Dark River is my debut novel, published in 2020. It was shortlisted for best fantasy novel and best newcomer at the British fantasy awards 2021.
WIth the closure of Unsung stories, it’s currently out of print but i’m hopeful it might find a new home and new readers one day, before the water rises for good!
Doggerland, 6200 BC. As rivers rise, young mother Shaye follows her family to a sacred oak grove, hoping that an ancient ritual will save their way of life.
London, AD 2156. In a city ravaged by the rising Thames, Shante hopes for a visa that will allow her to flee with her four-year-old son to the more prosperous north.
Two mothers, more than 8,000 years apart, struggle to save their children from a bleak future as the odds stack against them.
At the sacred oak grove, Shaye faces a revelation that cuts to the core of who she is; in the wilderness of the edgelands, Shante finds herself unprepared for the challenges and dangers that surround them at every turn.
As Shaye and Shante desperately try to hold their families together in the face of disaster, these two young mothers uncover a terrifying truth: that it is impossible to protect the ones they love.
DARK RIVER IS A TENDER AND LYRICAL NOVEL WITH MYTHOLOGICAL POWER. IN ITS EXQUISITE DESCRIPTION OF PLACES AND PEOPLE UNDER THREAT, KECHACHA’S WORK IS FULL OF CARE FOR A BROKEN WORLD.
– NAOMI BOOTH, AUTHOR OF SEALED
A HAUNTING NARRATIVE OF CLIMATE CHANGE, HUMAN MIGRATION, AND THE FIERCENESS AND VULNERABILITY OF MOTHERHOOD, DARK RIVER IS A COMPELLING, DEVASTATING FIRST NOVEL. RYM KECHACHA WRITES OF CYCLES WITHIN CYCLES AND HOW THEY ECHO ACROSS MILLENNIA, AND REMINDS US THAT NONE OF US ARE IMMUNE TO THE UNSTOPPABLE FORCES OF THE TIMES IN WHICH WE ARE LIVING.
– LYNDA E. RUCKER, AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR OF THE MOON WILL LOOK STRANGE
THE AMBITIOUS SCOPE OF THE DUAL NARRATIVES IS OFTEN STARTLING, BUT THE FOCUS NEVER STRAYS. RYM KECHACHA'S PRECISE DEPICTION OF FAMILIES STRIVING AGAINST THE ODDS MAKES FOR A GRIPPING, HAUNTING READ.
– TIM MAJOR, AUTHOR OF SNAKESKINS AND HOPE ISLAND
"DARK RIVER IS A HAUNTING PARABLE FOR OUR TIMES, WEAVING PAST AND FUTURE TOGETHER INTO AN INTRICATE TAPESTRY OF LOVE, LOSS AND THE HUMAN DESIRE FOR SAFETY. A CHILLING BUT UTTERLY ESSENTIAL READ."
HELEN MARSHALL, AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR OF THE MIGRATION AND GIFTS FOR THE ONE WHO COMES AFTER
“A WORK OF NARRATIVE MAGIC. IT CONJURES ITS MIRRORED STRANDS OF FAMILIES SEARCHING FOR SURVIVAL WITH A RARE AND ENVIABLE SKILL. THE LOVE AND DETERMINATION OF SHANTE AND SHAYE WILL STAY IN THE MIND FOR A LONG TIME.”
NEIL WILLIAMSON, AUTHOR OF THE MEMOIRIST AND THE MOON KING
“WITH WRITING AS SINUOUS AND POWERFUL AS THE WATER ITSELF, RYM KECHACHA PROVIDES A STARK AND BEAUTIFUL TESTAMENT TO WHAT WE HOLD CLOSE ON THE HARDEST OF DAYS. DARK RIVER IS A STORY OF LOVE AND DETERMINATION MIRRORED ACROSS A GULF OF TIME AND DARES US TO CONSIDER WHAT WE OWE THE EARTH AND WHAT THE EARTH OWES US.”
PETER HAYNES, AUTHOR OF THE WILLOW BY YOUR SIDE