I read to 50% so there was something compelling about this novel. It is set in a distant future where not much of humanity has survived. The currency is made from mined plastic, but other than that, this book reads less like dystopian fiction and more like a history lesson. It is a retelling of how humans have formed societies based on superstition, cultural traditions, and power, set in the future. I don’t doubt that we will repeat our same patterns, but I didn’t find it offered me anything new to think about.

This is some of the best dystopian of 2024 and is sadly flying under the radar. Fantastic prose, complex but accessible world buildling, all the emotions. This will require some attention, but it is worth fitting in before making best of lists.

This is not normally my type of book, but I thought it sounded interesting, so. I gave it a try. Unfortunately it was too dense and heavy for me. It's very well written though! Just not for me.

John Larison's THE ANCIENTS is a masterful blend of dystopian fiction and post-apocalyptic survival. Set in a time where climate change has drastically altered the world, the novel weaves together the stories of three sets of characters, each struggling to survive and find their place in a rapidly changing environment.

Larison's novel is a survival story. A meditation on human resilience, hope, and the stewardship of our world for future generations. The pacing of the novel is deliberate, allowing readers to fully immerse themselves in the richly detailed world Larison has created. The narrative is both poetic and gripping, with each character's journey adding depth to the overarching themes of the novel.

The book serves as a stark reminder of our current environmental crisis. Larison's depiction of a world ravaged by climate change mirrors the exploitation of our planet and the disproportionate impact on vulnerable populations. The novel highlights how those in power often take advantage of the most affected by climate change, drawing a poignant parallel to our present-day struggles. Interweaving fables throughout the story was really clever, becoming something of a warning, accenting lessons from the past and deciding on a better future.

Larison's ability to create a believable and immersive world, combined with his exploration of complex themes, makes this a standout read. Whether you're drawn to the survival aspects or the deeper philosophical questions, THE ANCIENTS offers a compelling and rewarding experience.

This book is very dense. It follows a set of siblings on their journey to find people and land where they can survive, their mother who was stolen for her labor, and the Emperor's son who has to give up the life he wants for the life he was born into.

The book is set in a world ravaged by environmental damage and the land and water are yielding less and less food. An ark is being built with the intention of taking people from the land to a greener place where food will not be in short supply. The caveat of course is that not everyone will fit so not everyone is going to go. The wealthy and those in power are the ones who will travel while the poor are, of course, going to be left with promises the ark will return for them.

There is a lot of culture commentary in so many areas from matriarchy structures of tribes to homosexuality being frowned upon to the impact of climate change.

It is a well written book, albeit heavy and packed with information and characters. It is not one that you can devour in a day, but one you would be better off taking your time with.

A young boyand his older sisters find themselves suddenly and utterly alone. They are orphaned in an abandoned fishing village. Their food supplies dwindling, they set out across a treacherous wilderness in search of the last of their people. Down the coast, raiders have the children's mother, along with the rest of their human cargo. Determined to reunite with their family, the mother plots to escape.

After 20% this Dystopia book is not for me.

Thank you for NetGalley and Viking for this ARC.

**Features:**

- Post apocalyptic story with an ‘ancient civilization’ feel
- Climate fiction set long after an initial climate disaster
- Celebrates human resilience and the importance of community

**Summary:**

The world is constantly changing. When food could no longer be grown and fishing nets started to come up empty, the people of Lilah’s fishing village decided it was time to leave. Choosing to stay behind, Lilah’s family is struggling to survive when she is captured by raiders. Presuming she and their father are dead, Leerit, Maret, and Kushim set out on a perilous journey through the wilderness in search of the villagers who left them behind. Meanwhile, Cyrus is left to navigate a complicated political landscape in one of the last human cities. In the fight for survival, all three stories will converge to determine the future of humanity.

**Thoughts:**

This dystopian climate fiction is both brutal and beautiful as it depicts three very different stories of survival. Though it is never really specific about how our society declined, this story takes place far enough in the future that people have returned to a style of living more consistent with ancient civilizations. Despite this evolution, climate change is still occurring and plays a central role. Though this book offers a critique on the parts of human nature that lead us down destructive paths, it focuses more on human strength, resilience, and community. There are plenty of dark moments, but I would say this book is more hopeful overall.

The writing in this book is beautiful and feels minimalistic. The chapters and sections are short, but I don’t feel like anything was missing. That being said, I felt like it took me a bit longer than usual to get into the story. Each storyline takes a while to find its footing, but I found each captivating once they really got going. If you are willing to be a little patient, this book is well worth the read!

The Ancients is a thought-provoking dystopian centered around climate change. The author has a talent for delivering an ominous story and yet captivating with the hope and desire to survive emanating from the characters.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Viking for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is such an interesting and engrossing read. It reads like an epic, with many intersecting storylines and characters. Three siblings are left abandoned when their parents disappear. They wonder if they are the last people on Earth as they go in search of others. Meanwhile, their mother has survived and has been taken captive. We also get to see the perspective of the more privileged class. The characters move in and out of peril and luck. They get separated. We hope they reunite. And we come to learn about the various and heavy effects of climate change. I found the writing very easy to follow, and the plot moved quickly. Some of the tales within this tale were maybe a bit too heavy-handed in their morality, but overall, this book was a very imaginative way to think about climate dystopias.

Unique and surprising. I especially liked how Larison challenges the reader's idea of what is "primitive" and "modern," and his clever borrowing, from creation stories to Game of Thrones type emperors. There are many familiar elements here that are meshed together creatively.

There is also a clear point of view, in terms of the potential consequences of climate change, and the bias still facing those who are gay. This threatens to distract the reader at times from the engaging plot and richly-drawn characters, but Larison never fully takes the pulpit, to the novel's benefit. He delivers his warnings and commentary about the fallibility of those who seek power within the spellbinding realm of the story.

All in all, I would highly recommend this story to sci-fi/fantasy readers as well as speculative fiction fans.

This is an interesting story envisioning a world that is succumbing to the effects of climate change. It focuses on a family who refuses to join the rest of their village when they leave in search of a location that will sustain life. When their parents disappear, the children embark on a dangerous trek through mountainous terrain in search of their aunt, who had moved with the village. Meanwhile, the mother, who was kidnapped, is taken to a faraway city as a slave. This city demonstrates the domino effect of aggressive production policies that led to the collapse of their food chain.

The author does a wonderful job with world building and character development. It is an interesting and engaging read.

Many thanks to PENGUIN GROUP Viking and NetGalley for providing this eARC.

In a post-apocalyptic world in which our civilization has been destroyed, survivors have had to build-up from the beginning of primitive times. They’ve just entered the bronze age, and pockets of humans are spread out far distances from each other – with for many only remote rumors of others. Moreover, climate change is in full force- with the world drying up and the attending drought causing wide-spread starvation.

The story alternates between a family barely eking out a living fishing by the beach, the rest of their clan having headed to what lore has labeled forbidden mountains in hope of finding migrating elk and greener land. The three children of this family, after their parents suddenly disappear, have to make a survival trek to hope to find their clan in the mountains before they themselves starve, freeze, or get killed by wild bears.

On a wealthy island nation, Cyrus, the studious historian son inherits the family mantle of his newly deceased powerful dad. The family had made a fortune in producing wool for everyone’s clothes, and the son learns of a mandate from his emperor to produce more wool than ever before. To do so, their island captures and enslaves people they find living on other islands The son also learns after his father’s death of the family’s vast debts, as well as his need to produce the wool if he has any hope of getting a place on board a giant Noah’s Ark of a ship the emperor is building to travel to more fertile lands.

What follows is a powerful survival tale of both families, with some somber messaging about where our current civilization is heading.

Thanks to Penguin Group Viking and NetGalley for an advanced reader’s copy.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

The Ancients is a well crafted dystopian story of two societies on the brink of ecological collapse. The Coastal communities are matrilineal, lead a simple existence, give thanks and pray to their Mother the Sea. In this climate damaged land, resources grow increasingly more scarce. The Coastal people are forced to leave their villages in search of more favorable fishing and hunting grounds. At the center of this story are three siblings whose life course is changed when their parents leave to find food and never return.

A more technologically advanced, patriarchal society, reside among the hills where they worship the Sun. The patriarch is on his death bed, and his son Cyrus has no interest in taking a wife to secure his position as heir to the throne. Instead he wishes to be a scholar, and to study alongside Ashair his secret lover. Meanwhile, conflict and rebellion threaten. Desertification encroaches on their land, and shrewd political leaders plan their escape. An arc is built to sail for more prosperous lands to colonize, but not all will be allowed aboard.

If speculative climate fiction is your thing, then give The Ancients a read. You will find themes of human resilience, stewardship of the earth’s resources, the power of myth making, and questions about who gets to control the story.

Many thanks to the author John Larison, @VikingBooks, and @NetGalley for the pleasure of reading this imaginative tale in exchange for an honest review.

“The Ancients” is a complex dystopian novel that I found challenging to connect with. Revolving around three sets of characters, the backstory remains ambiguous. This seems to be in a future where conditions are primitive, possibly due to a climate disaster. I understand the sermon the author was preaching; the pacing was just sluggish and the journey too long.

Thank you to Viking and NetGalley for providing an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Ancients is a very enjoyable, immersive read. Set in a future where climate change has pushed humanity to the brink, it paints a vivid picture of a world where survival is a daily struggle. What really drew me in was how complex the characters are—none of them are perfect, but their flaws make them feel real. You find yourself rooting for them, even when you don’t always agree with their choices.

The themes of sustainability and rebuilding resonate deeply throughout the story. Despite the grim setting, there's a sense of hope that threads through the narrative, reminding us of the strength of the human spirit. The only thing that left me wanting more was the ending, which felt a bit too clean for the gritty world that had been built. But that didn’t detract from the overall impact of the book—it's a compelling, well-crafted story that I highly recommend!

I do not like comparing, but I would say that this book in a lot of ways reminds me of Dune, in its themes, in the writing and the world building (except this one takes place in an earth we have destroyed over the centuries). We follow multiple perspectives throughout the story, but I would say, my favorite would be the siblings. There is something so relatable to them, and in a way reminded me of my own fights and fears with my younger cousins, and our own personal struggles. Curious, how removed by fiction and circumstance, I can still find three siblings trying to get to a better place, similar to me and my cousins immigrating and me being the closest example available for them to copy. The pain, the fear of losing family, it is a grim reality compared to mine, yet it still spoke to me.

There is something to be said about the character work and the narrative tone of the novel: it is delightful, it is poetic, and it is thought-provoking without the need of over-encumbering its audience or talking down or pretentiously to them.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Fascinating story of a primitive family that is actually our post apocalyptic future. Life has been good for generations, when over the period of a few short years the climate begins to shift- food is becoming increasingly scarce.Starvation is coming soon and a decision needs to be made- journey into the unknown and hope for a better life or wait for things to go back to the way they were. Initially our family decides to stay, as their relatives and friends leave their camp and turn their back on the empty sea into the unknown mountains.

At the start of the story the two youngest children 7 and 12 years old wake up tp find that their parents didn’t come home last night. They travel acress the river to their teenage sister who has had a fight with her mother ( guess that never changes) and moved out into the aunt’s abandoned encampment. When the younger children show up she know that her parents absence means grave danger and immediately takes charge, trying to trace her tribe’s journey into the mountains.
Contrasting their story, is a city where wool is used as currency and the heir to the “corporation“ doesn’t want to follow in his dying father’s footsteps, he would rather settle down with his male lover and life a quiet life of culture and contemplation. Unfortunately for him, his lover is a dedicated doctor of the poor and married.
The story is a bit slow in places but compelling. I enjoyed the characters, the 3 siblings become separated I was constantly pulling for them to be reunited.
The author gave some interesting things to consider- how prejudice can shape actions- Left coast vs Right Coast and the barbarians. Also, the “primitives” live in harmony with land and the seasons- they are a matriarchal society and seemed to be peaceful. They contrast sharply with the city - the last outpost of “civilization“ where slavery, greed and corruption are rampant and fully male dominated. As the city is also facing ecological catastrophe they are building an ark to sail to a more fertile land. Lots to unpack here.
I’ll be thinking about this book for a long time.
Recommend.

I absolutely loved The Ancients. It’s the story of a world ravaged by climate change, where civilization has been set back thousands of years. The interwoven stories of survival and hope kept me hooked from start to finish.

None of the characters were purely likable, but they were all compelling in their own ways, forcing me to stay invested in their struggles.

I loved the messages about sustainability and hope in such a bleak future. My only minor gripe was how neatly everything wrapped up in the end, which felt a little too tidy given the harshness of the story. That said, it didn’t take away from how incredible this book was overall—highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and Viking!

The future portrayed holds struggle but also hope

In a world where the environment is rapidly changing (and not in a good way) the struggle to survive is real. One family, clinging to their village despite the fact that the fish upon which their existence is dependent have disappeared, is torn apart when the mother is captured and placed into slavery. Her three children must find their own path to survival, even as the mother tries desperately to reunite with them. The eldest, a daughter, leads her siblings into the mountains, following in the path of their fellow villagers who had travelled that way earlier. Along the way, they will themselves follow divergent paths; one will go to war against the barbarians, another will find their place within a group of herders, and the third heads to the city of the barbarians where he might be healed. Meanwhile, within the city the leaders are looking to find a new place where their people can thrive, as they are suffering from the lack of green spaces to be found between the dunes and the sea. One resident of the city, Cyrus, starts out a naive and self-absorbed boy with a scholarly background, and what he sees with the forced labor he is tasked with overseeing and what he knows of the world’s history lead him to rethink what he has always believed. Nature is a harsh teacher, but if people heed the lessons of the past they will find that a better future world can be created.
With a writing style best described as stripped down yet able to evoke the richness possible within the natural world, this is climate concern-based apocalyptic fiction as cautionary tale. It is not something that can be read through quickly, it needs to be absorbed carefully as the patient read along. Is this our imminent future, or is it centuries away? Are we doomed to this end, or can actions be taken now to avoid such devastation? That is up to the reader’s own imagination and view of the current state of the world. Those who have enjoyed works by authors like Cormac McCarthy, Lois Lowry, and Octavia E. Butler might find this work of literary fiction to their liking, as would anyone who appreciates a well-crafted story with a cautionary slant. My thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Viking/Viking Press for allowing me early access to a copy of The Ancients.

Set in the distant future, this novel explores a world on the cusp of reinventing itself. There are three storylines - a young boy and his two sisters whose parents have disappeared, their mother's arrival in the heart of the metropolis, and the head of the wool industry.

There is drought and famine, disparity, slavery, sloth and not a lot of benevolence. I had a hard time figuring out the "when" of it all, because the setting felt biblical (but we're supposed to be in the future?) The wealthy wear robes, few can read, they don't have books instead they read from scrolls, the labor is very manual, the "guilds" very rigid. Letting go of trying to determine how this all fit in a relative timeline let me sink into the story itself.

And it's a big story. The siblings on a harrowing journey, their affinity with the land, raw survival. They don't know their mother is still alive, captured into slavery for the wool trade. The end of times is coming and the collision is, well, biblical.

Great world building, and a treatise on the cyclical nature of civilization.

My thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Viking for the digital ARC.