The Descent by Paul E. Hardisty
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 world on its course to disaster were the stories his step-father, now 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, 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.
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. The Forcing (2023) was a SciFi Now Book of the Month, with The Descent out in 2024. Paul is a sailor, a private pilot, keen outdoorsman, and lives in Western Australia.
Review
‘The Descent’ is both a prequel and sequel to Paul E. Hardisty’s thought-provoking ‘The Forcing’ and is just as hard-hitting. Before I even picked up this book I knew I was going to be in for a read which was unsettling, scaringly possible and realistic. Paul’s background in climate change means he has the credentials to make this piece of fiction sing with the truth we are unable to face. Most of us, whilst claiming to be green and wanting to help the planet, shove our heads in the sand and carry on life as normal. But ‘The Descent’ forces us as readers to confront the consequences of our actions and how our future may pan out!
This was a compelling and thrilling read and once I started I literally could not put this down. It gets under your skin and even though I finished it a few days ago it still has its hooks inside me. It's a stark and unflinching read which unsettles you in a way I can't really describe. I think because, unlike many other dystopian futures, this one starts playing out in 2021, this ‘future’ is already here and there is no stopping it! ‘The Descent’ is set over two timelines - the first being the ‘past’ and is a series of diary entries written by ‘Sparkplug’ chronically how big business concentrates the power of our world into just a few pairs of hand and how dangerous that can be! Then we have the present where we follow Kweku Ashworth, step-son of Teacher the protagonist from ‘The Forcing’. Kweku and his family set sail from their home in Australia to find out more about their family and the events in his parent's life. They navigate the globe facing many dangers in a very unstable world and come to many shocking conclusions about past events.
Two things struck me as I read this book. Firstly, that big business and the rich will always look out for number one. Secondly, there is always hope. There were so many recognisable figures in the ‘big business’ section - billionaires who used people as their playthings, obsessed with material wealth and pandering to ego projects like a space programme! Giving huge amounts of political donations to get a puppet ‘President’, not caring about how their actions affect the population of this world. But even this section had hope in the characters who were trying to fight back. Then the present, whilst filled with horrific danger also had an overarching sense of the planet starting to heal and that those left were wanting to change and start over. The local connections and communities were where this would grow if the right people were in charge.
This book is a testament to the standard of Paul’s writing as it is a book which weighs upon your soul, you take these characters to heart and you secretly pray that this is not going to be your future. The clever part is all the education which is wrapped up in this thriller as you don't realise how much you are absorbing of the science and the reality of the world’s position. Like I know now I need to move to Tasmania! It is the message of the book that you as a reader are going to remember and I think that is Paul’s aim. Write a banging thriller and scare the reader to death with the reality of climate change. Well, it is job done. Mission achieved.
Normally, I say let me know if you pick this one up. Not this time. I'm telling you, you NEED to read this book!
