Cull by Tanvir Bush #BlogTour

'A dystopian satire for our times about the dark deadly side of privatisation'

"In a near-future Britain, the furore over the welfare state has reached fever pitch. A combination of state propaganda and aggressive austerity has divided the nation along poisonous lines: on one side, so-called freeloaders, crips and fakes; on the other, The Hard Working British Taxpayer.

The government has introduced the Care and Protect Bill, ostensibly to to relieve the economic burden of the disabled, elderly and vulnerable on society by opening residential care homes

where they will be looked after by medical professionals.

But Alex – visually impaired and categorised as one of the dole-scrounging underclass – has stumbled across a troubling link between the disappearance of several homeless people and the extension of Grassybanks, her local care home… Helped by her guide dog, Chris, this discovery sets her on a path that leads all the way to the corrupt heart of government."

Let me start by saying how disturbingly believable Cull was. I don't know want to give too much away (I certainly approached this not knowing much about the plot) but parts of it did make my blood run cold as Bush expertly depicted how horrifyingly close we are to methods rightly viewed by many as heinous. Believe in Better, the political party referred to in the book, is surely just round the corner with its anti foreigner, scrounger scum sentiment. Some would argue it's already in existence.

What I found most disturbing however were the short chapters to the end of the book (and again I won't say much as I don't want to spoil it) but you could just imagine this turn of events actually happening. Out comes the brush, sweeping many things under many carpets. What a depressing thought!

In amongst the hard hitting plot are moments of lightness, love and even humour. I mean a 'porn-audio-ography' studio owned by the Ladies Defective Agency? I loved Chris, yes my favourite character in the book was a dog! The relationship between Alex and Chris was beautifully written and I thought Chris' opening chapter was a brilliant move. There were proper villains, boy did I hate Andre and the Good Doctor Binding (totally loved how he was referred to by the way.) The plot was also cleverly structured so that the various characters all linked together in some way.

It's the first time I have read a book with a blind protagonist. I loved reading from Alex's point of view and seeing how people who had never met her before interacted with her a partially sighted woman (but you can see!) I also loved that, despite her problems she was not a victim, as her reporter past and survival instinct confirmed. Brilliant ninja moves!

Cull delivers punchy writing, excellent chapter titles and well defined characters seamlessly linked together. It's an eye opener (no pun intended) and I really enjoyed it.

My thanks go to Unbound for a copy of the book via Anne Cater's Random Things Through My Letterbox website in exchange for an honest review.