Editorial Content for The Quiet

Debut author Barnaby Martin enters the dystopian science fiction genre with a novel that echoes Cormac McCarthy’s THE ROAD, coupled with plenty of high-level scientific theory and his unique image of the future. At its heart, THE QUIET is a story of family and the lengths a mother will go to protect her incredibly special son in the face of much danger and uncertainty.

Twenty years prior to the book’s action, which is set in the not-so-distant future, the world is forever changed by the emergence of the Soundfield. This phenomenon, along with increasing planetary heat that makes it all but impossible to go outside during the day, has put the science community in a huge quandary as they try to decipher, understand and hopefully overcome this deadly enigma.

"There is a great twist near the end of the novel that I did not see coming, which takes this unsettling science fiction tale into a different realm. I hope to see more from Barnaby Martin sooner than later."

In the Prologue, Dr. Hannah Newnham is physically fighting with a government officer who is attempting to take away her young son, Isaac, under the Atavism Act of 2043. Atavism translates to genetic archaeology specific to DNA and characteristics that arise in certain people. In this case, allegedly there is a group of special children, some of whom may have been genetically modified, who could possess answers to dealing with the Soundfield and even communicating with it in their own way.

Hannah can only communicate with Isaac via sign language, and her work as a genetic lecturer and scientist makes her aware of his other extraordinary gifts. Among them is a distinct mastery of music that allows him to manipulate the stars in the sky and sounds emanating from the Soundfield, which provides a constant hum that is as creepy as it is mind-numbing. Along with the unbearable rising heat, it has driven much of the human race into hiding during daylight hours and beyond.

One way that Isaac deals with his special abilities is to wear a portable CD player and headphones when he is outside. During a frightening confrontation with a security officer, the CD player breaks, and Hannah is worried that his ability to manage the world at large could be in jeopardy.

The novel then shifts to a time in the recent past, where we see Hannah very much a part of the scientific community as both a practitioner and a college lecturer. But then she flees the life she has made for herself and Isaac to venture out into an unpredictable and dangerous world.

Once the moment we witness in the Prologue occurs, Hannah and Isaac have no choice but to abandon their apartment and leave everything behind without notice. While on a train bound for nowhere in particular, they are grabbed by a woman named Layla, who leads them to a place to hide knowing that the authorities are nearby and in pursuit of them. Once the coast is clear, Layla takes them to a now-abandoned department store that is inhabited by a small colony of people, some of whom have been there for five years or longer.

Pedro, the leader of the group, is quite protective of his people and does not trust Hannah or Isaac. This is especially so once he learns of Hannah’s past work with the science community, which many blame for the Soundfield issue that has oppressed them all. Hannah’s goal is to stay there for a bit and then go in search of her former colleague and lover, Elias, in an effort to find a place that will be safe for Isaac. Since this is also a great thriller, events will unfold that do not make Hannah’s plans come to fruition in the way she had hoped, which makes for some highly suspenseful moments.

The Soundfield is never explained in complete detail, and I liked that, as the human race in THE QUIET really do not have a full understanding of it themselves. There is a great twist near the end of the novel that I did not see coming, which takes this unsettling science fiction tale into a different realm. I hope to see more from Barnaby Martin sooner than later.