Author:Timothy X Atack,Pearl Mackie,Tanya Moodie,Pippa Haywood
Forest 404: 9-part thriller, 9-part talk, 9-part soundscape and exclusive bonus documentary
Can you feel loss for something you've never known?
Meet Pan. She lives a few centuries from now, in a future beyond a data crash that wiped out most records of life from before the 23rd century: The Cataclysm. Her job is to sort through the old sound recordings that survived from before the crash - from The Slow Times. When winters were still cold. When the USA still had people in it.
All day she listens to sounds from The Slow Times, and she decides which noises live, and which can just...finally die. Deleted to make space. Because data costs.
But when she finds an old recording of a rainforest, she has no idea what it is. Because forests no longer exist. And the sound of it haunts her - she is compelled to hunt down the truth about how the forests of the old world died. But the agents of new world have other ideas...
A sci-fi thriller starring Pearl Mackie (Doctor Who), Tanya Moodie (Sherlock, Motherland) and Pippa Haywood (Green Wing, Bodyguard).
Each episode is accompanied by a talk which looks at the issues raised by the drama, featuring a diverse range of speakers: musicians, bio-futurists, anthropologists and tree-climbers. They explore questions ranging from 'Why should I listen to trees?' to 'Would you vote for an AI government?' and 'What is death in the digital age?'
Each episode also comes with an immersive soundscape of natural world environments, mixed in binaural sound for a 3D headphone experience. You can hear the sound of the Sumatran rainforest, the songs of whales, a chorus of frogs, and a full playout of Bonobo's specially-composed theme music.
Lastly, this release includes an exclusive bonus documentary episode, which looks at the making of the series, featuring interviews with writer Timothy X Atack and director Becky Ripley. It also shares the findings of The Forest 404 Experiment: a related project in collaboration with Exeter University and the Open University, about the effects that different natural sounds have on our moods and mental health.
Credits:
Pan - Pearl Mackie
Daria - Tanya Moodie
Theia - Pippa Haywood
With theme music by Bonobo
Directed by Becky Ripley
Track listing:
1. Episode 1: Life in the Fast Times
2. Talk 1: Why should I listen to trees?
3. Soundscape 1: Rainforest Symphony
4. Episode 2: The Fumetown Priest
5. Talk 2: How is the sound of the world changing?
6. Soundscape 2: Frog Chorus
7. Episode 3: Into the Inner
8. Talk 3: Could I live in darkness?
9. Soundscape 3: Whale Songs
10. Episode 4: Of Earthly Delights
11. Talk 4: Why do trees live so long
12. Soundscape 4: Woodland Walk
13. Episode 5: Last Days of the Slow World
14. Talk 5: Will we all become cyborgs?
15. Soundscape 5: Theia's Hometown
16. Episode 6: A New Leaf
17. Talk 6: What is death in the digital age?
18. Soundscape 6: Pan's Dwindling
19. Episode 7: Dreams of the Autopilot
20. Talk 7: Would you vote for an AI government?
21. Soundscape 7: Daria's Nightmare
22. Episode 8: Future Conditional
23. Talk 8: How will humans die out?
24. Soundscape 8: The Memory Transfer
25. Episode 9: Enigmata
26. Talk 9: Love Letter to the Forest...
27. Soundscape 9: Bonobo's Theme
28. Exclusive bonus 'making of' documentary
Chandler seems to have created the culminating American hero: wised up, hopeful, thoughtful, adventurous, sentimental, cynical and rebellious
—— Robert B. Parker , The New York Times Book ReviewRaymond Chandler invented a new way of talking about America, and America has never looked the same to us since
—— Paul AusterRaymond Chandler is a star of the first magnitude
—— Erle Stanley Gardner[T]he prose rises to heights of unselfconscious eloquence, and we realize with a jolt of excitement that we are in the presence of not a mere action tale teller, but a stylist, a writer with a vision
—— Joyce Carol Oates , New York Review of BooksRaymond Chandler is a master
—— New York TimesPhilip Marlowe remains the quintessential urban private eye
—— Los Angeles TimesAnything Chandler writes about grips the mind from the first sentence
—— Daily TelegraphNobody can write like Chandler on his home turf, not even Faulkner. . . A great artist
—— The Boston Book ReviewDark, believable and brilliantly written
—— JENNY COLGANA thrilling page-turner, and a reminder to treasure our sunsets and sunrises while we still have them. I couldn’t put this book down!
—— Christina Dalcher, author of VOX[A]n intriguing and unusual set-up […] enthralling sci-fi world building.
—— Sunday TimesIn addition to masterfully painting a world on the brink of extinguishment […] Hunter Murray provides a top-notch plot that proves riveting until the very end.
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—— Starburst MagazineDeliciously sinister. I defy any reader to work out exactly what these two spectacularly unreliable narrators are up to
—— Reader's DigestA blackly comic and original novel with a fascinatingly complex heroine in Rose Gold - you will be both horrified by and rooting for her
—— HeatA stunning exploration of love, revenge, and the devastating impact of childhood trauma. It's dark, disturbing and utterly gripping
—— CrimeSquadI absolutely devoured it! It's right up my street and I couldn't get enough of Patti and Rose Gold, alternating my opinion of them at the same speed that I was turning the pages! A fabulous read!
—— Sandie Jones, author of The Other WomanSuperb! And seriously twisted. This book will play with your mind...then STAY on your mind. Compelling and very, very clever
—— Teresa Driscoll, bestselling author of I Will Make You Pay.Two extraordinary narrators drive the nail-biting action in this sensational, compulsively readable debut. A tour de force of captivating psychological suspense
—— Gilly MacmillanAn original, stunning debut! Masterful crafting of a split time-frame and utterly compelling characters will hook readers from the very first page until they finally learn the truth hiding within this chilling mother-daughter relationship. An intelligent, beguiling read that should be at the top of every reader's list
—— Wendy WalkerMore than a page-turner-although it's undoubtably that - The Recovery of Rose Gold plumbs the depths of this poisoned mother-daughter relationship, asking probing questions about why we all hurt the ones we love. An explosive debut from a thrilling new voice
—— Kirsten Chen, author of Bury What We Cannot TakeA blackly comic and original novel with a fascinatingly complex heroine in Rose Gold - you will be both horrified by and rooting for her
—— HeatWrobel has crafted two gloriously complex characters who will swing the reader between horrified disbelief and empathy in the turn of a single page. Wrobel uses witty writing and clever plotting to ensure the reader will fly through the pages in search of the truth. It takes profound skill to craft such a twisty and darkly entertaining read, and Wrobel does it in her debut as deftly as only the best thriller writers can do
—— Amy Stuart, #1 bestselling author of Still Mine and Still WaterIntelligent. Highly disturbing
—— Literary ReviewVery rarely does a book like The Recovery of Rose Gold come along . . . this is a book that wastes no time in enticing in a reader and keeping them guessing until the very last page
—— CultureflySinister and chilling . . . The writing flows beautifully and I felt like each character was confiding in me, trusting me with their secrets. I loved every bit of this thrilling story and the ending was brilliant and perfect. It's an amazing debut looking at the tangled web of a controlling mother/daughter relationship and a must read in my opinion
—— NB MagazineTaut, twisted and with two terrifically toxic narrators, this thriller offers a wonderfully wicked perspective on complicated mother-daughter relationships. Gripping
—— PsychologiesStriking. Unsettling yet compelling reading
—— Oxford TimesIt will make you laugh on one page, exhibiting the darkest of humour, and then make you shudder at the very next
—— Chat SpecialA gritty story of truth and fantasy
—— Sainsbury's MagazineMust read
—— HelloI haven't come across two more unbalanced characters in books than this mother and daughter
—— PrimaHorribly riveting. At times I wanted to, but I could not put it down
—— Saga MagazineWrobel's claustrophobic debut explores the sinister subject of parents who deliberately make their children ill . . . Find out who's manipulating who in this clever chiller
—— Sunday ExpressDeliciously icy. Wrobel's cleverly constructed plot twists and turns, undermining any sense of integrity the minute you catch a glimpse of it
—— Irish NewsIn vivid detail, Hope Adams illuminates life in convict quarters on a stinking, storm-soaked ship, and delves into the lives of individual women and the small tragedies that have condemned them to be sent far away, with little hope of return
—— Jewish ChronicleA well-paced page-turner illuminating a forgotten story that reminds us how far we have come
—— Jewish ChroniclePulls you into the heart of its story, while celebrating redemption, rehabilitation and the good in people. All set to the backdrop of a truly fascinating slice of history
—— Phase Eight Book ClubHistorical events and characters are cleverly blended into a thought-provoking tale
—— CandisAdams disguises a social-history lesson on women's rights as a gripping period drama
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