MAJA LUNDE The Dream of a Tree. Reviewed by Ann Skea
The new novel from the Norwegian author of The History of Bees imagines a dystopian future where seeds are more precious than ever. The year was 2097 and Tommy was five years old. He was playing on the beach of the abandoned container harbour in Longyearbyen on the...
TIM WINTON Juice. Reviewed by Robert Goodman
Tim Winton’s new novel dives into a post-climate-change world where violence seems the only solution. The opening of Tim Winton’s new novel Juice cannot help but put readers in mind of Cormac McCarthy’s seminal work The Road. A man, possibly an ex-soldier, and a young...
FERNANDA TRIAS Pink Slime. Reviewed by Ann Skea
The new novel from Uruguayan writer Fernanda Trias is set in a dystopian city and has unsettling echoes of recent events. When the fog rolled in, the port turned into a swamp. Shadows fell across the plaza, filtering between the trees and leaving the long marks of...
NICK HARKAWAY Titanium Noir. Reviewed by Robert Goodman
Nick Harkaway’s dystopian new novel features a classic noir detective. While it is always true to say genre is fluid, occasionally something magical can happen when crime fiction meets science fiction. This may be because the best crime fiction uses its tropes...
NOAH HAWLEY Anthem. Reviewed by Robert Goodman
The author of Before the Fall has created a grim vision of the near future in this fast-paced new novel. Noah Hawley is angry and a little bit scared of the future, especially on behalf of his children. Those familiar with his previous book Before the Fall could not...
SARA FOSTER The Hush. Reviewed by Emma Foster (no relation)
An unsettlingly plausible near-future UK provides the backdrop for Sara Foster’s dystopian thriller, The Hush. In Sara Foster’s seventh novel, the world is emerging from years of pandemic lockdowns; the threat of food scarcity, economic turmoil and climate...
CATHERYNNE M VALENTE The Past is Red. Reviewed by Robert Goodman
Catherynne M Valente’s new novel focusses on hope and resilience while asking what future generations will make of our wasteful ways. Just when you think the post-apocalyptic narrative might have become a bit stale, along comes Catherynne M Valente to blow it...
CLARE MOLETA Unsheltered. Reviewed by Linda Godfrey
Clare Moleta’s novel canvases big questions as a mother searches for her child in a hostile landscape. The opening scene of Clare Moleta’s debut novel describes two farmers standing in the rain. Their daughter runs towards them – she’s scared; she’s five years...
JONATHAN LETHEM The Arrest. Reviewed by Robert Goodman
In his twelfth novel Jonathan Lethem delivers a post-apocalypse story that is also a commentary on the genre. It seems everyone wants to write post-apocalyptic fiction at the moment. But Jonathan Lethem cannot be accused of just jumping on the bandwagon in his twelfth...
JAY KRISTOFF Truel1f3: Lifel1k3 Book 3. Reviewed by Amelia Dudley.
Truel1f3 delivers a satisfying conclusion to Jay Kristoff’s dystopian Lifel1k3 series, a tale of love, sacrifice and betrayal. ‘You built a world on metal backs. Held together by metal hands. And one day soon, those hands will close. And they’ll become fists.’...
MICAIAH JOHNSON The Space Between Worlds. Reviewed by Robert Goodman
Micaiah Johnson delivers a fresh take on multiple worlds and explores issues of power, nature and fate in her novel The Space Between Worlds. The idea of multiple worlds or multiple realities is a common one in science fiction. In her debut, The Space Between...
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