A review by laurareads87
Firewalkers by Adrian Tchaikovsky

adventurous fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

Tchaikovsky is wonderfully versatile; this is the first sci-fi novella I've read of his but he seems to be able to do it all well: long trilogies, short fiction, fantasy, sci-fi.  This story, the plot follows three young protagonists living in a settlement at the base of a space elevator up to an orbital where the superrich, who have pretty much destroyed the planet, have fled to.  They set off into the harsh desert to find out why the supply of solar power to the settlement they live in has been disrupted, but do not find anything like what they expected.

Tchaikovsky covers a lot of terrain here - climate catastrophe, AI, class oppression, population control / eugenics, and more - and does so with some nuance despite the short page count.

Content warnings: classism, ableism, violence, mentions of gun violence, death
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