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A review by thereadingrambler
Lost Ark Dreaming by Suyi Davies Okungbowa
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Lost Ark Dreaming I received this book as an eARC from the publisher
One Sentence Review: A well-constructed and engaging climate fiction novella that attempts to blend science and mythology but falls into the trap of privileging one over the other in advocating for a posthuman vision of the future.
Lost Ark Dreaming is sent in the Pinnacle, the tallest and only remaining tower from The Fingers, a five-tower complex built off the coast of Lagos, Nigeria, on an artificially constructed island in the closing days of Earth’s ability to sustain our current way of life. Built to withstand inevitable flooding, people from Lagos flee to The Fingers, but each of the other four towers is abandoned as they become uninhabitable. Many people are left to die in the waters, and our main characters are haunted by this very recent history. The tower itself is divided into a fairly strict class hierarchy—literally. The richest and most privileged lived at the top of the tower (with the founder’s descendent, the nominal ruler of the tower, living at the very top), and each level decreased in status, wealth, and power. Our main characters are Ngozi, a fairly high-level bureaucrat, Tuoyo, a mid-level analyst, and Yekini, a low-level foreman. Ngozi and Tuoyo are summoned to Yekini’s level to deal with a breach, a situation that could prove catastrophic. Ngozi strongly and obviously does not want to be there and comes burdened with stereotypes, privilege, and ego; Tuoyo has significantly more mixed feelings but quickly sides with Yekini against Ngozi’s arrogant attitude. The first half of the novella focuses on figuring out what caused the breach, and the second half focuses on the secrets the tower leadership is keeping and their disregard for the lower levels/classes.
In the one-sentence review, I mentioned the inclusion of mythology in this book, and I can’t get more into how mythology enters the book without giving away the twist so just trust me that it is there in the rest of the discussion. A lot of climate fiction has the technofix problem, i.e., if we find the right technology, then all our problems will be solved, and we won’t have to give up too much of our accustomed way of life. I call this a problem because (at least in my opinion) this is a fairly delusional way of thinking as it allows the reader to escape any critical examination of our contemporary behavior. Lost Ark Dreaming does not fully fall into the technofix trap: the world has dramatically changed from what we recognize in some ways, but it still heavily relies on the idea that our salvation will come through the timely appearance of some quasi-magic invention. The only people who are saved are the ones who are able to get to The Pinnacle somehow.
The intrusion into the book of the mythological elements presents a counterpoint to the above observation about the technological elements. And I mean that very literally. It is not just a philosophical difference (although it is that) but one of direct conflict. This is what makes this not a solarpunk novel. Instead of thinking through the implication of intertwining traditional beliefs with the necessity of lifestyle and civilization change separates this from that tradition. The book does end with a gesture to a better future that could embrace the posthuman and confront problematic past choices, but nothing is done with that promise.
The strongest aspect of this novella is the characters. All three of the central characters are narrators with POV chapters that cycle through each person. Each character expresses a lot of their interiority, so the readers get a good look into how each character’s perspectives and beliefs shift through the book as they encounter new information. The plot is well-paced with information reveals given at the right time for character development.The world building did take some shortcuts in the form of relying on the reader already agreeing with the author on some element (i.e., those in power inherently bad) without giving the reader too much information about why. There is no main villain besides a vague power that be. This made the excellent character construction and development of the protagonists fall a little flat at the end.
I love a found documents book and while this isn’t directly a found documents book, there are interstitial chapters which are found documents and this was definitely a personal highlight to get some of the world building and history of this world. I love this kind of
This has nothing to do with the book because the author doesn’t write their own blurbs, but: I think the blurb for this book does it a huge disservice. It is described as being “high-octane” and also implies that all five of the towers are still intact and occupied. The blurb seems to have been written from a synopsis of the book not the actual book.
If you are interested in climate fiction either as an already established connoisseur or someone who is looking to get into the genre, I would recommend this book. I don’t think it is the strongest entry in the genre, but it does present many of the core conflicts and tensions of the genre. The African setting is a welcome breath of fresh air in the American publishing scene as well.