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Impossible to Resist
Skyseed follows a group of people who set out to save the planet from a man-made climate disaster. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?
The idea of using tech as a quick fix for the climate crisis is attracting growing support and credence, despite the fact that it is hugely expensive, environmentally damaging, and potentially dangerous. I wanted to write a story that was primarily a good yarn, but which also provided a timely and salutary warning about the dangers of so-called geoengineering.
Jane is an intriguing and well developed character. What were some driving ideals behind your character’s development?
There are plenty of great female researchers in the geological sciences, including in my own field of volcanology, and I wanted to reflect this in the book. Geology is not all machismo, and female scientists make hugely important contributions, often while juggling family and work, so Jane is based upon an amalgam of a number of friends and colleagues I have known over the years.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
There are quite a few themes hidden away – some perhaps not so hidden. As I mentioned earlier, geoengineering and its associated dangers, is the big one. But I have to admit that there is also an anti-capitalist strand running through the story, together with digs at neocolonialism and the way in which those in power find it impossible to resist acting in an underhand way, then fail to be open about how bad things are when everything goes pear-shaped. In the UK, we have seen this recently in relation to how the government mishandled both Brexit and the pandemic.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
A sequel to Skyseed is always possible. I have left a small chink of light at the end of the story to allow this, but we shall see. Currently, I am working on a young adult project about an Earth upon which not all dinosaurs were wiped out 65 million years ago. Some survived so that today, their intelligent, bipedal, descendents have built a dominant civilisation that reigns over us humans. But change is on the way…
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Jane Haliwell put her head in her hands. To tell the truth, she was still in shock. All the samples she had taken from inside and around the lab contained the enigmatic spheres in huge numbers. She had only had a brief time to think about the implications, but she was pretty sure already what was going on.
For the first time in the history of the world, it was literally raining carbon. Long before it stopped, the guilty would pay, but so would the innocent…
Skyseed
![Skyseed by [Bill McGuire]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/511AmPgJCDL.jpg)
Sky Seed by Bill McGuire transcends genres. It starts as a mystery with light espionage and ends as a dystopian near future novel. There are three main protagonists, but several chapters are written from the perspectives of side characters as well. The book starts with an enormous eruption that sends ash spewing into the air. Months later, Jane discovers a terrible secret exacerbated by that explosion. There are small, perfectly spherical, carbon-shelled objects floating in the air and raining from the sky. Jane has to tell someone, anyone. She sends her findings to a colleague. The next day someone tries to kill her, but also successfully murders other scientists who have realized the truth. A week later her package arrives at her colleague’s office. He reads it over, panics, and calls in another co-worker. They (Karl and Ralph) realize something extremely sinister is afoot and the world will not be safe if this stays hidden. The three set off to try and save the planet from a diabolical scheme while putting themselves in danger.
Sky Seed is a thrilling global disaster novel that feels authentic due to the grounded storytelling and scattered use of jargon and tech that make this story feel real, add on a climate disaster that speaks volumes on contemporary climate issues, and you end up with a novel that is very realistic. It takes a very valid idea, then shows how that idea could actually be more harmful in the long-run. Even though this book is designed to entertain, I do feel I learned a bit more about climate science by reading this. I liked the subtle addition of humor lightly scattered throughout the story. It really helped to bring levity to some dense and serious sections. I will not ruin the punchlines by sharing them here, but brainy humor is my soft spot. (I see your Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy joke and very much appreciated it in part 3). The story and plot line are solid and overall I loved the story.
Author Bill McGuire has given readers a suspenseful science fiction disaster novel with a creative climate change problem that’s tackled in entertaining fashion.
Pages: 257 | ASIN: B08HM842WD
LITERARY TITAN 