There is a problem within the oceans of the planet, Koraalen, and the vast, conscious and telepathic, systems of coral reefs are mysteriously sick and dying, nearing a terrible collapse. Will a young scientist who can communicate with the reefs, and the elite team she’s newly joined be able to save them in time?
This is a lovely and enthralling book with many layers. There are sections worth savoring at a slower pace, as the world reveals itself in rich detail. There are also moments of adventure, suspense and danger as an impending disaster closes in.
Several strong themes are woven throughout the story, beginning with a young woman coming of age, growing into her unique abilities and finding her place in the world. Family in a positive context, along with gender equality, is another theme, and the story portrays strong family relationships within a broader culture. The author serves up the sweetness of new romance, as well. The strongest theme by far, however, is one of environmentalism: the need to connect to and protect nature in a mutually interdependent and wholistic relationship. The story’s depiction of the coral reefs as a conscious and communicative living being with its own telepathic abilities, is a heartfelt expression of the author’s obvious connection to nature and stewardship.
The environment is, itself, a character, and is seen and felt through descriptive and scientific details. The consciousness of the planet’s coral reefs, and the unique and powerful relationship the main character, Nerissa Tagas-Kendrick, and the other scientists have with this organism, creates a real feeling of empathy for the reef as a being, not just as ‘something at risk in nature.’ The fact of the reef’s consciousness allows the reader to connect to it in a unique way. In the context of science fiction, my experience of the reef as a character was more akin to discovering an alien being than a simple anthropomorphism on the part of the author. The reef has a unique non-human voice, its own needs, senses, and speaks as a community of things that have gathered into a single voice, rather than as a human individual.
Sci-fi elements, such as high-tech man-made islands, and inter-planetary travel, as well as the more fantastical concept of the conscious, telepathic coral reef, are introduced with a sense of naturalness that lets the reader be in awe, while the characters simply go about their daily life. Familiar experiences on alien worlds abound throughout the book. I appreciated the fact that the “science” of science-fiction, at least in terms of biological systems and environment, was fully present. The details of space travel were assumed, and were not explained, any more than I would explain how an airplane works in a novel if it were just taking me from point A to point B. The biological sciences, however, were germane to the story and enhanced the understanding of what was happening, for me. It added a depth of knowledge to the novel that made it more realistic and added dimension to the characters.
The landscapes of Koraalen are wonderfully envisioned. I was struck by the deeply descriptive language of the novel, and the variety and unique quality of the settings, both on-world and off, that the author created for readers to explore inside her storyline.
I really enjoyed this book, and highly recommend it to anyone wanting to escape to another, somewhat better, and far more connected universe, as envisioned by Heather Murata in Koraalen.
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Top reviews from other countries
Mark Ferguson
An optimistic coming-of-age environmental drama
Reviewed in Canada on April 16, 2019
yop
A gentle romance with a powerful ecological message.
Reviewed in Spain on July 7, 2019
Piri Shepherd
Gentle ecological fantasy
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 21, 2019