This Fragile Earth

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What to expect

What would you do to protect your family if the world stopped working?

Not long from now, in a recognisable yet changed London, Signy and Matthew lead a dull, difficult life. They've only really stayed together for the sake of their six year old son, Jed. But they're surviving, just about. Until the day the technology that runs their world stops working. Unable to use their phones, pay for anything, even open the smart door to their flat, Matthew assumes that this is just a momentary glitch in the computers that now run the world.

But then the electricity and gas are cut off. Even the water stops running. And the pollination drones - vital to the world, ever since the bees all died - are behaving oddly. People are going missing. Soldiers are on the streets. London is no longer safe.

A shocking incident sends Signy and Jed on the run, desperate to flee London and escape to the small village where Signy grew up. Determined to protect her son, Signy will do almost anything to survive as the world falls apart around them. But she has no idea what is waiting for them outside the city...

Critics Review

  • A compulsive page turner . . . The science behind the author’s dystopian vision of the future is impressive, but it’s the movements of the heart that mark this book as a standout

    Elspeth Sandys

  • A very British disaster epic. Echoes of John Wyndham. Resonances for today

    Stephen Baxter

  • A remarkably original first novel, beautifully written, about a future that could be just around the corner

    Julie Christie

  • Susannah Wise’s first novel is a dystopian triumph: dark, compelling, and all too believable like an extended episode of Black Mirror, it reminds us of the power of love’

    Saul David, author of Victoria's Wars

  • a fabulous, thoughtful, hugely original apocalyptic novel. Highly recommended

    David Barnett, author of Calling Major Tom

  • This superbly accomplished debut is dark and compelling but ultimately filled with hope. I couldn’t put it down

    Ruth Hogan

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