Afterland

Reviews / Votes

A smartly written thriller that opens with a satisfying bang . . . splendid -- Stephen King * New York Times * Powerful and intelligent, with some unexpectedly trenchant humour, this welcome addition to the no-longer-so-speculative pandemic subgenre has plenty to say about grief, love, family ties and gender roles * Guardian * Bowstring-taut, visceral, and incredibly timely: Beukes's plague-tale is a parable about the glory and terror of Americanism in times of calamity -- Cory Doctorow, author of <i>Walkaway</i> and <i>Little Brother</i> Lauren Beukes is a writer with a startling imagination, and a masterful ability to rewrite the rules of whatever genre she turns to; and now, right on time, she has turned to dystopian plague -- Ben Winters, author of <i>Underground Airlines</i> and <i>Golden State</i> Five years in writing, this intelligent speculative novel about a pandemic feels alarmingly close to home * Metro * You can't imagine how quickly the world can change in six months - there probably isn't a more resonant sentence to be found in any other novel published this year. A fast-moving thriller [that] splices gut-punching action sequences and feminist gender politics with an impressively light touch. Bubbles with big ideas. This intelligent speculative novel about a pandemic feels alarmingly close to home * Metro * Afterland is that rare creature, a ripping tale that neither shies away from big questions nor interesting answers * New Scientist * Teases out the deep familial currents that run through its relationships, explores gender and reminds us that dystopian fiction can be seriously grown-up entertainment * SFX * Afterland could not be more timely or terrifying . . . An excellent example of the prophetic nature of speculative fiction. Lauren Beukes is one of the most innovative and provocative writers on the contemporary scene * Scotland on Sunday * (A) timely thriller * i paper *