I received a copy of this book for free and am leaving this review
voluntarily.
Imagine yourself awakening in a place completely unfamiliar and desolate.
You have no food, water, shelter, and you aren't wearing a single stitch of
clothing. The landscape has no signs of trees, water, or any other features
other than an endless stretch of gray ground as far as the eye can see.
Now, you have to figure out how to survive there.
This is part of the situation Elaine, the principal character in The
Architect of Grayland, finds herself in.
Grayland is an amazing story of survival set in the distant future where
humans from our time are abducted and pulled into the future to be studied by
Historical Anthropologists. One is an elitist university professor named Mirri
Daaha. Her goal is to gain accolades through her work, no matter the harm done
to her subjects. They are, after all, little more than primitive test subjects.
Considering everything I have read so far this year; Grayland is one of the
best among a collection of great stories in my library. The world building is
gradual, but stunning as time goes on. The characters are so real in their
reactions to what they face and their attitudes, they could be real people anyone
can know. The story is expertly written and moves along at a fast, but not too
fast, pace. I read this in just a few sittings because every chapter pushed me
on to the next. I had to grab my Kindle and read every spare minute I had, and
while doing so, lost track of time.
The synopsis from the book itself is great and I'll just quote it here...
Scientists from the far future kidnapped her.
Threw her into a horrific experiment.
She refused to die.
Elaine, a modern-day woman, is abducted by elite Historical Anthropologists
of the far-distant future. Spirited forward through time to their university
laboratory, she is locked into a vast, empty, gray habitat built for the study
of "primitive" humans.
Elaine awakens in this appalling place, alone, naked, and terrified. She has
no idea that a hidden audience of university students is studying her every
move. Forced to create food, clothing, and shelter using nothing but her
ingenuity and her bare hands, she fights a constant battle to maintain her
sanity.
Desperately lonely, Eliane decides to search for other people. After a
journey across the featureless gray landscape, she locates two fellow captives:
Marc, who might be her soulmate; and Adam, a brilliant but troubled
fifteen-year-old. Together, they form a precarious yet vibrant and supportive
community of three.
But now Elaine is about to lose it all. The Historical Anthropologist in
charge of the experiment, Professor Mirri Daaha, is methodically destroying
Elaine's carefully constructed world to study how her "primitive"
test subjects will react to escalating threats to their existence. Elaine must
confront the Professor and ultimately bring herself, Marc, and Adam safely
home.
Elaine has no idea who she is. Her memory has been wiped prior to being
placed in the experiment. She has no memories of her life before but gets
enough through a few dreams to help her think she remembers things.
Fortunately, she retains her learned knowledge to help her survive. She is in
distress before she learns to manipulate the environment and provide herself
with the essentials of life. As he develops her skills, she not only is able to
subsist, but she also actually carves out a better-than-average life. She has
everything she needs, and things she wants made by her own hands, but there is
one thing missing: companionship.
She makes up her mind to strike out on a journey of discovery, leaving
everything behind, she takes things she needs and takes a long journey into the
unknown.
She discovers others likewise abducted, and memory wiped as she is, but they
have also survived using their own separate skill sets. Elaine, along with Marc
and Adam, form their own little community of three, helping each other and
staying occupied. Everything is going well, and they are coping with the
obstacles they face, at least until Mirri changes the parameters of the
experiment.
At that point, escape not only is desired, but becomes a matter of life or
death.
My favorite point of plot in Grayland is how the main protagonist, Mirri,
who isn't a bad person, looms over everything as though she were a monster. She
actually isn't intentionally out to hurt anyone, but the attitudes of her
position and the time she lives in don't seem to have compassion for other
living beings included in the equation. Mirri is a refreshingly complex
character.
I also enjoyed the playing-out of the old saying about necessity being the
"mother of invention." There are surprises all along the way with the
things Elaine and her companions come up with to make life bearable, and there
are also mistakes made along the way.
While one can find multiple themes in this story to focus on, my takeaway
from Grayland is to always remember that every being we encounter has feelings
on some level.
Another takeaway is to remember that no matter how dire a situation seems,
one must never stop thinking. Proactivity is far superior to reactivity, and
there is no substitute for assessing a situation and finding a solution to
problems. Getting angry or taking a wait-and-see attitude is an invitation to
disaster.
The Architect of Grayland is an incredible, multifaceted tale that is
brilliantly written and spun out by an author well deserving of attention. This
story is accessible to sci-fi fans, but need not be limited to those who enjoy
that genre. It will fire the imagination with great characters in situations
harrowing in nature on numerous levels. The story starts out simply and there
is a non-stop crescendo all the way to the end. I give this my highest
recommendations for an engaging story that will have a reader turning page
after page just to see what happens next! I give my highest recommendations for
Evelyn Arvey's amazing story!
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Evelyn studied creative writing, textile art, ceramic art, jewelry
fabrication, and so much more while earning her Bachelor of Fine Arts, in oil
painting, from the University of Washington. For fifteen years, she created
jewelry in her home studio and sold her work at juried fine arts shows. During
this time, Evelyn also played in a classical guitar duo with guitarist Mark
Francis; they performed and recorded a wide selection of their favorite pieces,
which are available on YouTube.
All along, Evelyn was writing. She published many short stories in literary
magazines. She also co-wrote a book of short stories, We Grew Tales, with
writing partners and good friends Nancy Bonnington and Susan Whiting Kemp.
Evelyn teaches an adult creative writing course with her university
professor husband at the Swedish MS Center in Seattle. She edited the anthology
Stories From our Center: Lives Challenged by MS, written by people living with
Multiple Sclerosis. She is currently working on editing a second collection.
Evelyn lives in Seattle, Washington with her husband and their four cats.
Visit Evelyn's Websites...
Writing: evelynarvey.com
Art: vivid-arts.com
Classical Guitar: arveyfrancis.com
Well, there it is...
Qapla!
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