Atmospheric Pressure is written by Aaron Frale and takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where Mother Nature, pushed to the brink, has turned on its inhabitants. Faced with an onslaught of toxic and corrosive air, the human race retreats into safe havens outfitted with air filtration systems, and most importantly, proper plumbing.
Living in a stifled society where one’s entire future is solely determined by aptitude, Olsen unwillingly trudges toward adulthood. But when the closest person he has to a father commits suicide, Olsen finds himself ensnared in a web of white lies and sickening secrets, discovering truths that threaten his future.
Only the people at the top could truly see the world as it was. Down here, they could only see life.
I wish I could act coy and say I chose to read the book because it called to something inside me. In truth, it being free to download on Amazon was what made my decision. The nonchalant coolness of the book’s title and cover art also helped.
Now that I’ve finished the book, in what seems to be the first in a series, I can safely conclude that I enjoyed it and might pick up the sequel in the near future.
Do I recommend you read it?
Yes, but reader beware, your mileage might vary.
Like most stories in this genre Atmospheric Pressure puts a unique spin on how the worst traits of humanity are exacerbated after the world, as we know it, ends. The book comes with appetisers you might find familiar such as: slavery of the lower class, an abhorrent lack of free will, a helicopter government, and the dystopian staple — mass killing of innocents to keep living sustainable for the remaining human flock.
They’re doing it to ensure the legacy of the human race, so of course it’s perfectly justified (no, not really).
“I used to read my daughter Alice in Wonderland.”
“Sir… what’s a daughter?”
“It’s a word from the old world.”
We follow Olsen, a Twelve Year student in a schooling system that has taken the phrase ‘Conveyor belt education’ a little too literally. His inquisitive nature causes vexation for teachers, and unlike fellow classmates his age, Olsen can’t find it in himself to obediently follow the path laid out for him. He craves to obtain more than what he’s allowed.
The plot takes time to hit its stride, mostly due to its initial focus on establishing Olsen’s world and his position in it. The setting of the story is grounded in reality, and so certain aspects of Olsen’s society is something readers can relate to… until we learn the severity of their rules.
Imagine having to pay to watch a single video. To ride an elevator. Your journey from birth to death charted out by strangers who think they know what’s best. And topping off this raw deal is the knowledge that not playing the part of a law-abiding citizen will have you tossed into the slums, or worse, see you wiped from the very plane of existence.
The reader can’t help but cheer Olsen on. Considering his alternatives, endangering his life on his own terms seems like a small price to pay.
The atmosphere was the price they had paid for life without boundaries.
The first half of the book builds on the disparity between Olsen and the people around him. It’s ignited by the death of his favourite instructor and further inflamed when he meets a mysterious girl so different from him or anyone else she might as well be from another planet. Through the girl, Natalie, more earth shaking discoveries are made. With his newfound knowledge, Olsen has no other way to go but forward.
The mysteries put forth by Atmospheric Pressure aren’t the most thrilling, but it was enough to keep me invested. I kept reading despite my frustration at the snail-like pacing of the first half of the book, which was dedicated to world-building and long winded explanations about the systems that keep the wheels of Olsen’s society turning. I found second half of the book more enjoyable as the pacing picks up once Olsen and Natalie are spurred into action.
For some readers, the mysteries presented might not be mysteries at all. Given the book operates within the rules of our reality, there is an obvious limitation to the kind of answers Olsen will reach. Frequent readers of the genre will likely be able to guess the incoming revelations from the hints supplied.
That’s not to say Atmospheric Pressure is a generic run of the mill story. It has enough original ideas to distinguish itself from stories with similar premises and made me tread into I-can’t-put-this-book-down-until-I-finish territory, a feeling rarely invoked.
The book is told in third person through the protagonist, Olsen.
What immediately endeared me to him was the discontentment he displayed toward the status quo. He disliked that his questions are constantly brushed off by adults. His peers are satisfied with being told what to do while the mere thought of slaving away until he dies prompts Olsen to take action to secure the future he desires.
Most of his fellow schoolmates lied to get out of trouble, or to make themselves seem better than they were. However, lies were easily deflated. Bragging could be tested.
I could relate to his frustration with his situation, as I’m sure many will. Aspiring to reach a goal we choose for ourselves is one of few means of happiness within our control. That such a fundamental freedom is inhibited in Olsen’s society is partly what makes it so egregious.
Given the guiding principle preached by the book’s totalitarian regime is ‘You Make Your Own Fate’, there is a delicious twist of irony at the realization that Olsen is one of the few truly living it.
There is one glaring problem Atmospheric Pressure, and that is the book’s near constant preaching that everyone, no matter their social class, has their own form of suffering.
In certain chapters of the book, Olsen’s lengthy observations of the unfairness faced by people not fortunate to be born into money, are equally matched by Natalie’s internal justifications of how the wealthy suffer from the very thing separating them from the masses.
These sections are a pain to slog through. I’m pretty sure my eyes rolled into the back of my head as I forced myself to read these tirades disguised as world-building.
For me, that problem was easily overlooked. It didn’t affect my overall enjoyment of the book, but you might not think that way, especially if you read for leisure and want to immerse yourself in entertainment free from worldly issues.
Atmospheric Pressure does not break the mould of dystopian fiction but it’s does what it sets out to do, to entertain. If you want a book that won’t set your wallet back, then this might just be what you’re looking for.
