Swimming on the Precipice

Swimming on the precipice is a short story about a family and a potential extinction event looming over the world.

The story has strong bones, throughout I wondered what was going on and was intrigued where the story was going next. Much of the book depicts family time between Ben, Francesca, and Margo, but I was fine reading through this because I wanted to figure out what was happening at Francesca's work. Fransica is an engineer for a company called Atlas, which among other things designs rockships.

Francesca's workbook is rather toxic, and there is a great degree of secrecy. The engineers are kept out of the loop as to what exactly is going on. The relationship between and her manager is rather unhealthy as well, and Fransica carries skepticism for her employer as well. During family time, news reports of a shrinking ozone layer often are heard. During Franscia’s time at work, she often tries to corroborate the rumours she has heard on the news. Ben and Frasesca are under the impression Atlas knows more than it shares with its employees.

The story is intermixed with another viewpoint as well. This other perspective is written in present tense, and seems a battle of different consciousnesses. “Logical stimulus” battles with “emotional stimulus”, as they each argue their points.

My biggest complaint with the story might be the length. The story in a way could have just been the exposition to a great sci-fi story. Instead there is a rather tragic twist and the story mostly ends at that point, with just a bit of time tying up the loose ends.

Another minor complaint might be some of the dialogue which feels a bit silted at times. The actions surrounding the dialogue are often a bit clunky.

Overall I found the premise interesting and the profluence of the book compels the reader onward. I enjoyed the book so much that I'm up at 12:30 am on a weeknight writing about it.

Perspective: 3rd person

Tense: Mixed

Length: 94 pages

Kindle Unlimited: Yes

https://www.amazon.com/Swimming-at-Precipice-Brent-Matley-ebook/dp/B0DZLYJLGP