“A moment passes. A moment passes. A moment passes. In how many of these fleeting moments, did you do nothing?” This is the central question of “Appleseed,” a masterful novel that takes a dark and critical look at the belief that technological developments can save us from the climate disaster, while celebrating the unique, disappearing beauty of the natural world. I loved the way the three different perspectives, separated by hundreds of years, interlock in such a satisfying way.

“The one choice we never make is to leave the oil in the ground, to let the trees grow uncut, to let the water slosh in its aquifers.” As “Appleseed” points out so effectively, the only choice that would have saved us is the one we will never make. It does so by creating an absorbing narrative with genuine, believable characters. I would have given it 5 stars but for the last few chapters, which got too heavy-handed and bogged down with over-explanation. At 4 stars, I still recommend it.

Creative, beautifully written, and electric with ideas, possibly my favorite novel about climate change.

Check out my full review and interview with the author! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/storytelling-animals/id1604296764?i=1000552552204

This book has dense and complex ideas, but it just didn't work for me. Probably not helped by the lacklustre audiobook narration (I eventually had to switch to a physical copy to avoid DNF'ing). I read this just after finishing the sublime Cloud Cuckoo Land so the similarities (interleaved past/(near)present/future narratives, reimagining of mythology and big tech/climate change warning) suffered in comparison to the latter's superior (imho) craft.

I would give this book 3.5 stars. I was drawn in by this book’s descriptive mix of speculative fiction, tech thriller and part reinvented fairy tale.  The first 65 pages grabbed me but… then something happened and things slowed down after that.  My interest might have waned due to all the nature and animal talk (which isn’t really my cup of tea).  But, I am always willing to step outside of my comfort zone when it comes to books and this one is definitely original. 

The story is told from three different time periods - 18th century Ohio, the second half of a post-apocalyptic 21st century in North America and the Ice Age, 1,000 years in the future. There are various characters at each point in time but I was drawn to John’s storyline which took place in the 21st century.  Then there's Eury Mirov, the female evil genius of the story.  When her storyline came around, my attention was back into the story. I found the maniacal mind of Eury who, in her own warped way wanted to control the world, quite entertaining.  

This book may not be for everyone but, if you’re into maniacal characters, books that talk a lot about nature and the human preservation and/or consumption of Earth’s resources, then this book is for you. 

Appleseed is my favorite read of the year so far, it reminds me of Cloud Cuckoo Land meets Project Hail Mary. Here we get three expertly weaved stories illustrating for us the abuse of the Earth by humanity. Each story is unique and stunning and the epitome of its genre.

One story is beautiful historical fiction with a little bit of magic. It takes place in 18th century America and follows two brothers. Nathaniel is looking to seed America with apple trees to get rich and Chapman is a mythical faun looking for a magical apple that will let him forget what a monster he is. Watching Chapman's desire to be loved and accepted is beautiful and heartbreaking.

Our second story is of a man living in the near future where capitalism has destroyed the Earth (perhaps this is actually the present?!), John and his group of friends are trying to stave off the end of humanity. In this section, we get a ton of science focused on biology, cultivation of crops and genetics. There are parts that are very heavy for a non-scientist but I promise you, like Andy Weir's stories, it will be worth it. There's an awesome big baddie in this part. It's a fabulous piece of speculative fiction.

The third part is the life of an unusual creature who isn't explained to us fully until the end when the three stories come together. But he reminds me of Weir's Rocky, curious and mission driven. He's searching the far future Earth for signs that life could once again thrive in this glacier covered world. His journey also reminded me a lot of Konstance in Cloud Cuckoo Land, we're not quite sure who or what he is but the progression of his story has the most heart and the most compelling turn of events.

While these three stories feel initially like quite different vignettes - the way they come together is amazing. There's some interesting guesses about the future of humanity and while there is some magical realism in this one, it sure seemed quite plausible at times.

This has some interesting ideas, and it's certainly ambitious, but like many books it needed a good editor to cut out about 30% of the bloated soapboxing and meandering metaphors.

woof, DNF'd this at like 15pp.

I thought the concept of this book sounded interesting, and some of the themes made me think about humankind's relationship to the planet, but I just really could not get into the story.

Recommended by a friend’s friend and many year-end lists, I found this book to be a slog to read about halfway through. I initially enjoyed the triple timeline setup and some major points made about the need of generations to protect the world for future generations’ benefit. The story then devolved into an action-packed meandering mess and was written as if the author bit off more than they could chew. Too much bulk; too few emotional stakes.