Dengue Boy

This novel is in turns, hilarious, brutal and profound. Dengue Boy is one of the most original and enjoyable books I've read this year and I cannot wait to recommend it.

Dengue Boy by Michel Nieva, translated by Rahul Bery is a sci fi speculative that is so wild that it hits both levels of freak wild and head tilt wild. I finished reading it last night and my initial thought has remained constant since I fell into the first chapter in that that this book was unlike anything I’ve read before ever.

Some spoilers maybe, but I’m trying to keep it vague.

I went into this book only having seen the cover and having read the synopsis. I was shocked and jarred from page one but the storytelling was compelling. Non linear stories are the best stories, as they really stretch my brain.

It’s got some gore and some very, very uncomfortable parts but the book has something to say about climate change, capitalism, and colonialism, with a focus on the haves and have nots in a world and potential future which magnifies the differences. Dengue is a standout character.

I feel the book is like Carrie meets Aeon Flux meets the Fly meets David Lynch/Cronenberg vibes. It’s the best way I can describe it without spoiling. Again, it’s shocking as hell. Jarring but good sci fi can do that to you.

Want to go on a cli-fi-sci-fi-speculative joyride? Then check your triggers and buckle up. Remember, safety first.

Again, thanks to @astrahousebooks via @netgalley for an advanced copy of the book.

A dystopian revenge story that’ll have you clutching your pearls.

Future publication date February 3, 2025
Translated from Spanish by Rahul Bery

You’ll want to read this if
-you loved The Fly directed by David Cronenberg.
-dark humor and body horror intrigue you.
-dystopian/cli-fi is your jam.
-the cover art calls to you. Stunning, right?!

Set in Argentina in 2197, a young dengue boy (half human, half mosquito) grows up in a world where the last of the icecaps have melted and viruses are highly profitable.

Ok, this book is wild!

If this story was just about dengue boy it would qualify as weird, but dengue boy’s only just scratching the surface of the weird that Nieva has in store for you: radioactive burns from the sun, a popular virtual reality game called Indians vs Christians, some kind of mysterious, ancient, and wise element found beneath their feet, and weird futuristic sex, just to name a few other details.

Nieva is brilliant for mashing together body horror, climate collapse, and identity into a story that is ultimately about transformation. But wow did this story gross me out. I was able to forgive some truly nauseating scenes because of how smart and even funny the story is. Overall, this was well written (albeit with a lot of crass language!) and gives the reader a lot to chew on. A+ for keeping me on my toes.

Thank you to Astra Publishing House & NetGalley for the e-arc

3.75

I really love the way this book plays with time and space which wasn’t something I was expecting when I first picked it up. if I were to describe this book in one sentence, it’s like the mountain in the sea meets tender is the flesh. there’s sentient bug/human hybrids, a post climate disaster world, dual timelines and povs, and a lot of commentary on what the world is and how it will turn out if we keep using it the way we do. I really enjoyed the vr element of the story and how the two timelines and povs eventually converge at the end to circle back to everything that happened in the beginning and just generally enjoyed the plot and devices used throughout the whole book. I love books that are extreme hypothetical futures for this planet that then use that idea to comment on our world today. the one thing I wasn’t prepared for/didn’t enjoy as much were the explicit sexual scenes in the book (scenes that were not romantic but rather vulgar and intense and uncomfortable). I know it adds to the book it’s just something I don’t tend to enjoy even if it’s necessary. overall I really enjoyed this book and can’t wait to see more from this author!

I adored every wild ridiculous gloriously absurd word of this novel. It made me laugh a lot. Wonderfully imaginative, absolutely unique, every page seemed to introduce a clash of premises that exploded the story into impossible fragments that spun out in unimaginably unlikely directions and made me happy to be alive at the same time as this book came into being, I mean, how unlikely is that, when considered against the vastness of geologic time?

(A CW for depictions of rape, gore, mentions of genocide, and body horror)
Dengue Boy is born in the poisonous and overheated Argentina of the future where speculation on disease has becoming the prime way of doing business.
A garish, disgusting novel that takes on climate change, extractive capitalism, commodities sexuality, and the open wounds colonialism left on Latin America. Nieva blends Snow Crash, Cronenberg, and Latin American sensibilities into an addicting novel.

okay WHAT ON EARTH did I just read? so.... wow. this book was like.... Metamorphosis mixed with Land of Milk and Honey mixed with a lot of things. An insightful critique of capitalism and humanity's tendency towards self-destruction, through destroying our own planet. Simultaneously, a dizzyingly dark/gross (in a good way) work with a very unique protag. 4 stars. tysm for the arc.

Wow, wow, wow. Dengue Boy reads like a fever dream that takes you over and whirls you into the year 2272 when the polar icecaps have melted and corruption, capitalism, and global warming produce a giant mosquito, killer viruses that are traded on a stock exchange, and a whole trade of priceless iceberg remnants that are tourist attractions.

This novel is funny, addictive, one of the most imaginative fever dreams I've ever had . . . I mean read. Michel Nieva misses nothing in our spiraling culture. I'd ask what drug he was on to write this, but it would be impossible to write this well under the influence of anything but pure inspiration in the hands of a virtuoso.

Thank you to Net Galley and Astra Publishing House for the ARC. I have never read anything like this novel before. And it was incredible. While it is a translation, I love the author's writing style so much. Even though there is a lot of gore and grossness in this book, there is also a lot of humor that makes this an enjoyable read. The world building is intense, we're far far into the future in a setting that's completely unfamiliar to me, yet the author is so good at explaining this world in an interesting and humorous way. The future is scary but I would love to visit this world for like less than a day (any longer and I won't survive). I also love all the POVs, from Dengue Boy, to El Dulce, Rene, and AIS. The POVs tied together really well. I also loved the video game that kids in this world are obsessed with. The way games and reality and timelines tied together was really interesting and trippy. This is a weird book where strange things happen, but the author doesn't hand wave the strangeness, all the pieces tie together really well and the themes really hit you towards the end. This book is both weird and a work of genius. Definitely check out the content warnings before reading this.