As long as humans have been able to communicate, we have told stories. In Sunken Lands, Gareth E. Rees dives deep into folklore and ancient tales to explore the unruliness of our oceans and the certainty of change. Storytelling becomes not only the vessel but also a means of creating history.

From ancient sunken forests in Wales to communities being swallowed by rising waters in modern-day New Orleans, Rees takes us on a comprehensive quest to arrive at timeless lessons. As much as we tend to believe we are in control as a species, the rising tides are a humbling reminder that Mother Nature always has the upper hand. 

Sunken Lands is a tale of time and water, an exploration of how the past, present, and future are not linear but an uproarious ocean of shared experience. The helplessness of antediluvian communities losing their homes to great floods reverberates with us today as our climate changes unprecedentedly, and we begin to feel the loss.

The author’s own fears and experiences intertwine seamlessly with the narrative, evoking a feeling of familiarity. We might be witnessing ‘the end’, but we are living through it together. Sunken Lands poignantly illustrates that civilizations don’t die: they merely transform, shaping the ever-evolving narrative of our collective human experience.