There is a seamless integration of diverse characters sexuality, gender, disability and race. James is innovative in both character and plot. There is also an investigative aspect the reader is with Lowrie and Shen as they try to piece together the clues left behind, hoping to know what it is that will solve the emergency they face.
It is a disturbing parallel to our modern world. By integrating the archival social media discussions from the 2020s, James is able to comment on the way myriad politicians and societies struggle to address the needs of the human race in a way that will ensure our future. The novel is a sci-fi exploration of our future world, and delves into the way humans prioritise themselves and their desires.
This is not the only problem to solve, as a crisis soon forces Lowrie and Shen to put their life’s learning to use, and save themselves and everyone they love. There is a sense of mirroring as both timelines struggle with their infertility, and how they can find meaning in their lives. They come to realise the pieces of human life they find, represent the trajectory of humankind as a species, and one small piece sets them seeking out more information in the internet archives.Ī sense of secrecy and impending doom fill the first half of the novel, and it is soon evident that the character found in the internet archives will teach Lowrie and Shen more than what their parents ever shared with them.
The days are filled learning about the technicalities of living, and mud-larking throughout London, scavenging pieces of humanity as they go. There are only 300 humans left on Earth, all of them elderly except for Lowrie and Shen, who know that one day they will be the only people left on the planet. Set one hundred years into our future, these are questions the protagonist, Lowrie, faces as she and best friend Shen come to terms with the world in which they live. What is it to be human? What is humanity? What legacy does one want to leave?
I’ve recently read this thought provoking novel.
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