Camp Zero

 

 I received a copy of this release from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Title: Camp Zero 

Author: Michelle Min Sterling

Publisher: Atria 

Release Date: 4.4.23

Publisher’s Summary 

In a near-future northern settlement, a handful of climate change survivors find their fates intertwined in this mesmerizing and transportive novel in the vein of Station Eleven and The Power.

In the far north of Canada sits Camp Zero, an American building project hiding many secrets.

Desperate to help her climate-displaced Korean immigrant mother, Rose agrees to travel to Camp Zero and spy on its architect in exchange for housing. She arrives at the same time as another newcomer, a college professor named Grant who is determined to flee his wealthy family’s dark legacy. Gradually, they realize that there is more to the architect than previously thought, and a disturbing mystery lurks beneath the surface of the camp. At the same time, rumors abound of an elite group of women soldiers living and working at a nearby Cold War-era climate research station. What are they doing there? And who is leading them?

An electrifying page-turner where nothing is as it seems, Camp Zero cleverly explores how the intersection of gender, class, and migration will impact who and what will survive in a warming world.

My Review

If you don't know the term cli-fi yet, you will soon see it everywhere. Climate fiction (cli-fi) is not new but I've noticed a sharp increase in recent years and I see plenty of upcoming releases that fit into this genre. 

Michelle Min Sterling's debut novel Camp Zero centers around a group of six sex workers (one of which is a spy,) a professor, a billionaire, a green architect, and a group of women scientists living in northern Canada in the near future. People now wear a small "Flick" implant in their skulls (think smartphone technology) that uploads/downloads information and they fight to survive in a world of rising temperatures and extreme weather. 

Ok, that's enough of a summary because I don't want to give anything away, but huge arcing storylines cover migrations, resource access, gender roles, power, and exploitation. This is very much a story where the layers just keep peeling back to expose more and more and while the ending gives closure, I can't help but think this has to (hopefully) be the beginning of a series.