What will happen to our great and sprawling city of Toronto in the centuries to come? University of Toronto alum Benjamin Berman Ghan addresses that obscure reality in his new novel, What We See in the Smoke. Ghan paints a bleak and frightening possible future with incredible prose, fleshed out characters, and intriguing plots.

This book is structured as a series of short stories separated into distinct temporal parts. Each chapter moves further into the future, going from the mid to late 21st century, to thousands and thousands of years ahead. Each story has a unique plot and memorable characters, but they all share the common theme;, that of examining a disturbing, broken destiny.

The first part of the book is set in the nearest possible future, the one that’s most familiar to readers. In many ways, it’s still our world. Small things are different, however, like an AI assistant to help with deliveries. This first part eases you into this reality, and slowly, things get weirder, and much worse. Human flesh becomes a delicacy, so impoverished people sell their body parts to the rich in order to survive. People lose the right to keep their dreams. There’s a completely automated restaurant with a holographic John F. Kennedy as a cashier. All strange, all terrifying, all very interesting.

The disturbing aspect of Ghan’s future is how real it seems to be. There are no insane, reality show deathmatches run by colourfully dressed people, or people in leather fetish gear chasing you with a car in the desert. No, there’s just a greedy upper class, and a totalitarian government, slowly eroding the rights of those below them. That is a minor stretch from what’s happening today, where lower class people literally beg online to pay for life saving medical care. Ghan perfectly mixes the possibilities of the future with our terrifying reality, and there’s just enough sci-fi oddness to make it all the more fascinating.

Beyond the plot, this book is incredibly well written. Ghan has a firm grasp of prose and storytelling. He has the ability to say so much with so little. A flex of a hand can tell you exactly what a character is thinking. As someone with an incredibly short attention span, I’m grateful for a writer who understands that it doesn’t take three paragraphs to say what could be said in three words. Sheakespeare was absolutely right when he said “brevity is the soul of wit,” and Ghan certainly understands this sentiment.

Each story is rich with a complex setting and fleshed out characters. Ghan illustrates beautifully tragic scenes of his futuristic Toronto. The location pulls you right into the world, be it in the darkness of a mushroom cloud or the light of distant stars. The characters are equally enticing. They all act like real people, and we’re just given a small, yet very interesting glimpse of their lives. Each character, from the bike courier who believes there are 58 versions of Shakespeare’s plays on 58 different planets, to the lonely, nonbinary person who feels disconected from their post apocalyptic Earth,  are all complex and enjoyable to read. They’re not set in a moral dichotomy of good and bad, but are only people making choices, and they must live with the consequences of these choices in their own futures. Ghan also includes Easter eggs for readers paying attention to every aspect of the stories. Characters from previous pieces occasionally show up in others. It gives attentive readers a feeling of achievement.

Something I love about this book is the diverse characters. There were people of different genders, races, ethnicities, and sexualities. The diversity never felt forced, it was only a part of the story and the background of each person. Considering the diversity of Toronto, it makes perfect sense to reflect that in a book based in our city. As a Jewish person, I particularly liked the references to mine and Ghan’s shared culture/religion. It’s always appreciated to have a novel so attuned to your own background and experience. I hope other Jewish readers feel the same sort of giddiness

The only issue I really have with What We See in the Smoke has probably already been illustrated, but must be said; it’s incredibly grim. It’s a dark book filled with dreadful scenarios that could be real possibilities for the future of our world. This isn’t a book for the faint of heart, or for those already depressed by a possible dystopia. There may be some readers who will put down the book out of sheer emotional exhaustion. It would be fair, I nearly did many times myself. The reader should be prepared for the cynical, depressing world Ghan creates.

Overall, What We See in the Smoke is a beautifully written, dark novel that I recommend to every type of book lover. Sci-fi fans, dystopia dreamers, and Toronto lovers. It’s a brilliant, unique piece of fiction, and if you can handle some darkness, take a peek into what fate holds for dear old Toronto.