The Wall by Gautam Bhatia

I would like to thank the author and Harper Collins for a copy of this novel in exchange for affair and honest review

Publisher – Harper Collins

Published – Out Now

Price –£14.99 paperback £6.99 Kindle eBook

‘Imagine a horizon. I can’t.’

Mithilas world is bound by a Wall enclosing the city of Sumer nobody goes out, nothing comes in. The days pass as they have for two thousand years: just enough to eat for just enough people, living by the rules. Within the city, everyone knows their place. But when Mithila tries to cross the Wall, every power in Sumer comes together to stop her. To break the rules is to risk all of civilization collapsing. But to follow them is to never know: who built the Wall? Why? And what would the world look like if it didn’t exist? As Mithila and her friends search for the truth, they must risk losing their families, the ones they love, and even their lives. Is a world they can’t imagine worth the only world they have?

I think the story of the last few years has been about borders. People with bad hair shouting us to build ones, close off our borders and stand-alone apparently for the greater glory of ourselves. 2020 shows the lie to this populism – our world is far more interconnected than anyone really understands from culture to business to sickness. But imagine a society that tried to lock all of this down – one way of life forever. Can that help and can it last? That’s one of the questions that Gautam Bhatia asks in the compelling The Wall where we find a city that for millennia has never seen the horizon and is about to suffer the issues that pressure cooker of societal change is about to hit the red zone yet again.

Sumer is a vast city of thousands with its own ecosystem yet surrounded by incredible high unscalable walls that no one can pass. Legends speak of this being either a punishment or a protection for humanity, but no one has apparently gone over to find out. Indeed, many of those in power think to even discuss or try this is a fundamental challenge to the fabric of society and those risks their own role in society. Mithila is a group of students known as the Young Tarafians who follow the teachings of one who felt it was right to think about what is on the other side of the wall. We first meet her and others trying to dig under the Wall and instead we see them failing with tragic consequences.

Now a few years later the group continues but is now unclear on next steps. While that goes on the religious order in control now faces a loss of their frail leader and a potential schism; scientists finally decide to show the benefits of writing all knowledge down and in the fields the workers are complaining about how prices keep them permanently poor and the five rich districts always have power for themselves. Every faction is about to argue with each other and Mithila will find Sumer has a lot of secrets very few fully understand which she may end up finding helps her own cause.

The Wall is a really unusual take of fantasy. In many ways more about exploring ideals as well as the ancient secrets that led Sumer into being. In some ways there is the standard fantasy exploration of young rebels against authority but here its less evil monsters or dark lords with evil aims and more social conservatism that is the target. In some ways Sumer is progressive – women are in key roles and queer relationships are totally accepted as we see Mithila herself is dating one of the more powerful faction’s daughters but as we explore this world very little has changed in some time and when someone has attempted to rock the boat a lot of bad things happened to the populace and in particular the large working class.

You’re going to start this novel in a tunnel underground and for a while very little makes sense. Terms and histories are mentioned we as readers have no context of but as Mithila makes her way around Sumer and we meet the various groups things start slowly making sense. It is delivered subtly and asks the reader to think about if what we hear is true or not. Bhatia uses the story to ask questions of the reader. How does a tradition start and why does a revolution often end more with just another new boss than actual change? When is democracy true democracy and when is it manipulated? There is a brilliant look at Sumer’s 15 districts and how they align and feed each other as well as prevent one changing the rules. The reader may get a sense of a strong parallel of Sumer and India’s caste system with an idea of a never changing social order. Although technically possible no one in reality can easily move far through the social stratas of Sumer.

This is less action orientated fantasy and more a tale of intrigue but where magical objects and their history drive the plot. I was really drawn to finding out people’s secrets and revelations but this is a not a tale of revolutions on the streets but more what happens after one fails; and indeed the big finale is more a court case exploring free speech and the right to challenge authority. Bhatia makes the tension come through the arguments, persuasion and counter moves that each side throws at one another which I found gripping and refreshing. My one wish is we meet a lot of intriguing characters that Mithila interacts with that I’d love to perhaps have got under their skin a lot more to better understand their motivations rather than just see them from our lead character’s perspective – hopefully this is something the next book in the series is prepared to explore in more detail.

This story doesn’t wrap up all its plot threads as it is part of a new series, but it leaves the city and characters in very different places to where we first met everyone. Change can’t be halted forever but if that is a good thing will have to await the next instalment. What I can say is that I am definitely looking forward to both finding out more of this intelligent fantasy series and will be awaiting much more from Bhatia with keen interest. Highly recommended.