VividWater

Oct 12 2025

VivWater

Release Date: Apr 5  2025

Set in a future version of New Zealand, "Vividwater" crafts a scenario where dwindling water supplies have drastically shifted social divisions. At its center is Alex Pym, whose role as a guardian of memories entangles her in the inner workings of WaiOra, the dominant water authority. Her privileged access to water comes with the hidden cost of remaining entangled in a system that values compliance over morality.

Owens conjures up a setting that feels both familiar and unsettling, mapping everyday city life onto a reality defined by anxious thirst and negotiation for even the smallest comfort. Water, in this world, takes on attributes far beyond simple sustenance—it becomes a marker of influence and a tool for bargaining.

Lawrence’s reappearance—a former partner of Alex and a scientist aware of deep corporate fraud—forces the protagonist to reconsider her quiet acquiescence. The revelation sets off a sequence where choices are fraught and every personal connection is potentially dangerous, with survival often pitched against ethical risk.

What sets Owens’s work apart is her attentive dissection of human behavior under pressure, exploring how scarcity and power imbalances shape both private relationships and public choices. Despite occasionally stretching the bounds of scientific probability, the story builds tension from its characters’ emotional quandaries and their struggle with complicity and conscience.

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