Afterland

Reviews

A smartly written thriller that opens with a satisfying bang . . . splendid 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 Bowstring-taut, visceral, and incredibly timely: Beukes's plague-tale is a parable about the glory and terror of Americanism in times of calamity 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 Five years in writing, this intelligent speculative novel about a pandemic feels alarmingly close to home 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 Afterland is that rare creature, a ripping tale that neither shies away from big questions nor interesting answers 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 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 (A) timely thriller Perfect lockdown reading Praise for Lauren Beukes Unreservedly recommended Brilliant ... engrossing ... I will be looking forward to whatever Lauren Beukes does next. She's a major, major talent Scary as hell and hypnotic. I couldn't put it down I'm all over it Utterly original, beautifully written, and I must say, it creeped the holy bejasus out of me. This is something special Masterful. Lauren Beukes is very *very* good A new kind of thriller. A dark, relentless, time-twisting, page-turning. It shines Expand reviews