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Mudlark
Win a free print copy of this book!
16 days and 10:17:15
25 copies available
U.S. only
A dazzling dystopian novel about the fall of a troubled rockstar, her long-lost solo album, and her daughter's epic search for redemption in the ruins of New York City.
"Combines the spellbinding worldbuilding of Station Eleven with a rock-and-roll heart . . . A luscious, awe-inspiring, and gorgeously written novel about love and how it will save us, no matter what the future holds."—Amanda Eyre Ward
Jenny Sweet's marriage is ending—and with it her band and maybe even her fragile relationship with her thirteen-year-old daughter, Neko. A reluctant wife and mother, Jenny plans a new journey of self-discovery after one more gig at Burning Man. But when Neko disappears amid the chaos of the festival, Jenny fears that everything that mattered to her has been lost. As she races against the dark, Jenny finds herself thrown into the past, and into the heart of a gathering storm.
Now twenty-five, Neko is a a trained recruit who braves the rival factions and feral survivalists in the ruins of a crumbling, flooded Manhattan for resources that grow scarcer by the day. When she stumbles upon the master of her mother’s long-lost solo album and later hears that someone else is searching for it—someone who could be her mother, missing for over a decade—she embarks on a perilous adventure with a ragtag crew that will take her from treetop societies to decadent raves to the underground bunker where she will, finally, confront her mother's fate—and her own.
A profound tale of resilience set in a future wracked by calamity and buoyed by hope, Mudlark is an unforgettable novel that explores how love and art persist as beacons of humanity.
"Combines the spellbinding worldbuilding of Station Eleven with a rock-and-roll heart . . . A luscious, awe-inspiring, and gorgeously written novel about love and how it will save us, no matter what the future holds."—Amanda Eyre Ward
Jenny Sweet's marriage is ending—and with it her band and maybe even her fragile relationship with her thirteen-year-old daughter, Neko. A reluctant wife and mother, Jenny plans a new journey of self-discovery after one more gig at Burning Man. But when Neko disappears amid the chaos of the festival, Jenny fears that everything that mattered to her has been lost. As she races against the dark, Jenny finds herself thrown into the past, and into the heart of a gathering storm.
Now twenty-five, Neko is a a trained recruit who braves the rival factions and feral survivalists in the ruins of a crumbling, flooded Manhattan for resources that grow scarcer by the day. When she stumbles upon the master of her mother’s long-lost solo album and later hears that someone else is searching for it—someone who could be her mother, missing for over a decade—she embarks on a perilous adventure with a ragtag crew that will take her from treetop societies to decadent raves to the underground bunker where she will, finally, confront her mother's fate—and her own.
A profound tale of resilience set in a future wracked by calamity and buoyed by hope, Mudlark is an unforgettable novel that explores how love and art persist as beacons of humanity.
382 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 21, 2026
About the author
Mary Helen Specht
2 books77 followersBorn and raised in Abilene, Texas, Mary Helen Specht has a B.A. in English from Rice University and an M.F.A. in creative writing from Emerson College, where she won the department’s fiction award. Her writing has been nominated for multiple Pushcart Prizes and has appeared in numerous publications, including: The New York Times; The Colorado Review; Prairie Schooner; Michigan Quarterly Review; The Southwest Review; Florida Review; Southwestern American Literature; World Literature Today; Blue Mesa; Hunger Mountain; Bookslut; The Texas Observer; and Night Train, where she won the Richard Yates Short Story Award.
A past Fulbright Scholar to Nigeria and Dobie-Paisano Writing Fellow, Specht teaches creative writing at St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas.
Her first novel, Migratory Animals, will be published by Harper Perennial on January 20, 2015.
A past Fulbright Scholar to Nigeria and Dobie-Paisano Writing Fellow, Specht teaches creative writing at St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas.
Her first novel, Migratory Animals, will be published by Harper Perennial on January 20, 2015.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
July 21, 2026
I think that this isn't a bad book; it's simply not for me. While I found the world the story was set in interesting, I struggled to connect or care about the characters, and as a result, the plot didn't hook me much either.
It starts pretty strong, and the worldbuilding was done well; pertinent information was being given in a way that felt natural rather than pages of exposition. The imagery was vivid, and I thought the prose was almost lyrical. It's written in a way that feels less like a novel and more like spoken word or poetry. It kept me intrigued enough to keep reading even when I didn't really care all too much about what was going on. I haven't quite read anything like it before, and I appreciated how distinctive the writing felt even if there were moments that felt oddly YA.
I think the multiple POVs are what hurt the story the most for me. I was genuinely uninterested in Jenny's, Neko's mother's, perspective and found that it disrupted the pacing. This is, however, largely a personal issue, as I struggle to connect with stories that focus heavily on motherhood the way Jenny's chapters do. I think the writing in those chapters is still something that could resonate with other readers, especially mothers, but as someone who has little interest in motherhood, I was never interested in her struggles with motherhood nor anything else in her life.
I can see how this book would work for other readers. The writing is well done, and I think people who like literary dystopian stories would get more from it than I did. Unfortunately, the story just didn't work for me. Perhaps I would've preferred it more had it been a singular POV and the switches between time periods been handled a bit better.
I received a digital copy from NetGalley; all opinions are my own.
It starts pretty strong, and the worldbuilding was done well; pertinent information was being given in a way that felt natural rather than pages of exposition. The imagery was vivid, and I thought the prose was almost lyrical. It's written in a way that feels less like a novel and more like spoken word or poetry. It kept me intrigued enough to keep reading even when I didn't really care all too much about what was going on. I haven't quite read anything like it before, and I appreciated how distinctive the writing felt even if there were moments that felt oddly YA.
I think the multiple POVs are what hurt the story the most for me. I was genuinely uninterested in Jenny's, Neko's mother's, perspective and found that it disrupted the pacing. This is, however, largely a personal issue, as I struggle to connect with stories that focus heavily on motherhood the way Jenny's chapters do. I think the writing in those chapters is still something that could resonate with other readers, especially mothers, but as someone who has little interest in motherhood, I was never interested in her struggles with motherhood nor anything else in her life.
I can see how this book would work for other readers. The writing is well done, and I think people who like literary dystopian stories would get more from it than I did. Unfortunately, the story just didn't work for me. Perhaps I would've preferred it more had it been a singular POV and the switches between time periods been handled a bit better.
I received a digital copy from NetGalley; all opinions are my own.
August 12, 2026
She had spent years in the Sink trying to understand her past, trying to come to peace with it, and now that she had something she could hold in her hands, a tether to the life that had shaped this one—not her mother’s body but something closer to her spirit—she didn’t feel vindicated. She felt at a loss. Even more lost.
3.5 stars. I’ve mentioned before what a sucker I am for books about musicians, and Mudlark piqued my interest even more due to the dystopian setting. Unfolding on dual timelines and set mostly in NYC – present-day and a future version suffering the effects of climate disaster – it’s a gorgeously written saga about a mother and daughter and all the ways they are separated and connected.
The world of Mudlark is immediately compelling, especially the future setting. Mary Helen Specht’s writing is vivid and immersive as she brings to life a flooded version of NYC, where government employees known as mudlarks dive to retrieve important materials from drowned buildings. Neko is one of these, accepting the most daring dives with her crew – but what she most seeks is the truth about her mother’s fate in the long-ago storm that drowned the city. Her mother, Jenny, was a member of band called the Nightjars, but she also quietly made a solo album based on The Odyssey that was never released. When Neko chances upon the master of this album, she finally has a lead. The novel unfolds on past and present timelines, following Jenny’s life in the present as she’s making the album, and Neko’s in the future as she ventures out of Manhattan into the wilds of a drowned world, seeking answers about her mother.
Mudlark is a novel driven more by its characters than its plot, and as is often the case with dual timeline novels, I found myself much more invested in one timeline than the other. Jenny was a well-crafted character, and I thought the Odyssey themes were well-integrated (and it was such a treat to read this right after seeing Christopher Nolan’s wonderful adaptation), but I just wasn’t as interested in her life as I was in Neko’s. I couldn’t get enough of Neko’s world, or Neko herself. Although I think Specht kept both of her protagonists at arm’s length by design, Neko was still incredibly complex and flawed, and I was so fascinated by her particular brand of damage. It helped that she inhabits such a thoughtfully crafted, harsh world, which allowed Specht to delve deeply into her intentions and reactions.
With intricate world-building and an unsettling, all-too-possible vision of the future, Mudlark lyrically and powerfully explores parent-child relationships, the enduring importance of artistic expression, and humanity’s resilience in the midst of climate disaster. And much like The Odyssey, it’s really a book about wanting to go home – whether your version of home is a person, a place, or both. Thank you to Ballantine Books for the complimentary reading opportunity.
June 21, 2026
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
I really enjoyed Mudlark. The thing that stood out most to me was how it managed to feel slightly dystopian while still remaining believable. The world never felt so far removed from reality that it was hard to imagine, which made the story even more compelling.
The characters were strong and well-developed, and I found myself invested in what happened to them. That said, I definitely preferred the chapters set in the dystopian present over the sections told from the mother’s point of view in the past. Those chapters provided important context, but I was always more eager to get back to the main storyline.
My biggest criticism is that there were quite a few overly complex words that didn’t seem to add much to the story. More than once I found myself stopping to look something up, which pulled me out of the narrative. A richer vocabulary can certainly enhance a book, but here it occasionally felt distracting.
Overall, though, this was an engaging and thought-provoking read with memorable characters and an unsettlingly plausible vision of the future. I’d definitely be interested in reading a sequel if one is in the works.
4 stars.
I really enjoyed Mudlark. The thing that stood out most to me was how it managed to feel slightly dystopian while still remaining believable. The world never felt so far removed from reality that it was hard to imagine, which made the story even more compelling.
The characters were strong and well-developed, and I found myself invested in what happened to them. That said, I definitely preferred the chapters set in the dystopian present over the sections told from the mother’s point of view in the past. Those chapters provided important context, but I was always more eager to get back to the main storyline.
My biggest criticism is that there were quite a few overly complex words that didn’t seem to add much to the story. More than once I found myself stopping to look something up, which pulled me out of the narrative. A richer vocabulary can certainly enhance a book, but here it occasionally felt distracting.
Overall, though, this was an engaging and thought-provoking read with memorable characters and an unsettlingly plausible vision of the future. I’d definitely be interested in reading a sequel if one is in the works.
4 stars.
July 24, 2026
Thank you to Ballantine Books for the review copy and the wonderful marketing package (including a Nightjars concert T-shirt)!
⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ (3.5/5)
Climate change dystopias are always such a cheerful escape… right? 😉
When thirteen-year-old Neko attends Burning Man with her mother, Jenny, whose band The Nightjars is performing at the festival, a simple trip for pizza turns catastrophic. Neko disappears into the crowd, and Jenny’s desperate search for her daughter becomes the emotional heartbeat that echoes throughout the novel.
Twenty-five years later, the world has been irrevocably reshaped by climate catastrophe. New York City has been lost to Hurricane Freida, coastlines have shifted, and survival looks very different than it once did. Neko is now a mudlark, scavenging the remnants of the old world alongside her boyfriend, Iggy, and their crew. When they uncover the master recording of Jenny’s unfinished solo album, the past begins to resurface in unexpected ways.
Mary Helen Specht writes beautifully. The novel is rich with atmosphere, and its exploration of motherhood, grief, identity, and the ways music can preserve memory is genuinely moving. I especially enjoyed following adult Neko and discovering how people adapt when the world they’ve known no longer exists.
Where the novel lost me was in its structure. There are numerous settings, a large supporting cast, shifting timelines, and multiple points of view, and they never fully coalesced into a story that felt cohesive. I also found myself wanting much more of the history behind this transformed world. We hear about Hurricane Freida and the collapse of society, but many of those details remain just out of reach.
My biggest disappointment was the ending. The mystery surrounding Neko’s disappearance is withheld until very late in the novel, and while I appreciated what the author was aiming for emotionally, the resolution didn’t deliver the payoff I was hoping for. I also would have loved a bit more hope woven into this climate fiction. The novel spends so much time in the aftermath that I found myself longing to see more of how the world reached this point and what possibilities still remained.
Mudlark is an ambitious, lyrical climate novel with memorable themes and gorgeous prose. While its emotional core resonated with me, the pacing, fragmented narrative, and understated ending kept it from becoming a favorite.
⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ (3.5/5)
Climate change dystopias are always such a cheerful escape… right? 😉
When thirteen-year-old Neko attends Burning Man with her mother, Jenny, whose band The Nightjars is performing at the festival, a simple trip for pizza turns catastrophic. Neko disappears into the crowd, and Jenny’s desperate search for her daughter becomes the emotional heartbeat that echoes throughout the novel.
Twenty-five years later, the world has been irrevocably reshaped by climate catastrophe. New York City has been lost to Hurricane Freida, coastlines have shifted, and survival looks very different than it once did. Neko is now a mudlark, scavenging the remnants of the old world alongside her boyfriend, Iggy, and their crew. When they uncover the master recording of Jenny’s unfinished solo album, the past begins to resurface in unexpected ways.
Mary Helen Specht writes beautifully. The novel is rich with atmosphere, and its exploration of motherhood, grief, identity, and the ways music can preserve memory is genuinely moving. I especially enjoyed following adult Neko and discovering how people adapt when the world they’ve known no longer exists.
Where the novel lost me was in its structure. There are numerous settings, a large supporting cast, shifting timelines, and multiple points of view, and they never fully coalesced into a story that felt cohesive. I also found myself wanting much more of the history behind this transformed world. We hear about Hurricane Freida and the collapse of society, but many of those details remain just out of reach.
My biggest disappointment was the ending. The mystery surrounding Neko’s disappearance is withheld until very late in the novel, and while I appreciated what the author was aiming for emotionally, the resolution didn’t deliver the payoff I was hoping for. I also would have loved a bit more hope woven into this climate fiction. The novel spends so much time in the aftermath that I found myself longing to see more of how the world reached this point and what possibilities still remained.
Mudlark is an ambitious, lyrical climate novel with memorable themes and gorgeous prose. While its emotional core resonated with me, the pacing, fragmented narrative, and understated ending kept it from becoming a favorite.
July 22, 2026
This book was incredibly engaging and well written. I found myself noticing turns of phrase constantly, and rereading just to re-experience their impacts. The way the events of the very beginning eventually connect was very satisfying, and I also really enjoyed the way Neko and Jenny’s chapters were separated. Mother and daughter separated by time and an environment that has fallen apart in the generation Neko was raised in, and yet they still communicate through music. Sometimes the writing was too referential for me- niche music, new york landmarks that would stand out to those in the know, a weirdly old-timey aesthetic for a world not too far in our future. The reliance on The Odyssey (timely to read this in July 2026, haha) as a guiding theme was interesting but a little pretentious in the setting of Jenny’s character, although I get the irony! But regardless, I really enjoyed my time with Mudlark! Thanks to Ballantine Books for the eARC.
July 7, 2026
Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
This book wasn’t for me. I was interested in the beginning to learn about what happened to New York….America? The world? To make it so dystopian. I was interested in learnings about their jobs as mudlarks. But then when they went off to find Neko’s mom, that’s when I started to get bored.
There were so many different groups/locations the breakwater, the sink, the inside, the hive, the cellar. I’m not really sure what any of those are or which are better/worse off than the others. Maybe more time could have been spent on this world than going back to her mother, Jenny’s POV. She was always woah as me about being a mother. Get over it lady! You literally have no other problems that you’re making them up. I could have done without all those chapters and learned more about Neko’s world.
Then there was a whole bunch of time dedicated to describing burning man in detail, the different camps, all the areas set up, the strange people she encountered. I didn't really care that much at that point I had already figure out what happened. It seemed to drag on from there. And what was up with the part about keeping your brain/memories on plasma, in recordings. It just seemed like it didn't go with the rest of the book.
This book wasn’t for me. I was interested in the beginning to learn about what happened to New York….America? The world? To make it so dystopian. I was interested in learnings about their jobs as mudlarks. But then when they went off to find Neko’s mom, that’s when I started to get bored.
There were so many different groups/locations the breakwater, the sink, the inside, the hive, the cellar. I’m not really sure what any of those are or which are better/worse off than the others. Maybe more time could have been spent on this world than going back to her mother, Jenny’s POV. She was always woah as me about being a mother. Get over it lady! You literally have no other problems that you’re making them up. I could have done without all those chapters and learned more about Neko’s world.
Then there was a whole bunch of time dedicated to describing burning man in detail, the different camps, all the areas set up, the strange people she encountered. I didn't really care that much at that point I had already figure out what happened. It seemed to drag on from there. And what was up with the part about keeping your brain/memories on plasma, in recordings. It just seemed like it didn't go with the rest of the book.
July 31, 2026
Mudlark takes place mostly in a post climate disaster world and focuses around a group of people scavenging for useful objects to bring back to civilisation. There is a timeline that follows one of the scavengers mother.
I enjoyed that there was a symmetry between the mother searching for her daughter in the first chapter to her daughter searching for her throughout the rest.
I like that the emphasis of the book is the adult daughter searching for her mother rather than the other way around. You can also sense Neko searching for who her mother is as a person as well as where she is physically. The chapters that are from the viewpoint of Neko’s mother Jenny really give a perspective on how Jenny perceived motherhood and her relationship with her daughter. It gives the reader the answers that Jenny is searching for and will never conclusively find.
While this is a post apocalyptic novel, it is a more character driven story and Less focused on how the world fell apart but rather how people can form bonds in the world after as well as the trauma inflicted by the catastrophic events.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
I enjoyed that there was a symmetry between the mother searching for her daughter in the first chapter to her daughter searching for her throughout the rest.
I like that the emphasis of the book is the adult daughter searching for her mother rather than the other way around. You can also sense Neko searching for who her mother is as a person as well as where she is physically. The chapters that are from the viewpoint of Neko’s mother Jenny really give a perspective on how Jenny perceived motherhood and her relationship with her daughter. It gives the reader the answers that Jenny is searching for and will never conclusively find.
While this is a post apocalyptic novel, it is a more character driven story and Less focused on how the world fell apart but rather how people can form bonds in the world after as well as the trauma inflicted by the catastrophic events.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
August 1, 2026
This is a great book that ranks up there amongst the great dystopian adventure tales. This book reminded me a lot of Station Eleven (which is VERY high praise) in the way it so aptly weaved a past story dealing with the arts into a present dystopian world. I don’t think this book is on a lot of people’s radars but it definitely deserves to be.
July 27, 2026
I received this advanced reader copy from NetGalley and Ballantine Books.
What a timely publishing date with Christopher Nolan’s movie version of The Odyssey being released now. I loved the weaving of Odyssey themes into the narrative.
This book is like The Odyssey in that there is a journey or even a quest all in the hopes of finding a version of home. The feeling of home that exists between a mother and her daughter… even if or when there are periods of estrangement.
The writing is often lyrical, and not only when song lyrics are part of the novel. I was very into the second half of this book and could not stop reading. Thoroughly enjoyed reading this book!
What a timely publishing date with Christopher Nolan’s movie version of The Odyssey being released now. I loved the weaving of Odyssey themes into the narrative.
This book is like The Odyssey in that there is a journey or even a quest all in the hopes of finding a version of home. The feeling of home that exists between a mother and her daughter… even if or when there are periods of estrangement.
The writing is often lyrical, and not only when song lyrics are part of the novel. I was very into the second half of this book and could not stop reading. Thoroughly enjoyed reading this book!
August 2, 2026
The language in this book was so beautiful! This was a very slow mover with little to no action. It unveiled so slowly, but for me it was a beautiful love letter to motherhood. The world as we know it may end, but we will always be human.
July 29, 2026
First I saw the Odyssey, then I saw Hadestown, then I read this book that includes music inspired by the Odyssey. I'm enjoying hot mythology summer a lot.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
3.5 stars
The nitty-gritty: While the writing and themes were beautifully done, the plot and the multiple timelines never really gelled for me.
Mudlark had a lot of potential, but it lacked a few important things for me. Mostly, I never felt an emotional connection to the characters, so it was very hard to care about what happened to them. However, I loved Mary Helen Specht’s writing, and her imagery and metaphors were so beautiful in places. I’m a big fan of dystopians, especially ones like this that take place in the near future and feel very believable. Mudlark is being compared to Station Eleven, which is one reason I wanted to read it, but sorry, it’s nowhere near as good.
The story opens at a Burning Man concert (I’m assuming in the present day). We meet musician Jenny Sweet, her husband Max, and their band the Nightjars, who are about to split up and are playing their last concert at the event. Jenny has brought along her thirteen-year-old daughter Neko, but after agreeing to let her go to a food vendor for pizza, Neko never comes back, and Jenny and the band spend hours trying to find her.
The next chapter jumps ahead twenty-five years. Hurricane Frida decimated New York City and much of it is now under water (I have no idea what happened to the rest of the country, we’re never told). Neko is now thirty-eight and survives in the desolate landscape by “mudlarking,” scavenging for lost items, many of them buried underwater. Neko and her crew—boyfriend Iggy, Harriet and Jules—have agreed to a dangerous but lucrative job: someone is paying big bucks to get ahold of some canisters inside an underwater storage unit.
Neko discovers the canisters are full of old master recordings, including the masters of the old Nightjars albums. Thinking the “client” might be connected to her mother, who Neko has been searching for for years, she's determined to make the drop off herself. The delivery location, though, turns out to be a secret, almost impenetrable bunker, and it won’t be easy to get inside.
In chapters scattered throughout told from Jenny’s point of view—each one titled with a song from Jenny’s solo album The Wreckage—we see how Jenny’s past was shaped by music, her relationship with Max, and her complicated feelings for Neko. I loved the idea of these flashback chapters, which delve into Jenny’s early days as a musician, all of which happened in the years leading up to the hurricane. Specht sprinkles lots of familiar band names and music references throughout her story, which I really enjoyed.
In Neko’s chapters, which make up the bulk of the story, there’s more of a dystopian, survival vibe going on. The city seems to be divided into the “haves” and “have nots.” Those on the “Inside” go about their daily lives as if nothing has happened, while those outside struggle to survive. “Inside” felt almost like a version of utopia, and we never find out if it even exists. But Neko, who lives on the outside, has become an expert diver and scavenger and has kept her head above water (so to speak) by taking on not only legitimate jobs, but illegal ones as well.
In addition to the tension surrounding the bunker and the possibility of Neko finding her mother, there’s quite a bit of drama among Neko’s crew members: betrayals, secrets, break-ups, etc., and I didn’t find these relationships nearly as interesting as the scavenging scenes. Quite a bit happens with Harriet, Jules, Neko and Iggy, but Harriet and Jules in particular never did much me. I would have preferred more of a focus on the relationship between Jenny and Neko, but unfortunately the author spends much more time with the other characters.
Neko’s disappearance when she was thirteen is one of the main mysteries of the story, and when the answer finally comes at the end, it was sort of vague and unsatisfying. Likewise, Jenny’s fate is never fully explained, and the author only paints a blurry watercolor of those events which left me frustrated.
I was also confused by the different timelines. Both Jenny’s and Neko’s chapters include flashbacks, and none of these sections are identified by dates. The author randomly jumps around, interrupting action in the present while the characters reflect on the past. Normally I love this style of storytelling if it’s well done, but here it just came across as chaotic and confusing.
But there is a lot of good in Mudlark too. I especially loved the way the author uses motherhood as a theme, tying together Jenny and Neko across the years, even though their story never gets a happy ending. I loved the sense of nostalgia the author invokes as Neko reflects on places and things from her childhood that are gone forever—her favorite bakery, the stamp store in Manhattan she loved as a child, and other poignant moments from the past. Specht’s imagery is simply beautiful, and I marked many passages in the book as I was reading. If only the plot and characters were stronger, this could have ended up being a favorite book. Instead, I have to recommend a different dystopian with a similar setting and idea, All the Water in the World, which is a beautifully crafted and much more cohesive story.
Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.
The nitty-gritty: While the writing and themes were beautifully done, the plot and the multiple timelines never really gelled for me.
Mudlark had a lot of potential, but it lacked a few important things for me. Mostly, I never felt an emotional connection to the characters, so it was very hard to care about what happened to them. However, I loved Mary Helen Specht’s writing, and her imagery and metaphors were so beautiful in places. I’m a big fan of dystopians, especially ones like this that take place in the near future and feel very believable. Mudlark is being compared to Station Eleven, which is one reason I wanted to read it, but sorry, it’s nowhere near as good.
The story opens at a Burning Man concert (I’m assuming in the present day). We meet musician Jenny Sweet, her husband Max, and their band the Nightjars, who are about to split up and are playing their last concert at the event. Jenny has brought along her thirteen-year-old daughter Neko, but after agreeing to let her go to a food vendor for pizza, Neko never comes back, and Jenny and the band spend hours trying to find her.
The next chapter jumps ahead twenty-five years. Hurricane Frida decimated New York City and much of it is now under water (I have no idea what happened to the rest of the country, we’re never told). Neko is now thirty-eight and survives in the desolate landscape by “mudlarking,” scavenging for lost items, many of them buried underwater. Neko and her crew—boyfriend Iggy, Harriet and Jules—have agreed to a dangerous but lucrative job: someone is paying big bucks to get ahold of some canisters inside an underwater storage unit.
Neko discovers the canisters are full of old master recordings, including the masters of the old Nightjars albums. Thinking the “client” might be connected to her mother, who Neko has been searching for for years, she's determined to make the drop off herself. The delivery location, though, turns out to be a secret, almost impenetrable bunker, and it won’t be easy to get inside.
In chapters scattered throughout told from Jenny’s point of view—each one titled with a song from Jenny’s solo album The Wreckage—we see how Jenny’s past was shaped by music, her relationship with Max, and her complicated feelings for Neko. I loved the idea of these flashback chapters, which delve into Jenny’s early days as a musician, all of which happened in the years leading up to the hurricane. Specht sprinkles lots of familiar band names and music references throughout her story, which I really enjoyed.
In Neko’s chapters, which make up the bulk of the story, there’s more of a dystopian, survival vibe going on. The city seems to be divided into the “haves” and “have nots.” Those on the “Inside” go about their daily lives as if nothing has happened, while those outside struggle to survive. “Inside” felt almost like a version of utopia, and we never find out if it even exists. But Neko, who lives on the outside, has become an expert diver and scavenger and has kept her head above water (so to speak) by taking on not only legitimate jobs, but illegal ones as well.
In addition to the tension surrounding the bunker and the possibility of Neko finding her mother, there’s quite a bit of drama among Neko’s crew members: betrayals, secrets, break-ups, etc., and I didn’t find these relationships nearly as interesting as the scavenging scenes. Quite a bit happens with Harriet, Jules, Neko and Iggy, but Harriet and Jules in particular never did much me. I would have preferred more of a focus on the relationship between Jenny and Neko, but unfortunately the author spends much more time with the other characters.
Neko’s disappearance when she was thirteen is one of the main mysteries of the story, and when the answer finally comes at the end, it was sort of vague and unsatisfying. Likewise, Jenny’s fate is never fully explained, and the author only paints a blurry watercolor of those events which left me frustrated.
I was also confused by the different timelines. Both Jenny’s and Neko’s chapters include flashbacks, and none of these sections are identified by dates. The author randomly jumps around, interrupting action in the present while the characters reflect on the past. Normally I love this style of storytelling if it’s well done, but here it just came across as chaotic and confusing.
But there is a lot of good in Mudlark too. I especially loved the way the author uses motherhood as a theme, tying together Jenny and Neko across the years, even though their story never gets a happy ending. I loved the sense of nostalgia the author invokes as Neko reflects on places and things from her childhood that are gone forever—her favorite bakery, the stamp store in Manhattan she loved as a child, and other poignant moments from the past. Specht’s imagery is simply beautiful, and I marked many passages in the book as I was reading. If only the plot and characters were stronger, this could have ended up being a favorite book. Instead, I have to recommend a different dystopian with a similar setting and idea, All the Water in the World, which is a beautifully crafted and much more cohesive story.
Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.
July 22, 2026
I love when I pick up a book some time after requesting it and forget the blurb because then I get into something like this and am pleasantly surprised by this speculative/climate fiction prose-y/lyrical dual story of a world coming apart by the aftermath of climate change-driven hurricanes and the humans who scrap and search and yearn on the ground floor of it all.
This is a book I kept looking forward to coming back to when I was doing other things (like working my adult human job), and while I can see how it wouldn't really be for everyone, I liked it a lot. It's mostly Neko (nee-koh)'s story, the daughter of a Fleetwood Mac-esque musician (but more punk and esoteric) some decades after a climate disaster that took her mom.. although she's not sure that really happened, and on a "lark" to go bring back some items from drowned New York City her crew has been hired to find, she finds that maybe, just maybe, her mom really is alive somewhere. Thus begins an unfurling quest, both to find the possibility of her mom living in maybe some bunker outside of the restricted zones of the east coast of the US, but also move through and learn some communities surviving out there, outside the "Inside" (where things may not be as idyllic as those that don't live there imagine).
But interspersed in that we have the story of Neko's mom, both in the prologue on the eve of aforementioned devastating hurricane, and her life in the band and as Neko's mom leading up to that date. This is where a lot of the more poetic and lyricism come in - there's a lot of musing on being a mother to a tough child (but like, tough in a normal teenage way) when you're something of an ethereal artist yourself and your marriage is falling apart and you're trying to live for yourself for the first time ever WHILE loving your child more than anything. This especially makes me glad I'm not the sort of reader that needs to "connect" with characters as I have no desire for parenthood, but I can like reading about how it profoundly affects others? And each of these chapters are styled after tracks to her solo album, sort of social commentarily based on The Odyssey (timely!).
That's a lot of words to say there's a lot of layers here and a lot of them worked for me. I liked the different societies we met outside of the main areas, just trying to get by out there while also trying to make something Better than the crumbling US-of-before. I liked that Niko and Iggy and the crew were complex in their goals and desires and that those things can change with growth and really just the discovery of stuff outside their world. It's very.. yeah, this could happen probably, why not sort of speculative/climate fiction and the idea of "mudlarks' going down into the restricted destruction of New York City was really appealing to me. I liked the writing and I liked the way the story unfolded and refolded, and I'd read more of Specht's books in the future.
Thank you to Ballantine Books for the eARC for reading and review!
This is a book I kept looking forward to coming back to when I was doing other things (like working my adult human job), and while I can see how it wouldn't really be for everyone, I liked it a lot. It's mostly Neko (nee-koh)'s story, the daughter of a Fleetwood Mac-esque musician (but more punk and esoteric) some decades after a climate disaster that took her mom.. although she's not sure that really happened, and on a "lark" to go bring back some items from drowned New York City her crew has been hired to find, she finds that maybe, just maybe, her mom really is alive somewhere. Thus begins an unfurling quest, both to find the possibility of her mom living in maybe some bunker outside of the restricted zones of the east coast of the US, but also move through and learn some communities surviving out there, outside the "Inside" (where things may not be as idyllic as those that don't live there imagine).
But interspersed in that we have the story of Neko's mom, both in the prologue on the eve of aforementioned devastating hurricane, and her life in the band and as Neko's mom leading up to that date. This is where a lot of the more poetic and lyricism come in - there's a lot of musing on being a mother to a tough child (but like, tough in a normal teenage way) when you're something of an ethereal artist yourself and your marriage is falling apart and you're trying to live for yourself for the first time ever WHILE loving your child more than anything. This especially makes me glad I'm not the sort of reader that needs to "connect" with characters as I have no desire for parenthood, but I can like reading about how it profoundly affects others? And each of these chapters are styled after tracks to her solo album, sort of social commentarily based on The Odyssey (timely!).
That's a lot of words to say there's a lot of layers here and a lot of them worked for me. I liked the different societies we met outside of the main areas, just trying to get by out there while also trying to make something Better than the crumbling US-of-before. I liked that Niko and Iggy and the crew were complex in their goals and desires and that those things can change with growth and really just the discovery of stuff outside their world. It's very.. yeah, this could happen probably, why not sort of speculative/climate fiction and the idea of "mudlarks' going down into the restricted destruction of New York City was really appealing to me. I liked the writing and I liked the way the story unfolded and refolded, and I'd read more of Specht's books in the future.
Thank you to Ballantine Books for the eARC for reading and review!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I got a copy of this on ebook from NetGalley.com.
Thoughts: This was okay. The book jumps back and forth between Jenny Sweet (a musician from the near past) and her daughter (Neko). The timeline is fairly fluid here and can be a bit hard to follow. Sometimes we are hearing from Jenny in the far past or in the near past and sometimes we are hearing from Neko in the current timeline or the near past (when she is a teen) or during her childhood. The jumping around in time and between POVs made this a meandering story, that took a lot of patience to read.
In the near past, Jenny is a musician and a reluctant mother. She knows her husband, Max, has been cheating on her but has been struggling to deal with this because her daughter, Neko, adores Max and Jenny doesn't want to break up the family. Jenny and Max perform a last set with their band at Burning Man; they will be announcing the break up of both their marriage and the band soon. During this performance, Neko goes missing, and what follows will define Max's, Neko's, and Jenny's lives.
In present day Neko is ekeing out a living with her partner, Iggy, and their crew in The Sink (what is left of parts of New York City after it flooded during a historic hurricane) as a mudlark. Neko and crew dive below the watery depths of the Sink to retrieve what others have lost. Then one day Neko retrieves a solo album from her mother, an album she didn't know existed. She wants to know who requested this album and if it will lead to her mother, who is assumed to have died in the flooding of NYC.
This book is more poetry than story. It is written in a very lyrical and wandering way. The characters spend a lot of time thinking about the world around them in complex imagery. The story is dreamlike and dives into the relationship between daughters and mothers in a world that is a bit broken (both in the past and the present). These characters spend a lot of time in their heads questioning their own motives and whether or not their actions are selfish or necessary.
The post-apocalyptic world presented here is a bit vague. We know New York City flooded, as did some other areas of the Eastern seaboard. However, we don't have a good idea of how that affected the rest of the world. We get small glimpses, but no broader picture. The story doesn't have much resolution either; so if you like your stories with a clear ending, I would steer clear of this one.
If you have the patience and like this sort of wandering imagery that is more of a story-as-poetry you might enjoy this. I think I would have enjoyed this more if it hadn't wandered between timelines so much and had been a bit more concise.
My Summary (3/5): Overall I respect the imagery and idea behind this, however it wasn't really for me. Things were just too ambiguous here, and the story took too long to get anywhere. The language and descriptions were a bit over the top for me, and we spent too much time in our characters' heads. If you enjoy a sort of poetic post-apocalyptic book that focuses on mother/daughter relationships this might be for you.
Thoughts: This was okay. The book jumps back and forth between Jenny Sweet (a musician from the near past) and her daughter (Neko). The timeline is fairly fluid here and can be a bit hard to follow. Sometimes we are hearing from Jenny in the far past or in the near past and sometimes we are hearing from Neko in the current timeline or the near past (when she is a teen) or during her childhood. The jumping around in time and between POVs made this a meandering story, that took a lot of patience to read.
In the near past, Jenny is a musician and a reluctant mother. She knows her husband, Max, has been cheating on her but has been struggling to deal with this because her daughter, Neko, adores Max and Jenny doesn't want to break up the family. Jenny and Max perform a last set with their band at Burning Man; they will be announcing the break up of both their marriage and the band soon. During this performance, Neko goes missing, and what follows will define Max's, Neko's, and Jenny's lives.
In present day Neko is ekeing out a living with her partner, Iggy, and their crew in The Sink (what is left of parts of New York City after it flooded during a historic hurricane) as a mudlark. Neko and crew dive below the watery depths of the Sink to retrieve what others have lost. Then one day Neko retrieves a solo album from her mother, an album she didn't know existed. She wants to know who requested this album and if it will lead to her mother, who is assumed to have died in the flooding of NYC.
This book is more poetry than story. It is written in a very lyrical and wandering way. The characters spend a lot of time thinking about the world around them in complex imagery. The story is dreamlike and dives into the relationship between daughters and mothers in a world that is a bit broken (both in the past and the present). These characters spend a lot of time in their heads questioning their own motives and whether or not their actions are selfish or necessary.
The post-apocalyptic world presented here is a bit vague. We know New York City flooded, as did some other areas of the Eastern seaboard. However, we don't have a good idea of how that affected the rest of the world. We get small glimpses, but no broader picture. The story doesn't have much resolution either; so if you like your stories with a clear ending, I would steer clear of this one.
If you have the patience and like this sort of wandering imagery that is more of a story-as-poetry you might enjoy this. I think I would have enjoyed this more if it hadn't wandered between timelines so much and had been a bit more concise.
My Summary (3/5): Overall I respect the imagery and idea behind this, however it wasn't really for me. Things were just too ambiguous here, and the story took too long to get anywhere. The language and descriptions were a bit over the top for me, and we spent too much time in our characters' heads. If you enjoy a sort of poetic post-apocalyptic book that focuses on mother/daughter relationships this might be for you.
July 28, 2026
"Mudlark" is a beautifully written dystopian novel with mesmerizing imagery, prose that demands to be savored, and a character rich story that will repeatedly break your heart while managing to offer glimmers of hopefulness within the new and quite dangerous future it depicts for Americans.
With its decidedly dystopian view of a not too distant future, this novel takes the reader into the world of *mudlarks.* This is the term for folks whose job, as it were, is to forage, search, or seek (for profit, of course) lost bits and pieces of belongings or resources that have been deemed important enough to their clients that they are willing to pay for the retrieval operation. Due to the catastrophic impact of a storm known only to us as Hurricane Frida, the northeastern portions of the United States (and New York specifically) have been decimated. Great swathes of it are submerged, and even larger areas have become hostile environments not fit for man nor beast.
But here is the thing about we humans...within most of us beats a strong will to survive and the resilience to do more than survive. No matter the obstacles, we persevere and strive to turn our dreams into reality. This is a central message within the pages of "Mudlarks." It is, in fact, the most heartbreakingly beautiful heart of this ambitious novel!
And, as if that big theme were not enough, Mary Helen Specht has also deftly woven a mother - daughter theme into this future world. This relationship links the "before" times to the "after" and portrays the strengths and struggles that are inherent within human relationships.
My sincerest thanks to the author for crafting a mesmerizing and highly believable vision of the effects that climate change might hold for all of us. It is entirely true and right to contemplate that this country (as well as our neighbor nations) are but one significant environmental event away from a drastically changed world.
This novel was recently published on July 21, 2026. My thanks to NetGalley for the advanced galley proof. This review represents my own reflections on "Mudlark" by Mary Helen Specht.
#Mudlarks
#MaryHelenSpecht
#NetGalley
#dystopianfiction
#speculativefiction
With its decidedly dystopian view of a not too distant future, this novel takes the reader into the world of *mudlarks.* This is the term for folks whose job, as it were, is to forage, search, or seek (for profit, of course) lost bits and pieces of belongings or resources that have been deemed important enough to their clients that they are willing to pay for the retrieval operation. Due to the catastrophic impact of a storm known only to us as Hurricane Frida, the northeastern portions of the United States (and New York specifically) have been decimated. Great swathes of it are submerged, and even larger areas have become hostile environments not fit for man nor beast.
But here is the thing about we humans...within most of us beats a strong will to survive and the resilience to do more than survive. No matter the obstacles, we persevere and strive to turn our dreams into reality. This is a central message within the pages of "Mudlarks." It is, in fact, the most heartbreakingly beautiful heart of this ambitious novel!
And, as if that big theme were not enough, Mary Helen Specht has also deftly woven a mother - daughter theme into this future world. This relationship links the "before" times to the "after" and portrays the strengths and struggles that are inherent within human relationships.
My sincerest thanks to the author for crafting a mesmerizing and highly believable vision of the effects that climate change might hold for all of us. It is entirely true and right to contemplate that this country (as well as our neighbor nations) are but one significant environmental event away from a drastically changed world.
This novel was recently published on July 21, 2026. My thanks to NetGalley for the advanced galley proof. This review represents my own reflections on "Mudlark" by Mary Helen Specht.
#Mudlarks
#MaryHelenSpecht
#NetGalley
#dystopianfiction
#speculativefiction
July 22, 2026
A feminist retelling of The Odyssey set in a dark, post-apocalyptic New York City? Yes, please.
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A massive thank you to @ballantinebooks for gifting me this copy.
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I just finished this, and it was such a gripping read. The best part of the story for me was Neko and Jenny’s relationship. I absolutely love it when a book takes the time to truly dissect a relationship right down to its core, and this delivered on that front perfectly. I loved Jenny as a character and found myself lapping up whatever crumbs we got of her past with her band, the Nightjars. The incorporation of music was also a huge highlight, chronicling their rock-and-roll journey and Neko's unconventional life before everything went haywire. (Mike was a character I felt we could have explored more, but I ultimately see the point of his arc!)
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The vibes of the dystopian world and Neko's perilous life in "the sink" were immaculate. While I was infinitely fascinated by this post-apocalyptic world and wanted to know even more about Hurricane Frida, the destruction it caused, and how people are living on the "inside," even though the vivid descriptions of sink life completely kept me engaged.
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This is definitely a heavier read, but as a huge dystopian fan, I thoroughly enjoyed how unique it felt compared to others in the genre. Because I am also currently reading The Odyssey, reading them side-by-side has been a wild experience. The thematic parallels are honestly uncanny, and it feels like the publisher brilliantly timed this release.
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Mudlark has so much to say about motherhood, climate change, society, and humanity. I want to read more books like this that truly makes me think deeply. If you are looking for something to read after The Odyssey and love a good dystopian novel, you absolutely need to add this to your TBR! I am so glad I read it.
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A massive thank you to @ballantinebooks for gifting me this copy.
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I just finished this, and it was such a gripping read. The best part of the story for me was Neko and Jenny’s relationship. I absolutely love it when a book takes the time to truly dissect a relationship right down to its core, and this delivered on that front perfectly. I loved Jenny as a character and found myself lapping up whatever crumbs we got of her past with her band, the Nightjars. The incorporation of music was also a huge highlight, chronicling their rock-and-roll journey and Neko's unconventional life before everything went haywire. (Mike was a character I felt we could have explored more, but I ultimately see the point of his arc!)
.
The vibes of the dystopian world and Neko's perilous life in "the sink" were immaculate. While I was infinitely fascinated by this post-apocalyptic world and wanted to know even more about Hurricane Frida, the destruction it caused, and how people are living on the "inside," even though the vivid descriptions of sink life completely kept me engaged.
.
This is definitely a heavier read, but as a huge dystopian fan, I thoroughly enjoyed how unique it felt compared to others in the genre. Because I am also currently reading The Odyssey, reading them side-by-side has been a wild experience. The thematic parallels are honestly uncanny, and it feels like the publisher brilliantly timed this release.
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Mudlark has so much to say about motherhood, climate change, society, and humanity. I want to read more books like this that truly makes me think deeply. If you are looking for something to read after The Odyssey and love a good dystopian novel, you absolutely need to add this to your TBR! I am so glad I read it.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This book starts with a bang with musician Jenny performing at Burning Man with her band that includes her ex-husband - and after the show, they can’t find their 13 year old daughter Neko. The book then jumps forward 25 years to an adult Neko, who is living in a dystopian future where flooding has destroyed much of the east coast, and Neko is a “mudlark” who with her crew goes on diving expeditions in former NYC for both legitimate and black market stuff. Interspersed are flashbacks from Jenny’s point of view as she makes her one and only solo album.
I was sent a NetGalley widget for this one from Ballantine Books (though all opinions are my own), and was totally sucked in by the comparison in the blurb to Station Eleven and Daisy Jones & the Six. That’s a big swing - those are both 5 star favorites of mine. But even if this book didn’t quite live up to either of those, I’m still glad that those comparisons made me grab this one which otherwise might not have been on my radar. I’d say the Station Eleven comparison is probably more apt than the Daisy Jones one, although this book definitely stands on its own with its unique spin on dystopian climate fiction. The parts about Jenny were interesting too, but I’d say in many ways were more about motherhood than they were about music. And her song lyrics are more like really cool poetry - not to mention that her album is inspired by The Odyssey, and in a really cool coincidence the move of The Odyssey just came out this weekend and I saw it in the middle of reading this book, which made the references to it even more interesting! Anyway, this was a cool, unique, well-written book which will stay with me.
4.25 stars
I was sent a NetGalley widget for this one from Ballantine Books (though all opinions are my own), and was totally sucked in by the comparison in the blurb to Station Eleven and Daisy Jones & the Six. That’s a big swing - those are both 5 star favorites of mine. But even if this book didn’t quite live up to either of those, I’m still glad that those comparisons made me grab this one which otherwise might not have been on my radar. I’d say the Station Eleven comparison is probably more apt than the Daisy Jones one, although this book definitely stands on its own with its unique spin on dystopian climate fiction. The parts about Jenny were interesting too, but I’d say in many ways were more about motherhood than they were about music. And her song lyrics are more like really cool poetry - not to mention that her album is inspired by The Odyssey, and in a really cool coincidence the move of The Odyssey just came out this weekend and I saw it in the middle of reading this book, which made the references to it even more interesting! Anyway, this was a cool, unique, well-written book which will stay with me.
4.25 stars
July 24, 2026
I’m not usually drawn to post-apocalyptic stories, but when I saw this one incorporated rock stardom elements reminiscent of Daisy Jones & The Six, I decided to give it a try.
The story begins in the past with Jenny Sweet, her band, and her daughter, Neko, at Burning Man. When Neko runs off, Jenny goes looking for her just as a massive storm rolls in—and Jenny is never seen again. The story then jumps to a post-apocalyptic world where Neko has become a mudlarker, scavenging for resources with her crew to survive. When she discovers her mother's solo album, she learns that someone else is searching for it as well—presumably Jenny—and sets out to uncover the truth about what really happened to her.
My favorite part of the book was the chapters built around tracks from Jenny's solo album. They offered a deeper look into who Jenny was and made me appreciate her character even more.
While this story ultimately wasn't for me, I really appreciated the character development throughout. I especially ended up liking Iggy. He constantly tried to balance realism with optimism despite the bleak state of the world, and I found him to be one of the most compelling characters.
If you enjoy post-apocalyptic survival stories grounded in family, music, and the resilience of humanity, I think this is one worth checking out.
A huge thank you to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the ARC!
The story begins in the past with Jenny Sweet, her band, and her daughter, Neko, at Burning Man. When Neko runs off, Jenny goes looking for her just as a massive storm rolls in—and Jenny is never seen again. The story then jumps to a post-apocalyptic world where Neko has become a mudlarker, scavenging for resources with her crew to survive. When she discovers her mother's solo album, she learns that someone else is searching for it as well—presumably Jenny—and sets out to uncover the truth about what really happened to her.
My favorite part of the book was the chapters built around tracks from Jenny's solo album. They offered a deeper look into who Jenny was and made me appreciate her character even more.
While this story ultimately wasn't for me, I really appreciated the character development throughout. I especially ended up liking Iggy. He constantly tried to balance realism with optimism despite the bleak state of the world, and I found him to be one of the most compelling characters.
If you enjoy post-apocalyptic survival stories grounded in family, music, and the resilience of humanity, I think this is one worth checking out.
A huge thank you to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the ARC!
August 12, 2026
This book was another pleasant surprise, as I’ve not seen this title anywhere in my feed prior to it coming up in Libby. I always like post apocalyptic novels, and this one focused the flooding of New York City in the near future. The main characters are a mother and a daughter on differing timelines. This novel had some of the most beautiful prose and sentiments about what it means to be a mother. There are some turns of phrase in this author’s work that were so unique and surprising. Really delightful word craft. To me, this was not a cookie cutter type of book and it contained a lot of original thought.
There’s some adventure in the book in terms of Nico going into forbidden territories to source lost items for people for money. That’s where the term mudlark comes in referencing the poor that scoured the Thames in London during Victorian times in order to survive..
This novel had some of that sense of dread that always comes with being a woman in an ungoverned land, a very particular type of fear that I think dystopian novels often capture. There’s also a lot of references to Burning Man, the event at which mother and daughter get separated. I’m so fascinated with that event and this author dispels that notion of magic in favor of the idea of adults reliving their childhood freedom.
Will Nico find her musician mother, Jenny? You’ll have to read it to find out!
There’s some adventure in the book in terms of Nico going into forbidden territories to source lost items for people for money. That’s where the term mudlark comes in referencing the poor that scoured the Thames in London during Victorian times in order to survive..
This novel had some of that sense of dread that always comes with being a woman in an ungoverned land, a very particular type of fear that I think dystopian novels often capture. There’s also a lot of references to Burning Man, the event at which mother and daughter get separated. I’m so fascinated with that event and this author dispels that notion of magic in favor of the idea of adults reliving their childhood freedom.
Will Nico find her musician mother, Jenny? You’ll have to read it to find out!
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Characters: 3.00⭐️
Setting: 3.75⭐️
Plot: 3.00⭐️
Themes: 3.50⭐️
Personal enjoyment: 2.50⭐️
Emotional Impact: 2.00⭐️
Overall rating: 3.00⭐️
When reading this book, I was expecting the literary prose of a literary dystopian/climate crisis book like Station Eleven. However, I felt that there was a lot of unknowns to the story which left me feeling disconnected from the plot and the characters. I could not connect with this story or with our main character Neko. I understand that her past was being unraveled throughout the book, but for me it felt like it was taking too long to get there.
I did enjoy the idea of the "mudlarks", people who would go into the sunken city of Manhattan to gather resources to bring back to the camps. I enjoyed Neko's task at hand when she finds a master of her mother's solo album and trying to find out who exactly wanted that artifact, but I don't know. There was something just not connecting me with this story which is unfortunate which I know is more of me problem than anything else.
Would I recommend this book? Maybe. It was not for me but I think other people would really enjoy this book.
Thank you to Ballantine Books for sending me a finished copy in exchange for an honest review.
Setting: 3.75⭐️
Plot: 3.00⭐️
Themes: 3.50⭐️
Personal enjoyment: 2.50⭐️
Emotional Impact: 2.00⭐️
Overall rating: 3.00⭐️
When reading this book, I was expecting the literary prose of a literary dystopian/climate crisis book like Station Eleven. However, I felt that there was a lot of unknowns to the story which left me feeling disconnected from the plot and the characters. I could not connect with this story or with our main character Neko. I understand that her past was being unraveled throughout the book, but for me it felt like it was taking too long to get there.
I did enjoy the idea of the "mudlarks", people who would go into the sunken city of Manhattan to gather resources to bring back to the camps. I enjoyed Neko's task at hand when she finds a master of her mother's solo album and trying to find out who exactly wanted that artifact, but I don't know. There was something just not connecting me with this story which is unfortunate which I know is more of me problem than anything else.
Would I recommend this book? Maybe. It was not for me but I think other people would really enjoy this book.
Thank you to Ballantine Books for sending me a finished copy in exchange for an honest review.
July 21, 2026
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. Mudlark was a beautifully written blend of dystopian fiction, climate fiction, and an emotional family story. The alternating timelines kept me invested, and I loved slowly uncovering the connection between Jenny and Neko as their stories unfolded. The flooded, post-apocalyptic version of New York felt vivid without overwhelming the heart of the novel, and the themes of love, loss, resilience, and the lasting impact of art were woven throughout in such a thoughtful way.
The writing is lyrical, and the world-building is incredibly immersive, though there were a few sections where the pacing slowed as the story leaned into description and reflection. Because of that, it took me a little longer to fully connect with the story.
Overall, this is a moving, atmospheric read that feels both haunting and hopeful. If you enjoy literary dystopian fiction with rich world-building, emotional depth, and strong mother-daughter relationships, Mudlark is definitely worth picking up.
The writing is lyrical, and the world-building is incredibly immersive, though there were a few sections where the pacing slowed as the story leaned into description and reflection. Because of that, it took me a little longer to fully connect with the story.
Overall, this is a moving, atmospheric read that feels both haunting and hopeful. If you enjoy literary dystopian fiction with rich world-building, emotional depth, and strong mother-daughter relationships, Mudlark is definitely worth picking up.
July 24, 2026
thank you to the publishers and netgalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review!
overall i thought this was so strong and fascinating and relevant to the world we're living in today with global warming and climate change at the forefront of so many political discussions. make no mistake: it's certainly dystopian, which is a genre i always find fascinating, and i think the author excelled in making the world feel unique and lived-in and realistic.
i also found the characters to be strikingly 3-dimensional and interesting and flawed, with a dual narrative/timeline done well and beautifully comparing/contrasting the differences between niko and jenny.
i'm giving this one a 4.5/5 - it did take me a while to get into it, and there are parts that could've moved more quickly from a pacing standpoint. but the prose is beautiful. would absolutely read another novel from mary helen specht!
overall i thought this was so strong and fascinating and relevant to the world we're living in today with global warming and climate change at the forefront of so many political discussions. make no mistake: it's certainly dystopian, which is a genre i always find fascinating, and i think the author excelled in making the world feel unique and lived-in and realistic.
i also found the characters to be strikingly 3-dimensional and interesting and flawed, with a dual narrative/timeline done well and beautifully comparing/contrasting the differences between niko and jenny.
i'm giving this one a 4.5/5 - it did take me a while to get into it, and there are parts that could've moved more quickly from a pacing standpoint. but the prose is beautiful. would absolutely read another novel from mary helen specht!
August 12, 2026
Mudlark is a haunting and beautifully imagined dystopian novel that blends family drama, music, survival, and hope into a deeply moving story about what remains human after the world falls apart.
What immediately stood out is the relationship between Jenny and her daughter Neko. Their fractured bond gives the larger dystopian story an intimate emotional core, while Neko's search for her missing mother becomes a powerful journey through loss, resilience, and identity.
I was particularly impressed by the novel's imaginative world-building. The flooded ruins of Manhattan, rival factions, treetop societies, underground bunkers, and underground music culture create a vivid future that feels both dangerous and strangely beautiful.
Ultimately, Mudlark is more than a dystopian adventure. It is a thoughtful exploration of love, art, family, and survival, reminding readers that creativity and human connection can endure even in the most broken worlds.
What immediately stood out is the relationship between Jenny and her daughter Neko. Their fractured bond gives the larger dystopian story an intimate emotional core, while Neko's search for her missing mother becomes a powerful journey through loss, resilience, and identity.
I was particularly impressed by the novel's imaginative world-building. The flooded ruins of Manhattan, rival factions, treetop societies, underground bunkers, and underground music culture create a vivid future that feels both dangerous and strangely beautiful.
Ultimately, Mudlark is more than a dystopian adventure. It is a thoughtful exploration of love, art, family, and survival, reminding readers that creativity and human connection can endure even in the most broken worlds.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Really lovely, evocative writing. I took my time to take in and enjoy the writing, that's how good it was.
The characters were really fleshed out, and the interludes into the past with Neko's mother were perfect. You can see what the climate change disaster has imposed on society and the world, but I like that it's seen on a "small" everyday scale through Neko's eyes.
The descriptions of the ruined city were so visual and impactful. And throughout it all, the growth of Neko's character - or perhaps a better description is her growing in her insight of herself - and the internal wrestling as she remembers her relationship with her mother was fantastic.
There were also enough twists and turns throughout the plot to keep things interesting on a storyline level, and the ending was one I didn't see coming. Really well done.
The characters were really fleshed out, and the interludes into the past with Neko's mother were perfect. You can see what the climate change disaster has imposed on society and the world, but I like that it's seen on a "small" everyday scale through Neko's eyes.
The descriptions of the ruined city were so visual and impactful. And throughout it all, the growth of Neko's character - or perhaps a better description is her growing in her insight of herself - and the internal wrestling as she remembers her relationship with her mother was fantastic.
There were also enough twists and turns throughout the plot to keep things interesting on a storyline level, and the ending was one I didn't see coming. Really well done.
July 12, 2026
Review of advanced copy from Goodreads/Ballantine Books
The premise of this story is intriguing. Obviously, post-apocalyptic/dystopian fiction is nothing new, but it’s always interesting to read newly imagined scenarios of what could happen. However, Mudlark seemed to always lead me right to the brink of an important backstory, only to swerve in the direction of less information by way of Neko’s memory or Jenny’s story in the “before”. Also, I don’t typically mind jumping timelines, but there were almost too many jumps to keep track of here.
This wasn’t an entirely un-enjoyable read, but overall wasn’t for me. It felt scattered, the pacing was slower than I prefer, and the ending felt unresolved.
The premise of this story is intriguing. Obviously, post-apocalyptic/dystopian fiction is nothing new, but it’s always interesting to read newly imagined scenarios of what could happen. However, Mudlark seemed to always lead me right to the brink of an important backstory, only to swerve in the direction of less information by way of Neko’s memory or Jenny’s story in the “before”. Also, I don’t typically mind jumping timelines, but there were almost too many jumps to keep track of here.
This wasn’t an entirely un-enjoyable read, but overall wasn’t for me. It felt scattered, the pacing was slower than I prefer, and the ending felt unresolved.
July 19, 2026
I love dystopian novels, I have read a decent amount of them this year as well. I had a hard time getting into this one. and I am not sure it is entirely this books fault. I just came off reading two highly anticipated reads for the year and then went into this. I found that from what I read to this the pacing to be completely opposite and my brain just wasn't ready. The writing is great. I also think Mary Helen Specht does character development well but I personally just had a hard time getting into the story and caring about anything.
If you like dystopian and think that the synopsis sounds up your alley I would definitely give it a try.
Thank you to Ballentine for the complimentary copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
If you like dystopian and think that the synopsis sounds up your alley I would definitely give it a try.
Thank you to Ballentine for the complimentary copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
August 2, 2026
I was really put off by how this novel is constructed. The beginning of the book is actually a prologue, setting up some interesting characters only to pull the rug from under the reader, switching timescapes and characters to a much less interesting and more familiar post-apcalyptic milieu. Anyone who has read books on the mudlarks of 18th century London, destitute children poring over the detritus washed up on the malodorous shores of the Thames will feel right at home. I, however, felt alienated and, frankly, shortchanged. I liked the characters in the prologue much more. That set up was far more fascinating that what comes after. No spoilers, but as the novel plods on just what you expect to happen, does happen.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
First thank you Netgalley for letting me read this ARC.
Now for the book -it was a little out of my comfort zone, which makes me wonder why I requested it. The main character, Neko in the beginning is a 13 year old child and her parents are rockstars - and they are out at Burning Man at a concert- (all the time they are talking about a Hurricane that is about to hit the east coast) - she goes missing at the concert - and I was actually caught up in that part then boom we are the future. Climate change is real, the hurricane that hit put NYC underwater and now Neko is a diver - to save items that are underwater.
It was okay - but nothing I would recommend.
Now for the book -it was a little out of my comfort zone, which makes me wonder why I requested it. The main character, Neko in the beginning is a 13 year old child and her parents are rockstars - and they are out at Burning Man at a concert- (all the time they are talking about a Hurricane that is about to hit the east coast) - she goes missing at the concert - and I was actually caught up in that part then boom we are the future. Climate change is real, the hurricane that hit put NYC underwater and now Neko is a diver - to save items that are underwater.
It was okay - but nothing I would recommend.
August 14, 2026
This book is a tour de force. The relationship between the mother and daughter is beautifully wrought, and some passages ring so true, it hurts to read them. Also, the author masterfully weaves allusions to the Odyssey into her novel in ways that illuminate both her own story and the timelessness of Homer's epic poem. At the same time, Ms. Specht provides a master class in the raucous history of rock and roll, a vision of Burning Man so real you can taste the dust, and a map of New York City neighborhoods so accurate and detailed that you could find your way around even if those places were under water.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Many thanks to NetGalley and Ballentine for the free e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Dystopian literary fiction about Neko as she navigates the waterlogged wasteland of New York. As a child of rock stars, Neko struggles to find her place in their lives, which continues into her adulthood as she navigates the dystopian landscape. The storyline of Jenny, Neko's mother, weaves together perfectly as Neko goes on her quest to find herself.
Definitely a different read than my normal picks. 3.5 rounded up.
Dystopian literary fiction about Neko as she navigates the waterlogged wasteland of New York. As a child of rock stars, Neko struggles to find her place in their lives, which continues into her adulthood as she navigates the dystopian landscape. The storyline of Jenny, Neko's mother, weaves together perfectly as Neko goes on her quest to find herself.
Definitely a different read than my normal picks. 3.5 rounded up.
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