The Blurb
Frustrated and angry after years of denial and inaction, in a last-ditch attempt to stave off disaster, a government of youth has taken power in North America, and a policy of institutionalised ageism has been introduced. All those older than the prescribed age are deemed responsible for the current state of the world, and are to be ‘relocated’, their property and assets confiscated.
David Ashworth, known by his friends and students as Teacher, and his wife May, find themselves among the thousands being moved to ‘new accommodation’ in the abandoned southern deserts – thrown together with a wealthy industrialist and his wife, a high court lawyer, two recent immigrants to America, and a hospital worker. Together, they must come to terms with their new lives in a land rendered unrecognisable.
As the terrible truth of their situation is revealed, lured by rumours of a tropical sanctuary where they can live in peace, they plan a perilous escape. But the world outside is more dangerous than they could ever have imagined. And for those who survive, nothing will ever be the same again…
This was my first book by Paul E Hardisty but, I tell you what, it certainly won't be my last! Blimey, this is some book! Set in a near future that could so easily be ours, Hardisty paints a picture of a world in chaos. Climate damage, financial collapse, political denial, violent wars. There has been an uprising of young people who deem the older generation responsible for this terrible mess. And they are probably right. David (Teacher/Teach) and his wife May are amongst those rounded up relocated from Calgary to Texas. Teach accepts they have been part of the problem and deserve to be punished in some way. May, not so much. And it's hard for them as their son Lachlan is part of the youth government implementing these hard rules. But their new home is nothing like either of them could have imagined so when a possible escape plan appears they know they must take the opportunity. Because there might not be another one.
Honestly, I don't really know what to say about this book. It was my first read of the year and has stuck with me since. Obviously this is a work of fiction set in the near future but the author is an environmental scientist with many years of experience so he knows what he's talking about. And I think we're all aware of the damage we've done and are still doing to our planet. Someone in the book, sorry I can't recall who just now, talks about decisions made about energy production etc 'Faster, cheaper, disaster. Cheaper, faster. Always the same. Over and over. Again and again.' Do we do different now? And we've seen our young people stand up and demand action, demand better. Step forward Greta Thunberg. So I don't think this scenario is too far fetched. It, or something similar, could easily happen. And that should scare us, force us into action.
I loved Teach. A good, decent man who has looked after his family, his home and his students. But a man who accepts that he has been part of the problem. May was much harder to like but she had her own problems. The group dynamic in their shared new home was really interesting, a sort of microcosm of society. Seven people, different ages, gender, races, sexuality, backgrounds, attitudes, and watching them interact and work together, or not, was fascinating.
Although The Forcing has lots to say about climate damage and the like, it is in no way boring. It's full of action and peril, and there were moments when I held my breath. And it's also beautifully written, almost lyrical in parts. I highlighted so many phrases when I was reading it but I'll just share a couple so you can see what I mean.
'She smiles at me, each windblown mile of the past etched in her face, her eyes a timeless miracle.'
'Fear etched in their faces. Arthritis like sand in their joints. Regret piled heavy on brittle bones.'
The Forcing is a book for our time. A stark reminder of the damage we are doing to the planet and the price generations to come might have to pay. But it's so much more than that. It's a super tense action thriller written with heart. It's bleak, yes, but also beautiful and hopeful. Read it, you won't regret it.
The Author
Canadian Paul Hardisty has spent twenty-five years working all over the world as an environmental scientist and freelance journalist. 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, survived a bomb blast in a café in Sana’a in 1993, and was one of the last Westerners out of Yemen at the outbreak of the 1994 civil war. In 2022 he criss-crossed Ukraine reporting on the Russian invasion. Paul is a university professor and CEO of the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS). The 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 a Telegraph Book of the Year. Paul drew on his own experiences to write Turbulent Wake, an extraordinary departure from his high-octane, thought-provoking thrillers. Paul is a keen outdoorsman, a conservation volunteer, and lives in Australia.
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