'The Foretelling Of Georgie Spider' The Tribe #3 by Ambelin Kwaymullina

Received from the Publisher

From the BLURB:

The third and final book in the thrilling eco-dystopian series The Tribe.

A storm was stretching out across futures to swallow everything in nothing, and it was growing larger, which meant it was getting nearer...

Georgie Spider has foretold the end of the world, and the only one who can stop it is Ashala Wolf. But Georgie has also foreseen Ashala's death. As the world shifts around the Tribe, Ashala fights to protect those she loves from old enemies and new threats. And Georgie fights to save Ashala. Georgie Spider can see the future. But can she change it?

‘The Foretelling Of Georgie Spider’ is the third and final instalment in Ambelin Kwaymullina epic YA Aussie dystopian series, ‘The Tribe’.

I have been both dreading and anticipating this book, probably since I first read ‘The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf’ way back in 2012 (OMG!). Because I both didn’t want the series to end, and I also needed to know what happens next … this is the conundrum of any series’ conclusion.

And now I’m on the other side, having closed the final chapter on ‘The Tribe’ and I can say I’m both bereaved and satisfied, languishing in that weird fangirl in-between of being both happy for such a grand finale, and sad that a little fictional universe is now finished for me. And now I’m trying to write a review for ‘The Foretelling Of Georgie Spider’ and I’m struggling to say anything that won’t completely spoil it for everyone else.

So instead I’ll talk about what a gift this entire series has been, and how this final book has rounded it out to a truly superb trilogy that I’ll be re-reading for many years to come, and recommending to everyone.

Y’know, there aren’t many Australian YA books in which our heroine’s warrior cry is: “Let’s go free a detention centre!” And that one line should tell you something about how clever and important an author Kwaymullina is, and what a statement this whole series has been. Read this interview I did with Ambelin back in 2013 (seriously, time – it flies!) to get some ideas of how much this series is a layered science fiction, eco-dystopic saga that also draws on Stolen Generation history and Indigenous mythology, that is all so tied to the Australian natural landscape.

It’s amazing that in one series readers can be confronted with ideas and themes around Australia’s dark history – particularly the oppression of our First Peoples and Indigenous history – and then also be able to connect the sci-fi aspects to global warming and current asylum seeker debates. And that it’s all tied up beautifully in this intense story, about a Tribe of kids who reject the way their world currently is, and truly believe they can change it for the better;

Connor came over to me. He circled his arms around my waist and I leaned back against him with a sigh. 

“Fixing the world, Ashala?” he asked. He was watching Em and Jules too. 

“Fixing our world,” I replied. “Our Tribe. With any luck.” 

Em was still talking, although she seemed to be taking longer breaks between sentences. She’d started to run out of words, and Jules still wasn’t speaking at all. She jabbed at his chest, and I didn’t need to be able to hear her to know what she’d said. Aren’t you going to say something? 

Jules caught her hand and finally spoke. Not much, just a couple of words. I knew what he’d said as well. Forgive me. 

For a second longer they stood where they were, Jules clasping Ember’s hand and Ember staring at Jules. Then Em tore her hand from his so she could take hold of the front of his shirt and pull his head down to hers for a long, deep kiss. 

“World fixed,” Connor said, and I could hear the laughter in his voice. And the regret, for what neither of us had been able to fix.

This final book is a gorgeous crescendo to the whole series – there’s suspense and heartbreak to be sure, but there’s also real enjoyment in looking back through ‘Ashala’ and ‘Ember Crow’ and seeing all the groundwork Kwaymullina has been laying from book #1, and appreciating just how complex this series has always been.

The entire ‘Tribe’ series has been a real gift to this reader, and ‘The Foretelling Of Georgie Spider’ was the sometimes heartbreaking, always thrilling finale I knew it would be. I can’t wait to read whatever Ambelin Kwaymullina comes up with next, I just hope I don’t have to wait too long for it!

5/5

‘The Disappearance of Ember Crow’ The Tribe #2 by Ambelin Kwaymullina

 Received from the Publisher 

From the BLURB:

"However this ends, you re probably going to find out some things about me, and they re not nice things. But, Ash, even after you know, do you think you could remember the good? And whatever you end up discovering - try to think of me kindly. If you can." 

Ember Crow is missing. To find her friend, Ashala Wolf must control her increasingly erratic and dangerous Sleepwalking ability and leave the Firstwood. But Ashala doesn t realise that Ember is harbouring terrible secrets and is trying to shield the Tribe and all Illegals from a devastating new threat - her own past.

The Tribe is calling Ashala Wolf home. For weeks now they have let her live wild, away from the people she cares for and the man she loves . . . the man she hurt. But now one of The Tribe is missing, and they need to bring Ashala back to her Firstwood before she goes anymore yellow-eyed. 

Ember Crow is missing. Weeks ago she went to Gull City, looking for someone, and she hasn’t been back since. But she’s left Ashala a cryptic memory stone message that makes her think Ember isn’t missing, so much as run away. But why? Why does Ember ask Ashala not to hate her, not to think poorly of her once she knows the truth of who she is. 

As Ashala starts digging into Ember’s disappearance, with the help of her beloved Connor and others from The Tribe, Ashala starts to understand how complicated Ember’s leaving was . . . and that she had very good reason to fear that those she has come to call her family, will turn against her.

‘The Disappearance of Ember Crow’ is the much-anticipated second book in Ambelin Kwaymullina’s ‘The Tribe’ young adult Australian Dystopian series. 

I had the good fortune of meeting up with Ambelin at the Melbourne Writers Festival back in September this year, and even got to interview her for the MWF blog. At the time she teased me with hints and breadcrumbs about what I could expect from Ember’s book; at the time she kept promising many “aha!” moments . . . but now that I’m on the other side of Book #2, I can safely say that Ambelin was being modest. ‘The Disappearance of Ember Crow’ is basically one great, big juicy revelatory novel full of delicious twists, turns and you-never-saw-coming surprises. I loved it!

The book begins a few months after the events of ‘The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf’, and the tribe is in tumult. Still reeling from having been bought back from the dead, Connor is dealing with feeling both connected and not to the world and people around him. Meanwhile, Ashala’s Sleepwalking ability has become increasingly erratic – she has the ability to experience everything as part of a vivid dream, but whatever changes in the dream happen in the world around her – and after hurting Connor, Ashala banished herself to deep within Firstwood to live with a pack of real wolves. While away Ember Crow, Ashala’s first member of The Tribe, travelled to Gull City but hasn’t been seen since.

Not only is Ashala worried about a cryptic stone message Ember left for her (asking that Ashala not come looking for her, or hate her when she starts learning the truth. . . ) but Ashala’s Grandfather, The Serpent, has a dire warning for her; 

Some truths cannot be told. They can only be discovered. 

Even more cryptic than Ember’s warning, is Grandfather’s to, “Beware the angels.” 

As Ashala, Connor and the Tribe start digging into Ember’s disappearance, they discover that connected to her story is Alexander Hoffman, the long-dead man who predicted The Reckoning and helped rebuild in the days following that catastrophe . . . 

It often happens that the second book of a series doesn’t live up to the hype and appeal of the first. Storylines sag, plotting feels like filler and characters who initially dazzled leave us scratching our heads and wondering, “why?” But that is so far from the case with ‘The Disappearance of Ember Crow’. In this second book Ambelin Kwaymullina expands ‘The Tribe’ universe, with characters travelling beyond Firstwood to places like Gull and Spinifex City. She also introduces intriguing new characters, my favourite of which had to be Jules who has an ability that will make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up (but to mention it here would be a cruel spoiler). Part of the reason that this second book is such a fabulous follow-up, is thanks to ‘The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf’ having had such a tightly-wound storyline that mostly took place inside Detention Centre 3 and focused entirely on Ashala during her captivity. That first book left plenty of room for Ambelin to set up her long-game in this second outing, beyond just The Tribe and the small world of Firstwood. Indeed, in ‘Ember Crow’ we get Ashala’s perspective, but also Ember’s . . .  and there’s a focus on connectedness, how The Tribe is being pulled into wider schemes and problems that affect The Balance and indeed, the entire world.

Without a doubt, ‘The Disappearance of Ember Crow’ is a fantastic instalment in what is fast becoming my favourite new Aussie YA series. Here is a book that is twisting and compelling, beautifully plotted for maximum sucker-punching, and in which all the characters we met and fell for in ‘Ashala Wolf’ are being teased out with the promise of further, tricky exploration. I can’t wait for third and fourth books, ‘The Foretelling of Georgia Spider’ and ‘The Execution of Neville Rose’. 

And I love this series for the layers and otherworldly appeal Ambelin Kwaymullina crafts. At the back of the book Ambelin goes into an exploration on where she gets her ideas from – as an Aboriginal writer who is greatly influenced by the stories of her ancestors, and her great-grandmother who wisely described Australia as “a place where everything lives and nothing dies.”

The Serpent. My Serpent. The giant snake who lived in the lake and was my many-times grandfather. In the old world, the one that had been destroyed by the Reckoning, the Serpent had created my people, my “race”. It was hard to believe that humans used to care about things like different-shaped eyes, or different coloured skin. Now all that mattered was the line between Citizen, Exempt and Illegal. 

There’s real beauty in this series that is at once a fantastically fun Aussie Dystopian, but on the other hand draws on some of Australia’s darkest histories and the ancient storytelling of its indigenous people. Much like The Balance itself, Kwaymullina’s YA series is a great journey of interconnectedness and multi-layered symbolism and storytelling that I can’t recommend enough. Brilliant.

5/5

‘The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf’ The Tribe #1 by Ambelin Kwaymullina

From the BLURB:

Ashala Wolf has been captured by Chief Administrator Neville Rose. A man who is intent on destroying Ashala’s Tribe - the runaway Illegals hiding in the Firstwood. Injured and vulnerable and with her Sleepwalker ability blocked, Ashala is forced to succumb to the machine that will pull secrets from her mind. And right beside her is Justin Connor, her betrayer, watching her every move. Will the Tribe survive the interrogation of Ashala Wolf?

Ashala Jane Ambrose is being taken to the machine that will break her. It will use her memories against her, ripping into her mind and putting the Tribe in danger. 

There is nobody to help Ashala. The boy she trusted, Justin Connor, revealed himself as a traitor and is now her guard in Detention Centre 3. The infamous Chief Administrator, Neville Rose, has Ashala in his sights and will do whatever it takes to find the location of her Tribe in the Firstwood.

But within these walls are more Illegals like Ashala and her Tribe members. Illegals that are fighting in their own way. Sleepwalkers, Rumblers, Chirpers, Firestarters, Skychangers, Leafers and Menders among them. 

Ashala will not stop, for she is the leader of the Tribe. They can try to break her; they can take her memories and steal her thoughts. But they will not break her, for she is Ashala Wolf – the name she assumed when she became leader of hunted children. 

She is Ashala Wolf.
She will not break.
Just let them try. 

I bared my teeth at him. “There will come a day when a thousand Illegals descend on your detention centres. Boomers will breach the walls. Skychangers will send lightning to strike you all down from above, and Rumblers will open the earth to swallow you up from below. There will be nowhere to hide, nowhere to run, and no way to stop them from freeing every single Illegal in this centre. And when that day comes, Justin Connor, think of me.” 

‘The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf’ is the first book in a new young adult Australian Dystopian series called ‘The Tribe’ by Ambelin Kwaymullina. 

Set some 300 years in the future, Ambelin Kwaymullina’s is an Eco-Dystopian, in which the current crumbled world is only just recuperating after mankind devastated it with pollution and disregard, which culminated in a terrible flood, which also shrunk the world’s population. And from these waters another change occurred in the ripples of humanity… when certain people started gaining new abilities. There are Firestarters, with temperamental combustion who can create flame from thin air. Menders lay hands and heal people. And Sleepwalkers, like Ashala Wolf, can be transported when they dream. 

And although in Kwaymullina’s future society there is no discrimination of skin colour, these people with special abilities are hunted and caged for what they can do – and their potential for causing natural disaster. That’s where Ashala and her Tribe come in … because the Tribe believe in The Balance; that just as the earth has had to equalize and harmonize after environmental devastation, so too will the human race have to accept that those with abilities are apart of the same whole – neither good, nor bad, but of this new world order.

There are those who would like to see humans like Ashala and her Tribe locked up in Detention Centres – to be experimented and terminated. But it has become Ashala’s mission in life to give these ‘others’ a fighting chance, and a place to hide in the Firstwood.

I’ve been grumbling for a little while now about the fact that the once hyped Dystopian genre is losing its lustre for me. It seems to be so same-same these days, and while Suzanne Collins’s ‘The Hunger Games’ trilogy had real heart and an interesting social context in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, lately it feels like everything Dystopian that has come since ‘The Hunger Games’ has been lukewarm and simply ticking trope boxes rather than genuinely provoking. A good Dystopian book should use metaphor to correlate what they write in their war-torn/dictator-led/post-apocalyptic world with what is happening to people reading the book in present day. And, honestly, I just haven’t felt that lately (especially not when so many Dystopian’s now also think a love triangle is necessary because Katniss/Peeta/Gale had one). 

So when I picked up Ambelin Kwaymullina’s ‘The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf’ I felt a wee bit weary, but decided to remain open-minded. But a few pages into this Aussie YA novel and I discovered that there was nothing stale or stagnate in this new Dystopian offering. In fact, with Kwaymullina’s originality and breath-taking story, ‘The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf’ is proof-positive that the post-apocalyptic genre is still a fascinating one, but only if you have as good a story to tell as Kwaymullina does with Ashala Wolf.

First, I’d like to highlight how wonderful it is to read an Australian young adult novel with an Aboriginal protagonist, and written by an Aboriginal author (Kwaymullina heralds from the Palyku People of the Pilbara region). As I mentioned, in this future world racial discrimination is a thing of the past, but Kwaymullina makes it a point to indirectly highlight that Ashala has a strong connection to the earth, gaining strength from her dreams of Firstwood and always with a deep respect for nature. Ashala’s ancestors are undoubtedly Aboriginal; and 300 years later she has inherited their connection to the land. 

I’ve written about how much I loved reading an Australian novel with an Aboriginal protagonist, and how we need more of the like for young readers. My opinion of this appearing on the ‘Kill Your Darlings’ blog. 

My appreciation of the novel’s Indigenous ties goes deeper than merely having an Aboriginal protagonist. It’s something that is at the very heart of the novel – indeed, just as Ashala has a connection to the land, so too does this story for being a unique Dystopian with a focus on environmental disaster and mankind’s fault in killing the world some 300 years ago with greed and negligence. 

It’s also the fact that Kwaymullina draws on Dreamtime themes in her book. For international readers, The Dreamtime is the animist framework of Australian Aboriginal mythology, and is a sacred era in which ancestral totemic spirit beings created the world. The Dreamtime is something all Australian children learn about in primary school (but, sadly, seems to drop off the curriculum when you enter high school and the focus shifts to colonialist ‘white’ history). But reading Dreamtime connections in ‘The Tribe’ really clicked for me – it’s wonderful the symbolism that Kwaymullina explores, in particular with serpent creatures who are another product of ‘The Balance’ and play a vital role in protecting the children of the Firstwood Tribe. All Australian schoolchildren know the story of the Rainbow Serpent – the serpent Goorialla who travelled the land searching for his tribe, and along the way made gorges and rivers with his body, caves and mountains – shaping the landscape that we now know. The Rainbow Serpent has since become a symbol of fertility and abundance, so having this connection in ‘The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf’ runs very deep and adds layers to this Dystopian world.

I also can’t deny that Kwaymullina being an Indigenous author of fantasy fiction has its own deeper intrigue and authenticity. In an interview I did with Kwaymullina for the KYD blog, I asked her what sorts of books she read growing up, and she replied with a very interesting answer which perhaps reveals why she would go on to write a Dystopian book, particularly one about a band of children with special abilities who are evading capture by those who want them eradicated from society: 

Mostly, I read speculative fiction, which were the stories I felt a sense of kinship with. It’s not that speculative fiction was ever especially peopled with non-Caucasian characters (unless, that is, you count elves, fairies, or aliens). But they were often stories of the underdog, and of the outcast; of a small group of determined people fighting injustice against impossible odds. My ancestors had suffered under, and resisted, unjust policies and laws. I could relate.

But above all else, ‘The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf’ is a darn-good yarn. Kwaymullina offers a heartfelt Eco-Dystopian, with a simultaneous guessing-game plot as Ashala’s interrogation reveals the layers of her memory. Then, of course, there’s her tricky relationship with thought-to-be-friend, now foe and prison guard, Justin Connor, which adds even more slurp to an already juicy plot.

Second book in the series is due out in August 2013, and I can’t wait. Kwaymullina leaves Ashala (and readers) not on the precipice of a cliff-hanger, but standing on the threshold of a daunting new world that is so intriguing and dangerous, readers will be counting down the days until they can return to Firstwood and Ashala’s Tribe.

5/5