Book Review: How to Surf a Hurricane

Reviewed by Nikolas Mavreas

An environmentally conscious, hopeful tale wrapped in a thrilling heist novel

Both despite and because of its technological advances, ours is a severely pessimistic age. In a literary landscape that is overwhelmingly cluttered with anxiety about the future, Todd Medema’s debut novel, How to Surf a Hurricane, offers an adventure set in a more hopeful version of the near future, where people have the power to change things, as well as themselves, for the better.

It is 2040, and a young engineer named Moro Petroff has come up with a new kind of lithium-sulfur battery which has the potential to help resolve the global energy crisis. It was to be produced by Petroff Power, but his family company has decided to shut down the project, as it comes into conflict with their investment in natural gas.

Motivated by pride and self-interest, Moro decides to steal the prototypes of his battery and sell them himself. His best chance at doing so is during their transfer by ship across the Atlantic Ocean. To pull off the heist he puts together a crew made up of individuals affected by Petroff Power’s shady tactics.

Foremost in the crew is Victoria, a hurricane surfer, and her daughter, Azure. Hurricane surfing is a newfangled sport, owing its existence to the decrease of ski-able snow and also, perhaps, to the increasing occurrence of hurricanes due to climate change. It is instrumental to Moro’s plot as he plans to set off a hurricane in order to carry off the heist for his batteries.

Medema writes in short point-of-view chapters, which include limited internal monologue. The technique works particularly well in the first part of the story, the fitting and effective set-up where the author introduces us to this future world and the assembling crew. It is a surprising timeline, one where one Ethereum coin is worth over a hundred thousand dollars and where David Guetta songs are considered “thumping oldies.”

The world becomes vivid and believable through Medema’s sharp attention to detail and his formidable panoply of technical descriptions. It is not only the minutiae of futuristic yet grounded technologies that are carefully described but also the subtle balancing required to execute a judo o-goshi, or hip throw.

For as patient and methodical the book is in setting up its heist set-piece, it is rewardingly exciting when that set-piece is set off. Naturally, not everything goes according to plan and the potential failure of the mission is accompanied by the crew’s inner conflicts and even a death. A turning point of the heist is the arrival of a life-changing injury, but it is handled lightly and produces some tonal disorientation.

Throughout the story, a lot of attention is put on the relationship between hurricane surfer Victoria and her adventurous daughter, Azure. It feels like a classic young single mother and teenage daughter dynamic, with the struggle to define boundaries without limiting potential and creating resentment. Medema does justice to this great duo of characters, which also tends to bring out the best rhythms in his prose:

“Victoria encouraged a scared Azure to enter, and they found themselves teleported into a surreal scene, surrounded by a cavern of ice glowing blue from the water-filtered sunlight, droplets of water falling from everywhere, and a gurgling stream of runoff at their feet. Azure’s eyes, normally jaded slits of adolescent angst, were wide open in awe. Victoria’s heart melted.”

By the end of the story, noble goals are rewarded and not-so-noble goals are reconsidered. The environment, the common good is what should come first, and it’s in the hands of everyone, the novel artfully tells us, to help: “There are lots of dominoes, sure, but yours is still important—all of ours are. That’s the point. Everything makes ripples.”

As well as being a fun heist adventure, How to Surf a Hurricane expresses some of the most admirable impulses of our time.

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