E.J. Swift

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/the-coral-bones-by-e-j-swift/

A gem. It’s set in three timelines, the past, the present and the future, in and around Australia. (Apparently the author has not actually been to Australia, but I couldn’t tell.) The unifying theme is environmental apocalypse, as observed by women scientists; the three plots are each engaging on their own terms, and then the linkage at the end is very satisfying. A real warning about what we are doing to our world and ourselves. It is very much in keeping with the spirit of other recent Clarke winners, and Sir Arthur himself would have appreciated the diving scenes; personally I was especially grabbed by the nineteenth century science.… (meer)

This is a book set in a post-apocalyptic world where the ocean city of Osiris is believed to be the last place on Earth that is still inhabited by humans. The main characters, Adelaide and Vikram, come from polar opposite worlds and and are complete opposites themselves. Adelaide is a pampered socialite from one of the founding families, and Vikram comes from the west where life is full of violence and you have to become very hardened to survive. This unlikely pair each need something from the other and find themselves working together to this end.

This book was very character driven. We were given a lot of back story on the main characters and their friends and family, which I think helped me better understand the different worlds the characters lived in. You basically had the Citizens, who were very wealthy and lived high on the hog, and the westerners, who lived in squalor and were very poor. The world building here was phenomenal! The plot was evenly paced and the characters were well written, as mentioned above.

All told, I enjoyed this book very much and look forward to continuing the story in book 2.

5/5 stars.

*** I would like to thank E.J. Swift and Night Shade Books for the opportunity to read and review this book.… (meer)