The Specimens

by Hana Gammon

Outside the town of Iphigenia, there lies a forest. In the forest, there is a rat maze of sterile white walls. In the white walls, in separate white rooms, there lie a pair of identical bodies. It is not for their sake they will not look you in the eye.

Patient BEC-04 and his double have known nothing but the inside of the research facility for almost as long as they can remember. When he breaks loose and finds himself a stranger in the small town beyond the woods, he must ask himself why a secretive academic society has stopped at nothing to keep them apart. What does it mean to bring order to a world beyond the trees, where the unknown is not as frightening as the half-known? And who is looking at who through the observation glass?

This stunning first novel by Hana Gammon explores themes of horror and difference, captivity and paranormal powers.

Genres: Science Fiction

256 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 15, 2024

About the author

Hana Gammon is a South African writer based in Cape Town. She has been fascinated by storytelling and the uncanny from a young age, and writes to unsettle the lines between the familiar and the frightening. Her short story, ‘The Undertaker’s Apprentice’ won the Africa Region of the 2023 Commonwealth Short Story Prize, making her the youngest winner in the prize’s history at the age of twenty. Hana is currently studying an Honours degree in English at the University of Stellenbosch. When she’s not writing, she enjoys creating textile art, practicing historical longsword fencing, collecting and preserving animal remains, and spending time with her family. The Specimens is her debut novel.

Reviews

[W.T.H. · Rating 3 out of 5]

"It makes sense only in the way a half-remembered dream can." The Specimens, pg 247

[Rachel Saur · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not sure what to think about this book. I already feel like I need to read it again, partially because it's beautifully written and partially because I'm left wanting more. It's very surreal, especially so in the final third, and we're left with a lot of questions. Ultimately I do think it reads more for the prose than for the plot, but I wish it were more popular because it really warrants discussion!