Afterland

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 Walkaway and Little Brother
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 Underground Airlines and Golden State
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 *
Perfect lockdown reading * Herald *
Praise for Lauren Beukes * - *
Unreservedly recommended * Joe Hill *
Brilliant ... engrossing ... I will be looking forward to whatever Lauren Beukes does next. She's a major, major talent -- George RR Martin, internationally bestselling author of * A Song of Ice and Fire *
Scary as hell and hypnotic. I couldn't put it down * Stephen King *
I'm all over it -- Gillian Flynn, number one bestselling author of * Gone Girl *
Utterly original, beautifully written, and I must say, it creeped the holy bejasus out of me. This is something special -- Tana French
Masterful. Lauren Beukes is very *very* good -- William Gibson
A new kind of thriller. A dark, relentless, time-twisting, page-turning. It shines -- Matt Haig