This is a great read - set in a nearby future where suddenly the world seems to take charge. All utilities and communications go down, and Signy is left to struggle on with her family, as she tries to make it across the country on foot while avoiding the military. Exploring themes of man's damage to the planet, machine learning and AI, and how we communicate with each other and the planet, this is a clever and gripping story. I did feel that the pace of the story was somewhat too quick - all the action takes place over a couple of weeks and that felt too quick to me. Fans of Emily St John Mandel's Station Eleven will enjoy this - interesting how the front cover is very similar...

I was reminded of an old Talking Heads song as I reached the final few chapters of this book. Spoilers prevent me from mentioning which one but I guess, if you know, you know! So... set in a near-future England, we follow Signy, Matthew and their son Jed as the technology they have grown to rely on starts to fail. For reasons unknown, everything just stops working. Phones are useless, electronic payment methods fail, even getting into their home through the electronic lock is impossible. But it's just a glitch, isn't it? Things will be OK. But then the power also fails and food starts to spoil. Transport, now electronic, starts to grind to a halt. Worse still, the water is cut off. With little understanding of what is happening, people understandably start to panic. To loot, to fight, and it all becomes a bit lawless. But all the time they are wondering why? Soldiers and Police try to keep order - to little avail. There is only one path for Signy to take - to try and escape London, to go to where her mother lives. There, they'll be safer. Or will they, given the journey necessary...? The new world in which the characters find them selves in initially was easy to get to grips with. In fact I was a little jealous of some of the technology they were able to use. But then, as the book progressed I reassessed that and realised how satisfied I actually am with some of my Luddite ways! And then when the penny dropped as to what was actually going on with the tech I thought the way it had been plotted was very well done. And then there's the in-between time, as the characters are coming to grips with the lack of the basic things they have taken for granted for a very long time. There's a lot to be taken away from this book - some quite important messages - but nothing that came across as brow-beating. Just important reminders about what we have and what we need to do to keep it. Characters were, on the whole, well drawn. I do have a few issues with the continuity of Jed with regard to his age. Which wasn't completely consistent or convincing. But I did take to Signy from the off so that redressed the balance a tad. All in all, a good solid read that kept my attention nicely throughout, leaving me satisfied at the end.

This book was unbelievably tense. I found myself not wanting to put it down but when I did I would be thinking about what would happen next. Set sometime after 2030( since this year was mentioned in the past tense) after a kind of plague that affected the environment and the food and water supplies. Signy, Matthew and Jed live the relative blinked live so when the "smart" controllers of the lifestyle this future has become accustomed to fails they have to look to the past to survive. Humanity goes back to basics as they hunt to survive the journey from London to her childhood countryside home. A tense and gripping story that does at times seem a bit hard to believe ( do 6 year olds really talk like Jed) but I found Signys despair and mind fraying so well done. I myself have experienced the bottom falling out of my world a few times and this is what it feels like! The ending - the last 2% of the story kind of seemed written in a rush, but apart from that I thoroughly enjoyed it.

#ThisFragileEarth By Susannah Wise — What would you do to protect your family if the world stopped working? — London in the not too distant future, is totally run by technology, drones and Xbots. Permanently having to wear UV glasses when outside, water has to be purified and pollination drones do the work of bees, due to them all being killed off. When the technology that keeps their lives operating smoothly suddenly stops and the electricity, gas and water are cut off, people believe it’s a temporary glitch and things will return to normal within twenty four hours. But when people start going missing and soldiers walk the streets, it’s apparent London is no longer safe. I found it took a while to get into the story as I needed to picture the atmospheric London as the author had it in her head but I did eventually get there and found it easy to follow once I did. There are a lot of original and unique fictitious names and scenarios which suggests the author has a highly imaginative and creative writing talent. My only gripe were the main characters. I’m not sure if it was down to their narrative, the way they were portrayed or because they were characters in a dystopian novel. It was obvious Signy would do anything for her son Jed but at six years old I found him to be one minute too mature for his age and another far too young. His dad Matthew was, for me, a weak character and all in all they formed a strangely structured family unit. There’s a message within the story, that if we don’t look after our ‘fragile’ earth then those actions will have consequences and we could lose all that we rely on to survive. No longer having the joys and beauty of nature, would lead to a very barren and ugly environment, which is why climate change and protecting the earth is paramount in safeguarding what we enjoy today. For a debut novel in the post apocalyptic/dystopian thriller genre, the author has done a fabulous job and she should be commended for her imaginative and creative talent and I hope she does well with this her first novel.

As technology fails and the world ceases to function we follow a family in London as they come to terms with what’s happening and try to survive. This was a great look at how we would function if all the methods we use in the modern world ceased to function. I enjoyed how we could clearly see where each of the parents priorities were and how different this was. The end was unusual take and I thought it worked well within the context of this novel, overall it was a very clever and thought provoking read that was a perfect example of why I love this genre.