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While burying his best friend in the last surviving biodome on an island pounded by raging seas and under the constant threat of a dangerous hive of drones conceived to replace the diminishing bee population, Diego and Isabel ponder humanity's end. Isabel knows her cancer has left her with days, possibly hours, and she makes plans with the AI Madders, built from the consciousness of the scientist Matt Hudson. They plan to use the last of their energy resources, including that which powers the AI, to send Diego through a wormhole in an attempt to change humanity's trajectory and avoid the fate they are currently living. Diego declares that he would rather spend the last moments with Isabel, but he is finally convinced that he should take the risk to alter time and try to save humans from extinction. When Diego returns to the past on an alternate Earth, he quickly learns that time never plays out the way it is expected, and he must adapt his plans to help the alternate Isabel, Diego, and all humanity have a chance of survival.
This first book of Orton's new series will likely bring to mind many popular fiction and television titles. Some of these connections are purposely made by the author as she often includes well-known cultural references. Being part of the science fiction genre, with the inclusion of time travel, will be familiar to Doctor Who fans. Meanwhile, readers of DuPrau's City of Ember will quickly find a correlation with Orton's biodome as both feature protective areas meant for human survival, which are failing. The scarcity of resources occurring in Orton's book after the EMP blasts will resonate with those familiar with the necessity of scavenging water in McGinnis' novel, Not a Drop to Drink. Additionally, the humor in this novel is interestingly juxtaposed with that of both Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series and the video game-inspired series, The Last of Us. Adam's science fiction establishes itself as being comedic and sarcastic, whereas The Last of Us is intended to be a frightening and realistic portrayal of a possible near future, where danger and tension lurk around every corner. In contrast, Orton's humor mostly consists of dad-joke level quips. However, these quips are numerous and frequently come at times when the tension is starting to crescendo, often breaking the immersion much more than the tightness of the scene.
Throughout the novel, Orton's pacing is excellent. She never bores the reader with too much information but still supplies the right amount of background material to keep the reader in touch with the science part of science fiction, keeping in mind that the tone here is much more character-driven than hard science fiction. Her sentences are clear and easy to read, and the descriptions are very well done. Fans of the genre who find the author's balance of hard science and humor to their liking will undoubtedly engage with this book and will look forward to devouring other volumes in the series as they are released.
A 2025 Eric Hoffer Book Award General Fiction Honorable Mention