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This Is How The World Ends
Run the race. Or die.
Britain is at war, isolated by a digital blockade.
Dissidents run a deadly race for the public’s entertainment, while the flood-ravaged country falls apart. The Cartwright family tries to soldier on, refusing to give in to fear. But when catastrophe looms, Emma Cartwright flees – only to find that life beyond the border is anything but safe.
The fight for survival has begun.
This is how the world ends.
Fuelled by queer rage, THIS IS HOW THE WORLD ENDS is a wild, multi-narrative ride through the last days of humanity and the fight for survival that follows. Perfect for fans of Chain-Gang All Stars and Hell Followed With Us.
Britain is at war, isolated by a digital blockade.
Dissidents run a deadly race for the public’s entertainment, while the flood-ravaged country falls apart. The Cartwright family tries to soldier on, refusing to give in to fear. But when catastrophe looms, Emma Cartwright flees – only to find that life beyond the border is anything but safe.
The fight for survival has begun.
This is how the world ends.
Fuelled by queer rage, THIS IS HOW THE WORLD ENDS is a wild, multi-narrative ride through the last days of humanity and the fight for survival that follows. Perfect for fans of Chain-Gang All Stars and Hell Followed With Us.
Kindle Edition
Published September 16, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
March 5, 2026
4.5*
what an incredible debut !!!
this is a dystopian horror book that touches on human nature, resistance, and figuring out your place in the world. it’s dark, atmospheric, and was such a powerful book. i was glued to the pages and i couldn’t put this book down.
highly recommend reading this when it comes out!
what an incredible debut !!!
this is a dystopian horror book that touches on human nature, resistance, and figuring out your place in the world. it’s dark, atmospheric, and was such a powerful book. i was glued to the pages and i couldn’t put this book down.
highly recommend reading this when it comes out!
July 1, 2026
2026: 3.5
I thought this was really interesting! I like the style of switching between narrative and different kinds of documentation.
I thought this was really interesting! I like the style of switching between narrative and different kinds of documentation.
October 11, 2026
An interesting dystopian novella with an absolutely brilliant first chapter, and great use of different narrative styles to tell an original story spanning from near to distant future.
This book holds up a mirror to humankind ans what we're doing to our world and ourselves, and it's pretty bleak.
I did struggle a bit to make sense of the links between the characters in different chapters - there were clearly supposed to be family connections there. It didn't feel all that important to the story though, which in some ways could be seen as a collection of independent short stories.
This book holds up a mirror to humankind ans what we're doing to our world and ourselves, and it's pretty bleak.
I did struggle a bit to make sense of the links between the characters in different chapters - there were clearly supposed to be family connections there. It didn't feel all that important to the story though, which in some ways could be seen as a collection of independent short stories.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Heartbreaking and vital all at once, THIS IS HOW THE WORLD ENDS is a wrecking ball of a debut, sparing no one and nothing in its path. A timely meditation on what it means to be human against the backdrop of fascism, for readers who love Octavia Butler, José Saramago, and Ray Bradbury.
September 28, 2026
Note: This review was originally published at FanFiAddict.
The first question that struck me as I was reading Disco Barrington’s This Is How The World Ends was, “How in the hell is this their debut?” The writing and handling of the material was so spot-on, the authorial voice so true and natural, that I can only wonder how many filing cabinets and desk drawers worth of unpublished material Barrington must have squirreled away before plunging into publishing.
The second question was, “How many more days/weeks/months/years do we have before this is our actual reality?”
This Is How The World Ends begins in the near future. How near, exactly, is unspecified, but if you’ve been paying attention to the news, the growing instability of liberal democracy as it’s plundered, sold, and grifted away by a rising tide of far-right authoritarianism in far too may corners of the world these days, it’s easy to believe that Barrington’s dystopian world is only an executive order or two away from happening right here, right now. While the queer, trans, London-based author pens a rage fueled narrative set in England, as well as Trinidad, it’s all too easy for this American reader to recognize the work as a natural extension of current events. This isn’t a story about some imaginary, far-off future – it’s a scarily recognizable apocalypse about what could be, and some of what most certainly is, coming our way in true “ripped from the headlines!” fashion.
The Earth is being reshaped by climate change and the UK is flooding during weeks-long torrential downpours with no end in sight. The politicians, and the people that elected them, have voted in a brand-new dark age, destroying civil rights in a fit of gay and trans panic. People are being rounded-up by jackbooted thugs. Immigration and digital surveillance laws that once targeted the foreign-born for damnation are now being used against the white British population deserting the country they helped usher in a plague of terrors and crises upon. England is at war with both itself and whatever lies outside its island borders. Yep, this all seems pretty goddamned familiar and relevant.
Barrington skillfully introduces us to the complexity of this coming storm through the eyes of an indentured captive that has been forced into running a deadly, grisly gauntlet. We’ve seen, even just recently, how so many of the unwashed masses can be soothed by bread and circuses on the tele. We’ve got UFC cage fights on the White House lawn; Barrington gives us the next evolution with his The Running Man by way of The Long Walk riff. It’s the kind of torturous pogrom Trump might come up with if he were more interested in fitness than in shitting himself while falling asleep in the Oval Office on live TV.
Told through a series of epistolary sources across three future timelines, Barrington paints one hell of a dark future, but one that instantly feels grounded in the here and now. People are starving thanks to climate change, but also maybe because of diarrhea lettuce. There’s a superflu-like bug that rots away vegetation and, eventually, once mankind is decimated, religiously fueled internecine warfare, because in the post-apocalyptic wastelands there’s still no hate like Christian love. One can almost here Pete Hegseth cheering these marauding bandits on from the sidelines while he fails to do a complete pull-up. Even the far-future Barrington imagines in the book’s third act is scarily relevant to today’s burgeoning A.I. concerns.
The sheer scope and messaging that Barrington brings to play throughout the course of this three-act drama belies its short page count. This Is How The World Ends is a slender tome, indeed, with its narrative clocking in at under 120 pages. Although it never feels incomplete, nor do the topics covered ever strike me as shortchanged, I wish it were longer just for the chance to explore these horrors for a little while more. It’s a small complaint, if one must call it that, for a novella that’s all muscle, as lean, lithe, and fleet-footed as the tortured runners we’re introduced to kick things off. Well, the ones who survive, anyway.
This Is How The World Ends is a remarkably assured debut from a voice readers need to hear. It’s a smart, raw, cynical yet hopeful, and clearly a very personal work of social science fiction and political horror. You can feel Barrington’s influences throughout. There’s some Stephen King, a bit of 28 Days Later in broad strokes, and even a little bit of Asimov, among others. Asimov referred to his own works as social science fiction, and it’s certainly no coincidence that I use the term here. Without venturing too deeply into spoiler territory, I do want to properly nod my head and tip my hat at Barrington for his wicked inversion of the Three Laws of Robotics, and the distillation of what it means to be human in the book’s closing segments.
As for this being Barrington’s debut? Wow! I surely do look forward to seeing what he produces as a seasoned publishing veteran. He’s hit the ground running here.
The first question that struck me as I was reading Disco Barrington’s This Is How The World Ends was, “How in the hell is this their debut?” The writing and handling of the material was so spot-on, the authorial voice so true and natural, that I can only wonder how many filing cabinets and desk drawers worth of unpublished material Barrington must have squirreled away before plunging into publishing.
The second question was, “How many more days/weeks/months/years do we have before this is our actual reality?”
This Is How The World Ends begins in the near future. How near, exactly, is unspecified, but if you’ve been paying attention to the news, the growing instability of liberal democracy as it’s plundered, sold, and grifted away by a rising tide of far-right authoritarianism in far too may corners of the world these days, it’s easy to believe that Barrington’s dystopian world is only an executive order or two away from happening right here, right now. While the queer, trans, London-based author pens a rage fueled narrative set in England, as well as Trinidad, it’s all too easy for this American reader to recognize the work as a natural extension of current events. This isn’t a story about some imaginary, far-off future – it’s a scarily recognizable apocalypse about what could be, and some of what most certainly is, coming our way in true “ripped from the headlines!” fashion.
The Earth is being reshaped by climate change and the UK is flooding during weeks-long torrential downpours with no end in sight. The politicians, and the people that elected them, have voted in a brand-new dark age, destroying civil rights in a fit of gay and trans panic. People are being rounded-up by jackbooted thugs. Immigration and digital surveillance laws that once targeted the foreign-born for damnation are now being used against the white British population deserting the country they helped usher in a plague of terrors and crises upon. England is at war with both itself and whatever lies outside its island borders. Yep, this all seems pretty goddamned familiar and relevant.
Barrington skillfully introduces us to the complexity of this coming storm through the eyes of an indentured captive that has been forced into running a deadly, grisly gauntlet. We’ve seen, even just recently, how so many of the unwashed masses can be soothed by bread and circuses on the tele. We’ve got UFC cage fights on the White House lawn; Barrington gives us the next evolution with his The Running Man by way of The Long Walk riff. It’s the kind of torturous pogrom Trump might come up with if he were more interested in fitness than in shitting himself while falling asleep in the Oval Office on live TV.
Told through a series of epistolary sources across three future timelines, Barrington paints one hell of a dark future, but one that instantly feels grounded in the here and now. People are starving thanks to climate change, but also maybe because of diarrhea lettuce. There’s a superflu-like bug that rots away vegetation and, eventually, once mankind is decimated, religiously fueled internecine warfare, because in the post-apocalyptic wastelands there’s still no hate like Christian love. One can almost here Pete Hegseth cheering these marauding bandits on from the sidelines while he fails to do a complete pull-up. Even the far-future Barrington imagines in the book’s third act is scarily relevant to today’s burgeoning A.I. concerns.
The sheer scope and messaging that Barrington brings to play throughout the course of this three-act drama belies its short page count. This Is How The World Ends is a slender tome, indeed, with its narrative clocking in at under 120 pages. Although it never feels incomplete, nor do the topics covered ever strike me as shortchanged, I wish it were longer just for the chance to explore these horrors for a little while more. It’s a small complaint, if one must call it that, for a novella that’s all muscle, as lean, lithe, and fleet-footed as the tortured runners we’re introduced to kick things off. Well, the ones who survive, anyway.
This Is How The World Ends is a remarkably assured debut from a voice readers need to hear. It’s a smart, raw, cynical yet hopeful, and clearly a very personal work of social science fiction and political horror. You can feel Barrington’s influences throughout. There’s some Stephen King, a bit of 28 Days Later in broad strokes, and even a little bit of Asimov, among others. Asimov referred to his own works as social science fiction, and it’s certainly no coincidence that I use the term here. Without venturing too deeply into spoiler territory, I do want to properly nod my head and tip my hat at Barrington for his wicked inversion of the Three Laws of Robotics, and the distillation of what it means to be human in the book’s closing segments.
As for this being Barrington’s debut? Wow! I surely do look forward to seeing what he produces as a seasoned publishing veteran. He’s hit the ground running here.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
This Is How the World Ends by Disco Barrington offers a bleak vision of what could easily be the near future in this dystopian novella. The author's approach is unique and, I think, brilliant. The story begins with action and high stakes, capturing my attention immediately and holding it throughout. The book was highly engaging, and I couldn't put it down.
Barrington strategically unveils the whole picture through a variety of perspectives, including first-person inner monologues, dialogues, news reports, letters, documents, and emergency notices. Each of these pieces comes together in visceral detail to create a view not only of a morbid world but also of humanity's resilience, will to survive, and desire for freedom.
This book is creative and well written. The author gives plenty to consider, such as what one would do to survive, what freedom means, the importance of quality of life, passive versus active citizenship, and the unexpected, far-reaching repercussions of staying on the path, as it seems that we are destined to repeat patterns ingrained in humanity's existence.
The novella is delivered in pieces but needs to be viewed as a whole. The story comes full circle through the physical act of running, driven by a desire for freedom, and a first-person inner monologue.
So much is packed into these few pages, and it is so relevant. I was enthralled and surprised by the ending.
I recommend it, but check your headspace before diving in.
Quoteworthy:
I will my aching legs to move, pumping my arms like I’ve learned to do. Does it make me go faster? Probably not. But it makes me think I can, and that’s half the battle.
Maybe their lover was also lying in the pile of bodies that made up that jump, a casualty of the race before. So, they told themself, I’ll run one more race and I’ll make it to exactly where they died, and I’ll make sure I die too. I’ll stop running. I’ll be shot. I’ll lie next to them, and the runners can jump over us, forever and ever, until there are no runners left. And our corpses will disintegrate into mush, and the mush will meld together, and their maggots will be my maggots, and their mould will be my mould, and we’ll become one beautiful, green-grey pile of never-parted goo.
...surely, they have to pay attention this time, there are so many of us? When they watched politicians in ill-fitting suits stand up and vote to send the world into a new dark age. When they clutched each other in fear, then got up to go to work, because what else is there? What is there to do? Love is no longer love. Unbind the chest. Shave your legs. Hide the make-up. Drag yourself into the world. Pretend to survive, for as long as you can.
Meaningless marriage licenses. Wedding rings taken off for safety, with the promise– it’s just for now, it’ll get better, it’s just a ring, we know we love each other.
My shoe is sticky with human viscera and entrails, and they are laughing.
We can’t live in captivity. We won’t be their puppets. We demand to be free.
#transrep #cannibalism #queer #dystopian #horror #action #climatechange #climatedisasters #apocalyptic #noromance #gore #death #murder #abuse
I received a review copy from Nefarious Bat Press. This is my honest opinion.
Barrington strategically unveils the whole picture through a variety of perspectives, including first-person inner monologues, dialogues, news reports, letters, documents, and emergency notices. Each of these pieces comes together in visceral detail to create a view not only of a morbid world but also of humanity's resilience, will to survive, and desire for freedom.
This book is creative and well written. The author gives plenty to consider, such as what one would do to survive, what freedom means, the importance of quality of life, passive versus active citizenship, and the unexpected, far-reaching repercussions of staying on the path, as it seems that we are destined to repeat patterns ingrained in humanity's existence.
The novella is delivered in pieces but needs to be viewed as a whole. The story comes full circle through the physical act of running, driven by a desire for freedom, and a first-person inner monologue.
So much is packed into these few pages, and it is so relevant. I was enthralled and surprised by the ending.
I recommend it, but check your headspace before diving in.
Quoteworthy:
I will my aching legs to move, pumping my arms like I’ve learned to do. Does it make me go faster? Probably not. But it makes me think I can, and that’s half the battle.
Maybe their lover was also lying in the pile of bodies that made up that jump, a casualty of the race before. So, they told themself, I’ll run one more race and I’ll make it to exactly where they died, and I’ll make sure I die too. I’ll stop running. I’ll be shot. I’ll lie next to them, and the runners can jump over us, forever and ever, until there are no runners left. And our corpses will disintegrate into mush, and the mush will meld together, and their maggots will be my maggots, and their mould will be my mould, and we’ll become one beautiful, green-grey pile of never-parted goo.
...surely, they have to pay attention this time, there are so many of us? When they watched politicians in ill-fitting suits stand up and vote to send the world into a new dark age. When they clutched each other in fear, then got up to go to work, because what else is there? What is there to do? Love is no longer love. Unbind the chest. Shave your legs. Hide the make-up. Drag yourself into the world. Pretend to survive, for as long as you can.
Meaningless marriage licenses. Wedding rings taken off for safety, with the promise– it’s just for now, it’ll get better, it’s just a ring, we know we love each other.
My shoe is sticky with human viscera and entrails, and they are laughing.
We can’t live in captivity. We won’t be their puppets. We demand to be free.
#transrep #cannibalism #queer #dystopian #horror #action #climatechange #climatedisasters #apocalyptic #noromance #gore #death #murder #abuse
I received a review copy from Nefarious Bat Press. This is my honest opinion.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
4.5/5 Stars
I picked this up for the Trans Rights Readathon and it ended up being such a perfect fit. Queer rage, trans and sapphic rep, multi-POV storytelling, doomsday cults, resistance, survival… all wrapped in a bleak, flood-ravaged, post-apocalyptic Britain. Say less.
This little novella had me so HOOKED and I loved the multi-media narrative format with each chapter shifting formats, giving us a new perspective on the world and plot with each one. I did not feel bored, not one time, while reading this story and that really speaks to the authors ability to engage despite a constantly shifting landscape. What an absolute feat for a debut!
It is a dark story, so check your trigger warnings, but there is also something deeply human running throughout it all too so even without spending a ton of time with any single POV, I still found myself invested in each of their stories and desperate to understand more about their world and all the ways it was broken and failing them.
If I could change anything about this novella it would be to add another 100 pages to it...but could that maybe mean a SERIES of novellas in the future??? If so, I'd pick it up immediately. If you are a fan of dark, dystopian, queer friendly novellas, this one is for you!
I picked this up for the Trans Rights Readathon and it ended up being such a perfect fit. Queer rage, trans and sapphic rep, multi-POV storytelling, doomsday cults, resistance, survival… all wrapped in a bleak, flood-ravaged, post-apocalyptic Britain. Say less.
This little novella had me so HOOKED and I loved the multi-media narrative format with each chapter shifting formats, giving us a new perspective on the world and plot with each one. I did not feel bored, not one time, while reading this story and that really speaks to the authors ability to engage despite a constantly shifting landscape. What an absolute feat for a debut!
It is a dark story, so check your trigger warnings, but there is also something deeply human running throughout it all too so even without spending a ton of time with any single POV, I still found myself invested in each of their stories and desperate to understand more about their world and all the ways it was broken and failing them.
If I could change anything about this novella it would be to add another 100 pages to it...but could that maybe mean a SERIES of novellas in the future??? If so, I'd pick it up immediately. If you are a fan of dark, dystopian, queer friendly novellas, this one is for you!
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Oh my days!
An incredible debut novel by Disco Barrington. The story relegates the end of the world as we know it, at different points in time and in different locations around the UK and Trinidad. The archival style of storytelling through letters, reports and archival observations was a fresh take within this genre. I was hooked from the first sentence and audibly gasped after the last.
The situations described come eerily close to what we as a society currently seem to be heading towards. Bleak, but still. In this dystopia I found what I love most about humanity, particularly my own community: resistance, togetherness, resilience and love. Love for your community, even in the darkest of time.
•••
Thank you Nefarious Bat Press and the author for the early copy.
My opinions are always my own.
An incredible debut novel by Disco Barrington. The story relegates the end of the world as we know it, at different points in time and in different locations around the UK and Trinidad. The archival style of storytelling through letters, reports and archival observations was a fresh take within this genre. I was hooked from the first sentence and audibly gasped after the last.
The situations described come eerily close to what we as a society currently seem to be heading towards. Bleak, but still. In this dystopia I found what I love most about humanity, particularly my own community: resistance, togetherness, resilience and love. Love for your community, even in the darkest of time.
•••
Thank you Nefarious Bat Press and the author for the early copy.
My opinions are always my own.
Review of advance copy received from Author
I really loved this book.
I’ve been struggling with horror lately, and this book was genuinely what I needed. It’s an epistolary horror, which can be hit and miss, but the author really used it to their advantage and it led to a very engaging and fast-paced read. The book was intriguing, rage-inducing at times, and a really poignant commentary on society through a dystopian lens.
The author doesn’t spoon feed you - they trust their readers - and I really enjoyed that. Incredible debut that I highly rec!
I’ve been struggling with horror lately, and this book was genuinely what I needed. It’s an epistolary horror, which can be hit and miss, but the author really used it to their advantage and it led to a very engaging and fast-paced read. The book was intriguing, rage-inducing at times, and a really poignant commentary on society through a dystopian lens.
The author doesn’t spoon feed you - they trust their readers - and I really enjoyed that. Incredible debut that I highly rec!
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
(ARC review)
That is a very, very accurate title! Barrington starts with a dystopian apocalypse and escalates, and then escalates more, and somehow finds another way to escalate - multiple vignettes jumping from character and timeline as the human race falls down. It's a vicious, angry book, angry about a lot of things, and the first chapter with the dissident's race is one of the most horrifying things I've read so far this year, worth the price of the book on its own.
That is a very, very accurate title! Barrington starts with a dystopian apocalypse and escalates, and then escalates more, and somehow finds another way to escalate - multiple vignettes jumping from character and timeline as the human race falls down. It's a vicious, angry book, angry about a lot of things, and the first chapter with the dissident's race is one of the most horrifying things I've read so far this year, worth the price of the book on its own.
Review of advance copy received from Author
There's a real sense of scope and scale to this book. It's cinematic too, in places. You can picture the sort of World War Z movie version of some of the scenes playing out. Other stories have more of a Black Mirror creeping dread about them. There is hope though, too. It's not all completely bleak. There is love in there, and the sense of the human yearning to be free.
It doesn't take too long to read, and is well worth your time.
It doesn't take too long to read, and is well worth your time.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
This was very much a glimpeses into life novella. And wow a lot of those glimpses were really hard. Watching society fall, the world collapse and then reinvent itself centuries later. My only wish is that we had more in each period. But the short sudden changes made it feel ever the more devestating. For a short book there was a lot to digest. Definitely one to re-read.
It said it's not yet published, but I was able to buy a copy from amazon Uk.
It said it's not yet published, but I was able to buy a copy from amazon Uk.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
My gosh, I love this book so much! This is the story of the end of the world, but also a thought-provoking read on human nature, resistance and hope. All around amazing read, and I look forward to reading more from this author!
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
I love a literary dystopian work that makes us reflect on our world and what it means to be a human living in it. This one explores all that in a short read that can be intentional disorienting at times.
September 26, 2026
The novella gripped me from the first page. The narrative mix is quite refreshing, and I read this all in one sitting.
September 20, 2026
Told through fictional epistolary sources and a multi-narrative, This Is How The World Ends is set in a dystopian Britain where all hope is lost, and the country is isolated by a digital blockade. This debut novella spans multiple timelines in a dark future where society's breakdown has pushed humanity toward near extinction. Despite its bleak setting, this debut is ultimately a story of queer love and resistance in the face of total collapse. An unsettling yet hopeful take on the apocalypse, Barrington is an author who is just getting started. And I am thoroughly excited to see where his work goes next.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
This book is both heartbreakingly beautiful and so very hard to read. The writing is top notch, drawing the reader in from the start, but it's the subject matter that grabs - with the sharpest claws. Disco Barrington is fearless, diving into the difficulties of life in the world right now to cunningly satirise and drag into the sunlight so many issues facing minority communities. It's not 'woke' so much as 'WAKE UP AND DO SOMETHING.'
No spoilers, but readers brave enough to venture into this tale will be rewarded for joining the battle.
A remarkable achievement for a first novel. I'm rather in awe, as well as anticipation of what will come next.
I was kindly sent an early copy of this book by the publisher, but the above opinions are entirely my own.
No spoilers, but readers brave enough to venture into this tale will be rewarded for joining the battle.
A remarkable achievement for a first novel. I'm rather in awe, as well as anticipation of what will come next.
I was kindly sent an early copy of this book by the publisher, but the above opinions are entirely my own.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews