Goliath by Tochi Onyebuchi

Publisher – Tordot.com (e-published) St Martin’s Press (Hardback)

Published – Kindle Out Now Hardback 28/2

Price - £9.43 Kindle eBook £19.99 Hardback

In the 2050s, Earth has begun to empty. Those with the means and the privilege have departed the great cities of the United States for the more comfortable confines of space colonies. Those left behind salvage what they can from the collapsing infrastructure. As they eke out an existence, their neighborhoods are being cannibalized. Brick by brick, their houses are sent to the colonies, what was once a home now a quaint reminder for the colonists of the world that they wrecked

A primal biblical epic flung into the future, Goliath weaves together disparate narratives--a space-dweller looking at New Haven, Connecticut as a chance to reconnect with his spiraling lover; a group of laborers attempting to renew the promises of Earth's crumbling cities; a journalist attempting to capture the violence of the streets; a marshal trying to solve a kidnapping--into a richly urgent mosaic about race, class, gentrification, and who is allowed to be the hero of any history.

Science fiction has been exploring social structures for a long time. What will stay the same and what could change. How will we react to aliens, apocalypses or new technology all pose key questions and as always, the books are in particular always telling us something about he times we live in. In Tochi Onyebuchi’s outstanding SF novel Goliath we explore how the a future ravaged by climate change in many ways sees the rebuilding of humanity but one where intrinsic inequalities remain and eventually create more destruction.

By the 2050s climate change was ravaging the world. Land was poisoned and thanks to various reactor explosions poisonous, there were places where whole communities were struck by cancer and war and violence prevailed. The rich and the middle classes found an escape route to space while those could not escape have to sweep the country as Exodusters seeking a place to survive and perhaps one day call home. In New Haven, Connecticut there is some stability as a predominantly Black population is clearing down streets by street and a rebuilding is in progress. At the same time the children of those in Space are now ready to seek a new adventure back on Earth but how much of the was of the past do they bring with them?

Goliath is a mosaic of a story weaving past and present of this potential future. Structured around the seasons starting with summer we see a year that hugely changes the community of New Haven. Onyebuchi carefully sets up the world of the current settlers of New Havens and their soon to be new neighbours and lets them intersect through the book. The current community focus is on three core characters Lincoln a taciturn young man currently breaking houses for bricks that can be sold or reused for new constructions; Bishop the elder statesmen of the group who has seen the rise and fall and rise of many such communities since the US fell apart and knows how to get things done and finally Timeica daughter of a man who died selling cacti to those who live in space and has now moved a long way from her original home; without her other family, trying to find love and a new life in New Haven. In space we meet David a young man rocked by grief and stress as his mother suffers increasing dementia and his new lover Jonathan who suspects a new life back on Earth may help both of them move on.

This is not a story of heroes and villains as we are often led to believe such stories must require. There isn’t a dictator or revolutionary to boo or cheer. What Onyebuchi has are people who all have good reasons for what they’re doing crossing paths and it’s the societal structures that end up leading to destruction. We have a ruined area of a country restored first by those moving in (primarily non-white) and just when that community is stable the middle cases see it as attractive and want to move in and this act of gentrification colonises and rapidly changes the world through more facilities making even more people move in and the original inhabitants find themselves at best distrusted and more often victimised and attacked; pushed out of their homes back into the more dangerous lands outside. Gentrification sounds a strange topic for science fiction but Onyebuchi uses this process to actually point out how on a larger level this is not just a street but is happening in so many cities and towns; the book also notes a high degree of structural racism that many ignore once they decide their need for a better life is paramount exceeds the needs of those already living there.

I think what makes the book work is firstly brilliant character work making us see all the communities as individuals. We see Lincoln’s community live day by day. The hard struggle of each day doing backbreaking work for little pay and yet the people you work with and meet who all crossed into New Haven at the same time are soon his community and found family. There is love, gossip, language, daily games, and shared experiences of what happened in their lives prior that cements all these characters together. There is a reminder that everywhere these communities are forming be they African American ones in the US, Polish or Turkish in the UK and anywhere where we see people moving to new cities or countries to seek a better and safer life.

With David and Jonathan, we get two very sympathetic and damaged characters both needing a new start and they are aware of ideas such as racism but for them a tough life is how to spend their fortunes and watch net videos that explain DIY. The hard part of making the community liveable has already been done and so they can move in; repair a home and plan for the future but they clearly see the current inhabitants and in particular the Black community as an unknown, coarse and likely dangerous force with their different way of talking, looking and in their heads potentially violent ways. What makes this work for us as readers is we understand both groups and can see there is no threat, but now societal pressures mean David and Jonathan plus other former spacers are coming in their minds are focused on not integrating but effectively colonising a new home. There is a beautiful and painful subplot about the former Exodusters finding some horses and creating a stable; for them rising above just being demolition and clearance workers and yet you sense the newcomers just see this as yet another attraction they can soon use and own themselves.

The standout part of the novel for me is the third act named Winter. We take a break from the two groups in New Haven, and we read three crossing narratives of new characters. A newspaper tale of a man who grew up in the 2000s and saw the fall of everything; a man in a region of Texas in the future who has committed terrible crimes and the Marshal who comes to arrest him. It gives the tale a different tempo but is actually very much explaining the history of the world that led to new Haven; how the world fell apart and the aftermath it created. We see glimpses of some characters that we will come to know very well in the book’s present, and it also gives us a glimpse of what is to come in the final act. This section highlights the story of what eventually happens in New Haven is not a new future occurrence but just another in along sympathy of injustices; separated communities in education, work, prison and in the event of natural disasters (with even a remark that Covid itself couldn’t be fixed easily thanks to our inability to ever act quickly). All ongoing with a population who have seen that Black Lives Matter and nod their heads but still have not acted on making any of the necessary changes to the world to prevent these issues re-occurring. The final act of the book is ultimately inevitable in this context, but we get to experience the pain and torment that follows as we see characters that we have come to enjoy being around being treated as pests and criminals. The hints of what cyberized security police forces can do will not be a shock to those who see the news regularly.

Goliath is tales of those without power trying to live in spite of the almighty society that requires a status quo not to change. Passionate, sorrowful, and insightful it was a joy to read. In many ways this weaving of characters pasts and futures reminds me of Station Eleven but while that novel talked about the current present as a moment to savour and enjoy Goliath is pointing out that yes there are great things but also some intrinsic imbalances that have been around a long time and an apocalypse or two will not immediately end them without the rich white middle class population being prepared to act and support change that may not advantage themselves. It is hard to do justice reviewing such an intelligent and beautifully written book that explores the world of now by using a very possible future. Each section sings with the use of language and character to underline its themes. It has the mark of any great book to stay in my mind days after reading it and I can sense this will be a book I will be keeping in my thoughts a long time to come. I think Goliath is going to easily be one of the best SF books of the year. I think you need to read it. Strongly recommended!