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How I discovered this book: it was submitted to Rosie Amber's Review Team, of which I am a member. I chose it after reading a review of it by another member of the team.
Genre: Post Apocalyptic, SciFi, Dystopian
'The planet is getting drier and drier. In fifty years, it won't be able to support human life - not as you know it' ...
Chimera Catalyst takes place in an unspecified time in the future ~ from the information given, I am guessing around 150 years on. The world as we know it now is gone, following the Big Change (some apocalyptic climate disaster, I gathered); water is a luxury, seas are brown and murky, weather is punishingly hot. The gap between the '1 per cent' (the rich) and the poor is vast. Children are for the rich only; meanwhile, the manipulation of genes and DNA and advanced cosmetic surgery enables the creation of fantasy creatures and beings. Religion is a mish-mash of science and hippie spiritualism ~ 'mystical neuroscience crap'.
Most of life is lived virtually; following pandemics, people are scared of human interaction. Food is scarce, the air inhospitable, and life is maintained via cocktails of chemical supplements.
The novel is written from the point of view of The Finder, who searches through data to fulfil his commitments to those willing to pay him the coin. He has a pet he has made himself; the Parrot, who is actually part parrot, part dog. The story centres around his search for the mysterious Miraluna Rose, but I found that the plot took second place to the fascinating and convincing picture of life in this future world. It's very readable and intelligently written, sometimes amusing, sometimes sad. The Finder, for instance, knows little about human contact, and is baffled by how comforting he finds the ruffling of the Parrot's feathers, or his warmth lying beside him.
Although the world functions 'normally', I found this more terrifying than any epic about a pandemic or zombie apocalypse, simply because it's what could happen if the world carries on down its path to destruction; it is far more of a living hell than any return to medieval times with no power, etc. It's a jolly good book and I enjoyed it ~ I hovered between 4 and 5 stars throughout and my only complaint is that I wanted to know what the Big Change was, how it came about, and what happened immediately afterwards. This is a series; I very much hope it will include a prequel!
Thank you Terry, I think we really do need to consider what we are creating now, for future generations.
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