{"id":118958,"date":"2021-04-13T05:20:58","date_gmt":"2021-04-13T04:20:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/?p=118958"},"modified":"2021-04-15T08:05:19","modified_gmt":"2021-04-15T07:05:19","slug":"composite-creatures-review-creature-feature","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/books\/composite-creatures-review-creature-feature\/","title":{"rendered":"Composite Creatures Review: Creature feature"},"content":{"rendered":"

Set in a dystopian near future world where pollution has caused animals to die out, the soil to become so poisonous that the soles of your shoes will burn through should you stand still long enough and a lilac sky full of toxins that will eventually give you \u2018The Greying\u2019 (a form of lung cancer), <\/span>Composite Creatures<\/i><\/strong> follows Norah and Arthur, who we meet as they have their first date. Which seems normal enough – outfit changes, nerves, an unspoken connection. But when Norah returns home, we find out they have both been sent comprehensive files on each other, outlining their past, their employment and medical history, and even a piece of creative content added to impress. Much more involved than swiping right on Tinder.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is just one example of how author Caroline Hardaker gives the reader a snippet of a world that is oh-so similar to our own but then pulls up the silk cloth with a flourish, like a magician revealing the rabbit has gone, and with a sickly grin demonstrates that this is a world disguised to look like our own, yet is anything but, where even courtship needs to be systematically observed to preserve the human race.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Speaking of rabbits, as we follow Norah and Arthur\u2019s relationship they are soon given a bundle of furry joy from the privatised health care system they\u2019ve met through, named Easton Grove (a brilliantly ominous name). As it peaks its little eyes out to our new couple, they can\u2019t help but fall in love with it, calling it Nut (ignoring the company\u2019s strict instructions not to name it). As the title suggests, animals and creatures play a central role to the novel. Or rather, it\u2019s their absence. There are no longer birds in the sky and to spot an animal out in the wild is a rare and honoured occurrence. This is a future where old feathers are gathered as prized possessions and the elderly tell tales of beloved pets. Hardaker is a published poet and it\u2019s in the prose of describing a world full of life that her striking ability to invoke imagery through her poetic flow is shown, urging you to look out your window and marvel at the often-overlooked beauty of nature.<\/span><\/p>\n

Told through a first-person narrative via Norah, <\/span>Composite Creatures<\/span><\/i> frequently transposes you, switching from humdrum suburban life to shocking revelations without warning. In fact, we\u2019d be surprised if you didn\u2019t have to go back and re-read a few paragraphs every now and then just to make sure what you\u2019re reading is right; you\u2019ll be so lulled into a false sense of normalcy that the macabre twists expertly woven throughout are all the more surprising (and deeply unnerving). This is exacerbated by the fact that Norah is an unreliable narrator and a tough nut to crack (excuse the pun). She is never able to fully open up to Arthur, her lifelong friends and even us. Her restraint is shadowed by Hardaker herself, who masterfully holds back information and imagery before the novel\u2019s surreal and horrifying truths are exposed.<\/span><\/p>\n

Composite Creatures<\/i><\/strong> reads a little like a singular episode of <\/span>Black Mirror<\/strong>. <\/span><\/i>You\u2019re introduced to a world very similar to our own, full of characters you\u2019ll feel akin to, in situations you\u2019ve experienced plenty of times. Then you\u2019re suddenly upended in the most formidable way, wrenched out of your familiar comfort zone and forced to look at yourself and the world around you in a new, disquieting light. This is a story you won\u2019t forget in a hurry (try as you might) and an exceptional debut novel from Hardaker.<\/span><\/p>\n

Composite Creatures by Caroline Hardaker is out now. Order your copy here<\/a> and read an excerpt of the novel here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A couple get a new bundle of furry joy in Composite Creatures but not everything is as it seems in Caroline Hardaker’s future dystopian novel…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":52,"featured_media":116132,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"quote","meta":{"MSN_Categories":"Uncategorized","MSN_Publish_Option":false,"MSN_Is_Local_News":false,"MSN_Is_AIAC_Included":"Empty","MSN_Location":"[]","MSN_Add_Feature_Img_On_Top_Of_Post":false,"MSN_Has_Custom_Author":false,"MSN_Custom_Author":"","MSN_Has_Custom_Canonical_Url":false,"MSN_Custom_Canonical_Url":""},"categories":[1624,8],"tags":[7135,6984],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/CC_Gold_2-scaled.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118958"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/52"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=118958"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118958\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/116132"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=118958"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=118958"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=118958"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}