Three side-by-side book covers for a trilogy by author Paul E Hardisty. From left to right: The Forcing: An orange, cracked background featuring a white handprint that contains a black silhouette of a crowd of people. The Descent: A red background with a central white circle showing silhouetted figures walking, surrounded by stylized yellow flames. The Hope: A blue background with a pale fist rising from dark vines or branches at the bottom, engulfed in orange flames.

Title: The Forcing Trilogy (The Forcing, The Descent, The Hope)

Author: Paul E Hardisty

Cover illustrator/designer: Mark Swan

Publisher: Orenda Books

ISBN13: 9781917764742

Recommended audience: Fans of speculative fiction; adult and young adult

Link to publisher book page: https://orendabooks.co.uk/product/the-forcing

About Fiona Brichaut

I'm a book reviewer (books.beledit.com), nonfiction author and retired business writer. I'm always on the lookout for exceptional novels (especially but not exclusively written by women) and enjoy bringing them to the attention of other avid readers. My favourite genres are historical fiction, fantasy (especially speculative fiction) and literary fiction, and, above all, 19th century English novels.

What I liked about the book:

The Forcing Trilogy hit me in the gut. It's an informed eco-thriller and a rallying call for climate action.

While I read a lot of speculative fiction, this one affected me more particularly, because it:

1. takes our current climate reality as a starting point;

2. includes characters based on real political figures; and

3. is written by an expert in the field of environmental science.

Add to that a gripping narrative interspersed with real climate science... It all combines to make the events, and the speculation about where it could all lead, chillingly plausible. I wish everyone would read it. You can see my review here: https://books.beledit.com/the-forcing-trilogy/

How I discovered this book:

My introduction to The Forcing Trilogy was through a post on Bluesky about the third book in the series, The Hope. As I searched for more information, I saw it described as "dark", "dystopian" and "epic". Just my cup of tea! I was intrigued and decided to start with book one, The Forcing. The moment I finished it, I bought the complete trilogy and kept on reading. Hungry for more background, I found the author on Bluesky and on Substack, finding out more about his credentials.

I love the randomness of book discovery through Bluesky. Since I follow lots of very different people in the book world, I see posts on a huge variety of books in every possible genre. On top of that, it makes it easy to find really great book blogs and to follow and connect with favourite authors. It's now my top source of book inspiration.

Promotional graphic featuring three covers of The Forcing trilogy by Paul E. Hardisty, text saying "found by Fiona Brichaut" and a link to How Readers Find Books blog.

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