Antipodes by T.S. Simons
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Campbell Mackintosh starts his day with a hangover, he had been out drinking with his friends to celebrate his birthday and now the sun is streaming in, he has a headache and a distinct reluctance to getting up, all he wants is some more sleep, but his mum is vacuuming right outside his bedroom door as punishment. She doesn’t want him to sleep, he probably woke her up when he thought he was being quiet, so instead of sleeping longer, he resigns himself to the fact that he has to get up and face the music. He reminisces about his mum’s wild scottish ways and how living in Australia for many years hadn’t dulled her fiery temper, staunch stubbornness or sense of adventure, she also hadn’t lost her wit, sense of humour or inability to help anyone or anything in need. As he slowly made his way from the bathroom to the kitchen, his extra chirpy interrogation started, so painkillers in hand, he managed to get himself some water, coffee and toast and faced his family. His sister was reading the weekend paper as usual and his dad was up at “The Block” a piece of land where they went to escape the world and be surrounded by nature, a place where they learned as children to live off the land and all the survival techniques they may need out there.

He reminisces some more about his parents, their lives, their knowledge which had been passed on to him, his life so far and what he wanted to do when he finished his degree, that is as well as considering the merits of another cup of coffee until he is interrupted by his sister who asks him if he has seen the news. She goes on to tell him about a virus which has started to infect and kill hundreds of people, plants, animals and aquatic life in europe, how it is transmitted through water and seems to be nothing which can stop it, it is spreading like wildfire and if it continues on its current path, then it will eventually reach the sea and nobody and nothing survive once infected. Cam’s mum decides at that moment to vacuum in the kitchen and until she is finished, he decides to make himself that second cup and also to make one for his sister at the same time, he hands it over to her as soon as his mum goes into the living room and he shuts the door behind her. His sister then asks him if he is going to apply and she tells him in no uncertain terms to check his email and see for himself, it turns out that everyone who is able to apply has already had the link sent to them so that they can fill in the online registration, the government is looking for people to go to a meeting in Melbourne and Cam fills the requirements, he fills out the forms and get’s a message to say he has been booked on a but at 08:30 monday morning, plenty of time for him to go there, come back and get to his afternoon classes.

When Cam gets to the facility, he is surrounded by hundreds of other confused applicants, in long queues to get onto the bus in the first place and as he sees the guarded facility and yet more people and more queues, he decides that he made the right decision going for the early slot, he sees that it looks like a military base and that everyone had a role to play, they are told to report for registration and yet again, join another queue, this one is to get to a computer screen and fill out pages and pages of information from medical history to education, religion and everything in between, next he hands in his phone and watch and he is told he will get them back when he leaves. To pass the time Cam watches the other people and tries not to get fried by the midday sun, his name is eventually called to go to the next stage which is in a room where he has to fill in a psychometric assessment and answer as many questions as he can in a set amount of hours. As he is told to finish, stand up and leave the room, he feels like he hasn’t answered enough questions, but that stops when he goes to wait in the next room until he hears his name being called, he is then ushered into another room in smaller groups and just left there. Eventually, they follow someone out sluggishly to a room where blood and cheek swabs are taken before being led into a dining hall and thankful for finally getting something to eat and drink, he strikes up his first conversation since he has been there. Cam is then led for more tests and finally into an amphitheatre where the reason for all the secrecy and the tests is revealed, the people in the room had all been chosen to take part in an experiment where they will be isolated on islands and covered with a dome before living on the islands for the foreseeable future in order to continue the human race. It turns out that they have been selected to live these sustainable and isolated lives while the rest of the world succumbs to the virus within the waterways, they now have the choice of whether to accept the invitation or not. When Cam returns home with this information, it turns out that he has been gone for three days and only has two to reach a decision, he discusses it with his family and decides to accept and this is where the adventure of a lifetime begins for him.

A couple of years have passed and the community he is now living in has succeeded in surviving and starting to grow, he has a steady job and on the anniversary of the founding of their community finds a partner in Freja, they have a loving relationship and a bright future, this is until Freja disappears and Cam is lost without her, until he follows her without realising it and discovers he has travelled to a new community on Lewis in Scotland and that way in which he got there is a portal and also that there are more of these Antipodes throughout the world, he makes the decision to leave the safety of the dome to find Freja after he discovers that she has done the same.

This is a dystopian adventure set in the present, but with a twist on the usual themes with the Antipodes, but what will Cam find when he sets off on his travels and will he be able to unravel the feelings he has to find out where his future lies?

Reviewed by @roxsannel

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