Harken Void

'TOX' is set in a future where what's left of mankind has survived for generations under domes that keep out the TOX, a poisonous, corrosive gas that covers the Earth in a dark green fog that blots out the sky. The TOX is a legacy from the Ancients, although how and why it was unleashed on the world has been forgotten. Adults can survive in Domes (albeit with a lifespan where fifty is seen as very old) by breathing air from which the TOX has been filtered out but infants only flourish if they get to breathe natural, unpoisoned air, referred to as Breath. Breath Hunters leave their dome and trek through the TOX for days to reach a mountaintop from which a large pressurised tank full of real air can be retrieved.

'TOX' tells the story of Coghan's first journey as a Breath Hunter. He's the rookie in a four-person team. He has a lot to learn but he's highly motivated because some of the Breath he brings back will go to his soon-to-be-born child.

'TOX' is only 123 pages long. I was glad it wasn't any longer, not because the story was bad but because the walk through the toxic wasteland, which takes up the first half of the novella, was so vividly described that it was almost as exhausting and depressing as the real thing would have been. Harken Void did an excellent job of narrowing my vision to the few metres through the dark fog of TOX that Coghan could see through his visor with the aid of his chest light. I shared every discomfort, every fear and every loss of confidence that Coghan felt as he came to understand the gruelling reality of being a Breath Hunter.

In the second half, just as Coghan was starting to cope with adversity. things got much, much worse, the pace increased, violence descended and the body count rose.

I liked that this was more alarming than exciting. Coghan doesn't relish the experience he simply does whatever he can to survive it.

The ending worked but, to me, it felt a little preachy. Perhaps this is because I don't share Coghan's optimism about the human race. Even so, this was a vividly realised story that was entertaining to read.… (altro)