I requested this review copy because I thought it sounded sooo frick'n good, but instead it ended up being a little bit of a let down.
Less novel, andI requested this review copy because I thought it sounded sooo frick'n good, but instead it ended up being a little bit of a let down.
Less novel, and more a series of interconnected stories depicting the near extinction of the human race, Under the Eye of the Big Bird is a cautionary futuristic tale spanning hundreds and thousands of years. After a series of not completely clear catastrophic events, both human and AI driven, those remaining were forced to isolate into separate societies, which then set off interesting and unpredictable evolutionary chain reactions.
The stories are not told in any particular order, and while I enjoyed each one on its own individually, it was easier to find the connective threads between some, and was much much harder with others.
Honestly, having finished the book and knowing what I know now, I'm tempted to give it a second read because I am certain it will all come crashing together more cohesively and the order in which each story takes place will make so much more sense. And it might even earn a higher rating from me. But sadly, my gigantic TBR is calling, and I cannot afford to spend time rereading a book just to make it all make more sense.
Onward, my fellow readers.
(though, if you do end up reading this one, and after having a similar experience decide to reread it in order to make it make more sense, I'd love to know if that works!!)
(and also, can I just say how much I dislike this title? It makes me think of "under his eye" from Handmaids Tale and Sesame Street. Sigh.)...more
In the follow up to the cli-fi, sci-fi, fungal fiction novella The Annual Migration of Clouds, we follow Reid as she makes her way towards Howse UniveIn the follow up to the cli-fi, sci-fi, fungal fiction novella The Annual Migration of Clouds, we follow Reid as she makes her way towards Howse University. The trip was especially grueling but one she initially believes was worth it. She's in awe of just how different, and technologically advanced, things are there. And though it's the first time she's truly felt like an outsider, she doesn't let that stop her from being her naturally curious and exploratory self.
And the curiosity certainly pays off. Reid quickly learns that the rumors weren't far off the mark when she uncovers why it is that no one ever seems to return from this place. Rather than accept things as they are in this strange new utopia, Reid challenges her fellow students to look deeper, to question everything, to refuse to take things at face value.
We Speak Through the Mountain explores the power of inquisitiveness, what it means to have knowledge without the ability or willingness to share it, and the influence one can have over many. Hope and light continue to push against the fear and darkness...
This one ended on a much cliffier cliffhanger, so I fully anticipate at least one more book in the series before this post apocalyptic world is done with us!...more
I saw this at a used bookstore for 4 bucks and when I realized it was an end of the world plaguey kind of book, which is right up my alley, I figured,I saw this at a used bookstore for 4 bucks and when I realized it was an end of the world plaguey kind of book, which is right up my alley, I figured, yes, let's do this.
The premise of Black Moon is a simple one. Suddenly, almost everyone is infected with incurable insomnia. It only takes a few days for people to start hallucinating and struggle to communicate clearly. A few days more and they are outside wandering around, lost and babbling nonsense, but they can start to sniff out a sleeper. The longer they go without sleep, the more aggressively they go after the sleepers when they stumble upon one actually sleeping. Kind of like zombies, only they aren't dead and they won't eat your brains, they will just beat you to death in an attempt to release your sleep.
Through a series of alternating chapters, we follow a few of those who haven't been affected, and one who is but is in a place that believes it can help the sleepless begin to sleep again, and travel with them on their individual journeys as they try to find their families, or attempt to leave them behind, in this new hellscape.
While I liked it overall, it felt too much like of a knock-off of Nod. And the length of time in which the people appeared to still be alive and functioning, if you could call it that, without sleep seemed a little unbelievable. I'm no expert but I would think that no one would be alive after nearly a month of no sleep. I mean, ok, yes, I googled how long a human body can go without sleep so you won't have to, ha, and the longest recorded length of time was 11 days, so there's no way to know for sure, but a MONTH? To still be alive and walking around, even if you're completely out of it and zombie-like? Eh. I mean, I'll give Calhoun some credit, because towards the end of the book, the sleepers were seeing more and more dead bodies laying around, but even still, I couldn't suspend belief and buy into it, and that kept pulling me out of the book.
A decent read if you're into pandy fiction and don't mind if you never learn what triggered the pandemic or whether society is able to recover from it...
Q: What's your favorite pandemic/end of world novel(s)?...more
I stumbled across this book through a re-tweet from the author announcing its release. Whoever says posting to Twitter isn't effective is dead wrong. I stumbled across this book through a re-tweet from the author announcing its release. Whoever says posting to Twitter isn't effective is dead wrong. I am positive I would not have had AL Davidson's book hit my radar otherwise. And I'm really glad it did.
It's a queer space rom-horror that intertwines alien and fungal terror for a ridiculously captivating read. Yes, maybe I'm coining a new sub-genre term. Just go with it, yeah? And hellooo... do you see that cover?
London and Temple have been apart more than they've been together since they started working with the Zeus Project. London's compromised health keeps them locked away in a remote outpost while they perform autopsies on deceased crewmembers who've suffered strange and worrying deaths, while Temple is captain of a team that's been sent to a distant planet to begin terraform procedures. In addition to their health issues, London is also suffering from anxiety, depression, and may be starting to go a little crazy... doors they know they've locked are starting to open on their own, they swear they hear movement and whispers in the lower level of the outpost, and the bodies that are being sent to them, which are without a doubt very dead, also appear to be somewhat alive, even though London knows that can't be possible.
This one is a bit of a slow burn, with a higher focus on the relationship between London and Temple, but once the weirdness starts up, the book gets kicked into high gear. It's an emotional, slightly gory, terror filled journey out amongst the stars.......more
I had been waiting to get my hands on this one for quite a while and finally happened to catch a used copy being sold on PangoBooks! Fungal fiction foI had been waiting to get my hands on this one for quite a while and finally happened to catch a used copy being sold on PangoBooks! Fungal fiction for the win... again!
This book was worth the wait. In it, a group of men have been surviving in a remote area on their own after a plague kills off all of the women. One day, while visiting his mother's grave, Nathan discovers mushrooms blooming all over the graveyard, directly over the women's remains. After plucking one of the fruiting bodies to show the resident doctor, he somehow finds himself underground and face to face with a woman shaped fungal creature. After overcoming his initial fears, he makes his way back to camp, bringing the thing along, introducing it to the group as The Beauty.
What are these hybrid beings and are they as gentle as they seem? Nathan informs them that there are more where it came from, enough for each of them and the men find themselves both terrified and mystified by what comes next in this strange post-pandy world.
The book is grotesquely tender as it plays around with gender roles and body horror. I devoured it in practically one sitting and my only complaint is that it wasn't longer!
(this copy also included another novelette called Peace, Pipe which was also amazing, about someone who was kept in quarantine on spaceship, who befriends another lifeform when they realize they can hear each other through the wall that separates them. Oh my god it was sooo good Almost reminded me a bit of Project Hail Mary and the relationship Ryland and Rocky cultivated!!)...more
Oh man you guys, I was prepared to give this a middle of the road 3 star review until the ending. I'm not sure what I was reading at that point... butOh man you guys, I was prepared to give this a middle of the road 3 star review until the ending. I'm not sure what I was reading at that point... but it changed the whole experience for me!
Our Wives Under the Sea will forever remain an untouchable debut for me and nothing Julia can write will surpass it. Of this I am positive.
Though Private Rites, grief fiction at the end of the world, wasn't a bad sophomore novel. In it, three sisters deal with the death of their father and their strangely awkward relationship with one another while an endless rain continues to eat away at everything around them.
The twisted familial dynamics and soggy landscapes carry echoes of OWUtS, where water continues to be the central driving force. While I wouldn't necessarily agree with those who are calling it brilliant or blistering, it was quite beautifully written and the deliciously unexpected ending that kind of came out nowhere continues to live inside my brain.......more
I happened to stumble across this one while browsing the Book Outlet during one of their recent sales and I knew I had to have it. I hadn't heard of iI happened to stumble across this one while browsing the Book Outlet during one of their recent sales and I knew I had to have it. I hadn't heard of it before and wondered why, after reading the description. I mean, it's got me written all over it!
Pandy fiction where the silken threads from a rare breed of poisionous moths affects only human males (and birds), either killing them in their sleep or driving them into violence and madness... uhm yes please!
Like most pandemics, it hits fast and countries all over the world are forced to jump into action to protect the women and isolate the men while they try to figure out how this is spreading, in order to slow the death count, and determine why it's only impacting males.
The book starts about 40 years post-pandemic, following a carer named Mary, who works at one of the facilities that houses the uninfected men, where she and other staff members do their best to provide the men the best life they can while protecting them from the constant threat of the moths. Yes, even 40 years later, the world hasn't figured out how to exterminate the species or properly vaccinate or cure the men. And through some creative flashback chapters, we learn more about Mary and her life before the pandemic, and how women have managed running the country without the men post pandemic.
While wiping men off the face of the planet is not new in fiction (Afterland, The End of Men, The Men), Hennigan breathes new life into the genre. One where the men don't know any other life. And where the women are taught about them in school, but unless they sign up to Contribute (become impregnanted with a male child that will immediately be turned over to the goverment and raised in one of the facilities) or visit the facilities for recreational sex, they may live their entire lives without ever having seen one in person.
When Mary learns from a new co-worker that there might be a vaccination after all, and that the women who are running the country are willing to kill to keep it hidden, she finds herself heading down a path from which she might never return.
After 40 years of keeping the men contained and calm, what would happen if they were reintroduced into society?
It's really good you guys! You gotta give this one a read....more
"The beginning is never the beginning. What we often mistake for the beginning is just the moment wePink Slime is my new favorite book at the moment.
"The beginning is never the beginning. What we often mistake for the beginning is just the moment we realize something has changed."
Our narrator's world is in the middle of a strange and ongoing eco-collapse. The ocean spews forth dead fish. Divers are sent into its depths and determine the cause is a toxic algae, and within weeks they are dead from a new incurable illness that causes their skin to literally slough off. Birds disappear. The locals are panicked. Fresh food becomes scarce and a new factory is designed to stretch what animal meat there is as far as it can by grinding it into a thick pink paste. Alarms begin going off to warn pedestrians to hoof it inside before the red winds arrive, carrying with it traces of poisonous algae. The only relief they receive is from the thick fog that settles over everything in between winds.
Instead of fleeing, our narrator sticks it out and continues to care for a young boy who suffers from a medical condition that causes him to have an insatiable hunger, while also visiting her ex-husband at The Clinic who has been diagnosed with a chronic version of the infectious illness, and navigating her messy relationship with her stubborn mother.
Oh my gosh you guys. This is so beautifully written. The story skillfully moves the reader through the fear and frustration and devastation of the climate crisis, while toggling back to the subtle moments that our narrator experienced, the ones that would usher in these unbelievable changes, armed now with the knowledge of how pivotal those moments would be in the coming days and weeks. Kind of like how you don't know the last time you're seeing someone is the last time you'll ever see them...
It's full of dread and bad decisions, even when the desire is to do the right thing, and it closes as it opened, with no clear beginning or ending in sight.
A pandemic in which your gender and the color of your hair determines whether you will turn rabid and brutually attack others? Ok, sign me up.
This boA pandemic in which your gender and the color of your hair determines whether you will turn rabid and brutually attack others? Ok, sign me up.
This book came out in 2012 and somehow flew right under my radar, which is weird because pandy fiction is so my jam. And honestly, I am not even sure how it got onto my radar now, but I'm glad it did.
You're going to have to throw basic logic out the window for this one though because the virus only affects blonde females. And not just natural blonde females. It also affects dyed blondes. But if you shave your head and pubes, you might trick the virus into passing you by. Which, what? That makes like zero sense since the virus is supposed to interact with your genes and cutting your hair or dying it won't change your genetic markers but whatever, here we go, we're committed and we're going along for the ride...
So blonde women catch this virus and begin going mad, ragey and bitey, killing people left and right. In no time, the body count is in the hundred thousands A DAY and the world shifts into pandemic mode. Our red headed protagonist Hazel finds out she is pregnant on the day of the inital outbreak and the rest of the book follows her as she decides to find a place willing to terminate the pregnancy while also trying to locate the baby daddy so she can let him know. Of course, neither of those things are going happen without a fight, especially when the government begins to lock things down and segregate anyone who may have been exposed or is at risk for The Blonde Fury.
I love that Schultz wrote a book in which a virus specifically targets the hollywood standard for beauty, the C'mon Barbie let's go party people of the world. What was once coveted is now feared.
And while it's dark due to the subject matter - pandemic times, unwanted pregancy, maritial affairs - it's also darkly humorous and at times a little cheeky. Hazel has the most hilarious nicknames for her unborn baby and ends up spending some incredibly uncomfortable time in close quarters with her baby daddy's wife. It gently balances hope and compassion and optimism while also showcasing the horror and fears of the unknown.
It's a chunky one, clocking in at just under 400 pages. But it reads quickly, and read it you should. ...more
This has been on my to-buy list ever since seeing it in the bookstore on the New Fiction shelf. Isolation AND pandy fiction, how could I say no?!
But hThis has been on my to-buy list ever since seeing it in the bookstore on the New Fiction shelf. Isolation AND pandy fiction, how could I say no?!
But honestly, it was a bit of a strange one for me. It was more chewy than I had anticipated - I picked it up thinking it would be a quick read about two people who were surviving a pandemic on a remote island, but it was really so much more than that.
Kit was a deliciously unreliable narrator. You know right from the get-go there is more to this situation than she is letting on. How did she get there? How long has she been alone? Why is she ok with letting this guy Crevan, who apparently just showed up out of the blue one day, boss her around and take charge of her and her bunker-den hideout place, but she's not ok when he rescues an unconscious woman from the ocean? And she came across as weirdly immature, which bothered me until you get closer to the end of the book (spoiler no spoiler but there's an interesting little twist) and then you kind of get why.
The pacing was a bit uneven, quicker when there was a bit of action, which was few and far between, and sloooower during the moments where she got stuck inside her head, which happened more frequently. It was definitely more isolation fiction than pandy fiction and the atmosphere was what made it all work - the whole situation was downright eerie, there was loads of tension, and we know we're being fed a bunch of half truths, so we're actively trying to figure out just wtf is going on while also giving in and going along for the ride because, what choice do we have?...more
Ok, now this is more like it. It's a down and dirty, read it in one sitting, queer zombie novella unlike anything you've ever read. And those poor zomOk, now this is more like it. It's a down and dirty, read it in one sitting, queer zombie novella unlike anything you've ever read. And those poor zombies! They are people who contracted a new virus that keeps them alert and aware as they rot away to nothing, but it also takes control of all of their motor skills, so they can't help but chase after you screaming at you to please kill them and run like hell and then apologize to you for the gorefest they are about to unleash on your bodies.
And in this chaotic new world, there's Quinton, an HIV+ gay man who has been holed up in a cabin for decades, far removed from this horrorfest until a group of hillbillies break in, destroy his meds, and threaten his safety. Forced out into the zombiepocalypse to scrounge up as many bottles of the life saving medication as he can before going to back into hiding, he meets another HIV+ guy named Billy who is on a similar mission, and the two head off towards the Mayner Pharmaceuticals warehouse where they hope to hit the motherload. Instead, they discover much more than they bargained for.
Bloody but with a bunch of heart, The Only Safe Place Left is the Dark is a perfectly quick, cheeky read for a wet rainy afternoon. ...more
This is book 3 of my #bookblurbreadingexperiment and I absolutely loved it!
For those of you who haven't been following along, after I finished readinThis is book 3 of my #bookblurbreadingexperiment and I absolutely loved it!
For those of you who haven't been following along, after I finished reading The Hole by Hye-Young Pyung, which had been sitting unread on my shelves for years and which I ended up really enjoying, I checked out the writers who blurbed her book and I noticed that one of them was Lauren van den Berg, and I just happened to have one of her books sitting on my TBR shelf (also for years), and thought... I've never read her before so why not pick it up and read it. And that was the start of the book blurb reading experiement - I'd continue to read books solely from writers who blurbed the book I'd just finished until either (a) I end up with a book that was blurbed totally by authors I've already read or (2) stop when I hit a book I hate.
Justin Cronin was one of the writers who blurbed the last book I read (Dan Chaon's Await Your Reply, which I did not really dig). While I had already read Cronin's book The Passage years ago, it was the only book I'd read by him and I had strongly disliked it. But then I saw that he had just released this one, and yes I'm aware I am already kind of breaking my own rules, I thought this was a good time to give him a second try, so I went out and bought it and man, I am so glad I did!
The Ferryman is one of the longest books I've read in a very long time. Clocking in at over 500 pages, I'm not going to lie, it felt like a daunting task and I worried about what I was getting myself into (part of what I disliked about The Passage was how dang looooong it was) but after reading the first couple pages, I was hooked and knew I was going to fly through it. And fly through it I did!
Proctor is a ferryman on the island of Prospera, a completely sealed off utopian environment where people live comfortably and thrive, having survived something referred to as "the horrors", an unclear catalysmic event that wiped out most, if not all, of humanity. It's Proctor's job to transport the residents of Prospera to the Nursery when it's time for them to retire, where they will be reborn into a new reiteration of themselves and eventually rejoin the population back on the island. It's something most Prosperian's look foward to and Proctor finds a lot of joy in helping them through that part of their transition. Until he gets the call that'll he be transporting his father Malcom.
Malcom's mental status begins deteriorating quickly between the time Proctor picks him up and gets him to the ferry. His father begins to mumble cryptic things, telling Proctor "you're not you" and "the world is not the world" and he whispers one nonsensical word "Oranios" that lingers with Proctor long after he leaves him.
This experience sets Proctor down a path of new discovery, of chasing after answers he may never find, and its a journey he may never fully return from...
If you haven't read this yet, it gives off major The Island, The Truman Show, and Shutter Island vibes! It's a total mindfuck of a book but in the absolute best way!
(also, where am I headed from here? I saw that Blake Crouch blurbed this book and I've never read anything by him. Rather than start with Dark Matter, I thought I'd go with the less popular Abandon... which sounds most my style. I ordered it from Pango so it may be a few days before I can start book 4 of the experiment!)...more
In The Seep, we're dropped smack in the middle of an already established alien invasion. These are not your garden variety little grey 'take me to youIn The Seep, we're dropped smack in the middle of an already established alien invasion. These are not your garden variety little grey 'take me to your leader' aliens, though. These particular aliens are bodiless particles that seep into your skin and brain, and take all your pain away. They are more like an essence, doping people up like a drug, and appear to be non-violent. Most people are cool with it and coexist with it, but others have created Seep-free communities, preferring to avoid all contact with it and those polluted by it, continuing to live the old way.
It sounded so good... but just didn't deliver. All of the characters were flat as cardboard, with writing that barely scratched the surface, there were weird random time jumps, and the most annoying part of the whole reading experience is that we're kind of just continiously floating on the periphery of this earth changing and life altering event, never fully being brought up to speed. Like, where did these aliens come from? Why are they chilling out inside the people of earth? Do you have to give them permission to enter you? What's their MO?
So nope. Not a fan. And, can I just tell you that I'm getting tired of the reading rut I've found myself in lately... all these meh reads back to back to back are wearing on meeeee. The only real positive was that it's a wickedly quick read. You can knock this thing out in one sitting if you wanted to. But honestly, why would you? ...more
Holy fuck this was good! Like, the best book I've read so far this year good!
Normally, I struggle immensely with epic multi-generational storylines buHoly fuck this was good! Like, the best book I've read so far this year good!
Normally, I struggle immensely with epic multi-generational storylines but this one was so well written and the order in which it unfolded sucked me in so hard, right from the start.
I wasn't sure what I expected going into it but I definitely wasn't expecting it to blow me away like this. And it's a debut to boot!
I disagree with the comparison to Station Eleven. This hits you in the feels so much harder. This is goosebumps all over my body good. It's historic, it's futuristic, it's apocalyptic and catastrophic, it's cli-fi and survival fiction. And it works!
If this is not on your radar yet, you've just been put on notice. You need to get yourself a copy. You can thank me later!...more
I am kind of torn on this one. It's not bad, by any means, but I think I expected to like it more than I actually did. I mean, c'mon... when you compaI am kind of torn on this one. It's not bad, by any means, but I think I expected to like it more than I actually did. I mean, c'mon... when you compare it to Bird Box?? That book absolutely blew me away. How can anything come close?!
The similarities between Your Shadow Half Remains and Bird Box stop at the "don't look directly at it" premise. In this case, the "it" you can't look directly at are other people's eyes, not strange alien wind things. Because here, if you look someone directly in the eyes and they are infected, things will go very very badly for you. Like you'll go crazy and start eating them badly.
So we follow our narrator Riley around her little isolated home in the woods after she throws her cell phone into a lake, a house that belonged to her grandparents, that became hers once their lives endled in a bloody mess, a mess she hasn't had the motivation to clean yet. She's been surviving on her own for a long time, ordering what she needs online, ignoring the news updates on the virus, enjoying her peace and quiet until a strange woman named Ellis greets her at the end of her driveway. The woman claims she's new around here, having recently moved into a house down the street to escape the strict rules of her old development.
Starved for human interaction, but also scared shitless to be around another person again, Riley and Ellis develop a tentative relationship, visiting each other with blinders on, but Riley's having a hard time trusting her. Ellis talks a lot but doesn't seem to be sharing much, and ever since she's made herself known, Riley's been experiencing strange and worrying things that seem to be escalating in dangerous ways - she catches glimpses of human shaped silouettes outside and footprints in the grass outside her window, she wakes one morning to her computer wires cut, and one evening she notices writing on the walls in her hallway. Is it Ellis? Is it someone else out there? Or worse, is it her, sabotaging herself without her knowing?
Needless to say, Riley's an unreliable narrator, and Sunny Moraine does a pretty decent job of creating doubt and loads of tension as the story progresses. It's an interesting spin on a familar horror trope and it kept me reading, page after page, trying to figure out just wtf was going on out there in those woods!...more
A zombie apocalypse in Ireland. Orpen, a young girl who was raised on an isolated island, is now escorting her mother's ill girlfriend in a wheelbarroA zombie apocalypse in Ireland. Orpen, a young girl who was raised on an isolated island, is now escorting her mother's ill girlfriend in a wheelbarrow through a barren, haunted landscape seeking the last known safe haven, a city of potential hope and home to a rumored female force called the Banshees.
More heart than horror, Last Ones Left Alive is a solid and engaging read but it isn't bringing anything new to the genre. A similar vibe to Megan Hunter's The End We Start From, the protagonist's optimism and tenacity shine brightly through the dark and sloggy terrain. Orpen's inability to give up, her maddening desire to locate the city, and the rigorous training she received back home make it impossible not to root for her.
The pacing is slow but tolerable, with alternating chapters that bounce between Orpen's current journey on the mainland and the circumstances on the island that led her to flee its relative safety.
I'm ready for a 5 star read, you guys. These 3 and 4 star books I've been reading lately are ok and all but I'm ready to be wowed. (Sigh)....more
Set in a near future, the world is dying. A smog has settled over much of the world, and the animals and food crops everyone relies on are now scarce Set in a near future, the world is dying. A smog has settled over much of the world, and the animals and food crops everyone relies on are now scarce and heading towards extinction. Our main character takes a job as a private chef in an elite self sustaining mountaintop community in Italy. Her role is to cook up unique and elaborate meals based on certain guests' preferences for the lavish dinner parties her employer throws in order to entice their wealthy diners to continue to donate to their project -which is partially revealed pretty early on in our chef's time on the mountain but not FULLY explained until the end, which ok, hello, you got me Zhang, because I certainly did not see where this thing was taking me and oh what a strange place for it to go to if I'm being honest...
I wanted to like this as much I loved How Much of These Hills is Gold, but sadly I did not. I knew it was going to be highly food focused, but geesh... how many pages can a girl read about rare ingredients and food preparation and people eating the food and everyone's table manners as they eat the food and talk politics and position themselves to be considered 'apice' in the employers eyes?
Stunningly written but incredibly slow moving, Land of Milk and Honey is a book about climate change, false utopia and deception, privilege and power, and the lengths people will go to in order to survive....more
Does the world really need another post-pandy novel? Well, if Claire Fuller is writing it, then the answer is Someone, quick, make this into a movie!
Does the world really need another post-pandy novel? Well, if Claire Fuller is writing it, then the answer is yes!
The Memory of Animals is a bit of a slow-to-start novel involving a deadly virus dubbed "dropsy". Those who catch it suffer from severe organ swelling, their eyes push out of their sockets and, fun times, the newest varient also impacts the brain and causes memory loss so you get to stumble around confused and disoriented while you die.
Neffy has signed up to participate in a paid trial in which she'll be infected with the original strain and issued a test vaccine to see if it works. The book opens up with her getting checked in and settled the day before they stick her. There's nine volunteers total (or maybe it's eight?). And when Neffy finally pulls through the worst of it days later, the vaccine apparently doing what it was designed to do, she discovers it's all too late. The hospital staff abandoned them. Only four of the other volunteers are left, the shit having hit the fan before the virus was administered to them. Neffy is informed that they are not to draw attention to themselves or the building, that they are already rationing the food, and that they hope but are not hopeful that the army will come rescue them once the trial period has ended.
The book quickly moves from pandemic fiction to isolation fiction. They are in shock. They believe most of the world is dead. They are afraid to leave, and Neffy feels pressured to be the one who will ultimately have to head out and scavange for the group.
As Neffy gets to know her fellow lock-ins, she discovers one of them is the inventor of a machine that allows you to "revisit" your memories in a virtual-reality trance kind of way. This quickly becomes a creative way for Fuller to delve into Neffy's backstory - why she's so eager to volunteer to do unsafe things to her body and why she's writing journal style letters to "Dearest H"... another nifty way for us to learn about our protagonist.
You won't understand the title until much, much later in the book, when some other pretty big reveals come speeding at us. In hindsight, I am not sure why I didn't spot some of it sooner but, honestly, I think I enjoyed the book better this way.
Have you read this one? How do you think it measures up to other post-pandy novels you've read?...more
Welcome to another post apocalyptic world that has been ravaged by climate change and numerous other catastrophes. Electricity, travel, and readily avWelcome to another post apocalyptic world that has been ravaged by climate change and numerous other catastrophes. Electricity, travel, and readily available food are things of the past. What makes Premee's novella unique is that many of the communities of survivors are also plagued with a fungal virus referred to as Cad, which infects the nervous system and is set on protecting its "body" from harm. While it can sometimes "go off" and cause its hosts extreme pain and, yes, even death, most are able to live comfortably with it, sometimes even forgetting it's there.
But not Reid. She remains hyper aware of her parasite and worries endlessly about what it's doing to her and her mother. Especially when she becomes the recipient of an acceptance letter to the esteemed Howse University, an elite school rumored to be nestled in a dome that is run by rich folk and may even have access to some of the old technology that once existed.
Torn between escaping the only life she's known in the hopes of discovering something better, and abandoning her aging mother and her best friend Henryk, Reid struggles with conflicting feelings of doubt, fear, and excitement and begins to push herself in ways both her, and her Cad, are uncomfortable with.
At its heart, it's a story of survival, devastation, community, and hope. I especially loved how well it meshed elements of cli-fi, sci-fi, and fungal fiction into one cohesive and horrific world....more
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