BelEdit Book Reviews
Entheóphage weaves together two parallel narratives. Kyndra is a 12-year-old girl struck down by a mysterious virus where she claims to feel the pain of the natural world when it is attacked. She is the first of millions of children to be afflicted across the world, their pain so severe that they need to be put in a medical coma to survive. In the US, CDC researcher Nadine Parker is leading the research into the unknown condition, tasked with identifying a possible cure as quickly as possible.
Meanwhile, Dr Isobel Fallon is racing to find a cure for the Milani Syndrome, that her son has inherited and is dying from, by harvesting coral from unique reefs in the Nlaan islands, setting off an ecological disaster.
Entheóphage is a thought-provoking speculative novel based on the premise that the climate crisis has reached a tipping point where a possibly sentient virus is affecting children, making them, essentially, harbingers of environmental collapse, warning people to stop harming their world. Nadine starts to suspect that not only are the children suffering; they are fundamentally changing.
Convincing, real-world sci-fi
I do like sci-fi/speculative fiction that is firmly anchored in the real world, with just one anomaly that brings it into the realm of ‘sci-fi’. Entheóphage fits that bill perfectly. As a speculative climate crisis novel, Entheóphage is original, raising interesting and crucial questions about climate damage, human accountability, corporate greed and medical research. The notion of a sentient virus is wonderfully intriguing and terrifying! As a medical thriller, it’s gripping and well paced. It loses a star or two because the characters are somewhat predictable and the dialogue a bit cloying at times, but it’s easy to ignore those weaknesses when you’re captivated by a good story!
Overall, a good read that I wholeheartedly recommend for fans of speculative fiction and sci-fi set in our own world.
You may also like:
Email from the Future – Michael Rogers
When the lights go out – Carys Bray
My thanks to the publisher, the author and Netgalley for giving me a free copy of this book. All my reviews are 100% honest and unbiased, regardless of how I acquire the book.