Thank you LibraryThing and Aleksander Nedeljovik for the ARC of ALT. For me, this was a new and challenging sort of read in the way it bravely dived into technology and explained things beyond my level of skill. It found that intriguing alone. The story itself dived deep into a very possible near future world where the energy crisis has reached a new and dangerous level threatening the existence of humanity. Of course the elite are more focused on themselves. (Sound like fiction or no?)
As we follow Theo on his journey to complete the project his father started, to restore peace among the people, tensions rise- especially with how close to home it all hits. Will the human race survive? Can they make the right decisions for the world we know?

This feels like it's three books crammed into one. Lots of backstory, lots of characters, also falls victim to a common sci-fi problem of exposition at the expense of fluidity and action. I also disagree with some of the author's ideas (which might as well be labeled as such, coming as they usually do in large blocks of exposition) about what would happen in the aftermath of major disasters. No spoilers here, but the appearance of blockchain and related jargon also gets on some very particular nerves of mine. I did appreciate the apparent homage to the Sid Meier Civilization games, since I used to play the first two of those a lot.

I don't generally think that sci-fi or other fiction needs to be written in multiple volumes, but this book is an exception. The domestic and foreign political situation could be one, the environmental/material science stuff could be a second, and the mystery aspect could potentially be a third, or wound into the other two, or something else besides. Having all of it in one book with a bunch of other exposition added in is a lot. ( )

Another dystopian story but a good one at that. Held my attention from the start. A bit slow at times but nonetheless an all around great debut. ( )

Slow and meandering lacking sufficient pace for the plot it tries to build, but not without merit. I think the main problem is too large a cast of characters that have little interaction until quite late in the story. The technology is given a long exposition, but then abandoned for the rest of the novel before being briefly picked up in the epilogue. As a macGuffin to hang the story around it too needs better foundations, a more likely concept, and some form of intersection with the rest of the story.

The basic premise is believable enough - oil extraction has already run climate change into the danger zones, but a significant proportion of the world continues Business as Usual, wringing the last drops of blood form the Goldern Goose, even as society breaks down and only the most ruthless corporations and their hit teams survive. A scientist/Engineer develops a novel photo-synthesis based solar panel, but then before the invention is publicised he and his lab are burnt down (probably by an Oil based consortium). Knowing that it's now possible a rival corporation are trying to retro-engineer such a work by hiring his family, whilst another company work on abiotic oil substitute (nominally carbon neutral but I think probably not), and they're also interested in the same people although the problems should be very different. A child escapes a kidnapping and is accompanied by one of the firm's 'problem solvers'. The kid plays in a global online tournament based on the Sid Meyer's Civilisation game, which doesn't add anything to the plot or make a lot of sense.

It's all just a bit too disorganised and not quite thought through. A little bit of tightening up and cutting would make this very good. ( )