Isaiah in the Waters of Time
Content : What if saving the world meant betraying humanity?
At 17, Isaiah lives in a world ravaged by baïnes, deadly temporal chasms. While investigating one with his friend Jalila, they are sucked in, and Isaiah wakes up in Fossil, a strange city ruled by animal gods.
Chosen by the shark god Calycéros, he must “fish for time” to ensure the survival of this world, at the cost of human lives. Refusing this role, he flees with Amber, a young inhabitant, in search of a way out. But Calycéros reveals his plan: to take revenge on humanity by reclaiming Earth for the animals. Faced with human cruelty, and in order to save Amber, Isaiah eventually gives in. He helps destroy Fossil, paving the way for a new animal dominion over Earth.
Spared, Isaiah becomes one of the founders of a new world, torn between love, sacrifice and rebirth.
A rich and highly visual world: Fossil, with its bone-built structures, animal gods and central hourglass, offers a striking aesthetic.
Deep moral questions: the dilemma between survival, sacrifice and human responsibility gives the story a genuine philosophical dimension.
About the author: Aurélie Wellenstein lives in the Paris region with a pangolin, a large white dog, her inner animal and her many other personalities. Her favourite genre is fantasy, preferably the strange and unsettling kind. Le Roi des fauves, published by Scrineo in 2015, won the Halliennales Prize and was shortlisted for the Elbakin Awards, the Imaginales High School Students’ Prize, the Futuriales Revelation Award, the Lire en Seine Prize, the Imaginales Prize and the Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire (GPI).
