The Raft

Starred review from March 14, 2016
Strydom’s debut subverts postapocalyptic fiction with a scathing parable of pain and paranoia. Readers will slowly piece together the origin of an apocalyptic upheaval by experiencing it through equally confounded characters. Humans inexplicably lose their memories on Day Zero and awaken to enslavement in isolated communities controlled by the Orwellian Renascence. Kayle Jenner escapes and searches for his son, Andy. In a wasteland of violence, as he struggles to recover his memory and family, he stumbles upon a revelation with shattering implications. Strydom reinvigorates the genre with a suspenseful concept and intimately realized characters. Shrouding the origins of the catastrophe in lost memories, this sucker punch of a novel exchanges the traditional Sturm und Drang of apocalypse theatrics for internal action that’s even more shocking and seductive, leaving readers with a great deal to think about.

Starred review from May 15, 2016

In one moment on Day Zero, the memories of every person on Earth were wiped away; since no one recalled how the world worked, civilization collapsed on itself. Yet, a movement rises from the rubble, one that gathers people into distant collectives, in which they are monitored by mysterious groups. On a remote beach Kayle Jenner survives, but his sleeping and waking moments are haunted by flashes of his son. Kayle finally escapes from his collective, frantically searching for the one piece of his past he believes still exists. Traveling devastated lands that are being put back together like ill-fitting puzzle pieces, Kayle learns more about what happened on Day Zero and afterward. VERDICT This eerie debut about one man's search for truth, even though what he finds may hurt more than it heals, features a protagonist with raw emotions and a strong voice, carrying what could be a convoluted plot to an unforgettable ending.--KC

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2016
Strydom's debut novel follows Kayle Jenner as he tries to piece together the location of his son, the truth behind the mysterious memory-wiping event Day Zero, and his connection to the mysterious Jack Turning. The primary antagonists for the bulk of the novel are the ascetic movement known as the New Path, which has taken advantage of the chaos of a post-memory by creating a repressive society enforced through isolation strategies such as the raft of the title, an exercise in which commune members are exposed to the elements while on intensive hallucinogens. The strongest parts of the novel are the various pre-catastrophe stories related by Jenner and his allies as well as their growing concern that these memories may be unreliable or manipulated. Although Strydom's writing is effective and evocative, the novel's climax and final twists, perhaps due to the limited space of a stand-alone novel, feel slightly rushed. All in all, a strong debut in the genre and sure to interest sf readers in generaland dystopia fans in particular.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)