Guy Ware’s fifth novel takes place on an unnamed island, and brings together a cast of characters as bizarre as the belief that the Island was, in fact, created during the 1980s in what they call “The Great Simulation”. Politicians, clerics, and would-be poets all have their own means to take control of the Island's future (what little future it may have that is, given that rising seas are claiming it back). Ware’s satire reflects current policies, where politics and individual power take priority over the small, insignificant truth of climate change. Reading the novel had me shouting “But why don’t you do something!” in frustration, much like watching a news broadcast or PMQs. And yet, I still felt completely drawn in by all the characters, no matter how corrupt they happened to be; perhaps in hope that if they finally learned a lesson, we in the real world might too. KM

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