Breathe To Read

Breathe To Read

Thursday, June 9, 2022

2022 Challenge: A Second Book Published in 2022: How High We Go In The Dark

 Book: How High We Go In The Dark

Author: Sequoia Nagamatsu

Pages: 304


This is my 44th read for the year

The story opens in 2030 when an archeologist travels to the Artic Circle to pick up the work his daughter was doing before her untimely death.  His daughter had found the remains of an ancient girl and unleased a virus that would change the world forever.  In the beginning only children got the virus, and all of them who contracted it died.  A Theme park for the terminally ill children is built to give them one last fun day before the end. A scientist - desparate to find a cure once his son in infected raises pigs as test subjects so that their organs can be used in sick people.  Eventually part of the population leaves the planet to head out into space to find a new home.  

This book was.....strange.  At first - I really liked where it was going.  I love a good dystopian/pandemic/endemic book.  This one started by taking an interesting approach with the release of the virus, and how they dealt with the children who got infected.  But then it went off the rails.  There are snippets of stories through the whole book that never had a clear ending.  I was left with more questions than answers as I listened, but I continued to plug along.  I have been pleasantly surprised in the past when all of these little side stories get pulled together to wrap up a story, but in this case - that didn't happen.  The people left earth to find a new home planet, but in the end it really wasn't necessary.  They introduce a pig who developes the ability to talk and.....nothing.  It just was countless unfinished stories.

Disappointing because it really did start out strong.  I would skip this one.

Stars: 2.5





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