The Forcing by Paul E. Hardisty
Civilisation is collapsing...
Frustrated and angry after years of denial and inaction, in a last-ditch attempt to stave off disaster, a government of youth has taken power in North America, and a policy of institutionalised ageism has been introduced. All those older than the prescribed age are deemed responsible for the current state of the world, and are to be ‘relocated’, their property and assets confiscated.
David Ashworth, known by his friends and students as Teacher, and his wife May, find themselves among the thousands being moved to ‘new accommodation’ in the abandoned southern deserts – thrown together with a wealthy industrialist and his wife, a high court lawyer, two recent immigrants to America, and a hospital worker. Together, they must come to terms with their new lives in a land rendered unrecognisable.
As the terrible truth of their situation is revealed, lured by rumours of a tropical sanctuary where they can live in peace, they plan a perilous escape. But the world outside is more dangerous than they could ever have imagined. And for those who survive, nothing will ever be the same again...
About the author
Canadian Paul Hardisty has spent twenty-five years working all over the world as an environmental scientist and freelance journalist. He has roughnecked on oil rigs in Texas, explored for gold in the Arctic, mapped geology in Eastern Turkey (where he was befriended by PKK rebels), and rehabilitated water wells in the wilds of Africa. He was in Ethiopia in 1991 as the Mengistu regime fell, survived a bomb blast in a café in Sana’a in 1993, and was one of the last Westerners out of Yemen at the outbreak of the 1994 civil war. In 2022 he criss-crossed Ukraine reporting on the Russian invasion. Paul is a university professor and CEO of the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS). The four novels in his Claymore Straker series, The Abrupt Physics of Dying, The Evolution of Fear, Reconciliation for the Dead and Absolution, all received great critical acclaim and The Abrupt Physics of Dying was shortlisted for the CWA John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger and a Telegraph Book of the Year. Paul drew on his own experiences to write Turbulent Wake, an extraordinary departure from his high-octane, thought-provoking thrillers. Paul is a keen outdoorsman, a conservation volunteer, and lives in Western Australia.
Review
‘The Forcing! is a chilling, frank and confrontational look at how we are destroying the world in which live. The fact is that this book shows a scaringly potential future that we might face if we don't start to look at the environmental damage we are causing on a daily basis! This is a high-octave ‘cli-fi’ thriller but also the story of survival and our desire to live and love, the need to have a future despite events taking place.
David Armstrong is a scientist and a teacher at a local school, known as Teach to his friends and family, and is reflecting on his story and is determined to get everything that has happened to him down on paper. He is documenting a world that has collapsed, a world of soaring temperatures, raising sea levels. A world where the US and Canada have united and waged wars around the globe to gain valuable resources. Nuclear bombs are being released and life has become very insular. But the younger generations are trying to save civilisation but one policy is institutional ageism as when you hit a certain age you are taken from your home, lose all your assets and are placed in ‘new accommodation’ deep in the desert. Teach and his wife May are given two days notice that they are being moved. May is furious and Teach is disillusioned but they go along with it. What they find is a lie! They are placed in shared accommodation which is overcrowded and precious resources like water and food are rationed and in short supply. When Teach witnessed a brutal attack on some residents it galvanises him to take action.
This is one gripping book that scared me to my core! It was atmospheric, claustrophobic, powerful, and just brilliant. It makes you contemplate the world around you and I was unable to put this book down! The writing was emotive and a siren call for activism. It was perceptive and unflinching in its powerful narrative and prose. At times lyrical but also such simple sentences stop you in your tracks. It was a hard read but also a delightful one as the strength of the story and the characters were outstanding! This is an important read and I will be recommending it to everyone.
Let me know if you read this one!
