Reviewed by Rod McLary
Eta Draconis was the winner of the 2022 Dorothy Hewitt Award for an Unpublished Manuscript – an excellent reason to read this rather dystopian novel set in south-west Western Australia. It is indeed a fine read.
As well as being the book’s intriguing title, Eta Draconis is a star in the Draco constellation some 92 light years from the Sun. Readers of the Harry Potter series may recognise Draco as the name of one of the series’ antagonists – Draco Malfoy. Eta Draconis’ sister star is Zeta Draconis and between them is a smaller star named Al Ruba. In Arabian mythology, Zeta and Eta represent two hyenas [or wolves] attacking a camel calf represented by Al Ruba. This rather threatening story has some parallels with the story Eta Draconis as the reader will soon discover.
The star Eta Draconis is collapsing and consequently fragments – many millions of them – are hurled into space. Most of those which reach Earth burn out before touching the ground. However, many others are large enough to continue through the atmosphere striking the ground and causing much destruction. The meteor showers have continued for some years and the inhabitants have adjusted to the showers in ways peculiar to the individual. Some have fled to the country in the mistaken belief that it is safer there; others accept the showers and continue their lives much as before. But there is no escaping the potential danger inherent in the showers as described through the novel. Not only is the meteor itself a danger but the resultant shock wave can blow down trees and destroy buildings.
The showers have been a presence through the adolescent years of Elora and Vivienne the two protagonists of the novel. Now aged 18 and 22, the sisters are travelling from their parents’ home in the country to the city – unnamed – where Vivienne will recommence her university studies and Elora will begin hers. Both know the risks involved but are also keen to live out their future plans.
Elora and Vivienne have a rather fractured relationship and the details of this are played out against the ever-present threat from Draconis. Th novel is essentially a coming-of-age story particularly of Elora as she experiences the emotional push:pull of leaving home and her parents and of beginning her adult life at university. These conflicting emotions set against the backdrop of the ever-present showers are beautifully rendered by the author. Adding another dimension to Elora’s emotional journey is the tension between her and Vivienne – more evident in the early stages of the road trip but softening as the trip progresses and the threats from the showers seem to increase.
The sisters’ road trip takes them through the back roads of the country where they cross paths with different people all of whom are dealing with the showers in their own way whether by escaping deeper and deeper into the bush or by digging in where they live and accepting the showers as part of their day-to-day life. Elora forms a connection with another teenager Hayden and for a few days the possibility of a shared future overrides the threat of the showers.
Eta Draconis dominates the narrative and, at the end of the novel, Elora directs her anger to ‘this thing that sought to take back the gift it had delivered so long ago. To rupture their roads and shatter their homes’ [247]. And it is then that Elora becomes determined to create her own future.
Dystopian novels are often characterised by fear and distress sometimes caused by – as in this case – an environmental disaster. They can be depressing to read, but in spite of the continuing threat of Eta Draconis, this novel has elements of reassurance and hope. Both Elora and Vivienne – and Hayden in his own way – seek to forge futures for themselves not determined by the showers. And this gives an added strength to the novel. It is a beautifully realised story of the importance of family and the need for us to shape our own future regardless of any threats which may stand in our way.
A story of hope in the face of potential destruction – well-written with engaging protagonists. Recommended to all readers.
Eta Draconis
[2023]
by Brendan Ritchie
UWA Publishing
ISBN 978 1 76080 261 5
$32.99; 247pp