KINDLING

A futuristic vision of an unsustainable Earth.

A diverse group of four protagonists—Mercy Adams, Van Elder, and siblings TJ and Eddie LeRoux—together bring their varied narrative voices and skill sets to this novel’s world of political intrigue. Due to climate change, Earth is now called Scorch. In response to a fertility crisis, scientists created the praenex, humans who have telepathy, precognition, rapid maturation rates, and the ability to talk directly to the Creator via a sensory organ in their foreheads. Large humans called sapiens coexist with the smaller praenex and rely on them for guidance. Over time, Scorch has become divided into two political factions: Terrans believe that the planet can be healed through science, while Pilgrims, who outnumber them, believe that humans should colonize outer space. Major and minor characters regularly introduce themselves along with their pronouns, although they do this inconsistently and at times repetitively. Descriptions of characters’ skin color are also abundant throughout the text, emphasizing the world’s wide-ranging racial and ethnic groups. Some of the language used seems to undermine the goal of inclusivity, however. The novel’s multitude of storylines create a disorienting reading experience that is intensified by the confusing worldbuilding, poorly handled flashbacks, overuse of opaque dialect, the manner of introducing and defining invented terminology, and switches between multiple points of view.

An overly complex, disorganized work with some mixed handling of diversity.