Appleseed by Matt Bell is a unique novel that blends elements of literary fiction, climate change, mythology, and technology to explore the fate of humanity and life on Earth. The book weaves together three separate storylines that converge to tell a grand story about humanity's impact on the natural world and the potential for redemption. The writing style is described as smooth, engaging, and thought-provoking, with chapters structured to keep readers intrigued and invested in the narrative.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
Content warnings for Appleseed include themes of environmental destruction and body horror, reflecting the darker aspects of human impact on nature.
From The Publisher:
"Woven together out of the strands of myth, science fiction, and ecological warning, Matt Bell's Appleseed is as urgent as it is audacious." -Kelly Link, Pulitzer Prize finalist and national bestselling author of Get in Trouble
A "breathtaking novel of ideas unlike anything you've ever read" (Esquire) from Young Lions Fiction Award-finalist Matt Bell, a breakout book that explores climate change, manifest destiny, humanity's unchecked exploitation of natural resources, and the small but powerful magic contained within every single apple.
In eighteenth-century Ohio, two brothers travel into the wooded frontier, planting apple orchards from which they plan to profit in the years to come. As they remake the wilderness in their own image, planning for a future of settlement and civilization, the long-held bonds and secrets between the two will be tested, fractured, and broken-and possibly healed.
Fifty years from now, in the second half of the twenty-first century, climate change has ravaged the Earth. Having invested early in genetic engineering and food science, one company now owns all the world's resources. But a growing resistance is working to redistribute both land and power-and in a pivotal moment for the future of humanity, one of the company's original founders will return to headquarters, intending to destroy what he helped build.
A thousand years in the future, North America is covered by a massive sheet of ice. One lonely sentient being inhabits a tech station on top of the glacier-and in a daring and seemingly impossible quest, sets out to follow a homing beacon across the continent in the hopes of discovering the last remnant of civilization.
Hugely ambitious in scope and theme, Appleseed is the breakout novel from a writer "as self-assured as he is audacious" (NPR) who "may well have invented the pulse-pounding novel of ideas" (Jess Walter). Part speculative epic, part tech thriller, part reinvented fairy tale, Appleseed is an unforgettable meditation on climate change; corporate, civic, and familial responsibility; manifest destiny; and the myths and legends that sustain us all.
Ratings (2)
Loved It (1) | |
Did Not Like (1) |
Reader Stats (7):
Read It (2) | |
Want To Read (5) |
1 comment(s)
I listened to it as a audiobook, seems well written and the narrative was good. Though the story didn't captivate me and I feel rather unfocused listening to it. Maybe I wasn't in the right headspace for it, maybe I should pick it up in a book format someday or it's just wasn't the book for me. The blurb did sound very intriguing though.
What can you read after
Appleseed?
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