Book Review
Title: Ark (Part 1 in the Forward Collection)
Author: Veronica Roth
Genre: YA/Sci-Fi/Short Story
Rating: *****
Review: The Forward Collection is a series of 6 short stories written by some of the biggest sci-fi and fantasy writers including Veronica Roth and Blake Crouch. This collection focuses on stories of the future whether that is near or far and are extremely shorts so they can be read in a single sitting.
Ark is the story of Samantha, a young scientist left to catalogue plant samples for the survivor’s journey when Earth is going to be destroyed by an asteroid in two weeks’ time. Sam is working in Norway with several other scientists working on the catalogue for the Arks, Flora and Fauna which will join the evacuees from Earth on their new home Terra. There was a strict criteria for these scientists as they must be qualified but also have no family in case the asteroid, Finis shows up early or the ship fails to launch. With less than two months to go, Sam is mentally counting down the days, but she is missing out on the last life of Earth as her friend points out that they should sample everything Earth has to offer before it is gone.
We follow Sam through her daily routine which involves bringing lunch to Nils Hagen who works with the orchids and is one of the only scientists remaining on Earth even after the others have left, since he can’t bear to leave his home. This sparks something in Sam as she reflects on her childhood, her parents who have died and how she came to end up where she is right now. Sam spends a lot of time with Nils as time counts down and with only two weeks to go Sam decides she isn’t going to leave Earth either, she is going to see it die and give birth to something else in the final moments of her life. In doing this she is beginning to form a strong connection with Nils, but also with others as they reminisce about the loved ones they have lost and the life they are heading into when the ships leave Earth heading for Terra.
With only two days left everyone is preparing for the final hours when most of them will leave Earth for good. As the hours count down, Sam remembers her mother and father and how they told her she had so much more life to live and this is reinforced when Sam discovers a new species of orchid with only a day left on Earth and Nils names it after her. As the count down begins Sam feel the weight of what is about to happen but knows there is nothing that can be done to stop it. Ark was a real insight look into grief and what is left behind as we move forward with our lives and the silly, small things that we hold dear and come back to us when we need them most.
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Kindle Edition: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
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