Imagine a Britain where fears of immigration grew so great and climate change so terrible that a wall had to be built around the whole coastline. Well, that particular near future nightmare is exactly what you'll find in John Lanchester's latest novel. Despite the grim narrative, I absolutely loved reading this book. Lanchester manages to make his latest work a dystopian, action, survival story without needing to stretch the word count. A dark vision of one future reality; it is gripping from first to last page and I can't recommend it enough. Thanks to Faber for sending me a reading copy ahead of publication.

Thanks to Faber for sending me a review copy. This is my first John Lanchester novel but will definitely be trying some of his others on the back of this one. Loved the characters in the book and bad a great plot throughout.

John Lancaster has written a brilliant novel about a futuristic dystopian world that has a "Wall" to keep "the Others" out. In the Wall, the Others want to breach the Wall for a better life as they are hopelessly on the outside just trying to survive. The protagonist and "the Defenders" are on the inside and they are assigned to protect and guard the Wall, at all costs. At times, the lines become blurred as to the true difference between a Defender and an Other. Lancaster's novel is enlightening and tells an epic story about the having of a Wall, and the rule of law that applies when the Wall is breached by the Others. The Wall gives your a lot to think about when governments build a Wall to protect its borders; and keep people out. Five Stars.

Found by chance and thoroughly enjoyed it

The world ‘The Wall’ creates is one of a population filled with regret, anger and uncertainty, where the young must serve their time on the wall to protect their country from the Nation’s enemy, ‘ the others’, a war that came to be due to the failings of the previous generation. Despite its bleak nature, it is impossible not to become invested with the laws and ways of this British dystopian future, turning page after page to learn how this cold, grey world and the societies within it came to be, a feeling only intensified by the fact this future is not entirely impossible. Unfortunately, it can not be said that the fullness and detail Lanchester has formed into the world continues into the people that live within it. The lack of personality across all but one of the characters makes them extremely forgettable and, perhaps more devastatingly, this lack of connection between reader and character reduces the emotional impact of many of the major events throughout the story, which are otherwise superbly crafted. However, due to the usually prominent presence of the wall and the surrounding landscape, which at times feels like characters themselves, this shortage in attachment to the people ‘The Wall’ creates does not land as heavy a blow as it would in a majority of other books. The clear messages about real-world problems such as climate change, immigration and our treatment towards fellow men makes ‘The Wall’ a favourable choice for young adults, who in their own lives have a feeling of tension and resentment towards the powers that have in recent decades changed the world we all share for the worse. The Wall is a relatively short book, which I would recommend to anyone who is looking for a compelling and in some ways unsettling story to finish over a couple of days.