#BlogTour – Doug Johnstone- The Collapsing Wave- @doug_johnstone @orendabooks

Six months since the earth-shattering events of The Space Between Us, the revelatory hope of the aliens’ visit has turned to dust and the creatures have disappeared into the water off Scotland’s west coast. Teenager Lennox and grieving mother Heather are being held in New Broom, a makeshift US military base, the subject of experiments, alongside the Enceladons who have been captured by the authorities. Ava, who has given birth, is awaiting the jury verdict at her trial for the murder of her husband. And MI7 agent Oscar Fellowes, who has been sidelined by the US military, is beginning to think he might be on the wrong side of history. When alien Sandy makes contact, Lennox and Heather make a plan to escape with Ava. All three of them are heading for a profound confrontation between the worst of humanity and a possible brighter future, as the stakes get higher for the alien Enceladons and the entire human race…

Having read The Space Between Us, the first instalment of what is now going to be a trilogy, I was literally champing at the bit to re-enter this wondrous and thought provoking world of damaged humans and telepathic extra-terrestrial creatures. Yes you read that right, and if you have missed the opportunity to read the first in the series, I would ardently encourage you to do so, as soon as your little feet can carry you to where good books are sold. The Collapsing Wave picks up where the first book finished, and once again, Doug Johnstone immerses us into a disturbing, yet strangely hopeful narrative, with the theme of connection, the human heart under stress, the arrogance inherent in unchecked power, and how exceptionalism can be both a force for evil and good, all being explored through the narrative spine.

As this book is exceedingly difficult to review without spoilers, I can only reveal that Ava has now had her baby, and again there is a different bond between them, going beyond the normal bond of mother and child. Heather is grappling with dark thoughts throughout as something comes to light again from the first book, which impacts on her mindset and personal motivation greatly. Lennox is struggling with the loss of his unique connection with Sandy, and vice versa. The tentative connections made between both Sandy, the first Enceladon and our human protagonists, Lennox, Heather and Ava, in the previous book, allowing them to achieve a feeling of familial ties that have been categorically torn asunder at the opening of this book. Although they are experiencing the pain of separation, Johnstone keeps the theme of family and connection at the absolute forefront of the book throughout, either through their shared telepathy, and most strikingly by the new connections they make with others.

Familial ties in the form of Ava’s sister and Heather’s ex-husband are reignited, and our three protagonists also make an important connection with a small community that establishes itself to protect the Enceladons and protest against the military intrusion. The connection that Lennox makes with Vonnie has a heart-warming innocence to it, as she completely embraces the Enceladon cause, and by extension builds a relationship with Sandy too. This sense of people spurred on to perform acts of goodness permeates the book, which pleasingly spreads its influence to embrace those who have not acted so nobly in the past or the present.

It’s interesting how the author plays with the notion of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ throughout, as most notably the Enceladons have no real grasp of these concepts, as they become less than other, for those who persecute them,

“There was something pure about the Enceladons, they interacted in good faith with the universe around them, unable to lie.”

The Enceladons are relentlessly pursued and tortured by a power crazed American General Ryan Carson (who very much reminded me of Colonel Cathcart in Catch-22) operating out of a U.S. base named New Broom. As several reviewers have commented this is a totalitarian, autonomous base extremely redolent of Guantanamo,

“razor-wire fences and machine guns, military muscle and hatred, hurting for the sake of it.”

Carson exhibits a pathological drive to torment the Enceladons way beyond the boundaries of acceptable scientific research, labelling them as ‘illegals’- the reductive term so commonly used today making a comparison to how displaced peoples, through gender, sexuality, poverty, religion and so on, are labelled by governments desperate to keep the local populace on side and to secure their votes. Focus in on any society or country throughout the globe and these issues will quickly hove into view, causing conflict, separation and distrust. Through this allegorical narrative, Johnstone explores the issue of exceptionalism,

“Human exceptionalism had fucked Earth, it was the reason for climate change, imperialism, wars, slavery, capitalism. Once you think of another being as less than you, you can do whatever you want to them.”

This is very much Carson’s mindset as the Enceladons are captured, incarcerated and tortured ebbing their strength and life force. Notably it is not just the Enceladons who suffer at the hands of his extreme behaviour…

Obviously there is a good old dollop of science stuff permeating the book too, but not to the detriment of the flow of the book, or beyond the realms of understanding. Yes, even I now understand the theory of the collapsing wave of the title, equally the arrogance the human race exhibits in our incredibly meagre existence, and the relatively small knowledge we have in comparison to the as yet, undoubtedly extensive uncharted territory of the universe.

“Reality is not things. It’s the connection between things.”

This again reiterates the central tenet of the book, that to make connections, understand, learn and empathise we need to accept the unquestionable existence of life beyond our understanding, be it on the smaller molecular scale of accepting others, the microcosms of our own experiences, making connections to the planet, or within the larger context of the universe itself.

In common with the previous book, The Collapsing Wave proves to be an extremely moving, enlightening, and absorbing read, which not only explores weighty themes, but extrapolates and expands them to embrace the world, and even the universe itself. Johnstone once again proves his innate talent for exploring the human condition, the best and worst of human behaviour, and the premise that the power and importance of connection lies at the very heart of our small existence, within a still not completely knowable universe. His characters are vibrant, fallible, empathetic and believable, that you cannot help but become completely engaged with them, and I confess to having ‘a little something in my eye’ on a couple of occasions in this one. Like his superb Skelf series, these characters will inhabit your thoughts for some time after reading, and again I was blown away by Johnstone’s uncanny knack for portraying his female characters in particular so perfectly, that I felt every moment of distress, fear, uncertainty and joy in their experiences in particular.

I am hugely curious to see what will happen in the last book of the trilogy, as the ending of this one gave much food for thought.

That’s all I’m saying…

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Doug Johnstone is the author of sixteen novels. In 2021,The Big Chill, the second in the Skelf series series, was longlisted for the Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year. In 2020, A Dark Matter, the first in the series, was shortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Novel of the Year and the Capital Crime Amazon Publishing Independent Voice Book of the Year award. Several of his books have been best sellers and award winners, and his work has been praised by the likes of Val McDermid, Irvine Welsh and Ian Rankin. He’s taught creative writing and been writer in residence at various institutions, and has been an arts journalist for twenty years. Doug is a songwriter and musician with five albums and three EPs released, and he plays drums for the Fun Lovin’ Crime Writers, a band of crime writers. He’s also player-manager of the Scotland Writers Football Club. He lives in Edinburgh.