Skyquakers
AJ Conway
Saved by hiding in the fridge, Ned treks across the Australian desert to find other survivors. Beset by rage against the Skyquakers, he can only continue on in the hope he can make a difference.
What might be a fruitless task is explored sensitively and in a reckless pace that makes you want to keep reading. It’s like the aftermath of a train wreck where you think the worst has happened, but then more things keep popping up.
This is set in Australia in a highly realised world that resonates with the reader. If you haven’t been to Australia, this novel is going to make you think that there is nothing here! Which is sort of true. It’s what was missing from In the Eyes of a Monster.
AJ Conway is a science PhD student like myself, and that shows through. The science in this is really well thought out, which I appreciated. Real science that gets the regular reader to think. Remember, humans are animals too (something I laugh about every time I see makeup that is ‘Not Tested on Animals’).
Oh yes, that’s the sort of ending I desire from this author. Unfinished questions? Surprise ending that the reader probably hasn’t thought of? Yes! You’ll remember that I was really keen on her first novel My Nova, and I had my comment on the dust jacket of The Treaty.
5 stars from me. It took me far too long to pick up this novel, but I certainly didn’t regret reading it in one sitting once I had started.
