The Descent by Paul E Hardisty #Review #Giveaway

 I am happy to be taking part in the celebrations for the publication of Paul E Hardisty's latest sci-fi novel, The Descent. 

 I also have a great giveaway with the chance to win a print copy of the novel. Details on how to enter are at the foot of this post.  

 A young man and his young family set out on a perilous voyage across a devastated planet to uncover the origin of the events that set the world on its course to disaster … The prescient, deeply shocking prequel to the bestselling, critically acclaimed Climate Emergency thriller, The Forcing.

Kweku Ashworth is a child of the cataclysm, born on a sailboat to parents fleeing the devastation in search for a refuge in the Southern Ocean. Growing up in a world forever changed, his only connection to the events that set the planet on its course to disaster were the stories his step-father, long-dead, recorded in his manuscript, The Forcing.

But there are huge gaps in the story that his mother, still alive but old and frail, steadfastly refuses to speak of, even thirty years later. When he discovers evidence that his mother has tried to cover up the truth, and then stumbles across an account by someone close to the men who forced the globe into a climate catastrophe, he knows that it is time to find out for himself.

Determined to learn what really happened during his mother`s escape from the concentration camp to which she and Kweku´s father were banished, and their subsequent journey halfway around the world, Kweku and his young family set out on a perilous voyage across a devastated planet. What they find will challenge not only their faith in humanity, but their ability to stay alive.

The Descent is the devastating, nerve-shattering prequel to the critically acclaimed thriller The Forcing, a story of survival, hope, and the power of the human spirit in a world torn apart by climate change.

My Thoughts

There are many echoes in the story of events which you can recognise which gives it an added frisson. You see your worst nightmare come true in the depiction of a world where climate change, disease, greed, ambition and human frailty have come together leaving a devastated planet. With its dual timeline, you follow how the situation came about with global crimes affecting millions. 

   Kweku’s journey across the globe as he searches for both his niece and the truth behind events is a rollercoaster full of action. As society is taken to the brink of extinction, you see how people changes and their code of behaviour alters. Survival dictates their decisions. This is a thought provoking look at a dystopian world but certain family values remain recognisable and ultimately leave you with hope for the future.

In short: a frightening future laid bare. 

 

About the Author

Canadian Paul E Hardisty has spent 25 years working all over the world as an engineer, hydrologist and environmental scientist. He has roughnecked on oil rigs in Texas, explored for gold in the Arctic, mapped geology in Eastern Turkey (where he was befriended by PKK rebels), and rehabilitated water wells in the wilds of Africa. He was in Ethiopia in 1991 as the Mengistu regime fell, and was bumped from one of the last flights out of Addis Ababa by bureaucrats and their families fleeing the rebels. In 1993 he survived a bomb blast in a café in Sana’a. Paul is a university professor and CEO of the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS).

The first four novels in his Claymore Straker series, The Abrupt Physics of Dying,The Evolution of Fear, Reconciliation for the Dead and Absolution all received great critical acclaim and The Abrupt Physics of Dying was shortlisted for the CWA John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger and Telegraph Thriller of the Year. Paul is a sailor, a private pilot, keen outdoorsman, conservation volunteer, and lives in Western Australia.

 

 

You can follow Paul here: X (Twitter)

Book links: Amazon UK 

 Thanks to Paul E Hardisty, Karen Sullivan and Anne Cater of Orenda Books for a copy of the book and a place on the tour.

Don't forget to check out the rest of the tour!

 

Giveaway (UK only)
 

To win a print copy of The Descent, just Follow and Retweet the pinned tweet at @bookslifethings and good luck!

 

Closing date is February 12th 2024 and there is one winner.    

 

*Terms and Conditions – UK only.  The winner will be selected at random via a random retweet selector from all valid entries and will be notified by X (Twitter) and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then I reserve the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize. I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.