Shelter by Dave Hutchinson

The Long Autumn is coming to an end. For almost a century after the coming of The Sisters, the surviving peoples of rainswept England have huddled in small communities and on isolated farms, scavenging the remains of the old society. But now society, of a kind, is starting to rebuild itself. In Kent, a brutal tyranny is starting to look West. In the Cotswolds, something terrible and only vaguely-glimpsed is happening. And in a little corner of Berkshire two families are at war with each other. After decades of simply trying to survive, the battle to inherit this brutal new world is beginning.

A couple of years ago I picked up Europe in Autumn on a whim. I was travelling and needed something to divert my attention while on a flight (don’t get me started on how much I loathe flying). In the departure lounge I purchased the novel with absolutely no expectations. Something about the blurb captured my attention, but I had never heard of the author and had no idea what was in store. A couple of hours later the plane landed and I don’t think I had blinked during the entire flight. Dave Hutchison’s Fractured Europe novels are, to my mind, some of the best near-future thrillers that have been published over the last couple of years. When I heard he was writing a new novel, and it was in my favourite sub-genre, I had to admit I too being more than a little excited.

The premise of Shelter is relatively simple. Two comets, known as The Sisters, have collided with Earth and caused all manner of environmental disasters. This in turn has caused a cataclysmic breakdown in society. Decades of unpredictable weather conditions have left parts of Britain underwater and the population have fragmented into many different factions.

The main plot can probably best be described as the Hatfields and the McCoys in the post-apocalyptic south of England. Two extended families who have learned to survive on their own are pitted against one another due to unfortunate circumstance. Watching a peaceful community implode is completely fascinating. The range war between the Taylors and the Lyalls starts small, but quickly intensifies. Each violent act elicits equally violent retribution. The families are hell bent on keeping hold of what little they have, neither group ever stopping to consider the wider ramifications of what they are doing.

There is little denying that Hutchison’s vision of Britain is bleak, but it is also utterly engrossing. I suspect the main reason is because it feels so believable. The actions and reactions of the characters never feel anything other than genuine. As friends and neighbours are drawn into the violence it becomes increasingly evident of how unimportant anything other than survival has become. Simple misunderstandings make the situation even worse and events build towards a final showdown.

Along with story of the two families, there is also a thread of the narrative that follows a man named Adam.  An undercover military operative from another part of the country, he travels around the south of England watching communities and reports back to his superiors. Under strict orders to not become involved, Adam moves around checking on groups and learning who is controlling what resources. His reports are used to decide if a society should be viewed as the potential threat or not. When he finds himself in the midst of the conflict between the Taylors and the Lyalls, he realises he can no longer sit idly by and watch all the needless death. He is compelled to break with protocol, intervene and take action.

It may sound quite downbeat, but there is a glimmer of hope on the horizon. Communities are beginning to trade with one another and travel is getting just a little easier. Britain is being reborn, but this is going to be a most difficult birth. There are many different groups who all have their own take on what form this new society could be. Some want to be left alone to go their own way. Others are keen on re-establishing the historical status quo, while others want to take all they can get their grubby mitts on. Needless to say, all these competing ideologies guarantee that there will be more conflict to come.

By the novel’s end much has happened, but I still got the distinct impression that we had barely scratched the surface. The most pressing question, what is going on in the rest of the UK, and by extension, the rest of the world? I do hope we get to find out. I’ll happily admit to being a huge fan of Dave Hutchison’s writing in this novel is as good as any of his earlier work. If you haven’t read anything by him before, I would strongly urge you to check this out. Shelter is the ideal place to start.

My musical recommendation for Shelter needed a suitably apocalyptic tone and I think the soundtrack to the 2015 movie version of Z for Zachariah by Heather McIntosh is an ideal choice. Classical music can often be highly emotive, and this is no exception. This soundtrack manages to be many things. Tense, thrilling and yet also fragile and sometimes hopeful. I certainly think it perfectly partners Shelter. I would suggest pairing one with the other and see what you think.

Shelter is published by Solaris and is available from June 14th. A second novel set during The Aftermath, Haven by Adam Roberts, is set to follow later in the year. Solaris are great at bringing us shared universe novels. I’ll definitely be checking Haven out. Knowing me, I expect there will probably be a review at some point as well.