Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this title. Climate fiction / post-apocalyptic fiction is a genre I both enjoy and fear, and this one did not disappoint. I liked the combination of the murder mystery element with the climate fiction, it read like a thriller but also contained great social criticism of the way we live our life and the future we may be heading toward.

Clean Air by Sarah Blake has elements of dystopian, speculative fiction, a family drama, a murder mystery, and magical realism. Unfortunately, I don’t really get it. The different genres mix together in the book but, for me, do not coalesce into a whole. For me, part of the reason may be that the characters do not become real. I walk away unsatisfied and not the reader for this one.

Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2022/02/clean-air.html

Reviewed for NetGalley and a publisher’s blog tour.

This original thriller is based in the near-future, when the apocalypse didn't come from war or rising waters but from trees overpowering the air with pollen. As humanity is starting to "flourish" again, a killer emerges to start taking lives and with them the peace of residents who had finally settled comfortably into their new lives. Izabella becomes obsessed with the killer who seems to be tied into her daughter's psyche in unexplainable ways.

Clean Air by Sarah Blake is a new novel that defies being stuck in just one genre. At the core of the story in Clean Air is a science fiction fantasy set in a dystopian world. There is also an air of mystery with a killer on the loose leading to some thrilling suspenseful moments.

It has been a decade since the Earth went through a time known as The Turning and the population has been adjusting to their new normal. The Turning changed the world when the air became unbreathable with so much pollen in the air it was deadly to breathe so now in the aftermath masks must be warn to travel outside and buildings and homes exist in bubbles.

Izabel met her husband, Kaito, after The Turning had taken place and the two fell in love and married. Now the couple are the proud parents to their daughter, Cami. Kaito works with robotics helping in harvests as Izabel takes care of their daughter. What no one expected to see in this new world was a murder taking place and for Izabel it becomes even more urgent to find who is responsible when Cami seems to talk about the murderer in her sleep.

Being a huge fan of books that dabble in more than one genre Clean Air by Sarah Blake was right up my alley so it wasn’t surprising to find that I enjoyed this story. The story is definitely futuristic and the world one that I couldn’t wait to dive into and with such an interesting mix of events happening the pages kept flying by quickly as I read. I loved mixing the fantasy side with a good old fashion whodunnit and would definitely be interested in reading this author again in the future after this unique tale.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

A climate apocalypse creates a dystopian world and add in a serial killer and I was all in! The deadly pollen has killed off a huge population, leaving the survivors to live in air dome tents and leave only in masks. When someone starts slicing the domes leaving them to die they soon wonder who is the bigger threat.
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There were some aspects of this I loved. I could have done without the magical realism element but overall if dystopian is your jam check it out.
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Thank you @algonquinbooks for an advanced copy.

The year is 2042. People live in sealed domes after The Turning made the air unbreathable. Life is relatively crime-free, until a serial killer begins slashing domes at night. Izabel is haunted by this killer and her young daughter, Cami, starts sleep-talking about the murders.

I was hooked on this story! It sits in that uncomfortable place of feeling eerily close to our real lives, but with circumstances we hope to never experience.

There are layers to the ending you will undoubtedly want to talk about. What I thought would be the big reveal of the plot really wasn’t; there was a surprise I truly didn’t see coming!

This is great for folks like me who appreciate a more literary style to crime stories. You get tension and mystery, plus a deeper look at the characters without any outrageous action scenes.

Clean Air is the fantastic mix of cli-fi, literary, mystery, and apocalyptic vibes I don’t know I needed. I definitely recommend if that sounds like your kind of read!

Would give 4.5 stars if I could!

The synopsis for this book made it seem like the environmental changes due to climate change were going to be a major factor, which is what drew me to this novel. Instead the setting and the plot have very little to do with each other. You could easily substitute many other environmental issues (wildfire or air pollution) and still have the same novel. The world building could have been fascinating- to see how people would respond to an ecology of super-pollinating trees and increased food production, which was only hinted at.

The plot seemed underdeveloped and the characters seemed cold and robotic. We were so often told of their emotions and not shown. Even the main character's love for her daughter felt panicky and not from a deep parental bond. For a while I thought that she and her husband were roommates and married for convenience.

Synopsis: A new world has been built since the Turning , wherein the trees evaded the earth and now humans have to struggle for "clean air". Isabel and Kaito has survived the Turning and their daughter is the child of the post apocalyptic world, who sleeptalks and
sort of predicts certain events. With a killer on spree and the constant battle for air , Isabel is finding it difficult to stay sane and manage her life.

Review: This is a novel set in a post apocalyptic dystopian world where humans are the victims and nature the predator. This book is quite an interesting take and an eye-opener on the ongoing environmental crisis and it's untoward effects. The book is slow to begin with and later grows on you, from where it starts intriguing you. The characters are quite relatable with their complexities and struggles. The writing is to the point , atmospheric and quite accurate , especially while describing panic attacks.The hospital sequences and other imageries at quite vivid and registers quickly into the minds of the readers. This book is a good blend of dystopia, supernatural elements and environmental mystery.

What could have been better: I felt that the climax sequences could have been explored better, especially the killer's part and motives.

Rating:3.5/5
Trigger: panic attack /anxiety
Murder

As the first novel I've come across where our Pandemic is considered a historical event, I'd like to give kudos to @sarahblakeauthor for diving right into a dystopian scenario that is even more disturbing than what we are currently experiencing. You think we need masks now? What if the very air outside our homes was toxic and would kill us within minutes? What if the earth itself turned against us and trees had to eradicate the number one threat to it: humans. This was only the beginning. As the people have accommodated to their new way of life, one takes it upon themselves to bring back the good ol' serial killer. Wait, what?!? Exactly. People are living peacefully and here comes this psycho slashing through their protective bubbles. 😱 As a mother witnesses him in the act, she becomes entangled with this disturbed individual and she'll do anything she possibly can to protect her family.
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Not going to lie, the premise had me hooked & though you have to intentionally suspend belief for plenty of this sci-fi/dystopian novel, it was a little harder for me to do with the criminal justice protocols and investigation. Still, the read was enthralling and had me flipping pages on double-speed!
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Lastly, I must take a moment to appreciate my favorite character in the book: Cami, a typical little girl, with a supernatural connection to a special someone. The innocence, the moods, the disturbing descriptions of killings while sleeping...😅 Aren't insightful kids the creepiest? I loved her!

This dystopian climate thriller will keep you engrossed and definitely give you a twist at the end that you probably won't be expecting! In this future, people live in domes and rely on air filtration systems to constantly check the status of the air. Robots take care of harvests and people have their basic needs met. This safe world they.ve built is shattered when a serial killer starts slashing the domes and families are exposed to the deadly pollen. This story is also about grief, motherhood, and protecting one's child and the people you love and care about. It is definitely thought-provoking in so many ways.

Dystopian future! Tree danger! Police procedural business! Psychics! A murder mystery!

I really enjoyed this book and the audiobook performance was phenomenal. The premise does require some suspension of disbelief but when does sci-fi not? You should absolutely read this if you like any of the subjects above.

In the not-so-distant future, the air has become unbreathable. It may not be due to what you think. It’s the trees - releasing so much pollen that it is deadly.

After “The Turning,” survivors had to reinvent a way to live, to have clean air. Now society functions in sealed and controlled environments. Masks must always be worn for brief stints outdoors.

The story centers around Izabel and her small family, as she is a stay-at-home mom trying to make sense of this world. When news of families being murdered by someone slashing their sealed domes and letting the toxic pollen seep in, Izabel suddenly takes a keen interest in finding the killer. It’s around this time that her daughter, Cami, starts talking in her sleep, seemingly having discussions about the murders.

𝐂𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐀𝐢𝐫 is cli-fi and could be called an eco-thriller, very calculated and chilling, a harbinger of what our world may become. But in the same pages, you will find the tenderness of a mother desperately wanting to make the sealed-off, toxic world better for her child.

Thank you to @algonquinbooks and @sarahblakeauthor for a spot on tour and a gifted copy.

Imagine that instead of higher temperatures and rising waters, it was the trees that started the apocalypse. That is the setting in Clean Air.

It is ten years after The Turning, when runaway tree pollen killed more than half of the world's population. The world has rebuilt using robots controlled by working-from-home humans. Humans are protected by domes with constantly running air filters. However, humans are still, well, troubled. After all the work to rebuild and maintain a society again, one human is slashing open the domes and killing entire families quickly.

Izabel is a wife to Kaito and a mother to four-year-old Cami. When Cami begins to have dreams that seemingly preview the killings, Izabel is compelled to find the maniac responsible. Can Izabel, a housewife who was traumatized by The Turning, really find the killer without being killed herself?

Clean Air has an original plot and well thought out world building. The mystery was good too. However, some of the dialogue didn’t seem natural considering the age and relationships of the characters. 4 stars!

Thanks to Algonquin Books and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

2.5 STARS

I read and reviewed this book for the Blog Tour organised by Algonquin Readers, and kindly received this book by NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I thought the premise sounded amazing, and as I got reading the book, I was enjoying it, but something was missing. This something was missing for me throughout and I definitely think it was a case of the book being great, but not for me.

I loved how unique the book was, and the writing style was good, just a bit too punch by punch and it didn't have much literary narration which would have been lovely. The plot about the serial killer was interesting but it was executed in a way which made me feel like it wasn't real or serious, so I didn't get invested in the story.

I didn't get very invested in the characters either and actually quite disliked Cami and Izabel. I think it could have done with a bit more editing and adjusting to make it flow better, because the plot itself was very interesting.

Would recommend to lovers of science-fiction, dystopia, mysteries.

Blake does a lot of telling rather than showing here; each detail about the world is either revealed in a perfunctory way or briefly mentioned without detail. This made it tough for me to get into in the beginning, and it also made the ending underwhelming. Once the story gets moving a bit, however, the theme of the book is far more interesting.

If you can get past some of the eerily prescient details, this is a quick, decent read for fans of climate-change apocalyptic fiction.

Thank you @algonquinbooks for a copy of Clean Air. This was an interesting dystopian about living in a world where pollen kills people and we live in a world of caution from being outside.

I enjoyed the killer aspect and Izabel’s connection to the serial killer. It did get a little slow for me in the middle but overall an enjoyable read.

TL;DR REVIEW:

Clean Air is a smart, surprising, character-driven thriller set in a world ravaged by climate change. I read 75% of it in one sitting and was so surprised by the twist/reveal.

For you if: You like to be hooked but genre thrillers aren’t your thing, and/or you like climate fiction.

FULL REVIEW:

First, thank you to Algonquin Books for the advanced copy of this novel! It comes out February 8. I really loved Sarah Blake’s first novel, Naamah, and I’ve been waiting for her next one ever since. Clean Air is very different (totally different genre), but I loved this one too.

Clean Air is a character-driven thriller set about 30 years in the future. The world looks totally different thanks to what was called the Turning, when all the trees started spewing so much pollen that it made the air unbreathable. Now everyone lives in air-filtered bubbles, essentially. But then someone starts slashing the bubbles open at night! And our main character’s young daughter talks about the murders in her sleep — while they’re happening!! As you might expect with a premise like that, this is a really quick read — I finished 75% of it in a single sitting. Sometimes we literary fiction readers really just need a fast-paced story to hook us like that!

I’m not really a big fan of your typical genre thrillers, but I can totally get behind a “literary” thriller like this (character development and interiority 5ever). Especially with the climate angle. Izabel really is a great character, and her inner turmoil with motherhood and grief (about many different things) and her society’s unwillingness to see darkness under the surface was sharp and deeply felt.

My favorite part about it was the part I can’t tell you anything about without spoiling it — the twist/reveal. It went in a direction I just hadn’t expected, although looking back, all the clues were there. I think people will either love it or hate it, but I loved it. So I can’t wait for more people to read this one and talk about it!


CONTENT AND TRIGGER WARNINGS:
Death/murder, Death of a parent/grief

This was a dnf for me at 50% so please disregard star rating - I loved Naamah so was so looking forward to this.

I think conceptually I found the plot fascinating, so really was caught quickly on the early chapters. I think the pacing just didn’t quite work for me, or felt like it circled events too slowly given the pursuit of the killer. Perhaps it was that things unfurled at a pace that made this lean more into climate fiction rather than a thriller/mystery, not sure but this wasn’t enough to invest me in finishing.

FIRST IMPRESSION:

This was my first time reading a Sarah Blake book, so I had no idea what to expect. What really drew me in was the unique dystopian world with its deadly pollen and safety precautions, which was something I haven't read about in stories before!

THE STORY:

Izabel and her family live in a new world where humans live in domes to protect themselves from the pandemic of deadly pollen that lives in the air now called The Turning. Humans take extreme precautions to prevent breathing in this pollen, which pretty much covers everything in this world. Izabel longs for the previous world, which she only remembers through childhood memories and old news stories on her tablet.

In the midst of this scary world, a serial killer emerges, slashing the life-saving domes that families live in now and killing whole families in their sleep. In a world where murder has not been even a problem for the past few years, people start panicking and Izabel becomes convinced that her family could be next.

THE CHARACTERS:

Izabel was an interesting character to follow this story with. She is a survivor of our world who is nostalgic for the world she was forced to leave behind and still grieving the mother she lost in that world. She has an adorable daughter named Cami who made me fall in love with her from the first chapter.

I also love that Izabel was more or less normal. She is not really content with her life but wants to do her best for her daughter. Her marriage has lost its spark and she yearns for those early days. Izabel pretty much needs a change in her day-to-day routine and she gets it in the unwelcome shock of a serial killer in the neighbourhood.

I could strangely connect with Izabel over her fascination with something as macabre as a serial killer. Her motherly instinct to protect Cami also endeared her to me. As did her fear and nerves over her experiences.

THE WRITING:

What I really liked about Sarah Blake's writing was that it was straight to the point. Rather than relying on descriptive writing to build her vision of a dystopian world, she used memories and action to help the reader envision it. The pace was fast and she would jump from scene to scene in a manner that conveyed the importance of figuring out who was behind the killings and putting an end to it.

THE PLOT:

The novel took some time to get to the serial killer portion of its plot but when it did, it was fantastic! I loved the scene transitions and the plot's urgency. I liked Izabel's POV is the only perspective that the story is being told from because she was such a relatable character.

The ending was interesting too. Clean Air did not end the way I envisioned it to. Rather than go out with a bang, the ending wrapped everything up with a neat bow. The journey to figuring out the killer was quite literally what mattered and pumped me up the most.

THE WORLD-BUILDING:

Like I said before, the world that Sarah Blake built here was exquisite. A future world that seems strangely relatable to what our own world is heading towards lent it a strange sense of realness. I loved that she thought about everything from transport to shopping to working and living environments in the face of deadly pollen floating around in the air.

Her new world made me think a lot too. What means would our own world devise to live with the current pandemic that is still affecting everything we do right now?

FINAL VERDICT:

Clean Air by Sarah Blake is a unique dystopian thriller set in a strangely relatable world filled with deadly pollen that could kill anyone who breathes it in. I was utterly fascinated with the way this world lived alongside the trees that could easily kill them as well as the scary hunt for a serial killer who never leaves behind any clues. Exhilarating, probing and cautionary, Clean Air gave me a look into a world that could very easily be us in the future.

We are in a time after the Turning where trees and pollen are at a deadly level and one must where an extensive mask just to go out in public to do the things that one must every day. There are more robots doing tasks while humans can work from home and operate these robots and keep everyone safe.

I don't read a ton in this genre, but I can enjoy a look at our world at a different time with different perimeters and "rules." It felt really odd to read a book about how you must were a mask to survive when we are still debating about if they help with keeping COVID from spreading.

The basic plot of the book worked for me, but the serial killer aspect was just ok. I loved the look at how the environment can take over and while we can debate climate change - but not here on a book blog! I wish the book had dove more into the debate about climate and its affects and how that is changing people's lives in this book.

My first Sarah Blake book and I am hoping to break into her backlist soon and see what else she has.