Review 281: Appleseed

Appleseed by Matt Bell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is quite the tale, expansive and allegorical, incorporating ancient myths, fables and American folklore. The story is told in three timelines, three main viewpoints. One is the near future, one is of the past when America was being colonized, and the other is the far future. Every timeline deals with the world coming to an end, or vastly changed from what it currently is into something new and different.

In the past, as settlers conquer the wild, Chapman and his brother Nathaniel travel around planting apple tress for their future. Chapman is a faun, half-man, half-animal. Faun and apples are echoed through each story line.

In the far future a lonely C, a regenerated synthetic, reborn when the current body is too damaged and needs to be renewed. The current form C-433 looks mostly like a faun as well. This newest version stopped the exploring, instead found old books and is trying something different.

Then we have our near future, where the corporation Earth Trust is taking over while attempting to save the what is possible with the climate and species collapsing. People join as volunteers giving up everything, even their citizenship in exchange for shelter and food. This timeline is easier to connect to, closer to our current world and yet a bit fantastical as well. John is this focus here, he helped start Earth Trust, with Eury the head of the corporation, yet now thinks she’s gone too far. He has a plan to stop her.

This is a bit like fantasy and science fiction mixed with fables and ancient myths, perhaps some magic thrown in. The book has almost a feel of a trilogy contained within this one book.

Thanks to HarperCollins/ Custom House and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book.