Published By: Atlantic
Pages: 400
Released On: 05/11/2026
Cassie had an unconventional childhood, growing up with a father who spent all of his time preparing for the apocalypse. Instead of going to school, she had an eccentric curriculum at the kitchen table with her mum, and instead of going out to play, she either snuck off to see her beloved grandparents or go to the family safe space, a garage that had been sealed off and stocked with tinned food and emergency batteries.
Now middle-aged and living alone, Cassie continues the rhythms of preparing for the worst, even though her dad failed to prepare for the slow-motion tragedy that became their family. But when an asteroid is located in the solar system, the chance of impact in northern Europe climbing every day, the worst finally seems to be confirmed. Cassie’s strange dad might just turn out to have been her salvation…
*****
Thanks to NetGalley and Atlantic for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.
This is Carole’s third book:
– The Silence Project
– Scenes From a Tragedy
– The Falling
I have a copy of The Silence Project but haven’t read it yet but I definitely will be now. I’ve been super excited about this one.
It’s weird because whilst it’s a very everyday story, in the sense that it doesn’t take place in some magical fantasy land, there is still an element or a feeling of fantasy/sci-fi about it. But because it’s grounded in real life, it feels so familiar.
I’m always intrigued by “doomsdayers”. At first it sounds mad that they’re stocking up on supplies, practicing their escape routes etc. for an event that, probability wise, won’t happen in their lifetime. But then there’s this tiny voice that wonders whether they are being sensible.
What I liked here is that Carole hasn’t made Cassie into a comic character. The reader isn’t making fun of her, we’re simply invited into her world, whether we agree with her or not. And her characteristics…I don’t want to spoil it but let’s just say she has her routines she must stick to, and they could have quite easily become something to laugh at but it’s done with such sensitivity.
We only really get to know 3-4 characters across the two timelines, which sounds quite boring but it isn’t. She’s given us the time to get to know them deeply, which is something you wouldn’t be able to do with a large cast of characters. It also adds to the claustrophobic, isolated and unnatural feeling of impending doom.
I’m a pessimist by nature, but when it comes to things like nuclear war or an asteroid etc. I say there’s two outcomes (which I’m aware is a black and white way of thinking about it) but either it won’t happen, the nuclear bomb won’t be launched or the asteroid will fly past, in which case it doesn’t matter. Or the bomb will hit you or the asteroid will destroy your land, in which case I won’t be aware of it and so won’t care.
Whilst there are flashbacks, it’s mainly set in 2027 and onwards. Which I thought was clever because it’s still enough in the future for it to sound fantastical but it’s close enough (I mean, 2027 is in a matter of weeks) for it to be familiar and give the reader food for thought about their own life. I like multiple timelines when done well, and this was doing well and seemed a natural way to tell this story.
Scenes From a Tragedy was so great that I had high hopes for this one. It’s very different, in terms of plot and storytelling, but it’s just as fascinating to read. It’s a fairly simple plot (not a negative), but somehow just her simple use of language makes it sound like the most interesting thing in the world and you’re just sucked in straight away and you’re absorbed till the end.
What was quite funny is that I was so absorbed in it that I kept forgetting it was a novel and I wanted to talk to people about this incoming disaster as if it were real. Especially as a lot of it was set in and around the London area, which is where I live (about 20 minutes from London), so it felt even more real.
The level of research that she must have done is impressive. I am fascinated by space and I’m a bit of a nerd, but the detail was so thorough that I found myself learning as well as enjoying it.
I mean, on the outside it sounds like quite a depressing book, topic-wise. And yet at the same time, it is really positive. It’s got such a sense of hope about it, joy and love.
