About the Book
Title: The Gaia Effect
Author: Claire Buss
Date: December 21, 2016
Length: 234 pages
Publisher: New Generation Publishing
Categories: Science fiction, dystopian/futuristic
Synopsis
In City 42 Corporation look after you from cradle to grave. They protect you from the radiation outside the wall. They control the food, the water, the technology and most important of all, the continuation of the human race. Kira and Jed Jenkins were lucky enough to win Collection but when their friends start falling pregnant naturally, everything changes. How long has Corporation been lying to them? Is it really toxic outside the wall? As the group comes to terms with the changes in their lives they discover there is a much more powerful and ancient force at work, trying to bridge the gap between man and nature.
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Review
This book can probably best be described as family-oriented dystopian fiction. That may seem unusual, and it is, in the best possible way. The futuristic society is not like any that I’ve yet come across. Some of the usual elements are there, like having everything automated. But the storytelling is clever and the use of typical futuristic tropes is highly creative.
In this world, if you’re lucky enough to be chosen, you can have a baby almost at the touch of a button. The story begins with a pair of hopeful parents, Kira and Jed Jenkins, preparing for collection—the process of picking up their baby from the Powers that Be.
As a parent myself, so many of the metaphors in the story, particularly surrounding motherhood, resonated. Even in our contemporary society, it can often feel as though forces outside ourselves have all the control about what we do with our bodies: whether or not we have babies, how we choose to do so, and how we care for them once they’re born. I found myself nodding at the way this post-apocalyptic world somehow manages to distill all that and make it market-controlled. It’s not a stretch to envision it.
Although Kira and Jed probably occupy the greatest amount of on-page time, this is truly an ensemble cast with a host of wonderful characters. Each of the women or couples experiences parenting in a different way. Kira and Jed bring home their baby as a product of science but choose to parent the “old-fashioned” way. The other women all become pregnant naturally, each under a different set of circumstances. I loved all of them, and as the story unfolded, I felt connected to them through shared experiences.
The story itself is fast-paced and, unlike many books of its kind, down to earth in its language and structure. That leaves readers free to enjoy the storytelling rather than being too caught up in endless descriptions of world-building and scientific concepts.
It’s a good thing, because the storytelling invites deep thought. While there are certainly some terrible things being done, it’s also clear that there aren’t really “good guys” and “bad guys.” It’s a struggle between people who all want to do what’s best in a world that’s been made nearly uninhabitable. The tension is more between rigid thinking and open-mindedness, which can be found on both sides in this story.
There’s not a clean, perfect resolution. Anyone looking for every last loose end to be tied up will be disappointed. However, the end is significantly more hopeful and uplifting than is sometimes found in dystopian literature. This is one story about one city in the futuristic world. I would love to revisit this society and see what has become of the characters, or perhaps take a peek into a different city and see what’s happening there.
For an excellently constructed world, a story that invites readers to think about our own society, and a hopeful ending, this gets 10/10 fountain pens.
About the Author
Claire Buss is a science fiction, fantasy & contemporary writer based in the UK. She wanted to be Lois Lane when she grew up but work experience at her local paper was eye-opening. Instead, Claire went on to work in a variety of admin roles for over a decade but never felt quite at home. An avid reader, baker and Pinterest addict Claire won second place in the Barking and Dagenham Pen to Print writing competition in 2015 setting her writing career in motion.
The Gaia Effect, a hopeful dystopian novel and winner of the 2017 Raven Award for favourite Scifi/Fantasy novel, was published in 2016.
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