What do you think?
Rate this book
The Forcing
Lured by rumours of tropical sanctuary, a disparate group of men and women escape their inhospitable exile to seek freedom, in a near future where civilization has collapsed. A cataclysmic, clarion-call climate-change thriller from one of the world' s leading environmental scientists...
Civilisation is collapsing. Frustrated and angry after years of denial and inaction, a 'government of youth' has taken power in North America, and deemed all those older than a prescribed age responsible for the current state of the world, and decreed they should 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...
Civilisation is collapsing. Frustrated and angry after years of denial and inaction, a 'government of youth' has taken power in North America, and deemed all those older than a prescribed age responsible for the current state of the world, and decreed they should 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...
433 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 16, 2023
100 people are currently reading
806 people want to read
About the author
Paul E. Hardisty
15 books71 followersFor the past 30 years, Paul E Hardisty has worked all over the world as an engineer and environmental scientist. He has roughnecked on oil rigs in Texas, explored for gold in the Arctic, and rehabilitated village water wells in the wilds of Africa. He was in Yemen in 1994 as the civil war broke out, and in Ethiopia as the Mengistu regime fell. His latest novel, Absolution, is the 4th in the Claymore Straker series. The first novel in the series, The Abrupt Physics of Dying, was shortlisted for the CWA Creasy dagger award, and was one of the London Telegraph's 2015 crime books of the year. It was followed by The Evolution of Fear, and Reconciliation for the Dead, both of which received critical acclaim. Paul lives in Western Australia, and is a keen outdoorsman, triathlete, and martial artist.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 98 reviews
February 2, 2023
Writing reviews it is all too easy to fall back on the phrase ‘powerful and affecting’, but if ever a book earned this description, The Forcing is utterly worthy of these words. Very rarely does a book so totally engage and move me as this one did, and it really is rather special indeed. I know we’re only a little way in to 2023, but I can safely say that this novel, addressing undoubtedly the biggest issue of our lives and our ultimate survival, is already shaping up to be a staunch contender for my book of the year, and here’s why…
The Forcing is a harrowing yet grimly truthful and vivid rendition of the damage wreaked upon the planet by humankind, and as civilisation, and by consequence, society has broken down, the inheritors of the earth, the young, decide that the inaction and selfishness of the previous generations cannot go unpunished. The older members of society are shipped out to camps, with all the attendant atrocities that we are so familiar with due to events we have witnessed in the past, leaving the young to try and rebuild the seemingly irreparable damage done to the planet. Entire infrastructures of countries have collapsed due to war, droughts or floods, with an eye-watering death toll, and many millions affected by famine and food shortages. As the main character Teach, describes,
“I think of the forests, the trees, of all the creatures we have assigned to oblivion, species after species, each of these magnificent individuals. And the weight of it is beyond me, the crushing gravity of stars, and I feel as if my heart will implode. For I was there, watched with everyone else as hell arrived one betrayal at a time.”
This is truly a cataclysmic overview of the planet in crisis and how the actions of the self serving and those who choose to look away has devastating implications for future generations. Sound familiar? Equally, as society shifts in the novel, as we are seeing now, in this era of right-wing fanaticism, fake news, and discrimination, the book resonates strongly when seen in a contemporary context. This is what makes the central message of this book so hard hitting, for this is the world that in reality we have also created/are creating and literally every minute counts to try and counter the damage, which seems ever more unlikely as each day passes,
“In myriad ways, and at an infinite number of junctions, other choices could have been made, and each of those decisions would have rippled out through time and space across all of humanity, and the course of history might have been changed.”
What I found interesting about the structure of the book, aside from the parallel narrative by Teach, a man uprooted from Canada, detailing his experiences as a much older man looking back, and attempting to write a historical record, was the way that Hardisty uses the internment camp in Texas, and the characters within, as a reflection of this global crisis and its causes, and how the societal paradigm has shifted. Within a small group of characters he has the grasping capitalist and his fatuous wife, the idealistic, hopeful couple attempting to reconnect with the earth in their propagation of a small garden, the persecuted in the shape of Lan, a gay man as society becomes more patriarchal, homophobic, right wing and racist, and then Teach, and his mercurial wife May, he being wracked with guilt at his inaction through the years, and her in a state of denial to every individual’s responsibility at a personal level. As the dynamics between the group shift and change, and violence and discord plays out affecting them and the camp community at large, Darwinian theory becomes the most evident trope in their future survival, and their dreams of escape from, and life beyond, the camp. As the possibility of escape becomes more a tantalising reality than a total pipe dream, only the fittest and most devious can survive…
With the split narrative structure, the visceral grittiness and unerring hardship and danger of the camp, and survival beyond it, pins the reader into the harsh reality of the global breakdown, before we pivot back and forth to the soothing balm of the meditative and moving musings of Teach. As the book loops between past and present, through the eyes of Teach, a man dedicated to science, logic and fact, I love the way that his appreciation and understanding of the world begins to attain a more poetic and metaphysical viewpoint. There are some truly beautiful and emotive passages that it was impossible to not read again, as he looks at the world showing tentative signs of recovery, as we know the planet will in our absence, and what the future will hold for those he leaves behind. The writing is lyrical and full of heartfelt emotion and survivor’s guilt, and such an affective contrast to the harsh, unflinching style of the narrative as events unfold in the former years.
I was utterly enthralled by The Forcing throughout, with its perceptive and no-nonsense summation of the potential outcome for civilisation as climate change accelerates at a significantly quicker pace than the actions of us to reverse it. How society will break down and shift so marginalised groups become ever more marginalised, women will be doomed to conform to an increasingly patriarchal society to ensure the continuation and repopulation of the planet, and those who have natural resources left will be controlled and ransacked by larger countries that don’t as imperialism rears its ugly head once again. Hardisty makes it wholly believable and it will strike a chord with every reader, as the sheer power of his narrative and vivid world building emanates from every page. This is an important book, a shocking book, tinged with the feeling of a small hope at the bottom of the Pandora’s box that we have opened in relation to our planet, but with the central message heightened with all the excitement, peril and pace of an action thriller. A terrific read and highly recommended.
The Forcing is a harrowing yet grimly truthful and vivid rendition of the damage wreaked upon the planet by humankind, and as civilisation, and by consequence, society has broken down, the inheritors of the earth, the young, decide that the inaction and selfishness of the previous generations cannot go unpunished. The older members of society are shipped out to camps, with all the attendant atrocities that we are so familiar with due to events we have witnessed in the past, leaving the young to try and rebuild the seemingly irreparable damage done to the planet. Entire infrastructures of countries have collapsed due to war, droughts or floods, with an eye-watering death toll, and many millions affected by famine and food shortages. As the main character Teach, describes,
“I think of the forests, the trees, of all the creatures we have assigned to oblivion, species after species, each of these magnificent individuals. And the weight of it is beyond me, the crushing gravity of stars, and I feel as if my heart will implode. For I was there, watched with everyone else as hell arrived one betrayal at a time.”
This is truly a cataclysmic overview of the planet in crisis and how the actions of the self serving and those who choose to look away has devastating implications for future generations. Sound familiar? Equally, as society shifts in the novel, as we are seeing now, in this era of right-wing fanaticism, fake news, and discrimination, the book resonates strongly when seen in a contemporary context. This is what makes the central message of this book so hard hitting, for this is the world that in reality we have also created/are creating and literally every minute counts to try and counter the damage, which seems ever more unlikely as each day passes,
“In myriad ways, and at an infinite number of junctions, other choices could have been made, and each of those decisions would have rippled out through time and space across all of humanity, and the course of history might have been changed.”
What I found interesting about the structure of the book, aside from the parallel narrative by Teach, a man uprooted from Canada, detailing his experiences as a much older man looking back, and attempting to write a historical record, was the way that Hardisty uses the internment camp in Texas, and the characters within, as a reflection of this global crisis and its causes, and how the societal paradigm has shifted. Within a small group of characters he has the grasping capitalist and his fatuous wife, the idealistic, hopeful couple attempting to reconnect with the earth in their propagation of a small garden, the persecuted in the shape of Lan, a gay man as society becomes more patriarchal, homophobic, right wing and racist, and then Teach, and his mercurial wife May, he being wracked with guilt at his inaction through the years, and her in a state of denial to every individual’s responsibility at a personal level. As the dynamics between the group shift and change, and violence and discord plays out affecting them and the camp community at large, Darwinian theory becomes the most evident trope in their future survival, and their dreams of escape from, and life beyond, the camp. As the possibility of escape becomes more a tantalising reality than a total pipe dream, only the fittest and most devious can survive…
With the split narrative structure, the visceral grittiness and unerring hardship and danger of the camp, and survival beyond it, pins the reader into the harsh reality of the global breakdown, before we pivot back and forth to the soothing balm of the meditative and moving musings of Teach. As the book loops between past and present, through the eyes of Teach, a man dedicated to science, logic and fact, I love the way that his appreciation and understanding of the world begins to attain a more poetic and metaphysical viewpoint. There are some truly beautiful and emotive passages that it was impossible to not read again, as he looks at the world showing tentative signs of recovery, as we know the planet will in our absence, and what the future will hold for those he leaves behind. The writing is lyrical and full of heartfelt emotion and survivor’s guilt, and such an affective contrast to the harsh, unflinching style of the narrative as events unfold in the former years.
I was utterly enthralled by The Forcing throughout, with its perceptive and no-nonsense summation of the potential outcome for civilisation as climate change accelerates at a significantly quicker pace than the actions of us to reverse it. How society will break down and shift so marginalised groups become ever more marginalised, women will be doomed to conform to an increasingly patriarchal society to ensure the continuation and repopulation of the planet, and those who have natural resources left will be controlled and ransacked by larger countries that don’t as imperialism rears its ugly head once again. Hardisty makes it wholly believable and it will strike a chord with every reader, as the sheer power of his narrative and vivid world building emanates from every page. This is an important book, a shocking book, tinged with the feeling of a small hope at the bottom of the Pandora’s box that we have opened in relation to our planet, but with the central message heightened with all the excitement, peril and pace of an action thriller. A terrific read and highly recommended.
February 6, 2023
“This is the story of how I came to be here, so far from what I used to call home, and those who shared my journey. I have tried to record it faithfully, as truly as memory allows. Some moments remain as indelible scars, despite my best attempts to forget. Others are fading even now. And parts of the story, I fear, will never be revealed.”
David Armstrong, a scientist and teacher better known as ‘Teach’ to his friends and family, is looking back at what happened when the world fell apart. The younger generation has taken power in an attempt to save what is left of civilisation. Among their new policies is one of institutionalised ageism that sees all those of a prescribed age and above being forced to relocate as punishment for what is seen as their role in the destruction of the planet. Teach and his wife May are among the thousands relocated to ‘new accommodation’ in the desert. Given just one case each and two days' notice, they pack up what they can and begin their journey to an unknown future.
When they arrive it is immediately clear that what was promised will not be delivered, starting with forcing them into a shared apartment with five other people instead of the house they were expecting. Their new home is unorganised and so overcrowded that people are sleeping in corridors. Food and water is scarce and they face long days of hunger and thirst as they work the mandatory six days a week for the government. But it is only after witnessing a brutal crime by two of the guards that Teach really begins to understand the danger they are in. And so begins a story of their fight to survive against the odds in a world that wants to see them pay the ultimate price for their sins.
“Some things you never forget. The surroundings might fade, the faces blur, the circumstances of weather and place and time dissolving away as the decades pass. But other, seemingly random details somehow remain immune to the ravages of time and distance, and conscious, destructive will.”
I have no idea how to review this book. Atmospheric, haunting, and powerful, this is an absolute masterpiece. Although it is marketed as a “clarion-call climate-change thriller”, it almost defies genre, being in a box all of its own. From the first pages I was awe-struck and hypnotised by the breathtaking beauty of what I was reading. Hardisty’s writing melts off the page. His poetic, intricate prose is acutely observed and there is a real talent to being able to write so delicately yet with such power. Taking us to some unsettling places, he transports us into the forbidding future he has created. Quietly terrifying yet intriguing, this was impossible to put down.
Told in two timelines over seven parts, it moves between the harrowing events of that turbulent time to his present, where he is reflecting on what happened and pouring out his heart for his children, grandchildren and future generations. As we slowly unwrap the layers of his story, there is a melancholy woven into the pages that pierces your heart. The heartbreak on the pages is mixed with guilt and regret, the emotion so palpable you feel it in your own chest. Each of the characters are compelling and richly drawn and I found myself rooting for them, even Teach’s bitter wife, May, and the villainous Ardent, though I did find them hard to like.
A thought-provoking and unforgettable story of the best and worst of humanity, and a warning call to all of us, The Forcing is one not to miss.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮.5
David Armstrong, a scientist and teacher better known as ‘Teach’ to his friends and family, is looking back at what happened when the world fell apart. The younger generation has taken power in an attempt to save what is left of civilisation. Among their new policies is one of institutionalised ageism that sees all those of a prescribed age and above being forced to relocate as punishment for what is seen as their role in the destruction of the planet. Teach and his wife May are among the thousands relocated to ‘new accommodation’ in the desert. Given just one case each and two days' notice, they pack up what they can and begin their journey to an unknown future.
When they arrive it is immediately clear that what was promised will not be delivered, starting with forcing them into a shared apartment with five other people instead of the house they were expecting. Their new home is unorganised and so overcrowded that people are sleeping in corridors. Food and water is scarce and they face long days of hunger and thirst as they work the mandatory six days a week for the government. But it is only after witnessing a brutal crime by two of the guards that Teach really begins to understand the danger they are in. And so begins a story of their fight to survive against the odds in a world that wants to see them pay the ultimate price for their sins.
“Some things you never forget. The surroundings might fade, the faces blur, the circumstances of weather and place and time dissolving away as the decades pass. But other, seemingly random details somehow remain immune to the ravages of time and distance, and conscious, destructive will.”
I have no idea how to review this book. Atmospheric, haunting, and powerful, this is an absolute masterpiece. Although it is marketed as a “clarion-call climate-change thriller”, it almost defies genre, being in a box all of its own. From the first pages I was awe-struck and hypnotised by the breathtaking beauty of what I was reading. Hardisty’s writing melts off the page. His poetic, intricate prose is acutely observed and there is a real talent to being able to write so delicately yet with such power. Taking us to some unsettling places, he transports us into the forbidding future he has created. Quietly terrifying yet intriguing, this was impossible to put down.
Told in two timelines over seven parts, it moves between the harrowing events of that turbulent time to his present, where he is reflecting on what happened and pouring out his heart for his children, grandchildren and future generations. As we slowly unwrap the layers of his story, there is a melancholy woven into the pages that pierces your heart. The heartbreak on the pages is mixed with guilt and regret, the emotion so palpable you feel it in your own chest. Each of the characters are compelling and richly drawn and I found myself rooting for them, even Teach’s bitter wife, May, and the villainous Ardent, though I did find them hard to like.
A thought-provoking and unforgettable story of the best and worst of humanity, and a warning call to all of us, The Forcing is one not to miss.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮.5
December 5, 2023
A profound and poignant glimpse into our eminent future. Hardisty fills the pages with environmental artistry I have not seen in quite sometime. This is a lengthy read with multiple perspectives, past and present. There were some parts where time lapsed and the order of events were slightly convoluted, only to be explained at a later time. Maybe a little too prolonged.
Thank you TBC for the advanced copy of the, The Forcing. It was an eye opener for sure and everyone should give it a read.
4 out 5 stars
F. D. Gross
Thank you TBC for the advanced copy of the, The Forcing. It was an eye opener for sure and everyone should give it a read.
4 out 5 stars
F. D. Gross
March 12, 2023
I enjoy a good dystopian novel and downloaded this one after seeing some early reviews on twitter .
I found the novel rather unsatisfying there is lots of action lots of journeying but somehow I never really got to care for the narrator or the other main characters .
It’s a rather blokey book in general it lacks the character development I like in a good novel .I also found the explanations for the ultimate catastrophe rather non specific ,climate change is mentioned but causes only touched on superficially .The reason older people are sent to the south is unclear which I didn’t like .
The story is told in flashback form as the memories of an old man which I did like however
All in all not a favourite read
I found the novel rather unsatisfying there is lots of action lots of journeying but somehow I never really got to care for the narrator or the other main characters .
It’s a rather blokey book in general it lacks the character development I like in a good novel .I also found the explanations for the ultimate catastrophe rather non specific ,climate change is mentioned but causes only touched on superficially .The reason older people are sent to the south is unclear which I didn’t like .
The story is told in flashback form as the memories of an old man which I did like however
All in all not a favourite read
May 23, 2023
SPOILERS AHEAD Wavered between two and three stars. I settled on three stars as I did enjoy the journey section of the story. I never connected with any of the characters. They all seemed two-dimensional and I didn’t care about them at all. As for the female characters, well you better make sure you get pregnant if you want to live. I found the ending unsatisfying. I expected that we would get to read the letter written by Argent but like many things in the book the description of what was in the letter was very vague.
I have lots of unanswered questions that were never addressed. I could write a list. Shall I write a list? Here are a few of them. It seems that everyone over 50 got sent away. Why? It makes no sense to get rid of fit, healthy working people with skills and knowledge that could benefit the population. Also likely that many of them would have young children or disabled adult children. Who is going to take over that responsibility? Why didn’t they organise and protest? Everyone was just fine with them being rounded up and shipped off to an unknown location? How did that benefit anyone? What exactly was the climate disaster that occurred and how? How come crops keep failing yet Francoise is able to easily grow tomatoes and carrots in a dried up patch of land? I’ve tried growing both of these in my nice green garden and failed dismally. And why wasn’t Belize effected? And Australia wasn’t effected? Australia already has major issues as a result of climate change.
I could continue but it’s after 1am so I’m going to bed.
I might change my rating to two stars tomorrow. I’m a bit mad at this book right now.
I have lots of unanswered questions that were never addressed. I could write a list. Shall I write a list? Here are a few of them. It seems that everyone over 50 got sent away. Why? It makes no sense to get rid of fit, healthy working people with skills and knowledge that could benefit the population. Also likely that many of them would have young children or disabled adult children. Who is going to take over that responsibility? Why didn’t they organise and protest? Everyone was just fine with them being rounded up and shipped off to an unknown location? How did that benefit anyone? What exactly was the climate disaster that occurred and how? How come crops keep failing yet Francoise is able to easily grow tomatoes and carrots in a dried up patch of land? I’ve tried growing both of these in my nice green garden and failed dismally. And why wasn’t Belize effected? And Australia wasn’t effected? Australia already has major issues as a result of climate change.
I could continue but it’s after 1am so I’m going to bed.
I might change my rating to two stars tomorrow. I’m a bit mad at this book right now.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 17, 2023
I enjoyed the concept of this book but found it a bit stilted due to the constant diary type entries at the start of each chapter, I wanted to just get on with the story but by the end they did make more sense and helped me conclude the story.
January 8, 2023
Well ... if this book doesn't make you think long and hard about the impact we are having on the environment and the planet as a global society then nothing will. Set in an all too close future, The Forcing is a frank, scary and absolutely engrossing forecast of how the future might look if we don't start to take the environmental devastation that we are witnessing on a daily basis quite a lot more seriously. Soaring temperatures have made swathes of the world uninhabitable, those that aren't already completely underwater. Wars are being fought for the right to own the world's rapidly depleting resources, and a new kind of Government is running North America, still one of the most powerful countries in the world. If you are young enough then you are conscripted to fight against countries who were once allies. If you are older ... Well, those unlucky enough to have been born before a proscribed date face an altogether darker fate.
And this is where I get stuck with this review. I'm not quite sure how to put into words the impact that this has when reading it. Yes, at its core it is a thriller, one where we follow a small group of people, principally David Ashworth, known as Teacher, as they are faced with the impacts of 'resettlement'. This in itself is full of drama, not all people who are selected quite as willing to obey as Teacher appears to be. This is the first real clue as to how dark and combative society has become, and as we slowly learn more about what this resettlement really means, the more shocking and intense the book becomes. This is no shuffling off of the elderly to care facilities, this is the forced displacement of a whole generation who have been deemed responsible for causing the climate disaster, and for denying the truth of climate change for far too long. The situation they are placed in, shared apartments and houses in a drought stricken area, might seem troubling enough, but there is far worse to come. The author skilfully paints a picture of a town in absolute decline, ground to dry to successfully grow crops, a kind of indentured labour in which the residents are made to work for little to no gain, and a growing sense of resentment and rebellion which can only lead to devastation.
There are many scenes of action and tension in this book, one which caused me to hold my breath, seeing how they would play out, others that got the adrenalin pumping. From protest marches that end in tragedy, to scenes where objectors are dealt with in a more direct and entirely unthinkable way - they are, after all, still American citizens - these scenes are short, sharp, intense and very carefully portrayed. Piracy, war and a kind of marshal law in which proof of guilt or innocence is irrelevant all inform this story to varying degrees. There is no sensationalisation of the scenes, nor are they gratuitous in anyway, but the violence cannot be glossed over and the impact of conflict, whether overseas or closer to home, is felt quite keenly. We have all seen what greed can lead to under normal circumstance, but this is greed born of a desire to survive, pushing the stakes, and the emotions, sky high. You can feel the tension bubbling under the surface through the whole novel, but those moments when it breaks free are charged and effective.
One of Paul E. Hardisty's true skills lies in his ability to create such clear imagery and to describe his setting and characters so perfectly that you feel you are almost in Brownwood with the displaced. I was drawn to the character of Teacher very quickly, not just because the story is told from his point of view, but because he is given a very humble and human persona, one accepting of his fate, but still defiant at heart. He loves his family in spite of many reasons that would suggest he shouldn't, and he cares for others, even people he has only very briefly met. There is something about the warmth of his character that made it very easy to be drawn into the story. Kwesi and Francoise were also two characters who made a real emotional impact on me as I read. Their backstory, the fact that Francoise had given up her right to freedom to stay which her husband, and all that follows, is really touching and it would be a hard heart that is not moved by their fate. That's what the author's hauntingly beautiful, impactful narrative ensures, producing strong feelings about all the people we meet, be it for a short time or longer and whether they are good people or those, such as Argent, who are most definitely only interested in saving themselves.
As for setting, the author has always had the ability to transport me to places I have never seen, creating sights and senses so vivid they could almost appear real. This is definitely the case with this book and the arid, ravaged landscapes that he describes give a sense of the devastation that the world has experienced. The stark contrast between this and certain other scenes in the book, even the early chapters where Teacher is just about to move to his new life, is jarring, reminding us of all we have to lose. Written from a place of experience and knowledge, this feels not like doom mongering, as some might want to dismiss it, more an almost certainty if things do not change, We see temperatures escalating year on year, natural fires increasing in scale and frequency. The melting of polar ice caps, the near extinction of many species of animal, and the gradual erosion of the coral reefs ... This book is set where this decline has passed the point of critical, and where humanity has to deal with the consequences of their inaction. It is a very sobering thought.
But this is not a book that is all doom. There is, believe it or not, a sense of hope that infuses the novel too. There are two threads to this book. The majority of the story is told from Teacher's point of view, showing people the hear and now of his existence and the fight that faces him as he tries to find his own route to survival. But there is another, undisclosed narrator, one whose story is interspersed amongst the main action, allowing us to see that all is not necessarily lost. There is almost a cyclical aspect to what unfurls, and whilst life is most definitely not lived as we know it, there is a hint that a reset, a return to a simpler, less toxic lifestyle, may be possible. It adds beauty, light and anticipation to a story that could otherwise be quite dark.
What you take from this book will vary. On one hand this is a high stakes environmental and dystopian thriller, in which greed and the desire for power still manages to corrupt and lead to tragedy. With scenes of intense action and jeopardy, it will keep readers who are looking for the more turbulent side of fiction quite happy. This is also a story about what people are willing to risk in order to survive, in a future where all the cards are stacked against them. It's a story of family and of loss. Loss of love, and loss of freedom. But above all else, it's a reminder of all we have to lose by ignoring our own impact upon the environment. It's a heady mix, but one which has stayed with since I turned that final page. A stark, gripping, often poignant, but undeniably thought provoking read and another absolute winner. Loved it.
And this is where I get stuck with this review. I'm not quite sure how to put into words the impact that this has when reading it. Yes, at its core it is a thriller, one where we follow a small group of people, principally David Ashworth, known as Teacher, as they are faced with the impacts of 'resettlement'. This in itself is full of drama, not all people who are selected quite as willing to obey as Teacher appears to be. This is the first real clue as to how dark and combative society has become, and as we slowly learn more about what this resettlement really means, the more shocking and intense the book becomes. This is no shuffling off of the elderly to care facilities, this is the forced displacement of a whole generation who have been deemed responsible for causing the climate disaster, and for denying the truth of climate change for far too long. The situation they are placed in, shared apartments and houses in a drought stricken area, might seem troubling enough, but there is far worse to come. The author skilfully paints a picture of a town in absolute decline, ground to dry to successfully grow crops, a kind of indentured labour in which the residents are made to work for little to no gain, and a growing sense of resentment and rebellion which can only lead to devastation.
There are many scenes of action and tension in this book, one which caused me to hold my breath, seeing how they would play out, others that got the adrenalin pumping. From protest marches that end in tragedy, to scenes where objectors are dealt with in a more direct and entirely unthinkable way - they are, after all, still American citizens - these scenes are short, sharp, intense and very carefully portrayed. Piracy, war and a kind of marshal law in which proof of guilt or innocence is irrelevant all inform this story to varying degrees. There is no sensationalisation of the scenes, nor are they gratuitous in anyway, but the violence cannot be glossed over and the impact of conflict, whether overseas or closer to home, is felt quite keenly. We have all seen what greed can lead to under normal circumstance, but this is greed born of a desire to survive, pushing the stakes, and the emotions, sky high. You can feel the tension bubbling under the surface through the whole novel, but those moments when it breaks free are charged and effective.
One of Paul E. Hardisty's true skills lies in his ability to create such clear imagery and to describe his setting and characters so perfectly that you feel you are almost in Brownwood with the displaced. I was drawn to the character of Teacher very quickly, not just because the story is told from his point of view, but because he is given a very humble and human persona, one accepting of his fate, but still defiant at heart. He loves his family in spite of many reasons that would suggest he shouldn't, and he cares for others, even people he has only very briefly met. There is something about the warmth of his character that made it very easy to be drawn into the story. Kwesi and Francoise were also two characters who made a real emotional impact on me as I read. Their backstory, the fact that Francoise had given up her right to freedom to stay which her husband, and all that follows, is really touching and it would be a hard heart that is not moved by their fate. That's what the author's hauntingly beautiful, impactful narrative ensures, producing strong feelings about all the people we meet, be it for a short time or longer and whether they are good people or those, such as Argent, who are most definitely only interested in saving themselves.
As for setting, the author has always had the ability to transport me to places I have never seen, creating sights and senses so vivid they could almost appear real. This is definitely the case with this book and the arid, ravaged landscapes that he describes give a sense of the devastation that the world has experienced. The stark contrast between this and certain other scenes in the book, even the early chapters where Teacher is just about to move to his new life, is jarring, reminding us of all we have to lose. Written from a place of experience and knowledge, this feels not like doom mongering, as some might want to dismiss it, more an almost certainty if things do not change, We see temperatures escalating year on year, natural fires increasing in scale and frequency. The melting of polar ice caps, the near extinction of many species of animal, and the gradual erosion of the coral reefs ... This book is set where this decline has passed the point of critical, and where humanity has to deal with the consequences of their inaction. It is a very sobering thought.
But this is not a book that is all doom. There is, believe it or not, a sense of hope that infuses the novel too. There are two threads to this book. The majority of the story is told from Teacher's point of view, showing people the hear and now of his existence and the fight that faces him as he tries to find his own route to survival. But there is another, undisclosed narrator, one whose story is interspersed amongst the main action, allowing us to see that all is not necessarily lost. There is almost a cyclical aspect to what unfurls, and whilst life is most definitely not lived as we know it, there is a hint that a reset, a return to a simpler, less toxic lifestyle, may be possible. It adds beauty, light and anticipation to a story that could otherwise be quite dark.
What you take from this book will vary. On one hand this is a high stakes environmental and dystopian thriller, in which greed and the desire for power still manages to corrupt and lead to tragedy. With scenes of intense action and jeopardy, it will keep readers who are looking for the more turbulent side of fiction quite happy. This is also a story about what people are willing to risk in order to survive, in a future where all the cards are stacked against them. It's a story of family and of loss. Loss of love, and loss of freedom. But above all else, it's a reminder of all we have to lose by ignoring our own impact upon the environment. It's a heady mix, but one which has stayed with since I turned that final page. A stark, gripping, often poignant, but undeniably thought provoking read and another absolute winner. Loved it.
February 21, 2023
This story is set in a near future, where the world isn’t what it’s used to be: around the globe people are starving and North America is at war. American government decided to blame the older population for the climate change crisis. Every ‘older’ citizen (some weren’t even that old, we are talking mid-40s) is deposited south and Draconian measures are imposed: they have to give up their homes, families, possessions with an allowance of one bag that they can carry with them.
David Armstrong, a Chemistry and Physics teacher, receives his letter at work. He was expecting it for a while and knew it was coming, as opposed to his wife May, an artist, who thought she was ‘safe’ and missed out the cut off point.
As you can imagine, May isn’t happy and she’s putting up a fight. She keeps on blaming David for their misfortune, who at the beginning of this book is quite a meek and placid character.
However, once David and May arrive south at their destination, the reality of their new life hits them with full force. They are processed (almost like cattle) and told to share an apartment with five other people: Argent and Samantha, Kwesi and Francoise, and Lance.
The couples clash and argue, whilst David witnesses something horrific that makes him reevaluate everything. He needs to leave their location and start afresh…
Wow! What a story. Team Orenda just keep on dishing out these thought-provoking stories – hats off to you!
This book really makes you think about the world, the current issue of climate change, the grim future for our children and grandchildren, and how it’s all going downhill.
The future described by Hardisty could be ours too, if we don’t act now and change our ways. As I was reading I kept on thinking that in fifty, sixty years time, this could be us. Are we really heading in the same direction?
I truly hope not. Hardisty paints a bleak and grim reality, where the older generation have no say and are shunted to the back. The world is a dangerous place with limited resources, and people keep on fighting for them to survive.
It’s a full of pace thriller with a great finale that certainly packs a punch!
I definitely recommend it.
David Armstrong, a Chemistry and Physics teacher, receives his letter at work. He was expecting it for a while and knew it was coming, as opposed to his wife May, an artist, who thought she was ‘safe’ and missed out the cut off point.
As you can imagine, May isn’t happy and she’s putting up a fight. She keeps on blaming David for their misfortune, who at the beginning of this book is quite a meek and placid character.
However, once David and May arrive south at their destination, the reality of their new life hits them with full force. They are processed (almost like cattle) and told to share an apartment with five other people: Argent and Samantha, Kwesi and Francoise, and Lance.
The couples clash and argue, whilst David witnesses something horrific that makes him reevaluate everything. He needs to leave their location and start afresh…
Wow! What a story. Team Orenda just keep on dishing out these thought-provoking stories – hats off to you!
This book really makes you think about the world, the current issue of climate change, the grim future for our children and grandchildren, and how it’s all going downhill.
The future described by Hardisty could be ours too, if we don’t act now and change our ways. As I was reading I kept on thinking that in fifty, sixty years time, this could be us. Are we really heading in the same direction?
I truly hope not. Hardisty paints a bleak and grim reality, where the older generation have no say and are shunted to the back. The world is a dangerous place with limited resources, and people keep on fighting for them to survive.
It’s a full of pace thriller with a great finale that certainly packs a punch!
I definitely recommend it.
October 22, 2023
This was good, a good concept and generally well executed. This is a cross between as dystopian future where a government of youth have take over and an apocalyptic book about climate change as the government have decided to punish everyone of a certain age, because they are ‘guilty’ of not preventing climate change, by moving them to the south and putting them in a concentration camp. We are following a teacher who is sent there with his wife.
The pacing and writing were good and it kept my interest. I would say it did get a bit unbelievable towards the end as there is a doctor who escapes with the teacher and we are supposed to believe that she was able to perform both brain surgery and intestinal surgery on a boat and no one got any kind of infection - this raised so many issues and question not least the fact that doctors specialise and it is very unlikely even if she were a surgeon that she could perform all of these operations alone without the right equipment and not kill the person. This was a bit preposterous and also the fact that certain a things just happen to help the plot like they just find a boat with loads of stuff on it and that the bad guy Argent is just killed off as he is no longer needed when the other characters were keeping him alive because he knew about some paradise but before he died he just told the doctor everything and how to get what they need from the safe etc. Also I think the book was too heavy handed with who are the good guys and who are the bad guys, I would have liked some more nuance in this area.
These were a bit annoying, but are minor and I am a bit nit picky here. Generally I enjoyed this story, it is good and I would recommend it and would read more by this author.
The pacing and writing were good and it kept my interest. I would say it did get a bit unbelievable towards the end as there is a doctor who escapes with the teacher and we are supposed to believe that she was able to perform both brain surgery and intestinal surgery on a boat and no one got any kind of infection - this raised so many issues and question not least the fact that doctors specialise and it is very unlikely even if she were a surgeon that she could perform all of these operations alone without the right equipment and not kill the person. This was a bit preposterous and also the fact that certain a things just happen to help the plot like they just find a boat with loads of stuff on it and that the bad guy Argent is just killed off as he is no longer needed when the other characters were keeping him alive because he knew about some paradise but before he died he just told the doctor everything and how to get what they need from the safe etc. Also I think the book was too heavy handed with who are the good guys and who are the bad guys, I would have liked some more nuance in this area.
These were a bit annoying, but are minor and I am a bit nit picky here. Generally I enjoyed this story, it is good and I would recommend it and would read more by this author.
October 1, 2023
A book that got worse and worse as you read it. The first half of the book was interesting and intriguing the second half was pretentious and bloated with sailing analogies that I found very hard to grasp and frankly found boring. Not a good book and definitely my worse read of the year. Would avoid.
January 16, 2023
"In the beginning, God created man. And it was pretty much downhill from there."
The world is dying, and we're the murderers. Wars, viruses and hatred has infected every corner of the globe. The greed and ignorance of our ancestors has suffocated Mother Earth, and left the young people of the world to live on dying planet devoid of hope.
But now, people are rising up and demanding not only action, but accountability. A government form from the young and angry, who force everybody over the "age of responsibility" into exile - leaving behind their lives, their homes and being thrown into the harsh wastelands of their own creation.
David and May find themselves in this exile, despite their son being a powerful figure in this world. But the more they learn about their new prison, amongst the rich and poor, the regretful and the righteous, the more they realise they need to escape while they still can.
But the world around them is dangerous, and the people they might have to cross are even more so. The world is ending all around them, but as society collapses along with the ice caps, it's clear that if anyone survives, nothing will ever be the same again.
"Chaos can take many forms, of course, and destroy in infinitely many ways. We chose but one."
The Forcing is a sharp, divisive speculation about the very real dangers of climate change and the horrific fate that awaits us if we don't take action, but also about the frightening fragility of humanity; drawing us close to show us how we really are only one fascist dictator or devastating disaster away from the Doomsday Clock striking midnight.
It's a searing indictment of not only those responsible for catastrophes but those who simply do nothing, raising uncomfortable moral questions for us to think about. Are those who do nothing just as culpable as the perpetrators? Is revenge ever justified? Is it okay to do one bad thing for the greater good? This book will make you think about our responsibility to our fellow humans, what we owe to each other (Scanlon won't sue me for saying that, right?) and what connects us. And honestly, it might give you an existential crisis but it's worth it.
The setting was striking - Hardisty creates an eerily familiar world that is vividly descriptive. We are transported to hellscapes and paradises in the most engaging ways, the world around us almost acting like another character brought to life on the pages.
Our main narrator, David has a clear and distinct voice throughout - at times he's a bit distant and monotone towards the reader, expositing although he's thinking out loud - but that kind of works when we learn more about who he is as a person. Immediately, we find him in the heart-breaking moment of saying goodbye to his life, giving us just a glimpse of his 'before' so we know what he's leaving behind. He's a complex character - he's aware that he's played his part and tries to accepts his fate, but his regret and self-awareness makes me hope for his redemption.
With the biting intensity of a thriller and the majestic world-building of a classic dystopian tale, this story is perfectly paced with peaks and valleys, never spending too much time in one place and blending the moments together like some strange dream - allowing us little reprieves in retrospective accounts and various looks life from before The Forcing.
This is a cataclysmic call-to-arms - a powerful warning about a world that could be.
"Beyond the threshold, the unknown beckons. Rules no longer apply. Convention is upended. All that you think you know about how things work turn out to be wrong. Once you cross the line, there is no return."
The world is dying, and we're the murderers. Wars, viruses and hatred has infected every corner of the globe. The greed and ignorance of our ancestors has suffocated Mother Earth, and left the young people of the world to live on dying planet devoid of hope.
But now, people are rising up and demanding not only action, but accountability. A government form from the young and angry, who force everybody over the "age of responsibility" into exile - leaving behind their lives, their homes and being thrown into the harsh wastelands of their own creation.
David and May find themselves in this exile, despite their son being a powerful figure in this world. But the more they learn about their new prison, amongst the rich and poor, the regretful and the righteous, the more they realise they need to escape while they still can.
But the world around them is dangerous, and the people they might have to cross are even more so. The world is ending all around them, but as society collapses along with the ice caps, it's clear that if anyone survives, nothing will ever be the same again.
"Chaos can take many forms, of course, and destroy in infinitely many ways. We chose but one."
The Forcing is a sharp, divisive speculation about the very real dangers of climate change and the horrific fate that awaits us if we don't take action, but also about the frightening fragility of humanity; drawing us close to show us how we really are only one fascist dictator or devastating disaster away from the Doomsday Clock striking midnight.
It's a searing indictment of not only those responsible for catastrophes but those who simply do nothing, raising uncomfortable moral questions for us to think about. Are those who do nothing just as culpable as the perpetrators? Is revenge ever justified? Is it okay to do one bad thing for the greater good? This book will make you think about our responsibility to our fellow humans, what we owe to each other (Scanlon won't sue me for saying that, right?) and what connects us. And honestly, it might give you an existential crisis but it's worth it.
The setting was striking - Hardisty creates an eerily familiar world that is vividly descriptive. We are transported to hellscapes and paradises in the most engaging ways, the world around us almost acting like another character brought to life on the pages.
Our main narrator, David has a clear and distinct voice throughout - at times he's a bit distant and monotone towards the reader, expositing although he's thinking out loud - but that kind of works when we learn more about who he is as a person. Immediately, we find him in the heart-breaking moment of saying goodbye to his life, giving us just a glimpse of his 'before' so we know what he's leaving behind. He's a complex character - he's aware that he's played his part and tries to accepts his fate, but his regret and self-awareness makes me hope for his redemption.
With the biting intensity of a thriller and the majestic world-building of a classic dystopian tale, this story is perfectly paced with peaks and valleys, never spending too much time in one place and blending the moments together like some strange dream - allowing us little reprieves in retrospective accounts and various looks life from before The Forcing.
This is a cataclysmic call-to-arms - a powerful warning about a world that could be.
"Beyond the threshold, the unknown beckons. Rules no longer apply. Convention is upended. All that you think you know about how things work turn out to be wrong. Once you cross the line, there is no return."
April 5, 2023
Set in a dystopian future where the younger generation have taken the reigns in running the country. The older generation are being ostracised and sent away as a punishment for their complicitness in, denial of, and in some cases blatant ignorance of the dangers of climate change. They blame them for the future that they now have to fix and have decided to segregate those over a certain age in compounds with strangers. We follow David Ashworth, better known to everyone as Teach, as he submits to his fate and, along with his wife May, leave their home and lives behind for this new and uncertain future.
This is a frighteningly realistic portrayal of what could happen in the not too distant future if things don't change, and while I loved it as a piece of excellent fiction, it was also a stark and thought-provoking reality check.
This is a frighteningly realistic portrayal of what could happen in the not too distant future if things don't change, and while I loved it as a piece of excellent fiction, it was also a stark and thought-provoking reality check.
December 26, 2023
Fantastic Christmas read. Climate change apocalypse theme, bleak story with hope woven through it, to keep you going. Plenty of thrills. Thought-provoking. Some people will engage in culture wars over this book - look out Boomers.
October 3, 2024
Liked the premise but just didn’t *hit* the spot.. wasn't the biggest fan of the ending either.
Wasn’t a fan of the diary entry style.
Wasn’t a fan of the diary entry style.
July 15, 2023
Another terrific book from Paul Hardisty. It paints a dark picture of a near future world rocked by climate catastrophe and power struggle. The disturbing depictions of the treatment of people in this scenario is difficult reading that made me feel very uncomfortable, then I realised that this is already the daily experience of many people in the third world. Shifting that experience to middle-class America is the jarring reality we face.
March 28, 2024
The idea behind this book was interesting and how a dystopian future for elderly could exist. However the execution became prolonged and took a bit of a disappointing turn. I think as one of the main characters was so unlikeable and although he proved a bit more altruistic in death, the story telling still floundered. I liked that the ending took an unexpected turn, with the characters following a more difficult path which leads to their happiness.
September 17, 2024
3.25* - weak characterisation lowered this quite a lot for me but the premise, the journey within the story and the final third kept it floating.
It's a powerful idea overall and the final reveal feels initially a little far fetched and then you think about capitalism today and actually, it makes it scarily plausible. The parallels to Germany's actions in WW2 and the concentration camps also makes for a disturbing and unsettling section within the book.
It's a powerful idea overall and the final reveal feels initially a little far fetched and then you think about capitalism today and actually, it makes it scarily plausible. The parallels to Germany's actions in WW2 and the concentration camps also makes for a disturbing and unsettling section within the book.
January 30, 2023
Review to follow.
July 27, 2023
I really enjoyed this. The writing zipped along, the apocalypse was believable and the main character flawed enough to be realistic. Definitely recommend
June 8, 2023
I enjoyed the premise so much, but the writing and plot/character development fell much too short for me.
In this book, North America has fast adapted an anti-"generations before millennials" attitude. Blaming the "old" people for the climate crisis in the most drastic way. Anyone born before 1989 in Canada is sent away to America where they are promised a similar living situation. However, they end up in forced labour camps where they work long hours every day in poor conditions.
Teacher, the main character, was an environmental activist but generally a passive man. His wife May has some sort of personality disorder and is often quite horrible to him, that aside, she also doesn't love him anymore. Teacher is a "doting" husband who allows her to lash out on him and follows her from a distance on her walks to make sure she's okay. Yeah that's a totally normal and healthy relationship on both sides...
May is paranoid and thinks her husband and son are the reason she was sent away to America with Teacher because she was born late in '88. Perhaps this was the excuse she had been waiting for to separate from her husband. She resents him for the rest of the book for it.
Well, until she conveniently dies from a stray bullet enabling Teach to later get with Francoise, the woman she said, "I see how you look at her" about.
A woman who was the "seemingly much younger partner" of "a broad-shouldered African man". He judged Kwesi for this upon meeting, but later did the same. By Kwesi's capability to work as well as Teacher, I doubt he was significantly older. Reading that description early in the book made me uncomfortable, but hey, maybe I was reading too much into it. Younger people shouldn't have been there to be ported off to America so I understand the surprise. The first thing Kwesi says in the book is denoted by "said the big African"...that's not an appropriate way to describe a person.
It didn't stop there! Teacher notices Kwesi is injured as his "dark West African skin" was shown through a bloody tear in his shirt. I got the feeling Teacher felt the need to keep describing his "blackness". Later there is a naked woman who appears to be Saint John's sex slave and pleasures him while he holds a meeting. Saint John isn't the only misogynist using women as objects, twice in the book Francoise is sexually assaulted/raped by strangers and this is detailed to the reader. I felt truly sorry for her, but as a story that was for their kids, I don't think it was necessary to be detailed so much.
There is also homophobia skimmed over in the encampment, homophobic posters all over, and their housemate was murdered and left naked on the street with "his friend" in a sexual position. They had the kindness to bury them together, but no one had stood up against the homophobia or worried too much about their missing housemate.
I feel that the emphasis on how people had declined back into such horrible social conditions tried to distract from how conveniently things went in the story. Everyone who was an inconvenience to Teacher died and he ended up happily with Francoise and their family in a cosy coast. I understand that as people orchestrated "The Forcing" it's likely the whole world wasn't as ravaged by the climate issues as North America but it still seems farfetched to me that they managed to find their own paradise and live happily ever after.
The writing was frankly crass at times and too much protected by plot armour, things happened because they needed to for the story to get where it was going. I wish we could have found out more about what happened to the young couple who ran away to the Canadian mountains and (now President) Lachie, I feel like having only Teacher's perspective made this very much woe is the old and paints the young in as bad a light as they view the older generations.
In this book, North America has fast adapted an anti-"generations before millennials" attitude. Blaming the "old" people for the climate crisis in the most drastic way. Anyone born before 1989 in Canada is sent away to America where they are promised a similar living situation. However, they end up in forced labour camps where they work long hours every day in poor conditions.
Teacher, the main character, was an environmental activist but generally a passive man. His wife May has some sort of personality disorder and is often quite horrible to him, that aside, she also doesn't love him anymore. Teacher is a "doting" husband who allows her to lash out on him and follows her from a distance on her walks to make sure she's okay. Yeah that's a totally normal and healthy relationship on both sides...
May is paranoid and thinks her husband and son are the reason she was sent away to America with Teacher because she was born late in '88. Perhaps this was the excuse she had been waiting for to separate from her husband. She resents him for the rest of the book for it.
Well, until she conveniently dies from a stray bullet enabling Teach to later get with Francoise, the woman she said, "I see how you look at her" about.
A woman who was the "seemingly much younger partner" of "a broad-shouldered African man". He judged Kwesi for this upon meeting, but later did the same. By Kwesi's capability to work as well as Teacher, I doubt he was significantly older. Reading that description early in the book made me uncomfortable, but hey, maybe I was reading too much into it. Younger people shouldn't have been there to be ported off to America so I understand the surprise. The first thing Kwesi says in the book is denoted by "said the big African"...that's not an appropriate way to describe a person.
It didn't stop there! Teacher notices Kwesi is injured as his "dark West African skin" was shown through a bloody tear in his shirt. I got the feeling Teacher felt the need to keep describing his "blackness". Later there is a naked woman who appears to be Saint John's sex slave and pleasures him while he holds a meeting. Saint John isn't the only misogynist using women as objects, twice in the book Francoise is sexually assaulted/raped by strangers and this is detailed to the reader. I felt truly sorry for her, but as a story that was for their kids, I don't think it was necessary to be detailed so much.
There is also homophobia skimmed over in the encampment, homophobic posters all over, and their housemate was murdered and left naked on the street with "his friend" in a sexual position. They had the kindness to bury them together, but no one had stood up against the homophobia or worried too much about their missing housemate.
I feel that the emphasis on how people had declined back into such horrible social conditions tried to distract from how conveniently things went in the story. Everyone who was an inconvenience to Teacher died and he ended up happily with Francoise and their family in a cosy coast. I understand that as people orchestrated "The Forcing" it's likely the whole world wasn't as ravaged by the climate issues as North America but it still seems farfetched to me that they managed to find their own paradise and live happily ever after.
The writing was frankly crass at times and too much protected by plot armour, things happened because they needed to for the story to get where it was going. I wish we could have found out more about what happened to the young couple who ran away to the Canadian mountains and (now President) Lachie, I feel like having only Teacher's perspective made this very much woe is the old and paints the young in as bad a light as they view the older generations.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 5, 2023
There's always room on my shelf for another dystopian piece of fiction and I'm glad to make room for The Forcing.
This is an interesting book, split into two perspectives. One is a 'now' set in the future (yes, I'm aware of what that sounds like). An old man thinks about his children and his partner, thinks about the difficult past, starts to write it down. And when he does, he writes the second perspective that he's already lived through - the world is experiencing some kind of climate-change-related disaster and everyone blames the older men and women for not doing enough to prevent it.
He - David Ashworth - reaches a set age that means he has to move South, away from everything he knows and into the unknown. He is accepting of it, but wife May is furious, rallying against the changes they must experience. Together they are taken to their new community, more akin to a concentration camp. Is there a way out? Can they survive long enough to find out?
The book is an effective treatise on climate change and the dangers of doing nothing, or doing too much for selfish, personal gain. Their time in the camp in the South is a horrific slow burn of a tragedy. You can see it all coming, but not the way out.
Yet, you pick up from the future perspective that there is hope - you just have to read til the end to find out how they get there.
It's very well told (though I admit to wanting to skim through the future bits that spend the majority of the book having to withhold a lot of information) and I enjoyed the creeping tension - and eventually creeping hope.
This is an interesting book, split into two perspectives. One is a 'now' set in the future (yes, I'm aware of what that sounds like). An old man thinks about his children and his partner, thinks about the difficult past, starts to write it down. And when he does, he writes the second perspective that he's already lived through - the world is experiencing some kind of climate-change-related disaster and everyone blames the older men and women for not doing enough to prevent it.
He - David Ashworth - reaches a set age that means he has to move South, away from everything he knows and into the unknown. He is accepting of it, but wife May is furious, rallying against the changes they must experience. Together they are taken to their new community, more akin to a concentration camp. Is there a way out? Can they survive long enough to find out?
The book is an effective treatise on climate change and the dangers of doing nothing, or doing too much for selfish, personal gain. Their time in the camp in the South is a horrific slow burn of a tragedy. You can see it all coming, but not the way out.
Yet, you pick up from the future perspective that there is hope - you just have to read til the end to find out how they get there.
It's very well told (though I admit to wanting to skim through the future bits that spend the majority of the book having to withhold a lot of information) and I enjoyed the creeping tension - and eventually creeping hope.
February 16, 2023
This dystopian thriller is frightening because it’s believable, given that what is described is already happening to some extent. Just last month the Doomsday Clock, a symbol that represents the likelihood of a human-made global catastrophe, was moved to 90 seconds to midnight!
Angry at years of denial and inaction to address issues such as climate change which threatened the world, a government of young people has taken control of a unified North America. All those older than a prescribed age are held responsible for the state of the planet so are punished by having their assets confiscated before they are forcibly relocated to abandoned towns in the southern U.S. The narrator David, known as Teacher, and his wife May are moved from Calgary to Brownwood, Texas. There they share an apartment with five other people. Conditions are harsh in what is really an internment camp, but it’s his witnessing some violent incidents which convince Teacher they must escape.
There is a split narrative structure. In the present, David is 78 years old and living in Australia with his family. He has decided that he must write about his experiences so there is a historical record. He wants his children and grandchildren to know what happened. The other part of the narrative is David’s story describing events beginning with his receiving a letter about relocation.
Conditions on earth are hellish. David mentions volatile weather patterns, melting icecaps and tundra, droughts, and fires increasing in frequency and intensity. Islands and coastal cities have been submerged, lakes and rivers have been acidified, agricultural productivity has dropped dramatically, millions of people have been displaced, wars are fought for food, animal species are extinct, and coral reefs have degraded.
Human responsibility is made clear: we fill the oceans with plastic waste; we insist on “the continuous cycle of cheap, ever-changing disposable fashion, the permanent upgrade cycle of consumer electronics”; we’ve accumulated debt, thereby burdening future generations, and have done nothing to address economic inequality; “coal-fired power stations and refineries and mines [pump] shit into the atmosphere”; drilling for oil in the ocean has resulted in spills; and forests are cut for profit. And we do little or nothing to rectify the situation: “In myriad ways and at an infinite number of junctions, other choices could have been made, and each of those decisions would have ripped out through time and space and across all humanity, and the course of history could have been changed.”
I appreciated the reference to the role of fake news and misinformation. David mentions people being “manipulated by all of the garbage on the internet and in the media, where any hack or grievant could post whatever rubbish they liked, camouflaging it as official, credible, where everything was exactly the opposite of what it claimed, where every site whose tagline claimed to provide ‘independent objective information’ was guaranteed to be a platform for extremist polemic, where facts and truth were garbled and mashed and cherry-picked to suit agendas.” The narrator accuses a wealthy industrialist that when some people raised the alarm, he “’bribed governments, financed campaigns designed to cast doubt in the minds of people everywhere, paid celebrities and bogus scientists to confuse the public.’”
The protagonist is a likeable character. He cares for other people and, like Kwesi and Francoise – two of his housemates, recognizes the need to work together. He is introspective, wondering whether he could have done more, and living up to his nickname, feels it important to teach the world about the errors made in the past.
The obvious villain is Derek Argent who epitomizes the worst of humankind. He is insensitive and arrogant. Greedy and self-centred, he is willing to manipulate and exploit others. For instance, he willingly takes food from his housemates but doesn’t share what he has. Even when he purportedly has the interests of others in mind, it is revealed that his motives are always selfish. His surname, a reference to the metal silver, is perfect because growing his personal wealth is his primary concern. And he used his money “’to hide the truth by sowing doubt, spreading disinformation, and lies . . . [and] spent millions to make scientific fact look like a debate.’” The portrayal may not be intentional, but I thought of Donald Trump.
There is tension throughout. Many people are concerned only with their own survival and will do whatever is necessary to ensure that. The internment camp has its dangers, but then so does the world outside. Society has become intolerant so homosexuality is considered a deviancy. Women are enslaved and treated as breeders. David and his companions are warned about traveling south: “’What remains is in control of pirates, miscreants.’”
Despite the dire state of the planet, there is still hope. We need to recognize our flaws: “we lost sight of the natural rhythms of the places around us and began to believe that we were masters of everything we saw and touched, and so we ceased to wonder.” David’s life in the present suggests that the natural world can recover and people can return to a simpler life more in tune with nature. And “Every day is an opportunity.” In the meantime, if we do not act, we are culpable: “how we decide to use this precious ebb of time is what will determine the fate of the world and of all those we love.”
This is a powerful and thought-provoking story of how our inaction will have devastating implications for future generations who will have to rebuild what we’ve destroyed. Terrifying in its realism, this is a must-read book. Anyone not affected by it has not been paying attention to current events.
Please check out my reader's blog (https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/) and follow me on Twitter (@DCYakabuski).
Angry at years of denial and inaction to address issues such as climate change which threatened the world, a government of young people has taken control of a unified North America. All those older than a prescribed age are held responsible for the state of the planet so are punished by having their assets confiscated before they are forcibly relocated to abandoned towns in the southern U.S. The narrator David, known as Teacher, and his wife May are moved from Calgary to Brownwood, Texas. There they share an apartment with five other people. Conditions are harsh in what is really an internment camp, but it’s his witnessing some violent incidents which convince Teacher they must escape.
There is a split narrative structure. In the present, David is 78 years old and living in Australia with his family. He has decided that he must write about his experiences so there is a historical record. He wants his children and grandchildren to know what happened. The other part of the narrative is David’s story describing events beginning with his receiving a letter about relocation.
Conditions on earth are hellish. David mentions volatile weather patterns, melting icecaps and tundra, droughts, and fires increasing in frequency and intensity. Islands and coastal cities have been submerged, lakes and rivers have been acidified, agricultural productivity has dropped dramatically, millions of people have been displaced, wars are fought for food, animal species are extinct, and coral reefs have degraded.
Human responsibility is made clear: we fill the oceans with plastic waste; we insist on “the continuous cycle of cheap, ever-changing disposable fashion, the permanent upgrade cycle of consumer electronics”; we’ve accumulated debt, thereby burdening future generations, and have done nothing to address economic inequality; “coal-fired power stations and refineries and mines [pump] shit into the atmosphere”; drilling for oil in the ocean has resulted in spills; and forests are cut for profit. And we do little or nothing to rectify the situation: “In myriad ways and at an infinite number of junctions, other choices could have been made, and each of those decisions would have ripped out through time and space and across all humanity, and the course of history could have been changed.”
I appreciated the reference to the role of fake news and misinformation. David mentions people being “manipulated by all of the garbage on the internet and in the media, where any hack or grievant could post whatever rubbish they liked, camouflaging it as official, credible, where everything was exactly the opposite of what it claimed, where every site whose tagline claimed to provide ‘independent objective information’ was guaranteed to be a platform for extremist polemic, where facts and truth were garbled and mashed and cherry-picked to suit agendas.” The narrator accuses a wealthy industrialist that when some people raised the alarm, he “’bribed governments, financed campaigns designed to cast doubt in the minds of people everywhere, paid celebrities and bogus scientists to confuse the public.’”
The protagonist is a likeable character. He cares for other people and, like Kwesi and Francoise – two of his housemates, recognizes the need to work together. He is introspective, wondering whether he could have done more, and living up to his nickname, feels it important to teach the world about the errors made in the past.
The obvious villain is Derek Argent who epitomizes the worst of humankind. He is insensitive and arrogant. Greedy and self-centred, he is willing to manipulate and exploit others. For instance, he willingly takes food from his housemates but doesn’t share what he has. Even when he purportedly has the interests of others in mind, it is revealed that his motives are always selfish. His surname, a reference to the metal silver, is perfect because growing his personal wealth is his primary concern. And he used his money “’to hide the truth by sowing doubt, spreading disinformation, and lies . . . [and] spent millions to make scientific fact look like a debate.’” The portrayal may not be intentional, but I thought of Donald Trump.
There is tension throughout. Many people are concerned only with their own survival and will do whatever is necessary to ensure that. The internment camp has its dangers, but then so does the world outside. Society has become intolerant so homosexuality is considered a deviancy. Women are enslaved and treated as breeders. David and his companions are warned about traveling south: “’What remains is in control of pirates, miscreants.’”
Despite the dire state of the planet, there is still hope. We need to recognize our flaws: “we lost sight of the natural rhythms of the places around us and began to believe that we were masters of everything we saw and touched, and so we ceased to wonder.” David’s life in the present suggests that the natural world can recover and people can return to a simpler life more in tune with nature. And “Every day is an opportunity.” In the meantime, if we do not act, we are culpable: “how we decide to use this precious ebb of time is what will determine the fate of the world and of all those we love.”
This is a powerful and thought-provoking story of how our inaction will have devastating implications for future generations who will have to rebuild what we’ve destroyed. Terrifying in its realism, this is a must-read book. Anyone not affected by it has not been paying attention to current events.
Please check out my reader's blog (https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/) and follow me on Twitter (@DCYakabuski).
March 7, 2023
This book is so powerful and terrifying it could almost come true. Set in the not too distant future it tells of a world where the youth have taken over the world which is burning and at war. People of the older generation are relocated and their assets taken. A small group of diverse people manage to escape and set out on a journey to search for an elusive tropical sanctuary. It is extremely nerve-racking and so fast paced I could hardly read fast enough. However it also contains a message about what we are doing to the environment. It is a book to certainly make you think and will stay with me a long time. I would recommend this to everyone to read.
December 11, 2023
3stars if you're looking for this type of apocalyptic story line but there's nothing original in this book.
The book is still worth the read, its well written, engaging and well paced.
The characters are believable and layered.
The protagonist, David is a weak, stupid, spineless weasel of a man who always folds in the face of the same challenges over and over and over again. It's impossible to have any respect for him by the end of the book because he kept caving to his inner fear based morality that no longer applied to the world and reality he was living in. I hated that guy.
The book is still worth the read, its well written, engaging and well paced.
The characters are believable and layered.
The protagonist, David is a weak, stupid, spineless weasel of a man who always folds in the face of the same challenges over and over and over again. It's impossible to have any respect for him by the end of the book because he kept caving to his inner fear based morality that no longer applied to the world and reality he was living in. I hated that guy.
April 16, 2023
The forcing by Paul E. Hardisty.
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.
A good read. It was different. I did like David. 4*.
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.
A good read. It was different. I did like David. 4*.
February 15, 2023
There are few authors whose books affect me as deeply as Paul E. Hardisty; I still recommend his Claymore Straker series whenever I can, with the same true for his previous stand-alone novel, Turbulent Wake, which is one of my favourite books of all time. He's left me with a problem now though because as hard as I try, I'm not sure I can ever do The Forcing justice. This isn't just a book of the year read, it's a story which has ingrained itself upon my heart.
Climate-change thrillers are becoming a popular subgenre and I can only see them becoming even more prevalent as we head towards whatever the future may hold. Paul E. Hardisty sets the standard in style here, and the near future he imagines in The Forcing is agonisingly plausible, with each new terrible development or awful revelation only too easy to believe. Of course, there will be people who doubt the likelihood of the predictions made but Paul is a renowned environmental scientist who has seen and documented first-hand the damage being done to our planet, he writes with authentic knowledge as well as real heart. How governments and individuals respond isn't really debatable either; we already know that there are powerful factions of climate-change deniers, that protecting and growing the economy trumps protecting our dwindling resources, and that wars break out as demand outstrips supply.
The world in The Forcing has moved closer than ever towards disaster; the skies are poisoned, scores of species are extinct, some continents are burning while swathes of others are already underwater, with more at risk. North America is now controlled by a Government of young people and they hold the older generation squarely to blame for the mess the world is in. With more and more people fleeing north, a policy which means anybody born before 1989 and therefore considered culpable will be relocated to the ravaged southern states. David 'Teacher' Ashworth receives the letter he has been expecting at the start of the book and grimly accepts his fate – he is a scientist and even though he'd marched, written letters and posted on social media, he knows that although he said he did all he could to prevent environmental disaster, it wasn't enough. By contrast, his wife May rails against the order and her brittle disappointment at what she sees as his cowardice reflects how families and communities are torn apart emotionally as well as physically.
They are re-housed with two other couples and a single man and their varying responses to their enforced situation sees them become a microcosm of this new underclass. Some are honourable and work for the common good, others are understandably scared of what this new brutal society is going to become and some are deplorable. The pitch-perfect characterisation and exceptional sense of place ensures the journey Teacher finds himself on is brought vividly – and often terrifyingly – to life. What takes place here is utterly horrifying because it uses history and what has passed before to inform what may occur again. It comes as no surprise when society falls apart and the most heinous acts are perpetrated by people against those they once lived and worked alongside as colleagues, neighbours and friends.
Throughout the novel there are brief interludes written by a much older Teacher and so it's always obvious that he survives his ordeal but even though these chapters are filled with hope, there's a lingering melancholy which only serves to exacerbate still further the pain of what he and others endured. How he came to this place of refuge is gradually revealed through a storyline which perfectly combines all the heart-pounding tension of a thriller with a profoundly thoughtful exploration of human behaviour. The Forcing is so exquisitely written, there were times when I just had to stop and really appreciate what I'd just read. Paul E. Hardisty's stunning dystopic thriller is a frightening commentary on the worst of humanity and what we risk if we continue to ignore all the warnings but it is also a wise, hopeful reminder to truly appreciate whatever time we have left – and this beautiful planet we share. This is one of those books which make me grateful to be a reader and I finished it with tears pouring down my face. Intelligent, powerful, moving; The Forcing is a masterpiece which should be read by everybody.
Climate-change thrillers are becoming a popular subgenre and I can only see them becoming even more prevalent as we head towards whatever the future may hold. Paul E. Hardisty sets the standard in style here, and the near future he imagines in The Forcing is agonisingly plausible, with each new terrible development or awful revelation only too easy to believe. Of course, there will be people who doubt the likelihood of the predictions made but Paul is a renowned environmental scientist who has seen and documented first-hand the damage being done to our planet, he writes with authentic knowledge as well as real heart. How governments and individuals respond isn't really debatable either; we already know that there are powerful factions of climate-change deniers, that protecting and growing the economy trumps protecting our dwindling resources, and that wars break out as demand outstrips supply.
The world in The Forcing has moved closer than ever towards disaster; the skies are poisoned, scores of species are extinct, some continents are burning while swathes of others are already underwater, with more at risk. North America is now controlled by a Government of young people and they hold the older generation squarely to blame for the mess the world is in. With more and more people fleeing north, a policy which means anybody born before 1989 and therefore considered culpable will be relocated to the ravaged southern states. David 'Teacher' Ashworth receives the letter he has been expecting at the start of the book and grimly accepts his fate – he is a scientist and even though he'd marched, written letters and posted on social media, he knows that although he said he did all he could to prevent environmental disaster, it wasn't enough. By contrast, his wife May rails against the order and her brittle disappointment at what she sees as his cowardice reflects how families and communities are torn apart emotionally as well as physically.
They are re-housed with two other couples and a single man and their varying responses to their enforced situation sees them become a microcosm of this new underclass. Some are honourable and work for the common good, others are understandably scared of what this new brutal society is going to become and some are deplorable. The pitch-perfect characterisation and exceptional sense of place ensures the journey Teacher finds himself on is brought vividly – and often terrifyingly – to life. What takes place here is utterly horrifying because it uses history and what has passed before to inform what may occur again. It comes as no surprise when society falls apart and the most heinous acts are perpetrated by people against those they once lived and worked alongside as colleagues, neighbours and friends.
Throughout the novel there are brief interludes written by a much older Teacher and so it's always obvious that he survives his ordeal but even though these chapters are filled with hope, there's a lingering melancholy which only serves to exacerbate still further the pain of what he and others endured. How he came to this place of refuge is gradually revealed through a storyline which perfectly combines all the heart-pounding tension of a thriller with a profoundly thoughtful exploration of human behaviour. The Forcing is so exquisitely written, there were times when I just had to stop and really appreciate what I'd just read. Paul E. Hardisty's stunning dystopic thriller is a frightening commentary on the worst of humanity and what we risk if we continue to ignore all the warnings but it is also a wise, hopeful reminder to truly appreciate whatever time we have left – and this beautiful planet we share. This is one of those books which make me grateful to be a reader and I finished it with tears pouring down my face. Intelligent, powerful, moving; The Forcing is a masterpiece which should be read by everybody.
February 17, 2023
In a near future where the impact of climate change has radically altered the face of the earth, civilisation is collapsing, and drastic measures are deemed vital to mitigate disaster. The young have taken power in America laying the blame for the future they have been handed squarely at the feet of the earlier generations. To compensate for their inaction, anyone older than a prescribed age must now be 'relocated' to the barren wastes of the south, forfeiting their assets in the process.
David 'Teach' Ashworth, and his wife May, are loaded onto a bus and shipped south with thousands of others who have hit the cut-off age. Their new home is a cramped apartment that they must share with an obnoxious wealthy businessman and his poisonous lawyer wife, two recent immigrants to America who are scarred by the things they have seen in Africa, and a hospital worker whose homosexuality marks him as a target in this new age of religious mania.
This reality of this new life is that it offers little more than existence in a concentration camp. Escape is the only solution, fed by rumours of a tropical sanctuary, but for Teach and his new found compatriots this is a dangerous prospect - and what lays beyond the razor wire fence is an unknown in these perilous times.
This story plays out through the narration of Teach in the present as he does his best to record the events of the past for posterity, bleeding back and forth between the life he lives now and the horrors that have brought him to this moment in time. The pacing and nature of the storytelling that Hardisty uses for the present and past are intriguingly different. In the present, an older Teach reflects on the future of humanity as he is approaching the end of a long, hard life, and these sections are full of deeply emotional philosophising, although not without some beautifully wrought dramatic tension. In parallel, the episodes recounting the past are rife with all the worst examples of human depravity that an authentic post-apocalyptic thriller can throw at you. Flipping between them is curiously disorienting, building almost unbearable suspense as the questions you ask yourself at the beginning of the novel are answered by the exquisitely timed reveals dropped throughout the twisting plotlines in the past. This is masterful storytelling from Hardisty, and it holds you fast from cover to cover, leaving you breathless and bloody when a very disturbing truth is finally revealed.
The events leading up to the future Hardisty paints are so realistic that you can taste them - and what a bitter taste they leave. He outlines the conflict between environmental campaigners and climate change deniers with powerful insight, and his prediction about how disaster can be not only hastened by inaction, but accelerated by false political promises, is horrifyingly believable. The conflict between an older generation caught between guilt and denial, and younger generation filled with resentment and the need for retribution is uncomfortably visceral, and deeply thought provoking.
I am impressed by the way Hardisty manages to wrap up so many important messages in such a gripping tale. He lays out plainly how opinion can be manipulated by short-sighted greed; how the arrogance of the few can impact the lives of the many; and conveys some very hard truths about the kind of future we are facing. And yet, as much as this story is intensely unsettling, and full of heinous acts, there are glimmers of the kindness of strangers, and of pulling together in adversity, and it does leave you with a feeling that there is hope. This book is simply outstanding, and it should be required reading!
David 'Teach' Ashworth, and his wife May, are loaded onto a bus and shipped south with thousands of others who have hit the cut-off age. Their new home is a cramped apartment that they must share with an obnoxious wealthy businessman and his poisonous lawyer wife, two recent immigrants to America who are scarred by the things they have seen in Africa, and a hospital worker whose homosexuality marks him as a target in this new age of religious mania.
This reality of this new life is that it offers little more than existence in a concentration camp. Escape is the only solution, fed by rumours of a tropical sanctuary, but for Teach and his new found compatriots this is a dangerous prospect - and what lays beyond the razor wire fence is an unknown in these perilous times.
This story plays out through the narration of Teach in the present as he does his best to record the events of the past for posterity, bleeding back and forth between the life he lives now and the horrors that have brought him to this moment in time. The pacing and nature of the storytelling that Hardisty uses for the present and past are intriguingly different. In the present, an older Teach reflects on the future of humanity as he is approaching the end of a long, hard life, and these sections are full of deeply emotional philosophising, although not without some beautifully wrought dramatic tension. In parallel, the episodes recounting the past are rife with all the worst examples of human depravity that an authentic post-apocalyptic thriller can throw at you. Flipping between them is curiously disorienting, building almost unbearable suspense as the questions you ask yourself at the beginning of the novel are answered by the exquisitely timed reveals dropped throughout the twisting plotlines in the past. This is masterful storytelling from Hardisty, and it holds you fast from cover to cover, leaving you breathless and bloody when a very disturbing truth is finally revealed.
The events leading up to the future Hardisty paints are so realistic that you can taste them - and what a bitter taste they leave. He outlines the conflict between environmental campaigners and climate change deniers with powerful insight, and his prediction about how disaster can be not only hastened by inaction, but accelerated by false political promises, is horrifyingly believable. The conflict between an older generation caught between guilt and denial, and younger generation filled with resentment and the need for retribution is uncomfortably visceral, and deeply thought provoking.
I am impressed by the way Hardisty manages to wrap up so many important messages in such a gripping tale. He lays out plainly how opinion can be manipulated by short-sighted greed; how the arrogance of the few can impact the lives of the many; and conveys some very hard truths about the kind of future we are facing. And yet, as much as this story is intensely unsettling, and full of heinous acts, there are glimmers of the kindness of strangers, and of pulling together in adversity, and it does leave you with a feeling that there is hope. This book is simply outstanding, and it should be required reading!
May 29, 2023
Wow! Wow! This is an amazing book, written by an amazing man. (See the end for what the editor blurb says about him*) This is an environmentalist screaming in the most powerful way he can: look, look at what we are doing, look at where we are headed. It is post climate change environmental apocalypse. Much of the US and much of the world has become uninhabitable and uninhabited, through combined climate change effects of heat and drought, raging wildfires, sea level rise and flooding, coastal cities and barrier islands disappearing. Cities have been smashed and looted as people left them. The Gulf of Mexico has become one giant oil slick in which nothing lives , as abandoned deep sea wells continue to pump oil out. One third of all the Earth's animal species that were present in our lifetime are extinct.
The book was just published this year, 2023, though the author says he worked on it and tried to write it for twelve years. Hardisty never puts a date on it for when the story is set, when all these events are happening. But it has that day after tomorrow urgent immediacy. This is the very near future. Over and over he says it all happened so much faster and more intensely than anyone expected. One third of the Greenland ice just broke off and melted all at once. And of course, the climate change processes happening so much faster than predicted is a statement of fact.
The language is amazing, so precise and so graphic. It is a scream, it is an emotional rant, and yet there is not one bit of hyperbole, fantasy, exaggeration for effect. And there is a theme about blame and responsibility and accountability. It is us, he says, our generation, Baby Boomers. This all happened in our lifetime and we sat around and watched it happen and did nothing effective to stop it. And yet it is our children and grandchildren who will pay most of the price for it AND THEY WILL NEVER FORGIVE US.
The book would be unbearable to read (at times it nearly is) except that all the way through he keeps a thread of hope: there are good people who care, the environmental catastrophe that wipes out so many people and destroys so much of our current petroleum fueled, high tech civilization, gives Earth a chance to begin healing.
And of course, it is a novel and there is a survival adventure story to carry the reader along and a well done romance, a grown up love story.
Recommended for everyone. I wish I could make every legislator, CEO and power person sit down . Say they cannot take another vote, make another decision until they have read this book and written a book report on it.
*About the author: "Canadian Paul Hardisty has spent twenty-five years working all over the world as an environmental scientist and freelance journalist. He has roughnecked on oil rigs in Texas, explored for gold in the Arctic, mapped geology in Eastern Turkey (where hewas befriended by PKK rebels), and rehabilitated water wells in the wilds of Africa. He was in Ethiopia in 1991 as the Mengistu regime fell, survived a bomb blast in a café in Sana’a in 1993, and was one of the last Westerners out of Yemen at the outbreakof the 1994 civil war. In 2022 he criss-crossed Ukraine writing about the Russian invasion. Paul is a university professor."
The book was just published this year, 2023, though the author says he worked on it and tried to write it for twelve years. Hardisty never puts a date on it for when the story is set, when all these events are happening. But it has that day after tomorrow urgent immediacy. This is the very near future. Over and over he says it all happened so much faster and more intensely than anyone expected. One third of the Greenland ice just broke off and melted all at once. And of course, the climate change processes happening so much faster than predicted is a statement of fact.
The language is amazing, so precise and so graphic. It is a scream, it is an emotional rant, and yet there is not one bit of hyperbole, fantasy, exaggeration for effect. And there is a theme about blame and responsibility and accountability. It is us, he says, our generation, Baby Boomers. This all happened in our lifetime and we sat around and watched it happen and did nothing effective to stop it. And yet it is our children and grandchildren who will pay most of the price for it AND THEY WILL NEVER FORGIVE US.
The book would be unbearable to read (at times it nearly is) except that all the way through he keeps a thread of hope: there are good people who care, the environmental catastrophe that wipes out so many people and destroys so much of our current petroleum fueled, high tech civilization, gives Earth a chance to begin healing.
And of course, it is a novel and there is a survival adventure story to carry the reader along and a well done romance, a grown up love story.
Recommended for everyone. I wish I could make every legislator, CEO and power person sit down . Say they cannot take another vote, make another decision until they have read this book and written a book report on it.
*About the author: "Canadian Paul Hardisty has spent twenty-five years working all over the world as an environmental scientist and freelance journalist. He has roughnecked on oil rigs in Texas, explored for gold in the Arctic, mapped geology in Eastern Turkey (where hewas befriended by PKK rebels), and rehabilitated water wells in the wilds of Africa. He was in Ethiopia in 1991 as the Mengistu regime fell, survived a bomb blast in a café in Sana’a in 1993, and was one of the last Westerners out of Yemen at the outbreakof the 1994 civil war. In 2022 he criss-crossed Ukraine writing about the Russian invasion. Paul is a university professor."
January 26, 2024
I read this in e-book form and found it a quick read and interesting.
Why interesting? Mainly because the book takes place in the not-so-distant future, where climate change has had its way with the world in most of the usual ways: bad weather, rising temperatures, expansion of inhabitable land, crop failure, migration, sea rise, war. But that’s not the premise that is interesting, but the political and societal reaction in North America, where the fossil fuel interests had had their way in what was called the Repudiation, when all that would-be climate progress was overthrown in favor of business as usual, with a sort of Trump-like reactionary government coming to power. The consequence of that, when the book opens, is that the Repudiation is finally overthrown, because things had gotten much worse, with Canada becoming part of the United States, with wars raging overseas where countries are trying to fight back against Western exploitation, including food shipped back home for American citizens, and now, a youth-led government has come to power and their efforts to address the climate crisis is, step one, to blame the older people.
The story begins in Canada, where the central character and his wife have reached the age that triggers relocation down south into more difficult areas (a largely emptied Texas), and things for those “who will never be forgiven” go from bad to worse to worser yet. The reader knows from the very start that the main character survives, since the form of the book is sections covering the relocation and subsequent developments alternating with sections of the much older man recollecting those times and the long journey that has brought him to his final home.
I enjoyed the book overall, even though the background of the change in governance that judges and defies those old enough to have been able to reduce or avoid catastrophic climate change is not offered in any detail, but instead largely presented as a done deal, but I wish this had been handled with more nuance—it is easy enough to imagine that even the future generation might understand there were and are those from older times who fought the good fight. How a polity transforms to this moral certitude would be more fascinating, but the fanaticism is sufficiently sketched out in the circumstances of the character and his contemporaries as they struggle. The evil reactionary Repudiation (reacting, that is, against efforts to address climate change) is also characterized as flatly as the new political reality, but the writer has to choose his focus, I suppose.
The focus chosen is at the level of the individual and this is executed well, and I experienced a growing engagement with the characters, even if the nagging wonder of how this particular and foundational societal shift could happen kept coming up. Nonetheless, the book is a very readable book of ideas and the ideas are thought-provoking and on-target. This is a cautionary tale and a successful one at that, which is rare enough. Is this how the future generations will think of us? The prosecution of the argument is chilling, especially given our general failure to date to do enough about climate change. Be warned: being a card-carrying Greenie won’t do much for you when the young people have had enough!
Why interesting? Mainly because the book takes place in the not-so-distant future, where climate change has had its way with the world in most of the usual ways: bad weather, rising temperatures, expansion of inhabitable land, crop failure, migration, sea rise, war. But that’s not the premise that is interesting, but the political and societal reaction in North America, where the fossil fuel interests had had their way in what was called the Repudiation, when all that would-be climate progress was overthrown in favor of business as usual, with a sort of Trump-like reactionary government coming to power. The consequence of that, when the book opens, is that the Repudiation is finally overthrown, because things had gotten much worse, with Canada becoming part of the United States, with wars raging overseas where countries are trying to fight back against Western exploitation, including food shipped back home for American citizens, and now, a youth-led government has come to power and their efforts to address the climate crisis is, step one, to blame the older people.
The story begins in Canada, where the central character and his wife have reached the age that triggers relocation down south into more difficult areas (a largely emptied Texas), and things for those “who will never be forgiven” go from bad to worse to worser yet. The reader knows from the very start that the main character survives, since the form of the book is sections covering the relocation and subsequent developments alternating with sections of the much older man recollecting those times and the long journey that has brought him to his final home.
I enjoyed the book overall, even though the background of the change in governance that judges and defies those old enough to have been able to reduce or avoid catastrophic climate change is not offered in any detail, but instead largely presented as a done deal, but I wish this had been handled with more nuance—it is easy enough to imagine that even the future generation might understand there were and are those from older times who fought the good fight. How a polity transforms to this moral certitude would be more fascinating, but the fanaticism is sufficiently sketched out in the circumstances of the character and his contemporaries as they struggle. The evil reactionary Repudiation (reacting, that is, against efforts to address climate change) is also characterized as flatly as the new political reality, but the writer has to choose his focus, I suppose.
The focus chosen is at the level of the individual and this is executed well, and I experienced a growing engagement with the characters, even if the nagging wonder of how this particular and foundational societal shift could happen kept coming up. Nonetheless, the book is a very readable book of ideas and the ideas are thought-provoking and on-target. This is a cautionary tale and a successful one at that, which is rare enough. Is this how the future generations will think of us? The prosecution of the argument is chilling, especially given our general failure to date to do enough about climate change. Be warned: being a card-carrying Greenie won’t do much for you when the young people have had enough!
October 17, 2023
I recommend the Apple+ show Extrapolations where we meet an Argent twin named Nick Bilton!
This is an absolutely beautiful novel. I never heard of this author (sadly) and I’m both enthralled and excited. The best books come to out of the blue and I needed this at this point in my life, lol.
I’ve read a ton of Cli Fi and with the exception of Stephen Markley’s incredible The Deluge, I’ve not been satisfied. The Forcing gave me everything I wanted in a Cli Fi novel and more. The author takes us to the more distant future (2050s) where an old man, living on the Great Australian Bight, writes his memoir of how he and his family ended up in this one obscure area of our planet in a hand built stone home, living simply and sustainably. We readers are treated to the his memoir as he retells the story of the world, not far at all from our own time period, on the verge of collapse. Resources nearly run dry, the rich American farmland barren, the oceans ruined.
It’s the 2030s and brilliant science professor Armstrong (he goes by Teacher) is mildly surprised to have received a letter banishing US and Canadian citizens (now together as a sort of North American alliance without Mexico) to “communities” for folks born in 1989 and before, millennials and Gen Xs who the younger generation strongly believe destroyed the earth for them. The world that the author paints is so realistic and prophetic, if you please. The sky is a sallow yellow shade and the US can no longer grow crops as weather patterns have drastically changed due to global warming and the disintegration of the eastern Greenland ice sheet. Africa is a continent of constant war with America, hinted at their ability to still grow food.
The ocean is tainted and the world population hovers at an astounding 13 billion. Teacher and his stubborn artist wife Mae are dropped off in Texas and are forced to share a bare bones condo in northern Texas with two other couples and a single man. One of the the condo mates, Argent (Silver!) is the exact opposite of Teacher which obviously makes for some tension! From there on Teacher and his roommates discover that this “community” is certainly not what it seems. From there the reader is spun into a dystopian tale that tells a story of both incredible fortitude and bravery and selfish cowardice. The characters are broadly drawn and one roots for them. I found myself crying at certain parts.
Brilliantly written and there were just so many sections I highlighted and found myself nodding my head, ‘yes’, ‘yes’. Paul, the writer and esteemed environmentalist, GETS it. He paints a world where greed and money has taken over and our beautiful natural world thrust aside, the horrific consequences that brings.
This is also an invigorating adventure tale and thriller where I greedily kept turning the pages to find out what was going to happen! Good thing my father was a sailor so I could keep up with the sailing jargon in the latter half of the book.
Great “The Stand” Easter egg!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 98 reviews