Monday, January 27, 2014

Review: There Are No Gods for Arthropods: The Sourwood by Richard Wolanski @RichardWolanski

There Are No Gods for Arthropods: The Sourwood

Summary: The human race has disappeared and discarded the world as a leftover. But in their absence, it is the insects that emerge and form an interdependent society. They live in the giant Sourwood, the last great sanctuary since a catastrophic incident one-hundred and fifty years ago. Fig, a lint sized mite, toils away pruning the dead leaves off of the Sourwood. He, like most insects, will live a short life and in twenty-seven days he will die. After witnessing a horrific murder, Fig is confronted with his own fleeting fate. He crosses paths with the nihilistic Fly King who offers Fig a chance—the promise of eternal life. With only the name of Alice Abernathy and a crew of bug bunglers, Fig must wander through the twisted realm outside of the Sourwood where he will discover a truth the Fly King has been hiding for over 300 years.

Review: The Sourwood is great read and wonderfully created world and I am excited to see and read more from Wolanski. The main character, Fig, is a bubbling nobody who resides at the bottom of a very tall social totem pole and gets pushed down further everyday. When his path crosses the mortal enemy of The Sourwood, Fig must decide how he will live out the rest of his short insect life. What Wolanski does so well is to tell a story from an insect point of view but not make it cute and childish but real and intelligent. The characters have depth and the world Wolanski has created has so many possibilities. I really enjoyed the story. It is well crafted, intelligent and different.