“Whenever a writer is compared to the likes of Margaret Atwood, Ursula K. Le Guin, and Jeff VanderMeer, with dystopian, hard-hitting fiction, everyone should take notice. “

 

‘The Group’. All men, no women. Nathan narrates this tale, and continuously reshapes his role as storyteller. The strange epidemic killed all the women, and now even stranger women shapped mushrooms sprout from the ground. Is this a cure, or an omen? As Nathan gets closer to the truth, and the others resist in denial, their decisions cause tragic complications in this all too fragile world.

 

Why we’re excited about this book:

Whenever a writer is compared to the likes of Margaret Atwood, Ursula K. Le Guin, and Jeff VanderMeer, with dystopian, hard-hitting fiction, everyone should take notice. Nominated for both the Guardian Short Story Award and the the Shirley Jackson Award, The Beauty sounds like an awesome mix of social and apocalyptic horror. Adam Nevill says: “What a refreshing gust of tiny spores this novella explodes into, and I inhaled them all with glee”.  And Kirkus Reviews says: “…channels the eerie spirit of Kelly Link and the environmental surrealism of Jeff VanderMeer. A murky delirium of sinuous language and unnerving storytelling that will delight both experienced genre fanatics and literary fiction lovers alike.” This novella combined with another tale, ‘Peace, Pipe’, show that Whiteley is a writer to definitely keep on your radar. The Beauty by Aliya Whiteley releases January 16th, 2018 and is available for pre-order right now over at Amazon. 

 

BOB PASTORELLA