Dark Life [Paperback]

Dark Life is a YA dystopia influenced by the Western genre. I have to confess that before I read this one, I was little bit apprehensive about this particular combination. By itself, Western isn't a genre I'd ever venture into. However, the sci-fi elements sounded irresistible: a human society living under the ocean, farming the ocean floor and evolving in previously unseen ways? It's unfamiliar territory for YA, and I was definitely looking forward to exploring it.

As it turns out, the sci-fi and Western elements of Dark Life are a match made in YA heaven. Main character Ty is the only teenage resident in Benthic Territory, which is basically frontier country... under the ocean. Ty's parents are farmers, and when he gets to eighteen, he'll be allowed to stake his claim on his own patch of undersea land. But like any pioneers, they face the perils of the unknown. There are outlaws on the loose, dangerous animal predators, and it's also rumoured that those who live undersea from an early age are developing 'dark gifts' unknown in the world above. So although Dark Life is firmly futuristic, there are also echoes of more familiar stories about pioneers in centuries gone by. And although the outlaws of Benthic Territory travel by submarine rather than on horseback, they still conjure up the kind of dangerous, lawless feel that calls to mind all those Sunday afternoon movies about the Wild West.

Despite the Western elements, Dark Life also has a stronger sci-fi feel than most YA dystopias I've encountered recently. As you'd imagine, there's a lot of technology involved in enabling human beings to live at the bottom of the ocean - and considerable suspension of disbelief on the part of the reader. So Ty's house has tentacles and resembles a jellyfish, but is made of modern materials and fenced off by a dense stream of bubbles to deter predators. It's all amazingly imaginative and not like anything I've read before. At the same time, the references to the rising ocean levels - for example, at one point a character mentions a desire to move to 'the Colorado Islands' - had me pondering how much our landscape could change in the future and just how humankind would deal with this threat to our survival. Although I don't think that Kat Falls' vision of the future is a real possibility, I was definitely won over by the innovation and the thought that our species might evolve with the changing planet rather than be wiped out by it.

In the midst of all this, there's the beginnings of a really sweet romance between Ty and gutsy topsider Gemma. Main character Ty is a courageous and curious boy who has spent more time than most exploring his undersea world - largely without his nervous parents' permission. Gemma, meanwhile, is as much of a rarity undersea as Travis is on his few visits topside, and through her backstory we get disturbing glimpses of what it's like to live on dry land when there's barely enough of it for the population to live on, let alone to produce crops to feed themselves. It's easy to see why the majority of land-dwellers would be too afraid to become pioneers and move undersea like Ty's parents, but Gemma is the kind of character who has been able to swallow her fears in her quest to find her missing brother. Some of my favourite moments are those where Ty shows Gemma the true landscape of the undersea world, in breathtaking scenes full of wonder, colour and majestic beauty.

I think Dark Life will find its ideal audience in the younger end of the YA readership, with both male and female readers. However, it's also one for all those of us who never quite grew up. The emphasis is on adventure and the exploration of unknown landscapes rather than the romance, and the world-building is absolutely first class. Although the ending is a truly satisfying one, I was left with the feeling that there is so much more to explore in this vivid and fascinating world. A unique and fun dystopian offering.

Dark Life is a young adult novel by Kat Falls, based on an intriguing premise - that global warming has caused the land to shrink, so everywhere above water is packed. Because of this, a group of brave families choose to live underwater, farming the sea...

Now I have to admit here that I have a soft spot for dystopian visions of the future - and this is one of the better ones I've read recently.

Basically, the plot is a western story transposed to the future - there's a group of outlaws, brave pioneers, a useless sheriff, and visitors from outside (or 'topside', as the land is known). It might seem like a stretch to make a sci-fi version of a western, but it's been done before very successfully (Star Trek was pitched as 'wagon train in space'), and it works again here. The descriptions of the undersea world, the differences between topside and underwater life - seen through the eyes of Ty, the first child born under the sea, and Gemma, a runaway topsider searching for her brother, make the dystopian future very real. The world is beautifully imagined - houses that look like jellyfish, and move with the current, bubble fences that keep animals in, the idea of warming the water to allow the farming of tropical fish, and more - a lot of the description makes me wish for a graphic novel version!

Topside is an oppressed place of tiny apartments, children living as 'wards of the commonwealth' in giant homes, no grass, no space. Undersea offers space beyond belief, large homes, community, and friends. However, not all is perfect in the undersea world. Rumours of mysterious 'dark gifts' affecting undersea children scare parents, and then there are the outlaws - once they only attacked government ships, but now they're hitting homesteads.

Into this world comes Gemma, a young runaway from one of the giant childrens homes, trying to find her brother. Information on the situation on the surface is provided through her - and it's not good. All the main characters are very well written - Ty, his sister Zoe and Gemma are all realistic, believable (amd likeable!) characters. The adults are mostly in the background, but still skillfully sketched, and the whole feel is of a really well written, tightly plotted book.

Disney optioned the movie rights before the book was actually published (with Robert Zemeckis rumoured to be directing), and it'll make a great film if the special effects are right (or a really bad one if they're not...). There is also more than enough set up in the book for it to be the first of a series - hopefully that's the idea, as Ty's world is a place well worth exploring!

Life has become grim in the futuristic world of debut author Kat Falls' novel, DARK LIFE. Climatic and tectonic shifts have caused sea levels to rise and continents to fall, leaving humans fighting for precious space in "stacked cities" of the skies, or submerging themselves in "dark life" on the ocean floor.

Ty Townsend is one of those people.

As part of the first generation born and raised farming his family's underwater plot , he dreams of reaching his eighteenth birthday in order to claim and farm his own hundred acres. Trouble is afoot, though, as the Benthic Territory and their supply ships are being raided and the settlers terrorized by a ruthless group of bandits.

In response, the topside government, the Commonwealth of States, issues a "request" to the territory's inhabitants: help us capture the Seablite Gang and their mysterious leader, Shade. Just in case the threat posed by the bandits isn't enough, the Commonwealth provides three incentives: a halt on all supply shipments, reassignment of the territory's doctor, and no new homesteads until the gang is apprehended.

Ty is determined to ensure the realization of his dream, but his love for exploring vast underwater canyons has also thrown him another complication in the form of teenage Topsider runaway, Gemma. While searching the outpost for her missing brother, the Seablite Gang's attacks intensify and hit closer to home than either Ty or Gemma ever could have imagined. It's not long before they realize their best chance for survival and success resides in each other.

Despite a slow start, the characters soon plunge right into action. Ms. Falls has created an eerie, haunting world filled with mysterious creatures, nefarious villains, and two genuine protagonists, who are well-supported by a passel of quirky, intriguing secondary characters. Without a doubt, DARK FALLS will satisfy anyone with a dystopian future craving.

Reviewed by: Cat