Book Review: Arctic Rising by Tobias S. Buckell
What if all our green living fails? What if our eco-minded work was not enough and we just couldn’t get enough people on board to reverse the damaging effects of climate change? Tobias S. Buckell has come up with a possible scenario in his eco-thriller and we can only hope it doesn’t come to the grim reality he sets up in this fictional tale.
Acrtic Rising is futuristic story of what could happen if climate change remains unchecked along with the corporate greed for power and world domination that seems ever-expanding.
The Setting of Arctic Rising
Arctic Rising takes place in and around the North Pole where climate change has brought about melting ice caps. Thule is a city built at the North Pole a midst ice which continues to melt and is kept intact by artificial means like snow machines used at some ski resorts.
{cc photo courtesy of 9.81 meters per second squared on Flickr}
Anika as the Heroine of Arctic Rising
Anika is the heroine of the book, a pilot for the United Nations Polar Guard. She navigates an airship over the northern waters looking for smugglers and other unsavory characters in a mostly monotone job. She is shot down and suddenly the suspense and heart-racing story take leaps from that moment on. Anika’s character is refreshing as a strong woman who takes great pride in her work and driven to do what is right regardless of difficulty. Her strong moral compass makes her likable but, more so, her acceptance of allies with shady pasts makes her human and even more realistic. Not quite James Bond because of her imperfections, but Anika is definitely someone you’d want on your side.
The Plot of Arctic Rising
The story evolves perfectly from our world today including greedy corporations doing whatever they can to rule the world. Sadly, this story could become a stark reality. One main corporation, Gaia, may have found the key to saving the world. Unfortunately it may be the gateway to ending it as well. With intrigue pulling at your gut from the similarities of big business today, Arctic Rising does well motivating the reader to stay tuned wondering if this could really happen. A few comments on Communism may cause some thought-provoking as to whether or not corporations should make the important decisions about our world and her inhabitants. In Buckell’s world, the ice caps have melted and one would think earthlings would reconsider the error in their ways. Instead, corporations are cartwheeling into the North Pole for easy oil drilling without the thick ice guarding the black gold. Apparently, they never learned.
The Verdict on Arctic Rising
It was a fun story, especially if you are eco-minded. The ideas of this fictional future are almost too realistic for comfort. More character development would have been nice, but enough detail is given about Anika and the supporting characters to keep readers entertained and perhaps offering their own ideas to fill in missing details. It may not fall into the pace of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan stories, but it definitely holds its own as a suspenseful thriller. Having a tough female focused on saving the world was a major pull keeping me reading. Motorcycle chases, drag-out fist fights, murder, drug-trafficking and world domination make this a good read you’re sure to enjoy.
Some Specifics
Arctic Rising is written by Tobias S. Buckell and published through TOR. It sells online, through brick and mortar and in ebook form. Arctic Rising has 304 pages. Green Living Ideas was given an advanced copy of the story for reviewing purposes.
What do you think our future holds? Are you going to read Arctic Rising and see what path down which our fate may be headed?