The Quickening - Tallulah Riley

 

Genre: Dystopian Fiction | Adult Fiction | Speculative Fiction

Release Date: Expected 23rd June 2022

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

Years ago, Art loved a woman named Dana. A vibrant, chaotic woman who made him question everything. But that woman is gone now, he thinks. 

The Dana now is untouchable - since she published her manifesto, The Quickening, and created a new world order that strives to protect and prioritise women, one with no war or violence, one where women finally take control. But to do that, the men of the world have been stripped of their rights, their identities, their very selves. 

Dana has achieved everything she's ever dreamed of, by any means necessary. So how can Art ever really love her, when she has vowed to destroy everything that he is?

"It starts like a love story, but don't be fooled."

The Quickening is a startling warning about the danger of feminine rage and the power of an idea. Hearing from Art gave this story a side that most matriarchal dystopian fiction just lacks, a perspective from a male living through the persecution and pain that women have historically experienced to an extreme - and trying to make sense of the woman who is supposed to love him who has taken everything from him. We don't hear from Dana until quite late in the story, wrapping her in a shroud of mystery, making her untouchable and ethereal like a Goddess. 

There was a hidden softness amid the bloodshed and hatred, when we see that Dana still cares for Art, and see some women can still feel empathy about the divide between them which will lead the reader to question, how far is too far? And what would we be willing to do for radical change?

Now, I will always push for a matriarchal society - I love feminist fiction and honestly, it's cathartic sometimes to indulge in a speculative revenge fantasy where women finally seek retribution and reparation from their male counterparts. 

That being said, Dana is shown not as a feminist revolutionary, but a hateful dictator who seems to care more about punishing men than elevating women and for me, she didn't translate into a whole character. I just wish for once I could read a speculative novel about female empowerment that shows the leader in a positive light. Now, while her actions are a statement on the treatment women have historically received, comes across sometimes as a power play and showing the concept of matriarchy as something undesirable for all involved. 

Get ready for some brutal truths about bodily autonomy, power, politics and role reversal in ways that will make you see our world in a new light and masterful manipulation. The Quickening is full of disquiet horror and violence and will stay with you long after the final page. 

⭐⭐⭐

I was gifted an advanced reviewers copy of this title in return for an honest review.