Katja's World GameA trilogy
- By J. Ekstam
Every breath of wind, every fallen leaf, every mutilated stump – they’re all part of the story. Her story and our story. The overstory and the understory.
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The Game Begins

It is 2022. What can six students at a university in Bath, England, do to turn the tables and save the Earth from imminent destruction? Who will be saved? Is technology the solution or our downfall? The past and present are intertwined as the six students, from China, Iran, Northern Ireland, Norway, The Gambia, and the U.S.A try to make sense of their world and save what can be saved.

The story Katja tells is not only her own – it is also ours. It is a story of fear, despair and anger but also of hope and love.

Katja’s World Game: The Game Begins is the first novel in a trilogy which explores the natural world, the supernatural, and the world of stories and games.

The cover book
The Understory

Now in their second year at university, Katja and her friends know that time is running out – they have just a few more years to help save life on Earth.

Fear and despair mingle with hope and optimism as the six students fight for a better future. How can they make a difference? Will the climate game they’ve created show people it’s still not too late?

The group learn that every living – and non-living – being has its own energy and talents. If everyone plays their part, life on earth does have a future. The question is, will they?

The Understory is the second novel in a trilogy that explores the natural world, the supernatural, and the world of stories and games.

Front cover of The Understory
The Overstory

Now in their third year at university, Katja and her friends are even more aware that time is running out for the Earth.

The ark village being built on George and Elizabeth’s farm is a major challenge. How will Katja and her friends cope with their studies and the ark project? Will the dark forces become even more aggressive? Will PB, who is aging fast, still be around when the ark village is inaugurated?

Katja and her friends must constantly remember that every living – and non-living – being has its own energy and talents. The first ark village is only a beginning. The students know that they must build ark villages in their home countries and across the world.

The Overstory is the final novel in a trilogy that explores the natural world, the supernatural, and the world of stories and games.

Front cover of The Overstory

What others say

Entwined in this story about the climate crisis, are the lives of several university students from far-flung countries of the world. Each has his/her unique concern and perspective about how the changing climate affects their communities. Yet, they are united in sharing a common concern about the global impacts. Now a senior at the UK’s University of Bath, Scandinavian Katja is the driving force in their efforts—both small and large—to educate and enlist the help of others. No significant task is accomplished alone, we learn. Author Jane Ekstam develops engaging characters as she weaves the elements of their efforts into a hopeful conclusion to Katja’s World Game trilogy. See for yourself if a big idea, like an ark village, might be part of the solution to the biggest challenge facing humanity, and life writ large. Such big ideas require responsibility and the ability to dream and to believe.
Bruce Smith is a writer and wildlife biologist who lives in southwest Montana. He's an author of nonfiction articles and books of natural history, science, and outdoor adventure.

About Katja: the main character

Katja is a nineteen-year-old student at a university in Bath, southern England. Half Norwegian, half English, she’s learned to love Bath. Life is good – or at least, it was! The good thing is that she has friends at uni, and a loving family even if they don’t understand her, and even though her Mum and Dad’s relationship is threatened.

When she meets her professor, almost everything changes: it seems she’s not ‘just’ Katja but some kind of guardian of the planet. How that will work is a mystery – one that she initially prefers to ignore. Ignoring, however, is not an option. She has to make choices, difficult choices. She can only hope that they are the right ones – for herself, for her loved ones, and for the environment.

A glacier is a large mass of ice that moves slowly down a slope.
A forest fire is a fire that burns in a forest.
A photograph of the Namibian landscape is featured in the video for Child of Lockdown by Blue Bird by Peter Burdon
Am I alone?
The katja's world game cover in a oval shape
What will I forget?
Is this really happening?

‘Why me?’ was the first question I asked myself when my professor told me about my destiny, to save at least part of the world from destruction.

What does a nineteen-year-old know about climate change and the future? You’ve got the wrong person: I’m just Katja.

What happens if I say “no” to my destiny? Will my boyfriend stay with me if I try to do what my professor says? Will my family support me or must I keep my destiny a secret from them? Who’s going to help me when the going gets tough?

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Katja's World Game
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