Book Review: How High We Go In The Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu

Contains Spoilers

Not much can be seen in the modern city but Death Parks and Funerary Towers, all geared towards letting you remember the last moments with your loved ones fondly. A strange, looming sense of absence has taken hold over the world as it seems as if there is no future but the stasis presented by the plague. All that can be done is reflect on the past before everything seemingly stood still. Cradling what little remains of life before the Shapeshifting Plague took hold, characters presented in bite-sized snapshots struggle, learn and love in How High We Go In The Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu. 

 In the wake of her disappearance, a father continues his daughter’s foolhardy mission; trying to prevent the thawing of an ancient corpse riddled with a hitherto unknown plague. We see how he aspires for so much, tries so hard, and yet in the end can do so little in this brief window into his life as he fights against otherworldly odds. Immediately contrasted with his failure, a Death Park employee walks us through his day-to-day after the ravages of the plague. This is one of the strong points of the book; outlining the impact one person and their efforts can really have on the society they are a part of. How little we are in the face of everything. 

This carries on throughout the novel, as efforts and truths of previous sections are contrasted with vastly different realities of the next; A deadbeat father without regrets about what he’s done suddenly becomes a man stunned. He gave everything he could to save his son, and it still didn’t work. Is it no wonder then that his relationship with his wife failed? What more can be said when all we have is lost? 

These snapshots continue, touching on elements and stories previously presented until its pinnacle, that of the USS Yamato. Coming together on this last resort colony ship, recognizable faces give up everything in the hopes of finding something new for humanity. Little lines give us insight into the little lives they’ve made together while we’ve been looking elsewhere, and what bonds they choose to give up in the hopes of saving everything. Breaking away from chronological storytelling, the Yamato and the overwhelming choice made by its members is some of the most touching, emotional and caring writing to be found in the novel. Inescapable ramifications of an irreversible decision. Everyone and everything you know will die as you step foot onto the ship and the doors close. Time can be accelerated, not reversed. Nothing left behind will be saved. How will you move forward?

The isolation and loneliness you’d feel making the ultimate choice, not of dying for what they care about but living. Away from society and connections, friendships and cities, despite what little was left of them. Living without baseball and politics, the ocean and mountains, in the hopes of being the last hope for humanity. Waking up and knowing not only that your grandchildren have died, but so have their grandchildren. What do you do knowing that the earth-shattering plague that sent you on this interstellar journey has been solved, an antidote spread? Life moved on. And there you are, not even halfway to the first of many exoplanets to be explored. Will they even have air or an atmosphere? Would there even be a point in turning back? 

This section is the core of the book and all its enjoyment, as all the little sections come together and its characters manage to explore the universe and the vastness of our galaxy. It’s unfortunate to say that the book stalls out after this point. The snapshots continue as society has somewhat moved on. Funerary Towers repurposed into apartment buildings and luxury living, all culminating in an ending that leaves a lot to be desired. If you’d like to read the book without spoilers, I highly recommend it. if not:

It is revealed that a shape-shifting alien planted a seed into the earth long ago, germinating into life and consciousness throughout the planet. Leaving its family behind, the alien has been trying to find something similar in humans, shapeshifting for each new generation; new names, new faces and new places. This alien accidentally caused the shapeshifting plague through a choice encounter, where the child wasn’t human enough. Trying to salvage the situation 30,000 years later, the alien becomes Clara who is passionate about the Arctic and saving the world. When she cannot succeed in her mission, she disappears once again, trying to find her true daughter who she had told to come to earth. The ending does something to expand the novel into interstellar worlds, which is interesting, yet ends up confirming a certain hollowness found throughout the novel. 

All in all, How High We Go In The Dark is a beautiful book that will make you laugh and cry. A very good book. A very good book with a little something missing. 

Author's Note:

My Name is Zak and as you can imagine I have read How High We Go In the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu. I have recently gained more time to read since quitting my job, and just got Gmail to stop prompting me to buy more storage space. Thanks for reading!