Caffeinated Reviewer

Narrated by a full cast featuring Julia Whelan, Brian Nishii, Keisuke Hoashi, MacLeod Andrews, Jeanne Sakata, Greg Watanabe, Kurt Kanazawa, Matthew Bridges, Kotaro Watanabe, Brianna Ishibashi, Joe Knezevitch, Micky Shiloah, Stephanie Komure, and Jason Culp, How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu delivers a science fiction dystopian that will haunt you long after you’ve finished.

For fans of 'Cloud Atlas' and 'Station Eleven', a spellbinding and profoundly prescient debut that follows a cast of intricately linked characters over hundreds of years as humanity struggles to rebuild itself in the aftermath of a climate plague - a daring and deeply heartfelt work of mind-bending imagination from a singular new voice.

Beginning in 2030, a grieving archeologist arrives in the Arctic Circle to continue the work of his recently deceased daughter at the Batagaika crater, where researchers are studying long-buried secrets now revealed in melting permafrost, including the perfectly preserved remains of a girl who appears to have died of an ancient virus.

Once unleashed, the Arctic Plague will reshape life on Earth for generations to come, quickly traversing the globe, forcing humanity to devise a myriad of moving and inventive ways to embrace possibility in the face of tragedy. In a theme park designed for terminally ill children, a cynical employee falls in love with a mother desperate to hold on to her infected son. A heartbroken scientist searching for a cure finds a second chance at fatherhood when one of his test subjects - a pig - develops the capacity for human speech. A widowed painter and her teenaged granddaughter embark on a cosmic quest to locate a new home planet.

From funerary skyscrapers to hotels for the dead ot interstellar starships, Sequoia Nagamatsu takes listeners on a wildly original and compassionate journey, spanning continents, centuries, and even celestial bodies to tell a story about the resiliency of the human spirit, our infinite capacity to dream, and the connective threads that tie us all together in the universe.

A fellow blogger’s review of the book had me selecting this when the chance came up to review in audio format. The takes us into the lives of different people from all walks of life and gives us a bird’s-eye view of a global pandemic. The author brilliantly weaves these different perspectives from scientist to those dealing with the virus and ties them all together.

The story begins in 2030 when the body of a well preserved young girl is found in an ancient burial site beneath a melting ice cap. The scientist unknowingly unleashes a plague with devastating consequences.

Each story shares the aftermath over centuries, as death becomes a business, and no one is left untouched. We spend time at an End of Life Theme Park where people take their sick children to spend a perfect day before riding the Euthanasia rollercoaster. Told from the perspective of Mitch, a guide who tours with the family on their perfect day. We find ourselves trapped in a shared dream or perhaps afterlife with victims of the virus. Orbs of lights, memories and more surround them. It was fascinating as Jun convinces others to help save a young child.

We visit VR Cafes, Elegy Hotels which cash in on death. You’ll spend time aboard a starship carrying survivors in search of a new planet. We witness weeping mothers, see avatars designed to recreate loved ones and talking pigs. It was all very surreal. We see grief in its purest form and question the what ifs. The last story ties everything together.

It’s part speculative fiction and part science fiction. All the stories focus on death and grief and are interconnected. The story will give you pause, question our current reality and perhaps you’ll pick up the phone and reach out to a loved one. Some stories are bizarre and other which may have seemed far-fetched three years ago dare I say seem entirely plausible.

The narration is simply brilliant as each narrator brought the different stories to life. I recommend listening as I felt it enhanced the stories and pulled the listener in.

Amazon | Audible

About Sequoia Nagamatsu

EQUOIA NAGAMATSU is the author of the novel, HOW HIGH WE GO IN THE DARK, and the story collection, WHERE WE GO WHEN ALL WE WERE IS GONE. His work has appeared in publications such as Conjunctions, The Southern Review, ZYZZYVA, Tin House, Iowa Review, Lightspeed Magazine, and One World: A Global Anthology of Short Stories, and has been listed as notable in Best American Non-Required Reading and the Best Horror of the Year. Originally from Hawaii and the San Francisco Bay Area, he was educated at Grinnell College and Southern Illinois University (MFA Creative Writing). He co-edits Psychopomp Magazine, an online quarterly dedicated to innovative prose, and teaches at St. Olaf College. He lives in Minneapolis with his wife, the writer Cole Nagamatsu, a cat named Kalahira, a dog named Fenris, and a robot dog named Calvino.

Website | Twitter

About Julia Whelan

Julia Whelan is a screenwriter, life-long actor, and award-winning audiobook narrator. She graduated with a degree in English and Creative Writing from Middlebury College and Oxford University. While in England, her flirtation with tea blossomed into a full-blown love affair, culminating in her eventual certification as a tea master. When not writing her own books, you can find her reading other people’s out loud into a microphone.

Website | Twitter | Facebook

About Kimberly

Kimberly is a coffee loving book addict who reads and listens to fictional stories in all genres. Whovian, Ravenclaw, Howler and proud Nonna. She owns and manages Caffeinated PR. The coffee is always on and she is ready to chat. BlueSky | Facebook | Instagram

Related Posts

• Same Genre