Tag: Dystopian

Review: The Emergency

Leave a comment

Title: The Emergency
Author: George Packer
Pages: 416
Release: November 11, 2025

A compelling and creative spin on dystopian fiction, The Emergency is a prescient fable chronicling the collapse and reformation of a nameless city-state.

The novel works best in its opening section, depicting societal collapse through the eyes of one family within this contained “city by the river.” It is especially timely, with clear parallels to our present moment as characters grapple with conspiracy theories, backlash against wokeness, debates over immigration, cancel culture, and tribalism. 

Once the protagonists venture into the countryside and encounter the more feral responses to the titular “Emergency,” the story grows unwieldy and less narratively satisfying, with shifting alliances and more thinly drawn characters. A bit more focus and less sprawl might have made these undercooked elements feel richer. 

★★★

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Review: Notes from the Burning Age

1 Comment

Title: Notes from the Burning Age (July 20, 2021)
Author: Claire North
Pages: 401

This is a book of loss and devastation, what remains, and what grows from the ashes of a broken world. North brings this plausible dystopian world to life with stark imagery and elegant prose. Although the premise has the components of a spy thriller, the story is definitely a slower burn. 

The overarching narrative never quite grabbed me, but the cat and mouse interplay between Ven and his on-again, off-again adversary/captor was really intriguing.

I had not read any of Claire North’s work prior to this novel, but I’ve come away impressed and excited to see what she writes next. 

As an aside, I hope Orbit sticks with Leo Nickolls and Siobhan Hooper for the cover art/design on future books. They did an outstanding job with this one.

★★★★

My thanks to NetGalley and Orbit for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Review: Riot Baby

1 Comment

riot-baby-final-coverTitle: Riot Baby (2020)
Author: Tochi Onyebuchi
Pages: 176

This novella is visceral, staggering, and powerful. We follow Ella and Kev, siblings with extraordinary gifts, who are wearied by structural racism and the damage that this inflicts upon their family. 

Onyebuchi’s storytelling is really immersive and makes us feel the righteous anger and pain of each societal injustice as Ella and Kev are pushed beyond their breaking points. In the same way that Ella uses her godlike gift to pop in and out of space and time, the narrative jumps around and we’re shown windows into pivotal moments in the lives of our protagonists. And while the story presents an ever-worsening dystopian future, Onyebuchi leaves us with a glimmer of hope for a better future to come. Although tough to read at times, I found Riot Baby to be a satisfying read that packs quite a bit of fire into its limited page count.

★★★½ out of 5