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A review by twocents
How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is one of the most interesting "what if plague?" stories I've read. In most such stories, a plague basically decimates the population, leaving whoever is left to fend for themselves in a medieval sort of way. Here, climate change has revealed an arctic plague lingering in the glaciers, and the result is devastating enough to radically change how people live, but not so devastating that things like electricity cease to exist.
It's really fascinating. The first chapter explores the release of the plague, and from the second chapter on, you get the after effects. As it says in the blurb, one such instance is a wealthy person deciding to create a theme park where the final ride euthanizes sick children (the primary victims of the first wave).
It sounds absurd, but I listened to this on audiobook, and each chapter is narrated with such sincerity that it just swept me away. Each chapter is a different person's perspective (each narrated by a new person too, it's really well done), and you get small snippets in how a previous chapter's narrator showed up and affected them in just some small way. A newspaper clipping, a painting, a friend of a friend of a friend.
It explores the science-y stuff (such as a doctor trying to grow more organs for transplants) to regular people trying to help out (such as a repairman who is trying to keep robot dogs going that have the deceased's memories and voice captured). Despite the absurdity of this world (or maybe because of it), it's deeply human, and I really enjoyed the fresh take on the genre.
It's really fascinating. The first chapter explores the release of the plague, and from the second chapter on, you get the after effects. As it says in the blurb, one such instance is a wealthy person deciding to create a theme park where the final ride euthanizes sick children (the primary victims of the first wave).
It sounds absurd, but I listened to this on audiobook, and each chapter is narrated with such sincerity that it just swept me away. Each chapter is a different person's perspective (each narrated by a new person too, it's really well done), and you get small snippets in how a previous chapter's narrator showed up and affected them in just some small way. A newspaper clipping, a painting, a friend of a friend of a friend.
It explores the science-y stuff (such as a doctor trying to grow more organs for transplants) to regular people trying to help out (such as a repairman who is trying to keep robot dogs going that have the deceased's memories and voice captured). Despite the absurdity of this world (or maybe because of it), it's deeply human, and I really enjoyed the fresh take on the genre.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Terminal illness