WE already live in the world of global warming with all its unpredictability. Droughts, wildfires and high temperatures are the new normal.
But has nature become saturated, and is it now kicking back after the disastrous harm that humans have caused?
According to Graham Mulvein’s new eco-thriller, Prey, perhaps yes.
“When the lake fell, something rose,” a narration about the book reads on Amazon.com, referring to Lake Iznajar in Andalucia that has shrunk because of years-long drought, a consequence of global warming.
But this is only the beginning of the story. Because now it seems that it is time for nature to take revenge.
What is happening is the consequence of the water being pulled back. Now, a world is showing face where sounds are different and olive groves look different.
But this time, instead of a monster or an extraterrestrial force, the landscape itself becomes the protagonist.
It changes its shape to awaken something that has been there long before humans became proud of their so-called civilisation.
Mulvein lived in Iznajar 10 years ago, with a house facing the reservoir known as ‘the Lake of Andalucia.’
He started growing interested in the lake because of the severe droughts over the past few years, which started to uncover buildings that had been submerged in the 1960s.
Mulvein took inspiration from the uncertainty surrounding the lake.
“The temperatures climbed past forty degrees, the kind of dry heat that passed down without mercy. No humidity. No relief. Just light so white it erased shadow, and air so thin, it felt already used.
“Everybody knows that the reservoir has got three-metre-long catfish in it and things like that,” he says. “But there could be something else, as well. Who knows?”
The book entangles with the current wave of climate fiction and eco-novels that are rising in the world of literature in many countries. A response to climate change that is changing our lives and nature around the world.
PREY hit the bookshelves in May, but Universo de Letras, part of the prestigious Grupo Planeta publishing company, acquired the rights to publish the book in Spanish as well.
“Locals seem really happy with it,” the author says, as he has performed a reading in one of Iznajar’s restaurants.
“It’s been very popular there, and it’s great, and it’s still selling on Amazon and in some bookshops in Spain.”
Indeed, Prey became an Amazon bestseller when it came out, showing that Andalucia can be attractive for more reasons than just sunshine and holidays.
The book also has a 4.9 rating in Goodreads, with reviews stating that it is ‘hooking’, ‘pulls the reader in immediately’ and ‘takes a unique concept and executes it brilliantly.’
“Anyone who lives here has watched the reservoir shrink, the olive groves struggle, and wildfires become more frequent,” Mulvein says, adding that, “Prey grows directly out of that landscape.”
“You know, the setting isn’t interchangeable; it could only happen here,” he adds.
Originally from London, Mulvein moved to Andalucia in 2016. He currently lives close to Granada and loves southern Spain.
READ MORE: Malaga needs three new reservoirs and two new desalination plants to tackle drought woes, warn experts
A prominent West End theatre veteran, he stage managed the original West End production of The Rocky Horror Show and produced the world premiere of Scrooge, The Musical.
His latest screenplay, adapted from his novel The House, reached the finals of the 13Horror Screenplay Competition and received the highest reader scores at Roadmap Writers’ Halloween Accelerator.
Prey tells the story of four teenagers who disappear in a haunting setting surrounding the shrunk lake as the setting turns into something unknown to them and to the locals as well.
Click here to read more Andalucia News from The Olive Press.
