Tag: dystopian fiction

Gethan Dick’s stunning debut is a thought-provoking post-apocalyptic novel, fizzing with energy, anger, fear and ultimately hope. Water in the Desert Fire in the Night will appeal to fans of Claire
Kilroy, Megan Hunter and Cormac McCarthy.

Here is a novel about hope, wolves, companionship and resilience, hunger and gold. It’s about an underachieving millennial, a retired midwife and a charismatic Dubliner who set out from London after the end of the world to cycle to a sanctuary in the southern Alps.

It’s about packing light and choosing the right companions and trousers: what’s worth knowing, what’s worth living, and holding on to your sense of humour in moments big and small. It’s about the fact that the world ends all the time. It’s about what to do next.

GETHAN DICK was born in 1980 in Belfast and grew up in the west of Ireland. She moved to London for an MA in Creative and Life Writing at Goldsmiths College. She then studied at Camberwell College of Art and shifted her creative practice towards text-based and co-created visual art. She moved to Marseille, France, where she has lived since 2011, working as one half of visual-arts duo gethan&myles with her partner, Myles Quin.
They have two children, and in her spare time she swims, cycles, jumps off rocks into the sea or heads for the hills.

My thoughts: this was an interesting, thought provoking, funny, and thrilling book about what to do after the end of the world. Four people who live in the same street in Streatham, South London, meet properly for the first time after a mysterious illness has wiped out much of humanity and many animals. Society has collapsed and most of what we rely on has vanished.

Our narrator, Anduz, was raised by her communist parents in Cuba, before they moved to the UK, she’s a fascinating character, fluent in Spanish and German as well as English, she’s the funny, wry observer and protagonist. Joining her are retired midwife Sarah, stoner philosopher Pressure Drop, originally from Dublin, and Adi, who doesn’t quite believe the world he knew has gone. 

Sarah has friends in France, living in a place that’s self-sufficient and safe, they just have to get there first. So on bikes with panniers packed full of essentials, the foursome set off, first for the coast to find someone who will sail them to France, and then across the country to their new home.

They meet with many different people along the way, some more welcoming than others, all just trying to survive. There are high points and terrible low ones, fear, love, friendship, community, violence, wild animals and heartbreak.

Through it all we see the relationship between the characters as they travel, evolve and strengthen. They must depend on each other at times for their survival. Their disparate skills and knowledge all that keeps them alive and moving forward.

I really enjoyed this book, I think it’s one that will stay with me for a while after reading, little thoughts popping up every now and then, moments from the book, things my brain is quietly weighing up in the background drifting through. For a first time writer, it’s an accomplished and intelligent debut and deserves to go far.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.

I’d rather punch myself in the face than work with that thunderous oaf.

When the messengers of the resistance vanish and ritualistic killings appear on their doorstep, all eyes turn to the unknown presence lurking in the woods. Convinced it’s the remnants of a
murderous cult—one that exists because she failed to stamp it out—Penny vows to end them.

But as much as she wishes she could be a one-woman army, she needs backup.
Voted “most likely to stab someone in the face,” making friends was never her strong suit, and in the midst of a war, her options for allies are limited. So to get the manpower for a search party, she agrees to a partnership with the giant, hulking, infuriating Mal—the general of the
resistance. Her general and “commanding officer” (barf).
But she doesn’t intend to play nice.

With each step into the deep, dark woods, a tangled mystery unfolds, launching Penny and her team into a cat-and-mouse chase to uncover the truth about the insidious company, Pharmatrox.
But as the threats ramp up, so does the tension between Penny and Mal, putting them on a collision course where they’ll either crash and burn or discover they’ve met their match.

To end the war and stop Pharmatrox before it regains power, the nation’s future hinges on Penny’s choice—will she remain loyal to the resistance and to Mal? Or will she give up everything in her ruthless quest to take down the company that destroyed her life.

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Megan Boley is a dystopian and urban fantasy author (and, alas, a former redhead). Her stories are full of ragtag teams, strong women, grumpy but lovable men, and some steamy romance to
keep things nice and interesting.

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My thoughts: We’re back in the nightmare that is Pharmatrox ravaged America (see this post for book one) and Penny is determined to wipe out the cult that has sprung up and is murdering people, draining them of their blood and still taking the drugs that will eventually turn them into flesh eating zombies.

They’re also contending with the remnants of Pharmatrox’s soldiers, who seem to have a new leader and some new horrible drugs too. And there’s the Watchers, whoever they are  – friend or foe?

As the war enters its death throes, with the Faction getting more ground and possibly support from Canada and other allies, it’s up to those inside the city to cut off Pharmatrox’s head at the source, no more evil corporation and Penny is spoiling for a fight. First she just has to sweet talk the general, Mal, into letting her do things her way, the opposite of what he’s ordering her to do.

Agnes and Silas are working on a cure for the drugs Pharmatrox has been poisoning so many with, but they could really do with a friendly scientist to help them. Will any of the remaining Pharmatrox ones defect and help them or is this doomed too.

And everyone’s favourite teenage boy/puppy dog Quentin gets to play with explosives – cos that’s a great idea! 

I actually liked this a lot more than book one, probably because I was more familiar with the characters and the situation, and I liked the whole Team Outpost, working with the good guys to get things done, no one on zombie drugs, thing that was going on. It was more wholesome. And I love Quentin, he’s such an adorable nuisance, scaling buildings, eating everything in sight, blowing stuff up, making new friends, he would be a great diplomat (apart from the explosions and fires). 

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.