The brutality of climate change has destroyed civilisation as we know it in Watershed‘s dystopian future.
The seas have risen and the last time it rained on land was decades ago. Catastrophic weather patterns have rendered all forms of advanced technology useless. For a long time, anarchy reigned.
In the Citadel, the Tower has built a new world order. The only currency is water. Each citizen earns their water in exchange for hard work and total compliance. The Tower controls the meagre water supply. The Guards enforce the rules. The elite Watch eliminates dissidents.
This was an utterly unputdownable book for me. It maps humanity’s descent into the worst of our nature and then asks how do we rise above it again? Watershed is the perfect illustration of the theory that we are the product of our circumstances. Our environment shapes our actions.
Back in 2016 author Jane Abbott told SMH: “I think we would revert to everything we have tried to avoid being.”
There is gratuitous, horrific violence and it’s very hard to tell who you’re supposed to be cheering on. There are no good guys.
If you liked the Game of Thrones TV series you’ll probably like Watershed. Jeremiah’s expertise, flippant attitude to killing and tendency to do what serves his own best interests – all with a hefty dose of sass – reminded me of a younger Bronn. Garrick’s terrifying enjoyment of torture and power gave me shivering recollections of GoT’s Ramsay Bolton, albeit ever so slightly nicer.
If this sounds like your kind of genre I highly recommend it.
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Great review Rebecca, I’ll put this in the round-up on Wednesday, it’s good to see a few new books popping up.
Thanks Claire! I look forward to reading the round-up and finding more new/old books to read.