Down in the Sea of Angels

Summary

An intense and thoughtful time-travelling dystopian fantasy where three individuals, psychically linked through time, fight enslavement, exploitation, and environmental collapse. A great read for fans of Emily St. John Mandel.

In the year 2106, climate change has altered the world, transforming borders, cities, and socioeconomic structures. Additionally, a cosmic event known as the “Bloom” has awakened psionic abilities in a small percentage of the population.

One such individual is Maida Sun, who possesses the ability to know the history of objects she touches. In the course of her new job with a cultural recovery project in San Francisco, she comes across an object that plunges her into the lives of Li Nuan, a sex-trafficked girl in a Chinatown brothel in 1906 longing for freedom, and Nathan, a tech-designer and hedonist in 2006 seeking greater purpose.

When a chance encounter with a political leader’s watch reveals a plan to eliminate psions—people like her—Maida must find a way to stop his agenda before it gains traction.

Flashes of the past and glimpses of the future provide Maida, Li Nuan and Nathan clues to help their own situations as they, each in their own way, confront exploitation and fight for liberation while living under the specter of environmental collapse.