rising tide of people forced to move from one place to another, with ill-equipped and dangerous refugee camps, and with the tentative uncertainty of displaced people trying to care for their families. By the end of the book, you can understand actions that at the beginning would have seemed unthinkable and outrageous, much as I imagine if most of us were put in the place of asylum seekers, we might find ourselves comtemplating actions that would seem to us - now - beyond comprehension. The survival instinct is innate, and people find the strength and courage to do the impossible when the fate of those they love is in their hands.
I can easily picture this book as a movie. And Jane has rather cleverly ended it with a satifying resolution, but with scope for a sequel (I hope?!)
December 30, 2018
2.5. A bit of a mess. Seems pretty clearly to be setting up for at least a sequel, but there's *so* much build and not enough reward in this book. Its suspense plot is needlessly complicated, and by 440 pages even characters are scratching their heads about what anything means. It's also unnecessarily (and kind of impossibly) violent. There is *so* much sexual violence against women and macho hypermasculinity, and some pretty b-level gore besides. It really reaches for levels of intrigue and provocation that it's just not capable of achieving. Somewhere in the milieu of McCarthy's THE ROAD and the film MAD MAX: FURY ROAD, but not as compelling as either.
September 12, 2018
Disclaimer: the author is a personal friend. I have tried to be objective.
I was lucky enough to read an advance copy of Watershed. And what a beautiful, gut-wrenching read it was - fast paced and intriguing, alternately depressing and hopeful.
The novel tells twin stories: one following Sarah as a (nearish) future Australia turns into a harsh, desperate dystopia and she and her family adapt and survive; the other years later, following her grandson Jem as an adult forced into a brutal livelihood. In many ways the converging stories are emotional and psychological opposites, connecting in unexpected ways.
I should note that it's not a book for the easily shocked - it is regularly and extremely violent, and there's plenty of swearing and sex if those sorts of things bother you. It is also pretty grim in tone, so factor in your emotions and general optimism being crushed.
Abbott's use of language is alternately rich and blunt, stripped-bare and descriptive, but always evocative. Through this dystopia she critiques not only the environmental vandalism leading to her apocalyptic-dry continent but the social and economic realities driving it, and the nature of humans. It is a clever, tense, gritty novel, and an impressive debut. Highly recommended.
I was lucky enough to read an advance copy of Watershed. And what a beautiful, gut-wrenching read it was - fast paced and intriguing, alternately depressing and hopeful.
The novel tells twin stories: one following Sarah as a (nearish) future Australia turns into a harsh, desperate dystopia and she and her family adapt and survive; the other years later, following her grandson Jem as an adult forced into a brutal livelihood. In many ways the converging stories are emotional and psychological opposites, connecting in unexpected ways.
I should note that it's not a book for the easily shocked - it is regularly and extremely violent, and there's plenty of swearing and sex if those sorts of things bother you. It is also pretty grim in tone, so factor in your emotions and general optimism being crushed.
Abbott's use of language is alternately rich and blunt, stripped-bare and descriptive, but always evocative. Through this dystopia she critiques not only the environmental vandalism leading to her apocalyptic-dry continent but the social and economic realities driving it, and the nature of humans. It is a clever, tense, gritty novel, and an impressive debut. Highly recommended.
February 27, 2017
To be honest, I'm abandoning this about 100 pages out from the end. Mainly because I just don't care. The future imagined is fascinating, but the story doesn't maintain any of the hope that is needed to even out this bleak world. I stopped reading because I realized I had stopped caring how it ends or lives or dies. There's no one to root for in this story, and while all stories don't need champions this one certainly did.
September 11, 2016
I read this book in one day. I yelled at everyone that tried to interrupt me. It was fantastic.
Every time I thought I had figured out what was happening, smugly thinking I knew exactly what the twist would be, something completely unexpected happened. I loved and hated each character, generally at the same time, and the story kept me hooked. When I finished I flicked the last page back and forth several times because I didn't want to believe it was over, then furiously began Googling whether there would be a sequel - which thank God, there will be!
This book was the best thing I've read in a long time, and I have recommended it to everyone I see. And now I'm recommending it to you. Read it. Trust me.
Every time I thought I had figured out what was happening, smugly thinking I knew exactly what the twist would be, something completely unexpected happened. I loved and hated each character, generally at the same time, and the story kept me hooked. When I finished I flicked the last page back and forth several times because I didn't want to believe it was over, then furiously began Googling whether there would be a sequel - which thank God, there will be!
This book was the best thing I've read in a long time, and I have recommended it to everyone I see. And now I'm recommending it to you. Read it. Trust me.
August 19, 2019
This was an utterly unputdownable book for me. It maps humanity's descent into the worst of our nature and then asks how do we rise above it again? Watershed is the perfect illustration of the theory that we are the product of our circumstances. Our environment shapes our actions.
Back in 2016 author Jane Abbott told SMH: "I think we would revert to everything we have tried to avoid being."
There is gratuitous, horrific violence and it's very hard to tell who you're supposed to be cheering on. There are no good guys.
If you liked the Game of Thrones TV series you'll probably like Watershed. Jeremiah's expertise, flippant attitude to killing and tendency to do what serves his own best interests - all with a hefty dose of sass - reminded me of a younger Bronn. Garrick's terrifying enjoyment of torture and power gave me shivering recollections of GoT's Ramsay Bolton, albeit ever so slightly nicer.
Now for the bad news: though it was only published in 2016, Watershed is already out of print. It's still available to purchase in ebook format, or your library probably has a copy. It did, after all, win the Victorian Premier's Award for an Unpublished Manuscript.
If this sounds like your kind of genre I highly recommend seeking out a copy.
Back in 2016 author Jane Abbott told SMH: "I think we would revert to everything we have tried to avoid being."
There is gratuitous, horrific violence and it's very hard to tell who you're supposed to be cheering on. There are no good guys.
If you liked the Game of Thrones TV series you'll probably like Watershed. Jeremiah's expertise, flippant attitude to killing and tendency to do what serves his own best interests - all with a hefty dose of sass - reminded me of a younger Bronn. Garrick's terrifying enjoyment of torture and power gave me shivering recollections of GoT's Ramsay Bolton, albeit ever so slightly nicer.
Now for the bad news: though it was only published in 2016, Watershed is already out of print. It's still available to purchase in ebook format, or your library probably has a copy. It did, after all, win the Victorian Premier's Award for an Unpublished Manuscript.
If this sounds like your kind of genre I highly recommend seeking out a copy.
October 18, 2019
Complete waste of time and utterly dreadful, trying so hard to be ‘edgy’ and ‘shocking’. I gave up about 100 pages in.
Abuse triggers ahead.
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The constant sexual violance *only^ directed at women, like it can only be committed against women, and only by men as well, was the peak of how bad this book was. Violence exists in many forms, but rape isn’t the only one, or the ‘worst’ - and it isn’t limited by gender, victim or perpetrator, either.
However this aithor seems to think that rape is the currency & gears of a post apoc world, all women are victims, all men are hyper masculine alpha males who desire rape gratification above all else, and her audience feels like horny preteens looking for porn instead of a dystopian world.
This was like reading a bad cooycat of Richard Laymon. No plot, dull characters, cliches, and again; the high level, prevalent sex and rapes used as story, character histories, and interest.
Abuse triggers ahead.
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
The constant sexual violance *only^ directed at women, like it can only be committed against women, and only by men as well, was the peak of how bad this book was. Violence exists in many forms, but rape isn’t the only one, or the ‘worst’ - and it isn’t limited by gender, victim or perpetrator, either.
However this aithor seems to think that rape is the currency & gears of a post apoc world, all women are victims, all men are hyper masculine alpha males who desire rape gratification above all else, and her audience feels like horny preteens looking for porn instead of a dystopian world.
This was like reading a bad cooycat of Richard Laymon. No plot, dull characters, cliches, and again; the high level, prevalent sex and rapes used as story, character histories, and interest.
August 30, 2020
An interesting take on the evil inflicted by men on others, including those they love. It is a take that refuses to look itself in the face but marches on regardless. Some very unconvincing but main characters in terms of moral flexibility and physical endurance weakens its arguments. There is much distracting and glorifying of character and facts hovering over where the central chararacter is actually coming from. At the same the evil he, and others he shows loyalty to and affection for, commit are evils that litter human history and are ongoing today. When the mists do begin to clear the story's motives for faffing about re whether he is one of the good guys or not is depressingly obvious. One star for the narrative skill in making me stick with it to the end despite whether I gained anything from reading it.
April 24, 2018
Dystopian future where water is in very short supply and civilization has regressed to 4th world levels.
The main character does half the narration.
He's not as clever as he needs to be and everyone else has more knowledge about what's happening than him, and he's not really your hero type.
The other half is the back story of how he got there.
The two threads alternate by chapter so you are backwards and forwards in time but it's well done. There is no confusion from that source.
The plot I'm not so sure about. Maybe I missed something. Seemed to be a couple of holes in it to me, but not to worry.
The ending was appropriate.
Not really sure why I liked it so much, but given that I didn't finish it until 2am, I have to say it got me in.
The main character does half the narration.
He's not as clever as he needs to be and everyone else has more knowledge about what's happening than him, and he's not really your hero type.
The other half is the back story of how he got there.
The two threads alternate by chapter so you are backwards and forwards in time but it's well done. There is no confusion from that source.
The plot I'm not so sure about. Maybe I missed something. Seemed to be a couple of holes in it to me, but not to worry.
The ending was appropriate.
Not really sure why I liked it so much, but given that I didn't finish it until 2am, I have to say it got me in.
November 16, 2019
There was a pathologically violent character introduced in the first chapter that I knew I didn’t want to read any more about.
August 25, 2020
A dystopian Australia where all the water has run out & the systems of governing are sinister & brutal. A strong sense of place in this story with enough grit in the plot to be enthralling
December 14, 2025
Absolutely stunning! And so outrageously believable. Post-apocalyptic with Mad Max vibes, and with twists I did not see coming. I'm surprised it hasn't made it to the big screen. Unforgettable.
May 15, 2017
I hung in and read till the end ,but it wasn't a satisfying read .Just never reach its potential. There's bleak and then there's depressed frankly Jem could have done with hrlp.,for the life of me I couldn't understand why he continued on there was no feeling of hope for the future at all .Shame I was hoping it would be good
March 1, 2017
Stunning.
April 15, 2016
I didn't know what to think of Watershed when I first started it. I am not usually a fan of more than one voice telling the story but in this book it is important to her from Gram (Sarah), just as much as it is to listen to Jem's voice. I didn't think I would last through page 50 but something happened and it just sucked me right in...until I finished the last 100 pages in one sitting, late at night (regretting it slightly the next morning at work!).
Ironically, whilst reading this book about a world that uses water as currency, I spent most of my time enjoying it in a nice hot bath. I did feel a little guilty about that, but it soothed away the hurts that I felt as I read Jem and Sarah's stories.
Through Sarah's eyes, we watch the world we know today fall apart and chaos reign. We watch as her family learns to cope in this world devoid of nearly everything except hate. In between Sarah's story we read about our main protagonist, Jeremiah of the Watchmen. We hurt when he hurts, we feel for his lack of emotions except anger, and we feel joy when he starts to experience a new way, a different way.
Jem has had to grow up quickly because of this new apocalyptic world and for a soul as sensitive as his, this is a hard thing to do. He learns to shut down emotions. He learns to follow rules. He learns how to survive. But...what happens when you are forced to start to question the rules? To feel? To live? All this starts to happen to Jem as he starts to question his world. Then BAM! Another unexpected twist.
All I can say about this book is expect the unexpected. Just as you think you understand the Citadel, the Tower, The Council, The Watchman and the disses...think again!
A great read for fans of Hugh Howey's Wool series.
Ironically, whilst reading this book about a world that uses water as currency, I spent most of my time enjoying it in a nice hot bath. I did feel a little guilty about that, but it soothed away the hurts that I felt as I read Jem and Sarah's stories.
Through Sarah's eyes, we watch the world we know today fall apart and chaos reign. We watch as her family learns to cope in this world devoid of nearly everything except hate. In between Sarah's story we read about our main protagonist, Jeremiah of the Watchmen. We hurt when he hurts, we feel for his lack of emotions except anger, and we feel joy when he starts to experience a new way, a different way.
Jem has had to grow up quickly because of this new apocalyptic world and for a soul as sensitive as his, this is a hard thing to do. He learns to shut down emotions. He learns to follow rules. He learns how to survive. But...what happens when you are forced to start to question the rules? To feel? To live? All this starts to happen to Jem as he starts to question his world. Then BAM! Another unexpected twist.
All I can say about this book is expect the unexpected. Just as you think you understand the Citadel, the Tower, The Council, The Watchman and the disses...think again!
A great read for fans of Hugh Howey's Wool series.
September 3, 2016
*I received this ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*
I both really enjoyed and was mildly frustrated by this book. On the one hand, it was nice having a grand dystopian novel written by an Australian author, as you could almost pretend the setting was somewhere local rather than in America as these sorts of novels normally are. The themes of environmentalism and feminism were really strongly portrayed as well.
And it was just an interesting, enjoyable read.
My criticisms are that the writing style just wasn't my cup of tea- any time Jem would be thinking internally it just seemed so forced and unreal. Constantly reading 'oh fuck' in italics just got a bit old really quickly and overall I just didn't really like him much as a character. All of the characters really were quite hard to pin down in terms of their personalities and motivations. And the switching back and forth between past and present with altering POVs and going from Sarah speaking in 3rd person and Jem in 1st was a bit unusual and somewhat jarring.
The ending left quite a bit to be desired. I really felt like it was an odd place to end the novel. I believe a sequel is being written, but this book really didn't feel quite rounded out enough to end it where it did.
I do think I'll read the next book in the series though, because it was a fair solid read regardless of the drawbacks.
I both really enjoyed and was mildly frustrated by this book. On the one hand, it was nice having a grand dystopian novel written by an Australian author, as you could almost pretend the setting was somewhere local rather than in America as these sorts of novels normally are. The themes of environmentalism and feminism were really strongly portrayed as well.
And it was just an interesting, enjoyable read.
My criticisms are that the writing style just wasn't my cup of tea- any time Jem would be thinking internally it just seemed so forced and unreal. Constantly reading 'oh fuck' in italics just got a bit old really quickly and overall I just didn't really like him much as a character. All of the characters really were quite hard to pin down in terms of their personalities and motivations. And the switching back and forth between past and present with altering POVs and going from Sarah speaking in 3rd person and Jem in 1st was a bit unusual and somewhat jarring.
The ending left quite a bit to be desired. I really felt like it was an odd place to end the novel. I believe a sequel is being written, but this book really didn't feel quite rounded out enough to end it where it did.
I do think I'll read the next book in the series though, because it was a fair solid read regardless of the drawbacks.
June 17, 2016
Watershed pulled me in (and kept me there) from the start. Abbott’s fast-paced writing style and tense plot is a page-turner.
Watershed is set in a post-apocalyptic world ravaged by climate change. The novel tells intertwined stories. We follow Sarah, and her little family, as life as we know it crumbles—the people in it becoming increasingly desperate and unpredictable. And we follow Jem, Sarah’s grandson, who has grown up in this unforgiving society and is now forced to work as an assassin (a job he’s particularly skilled at) hunting dissenters of the new social order. The two stories connect together with some surprising and brutal twists.
It’s description as ‘savage’ is spot on, but it is expertly handled. Designed not to shock but to build an authentic world. That was part of what made the story so compelling—that Abbott’s dystopian vision, and the inevitable slow decay of society, was utterly believable. Her stark, yet descriptive, language is perfectly suited to the story.
Harsh and confronting, peppered with shining moments of humanity, I found myself thinking about this story long after I’d finished it. Highly recommended.
Watershed is set in a post-apocalyptic world ravaged by climate change. The novel tells intertwined stories. We follow Sarah, and her little family, as life as we know it crumbles—the people in it becoming increasingly desperate and unpredictable. And we follow Jem, Sarah’s grandson, who has grown up in this unforgiving society and is now forced to work as an assassin (a job he’s particularly skilled at) hunting dissenters of the new social order. The two stories connect together with some surprising and brutal twists.
It’s description as ‘savage’ is spot on, but it is expertly handled. Designed not to shock but to build an authentic world. That was part of what made the story so compelling—that Abbott’s dystopian vision, and the inevitable slow decay of society, was utterly believable. Her stark, yet descriptive, language is perfectly suited to the story.
Harsh and confronting, peppered with shining moments of humanity, I found myself thinking about this story long after I’d finished it. Highly recommended.
September 15, 2016
A great debut novel by Australian author Jane Abbott. As soon as I started reading this book I didn't want to put it down. The writing style is fluid, energetic, passionate and gritty...and this is exactly why I did need to put it down. The intense subject matter and raw energy of some of the characters took you into the post apocalyptic world in which the story is set and held you there. At times it was like someone was holding you underwater. Parts of it were disturbing, but still beautifully written. And then I didn't want it to be over. I've eyed the book on my bedside table for the last three days not wanting to read the last eleven pages, not wanting the journey to be over, not wanting to have to digest it as a whole, not wanting to face the end. Great to see an Australian author tackle this subject, and present a gritty and disturbing story in a familiar landscape, concurrently harsh and full of beauty. Not an easy read content wise, but worth it.
October 8, 2016
Watershed takes us into a Australian landscape where it no longer rains. It is a savage and wild post apocalyptic world in which Mad Max would feel at home. As an Australian I was over excited by the prospect of this book, so much so I may have done a small dance of joy when I found it.
Jane Abbot does a masterful job a entwining two narratives together to deliver a cohesive storyline. The World she has created has many layers which come together to create a dark new world in which the age old practice of supressing the masses is in full swing. Of course some people are trying to push back and one of the instruments used to stop this is our focus of the story.
Yet again a debut author has come out swinging and delivered a story worthy of one of the masters. Watershed delivers a great read that had me staying up way past my bedtime. I highly recommend this to one and all.
Jane Abbot does a masterful job a entwining two narratives together to deliver a cohesive storyline. The World she has created has many layers which come together to create a dark new world in which the age old practice of supressing the masses is in full swing. Of course some people are trying to push back and one of the instruments used to stop this is our focus of the story.
Yet again a debut author has come out swinging and delivered a story worthy of one of the masters. Watershed delivers a great read that had me staying up way past my bedtime. I highly recommend this to one and all.
July 1, 2016
I have to declare that I know Jane, but regardless of that there is no bias in my review .
Not a genre I would normally pick up, Watershed had me interested after the first two chapters. I haven't had time to read a book this year, and it came out at a time I had 3 assignments due, but I read at least a page,if not a chapter each night, and found I was wondering through the day - what's next? The last few chapters I ploughed through not wanting it to end, but wanting to know what was next.I had to read the last page on my own, as I started reading in a room full of boys, and started to get teary so had to wait till a quiet moment on my own. I look forward to her next one "Elegy" due in Sept I think (not related to Watershed but I hope there's a Watershed number 2).
Not a genre I would normally pick up, Watershed had me interested after the first two chapters. I haven't had time to read a book this year, and it came out at a time I had 3 assignments due, but I read at least a page,if not a chapter each night, and found I was wondering through the day - what's next? The last few chapters I ploughed through not wanting it to end, but wanting to know what was next.I had to read the last page on my own, as I started reading in a room full of boys, and started to get teary so had to wait till a quiet moment on my own. I look forward to her next one "Elegy" due in Sept I think (not related to Watershed but I hope there's a Watershed number 2).
June 13, 2016
Jane Abbott's stunning new novel is a post-apocalyptic adventure through the eyes of a paid killer with whom I empathised despite myself. The world she creates has just undergone a climate disaster, and people distill urine to drink, and treat women as slaves. Brutal, fascinating and beautifully written. Now I think I need to read some gardening books so I can sleep well again.
August 21, 2016
Not really sure who the audience is for this book. Some of the time I felt like I was reading young adult fiction but there was a lot of violence, a lot of it directed towards women. I wouldn't recommend it for any teenager I know though. A little too long in my humble opinion - I do usually like dystopian novels but this one wasn't for me.
September 6, 2016
This is not for the faint hearted full of violence, foul language and just it my type of post apocalyptic book. It is well written but has these things as a downside that made me feel not so good about it.
June 20, 2016
Review to come once I have processed this incredible book...
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March 26, 2017I really enjoyed this book but the ending let it down a bit
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