Beth lives alone on a desolate housing estate near the sea. She came here to rebuild her life following her husband’s return from the war. His memories haunted him but a machine promised salvation. It could record memories, preserving a life that existed before the nightmares.
Now the machines are gone. The government declared them too controversial, the side-effects too harmful. But within Beth’s flat is an ever-whirring black box. She knows that memories can be put back, that she can rebuild her husband piece by piece.
A Frankenstein tale for the 21st century, The Machine is a story of the indelibility of memory, the human cost of science and the horrors of love.
Reviews
‘The Machine is the work of a young writer with a preternaturally powerful and distinctive voice’ The Guardian
‘Phenomenal … simply unmissable’ Tor.com
‘Extraordinary’ Dazed & Confused
‘Reminiscent of Ian McEwan at his most macabre’
Will Wiles, author of Care of Wooden Floors
‘Terrifying and moving’ Sam Byers, author of Idiopathy
‘Part Twilight Zone, part Iain Banks’ Nikesh Shukla, author of Coconut Unlimited