Review: Undersea by Geoffrey Morrison
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In a world flooded and irradiated by a nearly forgotten cataclysm from generations passed, all that remains of civilization clings to life in two war-torn, city-sized submarines. For fifty years, the only peace between them had come from separation.
Now, young council woman Ralla Gattley has uncovered mysteries that will bring these two factions face-to-face, initiating a series of events that will forever change their undersea world. She didn’t expect to meet Thom Vargas, a bored fisherman and aspiring drunk who merely wants to climb one rung on the social ladder. Little did he know that single step may well put the fate of the world in his hands.
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Undersea is a new take on the survival of the human race following an E.L.E. (Extinction Level Event). After an enormous asteroid approaches the Earth, ridiculously unfortunate decisions were made to use nuclear weapons to obliterate the asteroid. Regrettably, the explosion did not completely destroy the asteroid; as such, the Earth was hit with a huge, now-radiated, chunk of rock hurtling toward it. The impact tilted the planet off axis, melting the polar ice caps and causing radioactive waters to cover all land formations. Survivors of the cataclysm fled to underwater ships. Over time these survivors formed communities, using pieces of ships to build an enormous submarine the size of a large city. Two of these societies were actually developed, the Population and the Universalis. One would think that an entire planet of ocean would be large enough for two societies on the brink of extinction to share…but, unfortunately, human nature demands a hierarchy. After several generations living in these city-subs, deterioration of materials and scarcity of resources ignites a final confrontation between the two societies.
Councilwoman Ralla Gattley (young, according to council standards, and spunky) has innovative ideas that could lead to the betterment of her people, along with peace between the “Pop” and the “Uni”. Former drunken fisherman Thom Vargas (bitter and witty) is caught up in her passionate, and not quite successful, plot to bring her ideas to the council (also known as the “That’s not how we do things around here” speech). Instead, all hell breaks loose.
Author Geoffrey Morrison has managed to create a world of believably advanced technology cobbled together from decades-old decaying parts, set in the depths of ocean water where natural sunlight, and radiation, never reach. Ingenuity and innovation are the keys to life in this world. The cast of fully fleshed-out characters feel like family members, even the really bad dude who needed to be on meds…he is that crazy uncle nobody likes but has to deal with at family reunions.
Undersea is an action-packed adventure for sci-fi fans who don’t care for the mutant/zombie direction most post-apocalyptic fiction is taking right now.
