A frightening dystopian horror novel in which grief is forbidden and purged from the mind
Sorrow is inefficient. It’s also inescapable.
Lieutenant Dev Singh dutifully spends his days recording the memories of people who, struck with incurable depression, will soon have their minds erased in order to be more productive members of society.
At night though, hidden in the dark, Dev remembers and writes in his secret journal the special moments shared with him—the small laugh of a toddler, the stillness of a late afternoon, the first flutter of love. But when the Bureau finds out that he has been recounting the memories—and that the depression is in him too—he is sent to a sanitarium to heal. After all, the Bureau knows what’s best for you.
A nightmarish descent from sadness to madness, The Collector is a nightmarish mix of 1984 and Never Let Me Go.
Laura Kat Young is a writer and teacher living in Chicago with her family. Her works blend genre and seek to explore a deeper understanding of human behavior. The 2019-2021 Writer-in-Residence at the Ernest Hemingway Foundation, her works have appeared in The Blood Pudding, Shoreline of Infinity, The Lindenwood Review and others. The Butcher is her debut novel. More can be found at LauraKatYoung.com.
Sam Dastor studied English at Cambridge and trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. His early theatrical experience includes a spell at the National Theatre under Sir Laurence Olivier and time spent acting in the West End. For the Royal Shakespeare Company, he has been seen in Timon of Athens, Tales from Ovid, and a world tour of A Servant to Two Masters. His many television appearances include I, Claudius; Yes, Minister; Mountbatten; Julius Caesar; and Fortunes of War. He has also appeared in the films Made, Jinnah, and Such a Long Journey, recorded over a thousand broadcasts for the BBC, and narrated numerous audio books.