Fiction Reviews
Aerth
(2025) Deborah Tomkins, Weatherglass Books, £10.99, pbk, 180pp, ISBN 978-1-739-57078-1
Aerth is a novella set on two alternate Earths both orbiting the Sun at opposite ends of their orbit (I recall a Gerry Anderson film – Journey to the Other Side of the Sun – covering a similar idea as well as the more recent Another Earth). Aerth (the planet) is a green world with a declining population, working on democratic principles with a ‘do no harm’ ideal. Young Magus is impatient and a bit too self-centred for that world and when the opportunity comes to fly to the newly discovered Urth on the other side of the Sun he takes it, leaving his girlfriend Tilly behind. He’s part of the first and only mission to Urth and is the only survivor after crash landing There he finds a technologically advanced, overpopulated and polluted Earth, an exaggerated version of our own planet. Initially, he is feted and treated as an interesting curiosity, funded by the UK Government. But eventually the crowds and politicians begin to tire of him and he starts to pine for the planet he left behind. Be careful what you wish for, seems to be the message, and this journey towards self-awareness drives the story.
Aerth isn’t perfect: there is an ice age coming and the population is being decimated by a mystery virus. Urth is noisy, overcrowded and dangerous – increasingly too hot rather than too cold. Magnus never seems happy there, and as his fortunes decline conspiracies take hold: is he really an astronaut? Is there really another Urth like planet, unseen at the other side of the Sun? There is a The Man Who Fell to Earth feel about all this – Marcus is a stranger in a strange land, rejected, forlorn and unable to get home…
As with most good tales, you can take this on a number of levels. You can drift along with the seductive prose, follow the narrative literally or seek hidden meaning, which in this case is about both personal growth and our capacity for self destruction. We’re invited to choose ourselves between the two alternative Earths – both, in their own ways leading to ultimate decline – and consider our planetary role: custodians or exploiters.
This story makes you think, but it is also a bit frustrating. Maybe it’s the novella length, but we never really get under the skin of Marcus, and his relationship with Tilly (on both worlds) is crying out for more development. Despite this detachment from the characters and the overly familiar doppelganger Earth trope, there is enough here to intrigue and raise questions, if not enough to properly explore them. But an interesting read nonetheless and a qualified recommendation.
Mark Bilsborough
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