Title: MOTHS
Series: MOTHS
Author: Jane Hennigan
Publisher: Angry Robot
Genre: Dystopian, Futuristic, Speculative Fiction
Release Date: 14th March 2023
BLURB
Moths: A chilling dystopian thriller and a must-read debut for 2023
A divergent future with a thought-provoking feminist slant, perfect for those who loved The Power, The Handmaid's Tale and Vox.
Mary considers tying her teenage son to the radiator.
Olivia flees the bloody scalpel of a surgeon, as he hunts her through the corridors of A&E.
All around the world men are turning into crazed killers or dying in their sleep, as toxic threads find passage on every breath of wind.
Humankind will survive. But only just.
Goodreads Link
REVIEW
The cover of the book is quite stark, the dark background and the bright yellow of the moth leaving its trail of dust behind it in the air. It would certainly make me want to pick it up from a book store shelf to learn more.
So, I guess I should confess I actually started reading Toxxic first, not realising there was a prior book. After reading just a few pages I knew I wanted to read the series and quickly sought out the first book, Moths.
In the book the when the older women are together, they ask each other where were you when it started? Where were you when it ended? They usually do this when the younger women aren't around to roll their eyes at them. However, as the older women are becoming less every year this means that there aren’t so many people who know what it was really like when the Moths arrived, when the Moths attacked the male population.
It is thought that the Moths came from somewhere deep in Amazon, no one knows if it was the warmer global climate or loggers or forest fires that drove them out into the world. The Moths then spread their tiny toxic threads onto every breath of wind. These threads attached themselves to the males and that’s when one of two things happen. Either the male turns into a “blue” which means they die or the male turns into a “manic” where they become increasingly, aggressive violent and highly dangerous to women. The women seem to be immune, though are not completely unaffected by the Moth threads.
Special facilities exist for the male population to live in. The facilities have special filtrations systems to keep the Moth threads out. Young males are housed in prep houses and then transferred to the facilities when they reach the age of eighteen. The men all have shaved heads, and wear a plain grey, ankle length shift type uniform with canvas sandals. Clothing where any stray threads will be easy to spot. Trousers are not allowed as there are too many seams and creases that a tiny poisoned thread could hide in. That’s the same reason the men are not allowed books, too many places a poisonous thread could lurk. The mens routine is fairly simple, they wash their bedding and day wear, pass time doing chores they are given and get to gossip, do crafts and rest in the recreation room. There is no TV or Internet to pass they time anymore theres no infrastructure for it. Other things take priority, as the men cannot leave the facilities to go to work, all the jobs then men did have had to be done by women.
The things the men look forward to are putting on plays and “Visitation” where women can choose to come and have sex with the men. Sex is no longer a way to reproduce. If a woman becomes pregnant and has a boy, the baby has to be handed over immediately. The way to have children is by artificial insemination, most people want girls. Though there are perks to having boys and handing them over, which is called the Contribution scheme. If you hand over a male child you are compensated, such as given more land, a better house, etc. Some women even choose to have twins, one male, one female. The female to keep and raise whilst the male is handed over. All females are taught and encouraged to live by the “Three Pillars Of Society” which are “Sorority, Maternity & Thrift.
It is in one of these facilities that we meet the two main characters of the book, Mary and Tony. Tony is a male resident, whom Mary seems to have a soft spot for. In fact Mary does genuinely care for all the men at the facilities. Tony and Luca, are rivals for the part of Romeo in a play the men are doing. Tony becomes upset when Luca gets the part he so desperately wanted and Mary comforts him. Mary is an older woman or a “Dolly” a rather derogatory term the younger females use for an older woman who can remember before and how everything started, she lived during the outbreak. Mary had to cope with her husband and son succumbing to the threads that infected them. Mary was also pregnant at the time of the outbreak. Mary is a survivor, she saw first-hand the effects of the threads, she had to tie her husband and son up when they became infected. Mary could retire from the facility if she wanted to but to be honest, I think she enjoys the company that she gets there. Mary actually cares about the men whereas some of the staff seem to view the men as a nuisance. Ward Sister Daisy isn’t someone Mary would class as a friend so it’s a surprise to her when she is called into the office and Daisy starts off in a friendly manner. It soon becomes apparent its because she wants something from Mary. She wants Mary to keep an eye on the newest member of staff Olivia. Mary knows she has to at least appear to be complying as Daisy could make life very difficult for her. Mary and Olivia talk about “before” what they went through, where they were when the infection occurred and how they came to be where they are now, which is frowned upon by those in authority. The two women confide in each other and are more progressive in their thoughts about what should happen to the men in the future. Mary begins to realise that being around Olivia could be dangerous and could put her special visits to Elmwood a more restrictive facility that houses someone precious to Mary.
The book has great, relatable characters and it really made you think what would you do in the situations the characters found themselves in. Both Mary and Olvia were faced with tough decisions and horrendous situations to deal with. Would you choose to flee your loved ones in case they turned manic or would you believe that the males in your life would not hurt you no matter what? Could you hand them over to the army and be willing to lose them forever for the greater good and safety of society.
I really enjoyed the book, so much so I couldn’t wait to read the next in the series! After experiencing the Covid pandemic it made this book feel like futuristic possibility.
Summing up Moths has an intriguing, well devised plot, with great world building. It grabs you at the beginning and doesn’t let you go, making this a highly addictive, unputdownable read!
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