Well … if this book doesn’t make you think long and hard about the impact we are having on the environment and the planet as a global society then nothing will. Set in an all too close future, The Forcing is a frank, scary and absolutely engrossing forecast of how the future might look if we don’t start to take the environmental devastation that we are witnessing on a daily basis quite a lot more seriously. Soaring temperatures have made swathes of the world uninhabitable, those that aren’t already completely underwater. Wars are being fought for the right to own the world’s rapidly depleting resources, and a new kind of Government is running North America, still one of the most powerful countries in the world. If you are young enough then you are conscripted to fight against countries who were once allies. If you are older … Well, those unlucky enough to have been born before a proscribed date face an altogether darker fate. And this is where I get stuck with this review. I’m not quite sure how to put into words the impact that this has when reading it. Yes, at its core it is a thriller, one where we follow a small group of people, principally David Ashworth, known as Teacher, as they are faced with the impacts of ‘resettlement’. This in itself is full of drama, not all people who are selected quite as willing to obey as Teacher appears to be. This is the first real clue as to how dark and combative society has become, and as we slowly learn more about what this resettlement really means, the more shocking and intense the book becomes. This is no shuffling off of the elderly to care facilities, this is the forced displacement of a whole generation who have been deemed responsible for causing the climate disaster, and for denying the truth of climate change for far too long. The situation they are placed in, shared apartments and houses in a drought stricken area, might seem troubling enough, but there is far worse to come. The author skilfully paints a picture of a town in absolute decline, ground too dry to successfully grow crops, a kind of indentured labour in which the residents are made to work for little to no gain, and a growing sense of resentment and rebellion which can only lead to devastation. There are many scenes of action and tension in this book, one which caused me to hold my breath, seeing how they would play out, others that got the adrenalin pumping. From protest marches that end in tragedy, to scenes where objectors are dealt with in a more direct and entirely unthinkable way – they are, after all, still American citizens – these scenes are short, sharp, intense and very carefully portrayed. Piracy, war and a kind of marshal law in which proof of guilt or innocence is irrelevant all inform this story to varying degrees. There is no sensationalisation of the scenes, nor are they gratuitous in anyway, but the violence cannot be glossed over and the impact of conflict, whether overseas or closer to home, is felt quite keenly. We have all seen what greed can lead to under normal circumstance, but this is greed born of a desire to survive, pushing the stakes, and the emotions, sky high. You can feel the tension bubbling under the surface through the whole novel, but those moments when it breaks free are charged and effective. One of Paul E. Hardisty’s true skills lies in his ability to create such clear imagery and to describe his setting and characters so perfectly that you feel you are almost in Brownwood with the displaced. I was drawn to the character of Teacher very quickly, not just because the story is told from his point of view, but because he is given a very humble and human persona, one accepting of his fate, but still defiant at heart. He loves his family in spite of many reasons that would suggest he shouldn’t, and he cares for others, even people he has only very briefly met. There is something about the warmth of his character that made it very easy to be drawn into the story. Kwesi and Francoise were also two characters who made a real emotional impact on me as I read. Their backstory, the fact that Francoise had given up her right to freedom to stay which her husband, and all that follows, is really touching and it would be a hard heart that is not moved by their fate. That’s what the author’s hauntingly beautiful, impactful narrative ensures, producing strong feelings about all the people we meet, be it for a short time or longer and whether they are good people or those, such as Argent, who are most definitely only interested in saving themselves. As for setting, the author has always had the ability to transport me to places I have never seen, creating sights and senses so vivid they could almost appear real. This is definitely the case with this book and the arid, ravaged landscapes that he describes give a sense of the devastation that the world has experienced. The stark contrast between this and certain other scenes in the book, even the early chapters where Teacher is just about to move to his new life, is jarring, reminding us of all we have to lose. Written from a place of experience and knowledge, this feels not like doom mongering, as some might want to dismiss it, more an almost certainty if things do not change. We see temperatures escalating year on year, natural fires increasing in scale and frequency. The melting of polar ice caps, the near extinction of many species of animal, and the gradual erosion of the coral reefs … This book is set where this decline has passed the point of critical, and where humanity has to deal with the consequences of their inaction. It is a very sobering thought. But this is not a book that is all doom. There is, believe it or not, a sense of hope that infuses the novel too. There are two threads to this book. The majority of the story is told from Teacher’s point of view, showing people the hear and now of his existence and the fight that faces him as he tries to find his own route to survival. But there is another, undisclosed narrator, one whose story is interspersed amongst the main action, allowing us to see that all is not necessarily lost. There is almost a cyclical aspect to what unfurls, and whilst life is most definitely not lived as we know it, there is a hint that a reset, a return to a simpler, less toxic lifestyle, may be possible. It adds beauty, light and anticipation to a story that could otherwise be quite dark. What you take from this book will vary. On one hand this is a high stakes environmental and dystopian thriller, in which greed and the desire for power still manages to corrupt and lead to tragedy. With scenes of intense action and jeopardy, it will keep readers who are looking for the more turbulent side of fiction quite happy. This is also a story about what people are willing to risk in order to survive, in a future where all the cards are stacked against them. It’s a story of family and of loss. Loss of love, and loss of freedom. But above all else, it’s a reminder of all we have to lose by ignoring our own impact upon the environment. It’s a heady mix, but one which has stayed with since I turned that final page. A stark, gripping, often poignant, but undeniably thought provoking read and another absolute winner. Loved it

This book blew me away. It is powerful, brutal and its world building feels so real many of the events produce a visceral reaction. Paul Hardisty gives us a great deal to think about in relation to how we got to the world he has envisioned. I read this over Christmas and there’s a line in this book that is still making we ponder how things could be different. I’ll come back to that later in this review. Paul Hardisty is well-placed to envision this future. He has spent twenty-five years working all over the world as an environmental scientist and you can feel the anger in his writing as his words bite and savage the irresponsibility of those who allowed the climate crisis to develop. The Forcing is told by Teacher. He is a rational man who spends a lot of time refusing to be drawn into conspiracy theories, disinformation and the fake news that every day confounds millions of people. He and his wife May have one son who is now working for the new Government; a 'government of youth' that knows that the generation before is responsible for allowing the world to deteriorate to its current state and which is now holding them responsible by confiscating their property and assets and moving them out of their homes. Where they are going is painted rather differently than it is in reality. Hardisty draws on previous terrible moments in the history of civilisation to show us how easy it is to re-invent the atrocities of the past. But this is not a climate crisis book that preaches. It is a searing, tense and dramatic thriller that puts the reader into the position of Teacher and allows us to see what he sees and to experience the angst, pain and devastation that he witnesses and to make up our own minds about what these characters are living through. Is this where the climate crisis will lead us? Paul Hardisty makes a compelling case based on facts and drawing on history and current events. It is no accident that big business has led us to see climate change activists as irresponsible nuisance makers while the pursuit of profit is what drives governments. Greed drives our progress to destruction just as it creates conflict and leads to wars. Hardisty’s story is hard-hitting and sometimes very dark indeed. His writing is sharp and succinct and pulls you in to the story. He populates his story with characters that provoke profound emotions for good and bad, and his novel has real pace and verve as his characters try to escape a series of deadly regimes, some organised, others grown through self-serving ‘survival of the fittest’ battles. The adventures had me on the edge of my seat as much as the need to know what happens to the core team of characters he creates. At the heart of this story is the paragraph that I am still thinking about today. “After the pandemic, there had been such hope around the world. Hope that perhaps, finally people would see the perils of ignoring science, the compounding dangers of inequality and global biodiversity loss, of delaying action on the really big challenges, the folly of putting the economy ahead of people, as if somehow we existed to serve the economy rather than the other way round.” That strikes such a chord with me that it seems self-evident. I believe that Paul Hardisty has, through this remarkable thriller, shown us that there are different paths we can take; that different futures are possible. The natural world can and will recover if we treat it as a priority. We have made so many mistakes, and continue to do so, but we can grasp that hope and try hard to do better. But first, we have to ensure that we make our law makers listen. The Forcing is Teacher’s story. A story about what an ordinary man will do to protect his family and the importance of relationships that give us something to live for. There is love and a lot of loss in this engrossing, absorbing and very gripping thriller. But there is also hope and that’s what makes this so profound and so very moving. I love this book and have no hesitation in saying everyone should read it.

Writing reviews it is all too easy to fall back on the phrase ‘powerful and affecting’, but if ever a book earned this description, The Forcing is utterly worthy of these words. Very rarely does a book so totally engage and move me as this one did, and it really is rather special indeed. I know we’re only a little way in to 2023, but I can safely say that this novel, addressing undoubtedly the biggest issue of our lives and our ultimate survival, is already shaping up to be a staunch contender for my book of the year, and here’s why… The Forcing is a harrowing yet grimly truthful and vivid rendition of the damage wreaked upon the planet by humankind, and as civilisation, and by consequence, society has broken down, the inheritors of the earth, the young, decide that the inaction and selfishness of the previous generations cannot go unpunished. The older members of society are shipped out to camps, with all the attendant atrocities that we are so familiar with due to events we have witnessed in the past, leaving the young to try and rebuild the seemingly irreparable damage done to the planet. Entire infrastructures of countries have collapsed due to war, droughts or floods, with an eye-watering death toll, and many millions affected by famine and food shortages. As the main character Teach, describes, “I think of the forests, the trees, of all the creatures we have assigned to oblivion, species after species, each of these magnificent individuals. And the weight of it is beyond me, the crushing gravity of stars, and I feel as if my heart will implode. For I was there, watched with everyone else as hell arrived one betrayal at a time.” This is truly a cataclysmic overview of the planet in crisis and how the actions of the self serving and those who choose to look away has devastating implications for future generations. Sound familiar? Equally, as society shifts in the novel, as we are seeing now, in this era of right-wing fanaticism, fake news, and discrimination, the book resonates strongly when seen in a contemporary context. This is what makes the central message of this book so hard hitting, for this is the world that in reality we have also created/are creating and literally every minute counts to try and counter the damage, which seems ever more unlikely as each day passes, “In myriad ways, and at an infinite number of junctions, other choices could have been made, and each of those decisions would have rippled out through time and space across all of humanity, and the course of history might have been changed.” What I found interesting about the structure of the book, aside from the parallel narrative by Teach, a man uprooted from Canada, detailing his experiences as a much older man looking back, and attempting to write a historical record, was the way that Hardisty uses the internment camp in Texas, and the characters within, as a reflection of this global crisis and its causes, and how the societal paradigm has shifted. Within a small group of characters he has the grasping capitalist and his fatuous wife, the idealistic, hopeful couple attempting to reconnect with the earth in their propagation of a small garden, the persecuted in the shape of Lan, a gay man as society becomes more patriarchal, homophobic, right wing and racist, and then Teach, and his mercurial wife May, he being wracked with guilt at his inaction through the years, and her in a state of denial to every individual’s responsibility at a personal level. As the dynamics between the group shift and change, and violence and discord plays out affecting them and the camp community at large, Darwinian theory becomes the most evident trope in their future survival, and their dreams of escape from, and life beyond, the camp. As the possibility of escape becomes more a tantalising reality than a total pipe dream, only the fittest and most devious can survive… With the split narrative structure, the visceral grittiness and unerring hardship and danger of the camp, and survival beyond it, pins the reader into the harsh reality of the global breakdown, before we pivot back and forth to the soothing balm of the meditative and moving musings of Teach. As the book loops between past and present, through the eyes of Teach, a man dedicated to science, logic and fact, I love the way that his appreciation and understanding of the world begins to attain a more poetic and metaphysical viewpoint. There are some truly beautiful and emotive passages that it was impossible to not read again, as he looks at the world showing tentative signs of recovery, as we know the planet will in our absence, and what the future will hold for those he leaves behind. The writing is lyrical and full of heartfelt emotion and survivor’s guilt, and such an affective contrast to the harsh, unflinching style of the narrative as events unfold in the former years. I was utterly enthralled by The Forcing throughout, with its perceptive and no-nonsense summation of the potential outcome for civilisation as climate change accelerates at a significantly quicker pace than the actions of us to reverse it. How society will break down and shift so marginalised groups become ever more marginalised, women will be doomed to conform to an increasingly patriarchal society to ensure the continuation and repopulation of the planet, and those who have natural resources left will be controlled and ransacked by larger countries that don’t as imperialism rears its ugly head once again. Hardisty makes it wholly believable and it will strike a chord with every reader, as the sheer power of his narrative and vivid world building emanates from every page. This is an important book, a shocking book, tinged with the feeling of a small hope at the bottom of the Pandora’s box that we have opened in relation to our planet, but with the central message heightened with all the excitement, peril and pace of an action thriller. A terrific read and highly recommended.

“This is the story of how I came to be here, so far from what I used to call home, and those who shared my journey. I have tried to record it faithfully, as truly as memory allows. Some moments remain as indelible scars, despite my best attempts to forget. Others are fading even now. And parts of the story, I fear, will never be revealed.” David Armstrong, a scientist and teacher better known as ‘Teach’ to his friends and family, is looking back at what happened when the world fell apart. The younger generation has taken power in an attempt to save what is left of civilisation. Among their new policies is one of institutionalised ageism that sees all those of a prescribed age and above being forced to relocate as punishment for what is seen as their role in the destruction of the planet. Teach and his wife May are among the thousands relocated to ‘new accommodation’ in the desert. Given just one case each and two days' notice, they pack up what they can and begin their journey to an unknown future. When they arrive it is immediately clear that what was promised will not be delivered, starting with forcing them into a shared apartment with five other people instead of the house they were expecting. Their new home is unorganised and so overcrowded that people are sleeping in corridors. Food and water is scarce and they face long days of hunger and thirst as they work the mandatory six days a week for the government. But it is only after witnessing a brutal crime by two of the guards that Teach really begins to understand the danger they are in. And so begins a story of their fight to survive against the odds in a world that wants to see them pay the ultimate price for their sins. “Some things you never forget. The surroundings might fade, the faces blur, the circumstances of weather and place and time dissolving away as the decades pass. But other, seemingly random details somehow remain immune to the ravages of time and distance, and conscious, destructive will.” I have no idea how to review this book. Atmospheric, haunting, and powerful, this is an absolute masterpiece. Although it is marketed as a “clarion-call climate-change thriller”, it almost defies genre, being in a box all of its own. From the first pages I was awe-struck and hypnotised by the breathtaking beauty of what I was reading. Hardisty’s writing melts off the page. His poetic, intricate prose is acutely observed and there is a real talent to being able to write so delicately yet with such power. Taking us to some unsettling places, he transports us into the forbidding future he has created. Quietly terrifying yet intriguing, this was impossible to put down. Told in two timelines over seven parts, it moves between the harrowing events of that turbulent time to his present, where he is reflecting on what happened and pouring out his heart for his children, grandchildren and future generations. As we slowly unwrap the layers of his story, there is a melancholy woven into the pages that pierces your heart. The heartbreak on the pages is mixed with guilt and regret, the emotion so palpable you feel it in your own chest. Each of the characters are compelling and richly drawn and I found myself rooting for them, even Teach’s bitter wife, May, and the villainous Ardent, though I did find them hard to like. A thought-provoking and unforgettable story of the best and worst of humanity, and a warning call to all of us, The Forcing is one not to miss. Rating: ✮✮✮✮.5

So this has sat in my to be read towers for simply ages because I was tempted but wasn't entirely sure if it was a read for me... This weekend I decided to chance it... So my verdict, a good dystopian read, enjoyed the characters, the uncertainty and the danger in the challenges they now faced to survive. As I was reading I wasn't sure how he was going to conclude the book in a way that I personally would be happy with - but let me tell you I loved the ending! Happy to recommend.