Book Review: Conservation by James Flynn

*I received a complimentary copy of this book, and I’m leaving a voluntary review*

*minor spoilers*

Plot: Supersize spaceship Conservation is launched in search for a new habitable planet, hoping to secure a future for the human race. But something goes horribly wrong.

Longer plot: The year is 2034. Climate change has ravaged Earth, food and shelter are even scarcer than before, and the world is descending into chaos. As Earth is slowly becoming more inhabitable, a plan to launch a spaceship to find suitainable planets is the one of the best and only options available. The giant ship Conservation, built by the Universal Mining Agency, housing plantlife, animals, and people, is launched. The people onboard will never themselves see their new, future home, but the generations following them will.

Fast forward 40 years, the last call and contact is made with the ship, and the people of Earth never hear from it again.

10 years later, the new CEO of the Universal Mining Agency and son of the man who launched the Conservation, is threatened. Threatened with information on his father, information that could very well lead to the downfall of his company. Launch a probe – find the Conservation, we want to know what happened.

And what did happen to the spaceship? Why didn’t anyone try to figure it out ten years prior? What was the real purpose of the launch? And what happened to everyone onboard?

Review: I reeeaaaally loved this book. This is the kind of mysterious, thrillery Sci-Fi that is right up my alley. I assumed most of the plot would be set on the ship, which would been fine, but I was very happy that it wasn’t. We follow (mostly) David Kingston, the zoologist who provided the animal life that boarded the ship. And his quest to figure out what happened. And I was so bloody intrigued! I really would like to write more about the plot, to talk about it, ‘cuz it was so good – but I won’t, because spoilers. But I’ll say that it kept me hooked, like really, page upon page, only putting it down when I absolutely had to. There’s so much more to this than meets the eye, like I said above, it wasn’t what I assumed at all. It’s beautifully written, set in a magnificent, broken and battered future Earth, and I loved every second of it. Definitely one of my favourite reads this year.

When I noticed the ending coming, I was at first bit upset because it really didn’t take the turn I wanted (again, not what I assumed!). I was like ‘nooooo, it can’t end like this?!’ But then the ending got good, beautifully, destructingly good. It’s the kind of sad, horrible ending, that I love that people dare write. Wouldn’t have it any other way.

Seriously – you need to check this out, if you want a mysterious, creepy Sci-Fi thriller that throws you this way and that – Check out James Flynn’s Conservation.