The Ancients

Larison (Whiskey When We’re Dry) spins a provocative if tedious story of survival decades after an ecological collapse. After Maren, 12, and Kushim, nine, discover their parents are missing, they set off from their remote fishing village with their older sister, Leerit, to find the extended family who abandoned them. A parallel narrative follows their mother, Lilah, forced into slavery by her abductors, who killed their father in the struggle. Lilah toils for wool producer Cyrus to meet the new quota set by the emperor, who’s promised to transport their city’s residents to a land of plenty aboard an ark.. Cyrus, however, would rather spend time studying the scrolls with fragments of ancient stories (readers will recognize faint biblical echoes and canonical poetry). After Kushim is attacked and grievously injured by a bear, the siblings are split up, with imperial forces rushing Kushim to the city for care, and Leerit leaving Maren with sheep herders to join a band of guerrillas against the emperor. The pacing tends to drag under the weight of so many plot threads, but Larison fascinates with his core themes, showing how stories are used for societal control. Those willing to go the distance will find a thoughtful twist on climate fiction. Agent: Chris Parris-Lamb, Gernert Co. (Oct.)