Ok, Appleseed is my favorite read of the year so far, it reminds me of Cloud Cuckoo Land meets Project Hail Mary. Here we get three expertly weaved stories illustrating for us the abuse of the Earth by humanity. Each story is unique and stunning and the epitome of its genre.
One story is beautiful historical fiction with a little bit of magic. It takes place in 18th century America and follows two brothers. Nathaniel is looking to seed America with apple trees to get rich and Chapman is a mythical faun looking for a magical apple that will let him forget what a monster he is. Watching Chapman’s desire to be loved and accepted is beautiful and heartbreaking.
Our second story is of a man living in the near future where capitalism has destroyed the Earth (perhaps this is actually the present?!), John and his group of friends are trying to stave off the end of humanity. In this section, we get a ton of science focused on biology, cultivation of crops and genetics. There are parts that are very heavy for a non-scientist but I promise you, like Andy Weir’s stories, it will be worth it. There’s an awesome big baddie in this part. It’s a fabulous piece of speculative fiction.
The third part is the life of an unusual creature who isn’t explained to us fully until the end when the three stories come together. But he reminds me of Weir’s Rocky, curious and mission driven. He’s searching the far future Earth for signs that life could once again thrive in this glacier covered world. His journey also reminded me a lot of Konstance in Cloud Cuckoo Land, we’re not quite sure who or what he is but the progression of his story has the most heart and the most compelling turn of events.
While these three stories feel initially like quite different vignettes – the way they come together is amazing. There’s some interesting guesses about the future of humanity and while there is some magical realism in this one, it sure seemed quite plausible at times. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
What’s your favorite book of the year so far?
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Oh, this sounds so good! Thanks for putting it on my radar. There is an Alice Hoffman book where Johnny Appleseed makes an appearance and it was such a cool little piece of history woven into the story. I will add this to my ‘to read’ list now! : )
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