Part of MaddAddam, book 2
First published 2009
In the aftermath of a devastating global pandemic, two women from a radical environmental cult survive the collapse of civilization. Toby, a former health spa worker, takes refuge in a rooftop garden. Ren, a former sex worker, is sealed inside a high-end sex club when the plague strikes. As they navigate the ruins of a world destroyed by corporate greed and environmental destruction, they search for other survivors and trace the complex network of relationships that kept them alive. Their survival depends on skills learned from the God's Gardeners, a religious eco-group that predicted humanity's downfall. Between scavenging, avoiding violent survivors, and preserving fragments of human knowledge, they piece together what remains of their shattered world. A story of resilience blooms in the toxic landscape of human extinction.
Genres: science-fiction, dystopia, survival, post-apocalyptic
Vibes: dark, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, resilience
431 pages · Hardcover · Doubleday Nan A. Talese
Content warnings: death, violence