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Sign up todayComposite Creatures
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Learn moreHow close would you hold those you love, when the end comes?
In a society where self-preservation is as much an art as a science, Norah and Arthur are learning how to co-exist in their new little world. Though they hardly know each other, everything seems to be going perfectly – from the home they’re building together to the ring on Norah’s finger.
But survival in this world is a tricky thing, the air is thicker every day and illness creeps fast through the body. And the earth is becoming increasingly hostile to live in. Fortunately, Easton Grove is here for that in the form of a perfect little bundle to take home and harvest. You can live for as long as you keep it – or her – close.
File Under: Science Fiction [ Teratoma for One | Nine Lives | Cell Patchwork | Till Death ]
Caroline Hardaker is a poet and novelist from the northeast of England. She has published two collections of poetry, and her work has appeared worldwide in print and on BBC radio. She is Writer in Residence for Newcastle Puppetry Festival and is currently collaborating with the Royal Northern College of Music to produce a cycle of songs to be performed throughout the year. She lives and writes in Newcastle, UK.
Reviews
"Deliciously creepy!"– Chris Riddell, triple Award-winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal
"As thought-provoking as it is chilling."
– Publishers Weekly
"A thought-provoking dystopian debut which continuously questions what it truly means to be alive...Hardaker’s prose is pensive, melancholic and lyrical."
– The Fantasy Hive
"A story you won’t forget in a hurry (try as you might) and an exceptional debut novel."
– SciFiNow
"The writing is wistful and works in such a way you don't realise how wonderfully strange the book is until you are enfolded in it."
– RJ Barker, author of The Bone Ships
"an unapologetic, intimate tale of our shared human fragility, and the deceptions we employ to keep from breaking."
– Chris Panatier, author of The Phlebotomist
"Explores what constitutes love, how to build a life when a lot we take for granted is missing, and what it takes to ‘glue together a splitting world.’"
– Rosie Garland, author of The Palace of Curiosities
"A delicate and terrifying prospect of our future, with the most lovable creatures."
– Keren Landsman, Geffen Award-winning author of The Heart of the Circle
“Creepy and enthralling, Hardaker’s superbly written debut will drip feed you dread from beginning to end.”
– Dan Hanks, author of Captain Moxley and the Embers of the Empire
“Highly recommended.”
– Booklist, Starred Review
"Favorite science fiction book of the year"
– The Washington Post
PRAISE FOR CAROLINE HARDAKER
"A strong debut, and one that makes me want to read more from this up-and-coming author."
– Marija Smits on Bone Ovation
"Caroline Hardaker’s debut poetry pamphlet is a triumph of contemporary myth-making."
– Sabotage Reviews
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