A fabulous new novel set in a future that may be closer than we think.
Astrid Scholte has a BA Hons (Film, Media and Theatre) and a Bachelor of Digital Media. She has had a ten-year career in animation and visual effects most notably working in visual effects production on the films Avatar, The Adventures of Tin Tin and Happy Feet 2.
Scholte’s debut novel, Four Dead Queens, was only published last year so we didn’t have long to wait before the publication of her new novel The Vanishing Deep. With this new offering, she has created a totally different world for lovers of young adult fantasy.
The Vanishing Deep is even better than her first novel. Within the front cover of calm green water and a beautiful female face staring at us, she has managed to draw the reader immediately into a new world. Or rather a world that could possibly be our future. As with Four Dead Queens, we have the initial expectation that this is a fantasy novel, but very soon we realise this is the earth in the future.
In this standalone novel, the earth has warmed so much that the population is now living on manmade islands created from metal scavenged from the flooded cities in the sea. How do people survive with no earth on which to grow things? Scholte has successfully built a world that is easy to envisage. It is not hard to imagine the possible ramifications of global warming and climate change and to put ourselves into this future world. Her characters feel real and it is easy to be swept up in their lives.
Seventeen-year-old Tempest lives on the floating metal island of Equinox. Her parents and sister have died under mysterious circumstances and she must now fend for herself by spending every day diving and scavenging what she can from the buried cities on the ocean floor. She is desperate to make enough money to revive her sister for just 24 hours, something that the scientists on Palindromena have made possible. Tempest, as her name suggests, is quick to anger and reckless.
Lor is a boy who lives on the small island of Palindromena, one of the few remaining pieces of land left on the earth. He has a dark secret and so spends his life hidden underground, looking after the dead in the “aquariums”.
Each person has their own secrets, but they also carry a deep sadness. This novel is tragic, sad, joyous and thought provoking.
The chapters are written from the point of view of either Lor or Tempest. A countdown clock is included at the beginning of chapter which increases the sense of urgency.
Scholte has the ability to create a new world where we can find ourselves lost. We can smell the sea air, feel the salt on our skin, imagine the constant shift of the water beneath us and have sympathy for the hardships the people face being forever surrounded by water.
The Vanishing Deep is a story of love: love for our family, and how we would go to the ends of the earth to save someone we love. It is also about survival and hope. It is about making the most of every minute of our lives, and spending time with those we love.
If you enjoyed Four Dead Queens, you definitely need to read this new novel from Scholte.
Reviewed by Sue Mauger
Distributed by: Allen & Unwin
Released: March 2020
RRP: $19.99
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