Today I'm kicking off the blog tour for AFTERLAND by Lauren Beukes which is published today
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Afterland is set in a near future dystopian world where, wait for it, a flu like virus is causing carnage, suffering and death. But this virus only affects males, wiping out the vast majority in just three years
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Cole's son Miles is one of the few immune, a dangerous commodity when the whole world wants a healthy boy. To protect him, Cole is forced to go on the run - from the authorities, her community, her own family
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There is no way Lauren Beukes could've ever imagined how closely her fictional world would resemble the present when writing this book. Yet some of it is breathtakingly similar. Very early on I was struck by a comment on air travel ending and who would have thought the world could change so quickly. The answer now of course is we all do! And our current situation makes this dystopian novel all the more eerie and scarily believable
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Afterland is a fast paced, high action thriller too, and I was on the edge of my seat as Cole fights to save and protect her son. In a world of shifting power, Miles is valuable and important to many people and Cole discovers she can't trust anyone. Gripping and utterly convincing, if you enjoy your reading action packed then this is one for you!
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Many thanks to the publisher for my #gifted copy and please do check out the other bloggers on the tour!

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

I’m a great fan of post-apocalyptic stories so naturally the synopsis for Afterland intrigued me to read it! It is the story about a woman and her son trying to return home in a world where a majority of the male population has died off due to a mysterious disease. I enjoyed the characters the author has created, and I liked the book, but didn’t fall in love with it.

Thanks very much to the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this title. Many thanks, Dave

Good read by a talented author. Felt swept away by the story and found myself lost in the book. Look forward to reading more from Lauren Beukes in the future.

Although I read this in the midst of a pandemic I really enjoyed it. The book was fast paced so kept my attention well!
The story is quite frightening in its backstory of men effectively being wiped out. It also tells a story of a parent who will protect their child at any cost. The story differs between the perspective of 3 people. I feel this would be really good as a movie !

I was excited to see that Lauren Beukes had published a new book. Unfortunately, I couldn't connect with the plot nor the characters. I'm not sure why but maybe trying to read this during a pandemic was not the best time to read it.

Disturbing but eloquent dystopian thriller
I started off reading this thinking 'oh no, another pandemic book', but quite rapidly realised that this one is quite different to the many out there nowadays. The result of that early flu that everyone seemed to catch was a while in showing, and I thought the author wrote quite eloquently and cleverly about the different world that was produced.
I was very happy to find out that the sting in the late after the virus was not zombies - how interesting to read a book which seems all too possible and yet was, I have to say this, a little depressing.
I'm not sure why it is called a 'feminist thriller' in the tag line; had I seen that earlier I may not have read this book. I don't feel that the main protagonist was a feminist, she was just an able female, and the feminist label could be off-putting to some. What it was, was a well written, unusual, interesting and rather disturbing read, which in a way seemed to be nearer a thriller due to the actions of the sister, but actually seems a clever dystopian novel, which as I write this in 2021 feels as though it could be horribly prescient.
My husband used to mock my dystopian books, he does so no more. I don't think I even dare tell him about this one!

I do love an apocalyptic tale and Afterland certainly delivers that! In a world where 99% of the male population has died from a cancer inducing virus what will happen? Men and boys suddenly become a precious commodity and it's definitely not ideal to try and abscond with one which is exactly what the mother in this novel attempts to do.

I found the story a little slow in parts but overall enjoyable. 3.5

I read this in one sitting.

A story of survival and how much a mother would do to protect her child.

A virus has arrived and this time it attacks males. Told from the point of view of three characters. Cole, her son, Miles and Billie the aunt.
Cole and Miles need to find somewhere safe but when the whole world is after your son, what can you do and who can you trust?

I couldn't really connect with this book. I really liked the idea and the writing but this just didn't do what I wanted it to do. The story progression didn't go where it should've done for me. I wish I liked this but it wasn't for me.

I first uncounted Lauren Beukes at university where we studied Zoo City. She was my first foray into South African fiction and is one that I am always keen to keep an eye on in terms of future projects. After being somewhat disappointed by The Shining Girls, and the premise of this type of book being a hard one to make unique in todays overinflated dystopian market, I was excited yet nervous to get into this. Thankfully, I was most pleasantly surprised. Beukes writes with such clarity and force, and her ideas are intricately complex and unique at their core. This book was a breath of fresh air and provides great relief from the other books out there that follow a similar plot. This will be my go-to recommendation for time to come!

Thanks to NetGalley and The Publisher for this eARC in exchange for an honest review

3.5 stars rounded down.

This book started out great. Action packed and fast paced, but then it it started to drag and I struggled to reach the ending, which I also felt was a big let down when I got there. Potentially reading this during an actual global pandemic that has totally changed my way of life may have reduced my ability to just enjoy this as a random bit of dystopian fiction. However, something about the personality of the female characters bothered me. I was expecting more empowerment in a female dominate society written by a female author, but just seemed to be seeing just how far patriarchy is enshrined in our collective consciousness. that said, there was some fantastic world building and some good musings and food for thought on what the world would be like If men were almost wiped out.

You may not want to read a book about a world pandemic right now - understandable - but this tale by Lauren Beukes is a great thriller and worthy of attention. A pandemic accelerates prostate cancer and wipes out most (but not all) men. This leaves Cole, stranded in the USA, desperate to get back to South Africa and desperate to get her son out with her. That will involve an underground network, her son having to pass as a young girl and will lead her to discover that not all people can be trusted and not everyone is as they seem. Gritty and challenging this is a great thriller for now - or to come back to later when you are read.y.

In Afterland, a cancer-causing virus has killed off the vast majority of the male population with the mainly female survivors left to carry on without them. Coles' son Miles is one of the lucky immune ones, taken into custody by the government so that they could use him for research into a cure. Determined that her son will not be used as a science experiment, Cole breaks him free and disguises him as a girl so that they can flee across America in search of a safe haven.

What ruined this book a little for me was that I hated Coles' son, Miles, a whiny, spoilt teenager who didn't seem to have a grasp on reality at all.

I can only imagine how people would react in this sort of apocalyptic scenario but I would expect that the sort of trauma of losing your father, and all the other men in the world dying, would probably cause a young person to mature quite fast. Or at least leave some sort of acknowledgement of the seriousness of the situation.

Miles acted like a normal young teenager whose Mum was forcing him to go on a holiday he didn't want to take. I found it unrealistic and his behaviour irritating.

I have to say though, he did become more bearable as the book went on, there was some character growth there and much of the book was focussed on the relationship between Miles and his mother.

In fact, the book as a whole got better towards the end - the story got more interesting and the pacing seemed much better and I found myself enjoying the last half of the book.

My other big issue is that I feel like this book really misses its chance to look at what happens if half the population of the world die; if men become almost extinct and the rest of the world has to try to carry on without them.

In Afterland, the world carries on in almost exactly the same way, with the remaining people trying to take over or fill the roles that have been left empty. There is a bit of thought about how, with re-education programmes for the male-dominated professions, but otherwise not much changes. Emotionally too, people seem remarkably unbothered.

As an apocalyptic adventure story, it's fine and after a slow start it becomes an enjoyable read but I do feel there are missed chances to be something bigger.

A really good example of an apocalyptic story. I loved the writing and the intrigue Beukes inserted in these pages.
Great writing, characters, and story. Loved it!
Thanks a lot to NG and the publisher for this copy.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I seem to be accidentally reading and watching a lot of things that seems to have been eerily prescient about the current pandemic in various ways. Afterland, featuring a pandemic that begins in summer 2020, is eerily on the nose about some things, reminiscent of books like Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale and Alderman's The Power, exploring a world in which women suddenly take over from men and what this means for society as a whole. Beukes doesn't really focus on the socio-political ramifications of the situation, though, preferring to centre her story around one family and their efforts to either escape or make the most of the opportunities a surviving male presents. I would have preferred more detail about the world and how it worked instead of so much focus on satirising a religious group, but the intimate focus also allowed her to concentrate more on the psychological ramifications, which was interesting. Not quite in the same league as Atwood or Alderman, but a good read.

This book was a revelation and before I go any further , I have to say I am now a true Lauren Beukes fan. This was a taut and thrilling book with all the great elements of a well thought out and developed apocalyptic backdrop. I Read it in several huge gulps As I just could not put it down!.

Afterland is a disturbingly prescient story about a mother and a son on the run in the wake of a horrific pandemic that has killed off most of the male population of the world. The American government want Miles locked up securely in a facility where they can protect him and study him. There are others who would exploit him or even sell him. His mother, Cole, wants him to be free.

This is not an easy book to read, particularly at the moment - it is 'The Road' for the Covid era and Beukes brings her trademark dark, gritty intensity to a reality that is a little too close to home.

Although the timing of this dystopian tale of men tipping toward extinction (thanks to a prostate cancer-causing pandemic sweeping the world) couldn't have been better, I simply could not 'feel' this book. It was hard going even taking into consideration the well written story of Cole, her twelve year old son, Miles (disguised as a girl), and Cole's sister Billie hot on their trail across the States.

It's compelling stuff and Afterland had many points in its favor but the lack of emotion and connection didn't induce me to love this novel. It was a flat line read that didn't raise pulses or foster a connection with the characters. I didn't like them, I didn't dislike them, the bad guys didn't feel especially bad and no real feeling of threat, anxiety or tension. Much of that may well be because Cole is being a good parent and shielding her son from the awful new existence they face but for me, the reader, I want to be encouraged to empathize and worry for them. I want the grit and the pain, the hardship and sense of loss after Miles's dad died. It just didn't happen with me. Afterland was a calm sea with lots of possibly but little interest, I'm afraid.