The Offset

(Paperback, New edition)

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Description

It is your eighteenth birthday and one of your parents must die. You are the one who decides. Who do you pick In a dying world, the Offset ceremony has been introduced to counteract and discourage procreation. It is a rule that is simultaneouslyaccepted, celebrated and abhorred. But in this world, survival demands sacrifice so for every birth, there must be a death. Professor Jac Boltanski is leading Project Salix, a ground-breaking new mission to save the world by replanting radioactive Greenland with genetically-modified willow trees. But things aren't working out and there are discrepancies in the data. Has someone intervened to sabotage her life's work In the meantime, her daughter Miri, an anti-natalist, has run away from home. Days before their Offset ceremony where one of her mothers must be sentenced to death, she is brought back against her will following a run-in with the law. Which parent will Miri pick to die- the one she loves, or the one she hates who is working to save the world

Reviews

Thrilling, terrifying and beautifully crafted, The Offset is the perfect science-fiction novel for our times. I devoured it.
"The Offsetssearing critique of anti-natalism could do for eco-fascism whatNinety Eighty-Fourdid for socialism andBrave New Worlddid for eugenics."
"It is a bare-knuckle punch to the heart. Calder Szewczak made me suffer brilliantly."
"The Offsetis a prophetic, urgent, gripping read that throws into question what saving the world really means."
"The Offsetshows how anti-natalism could also take a dystopian turn... even views aimed at reducing suffering can increase it if fanatics seize control."
"An honest, terrifying and sincere look into our future."
"A name to watch."
"Bleak, haunting and intriguing."
"Smart, compelling and absolutely of the moment. A truly elegant debut."
"A chilling evocation of a possible future."
"Very entertaining, compulsive & thought-provoking.
"This is a beautifully written, brutal piece of dystopian fiction that does not shy away from the issues we must face today.
"A powerfully told debut"
"These co-writers have produced a vision of a blighted world where everyone has to make sacrifices for the greater good, personal happiness being the first thing to go."

Author Bio

Calder Szewczak is writing duo Natasha C. Calder and Emma Szewczak, who met while studying at Cambridge. Natasha is a graduate of Clarion West 2018 and her work has previously appeared in The Stinging Fly, Lackington's and Curiosities, amongst others. Emma researches contemporary representations of the Holocaust and has published work with T&T Clark and the Paulist Press.