The Gaia Chime by Johnny Worthen
I would like to thank Flame Tree Press for an advance copy of this novel in exchange for a fair and honest review
Publisher - Flame Tree Press
Published - Out Now
Price - £12.93 paperback £4.95 ebook
Charlotte, seeking to make a documentary for her graduate thesis enlists the older Seth, a burned-out film teacher with a history of scandal, to film the daily life of a rising tennis star, Bobby Weller. It's a glimpse into the world of the rich and dedicated that turns horrifying when Bobby murders both his parents on live TV. It's patricide, an echo of Zeus rising up against Cronos, the young gods replacing the titans. Now, the very public slaughter prompts the filmmakers to trace the threads of blood to the rich and powerful and the horror of global destruction. Can they stop the Gaia Chime? First, they need to find out what it is...
Safe to say we are all increasingly feeling our world isn’t heading in a good direction. Many different opinions differ on the cure. Waking up to see what nasty thing has happened while asleep is becoming a hazard. So where could we go next? In Johnny Worthen’s ecological horror story The Gaia Chime there is a provocative idea that currently leaves me more unmoved than scared.
Ambitious film maker Charlotte has an idea for making it big. A documentary about an up and coming tennis player Bobby. Helpfully he is from one of the wealthiest families that sponsor her college so finding is made available. She employs Seth her disgraced former film teacher but the film is derailed when at a match Bobby goes and kills his parents in front of the crowds. This set in motion a mystery that links with similar deaths in delete families but bigger dangers await.
So while I appreciate that Worthen is tackling the question of how have we got there I don’t feel any connection to the world he created as one I recognise as based on ours. We see rising ecological dangers, capitalist failures and the tench of money pulling the strings but for me it’s all flat scenery to hold up the idea that sounds plausible until you think about it. I’m not spoiling it but it’s a little shallow and seems to make a pat statement about generational corruption it ignores the systemic issues and that all people need to be accountable for their actions. I’ll leave it at that.
I really found as characters Charlotte and Seth rather flat. They talk in statements rather than as real people and it feels a very didactic style of writing. Seth is the old grizzled jaded man with ideals and lo and behold there later a romantic connection with Charlotte his younger former student and I found no chemistry here. It’s for me not that engaging a story and I didn’t find it particularly scary. Focusing on the elites doesn’t make me care much.
Overall this wasn’t for me and that’s down to the lack of connection I felt which considering the topic feels quite depressing. I can’t recommend this.
