This is a gritty sci-fi otherworldly novel that I really, just could not get into! It might be for others, but it wasn't really for me.
It has many many features that I found interesting, a climate-fiction disaster in which Earth is no longer really livable and a transformed ocean which seems to be calling to consume everyone. The characters seem compelling, a mute child and an octogenarian who team up in an unexpected way... but yet the pacing just did not do it for me. The Atmospheric writing was bang on and I began to feel both dread and slight depression every time I started to pick up the story.
So this may be a book for other Sci -Fi lovers, as it definitely captured me into the atmosphere, but then I kinda of had to escape before I felt pulled under into the caul.
Many thanks to Net Galley and Diversion Books for the Advanced copy.

3 Stars!

A truly great concept for a sci-fi novel that unfortunately fell flat for me. Earth has been transformed by an unknown entity, The Caul. The reader doesn't know why, but it is ruthless, and just there. The story is told in 2 POVs in order to explain what has happened to the planet. while tying in themes of grief.

I did find myself struggling to stay engaged in the story at multiple points. Towards the end, found myself just wanting to move onto something else. I didn’t find myself passionate about any of the secondary story lines in the book, only the main one. I had a really difficult time trying to mentally picture what the author was describing in several parts of the book as I don’t have an advanced degree in geometry or math, so I found myself just guessing on what things looked like. All in all, the concept is a really exciting one as a fan apocalyptic reads, but I wouldn’t find myself reading a sequel if one came out.

Of note, I read this through Net Galley and had significant formatting issues through Kindle. Sentences frequently abruptly stopped and resumed in another part of the story. I switched to the Net Galley app on my phone and had no issues. This issue did not impact my score of the book.

Thank you to Net Galley, Colin Brush, and Diversion Books for the eARC in exchange for this honest review.

One of the best end of the world books I've read. It's two books - there's a mathy sci-fi story between a married couple told in diary form then a parallel murder-mystery. This is a novel that challenges what grief means and what right we have to the planet. How do you deal with an existential threat that has no obvious intelligence or solution. How do you communicate with this threat? Should you?

This book is The Gone World meets The Drowned World in the best way.

This book had a great plot and some good characters, particularly Mae. The ending was a little 'meh' but overall this was an entertaining sci-fi novel and I'm interested to see what else the author writes.

A very impressive first outing. The science fiction concepts are compelling, the story moving well after a slightly fitful start. The characters are strong, if not ground breaking. The mystery, largely a device to move us through the world, is a little underwhelming. The finale is satisfying if not particularly surprising. Definitely a talent to watch out for.

Interesting take on a sci-fi dystopian story. The writing style was fine. The characters were fine. All in all this book was just fine. It didn’t wow me.