Review: Flux
May 2031: Pollution is choking the Earth and making people sick. In England Iain Ortha is diagnosed with a terminal, incurable illness. His only option is cryogenic suspension. Perhaps one day, decades from now, there will be a treatment and he can be revived...
February 2528: Mai Taren is the young daughter of a freighter captain, transporting goods throughout the solar system. Earth was evacuated centuries ago due to its toxic atmosphere and people now live in orbital habitats and a few scattered colonies further out. Mai and her father are delivering cargo to the Tel, a genetically and culturally distinct race who inhabit an asteroid colony in the outer system.
Both Iain and Mai are about to have their worlds turned upside-down by events beyond their control...
Flux by writer/artist Andy J Clarke is a tense thriller set in a future where humanity is scattered throughout the vast reaches of the solar system. In this dark, lonely expanse danger is never very far away, as Mai discovers when her ship is hijacked by mysterious invaders. Meanwhile, on Earth, Iain is woken from his 500-year slumber to find himself the only human being on the planet (not counting the hundreds of other people still in cryogenic suspension).
In this new arena Earth is orbited by countless platforms housing domed cities with artificial environments, presided over by the United Nations Council (UNC). A pirate rebel organisation, the Free People's Army (FPA) seeks to overthrow the UNC and pressgangs anyone they can abduct into their ranks. The Independent Republic of Tel - technologically advanced, aloof, mysterious, gender-fluid and alluring - stand apart from the conflict, though their influences are far-reaching.
Clarke's characters are sharply rendered and full of emotive impact, inhabiting well-crafted, atmospheric environments. In particular, the advanced Tel are imaginatively detailed, both visually and in terms of their background. The story, from the perspective of both Iain and Mai, unfolds in progressively ominous increments, building a sense of trepidation. Anyone who has ever felt trapped in a frightening situation they cannot understand will empathise here.
Some may find certain sections uncomfortable; there is violence, nudity and sex, with our heroes suffering cold indifference and brutality. This underlines the basic frailty of human flesh and blood in a vast, unforgiving universe in which random chance can leave any unsuspecting soul suddenly facing a nightmare from out of nowhere. But this is also a tale of courage and resilience; finding the strength within to survive any challenge, however hopeless.
The future is dark, with no escape route in sight...
Zak Webber
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