Dandelion

by Harrison Murphy

An implant with the potential to cure mental health issues - but only for those who can afford it.

Violet is a severely anxious woman, traumatised by her past, and unable to leave the confines of her own flat. Her only social interaction is with her postie, Chris.

A potential solution appears as a revolutionary implant that can alter people’s minds and cure them of mental illness becomes commercially available. However, the exorbitant costs for the procedure are out of Violet’s reach until a disgraced popstar launches a charitable venture aiming to give free implants to those in most need.

Can Violet convince the foundation to erase her demons? Or will Chris turn out to be the help she needs to reclaim her life?

268 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 18, 2022

About the author

Harrison Murphy is a writer from Motherwell, Scotland. He specialises in downbeat, and often provocative, speculative fiction with elements of sci-fi and fantasy thrown into the mix. The Girl in The Tower – a cli-fi Rapunzel story – is his most recent novel. His fourth novel, IV, is an exploration of the afterlife, as well the limited agency we have in affecting this life. He also wrote the Chrysalis trilogy, set in a world where we can design our own minds.

Reviews

[Brenda Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another slow burn, intricately connected thriller from Murphy. I enjoyed Chrysalis for these reasons as well - I loved the intro chapter to assist the reader with reacquainting the previous book's plot and characters.
Violet - a woman unable to leave her apartment, debilitating anxiety; literally locked away.
Chris - the new postman for Violet's building
Alfie - Sara's coworker, consumed with discovering what happened to Sara and the functioning of a small Canadian town filled with people who have Chrysalis implants
Nakita - a single mom, influencer
Intricately woven, be prepared to become obsessed. I loved the tie-in to the previous book; yet I am still burning with questions!

[Silja Evelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dandelion is a fascinating thriller with a unique plot. In the eerily realistic near future described in the book, you can have plastic surgery for your mind - remove all the unpleasant parts, or completely wipe out everything and start again with a clean slate. This technology is called Chrysalis, and it sounds ideal, but there's always a 'but'. For one, these treatments are very costly, which puts people like Violet at a disadvantage. Her struggle with her past and her mental health make for a truly emotional story, especially when a glimmer of hope appears at her door in the form of a new postie, Chris, who seems to be the first person who sees Violet as a human being rather than some weirdo locked in an apartment. It's impossible not to root for Violet in her fight to either get her mind reset with a chrysalis or to overcome her demons with the help of Chris.

The novel does not only explore the possibility of what technology like Chrysalis can do to help people with trauma and mental health issues, but also the terrifying consequences that might follow if this technology was placed in the wrong hands, such as a government that wants ultimate control over its citizens.

Dandelion is one of those books that really makes you question people, the government, society as a whole, and the line between right and wrong. It manages to surprise the reader over and over again as Murphy has the extraordinary talent of creating plot twists you just don't see coming. So if you're looking for a thriller that keeps you on your toes - or just a book with a varied cast of realistic and relatable characters - Dandelion has all that.

This is a sequel to Chrysalis, but can be read as a standalone.

[kirsty · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the first book in this series, so I was so excited to get to read the second book and review it, and I wasn't disappointed.
This book is well written with a compelling storyline and well developed characters, and really looks at some fo the hard hotting issues in society today in a unique way.
It is such an intriguing and terrifying premise but one that is also believable and oddly relatable. It really made me think about whether if I oculd have plastic surgery on the mind to wipe put traumatic events and so forth, would I have it?. But, then this also got me thinking about whether I would still be me if those events were gone as they have gone some way into shaping who I am today. It also made me question everything and everyone else from the government and the population as a whole to morality and ethics and ho fine the line between right and wrong truly is.
I loved it

[Christine Aitchison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed the first in this trilogy - Chrysalis - but enjoyed this one even more. New characters, plots and themes as well as bringing back some characters from before and finding out how they had progressed. More thrilling than the previous one but left wanting more from the third.

[N Bookstagram · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant Sequel

I loved Chrysalis , and Dandelion certainly didn’t disappoint as a sequel!

I love the way a dystopian story such as this can seem on one hand utterly fantastical, but on the other utterly believable for the near future!

A great storyteller, I’m definitely moving on to book 3