"Qaanaaq is an eight-armed asterisk. East of Greenland, north of Iceland. Built by an unruly alignment of Thai-Chinese-Swedish corporations and government entities, part of the second wave of grid city construction, learning from the spectacular failure of several early efforts. Almost a million people call it home, though many are migrant workers who spend much of their time on boats harvesting glacier for freshwater ice...or working Russian petroleum rigs in the far Arctic."This book is the story of a shimmering city in the future through the eyes of four strangers. The arrival of a mysterious woman riding a killer whale called the Orcamancer during a bizarre plague outbreak known only as "The Breaks" plunges Qaanaaq into a menacing uncertainty about the soul of humanity and our hierarchy over nature. I found the world building to be completely immersive with diverse and motivated characters that are treated with agency and respect (some great nonbinary and LGBTQ representation in here). Also possibly the only book I have found that has a secret glow-in-the-dark cover!
Publisher's description:
When a strange new visitor arrives in a floating city in the Arctic--humanity's last hope after the ravages of climate change--the city is entranced. She's riding an orca and has a polar bear at her beck and call. She's called "the orcamancer," and she very subtly unites four desperate people to stage unprecedented acts of resistance. By banding together, they will learn shocking truths about themselves--and save their city before it crumbles under the weight of its own decay.