The High-Rise Diver by Julia von Lucadou

It's Sunday and I'm a stop on the Random Things tours today for Julia von Lucadou's The High-Rise Diver. 

Riva Karnovsky was at the top of her game when she surprised everyone and quit her high-rise diving gig. 

Plummeting from the highest buildings in their city, Riva was a sight to behold. Pulling up at the last minute, soaring through the skies for all her adoring fans to see. 

Hitomi was one of those viewers. But now she watches Riva in a different capacity. Because in their world, nothing is private. No one has personal space. Everything is recorded, fodder to be analyzed by people who can make decisions about just every aspect of your life. 

Julia von Lucadou's debut is a gripping look at what a future where government control gone wrong could look like. And I have to say, it's terrifying in it's possibility!

Riva's story is only ever seen through Hitomi's eyes. A psychologist who spends part of her day tracking and studying Riva's every move, Hitomi doesn't have much of a life herself when we meet her. In fact, she elects to spend nights at work so as to be seen as more efficient, essentially earning points that will reflect well on her down the line. 

In their society, productivity can land you a bigger apartment. A direct reward for your efforts. But it also locks a person into a situation where they cannot pursue the things that make them happy. 

The High-Rise Diver illustrates just how something that sounds good at the outset can actually become an insidious kind of evil. And I think, for someone like me, it comes down to control. No one in this book has control over their own lives!

Like I said, it's pretty terrifying!

The High-Rise Diver seems, at first, like a quiet book. But in fact, it's the kind of book that digs its hooks into you and forces you to see things through an affected lens. Because that's what this book does—it affects you. And once you've finished, it stays in your thoughts long after!

The High-Rise Diver is out now in the US and the UK from World Editions!