''Lost Girl'' is a 2015
pre-apocalyptic novel by British author
Adam Nevill
Adam Nevill (also known as Adam LG Nevill) is an English writer of supernatural horror, known for his book ''The Ritual''. Prior to becoming a full-time author, Nevill worked as an editor.
After publishing several novels through Pan Macmillan ...
. The book was published in the United Kingdom on 22 October 2015 through
Pan Macmillan
Pan Books is a publishing imprint that first became active in the 1940s and is now part of the British-based Macmillan Publishers, owned by the Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group of Germany.
Pan Books began as an independent publisher, es ...
.
Of the novel's inspiration, Nevill stated that it came from "two great personal terrors: my anxiety about my daughter’s safety in almost every way a parent can imagine; and my ever growing anxiety about the consequences of runaway climate change twinned with overpopulation, but for our near future and not the future of distant generations."
Synopsis
The book is set in 2053 in a world that has been decimated by severe
climate change
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...
,
pandemics
A pandemic () is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has spread across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. A widespread endemic disease with a stable number of in ...
, and rising crime and violence. It follows a man whose four-year-old daughter was kidnapped two years ago. The authorities are of no help because they must deal with all of the extreme chaos, so he must go out on his own to find out what happened to his daughter and rescue her from whatever her kidnappers subjected her to.
Reception
Literature Works gave a favorable review for ''Lost Girl'', opining "Adam Nevill’s powerful new novel seems at once a departure from his normal Horror trajectory, but in many ways it’s also a tour de force of staying to his course." ''
Starburst'' wrote a mostly positive review for ''Lost Girl'', stating "''Lost Girl'' is sublime in its jaggedness. There may be times when it becomes too self-indulgent for its own good, but Nevill concocts a unique, paranoid vision of
dystopian drama that’s nigh impossible not to get sucked into." ''Dirge Magazine'' also reviewed the novel, writing "I highly recommend ''Lost Girl''. Even if you are tempted to bail out of the extremely bleak first half – and don’t misunderstand me there are still plenty of horrors left in the novel’s latter scenes – don’t do it, just keep going.
Awards
* ''
August Derleth Award for Best Horror Novel'' (2016, nominated)
References
External links
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{{Adam Nevill
2015 British novels
2015 science fiction novels
British post-apocalyptic novels
Novels by Adam Nevill
Pan Books books