Corona by David Arrowsmith

SPSFC 2023

Corona is the deliciously dark and dystopian debut novel from David Arrowsmith, author of Nevada Noir: A Trilogy of Short Stories and The Drowned. In a fallen London, how far will one man go to save his family – and himself… or is it already too late? Trapped in his top floor mansion block apartment in Denmark Hill, South East London, can The Man escape and pick his way through the crumbling ruins of the city, avoiding the violent gangs that now vie for supremacy, and find his heavily pregnant ex-wife? Can a belated act of heroism wash him clean of his sins, or is he too far gone? In a world where civilization has fallen, what hope is there for the future? Corona is a novel about the fault lines in our lives and relationships: a failed marriage, the burden of parenthood, a love forged in extremis. It may be a dystopian story, but it's set in the emotional reality of the here and now. It's Sci-Fi - but not as you know it... This is a story about the dark – and the light – inside all of us, about man’s inhumanity, and humanity. It’s a tale in which the threat, the danger, comes from within us – not from the undead or vampires or even a virus, but from our neighbours, our friends, even ourselves. Corona combines elements of dystopian fiction with the literary survival horror of works like J.G. Ballard’s High Rise and Concrete Island, and even a hint of the Cli-Fi sensibilities of his The Drought and The Drowned World. It’s the perfect read for anyone who enjoyed The Last Of Us, Children of Men, Mad Max, The Road, The Walking Dead, I Am Legend or 28 Days Later. Do you dare to embrace the darkness within?