Godstorm, by Solitaire Townsend
Solitaire Townsend is a big voice in the world of corporate sustainability. I’ve read some of her blogs and one of her previous, non-fiction books, The Solutionists. I’ve been looking forward to this book since the author first made it public that she was writing a novel.
This is climate fiction dressed up in an imagined past where the Roman Empire persisted at least until the 1600s, helped by the discovery and exploitation of oil. So, we have citizens of London (Londinium) in Roman dress, enjoying Roman customs living alongside a city choked by the fumes from the oil-powered “charos”. And included in the persistent Roman customs is the spectacle of gladiatorial combat in the London Arena.
The main protagonist is Arrow, a retired gladiatrix who is now working as a governess and guardian for a single child. We soon learn that the child is important to some powerful citizens of the Empire, but only later do we learn how important.
The story keeps you absorbed but I did find that the ongoing catalogue of self-doubt and setbacks experienced by Arrow in her efforts to keep her charge safe became a bit wearing. Any normal person suffering this degree of violence, both physical and mental, would have crumbled before the halfway point. But of course, this is fiction! I also found the timeline for events given in Roman numerals a bit tedious, but it did mean you weren’t trying to tie the events to some specific point in actual history.
The underlying message is that continued and ongoing exploitation of oil is causing significant weather disruption (the Godstorms of the title) and damage to the biosphere and we must find a different future. Anything that can help persuade a sceptical audience of this fact is welcome. Solitaire Townsend is a strong advocate for the power of story to help with this, and her first novel certainly gives us a powerful story.
I’m looking forward to the sequel!