Set in a post-apocalyptic world as unique and vividly imagined as those of Station Eleven and The Girl with All the Gifts, a startling and timely debut that explores what it is to be human and what it truly means to be connected in the digital age.
IT MAKES US. IT DESTROYS US. NOW WE MUST LEARN TO LIVE WITHOUT IT.
The Feed is accessible everywhere, by everyone, at any time. It instantaneously links us to all information and global events as they break. Every interaction, every emotion, every image can be shared through it; it is the essential tool everyone relies on to know and understand the thoughts and feelings of partners, parents, friends, children, colleagues, bosses, employees . . . in fact, of anyone and everyone else in the world.
Tom and Kate use the Feed, but Tom has resisted its addiction, which makes him suspect to his family. After all, his father created it. But that opposition to constant connection serves Tom and Kate well when the Feed collapses after a horrific tragedy shatters the world as they know it.
The Feed's collapse, taking modern society with it, leaves people scavenging to survive. Finding food is truly a matter of life and death. Minor ailments, previously treatable, now kill. And while the collapse has demolished the trappings of the modern world, it has also eroded trust. In a world where survival of the fittest is a way of life, there is no one to depend upon except yourself . . . and maybe even that is no longer true.
Tom and Kate have managed to protect themselves and their family. But then their six-year-old daughter, Bea, goes missing. Who has taken her? How do you begin to look for someone in a world without technology? And what happens when you can no longer even be certain that the people you love are really who they claim to be?
About the Author :
Nick Clark Windo studied English literature at Cambridge and acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and he now works as a film producer and communications coach. The Feed, his first thriller, was inspired by his realization that people are becoming increasingly disconnected from one another, as well as by philosophical questions about identity and memory. He lives in London with his wife and daughter.
Nick Clark Windo studied English literature at Cambridge and acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and he now works as a film producer and communications coach. The Feed, his first thriller, was inspired by his realization that people are becoming increasingly disconnected from one another, as well as by philosophical questions about identity and memory. He lives in London with his wife and daughter.
Clare Corbett, an Earphones Award-winning narrator, studied at the Welsh College of Music and Drama. After winning the Carlton Hobbs audition, she was chosen to be on BBC Radio. After leaving BBC she went on to narrate several children's books, including Over the Moon, I Rule Dogsbottom School, and Boy Beware. She has transitioned into reading young adult novels, including many installments in the Doctor Who series.
Clare Corbett has had a successful career on stage, screen, and radio. Her theater credits include To Kill a Mockingbird, Pygmalion, and Spoonface Steinberg, and her TV credits include BBC's Spooks, Fastnet, and Final Demand. Winner of the prestigious Carleton Hobbs Radio Award, she has appeared in over 250 radio plays, including Absolute Power, Venus and Adonis, and Dr. Zhivago. Her other voice work comprises of Aardman Animation's The Planet Sketch and numerous audiobooks, including Vanessa and Her Sister and Shopaholic to the Stars.
Review :
"Debut novelist Windo makes the loss of modern society very personal, with close portraits of how his characters are worn down by the basic work of premodern life."
-- "Publishers Weekly"
"Readers who love the technological cautionary tales of Black Mirror and the pulse-pounding chaos of The Last One will delight in the darkness and emotional power of Windo's debut novel. This is a story that isn't afraid to ask big questions and pose deep philosophical arguments about identity, time, and truth...Elegant, perceptive and thoroughly unsettling, this is a book with plenty of eerie promise."
-- "RT Book Reviews"
"This thought-provoking debut shines a speculative light on the subjects of connection, disconnection, and identity in a not-so-distant digital age. The fast pace and absorbing plot will keep readers racing to the end."
-- "Library Journal (starred review)"
