First published 1987
Riddley Walker turns twelve in a world where England has returned to the Iron Age. Nuclear destruction long ago reduced civilization to scattered tribes who mine metal from ancient ruins. Riddley lives in a settlement where his father dies in a mining accident, leaving the boy to inherit his role as a connection man who interprets the government puppet shows. These performances contain fragments of lost scientific knowledge that the authorities use to maintain control. When Riddley discovers that some people are trying to recreate gunpowder, he becomes caught between those who want to rediscover the old destructive technologies and those who fear repeating the mistakes that destroyed the world. Riddley must navigate tribal politics, government surveillance, and his own coming of age while speaking in the broken English that has evolved in this fallen world. His journey forces him to question whether humanity should seek to rebuild its former power or accept its simpler existence.
Genres: science-fiction, dystopia, literary-fiction, post-apocalyptic
Vibes: atmospheric, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: coming-of-age, unreliable-narrator
Setting: England
Period: Iron Age
232 pages · Hardcover · Random House UK