ARKing Up
Review of Book 6 of Earths Final Chapter, ARK: Part 1
Review by Tom Pahlow
Mechs, Bunkers, cyborgs and wholesale slaughter grip the lands as the ruthless Planetary Council search for defectors from their isolationist megacities. There's action, new opportunities, expectations to meet and the constant threat of a powerful enemy in ARK: Part 1, Book 6 of Earths Final Chapter by Julian Fernandes and Illustrated by Arijit Gupta and Koushik Ghosh.
Most of the world has only distant memories and old stories of the tyrannical Planetary Council. While fledgling empires and alliances are building power in the ruins of old Earth, they are mostly ignorant of the PC’s continued existence. All except the members of the ARK network, those who escaped the isolationist policies of the PC to discover the world outside is not as bad as they thought. Follow their progress as a new bunker is found by both ARK and the PC.
As usual, Fernandes hits us with an incredibly complex and detailed world. Dropping us right into an immersive world that is filled with politics, the fight for survival and a mixture of tribal society with sci-fi weaponry. There are times when the exposition is a little on the heavy side for my tastes but this is always the challenge with immersive and detailed worlds. There are so many concepts to convey that the flow of the story can become interrupted. The curse of the worldbuilder is always in finding that sweet spot between the two.
Now that I have been going through the books in order, it’s fun to start seeing the connections between them. Characters from other books are mentioned, locations referenced and plots advanced. This will be one of the best parts of reading through Earths Final Chapter, the sense of a much larger tale being told through independent stories. Giving each character and story their own significance and development while at the same time furthering the complex machinations of a world on the precipice of change.
It was nice to finally encounter the ARK Community and learn part of their story in this book. How they managed to stay hidden and the politics within its development. The rise of two new leaders is a major part of the book with one inheriting the title and responsibilities following tragedy and the other through necessity. Fernandes often does a good job of showing us similar actions with very different situations and in ARK he has done it again. Showing us the variety within people excellently.
Once more, the book ends with a series of new potential stories that open the world even further and introduce topics and people that I hope will come up soon. I hope the ARK manages to pull through.