MIDGARD
The Earth is dying.
How would you choose who gets to live?
Jeanne Hull Godfroy
About the Book
It is the mid-22nd century, a time in which humankind has reached a point of no return with respect to the destruction of its habitat on Earth. The only ray of hope is the Human Resiliency Program—a conglomeration of government sponsored efforts to preserve human life until such time as the Earth is able to recover. Unfortunately, the program's projects are only capable of saving small, select members of the population, and the competition to assess into and remain in those programs is fierce.
Sam Richmond is one of the lucky few who has made it into one of these programs. However, his elation is short-lived as people close to him disappear, his headquarters is attacked, and he learns of a plot to selectively destroy nearly all remaining human life on the planet. Sam must unravel complex misinformation and find clues that will lead him to the source of the disappearances and the one person capable of salvaging civilization.
BOOK DETAILS
ASIN: B0BFV21LS6
Publisher: New Degree Press (August 30, 2022)
Language: English
Paperback: 252 pages
ISBN-13: 979-8885045605
Item Weight: 10.4 ounces
Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.57 x 8.5 inches
Book Reviews
This is a page-turner from the opening line! Love the author's passion for sustainability and bringing it to us in this thriller!
– John Saunders
Author of The Optimizer: Building and Leading a Team of Serial Innovators
This is a brilliant first work by Jeanne Hull Godfroy. I simply couldn’t put it down.
– Sam Perez
Author of Deviate from Denial: Erasing the Stigma of Addiction and Recovery through Inspirational Stories
Terrific read! Fast paced and detailed, this is one you won’t put down until you’ve finished. Can’t wait for the next book in the series.
– Ed Cox
Author of Grey Eminence: Fox Connor and the Art of Mentorship
Themes
The Nature of Human Interaction.
As a student of both history and international relations, I’ve been exposed to various theories about human nature and its impact on how people interact with each other. There are some differences of opinion about how and when people interact and the nature of that interaction.
One common theme in the literature is that, when humans are under pressure – when their survival is threatened – they have three options: 1) seize the opportunity to save themselves at the expense of others, 2) cooperate and save the most people possible, or 3) perish. How and why they make the decisions that they do is open to debate (and, from my perspective, largely dependent on their environment and the circumstances in which they find themselves).
Midgard (and its sequels) explore why and how the remaining humans on the planet make the decisions to take any of those three actions.
Environmental Stewardship.
Midgard is a dystopian novel set in a 22nd-century fictional world in which humankind has failed to properly steward its environment in the 21st century. That world was not the result of an apocalyptic event (nuclear war, major natural disaster, pandemic, etc.); rather it was the outcome of a slow, gradual decline in planet Earth’s capacity to withstand humans’ overconsumption of its resources and abuse of its own environment. The direct consequences of that poor stewardship (severe weather patterns, drought, rising seawaters, release of frozen microbes etc.) and the indirect consequences (wars over scarce resources, resettlement, loss of identity, etc.), led to significant reduction in human population over time and an increasingly uninhabitable planet. As a result, our species is quickly running out of time to save itself from extinction.
The Definition of Talent.
A less obvious theme in Midgard (and its planned sequel), is how societies define and mature “talent” within their populations. In the world of Midgard, “talented” humans are those who 1) have access to the best STEM education in the fields / skillsets defined as vital to nationalistic survival (primarily, the brilliant children of the already privileged Tiering groups), 2) those who can navigate the Tiering system and accessions testing in their favor and 3) those with resilient genes.
Those without any of those three characteristics—to include artists, teachers, and visionaries born to those without access to 1 and 2—are basically left to die, to the detriment of the survival of humankind.
Reader Review
MIDGARD is set in the year 2154 on our planet, which has been decimated by abuses, a place where survival is a struggle.
Scifi, mystery, love story, horror, and character study; somehow the author has combined these genres into a terrific read.
I hope the next book comes out quickly. The author called herself a closet novelist. I, for one, and very glad she found her way out.
— Sandra Bengston
