2.5 stars for the excellent writing but the story.... Not so much. I didn't feel like the story went anywhere and it was way too long for what it actually was- a spy story. But I'm sure there's a million people who will absolutely love this book, I just don't think it was for me.

Claire North always has always had a unique talent for setting stories about well-rounded, complex characters in speculative fantasy worlds that both draw the reader in and provoke thought about the real world around us. Notes from the Burning Age is no exception. It is a story rich with suspense, and told with evocative, emotional prose.

The dystopian, post-apocalyptic world she creates encourages reflection on our own relationship with the natural world, as well as issues of faith, religion, and humanity. That's not to say that the book is dry or 'heavy' in any way; on the contrary, the story itself is engaging and suspenseful. The tribulations of our main character, a scholar priest, draws us into this world and helps us to connect with the new, dystopian society that North has created.

On the whole, this book is wonderful. I highly recommend it for anyone who enjoys speculative fantasy, mystery and intrigue, or dystopia. Also, if you are familiar with North's other works, this one certainly fits in well with her larger body of work as a wonderful work of fiction.

*I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for the free book!*

"Notes from the Burning Age" is a hard to classify. It's a utopia, it's a dystopia, it's a critical evaluation of today. Sadly, I somehow didn't warm to both plot and characters, but I cannot really tell you what I found lacking. Maybe the weirdness of it all, I don't know. I'm sorry, book.

The book is basically about nature having fought back and humanity is trying to gather the pieces of former civilizations back together. The majority is set in Budapest and our main character is called Ven, an expert on pre-apocalyptic knowledge who has also seen one of the mythical nature entities that have accompanied the rise of nature and it's fight back. He's recruited by a dubious puppeteer who seeks to estrange him from his job.

As I said, I somehow wasn't immersed into world, story or characters and I skim-read large parts of the book. It just didn't work for me, maybe that's due to the pandemic, but who knows

3 stars

Notes from the Burning Age by Claire North is a thought-provoking novel that blends sci-fi and philosophical elements. It was my first North's novel and definitely not the last.

The story followed Ven, a member of the Temple whose task is to interpret archaic texts from the Burning Age. When he was approached and worked for the Brotherhood, he must decide what sacrifices he was willing to offer to save the new world. The plot itself was unique and imaginative with a little bit of mystery. There were quite a lot of themes included as well like religion, corruption, and climate change. The narrative was elegant and whimsical which made the reading experience more memorable. Lastly, the character arc of the main character was compelling.

Overall, Notes from the Burning Age is an intriguing novel with such a poetic writing. This was different from what I usually read but surprisingly, I really liked it.

I went into this novel thinking it is just a pure post-apocalyptic, dystopian tale, but actually it was something more nuanced than this. I really liked how the novel made me think more about humanity's responses and place within an environment that is devastated. The speculative elements of the novel were intriguing, but I found the wasn't quite convinced by the merging of multiple genres. It felt a little dense at times, and so it was a bit difficult for me to really sink my teeth into the bigger themes and questions explored. However, I admire Claire North's talent as a storyteller, and look forward to seeing more from her.

Claire North’s ‘Notes From the Burning Age’ was an extremely interesting, and in some ways eye-opening read.

While set in the future, it comments largely on the current issues and mankind’s actions leading to devastating natural disasters, while at the same time offering the reader an engaging personal story of two spies entangled in the political fight deciding on how even the further future will look like.

In some ways ‘Notes From the Burning Age’ was nothing like I expected it to be, but at the same time, I enjoyed it tremendously. I don’t often reach for the dystopian fiction, especially in current times, but this was one I had on my to-read list for a while, and I’m so glad I got to chance to read it.

I especially enjoyed the narrative style of ‘Notes From the Burning Age’ which engrosses you in the story nearly immediately as well as how neatly the story tides together the beginning and the end of the story.

This is a pretty dense read and definitely not for everyone, but overall I found it fascinating. It was diverse in an easy, natural way, which was wonderful, and so complex, weaving layers of introspection and action!

Bits I liked:
- MC Ven is a great POV for the story, with a strong narrative voice and interesting personality
- Deep, thought-provoking topics with strange yet recognisable themes
- Diversity feels natural and works well across the characters
- Blend of genres makes it a complex read with many elements to enjoy, which felt refreshing
- Seeing elements of the past hinted at through the story, and the magical elements worked in, made you really want to delve into this strange world

Bits I liked less:
- Writing style was sometimes difficult to work through, definitely not a "light read" but it was beautifully written
- Political themes are never my go-to, so I can find it less interesting to read about, but I felt I agreed with the overall ideas and messages
- CW for lots of death, violence, trauma, abuse and an instance of misgendering (unless that was a typo in the proof), though these all felt integral to the story and not gratuitous in any way

A surprising read for me and definitely an author I'll be looking out for! It would have been 5 stars if I didn't just struggle with wading through some of the language in the first half, but it picked up a lot in the second, so maybe it was just me needing to get used to it!

Thanks to NetGalley for letting me access this great novel and to Claire North and orbitbooks_uk for a compelling, thought-provoking novel!

I used this review copy to inform my interview with Claire North on the Fantasy Inn podcast: https://thefantasyinn.com/2021/07/06/e86-claire-north-interview/

At an unspecified time in our future, humanity have had to relearn how to live in harmony with the Earth. After centuries of polluting the planet, we were put firmly in our place by the coming of the kakuy; deadly guardians of the natural world, their destructive arrival set our species back years, but seems to have saved the planet. Now the future of our world could hang in the balance again, as Ven - a young priest - finds himself with the power to set the course for our species.

Ven’s world is one of shrines, temples, taverns and all those other fantasy staples, but this isn’t another medieval-set, Tolkien tinged world; rather, this is a simpler time, the result of humanity rising from the ashes with lessons learned and consciously choosing not to consume the natural world in the name of progress. Idyllic descriptions of the natural world abound, the opening in particular charmingly bucolic.

Of course, this situation isn’t ideal for everyone. The Brotherhood are keen to restore humankind as the masters of Earth, setting their sights on Ven as the man for the job - with his background in translating the heretical texts of the so-called Burning Age, he’s just what they’re looking for to kickstart a new industrial revolution. Perhaps unsurprisingly for anyone who has read North’s work before, this affords her the opportunity to create a character in Ven who we’re not quite sure we can trust. Is he a hero? An antihero? Or perhaps even a villain?

This theme of trust is a prevalent one throughout Notes from the Burning Age, with webs of intrigue and shadowy alliances playing a major part as things progress. At the centre of all of these webs is Brotherhood member Georg, the man who recruited Ven, one of those villains you just love to hate. Scenes between him and Ven are like a constant game of cat and mouse where you’re never sure who’s the cat and who’s the mouse - or whether they’re maybe both cats - and serve as the highlights of the novel. Their conversations are entertaining and tension-filled, while the shifting relationship between the two of them is nuanced and feels completely natural.

So good is the dynamic between Ven and Georg, in fact, that the other characters and Ven’s relationships with them seem almost overshadowed by it. Georg is hardly larger than life - rather he’s an utterly believable and motivated advocate for change - but the meticulously constructed relationship between him and Ven is so juicy and satisfying that anything else seems a little stale and slow by comparison. A mole subplot is mildly diverting, but it’s never really in any doubt as to who the mole is, with the resolution unfortunately not being particularly satisfying. The multitude of other characters are somewhat thin for the most part too, which does on occasion make it tricky to remember exactly who’s who, as well as making it difficult to be particularly invested in them.

Thankfully, there are plenty of exciting near misses and desperate pursuits, as things become more like a spy thriller than anything else, which helps to prop things up until a memorable finale. There’s plenty to enjoy here, with North’s prose as good as ever, but the slow pace and shifting of the spotlight away from what’s indisputably the highlight might prove frustrating for some.

I do love the concept of the story. The narration of the post-apocalyptic war and the effects of human industrialization and modern technology on the world.

I loved William Abbey and love Claire North style of writing.
This a thought provoking, complex and well written piece of speculative fiction with a dystopian setting.
It's a great story, I read it slowly because I wanted to understand the nuances and loved what I read.
The author delivers an excellent story. Her storytelling, world building and character development are excellent.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

A childhood incident leas Ven away from the path of a holy man with his text interpretations and out in to the world. But when his past comes back to recruit him once again into that world nothing will be the same again.

after reading and enjoying 84K I was intrigued by the premise of the story and I wasn't disappointed. this was part adventure and part fairy tale-ish and I was completely intrigued. I read the novel in one sitting as I couldn't put it down.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Little brown Book Group UK for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review

With Thanks to Claire North and Orbit for an Advanced Readers copy of this book.

4.5*

This is my second Claire North book and she has certainly moved quite high on my list of authors to follow.

To start with we get the usual quirky writing style that I grew to love in Harry August, and a cast of intriguing characters to sink our tooth into as the book meanders forward. It is always nothing like I thought it would be, I expected cli-fi dystopian survival... which I guess it is but that isn't the purpose of the book. The usual theme of group or survivors must learn to live and conquer are missing - this is almost a plea for harmony. It's a very humbling and thought provoking novel that questions our need to even be on earth, and since we find ourselves here what is our proper place in the environmental hierarchy.

I thoroughly enjoyed this one, and I'm glad I picked it up on a whim and a pretty cover.

Short Version: Interesting and complex tale of climate change and war.

Long version:

The Plot: Complex and deeply detailed. There are multiple layers and threads to this plot and you need your brain engaged to hold them all. I think having a very introspective single character story playing out against a backdrop of societal breakdown and looming war works really well.

The Setting: The wider world setting is crucial to the plot and it was described enough that I felt comfortable with references and interactions. More localised settings are so vivid and detailed I had no issues picturing them in my mind. This broad strokes to fine detail matches the plot and is very elegantly done.

The Characters: The main character (Ven) is very introspective and thoughtful and I think that influences how the reader reads the book and because you only really experience the other characters through Ven’s eyes they are, in most cases, a bit vague around the edges. The cast of characters fits with the story and the interactions all feel real.

The Prose: Complex, literary and at times poetic this is a book worth reading for the prose alone. It demands to be read slowly and savoured. It is a little monotone in quality but it does have rhythm, just think gently bubbling brook rather than raging rapids.

The Pace: Really slow. Possibly one of the slowest books I’ve read this year. This isn’t a bad thing, the pace matches the story and you have time to appreciate the prose.

Conclusion: This is a challenging read and existing Claire North fans will be all over it. Literary fans looking to branch out into spec fiction will love love this.

From the last few Claire North books I've read, I've come to the understanding that it won't necessarily be something easy to read, but it will be a journey that I'll enjoy, for the most part. Notes doesn't break from that tradition. A tale of espionage in a new age, where the natural gods walk and care not for humanity.

I won't spend much time on the writing; I am a huge fan of North, and nothing has changed too much here. At times whimsical, and times philosophical, it meanders through the story, with a focus more on thought than of dialogue. Not to say that it does not have dialogue, but more to say that we spend a lot of time in Ven, the MCs, head, focusing on their insecurities and worries.

Thematically, it's an interesting story. Set in what's technically a post apoc world, humans have started coming back out of the woodwork, so to speak, and have started flourishing again. But this time, they seem to have learnt (a little), and are trying to live more sustainable lives. More solar, more universal care, more society building. I'm sure others have done similar, but it's the first time I've read something taking that starting point for a story, and I rather enjoyed it. Of course, humans being humans, this doesn't last long and we come back to the tried and true story of person vs nature. Or in this case person vs person who lives with nature . And it gets ugly.

I won't say I sped through this. It meanders to and fro, and takes it's time getting places. For the most part I enjoyed Ven's thoughts and their reactions to things, however at times it did drag. While, the idea of humans destroying things is an inevitable cycle was a rather bleak one, it did feel like there was an undercurrent of hope underlying the whole story. As if, unlike in 84k, that we would get our ending, that it would be okay in the end. Sometimes you just need a little hope, especially so in these times.

This review has been a bit rambly, but i'm trying to get back into the habit of writing, so bare with me.

Ven was once a holy man, a keeper of ancient archives. It was his duty to interpret archaic texts, sorting useful knowledge from the heretical ideas of the Burning Age—a time of excess and climate disaster. For in Ven’s world, such material must be closely guarded so that the ills that led to that cataclysmic era can never be repeated.

But when the revolutionary Brotherhood approaches Ven, pressuring him to translate stolen writings that threaten everything he once held dear, his life will be turned upside down. Torn between friendship and faith, Ven must decide how far he’s willing to go to save this new world—and how much he is willing to lose.

The release of a new Claire North novel is always cause for much celebration here at The Eloquent Page. Over the last few years, she has cemented herself as one of my favourite authors. 84K, The Gameshouse and The Pursuit of William Abbey are all exceptional. Recently, I was given the opportunity to read her latest, Notes from the Burning Age. Unsurprisingly I found I was powerless to resist.

In a post-apocalyptic vision of Europe, two factions vie to control the direction of our future. A young man is drawn into the complex web of political intrigues that threaten the destruction of everything.

Ven is an introspective, thoughtful soul. A childhood tragedy has left such a profound mark it makes him question everything about the way humans live and the effect that has on the environment. As an archivist he translates forbidden, heretical texts for the authorities. Once they understand the nature of the information learned, the powers-that-be decide if the knowledge should be banned or not.

Ven’s chosen profession brings him into contact with a group of radicals who want to use his skills to unlock the keys to the past. Their argument, humanity needs to reclaim dominion over the earth. Ven accepts their offer and from that moment on his life begins to spiral out of control. Working for political extremists is a fraught existence with the constant possibility of discovery and worse. Ven needs to make split-second decisions that have the potential to shape nations. There is a real sense of immediacy to his character. He has little choice but to live forever in the moment. Ven is always accepting of any situation he finds himself in, but over time I started to see a fatalistic streak develop. When the house of cards you find yourself in can collapse at any time, I guess you have to appreciate that things can and will sometimes go wrong. With such a constantly shifting existence there is little that anchors Ven to his past. The only link he has with where he comes from is a childhood friend called Yue. The dynamic between the two is fascinating. Yue works in the political arena so their paths cross from time to time. The successes and failures Ven experiences re-shape the relationship with Yue each time they meet.

The Spanish philosopher George Santayana is credited with saying “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”. The opposing forces that Ven finds himself stuck between are arguing both sides of this point. The Brotherhood are revolutionaries. They want assert power over all things by revisiting the forbidden knowledge of the Burning Age. It doesn’t matter that humanity has nearly destroyed itself once already. The Brotherhood believe they can do a better job than their forefathers. Their superiority is paramount, they remain convinced they won’t make the same mistakes. As a counterpoint to that, The Temple want to live in harmony with the world. The ways of the past have been proven to be wrong and should be consigned to history. I have to admit I found myself leaning towards the Temple’s point of view.

One of the things I always enjoy about Claire North’s writing is her ability to defy my expectations. Every time I think I’ve got one of her work figured out, she responds with a very definite “oh you think so, do you?”. Notes From the Burning Age begins simply enough, but don’t be fooled, this is a story you need to pay attention to. The narrative quickly morphs into something more complex, a taut cold war thriller that tonally lies somewhere between Inception, 1984 and Tenet. What develops is a tense game of cat and mouse that manages to be utterly enthralling. The impressive thing is that the transition is seamless. It is so deftly executed I’m a little in awe.

As ever North’s thoughtful wordsmithery leaves me with plenty to mull over. The text explores a host of topics from the impact we have on the environment to how information shapes society right through to the nature of faith. I always find so many layers to this author’s work it ensures I’ll revisit her books again and again.

As an aside, there are a handful of references for the eagle-eyed amongst you detailing the ultimate fate of our very own silly little island. Based on where we are right now, I think we got exactly what we deserved.

For reasons far too long-winded and waffly to detail here, The End of The Day will forever be my favourite Claire North novel, but Notes from the Burning Age is a very close second. It’s an expertly crafted tale, part spy thriller, part introspective character study. My advice would be to seek it out immediately and relish every word.

Notes from the Burning Age is published by Orbit and is available now. Highly recommended.

My musical recommendation to accompany Notes from the Burning Age is the soundtrack to the 2011 adaptation of Tinker, Tailor, Solider, Spy by Alberto Iglesias. What with all the spies, double-crosses and suspicion round every corner it felt suitably appropriate.

One of the reasons I love to read science fiction and fantasy is the dialogue it can create with the issues of the current whatever future setting or alternate world we are reading about. One of the biggest issues we are facing is climate change and where are we heading. We’ve seen tales discuss the alternative options or the apocalypse that results but reading Claire North’s excellent Notes From The Burning Age is the first time I’ve ever given some thought to the reason we are so fixated on doing things that can destroy us. This delivers both a splendid piece of science fiction and surprisingly a highly entertaining spy thriller in the process.

The world goes too far. Pollution results in massive climate change, flooding, and the end of the world as we know it. Myths also talk of strange beasts known as the kakuy rose from sea, land and sky destroying the world in anger at humanity’s hubris in thinking they could control the planet. The survivors of this period known as the Burning Age have slowly started to reassemble a life and a low- tech co-operative society with a focus on sustainability at all costs has evolved. A religious order known as Medj teach the world about the perils of consumption and keep the old knowledge of the past secure and mark anything dangerous as heresy. In what was once Central Europe a small province though is getting discontent. An ambitious politician named Georg has decided the time is right to rebel against the priests and start the old ways of making men rule the planet for the greater good. To do this he needs knowledge and has recruited a former priest Ven to decode samples of the old knowledge. Ven someone who believes in nothing anymore sees this as an opportunity for some money and knowledge but slowly gains Georg’s trust and sees the scope of his ambition as well as he has sources in high places to get him the more dangerous pieces – combustion engines, weapons, and mines. As the forests get cleared, the mining re-starts and tensions rise across the remaining world Ven has to decide how and who he can trust to do the right thing for the future.

This is an intelligent story that wrongfoots us from the start. The very early chapter tells us of Ven’s life as a child and an event that shaped their life being trapped as a child in a fire and losing a friend. North paints a story of our world’s end and then rebirth creating an absolutely fascinating new society. Rather than seeing a world develop from our current standards of living to a greener one we get a world where the apocalypse happened, and humanity had to pick itself up and over a very long period reassembled itself into a new group but with a very pertinent philosophy. Solar panels, low population and sustainable farming prevail with the constant warning via the Medj that humans are not the centre of the universe and if we stray the world for us can easily end again thanks to the awakened kakuy. You may be expecting your typical Mad Max style re-assembled society but when this story appears it’s a more genteel pastoral one then as we move to Ven as an adult soon resembles early 20th century Central Europe. Look closely at the place names that have changed over centuries and you can start to picture this world even though it’s changed quite a lot. That this then becomes the setting for a spy thriller then makes perfect sense why we seem to be in a place that would not look out of place to a Le Carre novel.

The thriller aspect is another surprise we are so used to stories with environmental change being about the scientific debates that actually Georg’s quest for power wrongfoots us. The early chapters are about Ven being discovered and a strange relationship between the two that starts as unwilling helper then turns into a form of aster and servant and ultimately a would-be world leader and his essential aide. The dynamic shifts between these two continue throughout the novel and we are not sure what the final state will be. Finding Ven’s reaction to Georg and their realisation of what he is capable of give the story a constant tension as we know Georg has a ruthless streak. Ven starts to interact with other elements, and we see a web of spies and deceit develop throughout the story and learning who we can trust makes every encounter feel dangerous. You never know who to trust and we see various factions with various aims all now vie for power with a growing rumble of war getting louder. This is a story of rising tensions, and you can sense this world is getting closer to the blue touch paper being lit.

The story is very character focused we meet all sorts and what I liked a lot is we rarely meet someone truly evil just wanting to be ruler of the world. North for me seems to be explaining that our ability to destroy the planet isn’t coming out of simply a desire to wreck it but a sense that humans are special, and we shouldn’t be limited in any way. We see as Georg’ groups gain power though the end of free prescriptions, the wealthier and powerful get more and ‘deserved’ privileges and ultimately we see that it is the return of capitalism in its full-throated desire to take everything without question that once again endangers the world. This becomes a story of competing ideals – sustainable co-operatives versus old school greedy powerful political groups pushing individuality and technology. One of the interesting takes North has is that we increasingly see the Medj’s view as correct in keeping the old knowledge hidden as we start to quickly see the consequences when it is used again for favouring short term gains. Typically SF doesn’t like to hide knowledge and this raises an interesting question is are there times when we should?

As well as a battle of the spies it is about a battle of ideas and with the hovering warnings of the kukay as a constant threat. The story treads an interesting path between science fiction and fantasy that I was not expecting. Reading this story in the light of the UN’s recent report regards our ever-nearing point of no return unless action is taken is a sobering and sometimes chillingly familiar experience. The drivers for Georg’s factions I once again heard on the news as counterarguments to not doing anything and this story reminds us why that route isn’t wise or safe. This novel does for science fiction with climate change what Dave Hutchinson’s Europe books have done to talk about nationalism and borders. Definitely one of my reads of the year and highly recommended you’ll be thinking about its messages for a long time after its final pages are turned.

This won't be an overly long review as I just don't have a great deal to say about this that won't make me sound like I'm repeating myself.

I really loved the concept of this book. Having never read a book by the author, I had no idea what to expect (other than everyone I know who has read The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August really enjoyed it) so I was quite happy to get onto the Claire North bandwagon. Sadly, she just doesn't seem to be the author for me, so I think I'll be getting off said bandwagon at the first stop.

While the concept of this book had me excited, the execution genuinely had me falling asleep. The pacing was slow, the subject matter was uninteresting and, when things started to get a bit pacey ... it just didn't feel like they actually were due to the overall slowness of the book. I genuinely have few recollections of this book due to my attention wandering off and refusing to come back for large portions. Due to this, I found it very hard to care for any of the characters.

I enjoyed the religious side of things and the lore North has established in the wake of our world. I love the fact that those that come after us are sifting through corrupted data files to try and piece together just how we lived. It feels like watching future archaeologists at work sifting through the rubble of the world I currently live in. But everything that went into this piece surrounding the parts I liked just seemed to fall flat.

Another aspect I wasn't thrilled about was how preachy this novel is. None of it 'offended' my beliefs or my political affiliations (it's pretty hard to do so for me as I'm a pretty much a 'believe what you want to' kind of guy), I just felt like I was at a sermon about right and wrong for the entire thing. I pick up a book for some escapism from the real world, not to have the real world thrust at me.

I've read a couple of the negative reviews since writing this one and have noticed that what I picked up on as negative points were pretty universal for the negative reviews throughout the community. However, the positive reviews pretty much ate it up like it was a gourmet meal. So I suppose what I'm trying to say is, if you dislike the kind of things I have mentioned, this book probably won't be for you. If you don't mind/enjoy them, you'll get on well with this.

The premise of the story was very intriguing yet I didn't make it very far in before my attention started wandering. I think the author has great talent and descriptive strokes but not all books are for all readers.

We are currently living in a burning age. Claire North knows this. She puts her protagonist in the future living with the consequences of our actions right now. And creates a future mythology to boot.

"Ven was once a holy man, a keeper of ancient archives. It was his duty to interpret archaic texts, sorting useful knowledge from the heretical ideas of the Burning Age—a time of excess and climate disaster. For in Ven's world, such material must be closely guarded so that the ills that led to that cataclysmic era can never be repeated."

A great way to build a future world which looks back at the past is to make the main protagonist an archivist. Then make the plot centred around trying to discover lost secrets of the past. Ven is such a character. As a child, he was friends with Yue and her sister Vae. He witnesses a literal burning forest in which Vae died (the tragedy ended their friendship), and the mythological and mysterious kakuy; guardians of earth woken by the destruction of their homes. Some believe that they rose in order to punish Homo sapiens for the way they have behaved towards the planet, which led to its apocalypse.

Ven is employed as a translator as he knows the ancient languages. He lives in the functioning if not exactly salubrious post-apocalyptic world post-kakuy. He used to sort relics of the past into those which were deemed heretical and those not. Now, he works for the Brotherhood, who seek to play political games across, what is today, eastern Europe. The story focuses around the cities of Bucharest and Budapest. This is the tale of how he became involved in a war between those who believe in human dominance and those who believe in putting the planet first. As the careless caretaking of the planet resumes, the kakuy are rising again from their slumber. Ven gets closer to understanding the Brotherhood via his relationship with the man who employed him, and in doing so we learn more about Ven’s motives and his relationships. All is not as it seems.

In early passages, North describes how the kakuy arrived as the sea rose and the deserts grew, and a spirit came from the hornbeam tree. This was the foundation of the temple to which Ven belongs. Kakuy take many forms from wolf to crow. There are some, however, don’t believe in these spirits; the Brotherhood. The mythology of today’s age is so accurately described. Ven is asked by his boss - Georg, who has plans to develop old technologies in order to reclaim human’s place in the world - to translate archaic scripts from rare sources. He is seeking nuclear fission and geoengineering, oil refineries and investment banking. These translations reveal such secrets as “Product of China” and the music of Beatless and Beyondsee. The recorded truth of our lives today is photos of our dinners and ex-boyfriends’ text messages.

One of North’s strengths is the detail in her descriptions, bringing such vivid life to the world she creates; from description of a beetle going about its business to memories of children running through autumn leaves to the beauty born of the joy of wedding photos. You can’t help but become engrossed in the novel. Another strength is her observation of and comment on our modern lives. Ven describes the world of today in terms of social media hatred, bigotry and suchlike. In the temple’s archives, “socially endorsed violence makes up more than 97% of heretical materials”; they teach that you can’t argue if a shark is better than a bat. It was the covating of material “pretty things” that brought about the Burning Age. The Brotherhood disagrees and aims to take back control of mankind’s destiny.

Claire North knows the power of stories. She doesn’t need to hide behind metaphor and subtext, because her text is terrific. This is a clear battle of ideologies between the humans who explore the wonder of science and respect the natural order of things, and the humans who created nothing but wealth at the expense of the planet and everyone and everything on it. Notes from the Burning Age sometimes feels relentlessly grim as Ven goes from trouble to deeper trouble in a grimey landscape of horrors. But then war is not meant to be pretty. North is a fantastic storyteller with an imagination that knows no bounds, and who has produced enjoyable and original science fiction time and time again. Notes from the Burning Age is her most ambitious and probably as a result, her most impactful novel yet.