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Writer's picturemikeofthepalace

"The Coral Bones" by E.J. Swift

An excellent piece of climate fiction that manages to be depressingly realistic while also, somehow, being hopeful. Even after finishing the book I’m not entirely sure how the author pulled that off.


This book follows three different women in three different time periods: the 19th century English colonial daughter of a ship captain, accompanying her father on an exploratory voyage charting the Great Barrier Reef; a present-day marine biologist, studying the effects of climate change on the reef; and from the 22nd century, post-climate collapse, a women whose job is to investigate reported sightings of presumed-extinct animals for conservation/restoration purposes as humanity belatedly cleans up its act.


It’s a clever way to approach climate fiction. Each of these women is a scientist of some sort. The Great Barrier Reef is the common touchstone for all three; one when the Reef is thriving pre-Industrial Revolution, one when the Reef is struggling and the coming consequences of human activity are clear, and one when the Reef has failed and the goal is to save what can be saved. They follow in each other’s footsteps, visiting the same places (though not deliberately), and as a reader there was a definite thrill when one came across a trace of one of the earlier women. It made the stories feel tightly bound despite being separated by centuries.


The 19th century story takes the form of a diary as the woman records her observations on her father’s exploratory journey north from Sydney Town. Gender roles are a big thing here - despite her interest in, and obvious aptitude for, the natural sciences, she is regrettably female. Colonialism is also a theme here, as they encounter First Nations people along the way. This is the most optimistic of the three stories, with a definite sense of the awe of discovery.


The 21st century story follows a marine biologist who studies corals, and in particular their response to rising water temperatures. Her despair over what she sees as the inevitable death of the Great Barrier Reef has driven her both into deep depression and an obsessive focus on her research, which leads to her partner leaving her.


In the 22nd century, the climate has collapsed and humanity has endured disaster after disaster. The survivors are living in sheltered, sustainable cities, as the countryside is now hot enough that survival is very difficult. Hard work has brought the carbon levels in the atmosphere down almost to pre-industrial levels, but it will be a long time before the planet reaches a sustainable equilibrium again. The woman in this timeline is dispatched to the Reef to investigate reports of a seadragon (the fish, not a literal dragon), which has been presumed extinct.


I was hooked by the 19th and 22nd century women straight away; the 21st century one took me longer to really get into. This might have been because it was the most bleak of the three POVs. Things might have gone to hell in the 22nd century POV, but at least people are pulling together to fix it. The 21st century POV doesn’t have that optimism, and she’s in a pretty bad place personally. There wasn’t anything bad about those chapters, it just took me longer to really get invested in her.


Excellent book from a small-time author who deserves more attention


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