EARTH RISING

In this sci-fi–fantasy blend, Garvey imagines the end of the world as we know it and what might come next.

Amy Marksman has always been a little bit different: She can commune with the Earth and see the little green people who seem to share it with humans, as well as beings that just might be gods. Her role as garden tender for her village carries its own significance as well. Her uncanny ability to understand her environment and what it needs keeps her village healthy and fed. However, Amy doesn’t realize just how important she is until tragedy strikes. An army of marauders rolls into her village, allegedly looking for her, and leaves with her baby, Eliza. With a small group of fellow survivors, Amy sets out to rescue her daughter and learn how to stop the fog before it’s too late for the rest of the world. On her quest, she makes an amazing discovery: The world was once a much different place, where humans and technology functioned codependently. When something happened to wipe out all gadgets, however, many humans escaped into space, and the ones left behind in exile rebuilt the world as Amy knows it. She’ll have to learn about this strange world, the good and bad, and about what it left behind to truly understand her own powers and save everyone she loves. Clearly, there’s a lot going on here, and some plots or attempts at worldbuilding don’t get the attention they deserve. However, the world is an interesting one, and Amy makes a good central figure. With her powers, she functions as a bridge between the old world and the new, and Garvey does an excellent job showing how strong she is while also preventing her from using her abilities to their full extent.

A take on the future of the Earth that inspires further thought.