The Hope: The most explosive, utterly compelling, MUST-READ climate-emergency thriller of 2026

In a ravaged future ruled by the descendants of those who caused the climate collapse, a teenager with a remarkable gift must flee for her life – and fight to save the last hope for humanity. The searing, unforgettable conclusion to the internationally acclaimed The Forcing trilogy. `A superbly handled tale of struggle and survival in a maimed world´ The Times ‘Utterly compelling … a masterful and all-too-recognisable portrait of climate collapse and the politics of greed. We need this book now more than ever’ Eve Smith ‘Paul Hardisty is a visionary' Luke McCallin ‘A riveting eco-thriller’ Crime Fiction Lover **New Scientist Best Books for January 2026*** _____ The year is 2082. Climate collapse, famine and war have left the world in ruins. In the shadow of the Alpha-Omega regime – descendants of the super-rich architects of disaster – sixteen-year-old Boo Ashworth and her uncle risk everything to save what’s left of human knowledge, hiding the last surviving books in a secret library beneath the streets of Hobart. But Boo has a secret of her own: an astonishing ability to memorise entire texts with perfect recall. When the library is discovered and destroyed, she’s forced to flee – armed with nothing but the stories she carries in her mind, and a growing understanding of her family’s true past.  Hunted and alone, and with the help of some unlikely allies, she must fight to save her loved ones – and bring hope to a broken world. Spanning three generations before, during and after the fall, The Hope is the shattering conclusion to Paul E. Hardisty’s critically acclaimed climate-emergency trilogy – a devastating, visionary thriller that dares to imagine the possibility of redemption in the face of near-total collapse. In a dying world, it asks the most urgent question of all: what if there’s still time? ____ 'Smart, gripping, and all too plausible … announces Paul E. Hardisty as the true heir to John Christopher' Tim Glister 'Hardisty is a fine writer' Lee Child 'A compelling, moving story of survival in a dying world … a novel that might have actually predicted our future' Ewan Morrison `The book I've been waiting and hoping for…´ Paul Waters ‘Hardisty holds a mirror up to the titans of today’s very real world problems … very plausible and terrifyingly so’ SciFi Now