The Book of Malachi

Book excerpt: In this frightening, high-concept science fiction thriller, a mute man must confront the horrors of organ farming on a deep-sea oilrig. Longlisted for the Sunday Times Fiction Prize SA Nominated for the 2020 Nommo Awards for Speculative Fiction by Africans "Will have you ripping through the pages. Part thriller, part horror, part speculative fiction: this gripping read goes to the heart of ethical quandaries, forcing the reader to ask: "What if it were me?" Sunday Times (SA) Malachi, a mute thirty-year-old man, has just received an extraordinary job offer. In exchange for six months as a warden on a top-secret organ-farming project, Raizier Pharmaceuticals will graft Malachi a new tongue. So Malachi finds himself on an oilrig among warlords and mass murderers. But are the prisoner-donors as evil as Raizier says? Do they deserve their fate? As doubt starts to grow, the stories of the desperate will not be silenced – not even his own. Covertly Malachi comes to know them, even the ones he fears, and he must make a choice – if he wants to save one, he must save them all. And risk everything, including himself. "Sharp and compact but devastatingly poetic. This book packs real power into every page." Charlie Human "Farren has created an extraordinary narrator in Malachi... [An] intense and memorable [read]." SFX