Member Review

"In every carbon cycle, death is the engine of life."

There is Hope is a short sci-fi/climate fiction novel set 500 years in the future with Earth on the brink of climate collapse. The world is immersive and well thought-out--the author clearly put a lot of research and intention behind the ecological features of the futuristic setting. I also appreciated the rich political landscape in the story, and the tension it creates for the characters.

The book's overall structure is laid out as a series of interconnected memory logs from several key players in the story. This layout provided variety to the storytelling and also introduced the reader to different regions, cultures, and perspectives.

My primary critique is that I had a hard time connecting with some of the characters. Some characters felt a bit underdeveloped, so I couldn't connect with the full emotional impact of their storylines. To be fair, there's only so much character development you can fit in to a multi-POV book of this length. Some of the dialogue and interactions between characters also felt stilted or awkward at times.

That being said, I was impressed with how much world-building and plot development the author fit into such a small book, and overall I enjoyed the read. Thank you to NetGalley and Story Voyager for the ARC!