Absence

by Andrew Dana Hudson, Dan John Miller (Narrator)

In this moving, richly detailed speculative crime debut, the world is unraveling from an epidemic of human vanishing. Two novice investigators are dispatched to small-town Kansas to interview a woman who claims to have returned from Absence, offering answers to everything.

People are “popping,” disappearing one-by-one, into thin an ongoing global cataclysm known as Spontaneous Human Absence. In a world where prospects for survival are increasingly grim, hopelessness prevails, political rifts widen, and doomsday predictions flourish.

Harvey Ellis works the night shift for the Bureau of Depopulation Affairs, an ad hoc federal agency meant to contain and catalog the crisis. His to investigate claims of Absence, and, if validated, issue a standard government stipend to boost morale. Still recovering from losses of his own, Harvey is content in his routine—until his life is shaken up by an unexpected assignment from the central office.

A woman long thought Absent has reappeared in her hometown of Dawnville, Kansas, claiming she’s been to the other side and back. Is her story true, or is she just the latest false prophet, offering hope to a world desperate for answers? Together with his no-BS partner Shonda Erins, Harvey travels to Dawnville to find out.

A sweeping portrait of a world beset by confusion and dismay, Andrew Dana Hudson’s debut novel is a vividly imagined speculative mystery of cosmic proportions, examining the stories we tell to get by.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Dystopia, Mystery, Speculative Fiction, Audiobook, Novels

14 pages, Audible Audio

First published May 5, 2026

Reviews

[Tyffani · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore speculative fiction and this book truly delivers!! In this world, people randomly disappear, literally popping out of existence. We follow Harvey, a federal agent with the Bureau of Depopulation Affairs. He gets a special assignment to investigate a person claiming to have returned after popping. While investigating the claim, Harvey has to contemplate his own beliefs about popping and the afterlife.

The world building in this book is superb. You’d think a book set in Kansas really wouldn’t need a lot of world building but you’d be wrong. Hudson sets up a Kansas that is straining under division and desperation and hope. You feel what the characters are feeling and you can understand their emotions.

The story does kind of drag around the 60% mark. It is still good and I was engaged but it felt long then. It eventually picked back up and the ending was fantastic. If you enjoy speculative fiction, you need to pick up this book!!

Thank you to Soho Press for the ARC of this novel!!

[ObscureVi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Absence made me feel pretty... conflicted. I was in a small reading slump for the last two, maybe three weeks, constantly jumping between books, reading few pages a day and then just putting them down, despite really wanting to read (thanks, brain).

I couldn't sleep, so I made myself some tea, grabbed my phone and opened Absence and to my surprise, the reading slump that clung to me till now simply... poofed (was it a pun? maybe). The first... probably one-third of the book? I totally lost track of the time and before I knew it, I was deep into the story.

The premise had me hooked from the start. I mean, the idea of people disappearing into thin air and no one really knows why? Not to mention, that it's happening all over the world and you can be gone in the blink of an eye, right in front of other people? Obviously, it's going to cause panic, the constant fear, that it can happen to you or your loved ones... and what exactly happens once you're one of the victims of Spontaneous Human Absence? Some will use it as an excuse to escape, vanish and hope no one will be looking for them, others can use the epidemic to cover-up their crimes.

All of the above were my thoughts before and during reading, at least until somewhere around halfway, when the book slowly started to lose me, despite how much I was enjoying it at first. I'm not even fully sure, what caused it: the amount of informations that it started to throw at us at some point? one of the parts that didn't really feel like they add much into the story, beside being a filler? or maybe it was the fact, that I expected a bit more of sci-fi things from a novel labeled as sci-fi?

Probably, it was a bit of all three and I won't be able to point at the main culprit. I'm just sure, that I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would, when I was at the beginning of the book.

[Julia Cramer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Soho Press for the Advanced copy of this novel!
I've always been drawn to speculative fiction right off the bat I was engaged with the premise of this book! I especially enjoy the type of speculative fiction that feels just a little too close to reality so this novel really hit all the marks for me. The premise being a simple but deeply unsettling thing such as a quick "pop" and you're out of existence without warning or trace is phenomenal. No explanation, no evidence that you were ever there- just gone *poof*. We follow Harvey Ellis, a federal agent working for the Bureau of Depopulation Affairs, who is then tasked with the investigation of a rare and very controversial case. A girl who claims to have returned after disappearing. From there the novel is less about solving the mystery and more about sitting with impossible questions. What I loved most about this novel was the world building, which is a funny thing to say seeing as this narrative is mainly set in rural Kansas, and anyone who is familiar with rural Kansas knows how fucking boring it is so the fact that this book was still able to have such insane world building in a seemingly very bland setting is absolutely mind boggling to me! I loved how the subtlety of the world building added to this stories emotional depth and just enhanced the believability of this fictional phenomenon even more. That being said, I did find it slowing down a bit around the 60-70% mark (as I was listening to the audiobook and found myself putting it down more often around this time) but the tone is consistent throughout which kept me coming back! I also found the lack of mention of Harvey's fiancée who went missing or "popped" towards the end of the novel to be a bit jarring because she was so heavily mentioned and talked about throughout just right up until the end. Overall though I really enjoyed this read! Just the right amount of speculative fiction mixed with thought-provoking ideas as well as being surprisingly emotionally resonant at times with it's themes of loss and fear, and of course the inherent human need for answers in a world that rarely provides them. If you're like me at all and enjoy speculative fiction, sci-fi, the netflix show "The OA", true crime, or even just a good riddle. Then this is the book for you! (Just don't get upset at me when you're left with more questions than answers).

[The Hateful Reader · Rating 1 out of 5]

By page 50 I was rooting for the epidemic.

Absence promises speculative fiction, dystopian mystery, sci-fi and delivers the thrill and appeal of a dictionary. People are disappearing worldwide and I have never been less interested in a global crisis.

The characters are so surface-level I couldn’t care less if they “popped” or stayed or murdered their grandma. The writing is flat and informational. The plot is one decent idea dragged behind a parade of unnecessary words.

448 pages… that’s how long it takes this book to say almost nothing. Absolutely brutal to get through. I’m truly stunned to see I’m the first 1 star. I feel like everyone else got the Absence deluxe edition and I got the instruction manual.

Grateful to NetGalley for the ARC and for their ongoing courage in letting The Hateful Reader judge things. Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for giving me an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Pub date: May 5, 2026

[ROLLAND Florence · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imagine a world where people suddenly disappear, massively. They do not fade away - they pop, with a loud sound. And just like that, they are gone.

Our hero is an investigator working for the bureau of depopulation affairs. Imagine a police division, responsible for determining if a person has truly disappeared (an Absentia case), or if something else happened to them. They collect evidence, interview witnesses, fill in paperwork. They have to travel for work to the places where people disappear from, sometimes massively.

This is a slow burn, full of reflections about what makes life meaningful in a world where people can suddenly "pop". Charlatans and scientists alike try to find an explanation, a treatment, a pattern. Some people pretend to return, sometimes years after their disappearance. All the others become afraid of staying alone. Apps are used to let your loved ones know that you are still alive.

The writing style of the author is very poetic. I found it very relaxing, and also very sad. This novel was full of aphorisms about death, relationships, and what gives life meaning. How can anyone fall in love when the other person might disappear at any moment?

Thank you NetGalley and Soho Press for the ARC. Thank you Andrew Dana Hudson for writing it.

[Renee Godding · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual Rating: 3.5/5 stars, rounded up

Equal parts police procedural, sci-fi mystery and societal dystopia; there were plenty of colors in the palette that Andrew Dana Hugh could’ve chosen to paint the story of Absence with. Instead of choosing however, he blends these genres together in a way that worked surprisingly well for me. The mix is a little reminiscent of Jeff Vandermeer or Blake Crouch, but less bleak and alien than the former, and slower paced than the latter. Overall though, this was a unique new voice in the genre, that I’m sure many readers will enjoy.

The Story:
In a world close to our own, the population has been wrecked by an epidemic of spontaneous human vanishing. Without rhyme or reason, and from one second to the next, a person can “pop out of existence”, in a phenomenon known as “Spontaneous Human Absence”.
Agent Harvey Ellis works for the Bureau of Depopulation Affairs – an ad hoc federal department tasked with investigating claims of Absence on their legitimacy, and discern any pattern if possible. Desensitized to the unrelenting random tragedies and reeling from a loss of his own, Harvey merely goes through the routine motions at his job. That is, until something unprecedented happens: a woman long thought Absent has reappeared in her hometown of Dawnville, Kansas, claiming she’s been to the other side and back. But is her wild and irresistible account true, or is she just the latest false prophet, offering hope to a world desperate for it? Together with his partner, Shonda Erins (the Scully to his Mulder), Harvey travels to Dawnville to find out.

What I loved:
Andrew Dana Hugh does a phenomenal job of setting the stage and hooking you into the layered mystery at hand. For about the first 1/3 of the book, I was reading compulsively, desperate to scrape together more clues to satisfy my curiosity.
The characters, although a bit stereotypical and lacking depth, bounce well of each-other, and I enjoyed Shonda and Harvey’s sceptic-believer-dynamic throughout. Harvey’s personal loss of his fiancée to Absence gives him a little extra layer of motivation to get to the bottom of this mystery.
The writing was smooth and accessible and I flew through the pages. That being said, interspliced with the action of the investigation, the author did take the time to step back once in a while and ponder the societal and existential implications of an epidemic like this (and the claim that there might be a way back for those departed!).
Unfortunately, the book wasn’t able to keep up this strong a momentum until the very end. Although there was no point where I stopped enjoying myself completely, I did feel like the book began to sizzled out like a dying flame from the 60% mark on.

What I didn’t love:
With its 450-page length, this is quite a hefty tome within its genre, and I have to say that I don’t think it does the work to justify that length. This is the classic example of “middle-book-sag”, where the second act drags out far too long and repeats steps it’s already played out. One too many red herring in the investigation, one too many conflict between partners… This could’ve easily been edited down by 50-100 pages, without losing any substance, and would’ve been better for it.
I was also left a little unsatisfied with the ending. Without spoiling plot points, I can only say that the novel is more interested in posing questions than actually answering them. This works fine for me in a more metaphorical/philosophical sci-fi mystery, but less so in a police-procedural. As the novel attempts to do both, I felt a little dissonance there.
Finally, there’s a particular story-line Harvey’s grief and questions about the Absence of his wife that’s far more prominent at the start and almost seems forgotten by the end. Given the emotional charge of this storyline, I couldn’t quite suspend my disbelieve over that.

Notes on the audio:
The audiobook was excellent in both overall quality and narration. The novel is single-POV, and the voice actor embodies the essence of the character and the story well. I can absolutely recommend this format, if it’s something you’re interested in.

Many thanks to Soho Press and RB-Media for providing me with an (audio-)ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

[Erin Crane]

DNF @ 13%.

The concept of this one is very reminiscent of The Leftovers but dragged out. Instead of one big disappearance, you get an increasing amount of disappearances over months (years?) that has no end in sight. I liked the exploration at the start of the story of what that would mean in terms of the responses to the situation from the government and the public. How this ongoing crisis impacts people's behaviors or not.

This story is from the POV of a detective of sorts who investigates "pop" claims to ensure they are legitimate and not, you know, murder or something like that. Then a case comes along of someone "returning" from being popped 10 years later, and I assume the plot takes off.

For me the fact that this was written by a man was showing, and I didn't like it. But it was a subtle thing here where he thinks he's writing a strong woman. The stereotype of a woman like Shonda would be that she gets emotionally entangled with the narrator and wants him more than he wants her or something like that. I didn't finish the book, so perhaps it eventually plays out that way. Initially, she's written as very independent, such that she will cheat on her husband in an emotionally detached way. I'm not sure what her husband does or doesn't know. My problem with it is that it feels like the author wrote it thinking he was writing an empowered woman when really she's just the dream scenario for Harvey. She's only interested in sex? Sign him up.

There's also a popped wife that operates much like the dead wife trope of many a story focused on a sad man.

It was reminding me too much of Unfettered Journey by Gary Bengier and The Afterlife Project by Tim Weed, both of which had a similar problem for me.

On top of that, I didn't care for what the answer of this mystery was turning into. I prefer the non-answer of The Leftovers (in the show at least - haven't read the book). When you provides answers, it can quickly get into layers of SF nonsense that aren't as interesting as the impact of the mysterious thing. At least when it's a speculative lit fic situation like this.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

[Katrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m a huge fan of speculative fiction and Absence delivers. I loved the premise of this book. What happens when people spontaneously start popping out of existence? It was so fun to think about the trajectory that the world’s population might take under these circumstances. Some of the response reminded me of the world’s response to COVID.

I liked the mystery and thought the plot was interesting and engaging. The pacing was steady. I listened to the audiobook and thought the narrator did a good job.

I really enjoyed the whole nomenclature for this world: depop, absentia, etc. I appreciated the ethnic diversity and representation in the book. There was even a throuple!

The ending wasn’t wrapped up in a pretty little bow but that is the way of speculative fiction and something I’ve come to expect from the genre.

Overall an interesting and fun story.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ALC!

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found I could relate to this apocalyptic world where an unexplained phenomenon causes people to “pop” and disappear. The human reactions and drive to live life when faced with an unknown force taking lives felt very reminiscent of the early days of the Covid pandemic.

The book was well paced and had a satisfying ending. Would recommend.

[Hannah Durham · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great read to start the year!

I love a soft-sci fi story rooted in reality so this was an interesting premise to get stuck into. I enjoyed getting to know the characters and their world, whilst exploring the phenomenon of people disappearing into thin air.

A mysterious read that keeps you questioning the truth. Some elements felt a little farcical at points but never quite hit the ‘too much’ point.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading Absence and would recommend.

Thanks to Soho Press and NetGalley for the advance copy!

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

My thanks to NetGalley and Soho Press for an advance copy of this novel that looks at a world that is slowing disappearing, person by person for reasons unknown, and what happens when when of these people, long thought disappeared returns with explanations, explanations that few believe, a story that seems nebulous, with answers that raise more questions than solutions.

Death is something that we all must face, no matter how hard we try not to. All the anti-aging, the drinking of a child's blood, biohacking imprinting one's brains onto the cloud, are just things we as humans have done for thousands of years. Praying, worshipping what ever cool thing is laying around, sacred rituals. All in an effort to hold off the inevitable. Which is why this book left so much of an impression on me. I am not afraid of dying, I am afraid of being left alone. Also death is a lot of paperwork in this society, and I would like to skip that. It is the fear of being alone though, of watching my family die that really makes me uncomfortable. At least I know what is happening. What would it be like if people just disappeared? A pop and one is gone. What happened? Where are they? Can they return? Are they happy? Questions asked in the novel, a book that was far more than I expected. Absence by Andrew Dana Hudson is a book about loss, fear, one comes next, and what happens when someone comes back, with more questions than answers.

Harvey Ellis is a member of the Bureau of Depopulation Affairs, a government agency set up to deal with the sudden rise of people just popping out of existence. One minute there, the next gone. The world has come to pretty much a stand-still. People don't want to have children, for fear they might just disappear. Work places are a nightmare as workers just disappear, as are most forms of entertainment. Apps keep track of people, sharing the information with friends just in case one pops, at least someone might now. A popped person leaves no trace. Just a noise. And are never seen again, something which makes their disappearances even more painful. Ellis along with his partner, and maybe something more Shondra Erins are sent to Dawnville, Kansas to investigate a Return, someone claiming to have popped, but has come back. This happens a bit but most are proves to be liars, or lost people in other ways. Ellis suspects that this return, a young girl who disappeared in high school, but looks older and wiser, might be real. At the same time disappearances are starting to rise, with group pops on the rise, leading to a fear that things might be getting worse. However the more the Returned person shares, the more questions that arise, and the worse the world seems to get.

I did not expect to spend a day of two reading magazines of no importance, English issues of Prog to be precise, because my brain was too busy processing this book. Hudson has built a world that seems more than real. Something that could happen tomorrow. A world of disappearing people, checks given if the person is proved to have been popped, and no real answers for why things are happening, nor how to stop it. The mix of people believing in what is happening, blaming God, or the Government, seems so human. The way Ellis describes the way he lost people, and the feelings he had, the loss, the fear they weren't gone, the blaming others. Hudson does a very good job describing the world, the consequences, and the fears of those left behind. A check to appease people but no answers. A breakdown in morality as mortality seems closer and closer. And the fear. Always the fear.

The book is big with a lot of big ideas and a lot of big questions. A lot of this will stay with the reader, at least it did for me. A lot of fears, and a lot of well, sometimes humans can do interesting things, and keep going. I look forward to more books by Andrew Dana Hudson.

[Robyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this book made me realize a couple of important things:

1. Great writing can keep you engaged in a story, especially in the messy middle.
2. My favorite genre is speculative fiction. Sci-fi and fantasy are great, but the philosophical touches that come with speculative fiction are uniquely engrossing.

With all of that said, this is a very interesting story. If you enjoy speculative fiction, you will enjoy this book. If you are looking for shades of fantasy, action, or sci-fi this may not be for you as this is not a speculative fiction that crosses into other genres.

I was immediately engaged in the main character, the setting, and the world-building. It had an interesting, if unusual mystery grounding the plot. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys the work of Jasper Fforde or Kazuo Ishiguro. The world building and specificity are like Fforde while the philosophical musings remind me of Ishiguro.

What I valued most was the writing. Not only is it written clearly, it is also written for adults. Over the past couple of years, I have struggled to get through many more recent Fantasy, SciFi, and Speculative fiction books because they do not read as though they are written much more conversationally and focused on serving a TikTok or Instagram audience rather than readers.

Sometimes I have a hard time finishing books where the writing feels undisciplined. That was not the case with Absence. While reading you could tell certain words were chosen with precision to convey information in a specific way. As a consequence, the prose was not only absorbing, but it extended the mystery at the heart of the story effectively.

While I truly enjoyed this book, it does not earn 5 stars for two very specific reasons. This is a story without humor. It is quite dark, and while I am sometimes in the mood for that, I do not think I was in the state of mind for such a heavy story. This was compounded by the book's length. While not long (around 450 pages) there are several points where the reader things the end is near, but the story continues. That is not a criticism, the overall story finishes strong, but it does meander in the middle.

While including more moments of levity would reduce the impact of the story, there are several editing choices that might have improved the pacing without sacrificing quality. That being said, I would highly recommend this book. It is excellent.

Thank you to NetGalley and Soho (quickly becoming a standout publisher of Speculative Fiction), for the ARC.

[Bookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: B+

Received from netgalley in exchange for a review.

Absence is a strange book. It could make a pretty compelling tv series or movie. Something you'd see on the sci-fi channel. The story follows two agents, Harvey, a young straight white guy, and Shonda, his black coworker with whom he has a sexual affair. The two are investigating the disappearance of Gabriela Reyes, a girl who vanished as a teenager due to a phenomena called Popping (where a person spontaneously disappears out of existence) and returns some years later claiming to have returned from another dimension.

As you can expect there's been some huge upheavals in society in general given the suddenness and unpredictable nature of popping. People now have to do everything in pairs in case they disappear and the government gives a payment to those related popped individuals to help them continue on with life. There's multiple parts of the spectrum: those who choose to ignore depop as they can't prevent it, those who see it as a revelatory sign and those who stop their lives to live in peace awaiting the pop.

One thing I found a bit strange about the world was that, for some reason, popping motivates the us government to build a functional rail system. Why? Now no one is going to really be using it so wheres the money in it? People still travel internationally, everyone is still living in a capitalist hell! Not even the end of the world can stop the machine from turning.

I found the book quite compelling when it came to the character discussions between Shonda and Harvey. Harvey is adrift in his life just working a job he doesn't care about given it's one of the easiest to get, dispassionate about life since his girlfriend popped. Shonda has a husband and child and so she feels more attached to living with purpose. O feel like Harvey could be any of us born too late to really flourish as easily as anyone else could've and the absence system is one that likely would be attractive to people who are just waiting to die or are one pay cheque away from homelessness.

I won't lie and say I'm not somewhat disappointed in the direction the story went but I didn't enjoy it as a mystery drama, less there being not so much science fiction to it.
The whole world has such a feel of there being a haze over the people living in it.

Worth reading if you like a slow paced mystery. Compelling characters.

[O'Dell (Just Read it Already) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an advance copy of this book courtesy of the publisher. All thoughts are my own.

The premise of this one caught my attention immediately. It's a very interesting read, I'm just sad I didn't love it as much as I wanted to.

In this world, people are randomly disappearing into thin air. It's happening all over the world, and no one knows why. They call it Spontaneous Human Absence, or "popping." One second someone is standing next to you, the next second they're gone. The world as we know it is falling apart. Political rifts are wider than ever, cults are out of control, the population is dwindling and everyone's waiting for their turn to pop.

Harvey Ellis works the night shift for the Bureau of Depopulation Affairs, a government agency created to track and manage the crisis. His job is pretty straightforward. Investigate claims of Absence, validate them if they're real, and issue a government stipend to the family to boost morale. He's still recovering from losses of his own, but he's settled into his routine and he's content with it.

But then he's sent to a small Kansas town where a woman who disappeared years ago has reappeared. She's claiming she popped as a teen and has been to the other side and back, and knows what happens when people pop. Is she telling the truth, or is she just another false prophet offering hope to a world desperate for it? Harvey and his no-nonsense partner Shonda head to Kansas to find out.

On the plus side, the premise of the book is fascinating, and the characters are all pretty interesting. I couldn't help but wonder how much, or if at all, my life choices would differ from now if I were living in this world. The idea of "popping" is fascinating and terrifying at the same time. You could be going about your day and just cease to exist. No warning. No explanation. And the idea of someone "popping back" to their reality brought the central mystery that drives the whole story. It was really interesting, and the world Hudson built was clear and well thought out.

My biggest problem was that it felt really long and, at times, like it was spinning its wheels. I found myself skimming because oftentimes it didn't feel like the plot was moving. That said, I liked that it never answered all the questions it asked but left things up to interpretation. Not everything gets explained or resolved. For a book about an incomprehensible global crisis, that makes sense.

Speculative fiction lovers will likely eat this one up. I just wish it had been edited down by about 50 pages for a tighter narrative.

[Jessica Woodbury · Rating 4 out of 5]

Right up there with any speculative novel of the last ten years. The concept may not sound so new, it may seem like other stories, but Hudson has created a vast world here digging into all kinds of details and unforeseen consequences. The breadth of this worldbuilding tells us a lot about the present moment as well as this strange near-future.

Hudson also has plenty to dive into and examine. It is, of course, a story about grief and our protagonist's journey through it. But it's also about death. Absence is, in many ways, just a magnified kind of death. Now it is more random, more unanticipated, more surprising. We always talk about death as something that could happen any time, but we don't really mean it. In this world, you do mean it. How does that change us? Who does it turn us into? And how does that intersect with so much loss?

Harvey and Shonda are really just bureaucrats, but the investigative nature of their work can make this feel almost like a procedural, it has the nice comforting beats of one. They are trying to solve a mystery, even though that mystery is possibly the biggest mystery that exists. We get the trope of the skeptic and the believer, but it never feels rote. Shonda protects herself, doesn't let everything in. And since we get to see the workings of Harvey's mind we know just how much he balances his own desire to believe with his own worries and doubts.

If this was 50-100 pages shorter it would be pretty perfect. It can get rambly. There are times when this works, when it helps you get grounded in this world. And most of the pacing is great, Hudson lets it stretch and stretch over days, letting things build and then calm and then build again. I'm not sure we need all the flashbacks, and the details of the many religious subtypes pulled me out of it. But despite all that I didn't feel like this was overly long, and I thought the final section was still interesting and had momentum.

A pretty fantastic debut. Excited to see what Hudson does next.

[Steve's Book Stuff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absence is an ambitious novel by Andrew Dana Hudson. The premise? People, sometimes by themselves, sometimes in “clusters”, simply disappear. One minute they are there, then, with a popping sound, they are gone. People pop. They are no longer there. No one can explain it. No one knows what happens to those who have popped, where they go, and whether they are living or dead. They just disappear.

This has been going on for several years now, and the world has found ways to cope with the anxiety and lack of knowing that this phenomenon has engendered. For one thing, the government has formed the Bureau of Depopulation Affairs to track the disappearances and to make sure that folks are not trying to commit fraud or murder under the guise of a false pop. It’s at the Bureau that our protagonist, Harvey Ellis, works as a kind of investigator.

One day his boss calls him in and asks him to take a trip to rural Kansas to investigate a woman who claims to have returned after having popped. So far, no one has ever been known to have returned. No one even knows if “returning” is possible.

What follows is a combination of a police procedural, a vision of societal breakdown, a meditation on religion and belief, and a rumination on our mortality and the fragility of life. It’s very well done, with each new scene and event building on the ones before in a slow but satisfying revelation. There is some repetitiveness, and the book went a bit too long to reach its clever conclusion. But those are quibbles that didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the book.

This is a science fiction story that is more fiction than science. For my tastes that would not normally be a positive statement. But in this case, it works beautifully. As I read, I started picturing its events as part of a TV miniseries, and my mind went to the adaptation of Emily St John Mandel’s Station Eleven. All of which is to say that I think Absence is a fine American novel. Read it for a window into a dystopian future, and a reflection back to our own lives.

[Rustic Red Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had mix feelings on this book, I think it delivered in the end and enjoyed the first part, but I sometimes have a hard time reading the middle that I almost DNF'd this one.

I'll just say this one since it would be mentioned a lot below, I feel there's too much world-building in this book. I was nearing the end and the author still manage to sprinkle some tidbits of information regarding the world. It feels like books you can read in video games, that's not necessary to understand the whole story, but to give more lore to the world your character is living in.

I'll list some of my problems

(a) Only one POV - I personally think this one hurt this book the most, since we are following one person throughout the whole book. There's a lot of world-building in this book - the Bureau of Depopulation Affairs and how it works, the religious groups that formed, the everyday life of people (through investigation). All of these are through his eyes only. I feel sometimes we are going out of the way or having "bumps" in the investigation to introduce a some a part of the world.

(b) Flashbacks and Bumps - I totally feel that it's a bit unnecessary. While it fleshing the character even more, I think I would like to learn about it in present day. I personally wanted to skip this parts, but I don't want to miss anything. There's another "bump" in the middle that are quite long, I feel its a bit unnecessary and just makes this novel way longer, but it sets up the climax and the conclusion of the novel.

(c) "Sci-Fi" - this was labelled as sci-fi, at the start I thought it is sci-fi since the explanation, or rather the analogy, around the disappearances are science-y. But aside from that it doesn't really feel like sci-fi.

Despite all of this, I think it's still an interesting read but I feel it could be shorter.

[ezra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and RBmedia for this ALC!

Rating: 4.5 Stars rounded up.

In “Absence”, the world is unravelling as spontaneous human vanishing (Depopulation or depop) has taken over. Our main character, Harvey Ellis, works for the Bureau of Depopulation Affairs, the government agency responsible for investigating claims of Absence and issuing government stipends to the families left behind. Then Harvey’s life is shaken up by an assignment that sends him and his partner (and sometimes lover) Shonda Erins to the small town of Dawnsville, where a woman long presumed absent has suddenly returned, making grandiose claims about the other side of the pop. Together, Harvey and Shonda investigate this woman’s claims.

What an utterly fascinating book. The concept of an epidemic of spontaneous depopulation is deeply interesting, and you can tell Hudson has REALLY dedicated himself to thinking this through. The worldbuilding here is super intriguing and well thought-through, keeps you wondering how you would act in the situations these characters are faced with.

This book also has a lot of emotional and darkly funny moments. I think we all know what it feels like to be scared to lose someone, or even what it is like to end up losing them, but the scenario herein is so much worse, more tragic. There is just nothing you can do to prevent it.

One element I really liked was the discussion around NRMs (New religious movements) and conspiracy theories, something I already find extremely intriguing in our real world, which is executed and transferred perfectly to this alternate universe.

I also enjoyed the narrator chosen for Harvey, Dan John Miller definitely feels like the perfect fit, and he got the emotions and vibe I got from Harvey across wonderfully.

Super fun, intriguing, endlessly absorbing book. I highly recommend giving this one a go!

[Heidi Zuva · Rating 4 out of 5]

What if people were permanently disappearing and one came back? A gripping read for fans of all levels of sci-fi!

Premise - The world is unraveling in the wake of an epidemic of human vanishing and the Bureau of Depopulation Affairs is on the case.

Harvey Ellis and his partner, Shonda Erins, travel to smalltown Kansas to investigate a long disappeared woman's claims that she was Absent and has returned from Spontaneous Human Absence. Is she a false prophet or the first returned and, if the latter, how will her answers about SHA change the world?

Interestingly for a story like this, it's only one POV - Harvey's. This felt a bit limiting, given how worldbuilding-heavy this is (VERY), because we only get to see things as he perceives them. He's pretty stoic, making the whole story feel pretty matter of fact, but this also worked to make the world feel real.

I tend to prefer extremely grounded sci-fi and fantasy that's really more focused on how this new world and its new circumstances affect the people in it, so this was an unusually world-focused (vs character-focused) read for me. That said, there is still quite a lot of character development and, though it was slow to reel me in, it absolutely kept me enthralled once it got going. The premise itself is fascinating.

For readers of:
THE MEASURE by Nikki Erlick
THE HUSBANDS by Holly Gramazio
RECURSION by Blake Crouch

I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Dan John Miller. He did a great job and has a really soothing voice that's easy to listen to. It felt like storytime with a dad/grandpa, so cozy!

Thanks, NetGalley and RBMedia, for the audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Dani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for the audiobook ARC of Absence. This completely took me by surprise in the best possible way.

From the opening, both the story and the narration pulled me in on an emotional level. There’s something immediate about the way it handles death and what might come after it, and that thread runs right through the book. It explores that very human need to understand what awaits us, but does so in a way that feels intimate rather than abstract.

At its core, this is set in a near-future world where technology allows people to communicate with the dead, and society has had to adjust to the consequences of that. What unfolds isn’t just about the concept itself, but about the ripple effects it has on relationships, grief and how people choose to live their lives. I wasn’t expecting how much focus there would be on family dynamics, love and lost love, and even the idea of a dwindling population, but it adds a depth that really stayed with me.

The characters feel grounded and human, each navigating their own connection to loss and memory. Their relationships are where the book really shines, and it’s those quieter, emotional moments that give the bigger ideas real weight.

The narration works beautifully. It captures the tone of the book without overplaying it, allowing the emotional moments to land naturally while keeping you fully immersed throughout.

It’s thoughtful, at times quite haunting, and surprisingly tender. A rare book that balances big ideas with genuine emotional impact.

An easy five stars for me and one that lingered long after I finished it.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you so much to RBmedia, the author, and NetGalley for the eArc.

The audiobook of Absence by Andrew Dana Hudson is a thoughtful, slow-burn piece of speculative fiction built around a chilling premise: people are randomly “popping” out of existence, leaving behind a fractured society struggling to cope. The story follows Harvey, an investigator with the Bureau of Depopulation Affairs, as he and his partner travel to Kansas to investigate a woman who claims to have returned after disappearing.This book excells in world-building—everything from government stipends for the families of the “Absent” to apps tracking whether loved ones are still alive makes the setting feel eerily plausible. The plot leans more toward philosophical mystery than action, focusing on grief, belief, and uncertainty, which works well thematically but can make the pacing feel slow, especially in the middle. Characters like Harvey and Shonda add grounding and emotional weight, though the story prioritizes ideas over deep character arcs or romance.

Dan John Miller's audiobook narration is clear, steady, and easy to listen to, with a tone that suits the reflective nature of the story. His delivery helps keep the listener engaged through the more contemplative sections and enhances the procedural, almost investigative feel of the narrative. While the story itself can feel dense at times, the narration adds warmth and accessibility, making it easier to stay immersed.

Rating: 4 stars. A compelling, idea-driven speculative mystery with strong world-building and a solid audiobook performance.

[Jenn Castillo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Netgalley, RBmedia & Soho Press for the audio ARC of Absence by Andrew Dana Hudson. I rated this one 4/5 stars.

This book mixes science fiction mystery & supernatural thriller to produce a story that draws you in & keeps you guessing/contemplating until the very end. The world is a different place, humans are “popping” & disappearing into thin air. There is no real rhyme or reason to it & humans are unable to study the phenomena because it doesn’t happen to animals of any kind. Our main character Harvey Ellis works for the Bureau of Depopulation Affairs, where he investigates these occurrences to rule out foul play & to guide family/friends through their loss to include financial compensation provided by the government. Harvey & a partner of his choosing are assigned to investigate a woman who is claiming to have “returned” from elsewhere long after her “Absence” as a teenager. This is a new & unexpected assignment for Harvey, so he decides to go into the situation with an open mind ready to listen to what the woman has to say. Not all of those around him feel the same on the matter.

Imagine living in a world where at any moment those around you could “pop” & simply disappear. How would you feel about someone claiming they have “returned” from the unknown? Would you be more skeptical or would you be desperate to know what is waiting?

[Jessica Debono · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5*

In a world of mass human depopulation how do people live their everyday lives, when without any cause or warning you or the person you love can simply POP out of existence.

Following a federal agent which investigates claims of ‘human absence’ spotting frauds or helping those who lost loved ones apply for federal cheques. But this monotonous life is tilted off axis when he’s sent by the agency to a small (and crazy) town to investigate a case of claimed ‘return’.

Really enjoyed the vast majority of the story, despite the obvious anxiety inducing premise it’s actually written in a very lighthearted manner and the main character is a likeable person. Everyone else however 🙄 his partner I wished died on multiple occasions- she was so unnecessarily mean to our main protagonist at the most random of moments, it’s like she had untreated bipolar.

Also I feel the book dragged a bit towards the end. I do like a book that leaves us with more questions than answers so I would have preferred if the ‘aftermath’ wasn’t so detailed or took up so many chapters.

Overall do highly recommend! Super interesting premise and presented in a very clear and straightforward manner.

ARC and Audiobook ARC received from NetGalley for a fair and honest review.

[Lexi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced Audiobook copy.

This book is a deep dive into a world where people just dissapear with no rhyme or reason, its been happening for years, and there is still no explanation, or solution. The focus of the government seems to be automation of all services that people used to to provide in an effort to keep industry running while anyone could just dissapear at any time, along with issuing suggested safety guidlines for people to follow, even though nothing is guaranteed.
Our narrator is a relative rookie in a federal department dedicated to investigations related to these dissappearances/absences. He is now given a case to investigate a claim of someone returning.
I really enjoyed how the world building was done through the narration presented as our main characters thoughts, analysis, and feelings.
This story is very twisty, taking you through many events in the story, that held my hand through an emotional rollercoaster.
It is also very long, but I thought it was worth it.
Overall, a very enjoyable and well laid out speculative fiction with great voice acting

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absence is a character-driven, slow-burn speculative mystery with lots of questions and not all the answers.

The vanishing-person-returns twist could’ve gone big and wild, but I appreciated how measured and thoughtful it stayed. Like in The Leftovers, the mystery here is more existential than action-driven, which worked for me. Harvey, the weary, everyday protagonist and his flirty dynamic with co-worker Shonda adds just the right amount of levity and intimacy as the story unfolds.

The writing style is kind of like John Scalzi meets Neal Stephenson with 400+ pages to explore all the nitty-gritty details of a world where anyone anywhere can suddenly disappear. I loved all the small specifics in this depop setting: the Bureau of Depopulation Affairs, the check-in apps, the government programs trying to keep people safe, the cults that spring up in response. It's a sweeping and engaging ride.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read this beautiful and intriguing novel.

[Jannelies · Rating 4 out of 5]

As is stated in the blurb, this is a novel between two genres, Science Fiction and Dystopian. I’ve enjoyed it a lot.

When slowly but steadily people disappear from this world, with an audible ‘pop’ because of the sound this makes, people are frightened but also curious. A whole new economic system emerges, because when people ‘pop’, their next of kin have the right to receive a check from the government. (Which is actually a bit strange because where would the government get all the money from as there are less and less people to work and pay taxes?) There is now a special Bureau of Depopulation Affairs, and investigators go out to check whether a person really disappeared or their family just want to cash the check.

People are warned not to drive cars alone – lots of accidents happened with cars where the driver suddenly disappeared – and in general, people are advised not to be or go alone anywhere. There are even new railroads build because it is much safer to travel by train, with other people around you. Imagine! So, the world has changed. But, what will happen when everyone on Earth has disappeared? Is this going to happen? And if so, where do they go and what happens to them? There are rumours about people who’ve returned, and so, Harvey and Shonda, both inspectors with the Bureau of Depopulation Affairs are send to a small town where one day a woman turns up claiming she popped ten years ago but is now back.

A sometimes slow-burning but very well written story, very intriguing and cleverly thought out. I hope this debut novel will be followed by more work of this author.

Thanks to SoHo Press and Edelweiss for this review copy.

[tarungaleela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review of advance copy received from NetGalley

Absence felt like a cross between the fun, quirky sci-fi elements of The X-Files and the solemn atmosphere of Unsolved Mysteries. The story wastes no time in placing us into the world of the BDA and the kind of work they do on a day to day basis. The worldbuilding was engaging but not fantastical and too over-the-top. This novel is definitely more contemplative and rooted in reality, complimented by a group of characters with diverse backgrounds and personalities. It’s a bit on the slower side, things got a little muddy for me around 60% and I felt like there were some repetitive moments that did not push the narrative forward, but I do feel that the turn the story took was solid. The ending leaves us with a lot to reflect over. What is the meaning of life? Should humanity accept this new reality? Am I succeptible to cult indoctrination? Overall, I had a great time reading Absence. Thank you Soho Press and NetGalley for this advance copy.

[Andi_loves_2_read · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read Absence by Andrew Dana Hudson via audiobook and let me first say that the narrator is fantastic! Perfect voice for each character and perfect rhythm to the storytelling.
Absence is speculative fiction/dystopian with great writing, plus some romance and mystery. The main idea of the book is that we live in a world where people can spontaneously disappear, or “pop” but no one knows where you go when you pop and it isn’t exactly the same thing as regular dying. Can you imagine?! There are two agents at the heart of the story who are on a mission to determine whether a woman, who recently resurfaced in town, really did come back after popping many years ago, or has been hiding all along and is trying to trick everyone. It’s strange and fun and it kept my attention throughout.
I recommend Absence to all readers (audiobook if you can!).
Thank you RBmedia/ Recorded Books & NetGalley for this free ALC in exchange for my honest feedback.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very interesting sci-fi novel about a future where people are disappearing - popping out or becoming absent/missing. The cause of “de-pop” is unknown but witnessed and apparently random. Harvey works for The Bureau and mostly verifies instances of popping out for the global registry, and so family members can receive their Congressionally mandated benefits. A lot of this is a thought experiment, meaning the author has thought through and shares his ideas for a future with declining populations, orphans, etc. there’s also a mystery at the heart of the story when one de-popped person appears to have returned, alive to tell about her experience. This is what speculative fiction should do, and it does it very well. 4.75 stars.
My thanks to the author, publisher, @RBMedia, and #NetGalley for early access to the audiobook of #Absence for review purposes. Publication date: 5 May 2026.

[Blake Grainger · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating concept with a surprising execution. 'Absence' follows Harvey and his job of investigating cases of people 'popping', when a woman long thought to have 'popped' suddenly returns.

The premise did give a little bit teen fiction (which isn't a bad thing) but they way that Hudson explored the themes of how the world would need to shift to accommodate for the spontaneous removal of people at random was really intriguing and made the world feel real and give it great depth.

The main two characters are a great pairing as one is a notorious sceptic and one is more willing to believe, a great dichotomy to show how differences in society can so easily come about. It did start to slow down a little about 75% of the way in, but then it picked up pretty quickly after that and had an apt conclusion.