Scan barcode
A review by rashellnicole
Lost Ark Dreaming by Suyi Davies Okungbowa
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
Thank you to NetGalley and Tordotcom for letting me read an e-ARC of Lost Ark Dreaming by Suyi Davies Okungbowa. This novella releases on May 21, 2024, and I’m simply chomping at the bit waiting for others to read this so I can gush more about it!
Let me start by saying that dystopian novels are the real reason I fell in love with reading as a kid. This book gave me the same sort of feelings as when I used to devour books as a teenager: I wanted to stay up late and finish this book in one go (RIP all-nighters for me). The chapters are bite-sized and perfect for convincing yourself to read “just one more.”
It opens with a dream sequence that helps situate the reader in the setting: post-climate disaster where the Atlantic Ocean has overtaken land, and humans off the coast of West Africa are now permanently living in five high-rise towers with distinct class ranks. The Uppers are for the wealthy and affluent, where they give no thought about the people or structures below their floors. The Midders are the general working class, only really able to rise to higher floors for work, but are still considered better for being above sea level. The Lowers are just that - those who live below the new sea level. They are a misunderstood people, full of engineers and technicians who keep the entire structure from collapsing and ruin.
We meet our protagonists: Yekini, a Midder analyst; Ngozi, a cocky higher-level Midder government employee; and Tuoyo, a Lower mechanic. When there’s a critical event on the lower floors, these three must unite to save themselves, the tower, and everyone who resides within. They encounter countless barriers as they try to locate a sea-dwelling creature (monster?) who may have entered the tower, but readers witness the internal struggles of each character as they grow through their traumas. In the end, we see a dissolution of barriers like class, gender, and ego to save the future of humanity.
Let me start by saying that dystopian novels are the real reason I fell in love with reading as a kid. This book gave me the same sort of feelings as when I used to devour books as a teenager: I wanted to stay up late and finish this book in one go (RIP all-nighters for me). The chapters are bite-sized and perfect for convincing yourself to read “just one more.”
It opens with a dream sequence that helps situate the reader in the setting: post-climate disaster where the Atlantic Ocean has overtaken land, and humans off the coast of West Africa are now permanently living in five high-rise towers with distinct class ranks. The Uppers are for the wealthy and affluent, where they give no thought about the people or structures below their floors. The Midders are the general working class, only really able to rise to higher floors for work, but are still considered better for being above sea level. The Lowers are just that - those who live below the new sea level. They are a misunderstood people, full of engineers and technicians who keep the entire structure from collapsing and ruin.
We meet our protagonists: Yekini, a Midder analyst; Ngozi, a cocky higher-level Midder government employee; and Tuoyo, a Lower mechanic. When there’s a critical event on the lower floors, these three must unite to save themselves, the tower, and everyone who resides within. They encounter countless barriers as they try to locate a sea-dwelling creature (monster?) who may have entered the tower, but readers witness the internal struggles of each character as they grow through their traumas. In the end, we see a dissolution of barriers like class, gender, and ego to save the future of humanity.