***Children of Men* meets *The Handmaid’s Tale* in this ** **smartly written** **and splendid thriller about how far a mother will go to protect her son from a hostile world transformed by the absence of men (Stephen King).** *Most of the men are dead. Three years after the pandemic known as The Manfall, governments still hold and life continues—but a world run by women isn’t always a better place.* Twelve-year-old Miles is one of the last boys alive, and his mother, Cole, will protect him at all costs. On the run after a horrific act of violence-and pursued by Cole’s own ruthless sister, Billie—all Cole wants is to raise her kid somewhere he won’t be preyed on as a reproductive resource or a sex object or a stand-in son. Someplace like home.To get there, Cole and Miles must journey across a changed America in disguise as mother and daughter. From a military base in Seattle to a luxury bunker, from an anarchist commune in Salt Lake City to a roaming cult that’s all too ready to see Miles as the answer to their prayers, the two race to stay ahead at every step . . . even as Billie and her sinister crew draw closer.A sharply feminist, high-stakes thriller from award-winning author Lauren Beukes, *Afterland* brilliantly blends psychological suspense, American noir, and science fiction into an adventure all its own—and perfect for our times.