How High We Go in the Dark

A stunning debut novel by Nagamatsu. From deep under the melting permafrost in Siberia an ancient virus is unleashed upon the world by unsuspecting archaeologists. So you might think this is another Covid influenced “pandemic” novel, but the germ of the idea came to the author in 2008. Indeed this is more a tale dealing with loss, grief and the thread of humanity that carries this species forward.

Essentially a series of interconnected stories, where characters from one tale pop up in another, or their descendants do. The characters are well drawn, the stories are moving, melancholy at times yet also uplifting, as humanity fights to find a cure. Along the way scientific breakthroughs lead to the singularity, which in turn enables intergalactic flight and ships sail to the stars looking for a second Earth.

The narrative moves forward in time and shows how we deal with the huge loss of life, how we care for victims of a virus that causes mutations. The strange funerary customs that grow up, the way even that business changes as a cure is found and the aftermath, how the survivors deal with returning to a world forever changed.

I have not enjoyed a novel this much for quite a while, hence the five stars. The revelatory chapter at the end, that pulls all the disparate threads together is surprising and yet makes perfect sense of all that has come before. Wonderful stuff.