Moths – Jane Hennigan

Published By: Angry Robot
Pages: 400
Released On: 14/03/2023

Where were you at the beginning?
Or at the end?
And where are we all now?

Forty years ago, the world changed. Toxic threads left behind by mutated moths infected men and boys around the globe. Some were killed quietly in their sleep, others became crazed killers, wildly dangerous and beyond help. All seemed hopeless.

But humanity adapted, healed and moved on. Now matriarchs rule, and men are kept in specially treated dust-free facilities for their safety and the good of society, never able to return to the outside.

Mary has settled into this new world and takes care of the male residents at her facility. But she still remembers how things used to be and is constantly haunted by her memories. Of her family, of her joy, of… him.

Now the world is quiet again, but only because secrets are kept safe in whispers. And the biggest secret of all? No one wants to live inside a cage…

*****

Thanks to Angry Robot for my gifted copy of this title in return for an honest review.

I was gifted this in advance of the sequel comes out next year and it sounded really interesting. If I’m honest, it probably wouldn’t have been a book I chose if I came across it on the shelf – don’t ask me why, but I’m glad I got the opportunity to read it. I have a phobia of butterflies and moths so I suppose that’s one reason I would have walked passed it, maybe.

It reminded me of The End of Men by Christina Sweeney-Baird, where a global virus seems only to attack males. And I loved that book so I had high hopes.

I know this is going to sound really mean against men, and I apologise in advance, but I’m really quite enjoying reading books where men are the victim. So often are women the victim in fiction, and so it’s a nice angle to explore.

I am not a huge fan of book about global pandemics and whatnot, as I think, I’ve lived it, I don’t want to read it as well. But whilst this does mention COVID in passing, it is far enough removed to make it an enjoyable read, and it’s so well written that I couldn’t stop even if I wanted to. And, ever since COVID, books about global illnesses and disasters have an added edge, and they give them more of a human heart which makes them interesting to read.

We get scenes set in the past, the before, and when the virus starts, and then the present, the new normal. It’s a great way of getting context without it being bitty. It flows well and whenever I was reading either time period, I was excited to get back to the other. They both hold their own. And we get the POVs of more than one character so we get to see their befores and afters.

This could have “Just” been another pandemic book, about how people manage day-to-day. But there’s so much more. It’s about family and friend dynamics, the power imbalance between genders, what people are willing to sacrifice for themselves, their loved ones, and the wider world, good vs evil, good vs bad, scaremongering. There’s lots going on but it feels contained enough that you’re not overwhelmed.

Mary is a fabulous protagonist. An older woman – you don’t get many older women as main protagonists – who is one of the few who remembers what it was like before. She’s caring and helpful and, to me, very powerful. She wants to help everyone which at times is her downfall but I liked her immensely. There are a lot of other characters, male and female, main and supporting, but I won’t go into detail as I’m concerned that by talking more about them I’m more likely to spoil something. But I’ll say they’re great creations, all work off one another, and there isn’t one wasted person. They all have their own story and they all have an affect on Mary’s.

I am definitely eager to read the sequel now. My main compliment for the book is that I was still thinking about it long into my next read.