Afterland
Most of the men are dead. Three years after the pandemic known as The Manfall, governments still hold and life continues--but a world run by women isn't always a better place.
Twelve-year-old Miles is one of the last boys alive, and his mother, Cole, will protect him at all costs. On the run after a horrific act of violence-and pursued by Cole's own ruthless sister, Billie--all Cole wants is to raise her kid somewhere he won't be preyed on as a reproductive resource or a sex object or a stand-in son. Someplace like home.
To get there, Cole and Miles must journey across a changed America in disguise as mother and daughter. From a military base in Seattle to a luxury bunker, from an anarchist commune in Salt Lake City to a roaming cult that's all too ready to see Miles as the answer to their prayers, the two race to stay ahead at every step . . . even as Billie and her sinister crew draw closer.
A sharply feminist, high-stakes thriller from award-winning author Lauren Beukes, Afterland brilliantly blends psychological suspense, American noir, and science fiction into an adventure all its own--and perfect for our times.
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Community Reviews
I wish I could give this one 4 1/2 stars
Afterland by Lauren Beukes
404 pages
What’s it about?
Three years after a pandemic kills 99% of the men on the planet, Cole is lucky enough to have her 13-year-old son Miles still with her. They had been visiting the United States from their home country of South Africa when the virus kills her husband and leaves them stranded. Cole must now find a way to keep Miles safe until they can manage a way home.
What did it make me think about?
My first thought was "I wish this novel had come out a year earlier" as releasing it during an actual pandemic makes is feel a little too close to home. "Did they pick it up right there? On the fingerprint reader, which she's never seen wiped down? Or was it the elevator call button at the park hotel they's paid extra for so they'd be first through the gates? Jabbing a pin code into the credit card machine at the restaurant? The handrail on the Incredicoaster? Or passed hand-to-glove from Goofy to Chewie to the kids? All she knows is that within a few days, all eight of them came down with the flu." I am sure this was a futuristic novel when it was written, but a few months later some paragraphs are eerily familiar...
Should I read it?
Lauren Beukes writes a great page-turning novel. From time traveling serial killers, to man killing viruses- Lauren Beukes creates a world full of interesting characters in very fast paced stories. Her characters often have an edginess to them that I really enjoy. In this story Cole and Miles grapple with an intrusive government, a megachurch bent on reform, and even some violent feminists as they try to make their way home. I would highly recommend this one!
Quote-
"He doesn't want to go home. All his friends are almost certainly dead. Not the girls, obviously , although who knows? "
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