I fell in love with the cover of this book first and the description was intriguing, but the book was unlike anything I've read before. It starts out kind of like a travel journal with scientific facts, maps, and descriptions of the area. But once Travis starts interacting with the people in this isolated town, the humor and quirkiness comes out. I wasn't sure what to expect at the beginning, but I really enjoyed this quirky and original story.

Life at the Precipice is a fascinating and brilliant blend of fiction and science. Vincent creates lifelikhe and intriguing characters and their stories are as bizarre as they are fascinating. His writing style is absorbing and engaging, the scientific content is educational and relevant and just in-depth enough not to become tedious. I wholly enjoyed the novel!

Travis Sivart sets out to explore and document life in a small town that has been repeatedly devastated by geological events, leaving it with just a handful of residents in this interesting blend of fiction and geological science.

I love the title, the cover and the description. but this one just wasn't for me. I don't think that was due to the story so much as the complete miss on the description, which I re-read at least three times and I went through this book. While it does, in a single sentence, reference the face that the town residents are 'eccentric', that's the only clue to the level of bananas the town is right from the get-go. I don't even think I necessarily disliked the level of bizarre, I just wasn't prepared for it. Again, based on the description, I expected a story about reclusive, resourceful type people who live in a very remote, challenging area. The descrption also references PTSD, so again, I was under the impression this would be a serious story. Instead, what I found from the start was insanely bizarre characters. In the first handful of pages you meet a self-appointed gate keeper who is tuxedo-clad and sitting in a formal chair in outside in the middle of the woods and reads newspapers exactly one year out of date and many of the other residents (and their names) are equally as unrealistic. It just was so different from what I expected that I had a hard time shifting my expectations and getting into it and it never really won me over.

All that being said, the writing is good and I think this book would land well with people who enjoy a truly strange cast of characters, but it would definitely be best served by a description that lets people know what they're in for so it doesn't end up with people looking for a serious story who are then squarely disappointed.

Rating: 4.5 stars rounded up

R.F. Vincent’s debut novel is wonderful. Literally…
It combines elements of literary-, speculative fiction, humor and beautiful character-work, and casts it in the mold of a fictional scientific travel log to create something I’ve never read before, but couldn’t stop thinking about. It’s a wholly unique combination that sounds like it shouldn’t work, but Vincent pulls it off. Life at the Precipice is at times funny and absurdist, at others moving and deeply human, and in its entirety filled with a sense of memorable wonder.

Synopsis:
In 1959 an earthquake in central Vancouver Island devastated the lakeside community of Pyrite Ridge and triggered a landslide that cut the town off from the rest of the world. Now perched on the precipice of a yawning sinkhole and separated from the world by a wall of rubble, the town became a place of myth and lore.
We follow Travis Sivart, a geophycisist and ex-military pilot battling PTSD, as he embarks on a weeklong research-trip to investigate the scientific truth behind these strange myths. In particular, the rumoured appearance of the towns very own Lake Monster nicknamed Seggie. Along the way, he meets a host of eccentric characters, each with their own fascinating story of how they came to The Segway. Through his research-journal and travel-log, we gain a unique insight into the town, its people and Travis’ own history.

What I loved:
The novel's format was what originally drew me to it, and it didn’t disappoint in its execution. Life at the Precipice reads almost like a non-fiction regional guide, mixed with a scientific journal. It includes maps, diagrams, drawings and footnotes that bring the story and its setting to life, beyond what a typical novel-format would allow.
Pyrite Ridge jumps off the page, and feels like a place you might actually visit. I would personally love to, as it brims with equal parts mystery, quirk and charm. Each character reads like a person with their own history and life story, which adds a level of immersion and depth to the place.
Some of the aspects of the town seem almost whimsical: impossibly impractical architecture, characters working unlikely careers and the hinted presence of creatures like Bigfoot and Seggie hidden in the surrounding wilderness… At other times, parallels drawn to Travis’ own life make the events in town almost more than real.
The key-word in this all is balance. R.F. Vincent manages to balance his various chosen elements to near-perfection. Fact vs myth, community vs isolation, layered allegory vs whimsical entertainment, light-hearted humor vs the true emotional gut-punch that Travis’ own confrontation with his past brings…

What I didn’t love:
My single point of critique comes down to a personal dislike. It’s mentioned in the synopsis that Travis suffers from PTSD, but the nature of his trauma is only “revealed” as a sort of twist at the end. That trope often relies on forced amnesia from the protagonist, and can very easily slip into the territory of using the traumatic event as a “thrilling revelation”, which is risky. In this case, it was done in good faith and taste, so it didn’t bother me, but I can’t say I wasn’t nervous for a second.

Overall, I highly recommend Life at the Precipice It feels like too much of its own thing to give you a single decent comp-title. It has the character-work and emotional development you’d find in any quality small-town-literary fiction-novel of your choice (I’m thinking Snow Falling on Cedars, but that’s probably just the similar cover…). Then add to that the format of “fiction-masquerading-non-fiction/travel-account” of City of Saints and Madmen and the humor and absurdist charm of the setting of Welcome to Night Vale, and I think you might be close.

Many thanks to the author, FriesenPress and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this book. Presented like a documentary, it's loaded with scientific background on geology, airplanes, satellites, sonar, radar, ocean temperatures, and strange sections of the arctic ocean that never freeze. The narrator interviews most of the residents of a tiny, 30 person town, perched precariously on a 150 meter cliff, backed against a sheer mountain wall and boxed in by two landslides. The residents are all very eccentric, but unbelievably respectful of one another and all their idiosyncrasies. It turns out the narrator himself is deeply caught in a traumatic event, and something about this strange town and it's people is very therapeutic for him. The location is so difficult to find and reach, and unappealingly barren, a person would need a very strong motivation to live there. As you meet each resident, you learn why they are there, and become sympathetic toward them. The story comes to a nice, satisfying conclusion.

"Life at the Precipice" is a captivating blend of historical tragedy and contemporary exploration that takes readers on a unique journey filled with mystery, eccentric characters, and personal discovery. The narrative beautifully weaves together the devastating earthquake of 1959 in Pyrite Ridge and the modern-day adventures of Travis Sivart, an Air Force officer battling PTSD.

The author's ability to seamlessly merge fact, fiction, and popular science creates a narrative that is both informative and engaging. Readers will find themselves immersed in the story, exploring the town now known as The Segway and its delightful yet enigmatic inhabitants. Each character brings a fascinating tale of their own, adding depth and richness to the narrative.

As Travis delves deeper into the town's history and the peculiar connection between his own trauma and the seismic event of 1959, readers will be on the edge of their seats, eager to uncover the secrets hidden within The Segway. The story masterfully explores the concept of facing one's inner demons and the transformative power of self-discovery.

"Life at the Precipice" is a thought-provoking and entertaining read that will appeal to a wide range of readers, from those interested in history and science to those who simply enjoy a well-crafted and immersive story. It's a book that seamlessly combines drama and humor, leaving a lasting impression on anyone who ventures into the enigmatic world of Pyrite Ridge.