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Summary
Summary
How far would you go to be free? Three generations of women forge a new path through an America torn by a mysterious wave of violence in this "chilling [and] dizzyingly effective" ( The New York Times Book Review ) novel of revenge, liberation, and triumph.
"A compulsively readable fusion of domestic thriller and modern horror."--Kameron Hurley, author of The Light Brigade
"A novel that defines this era."--Stephen Graham Jones, New York Times bestselling author of The Only Good Indians
FINALIST FOR THE ITW THRILLER AWRAD * ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New York Times
They call it The Violence: a strange epidemic that causes the infected to experience sudden bursts of animalistic rage, with no provocation and no memory of their crimes. While it tears the nation apart, one woman sees something unlikely in the chaos--an opportunity.
Chelsea Martin has been a prisoner in her own home for too long. Her controlling husband has manipulated her for years, cutting her off from all support. Her narcissistic mother is no help, and her teen daughter is realizing she might be falling into the same trap when her once adoring boyfriend shows a dark side.
But when the Violence erupts, Chelsea creates a plan to liberate herself and her daughters once and for all.
What follows is a shocking and thrilling journey as three generations of women navigate a world in which they are finally empowered to fight back. Somewhere along the journey from her magazine-ready Tampa home to the professional wrestling ring, Chelsea becomes her own liberator, an avatar of revenge and hope, and a new heroine for a new world.
Author Notes
Delialh S. Dawnson is an American author whose works have been published since 2012. She writes fantasy under the pen name Lila Bowen and erotica as Ava Lovelace. She is the writer of Star Wars: Phasma and two Star Wars short stories "The Perfect Weapon" and "Scorched". Her work also includes the Blud series, novels of steampunk paranormal romance. She has a few novellas such as The Mysterious Madam Morpho (2012) and The Peculiar Pets of Miss Pleasance (2013). Delilah is the winner of the 2015 Fantasy Book of the Year from RT Book Reviews for Wake of Vultures and the 2013 Steampunk Book of the Year and May Seal of Excellence forWicked as She Wants. She has earned stars from Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, and Library Journal for Wake of Vultures, as well as a star from Library Journal for the Blud e-novella The Damsel and the Daggerman.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (3)
Publisher's Weekly Review
A very different pandemic sweeps the world in this un-put-downable near-future thriller from Dawson (the Blud series). Coming just on the heels of Covid-19, the Violence is aptly named for its main symptom: sudden acts of astonishing aggression called "storms" that always leave someone dead. Those infected have no memory of their outbursts, and the attacks have no clear trigger. The world navigates this horrible plague with quarantine protocols and hotlines, as the wealthy flock to colder environments, where the Violence hasn't yet reached, and shell out for the $30,000 vaccine. Meanwhile, Chelsea Martin sees in the Violence a way out from under the thumb of her abusive husband, David, for both herself and her two daughters. She reports David to a hotline for suspected Violence sufferers, but even after he's locked away, Chelsea's hounded by his horrible friends. Then Chelsea is separated from her girls under suspicion of being infected herself. Now, she'll do anything to reunite with her family. Dawson doesn't hold back in her graphic depictions of domestic abuse, but the violence never feels gratuitous, clarifying the high stakes of this smart, fast-paced thrill ride. Fans of dystopian sci-fi stories will devour this. Agent: Stacia Decker, Dunow, Carlson & Lerner Literary. (Feb.)
Booklist Review
It's 2025 and America is still healing from the COVID pandemic as a more terrifying virus emerges--The Violence. Once infected, the sufferer's gaze goes as blank as a zombie's as they violently kill the closest living thing, and then, just as suddenly, snap out of it. Our guides through this dystopian-horror landscape are three generations of women who have lived with violence and trauma their entire lives: the "perfect" housewife Chelsea, her teenage daughter Ella, and her mother Patricia. With a visceral hook, a fast pace, and a story that provides plenty of action while allowing the characters to propel the plot, Dawson delivers both a realistically messy portrayal of everyday violence and a highly unsettling, utterly entertaining tome. Dawson notes that this is a novel by a survivor for survivors, but do not pigeonhole this engrossing and thought-provoking story; like the very best science fiction, she applies a slightly askew lens, challenging readers to take a critical look at our current world. Enthusiastically suggest to readers who enjoyed the table-turning feminism of Naomi Alderman's The Power (2017), the band-of-survivors theme in Emily St. John Mandel's Station Eleven (2014), and the emotional journey of Victor LaValle's The Changeling (2017).
Library Journal Review
In a post-COVID world, two other pandemics form the basis of this searing, reality-based dystopia: the plague of pervasive, enculturated violence against women, and the titular condition, which causes its victims to enter a fugue state, fatally attacking anyone around them without warning or compunction. For everyone else, it's another reason for quarantines and debates about who can afford the expensive vaccine. For Chelsea Martin, it's an opportunity for her and her two daughters to escape her abusive husband: claim David got the Violence and have him sent away. But once her plan falls apart, she hits the road, meeting up with a memorable cast of supporting characters, and hatches a plan to get her girls back and end the cycle of abuse for good. VERDICT The early pages of this book from veteran novelist Dawson (author of several novels under the Star Wars franchise) feature several graphic scenes of emotional and physical abuse that might lose it some readers, but what's left is a propulsive redemption story with a determined woman at its center.--Michael Pucci, South Orange P.L., NJ