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The Wall: A Dystopian Fantasy of England
The only road to escape ends at The Wall.
In a desolate post-Brexit England, nothing is as it seems.
There is no chance, for those who remain in England encased behind The Wall, to live a long and healthy life in the smog drenched, almost abandoned cities. None.
Apart from one.
Walking North, alone, through a desolate and deserted landscape, on old, cracked roads, long since abandoned, Harra has only two items to guide her. A sheet of paper with a list of instructions to direct her steps to The Wall and an ancient Casio watch to ensure her timely arrival. Yet neither of those can guarantee success, not when the ever-vigilant Border Drones must be avoided to chance the final crossing.
And with every step she takes, the Establishment lies begins to unravel, revealing to Harra just how far the Government has gone to ensure its ‘truths’ are not only never questioned, but that they also come to pass.
Harra has a future to gain, and a past to unravel.
The Wall both beckons and repels, but there is no other means of escape.
In a desolate post-Brexit England, nothing is as it seems.
There is no chance, for those who remain in England encased behind The Wall, to live a long and healthy life in the smog drenched, almost abandoned cities. None.
Apart from one.
Walking North, alone, through a desolate and deserted landscape, on old, cracked roads, long since abandoned, Harra has only two items to guide her. A sheet of paper with a list of instructions to direct her steps to The Wall and an ancient Casio watch to ensure her timely arrival. Yet neither of those can guarantee success, not when the ever-vigilant Border Drones must be avoided to chance the final crossing.
And with every step she takes, the Establishment lies begins to unravel, revealing to Harra just how far the Government has gone to ensure its ‘truths’ are not only never questioned, but that they also come to pass.
Harra has a future to gain, and a past to unravel.
The Wall both beckons and repels, but there is no other means of escape.
299 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 18, 2019
14 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
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August 3, 2020* This was one of the books for the #SPFBO and it was in my batch*
**Trigger warning: blood, needles, veins, transfusion**
This book is a niche one to be sure as it's focused around Brexit. The story is a strange mix of a 2016 England timeline, showing the Brexit Referendum in a contemporary style, mixed with a dystopian world 40yrs later where England has become a derelict and frozen wasteland where barely anyone leaves home and all seem to struggle.
We follow a character called Herra as she tries her best to follow the 'stages' laid out for her to try and escape England. She's told precise times to do things and places to go, and she must follow them to the letter so as not to be discovered by the government.
There's some very, very graphic scenes of transfusion and needles (something I'm EXTREMELY phobic of and which entirely makes me nauseous) so be warned this is not some light-hearted dystopian, but rather a more grim view of what the UK could become.
It's a story which I DNF-ed at 40% because the start of the book seemed to promise more than was being delivered. I wanted more action and adventure than I got, rather it all felt pretty ritualised and the Brexit day scenes were a weird juxtaposition which I didn't feel worked.
Personally, this book doesn't appear to age well as now Covid has quickly overtaken Brexit in terms of its dystopian qualities, and the future imagined here is so far from the realities we're now facing in the UK, US and beyond, that this seems unfortunately to have lost all the punch it may have had. I found myself wanting more from the characters which never came, more explanation of 'why' the UK could crumble so fast which didn't get revealed in the first 40%, and more of a reason or concept for why to make the journey alone and leave all she had. It just didn't seem worth it for me when we don't know what the destination will bring.
Overall, not a favourite for me as alongside the squickky feelings the needle scenes gave me, I just couldn't particularly get into this. DNF.
**Trigger warning: blood, needles, veins, transfusion**
This book is a niche one to be sure as it's focused around Brexit. The story is a strange mix of a 2016 England timeline, showing the Brexit Referendum in a contemporary style, mixed with a dystopian world 40yrs later where England has become a derelict and frozen wasteland where barely anyone leaves home and all seem to struggle.
We follow a character called Herra as she tries her best to follow the 'stages' laid out for her to try and escape England. She's told precise times to do things and places to go, and she must follow them to the letter so as not to be discovered by the government.
There's some very, very graphic scenes of transfusion and needles (something I'm EXTREMELY phobic of and which entirely makes me nauseous) so be warned this is not some light-hearted dystopian, but rather a more grim view of what the UK could become.
It's a story which I DNF-ed at 40% because the start of the book seemed to promise more than was being delivered. I wanted more action and adventure than I got, rather it all felt pretty ritualised and the Brexit day scenes were a weird juxtaposition which I didn't feel worked.
Personally, this book doesn't appear to age well as now Covid has quickly overtaken Brexit in terms of its dystopian qualities, and the future imagined here is so far from the realities we're now facing in the UK, US and beyond, that this seems unfortunately to have lost all the punch it may have had. I found myself wanting more from the characters which never came, more explanation of 'why' the UK could crumble so fast which didn't get revealed in the first 40%, and more of a reason or concept for why to make the journey alone and leave all she had. It just didn't seem worth it for me when we don't know what the destination will bring.
Overall, not a favourite for me as alongside the squickky feelings the needle scenes gave me, I just couldn't particularly get into this. DNF.
January 2, 2020
A depressing look at England post-Brexit.
I can’t fault the writing style, but ultimately nothing of importance happens.
I can’t fault the writing style, but ultimately nothing of importance happens.
January 30, 2019
An interesting slant on an interesting decision made by the people of the UK. More than plausible. Good story.
An easy read, smooth.
An easy read, smooth.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews