Dreamland: An Evening Standard 'Best New Book' of 2021

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My only issue with this book was the ending point. Rankin-Gee weaves some beautiful writing into a story that is often harsh and aggressive, and although I can understand the open-ended imagination prompting ending, I am so invested in these characters that it’s a little disappointing to not know a little more. However, I still gave Dreamland 5 stars because the rest of the book deserves it, and I can understand why the ending could be like it was. However, if you’d like to tell me what happens with a certain child, Rosa, please do! Chance falls in love with Francesca, a wealthy Londoner who is working with one of those aid charities. While Chance dreams of forging a life together, Francesca is evasive. Chance is a vividly drawn character. We see that she has lived a brutal life and that her future holds little promise. We can understand why she wants to be with Francesca, and grab a part of her world, however fleeting. But their on-off relationship may pall with some readers after a while. In the morning, some of the wind turbines out at sea had lost propellers. They looked like daisies with their petals ripped off.” Oh. My. God. I've just finished this book and immediately want to read it again. I couldn't put it down, yet wanted to read it slowly to make it last.

Dreamland by Rosa Rankin-Gee Book review: Dreamland by Rosa Rankin-Gee

Books featuring dystopian or post-apocalyptic themes offer us an opportunity to study human nature outside of the normal structure of society, says Rosa Rankin-Gee, author of the acclaimed novel Dreamland. Here, she recommends five other books featuring a near-future dystopia, all of which explore a societal or cultural unraveling through beautiful prose. Mark: Can you say a few words about how the elements, themes and locations in Dreamland came together, and how Chance came into view as the main protagonist and narrator. courtesy Penguin Random House) If really good sci-fi is all about to taking a great big, long, hard look at the dark soul of humanity, and the best of it is, then Voyaging Vol. 1 – The Plague Star by George R R Martin with art and adaptation by Raya Continue Reading Dreamland brings us face-to-face with much of what we’re on the threshold of losing; nevertheless, it manages to convince us that its characters have everything still to live for.” GuardianA ‘Localisation Act’ is passed, through which local authorities are required to derive all their funding through locally-sourced taxation, sending poor areas immediately into a relentless spiral of desperate poverty. Forgotten the title or the author of a book? Our BookSleuth is specially designed for you. Visit BookSleuth The book is an insightful look into the way society views individuals and ranks them based on their financial value over a more humanist approach. The judgement placed on those in need, totally dismissing the impact of access to resources, as well as the ease with which people can turn on others to save themselves. Yes, tell us a little bit about Dreamland, your own recent book which features a near-future dystopia. The world is going to hell in a handbasket, politicians are corrupt, the rich get richer at the expense of the poor, and global warming is going to kill us all.

Rosa Rankin-Gee

I’m not an AI scientist, but it feels very convincing to me. The discussion takes the form of instant messaging, kind of like a Gchat transcript, between these two researchers. And it feels very human, very sure-footed the whole way through. The journey begins in Australia, increasingly taking centre stage because it sits below the world’s most economically and militarily powerful dictatorship – China. Exactly. Except it had, like, a single pair of underwear and a can of beans in it. But there was this feeling that something might happen, and you need to be ready. I talked about that before—the teetering feeling of fear and hope and agency… catnip to a young teenager. In the midst of a climate crisis, with rising sea levels and soaring temperatures (up to 50C), Chance's family accept money from a foundation to relocate from appalling conditions in London to the seaside town of Margate, from where her mum, Jas, originated. But, as the seas continue to rise and occasionally inundate parts of the town, the family wage a continued war to survive on benefits. In the midst of this, Chance rescues Franky (Francesca) from a gang of boys and they feel an immediate attraction, which rapidly turns into a relationship. Then a political change comes about and a LandSave project is launched, with local people employed on building infrastructure for the project - until locals realise that what they are actually building is a massive wall, several miles inland. If this is for flood protection, residents are concerned that this means their town is going to be sacrificed to the rising sea levels. As the Government launch their relocation programme, Chance discovers that her family is classed as 'deferred', which means their moving date is not set - apparently indefinitely. Chance discovers that Franky is in fact part of the LandSave project team but even her intervention apparently can't get Chance's family on the relocation list....A beautiful book: thought-provoking, eerily prescient and very witty.’ Brit Bennett, author of The Vanishing Half Additionally, growing up in a coastal town that has never recovered from the impact of international holidays, combined with working in London today, I'd say the book is extremely accurate for the disparity between the capital and the coastal towns experiences. The book is accessible and opens discussions on a very real issue today, where citizens are being encouraged out of London into these commuter towns which don't receive anywhere near as much support. Ha, I love that distinction. First up, we have The Dog Stars by Peter Heller. It’s a post-pandemic novel. Could you tell us about why you admire it? For fans of Children of Men, Years and Years & Station Eleven, a postcard from a future Britain that’s closer than we think.