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Deprivation
Condemned to become the people of Necroplis’ next meal, Luke Harper must do everything he can to prevent his fate. Teaming up with a fellow inmate, he escapes into the wastelands beyond the city. Out there survival is brutal, trust is fragile, but whispers of rebel Outlanders promise hope.
Being on the run is only the beginning. Fragments of a memory-wiped past claw their way back. Luke begins to see the reality of the system he fled, and the truths buried deep within himself.
The more secrets he unfolds, the more he questions: Is cannibalism truly the darkest horror his world has created?
Being on the run is only the beginning. Fragments of a memory-wiped past claw their way back. Luke begins to see the reality of the system he fled, and the truths buried deep within himself.
The more secrets he unfolds, the more he questions: Is cannibalism truly the darkest horror his world has created?
368 pages, Paperback
Published May 26, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
May 8, 2026
Deprivation is a great dystopian scifi that extrapolates more on the dark consequences and decisions humans are capable of from technological backfires than on the consequences of technology itself. I really liked that angle.
What I also liked was that this book starts as a dark comedy, helping you ease into the horrors of this society with some great Aussie/British style humour. But as the book and the characters grow and progress, the humour becomes less, allowing for characters, story, and emotional growth to mature.
I enjoyed the characters and the dual timeline story threaded together to add mystery and tension into the tale. Even if you guess some elements, you still wonder how the pieces will all click into place which is nice.
I’ve already started recommending Deprivation and will continue to do so. I’m between a 3.5 and 4 for this book, but rounding up as it is very enjoyable and does lots of things well.
Thanks to New Dawn Publishing for this ARC opportunity in return for an honest review.
What I also liked was that this book starts as a dark comedy, helping you ease into the horrors of this society with some great Aussie/British style humour. But as the book and the characters grow and progress, the humour becomes less, allowing for characters, story, and emotional growth to mature.
I enjoyed the characters and the dual timeline story threaded together to add mystery and tension into the tale. Even if you guess some elements, you still wonder how the pieces will all click into place which is nice.
I’ve already started recommending Deprivation and will continue to do so. I’m between a 3.5 and 4 for this book, but rounding up as it is very enjoyable and does lots of things well.
Thanks to New Dawn Publishing for this ARC opportunity in return for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
I ate this book up… much like the characters eat people. Yeah. That’s the vibe. Welcome to Deprivation and the city of Necropolis
This is one of those books that is disturbing in the best possible way. We follow Luke, memory wiped, thrown into a system where he’s literally about to be cooked and served to other humans. Casual. Normal. Totally fine. And from there it just spirals (in a good way).
As Luke escapes and pieces of his past start clawing back, you’re constantly asking:
Who was he before this?
Why was he locked up?
And what kind of world makes this… acceptable?
The world building here is brutal. This is full on dystopian survival horror where humanity survives by eating each other—but with rules (because apparently its only cannibalism when its uncooked meat, and this is where they draw the line??).
It creates this constant sense of moral discomfort. You’re equal parts fascinated and horrified the entire time. Also quick PSA:
Do NOT do what I did and read this while eating. Or worse… while out for dinner alone. Learn from my mistakes.
The whole thing gives strong Mad Max x 1984 vibes, gritty, oppressive, and just deeply unsettling in a way that makes you think.
So finaly thoughts? A dark, twisted dystopian thriller that doesn’t hold back.
If you like:
- morally uncomfortable stories
- memory loss + unraveling truths
- brutal survival worlds
- sci-fi with horror elements
…this will absolutely get under your skin (and stay there).
This is one of those books that is disturbing in the best possible way. We follow Luke, memory wiped, thrown into a system where he’s literally about to be cooked and served to other humans. Casual. Normal. Totally fine. And from there it just spirals (in a good way).
As Luke escapes and pieces of his past start clawing back, you’re constantly asking:
Who was he before this?
Why was he locked up?
And what kind of world makes this… acceptable?
The world building here is brutal. This is full on dystopian survival horror where humanity survives by eating each other—but with rules (because apparently its only cannibalism when its uncooked meat, and this is where they draw the line??).
It creates this constant sense of moral discomfort. You’re equal parts fascinated and horrified the entire time. Also quick PSA:
Do NOT do what I did and read this while eating. Or worse… while out for dinner alone. Learn from my mistakes.
The whole thing gives strong Mad Max x 1984 vibes, gritty, oppressive, and just deeply unsettling in a way that makes you think.
So finaly thoughts? A dark, twisted dystopian thriller that doesn’t hold back.
If you like:
- morally uncomfortable stories
- memory loss + unraveling truths
- brutal survival worlds
- sci-fi with horror elements
…this will absolutely get under your skin (and stay there).
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Lets's start with the most important bit: Dont start reading this right after eating a burger like i did!
Now, let's not sugarcoat the rest. The setting for Deprivation is our worst nightmare. Roy has crafted a dystopian world where convicts are executed and served up to sustain the rest of the population. Oh, but this has only come about after all the cockroaches have been eradicated, cockroach soup anyone?
As a dystopian lover this was both unique and familiar. This story has quick plot pacing, an easy to visualise world and, excluding one very cool kid, is a cast full of older adults. The humour and mystery helped balance out the ickyness of the situation pretty well and i am happy to report i did not guess the twist ending.
Speaking of the ending. That was the best part for me, a very satisfying dessert if you will. The final chapter and epilogue was left wide open and i don't believe it was for a sequel, just more of a full circle thought provoking event: AND I LOVE THAT!
The only part i wasn't sure of was a trope that i am not a particular fan of, and that is just a personal preference. It worked for the story and was crucial for the open ending.
I recommend those that have a strong gut and love some existential dystopian dread pick this one up!
Thankyou New Dawn Publishing for the opportunity to read an early copy of Deprivation. This is my honest review and all opinions are my own.
Now, let's not sugarcoat the rest. The setting for Deprivation is our worst nightmare. Roy has crafted a dystopian world where convicts are executed and served up to sustain the rest of the population. Oh, but this has only come about after all the cockroaches have been eradicated, cockroach soup anyone?
As a dystopian lover this was both unique and familiar. This story has quick plot pacing, an easy to visualise world and, excluding one very cool kid, is a cast full of older adults. The humour and mystery helped balance out the ickyness of the situation pretty well and i am happy to report i did not guess the twist ending.
Speaking of the ending. That was the best part for me, a very satisfying dessert if you will. The final chapter and epilogue was left wide open and i don't believe it was for a sequel, just more of a full circle thought provoking event: AND I LOVE THAT!
The only part i wasn't sure of was a trope that i am not a particular fan of, and that is just a personal preference. It worked for the story and was crucial for the open ending.
I recommend those that have a strong gut and love some existential dystopian dread pick this one up!
Thankyou New Dawn Publishing for the opportunity to read an early copy of Deprivation. This is my honest review and all opinions are my own.
May 26, 2026
This book was gory, bleak and unsettling, but in such a great way.
Deprivation really asks the question - what if all food sources on the planet were no longer available? and answers it. And it's not just ok - people are cannibals. The author has really considered how people in this futuristic society would become cannibals.
Add to that the Mad Max vibes, the way computers could do us dirty but also keep us going, the nutritional considerations of cannibalism, an MMC who has had his memory wiped, and even a prison break? I literally did not know what would come next, this book constantly kept me guessing, right up until the ending, which leaves things intentionally quite open as to how things will go from that point forward.
My favourite part though, was the family Luke, the MMC, found along the way - they're a motley crew and you wonder what keeps them together when they don't really have much in common, but I guess in a dystopian world where you have no one, you'll grab onto the people you do have with both hands.
Such an enjoyable read despite the extreme ick it gave me at some points, it's funny and dry and even heart warming, while also being very entertaining!
Deprivation really asks the question - what if all food sources on the planet were no longer available? and answers it. And it's not just ok - people are cannibals. The author has really considered how people in this futuristic society would become cannibals.
Add to that the Mad Max vibes, the way computers could do us dirty but also keep us going, the nutritional considerations of cannibalism, an MMC who has had his memory wiped, and even a prison break? I literally did not know what would come next, this book constantly kept me guessing, right up until the ending, which leaves things intentionally quite open as to how things will go from that point forward.
My favourite part though, was the family Luke, the MMC, found along the way - they're a motley crew and you wonder what keeps them together when they don't really have much in common, but I guess in a dystopian world where you have no one, you'll grab onto the people you do have with both hands.
Such an enjoyable read despite the extreme ick it gave me at some points, it's funny and dry and even heart warming, while also being very entertaining!
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Y'all, when I tell you I ATE up Deprivation by Roy V Marshan in one sitting last night, I was instantly transported back to my cold war era scifi phase.
That sense of foreboding, and "what if humanity really did destroy itself and have to persist" was so iconic to the time, but I feel is also having a real renaissance in our current global landscape where we are socially and environmentally balancing on a knife-edge.
Going into this book, the biggest surprise for me was that it is funny. Like, within the first few pages I was chortling out loud. For a book that opens with a prisoner being harvested and turned into food, I want to say that is no mean feat!
The humour was dark of course, the same sort of tongue-in-cheek macabre humour that you'd expect in Jay Kristoff's Empire of the Vampire. There is something pleasingly Aussie about that, without feeling out-of-place in the world.
I don't really want to say much more and risk spoiling anything, because this one is a dish best served cold. There's an A-grade twist at the end which I was high-fiving myself for guessing.
Thank you so much New Dawn Pub for sending me an ARC of this one! It is out NEXT WEEK!! ❤️🩸
That sense of foreboding, and "what if humanity really did destroy itself and have to persist" was so iconic to the time, but I feel is also having a real renaissance in our current global landscape where we are socially and environmentally balancing on a knife-edge.
Going into this book, the biggest surprise for me was that it is funny. Like, within the first few pages I was chortling out loud. For a book that opens with a prisoner being harvested and turned into food, I want to say that is no mean feat!
The humour was dark of course, the same sort of tongue-in-cheek macabre humour that you'd expect in Jay Kristoff's Empire of the Vampire. There is something pleasingly Aussie about that, without feeling out-of-place in the world.
I don't really want to say much more and risk spoiling anything, because this one is a dish best served cold. There's an A-grade twist at the end which I was high-fiving myself for guessing.
Thank you so much New Dawn Pub for sending me an ARC of this one! It is out NEXT WEEK!! ❤️🩸
Review of advance copy
✨ALC Review✨
I loved the start of this. A dystopian end of the world setting, where people survive by eating other people because the whole world is pretty much fucked, and if you're in prison then good luck to you sir, you will be made into sausages in a week. 🫡
I felt myself zoning out a bit afterwards. A lot of adventure, fighting and survival happens that just didn't keep me interested like the beginning did. 😭
If you love dark humour with some horror elements in a thriller dystopian survival novel then you will want to give this a crack!
I loved the start of this. A dystopian end of the world setting, where people survive by eating other people because the whole world is pretty much fucked, and if you're in prison then good luck to you sir, you will be made into sausages in a week. 🫡
I felt myself zoning out a bit afterwards. A lot of adventure, fighting and survival happens that just didn't keep me interested like the beginning did. 😭
If you love dark humour with some horror elements in a thriller dystopian survival novel then you will want to give this a crack!
June 7, 2026
Really amazing book with such surprising twists that feel both integral to the story and just all round beautifully written. This is the second book i’ve read from Roy V Marshan and i’m here to say that this definitely won’t be the last, and really excited for a sequel if that’s in the works. This book has engulfed me over the last few days and i’ve enjoyed the journey that Roy has taken me through whilst reading this.
Did Not Finish
May 27, 2026I have never been defeated by a book before. I've also never read a book like this before. I am both impressed and embarrassed🤣
June 6, 2026
Had my jaw on the fucking floor in that last 10%. Neo-political horror at its peak.
Also, fuck the We Deserve Less chapter title. Charles and Sally deserved so much better.
Also, fuck the We Deserve Less chapter title. Charles and Sally deserved so much better.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews