British novelist Calder previously co-wrote a dystopian sci-fi novel – The Offset, with Emma Szewczak – that was published by a small independent publisher, Angry Robot Books. This time, Calder is launching her solo debut with indie publishing powerhouse, Bloomsbury, but her preoccupation with dystopian societies is sustained.

The new arrival will implode Kit and Crevan's world with dire and fatal consequences, churning up the waters of the past and unearthing secrets they have kept from each other and from themselves. Who is really in control – and what are they both capable of doing to protect their haven? In an underground bunker on a remote island two survivors are hiding from the horror on the mainland. Crevan and Kit are living the proverbial paradise-like life in their Eden when the serpent arrives in the form of an unknown woman washed up by the waves. Although barely alive she causes the first serious rift between them: One wants her to live, the other wants her to die. An unconscious woman washes ashore on the island where 'Kit' and Crevan dwell in isolation and safety from an, ostensibly, savage post apocalyptic outside world. Drama unfolds from there. In this world plagued by mutating bacteria, prevention of contamination is all consuming. The remaining survivors must do what they can to survive infection, including avoiding any other humans. When a woman washes ashore, barely alive, the real story begins. Kit and Crevan are always on the same wavelength so when Crevan wishes to save the woman and Kit disagrees, tension ramps up, events escalate and buried secrets surface. Is this idyllic existence all it seems or is the truth too much to bear?Bottom line up front? The main character is a psychopath. Jesus, by the end of it I couldn't help but wonder if reading this book made me one too. The writing is chaotic; from the first chapter all I could think about was that this author HAS to have OCD. She sure writes like it. Some people are definitely going to find Calder's writing beautiful, but it will take a very specific type of person. An unnerving, sinister, and brilliant dystopian novel about the choices we make at the end of the world, posing the question: Who can you trust when there’s almost no one left? The two have an odd relationship that is pushed apart after a comatose woman washes up to the island one day. One wants to help her; the other doesn’t. What will happen now?

Kit ran naked on the island until Crevan’s arrival. Only his embarrassment encourages her to put on clothes. Calder has created here a strange, toxic Eden – Crevan and Kit alternate between being parent and child to one another. As Kit says: “It’s my turn now. I have to be daddy, I have to be mummy. I have to take care of baby. I croon forward, press my lips to Crevan’s cheek, inhale the deep, sweat-musk odour of him.” An interesting take on the post-apocalyptic novel with the young, turbulent Kit who lives on an isolated island with the enigmatic Creven. They live off the plentiful supplies of an emergency bunker and a fruitful greenhouse after catastrophic antibiotic resistance sweeps the world . Their strange, shifting relationship is challenged when an unconscious woman washes up on shore. Creven is determined to aid while Kit is unsure of letting someone into their haven who could bring disease with her. Their conflict brings deception and and secrecy to the fore.This dystopian novel is set in a post-apocalyptic world ravaged by antibiotic resistance. Main characters Kit and Crevan live on an isolated island in a bunker beneath a crumbling castle. Their secluded existence is disrupted when a nearly drowned woman washes ashore, sparking tension and uncovering secrets that threaten their fragile haven. Whether Violent or Natural" is a dystopian novel with a rather interesting premise: antibiotic resistance is purging the world of humans. While I agree with other readers that the writing was VERY forced and overly flowery and confusing, I felt like it fit well with the unreliability and instability of the narrator. The main characters were creepy and unlikeable and the relationship between them was unnerving. I enjoyed reading this and liked the twist toward the end. I really wanted to like this book. Some of its passages will stay with me for a very long time; it carries a lyrical resonance that reminded me of being caught in a daydream, contemplating all kinds of metaphors for life. The book’s narrator Kit is incredibly insightful and sharp in her observations on post-apocalyptic life and scarily enough, some of these observations are useful for everyday life too.

in fact is any character in here worthy of care from us? i just feel sorry for crevan for being trapped on that island with her. Not a long novel, but dense in a wrong way, heavily narrated, more like a stream of consciousness narrative of a young woman trapped on a small island following the end of the world as she knew it. It’s just her and a man, just the two of them. And then another woman washes ashore. Some drama ensues.Gripping, treacherous and visceral, Whether Violent or Natural is an unforgettably dark and strikingly original work by a major new talent. Throughout, I kept the manuscript private: a secret between me and Kit. I didn’t show it to – or discuss it with – anyone. I needed all possible versions of it to exist simultaneously, and I knew that if I so much as talked through the plot, I’d fix it into a single, non-viable form and that would be that. Three woman who join together to rent a large space along the beach in Los Angeles for their stores—a gift shop, a bakery, and a bookstore—become fast friends as they each experience the highs, and lows, of love. Contrary to what I’ve seen from other reviewers, I really enjoyed the main character’s narration in this dystopia-survival novel. It’s not a style for all readers, but you’ll appreciate it if - like me - you enjoy feeling like you’re in the protagonist’s head viewing the events through their lens. Since Kit is an unreliable narrator, their observations are tainted by their palpable but unknown past trauma.