Nematodes by David Smith

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✦ BLURB ✦

All the adults are dead...or dying. Those who remain won't last long in the wake of a deadly pandemic born from genetically modified nematodes marketed as a game-changing pest killer - it turns adults into cannibalistic maniacs. But this pandemic was no accident - its architects' only mistake was to allow children to survive. Forced into the roles of their murdered guardians, they must now fend for themselves against this relentless threat, navigating a decimated world in a bid to survive, building alliances and strength in the hope that they can stop the total annihilation of humankind. But each day brings them closer to maturity, closer to adulthood. And all the adults are dead...or dying.

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In a world where growing up means turning monstrous, staying alive is the hardest thing these kids will ever do.

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✶ PRE-READING ✶

I love anything where kids have to survive without adults, especially if there's horror involved. From Lord of the Flies through The Girl who Owned a City and The Tribe right up to Charlie Higson's The Enemy, I've read as many as I can. When I saw the blurb for this one, I knew I had to try it out.

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✶ POST-READING ✶

As I thought... The tension is high and survival is not guaranteed in this one. Having the affected adults still talking and reasoning is a really clever touch that ups the horror by several levels.

It surprised me by... I wasn't expecting quite as much gore, though it makes complete sense for the setting and it's not at all gratuitous. The ending also seemed really abrupt, but I'm taking that as a sign that there'll be a follow up! I'll definitely be looking to read it.

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✦ RECOMMENDATIONS ✦

Book Recommendation: Aside from the ones mentioned above, there's Empty World by John Christopher or the Reaper trilogy by Andrew Butcher. All have children on their own for various reasons, trying to survive in the world left behind by adults.

TV or Movie Recommendation: I highly recommend The Tribe if you don't mind a bit of camp. If your tastes run more to teen drama, try The 100.

✶ MUSIC PAIRING ✶

Because sometimes, the heart of a story plays out like a song.

🎵 Featured Song: Youth — Daughter
A hushed, aching track about growing up too fast and carrying burdens you were never meant to hold. It mirrors the kids’ fear, resilience, and the crushing weight of survival in a world where adulthood has literally become deadly.

🎶 Vibe Album: Pure Heroine — Lorde
A teen perspective sharpened into something raw and observant. Moody, atmospheric, and threaded with the tension of people on the brink of change - exactly the tone of children holding society’s last fragile threads.

🎧 Artist Recommendation: Aurora
Her airy-but-feral sound captures both the beauty and terror of navigating a collapsing world with nothing but instinct and nerve.

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✧ VIBE CHECK ✧

A colour palette: ash-grey, rust red, abandoned-playground yellow
A soundtrack: tense percussion with distorted synths creeping underneath
A season: late autumn — everything dying back, the cold nipping harder each day
A mood: grimly determined; frightened but refusing to break
A scent: damp earth, smoke, and metal left out in the rain

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★ TAROT CARD PULLED ★

Page of Swords — Witches’ Tarot

A young figure holding a sword that looks almost too big for him, his stance tense and uncertain - but ready. This Page is the perfect emblem for the children in the story: thrust into danger long before they’re prepared, learning on the run, and forced to grow sharper, quicker, and braver with every hour that passes. He stands on the edge of adolescence, still fragile but fiercely alert, mirroring the kids’ desperate scramble to survive in a world where crossing into adulthood is a literal death sentence.