Travel Documents 113: Gaia Awakens
C. D. Tavenor, A. E. Faulkner, David Kernot, Laurel Beckley, Nicholas Haney, P. J. Sky, Kit Hanson, Ernest Solar, S.E. MacCready, Solomon Uhiara
Genre: social change, economic change, cli-fi, solarpunk
The Dust Cover Copy
The climate crisis looms. The Earth awakens.
Climate change. The greatest existential threat in the history of human civilization. And our species is the cause.
We must reforge our roots with our only planet. Humanity must choose a side if it is to survive and thrive.
Join us. Join the World’s Revolution.
Embark on a journey across the planet through 23 stories written by 16 authors from 6 different countries. From superpowered humans taking down polluting industries to genius inventors creating innovative high-tech solutions to protect their communities, Gaia Awakens explores the gauntlet of climate fiction, SciFi and Fantasy alike.
And every story occurs in the same persistent universe, weaving a united narrative in the first volume of The World’s Revolution.
The world is awakening, and so are its heroes. Read Gaia Awakens: A Climate Crisis Anthology today.
The Scene
Worldbuilding
Starting off vague and coalescing through the works of a number of authors, the worldbuilding unfurls like the graceful leaves of a plant. It was a lot of fun to watch groups of characters in each story put their piece of the puzzle in, and find yourself seeing a bit more of the picture with each one. Some stories are quite dark: displaying the bleak conditions of the environment that’s going to exist in the not too distant future, and the terrible things people will do under those conditions. And some of the stories are almost bubbling with cheerful hope. It makes for a good mix! And there is a lot of fun in the escapism of a set of stories showcasing people with the power to fix nature in their hands. It took me back to my days of sitting down for Captain Planet episodes. There’s a lot of joy in seeing someone empowered to do the things you wish you could!
Two stories fell down a bit on their setup, but that’s par for the course in anthologies. All in all, a very fun collection!
The Crowd
Writing Style
Given that there’s a full crew of authors here, I won’t delve into any single style. They blended well as a collection. My main quibble was with the editing work. There were a lot of small hints of clumsiness—nothing overt, but a lot of spots where one synonym was mixed up with another. Spots where the grammar or the punctuation wasn’t quite what it should have been. It was never disastrous, but it often pulled me out of the story.
The Moves
Plot
Unfortunately, the collection really falls apart near the end. It’s a fun ride, but it’s finished off by several painfully preachy speeches and scenes that just throw a wet blanket over the whole thing. Now, readers of my work know I’m not against a good speech. But in this case a deus ex machina is deployed to give those final pointed speeches, and you can practically feel the guiding editor taking the book and banging you over the head with the point. If this had been done more subtly it would have been great, but as it is, it really made me think of a lovely plant with ugly flowers. Now I’m not saying it’s not worth a read—it is—but brace yourself for that last couple stories.
Overall Rating
With one or two weaknesses, this volume makes for a fun read to curl up with on a day when the news is getting to you, and offers you a chance to indulge in a little escape into a world where people really can change everything with a wave of their hands.