Remember Us
E.T. Gunnarsson | Bragi Press 348p, e-book, $3.99, ASIN B0BXQ7GQH5
Violent religious cults, mutant beasts, homesteaders, and spirit animals inhabit Gunnarsson’s second installment in the Odemark trilogy (after Forgive Us). The year is 2187 in the dusty, post-apocalyptic American Midwest, and Simon, who fled a revolution aboard the orbiting Ark ship Arcadis, has been living on Earth for two years now. He’s survived on the polluted and radioactive planet with the help of resident ranch owner Anna, but when he dreams that something happened to the Arcadis, and later witnesses a fiery missile in the sky on his way to nearby city New Uruk, Simon’s convinced it’s the ship, falling to Earth.
Gunnarsson transports readers at a leisurely pace through Simon’s travels, as he and Anna join a wagon train heading west to find the ship and any survivors, hoping to use the ship’s technology and medicine to help Earth’s remnant populations. There, Simon discovers a world vastly different than the claustrophobic, sterile, and oppressive life he knew aboard the Arcadis. But trouble begins when the violent Twilight Cult, led by the maniacal Father, attacks the caravan and vows to find the Arcadis first, so they can steal the technology and conquer other outposts of civilization. Simon and Anna get help from Ignis, a member of the kindly Ember Cult, who also wants to find the Arcadis—his people believe it’s a gift that was sent by their Mother goddess.
The chase that ensues plays out over Earth’s devastated landscape of wasteland villages, wise men and women, hallucinogenic plants, and sand so visceral readers will feel the grit in their throats; even the future Earth’s animal inhabitants are powerfully rendered, like the hairless scab boars that have developed “iron lungs” allowing them to filter out the polluted air. This coarse and atmospheric apocalypse— with hardy, resilient characters and mutated horrors—is a perfect fit for B movie fun.
Cover: A | Design & typography: A | Illustrations: – Editing: A | Marketing copy: A
Richly detailed, post-apocalyptic world brimming with magical realism.
Great for fans of Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of the Sower, Demitria Lunetta’s In the After.