Descendants of Power

by Natalia Shafa

Descendants of Power hit the top of the Amazon Charts at #3 in Colonization Science Fiction, #4 in Post-Apocalyptic, and #5 in Dystopian Fiction.

When the 1% flees a climate-ravaged Earth for a luxury Martian colony, will the survivors left behind build a new utopia or collapse into post-apocalyptic chaos?

Earth has devolved into corporate feudalism. The mega corporation NewOrigin promises a quick escape from an Earth made uninhabitable by global warming, and a fresh start on their new Martian colony.

But when a whistleblower reveals that the colony has the capacity to hold only a tiny fraction of the Earth’s population, the ultra elite stampede for a standing spot near the bathroom on the last shuttle to Mars.

There is Liam and his daughter Jemima, distant relatives of the CEO of NewOrigin, who battle against Earth’s remaining billionaires in a race to the Skylift shuttle minutes before its last launch.

Then there is Finbar, an establishment loyalist working at one of the largest social media networks on Earth. If she just keeps her head down and ignores the rioters outside, her contract promises her a golden ticket to Mars.

But does the new colony really offer salvation? NewOrigin’s rule becomes increasingly authoritarian in the struggle to control an overflowing population. Florentine, the once tech-billionaire, finds himself a member of the overstuffed colony’s burgeoning underclass.

In a world of only the powerful, who will dominate, who will revolt, and who will be left when the dust clears?

Earth and Mars evolve in parallel over the next one hundred and twenty years. One society runs from its mistakes, while the other must meet them head on.

When Tsunami, the great granddaughter of the once mighty NewOrigin CEO, flees Mars to beg political asylum on Earth, old resentments must be confronted in a planetary-wide, precedent-setting immigration hearing.

Descendants of Power is darkly comedic science fiction at its best, merging rising fears of climate apocalypse with dreams of Martian colonization. It is the narrative of a people divided and reunited again, and at its core the question: can we outrun our own human nature?

Genres: Science Fiction, Dystopia

339 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 4, 2021

About the author

Natalia Shafa is a Persian-American-Australian speculative fiction author and solar punk game developer.

Her first novel, Descendants of Power was published in 2021 and became an Amazon Bestseller. Her second novel, I Repeat Myself, will be released late 2025. Her third novel, Samsara Inc., is coming soon.

She is the co-founder of the solar punk game, Descendants of Earth, a multiplayer environmental mobile game driven by real ecological action, which was funded by VicScreen.

Her work often reflects themes of human (and not so human) growth, exploring the process by which the ugliest manifestations of society become the compost to grow our most beautiful fruits.

In her spare time she boulders, swims in the beautiful Australian ocean, and has long and deeply complex philosophical conversations with her greyhound – all through unblinking eye-contact, naturally.

Reviews

[Juhi Fragrant · Rating 5 out of 5]

P. N. Shafa has crafted a delight. It is a magnum opus spanning 125 years yet succeeds in gripping the reader with no respite for much needed physical breaks. Stylistically interspersed with court transcripts, the story is filled with memorable and very human characters who navigate their lives in an extraordinary world, rather worlds. They live for a very small number of pages, but each and every character has the astonishing quality of stamping their presence in the reader’s imagination.

Descendants of Power is the first instance that I have had the privilege of reading a gender-neutral pronoun, and I would like to applaud Shafa for introducing it so expertly.

More than a sci-fi, I would call this story a very insightful, and a hilariously tongue-in-cheek look into the very real dangers that our human society is facing.

Go on, read it! You will thoroughly enjoy yourself.

[Joe Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Received this book as an advanced reading copy in return for an honest review.

This book was SO DAMN GOOD. Had me hooked from the 2nd chapter and never dropped my attention after that. Loved the twin stories of a climate ravaged Earth sending the elite to Mars while everyone else essentially lived on a dark age Earth, needing to rebuild. The two stories went back and forth each chapter, which was great. Covered 125 years in an interesting, realistic and at times humorous way. Amazing work by a new author!

[Tajammul Kothari · Rating 5 out of 5]

The minor problem with sci-fi dystopian genres is that most of the novels in the category are either stagnant or repetitive in its treatment and approach but Descendants of Power is loaded with freshness as it has a unique concept that is so relevant in the times that we are living today.

Spanning across 125 years, it revolves around two separate worlds and the disparity that exists within them. The author’s craft is seen in the book’s narrative where he unfolds two stories back and forth within the chapters.

The characters descriptions are also flawless as each of them are etched in the memory and easily relatable. The best part of the book is how the author uses subtle humor to convey the most serious situations.

It is a highly recommended opus as even though it is based on the future, it is built on today’s worldly realism.

I enjoyed the book so much that I look forward to more works from P. N Shafa.

[Alyssa Bartoshevich · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an advanced reader's copy of this novel from the author in exchange for an honest review.

An excellent, excellent first novel. Stylistically unique and narratively gripping, Descendants of Power is a breath of fresh air in a genre stagnated by formulaic tropes.

This novel follows a 125 year span following the "Collapse", an ecological, social, and economic event during which the top 1% of rich and powerful humans flee from Earth to Mars. Between chapters there are scraps of a "court" transcript, giving the reader a glimpse into the future when the separated human societies re-collide. At times it is as absurd as Vonnegut's The Sirens of Titan and at other times as dread-inducing as McCarthy's The Road .

The narrative follows generations of characters who live, age, and leave their legacy for the next trailblazers to carry on. The cast of characters is remarkable. Finbar, the big-tech Yuppie whose denial almost brings about her demise. Jemima, a burden of a child in the eyes of her parents turned messiah to the outcasts of Mars during their society's final days. Bo and Sawyer, whose simple act of kindness changes the entire course of life on Earth. Many more dot the face of this carefully sculpted universe.

My only hesitation about recommending this novel is that it can feel a bit too real at times. The current political climate in the United State and increasing destabilization of the planet make this book a bit of an anxious, though thrilling, read.



I will be following Ms. Shafa for any future releases.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is grand and all-encompassing without being heavy. Like a series of Black Mirror episodes, Shafa probes the human condition through connected vignettes of dystopian allegory. While other books offer a glimpse of what is to come, Descendants of Power pushes past the glimpse and offers a whopping epic saga, touching on issues of race, gender, class, politics, media and pop culture and nationalism in an ambitious and thorough journey through time and space.

It’s evident that a massive amount of work went into this book. And at its core there is an intriguing thought experiment. What would happen if the 1% who now possess the power were blasted off into space to colonize elsewhere? Who would be better off, those who have the wealth and means to start anew with the same ideology that brought them to power, or those who are left behind with little more than a crumbling planet and lessons learned?

This is not a book driven by any one of its extensive cast of characters, but by a unifying ideology. If accustomed to a different genre a reader might desire more depth of character or rendering of scientific description, but that would be missing the point. This book is the narrative of a people and not a person or thing. And if we are to have hope for humanity, we need this ability to listen to the broader narratives of a people in this way, and on the way many individual’s actions are connected to the whole.

Both haunting and hopeful, Descendants of Power is a book that will remain with you for a long time after finishing it. Though at times dark and difficult to hear, there are sparks of human integrity throughout the novel that come together and ignite hope. Read it to the end.

[Mr Pink Ink · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Indie Blog Hop & the author for providing me with a free digital copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

In the beginning, there was confusion... I'm not going to lie, the first couple of chapters had me all like, "huh?". But the writing, even though plain and unremarkable as it is, was alluring enough to make me keep reading; and, just wow!

There are numerous characters to keep track of in Descendants of Power; with a plethora of diversity, spanning generations and across two worlds, Earth and Mars, this story keeps moving forward at a very decent pace. The characters are very nearly real; for example, one of my favourite characters, Finbar suffers from anxiety but it is carefully medicated and controlled until the world comes to an end and money doesn't exist and manufacturers are closed and she cannot get any more of her meds, ever.

Because this story spans generations the author jumps the time ahead, which in itself isn't bad, but I have questions about the things that happened during those "jumps" which kept nagging at me.

What would you do to escape a dying planet and ensure your survival?

Descendants of power will keep you on the edge of your seat.

[Ian Helm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Descendants of Power is a planet-hopping, generation-spanning political thriller that carefully weaves countless threads between dozens of colorful characters. The multifaceted dystopian setting feels legitimately lived-in, and a uniquely characterized present-tense narration provides exactly what every good work of climate science fiction strives to accomplish: a true sense of urgency. Author P.N. Shafa examines intimately emotional human responses to a climate collapse shaped future across a wide sociopolitical spectrum, from elite royalty to starving refugees, with wry empathy and a keen eye for details in a story that is constantly moving. It's a thoughtfully structured book too, moderately nonlinear but carefully subdivided to guide the reader precisely, while still leaving enough room to consider everything going on. That's no small feat considering how rich a table the author sets. A poignant, intricate and thoughtfully written novel that finds emotional stakes big and small in climate catastrophe, the most important issue of not just our lives, but the future lives of our descendants as well.

[Sam Schenk · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mild spoilers follow, but nothing game-breaking

**

Descendents of Power is an ambitious title in that it has no real main character. It reads like a series of short stories with some character overlap, and a circular plot involved in the development of two societies. Perhaps if I were prepared for this type of story by the brief, title, or the opening (Eg, if the Epilogue were the prologue) I would have enjoyed it a bit more. I may have even delighted when a character spanned arcs.

There were two observations that cemented my rating: 1. I felt that some of the perspective characters were discarded harshly by time to quickly move on to the next generation, and that some had more of a story to tell - or even would have been fitter to tell the story than the next in line. 2. There were a lot of perspectives to get to know, and because of that, there was a lot of telling in world building, and in characterisation. The thing that saved it was the world building, which is in general quite believable and well thought out.
Summary

In a near-future dystopian world, the earth is abandoned by the wealthy and powerful for a new home on Mars. Over the course of many generations (parsed it as approx 6 generations rather than 100 years as in the blurb - time as years seems irrelevant except in the chapter headings. Also, the Epilogue is year 125) human society devolved and evolved again in parallel on Mars and Earth. Pivotal turning points rest on the unlikely and small shoulders of the descendants of the meek and the powerful alike. This story focuses on the finality of any one person's impact, including that of those characters who did manage to find their way across multiple arcs.

Strengths
Themes of the circular nature of societal evolution, and the potential we unlock when we extend a hand to those below or beside us and give them opportunity and time to grow were well developed and clear - though they did tend to be put down and picked back up again. My favourite arc was that of Bo and young Sawyer, which displayed a lot of depth and really brought me into their story. The near future tech was believable, as was the view of corporations/corporate espionage, the dirty dealings and self-servedness of those at the top, and I thought it was an interesting exploration of what happened when that power was normalised - ie they were no longer the elite amongst everyone, but amongst the elite.

Weaknesses
As much as I said the world-building was one of the greatest strengths of this story, the premise of the martian colony became hard to believe rather quickly. Even with near-future technology that automated everything that people needed, that the rich and powerful could run Mars without minions was inconceivable to me. Martians knew how to build colonies that weren't part of the founding company. The people that found their way onto Mars were not necessarily allied and were not trained in necessary functions. Tech millionaires will be a dime a dozen in the near future - in fact, they are already now. How did characters like Florentine get chosen out of the pack? I found it hard to believe that Mars progressed at all, to the extent that travel between Earth and Mars could now be accomplished in a matter of months.

Structurally, I found the court case which surrounds each arc with quotes from people I haven't met confusing and irrelevant, an excuse to infodump. The snippets are deliberately vague and only relevant to the last 10%, the last arc. Looking back through the case notes post read, I have no idea why some of the expert witnesses would have given this information at the trial, even with the sensationalization around it. The epilogue was a bit over the top and could have been left off by this point. I would have preferred not to have adult Sawyer's perspective, Genie arc starts with a broken perspective, and there is a repeat of the origin story introduction (with the issues described below) in the Old Priest. I became uninterested in following the individual character stories at about the 60% mark but wanted to note the ending, which tidies up the themes well and is just off parallel in terms of plot and character.

The biggest issue with Descendents of Power was characterisation. I refer to the set of perspectives as arcs - because when we changed perspectives, we were forced to learn about the evolving setting all over again as well as the brand new characters. The beginning of nearly every arc is weak because we are establishing a (sometimes tenuous) connection.

As an example, the book starts (I'd call it a prologue more than a first chapter) with an unlikeable character (and a lot of telling me that he is unlikeable) who is not representative of either side, has had no real impact or agency in this world, and gives minimal important world-building or tells us what this story will be about. He is lost to history quicker than this review. The other character with his same name, a bandit, may as well be an entirely different person. His single function is to give the 'origin story' and insult the neurodiversity of a character who features as a motif in the history of the world, with a relatively minor set of actions driven by her own desires. This opening left a bad taste in my mouth. I’d say this sort of opening repeated for Genie, Sawyer, Sai, and Tsu at least. Bo is an exception because the author made good use of genre tropes to help us along with the introduction, and I could focus on the characterisation and the situation in which he found himself.

Rarely was I seated on the shoulder of a character who knew enough about the change that was occurring to show us how important it was. Without an active voice, the depth of the world-building was occasionally lost and needed to be told to the reader.
An example is Florentine, who 'Like many of the tech sector moguls who made it to Mars, [had] expected to be making continuous income from his company back on Earth. But after Earth's economic system collapsed, things have gone full hunter-gatherer, if the darker rumours are true. He hasn't had access to his money, communication from his company, or anything for four years. There's no panic, it's not personal. It should be. He’s self-made, not ‘royalty’ like some of the other elites. Who was he before this? Was he used to his fancy mansion and executive office, where he could be alone with his thoughts? Tech geniuses are stereotyped as a particular personality type, where without their own space they go a bit crazy (which would be a nice tie into Jemima’s neurodivergency). Instead, he is calmly disgusted with his living environment.

Finbar, the character with the longest tenure, starts the story with the world she knows crumbling around her and slowly realises her fate. But when she's the brains behind the refurbishment of the satellite network, we receive information through the lens of post-apocalyptic, tech-vacant Sawyer who is going on missions simply because she's told to! Why?

This interesting perspective choice meant that character agency was severely lacking in some cases, and anything learned was lost when the next generation came forward. There were exceptions to this, such as Finbar and Zumu manipulating things from the background, but the characters I was following generally had little to no impact on the arc following. Bo immediately lost agency and importance as soon as Sawyer came of age, the same as Finbar and Ivy. Sawyer herself was a bit of a Mary Sue, who 'knew the area' despite the constant current of refugees towards Canada and was clever enough to have leadership qualities.

Another symptom of the many perspectives was that the author resorted to telling rather than showing characterisation and world-building. This weakened the voice of the more prevalent characters and the lesser ones alike. The telling often contradicted my first impressions of the character, overstated what was obvious about them, or gave irrelevant information. In Ivy's arc, the only evidence that we have of her architectural prowess is control of the bots. She thinks in her introduction that agridome 14 is 'marketed to residents' as their saviour, but shows no pride or responsibility for it, or any of her other accomplishments. It is said in the same breath as her bloodline, and with less attention than her appearance.

Conclusion
There were definite weaknesses in this title, but strengths as well. Despite the weaknesses in characterisation, on going back through portions of the book for this review there were gems that could definitely be pulled out and improved - particularly in Ivy’s timeline. Would I recommend this book? Potentially, with the disclaimer that it is a series of independent short stories with a connected universe and themes. I would perhaps then not have expected any full timeline with the characters, and focus instead on the changes between the timelines instead.

[Edmund Weir · Rating 5 out of 5]

What if the wealth-divide kept widening until it cracked in two and formed separate societies?

Descendants Of Power is an astoundingly well-executed exploration of this question that takes a detailed, original and human look at what could lie ahead if inequality and environment destruction continue to mount on their present course. The book does so using two timelines run in parallel over 125 years - one following the lineage of the original CEO that led the departure, and the other from the perspective of the varied individuals that make up the diaspora that couldn't escape the supposed apocalypse. Built up from the perspectives of a wide cast of characters a larger narrative emerges, as the two planets almost become characters in themselves. For this reason, those seeking more exploration of the individual might look elsewhere, but for those interested in a fresh take on the future and exploration of the collective psyche, you are in for a ride.

Shafa takes on a host of prescient issues and fearful topics with a candle of hope, humanity and a sense of humor, and pushes through them far enough to see what might lie on the other side. And, littered throughout the story, are a range of political and technological alternatives to the business-as-usual we are familiar with that give you a sense that change is possible if we can just look outside of the known.

The novel concludes in satisfying (spoiler-free!) fashion, while the questions it raises, the endearing characters it includes and the colorful visions of the future it renders will stay with you long after you finish reading. Incredible stuff!

[Stella Jorette · Rating 5 out of 5]

In P.N. Shafa's near future dystopia Descendants of Power, the 1% flee to Mars, leaving behind a ravaged climate and starving post-apocalyptic survivors.

But on Mars, the colonists continue with business as usual, i.e. predatory capitalism, the usual "how much can I get for myself" mentality. And turns out, that ethos doesn't work well in an incredibly fragile situation like living in an oxygen bubble and eating off a slim range of genetically modified foodstuffs. Go figure.
Back on Earth, the going is tough, especially for confused techie, Finbar, who’d followed all the rules but was left behind – Bo, a refugee Nigerian hydrologist - and later, an alienated toxin-mutated orphan named Sai.

But on Earth, finally, the survivors learn. And they learn lessons that’ve been slapping us in the face since the modern era. And some of the author’s solutions are favourites of mine, such as direct democracy, participation required, a ‘no one left behind’ ethos, inclusivity, kindness. I’d love it if we could learn these lessons before the dystopia is upon us.

I keep hoping.

And I hope people read and enjoy this novel. The prose, editing and layout are top quality. Readers who enjoy multigenerational sagas will feel at home as the novel spans many generations. Because of the scope, the author presents some characters in more detail than others, depending on the action in a particular timeframe. But rich detail makes the characters feel distinct and come to life.

In short, excellent first novel. I'm looking forward to more from this author.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a fantastic read, stimulating my imagination and energizing my sense of hope for a more just social transformation.

The narrative tracks parallel developments on Earth and Mars of responses to environmental destruction. The structure of the novel interestingly continues to jump forward just as a precursor for change has occurred. I found that this structure was nicely executed and able to find the right balance between world-building, dramatic hook and character investment.

I found the author’s style engaging in the way it found space to be clear, witty and soulful at different moments. The novel seems very well researched and outside my time of reading I found myself pondering issues of soft-power co-operation and how to survive on Mars.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is curious about how humanity is going to works its way out of our self-inflicted mess.

[Jeanne Marzado · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Book is a MUST READ!

From the first chapter, I was very captivated by it. The concept is intriguing that it made me curious so I kept reading it. The book has a nice balance to it from drama and tension. The different POV showcases the sides of the rich (power) and the poor (powerless). Really Loved it!

[Moonbook]

i dnf

[Ode Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Descendants of Power is a fantastic sci-fi / dystopian novel. It’s action-packed and spanning across several generations with many memorable characters, some living on earth others on Mars. It evoked for me memories of The Expanse but following the lives of common people as well as those in power such as in the TV series Rome (which I thought was the bee’s knees). It had me hooked from the first chapter and kept me interested until its last page. Although sci-fi in its genre, the backdrop of this story felt very real (sadly for us).

[KT · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE this genre, the dystopian future which is so near you can almost smell it. Being set near the part of the world where I hail from added to my ability to picture myself as a part of the story, and the author impressively draws on a multitude of en pointe insights through the book. It is full of amazing ideas. With interrelated stories spanning across such a significant time period the book stays fast paced the whole time. I consumed it hungrily and am looking forward to more.

[April · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a thrilling journey through many lives and generations, exploring the long-term impacts of climate change and the human colonization of Mars. The characters, some of whom you are only with briefly, come alive instantly. You get a feel for them and often become fond of them almost immediately. This quick-pace character development is remarkable, and the plot line hold all these different people's stories together seamlessly. This is a story about human nature; how much we can achieve and how little we are in control of the outcomes of those achievements. It explores how greed, betrayal, fear, and power intermingle with pity, hope, love, and ingenuity. Somehow, while exploring great dystopia, it is neither fatalistic nor childishly optimistic. The author is often roguishly winking at the reader in a *nudge nudge* aren't we humans funny like that? kind of way.

A remarkably told story, Descendants of Power is both escapist entertainment and thoughtful insight into the human condition.

I give this book five stars.

[Scott Rhine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fans of “Red Mars” and “A Canticle for Leibowitz” with enjoy this collection of vignettes about the corporate plundering of the poisoned Earth and escape to Mars. However, they seem to take the seeds of their previous failures with them. My favorite section was the Martian political debate where the business owner turned common worker realizes that both candidates are owned by the same deceptive plutocrat.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought at first this was going to be an easy 5 star but I felt my interest waning towards the end. However, this is still a really great book. It is incredibly political which means it is right up my alley. There is this discussion of soft power vs hard power which is a tale as old as time. I started to worry that the direction would move towards soft power as a preference, yet soft power through trade and competition is what has caused climate change and encouraged a neo-liberal global economy that has devastated the rights and value of human labor. However, the book did not do that so thank god. Seems like the book doesn't favor either approach and is more of a post-structural deal, which I deeply approve of. At one point it references the tragedy of the commons and I was like "I love this book." The political theory is brought up and given a simplistic explanation so that you get a good idea of what the author is referring to and where they are coming from, without it dragging out the book. The pacing of the book is really quite fast which is impressive given the amount of topics and ideas covered.

It had a really strong start, and really strong middle, but towards the end I was just ready to be done. Not that the ending wasn't good, I just started to not care. Could be because I am a proud member of the Eat the Rich club and I can hold a grudge. Enough said about that to avoid spoilers, but let's just say I would be a wait and see person. I want to see just how bad things would get. The whole thing seemed realistic in a way, corporate rich people lying and then abandoning the masses as they flee the problems they are largely responsible for after lobbying endlessly against any form of regulation regarding climate change. Then seeing how quickly a system of all rich people doesn't work out because capitalism is based on a handful of powerful people exploiting the vulnerable and putting into place a structure that makes it impossible to overcoming poverty. They system that had benefited them could not work without the masses to extract cheap labor from. The system developed on Earth seemed the most unrealistic but it is the structural system that I prefer theory wise. People agreeing to a more communal life style, but they also put a lot of work into the individual and recognize the importance and the value of difference. It is not really communism or socialism because it recognizes the rights and needs of the individual, yet on the state and international levels, it focuses on cooperation more so than on competition. Though, it may just feel unrealistic because for it to happen you would have to dismantle the previous structure, which happened at the very start.

The characters are very diverse and all have very strong and distinctive personalities. There are a lot of POVs in the book but it is easy to keep track of who is who just based on how they act and their backgrounds. The only frustration of the book I ran into was wondering what happened to which character because you get invested in them and then they are gone, but it keeps the pace of the book moving.

Really great. Interested in learning more about the author, or just reading more of their work in the future. Really great, some times funny, often meaningful, dystopian sci-fi. Well worth picking up.

[Paige · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I received this ebook from the author. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Descendants of Power: A Dystopian Sci-Fi Novel

Author: P.N. Shafa

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 3.5/5

Recommended For...: dystopian, sci-fi

Publication Date: February 4, 2021

Genre: Sci-Fi

Recommended Age: 18+ (language, violence, gore)

Publisher: Native Humanoid Press

Pages: 339

Synopsis: When the 1% flees a climate-ravaged Earth for a luxury Martian colony, will the survivors left behind build a new utopia or collapse into post-apocalyptic chaos?

Earth has devolved into corporate feudalism. The mega corporation NewOrigin promises a quick escape from an Earth made uninhabitable by global warming, and a fresh start on their new Martian colony.

But when a whistleblower reveals that the colony has the capacity to hold only a tiny fraction of the Earth’s population, the ultra elite stampede for a standing spot near the bathroom on the last shuttle to Mars.

There is Liam and his daughter Jemima, distant relatives of the CEO of NewOrigin, who battle against Earth’s remaining billionaires in a race to the Skylift shuttle minutes before its last launch.

Then there is Finbar, an establishment loyalist working at one of the largest social media networks on Earth. If she just keeps her head down and ignores the rioters outside, her contract promises her a golden ticket to Mars.

But does the new colony really offer salvation? NewOrigin’s rule becomes increasingly authoritarian in the struggle to control an overflowing population. Florentine, the once tech-billionaire, finds himself a member of the overstuffed colony’s burgeoning underclass.

In a world of only the powerful, who will dominate, who will revolt, and who will be left when the dust clears?

Earth and Mars evolve in parallel over the next one hundred years. One society runs from its mistakes, while the other must meet them head on.

When Tsunami, the great granddaughter of the once mighty NewOrigin CEO, flees Mars to beg political asylum on Earth, old resentments must be confronted in a planetary-wide, precedent-setting immigration hearing.

Descendants of Power is darkly comedic science fiction at its best, merging rising fears of climate apocalypse with dreams of Martian colonization, and the question: can we outrun our own human nature?

Review: For the most part I thought this was a good book. The book had some great world building and I enjoyed the story. The book had some good writing as well and I thought that the book did well with pacing for the most part.

However, I do think that the characters were as developed as they could have been. I also felt like the overall story, while good, was too big for one book. The book felt a little overwhelming to me and I was very confused for some parts.

Verdict: It’s good, just a lot going on.

[Floyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Descendants of power was a really enjoyable read. PN Shafa has done a great job of using fantasy fiction to outline a very scary, and very possible projection for Earth’s future. With character developments that span multiple generations and some surprising and well curated twists, Shafa brought playful humour and light heartedness to an otherwise bleak dystopian image. I found myself laughing at hilarious imagery, contemplating real world concerns for environmental politics, class divisions, capitalism and the corrupting power of money, and getting quite invested in the characters throughout. 
If you’re a fantasy enthusiast I would highly recommend descendants of power. It was an excellently executed piece of writing. I’m excited to read more from PN Shafa, and will eagerly await future releases. 5 stars!

[Heather Barksdale · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Descendants of Power” follows two main timespans of several characters before and after humans manage to destroy the Earth. The super rich and privileged escape to Mars while the rest of the “normal” people try to survive in the new “dark ages”.

Overall, I enjoyed this story. There are A LOT of characters as the tale spans generations. There is often a jump in time from one major event to the next. The effect is a fast moving tale structured in a way that is interesting and different from others that I have read from the same genre. The way that the storylines lead into each other while also intertwining with the opposing point of view appeared seamless. Unfortunately, the same jumping through time led to a small amount of exposure with the main characters. Full review can be found at heatherlbarksdale.com

I received a copy of this story in exchange of a fair and honest review.

[Joshua Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

P.N. Shafa gives us a glimpse of the class struggles of the future in Descendants of Power! Climate ravaged Earth is now ruled by mega corporations selling seats to a Martian colony, one with less room than they’re offering. Shafa follows several characters in the class struggle that ensues and shows us what a realistic power struggle in space would look like. I really loved Shafa’s take on things, and especially loved how we got to see both Earth and the Mars colony evolve over a hundred years! If you love sci fi or political dramas with a splash of dark humor, come book your tickets to Mars with Descendants of Power!

[Job · Rating 4 out of 5]

A glimpse that could be. Maybe not now, maybe not tomorrow, maybe never. But a quick glance on what perils could lie ahead. You perch over the shoulder of the witnesses to the consequences of a clear disregard for today issues, stand with the survivors, adventure with the dreamers and join the bold who work to rebuild a new world. Good storytelling and a view of what days may come make for a great read.

[Matt_E · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book. Not usually a fan of dystopian books but the blurb intrigued me.

Well written and fast paced. Sometimes felt as though we could of done with more time with certain characters but that is the mark of a good story teller.

Many of the scenarios hit a little close to home I must admit. Could easily see things like this happening at some point in the future.

[Elisa T. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes, the world stupidly hurls itself over the brink of destruction. And yes, it's everyone for themselves. But there's humor and belly laughs along the way in this telling of it, making it a fun and entertaining read! This is a journey through two worlds, with insight into humankind's foibles and strengths. In the end, we're left with a vision forward for our own current day predicament.

[Fae Daunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting, sometimes hopeful sometimes bleak, look at the future of the planet and how we will deal with it. The book jumps forward years every so often, painting a world evolving and changing as the environment forces it on its people. A very enjoyable read!

[Jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phenomenal

Absolutely great storytelling from beginning to end. There's no slow burn as it's captivating from the start. A more macabre literary version of Idiocracy. The pronouns were a bit of a challenge but I appreciated the author adding that detail.

[Jon Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great debut. I'm a sucker for dystopian sci-fi and character driven stories, so I loved it.

[Bookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: A

[Mark Pearce · Rating 2 out of 5]

That I didn't give this a higher reading is not so much down to the author but me. It was well-written but I just wasn't grabbed by the subject matter. I was given an ARC in return for a review so thank you to the author for that.