Title: The Helios Book
Author: Slade Carter
Genre: Science Fiction
Publisher: MidnightSun Publishing
Published: 23rd May 2024
Format: Paperback
Pages: 224
Price: $17.99
Synopsis: Twelve-year-old twins Hugo and Kitty have an ultra-rare condition called heterochromia, which bestows them with different coloured eyes: one hazel, the other blue. On holiday in rural Australia, the twins befriend their solitary neighbour, Lucas, who has developed a powerful solar device he calls the Helios Book.
Lucas promises it will revolutionise global energy use. In a desperate attempt to escape those who would steal the Helios Book, the twins follow a fairy wren down a wombat burrow and into the mysterious world of Taara, a land plagued by a terrifying earthquake-like phenomenon called the Blurrings, and home to those who would take a nefarious interest in the twins’ heterochromia.
The Helios Book is the Adventures of Alice in Wonderland for the Age of Extinction.
~*~
Kitty and Hugo are twelve, and live in London, and there’s something unique about them – they have heterochromia – they each have one hazel eye and one blue eye. Little do they know what this means for a world call Taara, that they discover during a family holiday to Victoria, Australia. It’s Lucas, their lonely neighbour who shows them his invention, The Helios Book – a solar device that Lucas says will revolutionise global energy and save the climate,
But then someone comes after the Helios Book, and the twins follow a fairy wren down a wombat burrow, which leads them to Taara – a world like Earth where solar power drives things. Yet Taara is a land plagued by things called Blurrings – an earthquake-like phenomenon that seems to be destroying the world. To get home, the twins have to help fulfill a prophecy about twins with different coloured eyes coming to help Taara. But when they meet Bonnie and Franz, they tell them about the four clans – Hiiu, Viru, Valga, and Rapala – and that they all have different goals and desires for Taara, and not everyone wants the same thing. Throughout the book, doubt about all characters is dangled in front of the reader, highlighting that the seemingly utopian, fantasy world is not as perfect as certain people would have us believe. The world of Taara is as divisive and broken as Earth, but their fates are intertwined. To save one, and return through the portal and get home before their parents realise they are missing – even though time moves differently in each world. Time moving differently between worlds is a concept that is used in many science fiction and fantasy novels to explain passages of time, and the way characters are able to head home without their lives being altered too much.
Several people in this book can transfigure into various animals – they call themselves Animorphs, which reminded me of the 1990s series of the same name, and they use this skill to guide Hugo and Kitty through Taara as there are those who seek to hunt down the twins, and want to get the Helios Book from them. Throughout the book there is a constant sense of things not being quite right, of not really knowing who the twins can trust as they seek to help someone who has been hidden for many years. Kitty and Hugo seem to be on the run constantly – always trying to find out the truth in a world where it felt like everyone had a secret or agenda, and were using Kitty and Hugo’s lack of knowledge or heterochromia to their advantage.
The Helios Book explores what could be, and how solar power could change the world, examining the desire to tackle climate change but at least, in Slade’s version of our world, something is done – action is taken, and changes are made, slowly ensuring that moves towards making changes for the climate and environment can be made. In this instance, there is a focus on solar power, and one could see how this is a start – a start to creating a better world for everyone. Slade’s world also brings extinct animals like the thylacine back to life, and merges creatures from all over the world into Taara, creating a diverse and delicate ecosystem that is in just as much danger as Earth’s ecosystem. The interconnectedness illustrates the butterfly effect – the idea that if a butterfly flaps its wings on Earth, there will be a Blurring on Taara – that one world will be affected by something happening in the other, but on a bigger scale.
It’s a clever take on climate change within the science fiction genre, and is less dystopian than some books. There are dangers, but there’s always a sense of hope and that in some way, things will work out for the best, and I’ve found that books that deal with climate change or a sort of dystopia work best when they grapple with the realities at the same time as giving a sense of hope to the reader. I think this is a great book for those interested in climate change and the possibilities of what can be done, and is an exciting science fiction adventure for those who enjoy the genre. For me, the most powerful aspect of the book would have been the characters of Kitty and Hugo, who drove the narrative and where it all went as we experienced the world through their eyes, and what they understood. It was their interactions with various characters that built the narrative.
Not knowing who to trust worked well – it ensured that things were not always as clear, that much like Kitty and Hugo, the reader had to work out who was trustworthy during the adventure as red herrings were thrown around. I think it helped create the mystery and tension to drive the narrative towards its conclusion. I enjoyed this story, and think it will be a good one to open up discussions about climate change and how we can tackle it amongst people of all ages. A fascinating look into innovative ideas about climate change and saving the world.
The Book Muse 