On Fire and Under Water: A Climate Change Crime Fiction Anthology, Edited by Anthony-Award-Winning Curtis Ippolito and published by Rock and a Hard Place Press.
This collection of 15 stories is a must read for crime fiction, noir, and mystery lovers or anyone else who gives a damn about the planet. This anthology sets the anthology bar for breadth and depth of voice, style, variety, and approach. These 15 authors are here to show you how it is, and they bring it. Hard. Every story is excellent. Some of them are stellar. Kudos to Curtis Ippolito and RHP and the authors themselves for making this collection happen. They’ve humanized the planet’s plight through the lives of relevant characters across the globe.
The collection opens with C.W. Blackwell’s stellar Poison Is the Wind That Blows, dropping us in the middle of California wildfire season and a world where prisoners are the new front line against the relentless burn. Where some prisoners just want to do their job, stop a fire and reduce their sentence. Where the convict next to you or the man in charge is looking to take advantage; to steal from soon-to-be-victims; a metaphor for the billionaires and politicians who profit from denial? Perhaps. This is a story of man on the fire line who refuses to take the easy path, resists giving in to the weak, greedy men around him; he might even turn the tables on the worst of them and find a spot of redemption down the road.
Marching To Jerusalem by Ed Barnfield anchors the ~middle of the collection. A haunting tale that’s not really about climate change, except that it is. One hundred percent. It’s also a masterpiece about deception and betrayal. The story of a man visiting Sheffield, England, 30 years after he helped plot ecological rebellion when he was known as Darren Matthews. And Charles Cromwell. Or, Undercover 24, as his handlers and we, the reader, come to know him. The steady unveiling of the protagonist and his misdeeds and how he views them 30 years later is chilling and superb.
The final story is What You Lost by Megan Lucas, told through the eyes of three women. It opens with Bunny, on a search chopper, newly rescued from a massive flood and attacking the pilot for passing over a young boy who needs to be rescued. We learn of Bunny’s abusive husband, Phil, and the secrets that shame her. Lucille, an older lady determined to save her extensive seed collection as flood waters creep ever higher in her kitchen. And Jupiter, a teen girl and her selfish boyfriend, Canyon. These women struggle and persevere. Battle personal demons and nature’s wrath, every bit of it exacerbated by men. Three excellent character arcs tied together by a giant flood. This is the longest story in the anthology and worth every page.
Every story in the collection is excellent and worthy of your attention.
This collection rocks.
Give it a read!
Thanks to Curtis Ippolito and RHP for the eARC to read and review.