The Year of the Flood

MaddAddam

Content Ratings

Moderate Romance

Ren's story involves relationships in a sex work context; the sexual aspects of her confinement are referenced rather than graphically depicted; both protagonists have romantic histories explored with moderate frankness.

Intense Themes

The exploitation of women in corporate sex work, the violence of extreme class stratification, the psychology of religious community as refuge from a brutal world, and the aftermath of civilizational collapse are sustained themes.

Moderate Violence

Violence is pervasive in the corporate dystopia preceding the apocalypse, including sexual assault, murder, and the aftermath of the plague; violence reflects the brutal social stratification of the world.

Synopsis

Told in parallel with Oryx and Crake from the perspectives of two women who survived the plagueâ€”Toby, a middle-aged woman sheltering alone, and Ren, a young woman trapped in a high-end sex clubâ€”the second MaddAddam novel expands the pre-apocalypse world through the lens of the God's Gardeners eco-religion. The novel deepens the trilogy's world without requiring prior familiarity with the first book. Rich in dark comedy and genuine emotional weight.