Lost Ark Dreaming
Suyi Davies Okungbowa
Hardcover / Ebook
ISBN: 9781250890757
Tordotcom Publishing, May 21, 2024, 192 pgs
Lost Ark Dreaming is an entertaining, well-paced blend of science fiction and fantasy, with perhaps just a dash of horror (to taste!)1. Okungbowa told Skiffy and Fanty, “think a vertical Snowpiercer in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.” This, to me, is accurate in some general ways, but the characters and the story itself are quite different, and I’m very glad for those differences. Ark has a similar sense of confinement and isolation from the outside world. It also has strict class stratification. For me, the characters here are more interesting, and while there are some thematic similarities between Ark and Snowpiercer, I find the nuances of Ark to be more thought-provoking2.
Okungbowa gets you right from the beginning with a strong, evocative opening. The scene lets you know that not only is Okungbowa an excellent writer, but the lines and vivid ideas all create interesting possibilities, coming together to do exactly what openings should do: make you want to read more. Next, he expertly gets you involved in Yekini, drawing a character with both responsibilities and tiny little rebellions (such as a splash of color on her otherwise lackluster work outfit), someone we can relate to as well as be intrigued by; and more importantly, someone we want to get to know—someone we already know is about to have some kind of big problem. Then, when other characters and situations are brought in, Okungbowa unleashes his powers of storytelling, and even someone like me—who is deliberately analyzing and thinking as he reads—becomes absorbed by the narrative itself, which demands you forget tasks and schedules and meetings and just let yourself, quite simply, read and enjoy.
Yekini is an analyst, not completely new but with a lot of potential in her career ahead of her. She is an overachiever as well as . . . let’s say, imperfect. When she shows up a hair late (again) she is given an unusual field assignment: to go undersea. This could be a punishment, it could be a reward (in other words, a task given to someone they trust to do it right), or it could be both. The story does a marvelous job here of hinting at potential dangers while leaving room for surprises, tickling the reader with a note of dread.
Meanwhile, going back to theme, careful readers will appreciate the way the author reflects upon things like classism, labor, bureaucracy, and more, not to mention the various shades of identity, infusing the text with even more personality, and enriching the world and its characters.
Yekini meets up with a man named Ngozi, a somewhat dour bureaucrat, and as they descend into the lower levels of what’s called The Fingers, Okungbowa demonstrates his skill with developing tension, atmosphere, and more, while also giving us an imaginative and engaging speculative setting. The Fingers were once luxury towers just off the coast of Lagos. When an ecological disaster hit, in the form of the oceans rising, and Lagos became a submerged memory (or, perhaps, an apparition or even wraith, depending on who you talk to), The Fingers became an outpost of survivors, where the wealthy and powerful (who run The Fingers) live in the top floors and the lower you go the poorer the communities get. Everything is run by a bureaucracy with strict rules governing access to spaces and, more insidiously perhaps, controlling social norms in both overt and devious ways.
The lower levels are actually beneath the new sea level, and it is here that Yekini and Ngozi meet the third point-of-view character, Tuoyo, a sharp-minded management type (level nine foreman, technically; a “management type” who can grab a welder and seal a wall!) who is somewhat haunted by the death of her wife. The three of them soon discover that what they thought might be damage from the aging of the building may in fact have been some kind of incursion . . .
Interesting characters and interpersonal dynamics, not to mention friction, are a big part of what drives the read. The point-of-view characters give Okungbowa space to explore perspective in a way that is meaningful and too often missing from fiction: what is the memory of Lagos to different people? What are the things different people see when they enter a living space or community which has been characterized in certain ways? The speculative elements are all really cool, and the thoughtful worldbuilding centers people, social structures, and power dynamics. The story can be read quickly: it’s compact and fairly fast-paced, with short sections and great tension, all of which keep things moving along. But folks who read a bit more closely will be rewarded by details, many of which mirror or speak to life as we know it, such as observations on the manipulation of society by the wealthy and powerful. The authorial decisions Okungbowa makes, such as who the characters are (in other words: who tells the story) and how they interact with one another, along with the subtler elements of the narrative, for me, elevate this book from good to great and seriously well-worth reading.
1. For folks who shy away from horror, this could also just be called atmosphere or mood. This isn’t terrifying or slasher-y, but there are definitely a few moments of pleasant dread!
2. Which is not to disparage Snowpiercer at all! It was published in 1982 and was a standout in its day. Stories that speak to similar themes (checks calendar) forty years later (!!!) really should be doing it in their own way, as well as bringing different angles, perspectives, and nuances to the conversation—which is exactly what Ark is doing.
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