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84K

Philip K. Dick Award, 2019

Paperback / ISBN-13: 9780356507408

Price: £9.99

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‘AN EERILY PLAUSIBLE DYSTOPIAN MASTERPIECE’ Emily St. John Mandel, author of STATION ELEVEN

‘AN EXTRAORDINARY NOVEL . . . with echoes of The Handmaid’s TaleCory Doctorow

***SHORTLISTED FOR THE PHILIP K. DICK AWARD***

From one of the most original new voices in modern fiction comes a startling vision of a world where you can get away with anything . . .

Theo Miller knows the value of human life – to the very last penny.

Working in the Criminal Audit Office, he assesses each crime that crosses his desk and makes sure the correct debt to society is paid in full.

But when his ex-lover is killed, it’s different. This is one death he can’t let become merely an entry on a balance sheet.

Because when the richest in the world are getting away with murder, sometimes the numbers just don’t add up.

From the award-winning Claire North comes an electrifying and provocative new novel which will resonate with readers around the world.

Praise for 84K:

‘Another captivating novel from one of the most intriguing and genre-bending novelists’ Booklist

‘Claire North goes from strength to strength . . . A tense, moving story’ Guardian

‘Absolutely breath-taking… An early and compelling candidate for best novel of 2018’ SciFi Magazine

‘A dystopian anthem for the modern activist . . . 84K is an important book but also a cracking thriller . . . Quite simply, North’s best book so far’ Starburst

‘North is an original and even dazzling writer’ Kirkus

‘North’s talent shines out’ Sunday Times

Works by Claire North

Novels:
The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August
Touch
The Sudden Appearance of Hope
The End of the Day
84K
The Gameshouse
The Pursuit of William Abbey

What's Inside

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Reviews

A fascinating look at the decisions society is taking now
THE BOOKBAG on 84K
The truly scary thing about 84K is how convincing this dark, brutal class-divided Britain is
SFX (4 1/2 stars)
This is a dystopian anthem for the modern activist, a warning of an all too near future and a wake-up call for anyone who believes justice should not come with a price tag. 84K is an important book but also a cracking thriller and a great bit of near-future speculative fiction. Quite simply, North's best book so far, and given how brilliant The Sudden Appearance of Hope and The Fifteen Lives of Harry August are, that is saying a lot.
STARBURST
One of the most distinct and compelling SF novels of the year thus far
THE TORONTO STAR on 84K
84K is a furious, confrontational book that's extremely smart . . . .its energy is infectious and its ideas are fiercely provocative
SCIFINOW
An extraordinary novel that stands with the best of dystopian fiction, with echoes of The Handmaid's Tale
Cory Doctorow on 84K
An eerily plausible dystopian masterpiece
Emily St. John Mandel, author of STATION ELEVEN
Claire North's writing is terrific, smart and entertaining
Patrick Ness
It's exciting to read a genre novel that's willing to be this bold with language . . . 84K opens with a simple "what if," but it quickly develops into a structurally inventive, sharply ob­served thought experiment about the gradual disap­pearance of our basic liberties and human rights
LOCUS
Claire North is a true original, a master of ingenious plotting and feats of imagination
Alex Marwood, author of THE WICKED GIRLS
North is an original and even dazzling writer, and fans of her work will enjoy this grim tale of capitalism taken to a terrifying extreme
KIRKUS on 84K
Absolutely breath-taking... An early and compelling candidate for best novel of 2018. Read it
Sci Fi Magazine
Absolutely breath-taking... An early and compelling candidate for best novel of 2018. Read it
Sci Fi Magazine
North's talent shines out
SUNDAY TIMES
North demonstrates skill in creating a terrifying setting that feels rooted to the present day . . . Every aspect of life in Theo's Britain is imbued with a menace that feels both recognizable and urgent, and the decisions the characters make as a result feel uncomfortably real.
RT BOOK REVIEWS on 84K
Absorbing and timely; a book to wrestle and argue with, but first and foremost, to read
NEW YORK TIMES on 84k
Another captivating novel from one of the most intriguing and genre-bending novelists
BOOKLIST on 84K
Claire North goes from strength to strength . . . A tense, moving story set in drawing from current political trends to present a draconian future similar to that of Nineteen Eighty-Four
GUARDIAN on 84K
[North] demonstrates again that her imaginative energy is as prodigious as her output.
SUNDAY TIMES
[A] gut-punch of a novel . . . a story that is rare - one of those that is so good I didn't want it to end . . . Painted in shades of Fahrenheit 451, of Children of Men, Soylent Green and Brave New World
NPR