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.
It is such an honour to be hosting the blog tour for The Descent today. Huge thanks to Paul E. Hardisty, Orenda Books and Anne Cater from Random Things Tours for inviting me and for sending me an advance copy of the novel.
Paul E. Hardisty's exceptional climate change dystopian thriller, The Forcing was easily one of my favourite books last year. The Descent is described as a prequel but is actually both prequel and sequel and I would therefore strongly recommend reading Teacher's story in The Forcing before starting this. The thoughtfully conceived, compelling dual storylines cleverly come together in this scarily prescient tale; there are more revelations about the past events leading up to the catastrophic climate disasters, subsequent wars and often forced large-scale of displacement of millions of people, as well as a sombre, moving look at the state of this irrevocably changed new world.
Two years after Teacher's death, his stepson, Kweku re-read his manuscript then began broadcasting his story over short-wave radio. He and his half-brother, Lewis don't know if anybody is listening but feel Teacher's story needs to be heard. When a woman who calls herself 'Sparkplug' replies, it sets in motion a devastating chain of events which changes everything for Kweku but also allows him to fill in the mysterious gaps in his parents' past.
The split narrative is put to excellent use as the alternating chapters follow Kweku, his wife Juliette and young son, Leo on their epic journey, and Sparkplug's shocking account of her experiences working for a man she only names as the Boss. Kweku's storyline is thrilling but the tense drama is poignantly balanced by their harrowing discoveries about both the atrocities committed in the past and the ongoing dangers and fragility of life – Paul E. Hardisty's immersive, vividly cinematic style of writing is unsettlingly believable throughout.
It's Sparkplug's bleak chapters which are perhaps the most frightening because it's impossible to ignore our own reality. This might be fiction but so much of what she discloses mirrors what we are experiencing right now; with our resources and media increasingly controlled by a small group of people, we continue to sleepwalk into our own climate disaster. Her chastening story follows her as a naive young women who at first enjoys the trappings of wealth but eventually she can't ignore the horrors of what she becomes privy to. It would be easy to condemn her for some of her actions but it's clear throughout that she is taken advantage of and her courage proves to be as affecting as Kweku's. Meanwhile, the inclusion of characters who are certainly representative of current public figures adds a further layer of authenticity to proceedings.
The richly descriptive language and empathetic characterisation means The Descent is a one-sitting read – it's difficult to tear your eyes from the page when our own potential near future is laid out for us so starkly. Climate change is real, it's happening right now and this brutally unflinching, authoritative novel is the wake-up call we all need. This is another beautifully written, important and thought-provoking book by Paul E. Hardisty; I cannot recommend it highly enough and it should be required reading for everyone.
The Descent will be published by Orenda Books on 29th February 2024. It can be purchased directly from their website, furthering purchasing links can be found here.
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Thanks for the blog tour support x
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