What do you think?
Wrecks
A noirish near-future thriller about obsession, connection and penance, where human and machine bleed into one, for fans of J. G. Ballard and Joel Lane.
When celebrated rally driver Teddy Moon suffers a career-ending crash in the foothills of Eryri, Wales, Lescure senior technician Jim Sorrel shoulders the blame.
Cleared of criminal negligence but dismissed by his bosses, Sorrel goes to ground in London during a lethal heatwave. Here, Sorrel’s guilt is only deepened by the disappearance of his young apprentice, Marcus – and by voices from the past haunting him through his phone.
Then a lifeline: Teddy emerges from his coma and asks to see Sorrel in person. Because, Sorrel learns, Teddy has been dreaming of him. And now Teddy has an opportunity to discuss.
At Teddy’s behest, Sorrel takes a job couriering worldboxes – seamless, brushed-steel vessels – for well-paying, anonymous clients. It feels like another chance. A way for Sorrel to remake himself. But the worldboxes also seem to carry the threat of something incomprehensible, and soon even Sorrel’s new beginnings falter as retribution draws near.
Set against a background of unrelenting heat and oppressive surveillance, Wrecks drives readers towards a grotesque impasse, where blood and engine oil threaten to engulf us all.
When celebrated rally driver Teddy Moon suffers a career-ending crash in the foothills of Eryri, Wales, Lescure senior technician Jim Sorrel shoulders the blame.
Cleared of criminal negligence but dismissed by his bosses, Sorrel goes to ground in London during a lethal heatwave. Here, Sorrel’s guilt is only deepened by the disappearance of his young apprentice, Marcus – and by voices from the past haunting him through his phone.
Then a lifeline: Teddy emerges from his coma and asks to see Sorrel in person. Because, Sorrel learns, Teddy has been dreaming of him. And now Teddy has an opportunity to discuss.
At Teddy’s behest, Sorrel takes a job couriering worldboxes – seamless, brushed-steel vessels – for well-paying, anonymous clients. It feels like another chance. A way for Sorrel to remake himself. But the worldboxes also seem to carry the threat of something incomprehensible, and soon even Sorrel’s new beginnings falter as retribution draws near.
Set against a background of unrelenting heat and oppressive surveillance, Wrecks drives readers towards a grotesque impasse, where blood and engine oil threaten to engulf us all.
- GenresScience Fiction
352 pages, Paperback
First published August 6, 2026
About the author
Matt Hill
7 books70 followersMatt Hill's novels include Philip K. Dick Award nominee Graft (Angry Robot, 2016), The Breach (Titan, 2020), and Lamb (Dead Ink) a Times best science fiction novel of 2023.
Wrecks, his latest novel, is published by Dead Ink in August 2026.
Follow him on Instagram: @matthillwriter
Wrecks, his latest novel, is published by Dead Ink in August 2026.
Follow him on Instagram: @matthillwriter
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 9, 2026
Thank you to Dead Ink and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Set in near-future Britain, we follow Sorrel, a racing technician who takes the blame when a devastating rally crash ends the career of the driver Teddy.
What follows kind of defies description it's so weird, but it becomes increasingly insane.
A mix of horror, literary fiction, thriller and sci-fi, this is the very definition of a genre-bending novel. At times I was utterly baffled, but it all came together in a satisfying way. I'm not a huge fan of cars or racing, but that didn't bother me - you could feel the passion the characters in the story had for driving, and that's what mattered.
At times the descriptions here as the story skirted more towards body horror were visceral, and I could almost smell and feel the sensations our main character is feeling.
This is a book that I'm appreciating more the more I think about it. A very unique read.
Set in near-future Britain, we follow Sorrel, a racing technician who takes the blame when a devastating rally crash ends the career of the driver Teddy.
What follows kind of defies description it's so weird, but it becomes increasingly insane.
A mix of horror, literary fiction, thriller and sci-fi, this is the very definition of a genre-bending novel. At times I was utterly baffled, but it all came together in a satisfying way. I'm not a huge fan of cars or racing, but that didn't bother me - you could feel the passion the characters in the story had for driving, and that's what mattered.
At times the descriptions here as the story skirted more towards body horror were visceral, and I could almost smell and feel the sensations our main character is feeling.
This is a book that I'm appreciating more the more I think about it. A very unique read.
August 22, 2026
The foreword might have been my favourite part of Wrecks. Matt Hill writes about growing up in a motor-racing family, and immediately I was locked in. National Bangers, stock cars and rallying have a specific nostalgic pull: the noise, the cars, the dirt, and the deliciously grubby analogue world surrounding it. Encountering that atmosphere in Wrecks was comforting; everything else built around it was anything but comfortable.
We follow mechanic Jim Sorrel after a brutal rally crash leaves his driver Teddy Moon in a coma and Jim blaming himself for the plot twist. When Teddy wakes up, he offers Jim an opportunity that looks like redemption. However, transporting mysterious “worldboxes” turns out to be a direct pipeline to nothing good.
What happens next basically feels like a glitch in the matrix; dystopian, cosmic horror, and peak true crime all smash together. The setting is giving a lovely backdrop of literal heatwave madness, Big Brother surveillance, and decay of industrial rot. Make no mistake, this is a dark-coded world where everything is sticky and oppressive; everyone and every machine overheated and on the verge of malfunction.
Whenever Wrecks stayed closest to the cars, I was completely sat. I was genuinely living for Jim’s storyline. The guilt, male friendship, and seduction of a possible redemption arc; the possibility that with the right task perhaps he can repay the debt he’s decided he owes.
Where the vibe fell off for me was the speculative elements. I was intellectually interested rather than emotionally invested. The brain scratches were wild, top-tier fever dream but the part that truly ate was Matt Hill’s tactile writing; he gives pure sensory overload. I could smell that world.
It’s a solid mid, but highkey a niche recommendation. Atmospheric, inventive, and clearly written by someone with genuine affection for the culture, and as a reader with genuine affection for that culture, the nostalgia was pure chef’s kiss.
Thank you to NetGalley and Dead Ink Books for allowing me the opportunity to read an advance copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.
We follow mechanic Jim Sorrel after a brutal rally crash leaves his driver Teddy Moon in a coma and Jim blaming himself for the plot twist. When Teddy wakes up, he offers Jim an opportunity that looks like redemption. However, transporting mysterious “worldboxes” turns out to be a direct pipeline to nothing good.
What happens next basically feels like a glitch in the matrix; dystopian, cosmic horror, and peak true crime all smash together. The setting is giving a lovely backdrop of literal heatwave madness, Big Brother surveillance, and decay of industrial rot. Make no mistake, this is a dark-coded world where everything is sticky and oppressive; everyone and every machine overheated and on the verge of malfunction.
Whenever Wrecks stayed closest to the cars, I was completely sat. I was genuinely living for Jim’s storyline. The guilt, male friendship, and seduction of a possible redemption arc; the possibility that with the right task perhaps he can repay the debt he’s decided he owes.
Where the vibe fell off for me was the speculative elements. I was intellectually interested rather than emotionally invested. The brain scratches were wild, top-tier fever dream but the part that truly ate was Matt Hill’s tactile writing; he gives pure sensory overload. I could smell that world.
It’s a solid mid, but highkey a niche recommendation. Atmospheric, inventive, and clearly written by someone with genuine affection for the culture, and as a reader with genuine affection for that culture, the nostalgia was pure chef’s kiss.
Thank you to NetGalley and Dead Ink Books for allowing me the opportunity to read an advance copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
i was expecting this to be sooo loopy and insane but it felt more realistic or at least plausible than i found comfortable
most of all, this feels like a book about male interiority and like men's relationships with other men. but not in a crazy way, in quite a sensitive and casual way. it is also about the dystopia of the gig economy, millionaire megalomaniacs and the unique submissive headspace of precarity -- but all of that specifically in the context of masculinity. i rly liked it, was a bit slow but putting it down wasnt rly an option and by the end i was gripped. i also rly enjoyed the way matt hill puts sentences together, like line by line it is beautifully written, which -- not everything is!
most of all, this feels like a book about male interiority and like men's relationships with other men. but not in a crazy way, in quite a sensitive and casual way. it is also about the dystopia of the gig economy, millionaire megalomaniacs and the unique submissive headspace of precarity -- but all of that specifically in the context of masculinity. i rly liked it, was a bit slow but putting it down wasnt rly an option and by the end i was gripped. i also rly enjoyed the way matt hill puts sentences together, like line by line it is beautifully written, which -- not everything is!
August 15, 2026
This was a fascinating read. A fast-paced, noirish thriller with sci-fi and even horror elements. It’s got a bit of everything! Set in a dystopian heat wave, this book is rife with guilt and shame and the desperate desire to earn forgiveness. The heatwave was the perfect setting for a book exploring the sticky inertia of guilt. I’ll admit that I didn’t much like the main character (I thought he was spineless, but in an almost relatable way) but I did find that I couldn’t look away. This book captivated me from start to end with its relentless pace and uneasy reality. Five stars!
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
This brillaint novel was so much more than i expected. Yes the racing stuff, which i have no experience of, but could get behind anyway, but also the wild goosechase, the brilliant speculative near future technology and terrifying climate. The prose is absolutely masterful along with being propulsive too (a rare balance). This has to be on your summer reading list.
August 16, 2026
Near future London in a permanent heat wave, rally racing, shady van delivery, reckless driving and auto eroticism. Pacey Ballard noir reworking, maybe even early Will Self.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews