Mother of Floods is set at the end of our world. Ravaged by greed and technology it has seemingly spun beyond human control. Yet in this unravelling is a chance for a new beginning as the digital, physical, and spiritual worlds collide.
The story begins in the UK, with Martha Johnstone and her dead husband Dave, who lives on in digital form. Together they embark on a journey to heal their troubled family, overcoming mountains of debt and support an anorexic daughter and a reclusive son.
Their quest is aided by three other women from very different countries and backgrounds, who are also desperate enough to go to any lengths to wrest back control over their lives. And as the interlocking narratives unfold, their pursuits become a battle for the soul of the world, wherein connections between the spiritual, technological, and human worlds, create an incredible energy that infects the digital world, creating a new kind of being. The impersonal, transactional information superhighway is transformed into a sentient force for good, with the language of electric pulses shaping words of power that convert the thoughts we think into positive changes in our physical world.
In other words, the internet gets a soul.
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[Baba John sat in his one room, wrapped in the orange and saffron robes of his calling]***
(@crowsnestbooks, 22 April 2020, 400 pages, e-book, #ARC from @crowsnestbooks via # NetGalley and voluntarily reviewed)
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I'd never heard of the author before, but I love dystopian fiction and the blurb sounded original, so I decided to give it a go. This is the author's debut and I look forward to reading her next book. The book takes the concept of living in harmony with yourself and the world which I haven't come across. I was impressed by the way the author blends myths, storytelling concepts, speculative fiction and cultural practices. I enjoyed the use of multiple narrators who play small roles individually and much bigger roles collectively. I did have trouble keeping track of all the characters though. The book covers a wide range of subjects I wasn't expecting like death, rape in marriage and abortion. This is impressive and has huge depth.
