eBook, 33 pages
English language
Published by Amazon Original Stories.
On the eve of Earth’s destruction, a young scientist discovers something too precious to lose, in a story of cataclysm and hope by the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Divergent trilogy.
It’s only two weeks before an asteroid turns home to dust. Though most of Earth has already been evacuated, it’s Samantha’s job to catalog plant samples for the survivors’ unknowable journey beyond.
Preparing to stay behind and watch the world end, she makes a final human connection.
As certain doom hurtles nearer, the unexpected and beautiful potential for the future begins to flower.
The poetic simplicity of the world ending.
“It’s the story of this planet in reverse,” she said. “We were born out of—coalescing matter, chaos, here, all lava and earthquakes and thunder.” She smiled a little. “It will be like . . . seeing the birth of the world. Can you imagine anything more beautiful, more worth witnessing, than that?”
Another of the "Forward" novelettes, this tells the story of a woman on Earth, working with scientists to try and catalogue the genetic material of all the plants, as an asteroid is due to hit the Earth and destroy it. We basically get the story of her generation. growing up with the impending doom of the asteroid "Finis" heading their way.
It was a gently melancholy tale, adding on the layer that everyone there had to be an orphan, in case the last rocket didn't get off in time. Samantha has some lovely memories of her parents and the tale spins out slowly and quietly.
I enjoyed The Ark, although it won't displace my favorite of the group so far, [b:Randomize|49661162|Randomize|Andy Weir|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1563467829l/49661162.SX50_SY75.jpg|72182564]. Or maybe it is [b:The Last Conversation|49674113|The Last Conversation|Paul Tremblay|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1563468739l/49674113.SX50_SY75.jpg|72182739]? Something like that. It was wonderfully narrated by Evan Rachel Wood …
Another of the "Forward" novelettes, this tells the story of a woman on Earth, working with scientists to try and catalogue the genetic material of all the plants, as an asteroid is due to hit the Earth and destroy it. We basically get the story of her generation. growing up with the impending doom of the asteroid "Finis" heading their way.
It was a gently melancholy tale, adding on the layer that everyone there had to be an orphan, in case the last rocket didn't get off in time. Samantha has some lovely memories of her parents and the tale spins out slowly and quietly.
I enjoyed The Ark, although it won't displace my favorite of the group so far, [b:Randomize|49661162|Randomize|Andy Weir|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1563467829l/49661162.SX50_SY75.jpg|72182564]. Or maybe it is [b:The Last Conversation|49674113|The Last Conversation|Paul Tremblay|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1563468739l/49674113.SX50_SY75.jpg|72182739]? Something like that. It was wonderfully narrated by Evan Rachel Wood from Westworld. She has a great voice and did a good job with the few accents. One more to read ([b:Summer Frost|49676965|Summer Frost|Blake Crouch|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1563468943l/49676965.SX50_SY75.jpg|72182785]).
This closes out the Forward collection for me, ending on a high note. Ark and "You Have Arrived At Your Destination" by Amor Towles are the stories that stick out for me, and there are some common threads between them. They're both character-heavy stories from authors I'd never read before, with sci-fi trope backdrops. Ark's slower pacing and persistent mournful mood make it a more leisurely read, and that's fine by me.
