Millions of years into the future, the Earth is tidally locked with the sun and the sunny side is dominated by a banyan tree of mind-boggling size. You can connect with me on social media via My Linktree. And because of that, and for the themes it explores, I recommend it to those that are looking for something a bit different. Hothouse is a bit of an oddity and unlike anything else I have ever read. This effect gives the novel an other-worldly quality, emphasising the science fiction elements and giving it a distinct and untouchable tone. Even the protagonist Gren seems far away once he is controlled by the fungus. Everything is strange and outside normal human experience. There is something distinctively alien about the novel.
It becomes impossible for him to exist and function normally. Despite this, his interactions are rarely successful and beings that live close by are all radically different and have adapted in strange and complex ways.
He seems greater than before, as he remembers what humans once were, and as such finds himself inspiring awe in other tribes. And with his new cognitive abilities, comes a sense of superiority and command. That is until the fungus comes along and increases the mental faculties of the protagonist, Gren. And for the first part of the novel, the story is very limiting and told through a very narrow and focused view. So, the world we see through their perspective is not necessarily the world as it is. They are primitive and focus only on day-to-day survival. The characters have limited intelligence, speech, and perceptive abilities. What I mean by this is that it does not give you much in the way of traditional narrative. And this is where the story gets interesting and turns on itself developing splendidly.Īs it begins it is a little difficult to read, but that changes. These memories can be accessed by parasitic fungus that lurk in the deadly greenery, and they are ready to latch onto the brain of an unassuming tree-dweller. Man (or what's left of him) has forgotten his history, though the memories of his erstwhile greatness remain deeply rooted in his DNA. And in some cases, they have fused (or are controlled by) the plant life that has conquered the earth. Radiation has altered their minds and their bodies to the point where they are no longer fully human, but something different. The remnants have been forced to change and adapt to survive. Global warming has caused the world to heat-up and human civilisation to wither and die.
It engages with environmental concerns, conjuring up a future that has occurred after ecological and societal collapse.
Empires of the undergrowth enemy stuck full#
Radiation has altered their minds and their bodies to the point where they are no longer full Hothouse is an extremely weird novel that explores a speculative future in which the world is dominated by deadly and murderous plants. Hothouse is an extremely weird novel that explores a speculative future in which the world is dominated by deadly and murderous plants.