For fans of David Cronenberg's films and lovers of Kafka, this gaucho-punk, sci-fi novel set in 2197 offers an explosive interpretation of an ultra-capitalistic society on the brink of climate collapse.
The protagonist of this story has no understanding of the words “winter”, "cold”, or "snow" because he has never experienced the phenomena they describe. We find ourselves in Victorica, a province of La Pampa, Argentina, some time after 2197 – the year in which the last of the Antarctic icecaps melted and an unprecedented climate catastrophe ensued, radically transforming the landscape of the region into a Caribbean Pampas. It is here that the Dengue Child grows up, a mutant mix of child and mosquito, the result of crazy experimenting driven by ultra-capitalistic corporations racing against each other to own viruses and their cures, destroying even their very own children’s existence to cash in on the stock exchange.
Another of the surprising effects of the thaw is the appearance of powerful telepathic pebbles from the bowels of the earth that seem to encapsulate the world's original wisdom, and which are the subject of lucrative smuggling. Meanwhile, the wealthy of the region chose to cruise around on ships where they can experience ice-skating and hand carve ice from valuable remains of glaciers. In their ultra-air conditioned homes, their kids play Indians vs Christians, a brutal video game set in the historical 19th century.
The future according to Michel Nieva looks frenetic and shocking. His is one of the most exciting literary voices emerging from Argentina, packing punches in a deeply intelligent, informed, and humorful prose which takes root in Latin American storytelling and sci-fi tradition.
The protagonist of this story has no understanding of the words “winter”, "cold”, or "snow" because he has never experienced the phenomena they describe. We find ourselves in Victorica, a province of La Pampa, Argentina, some time after 2197 – the year in which the last of the Antarctic icecaps melted and an unprecedented climate catastrophe ensued, radically transforming the landscape of the region into a Caribbean Pampas. It is here that the Dengue Child grows up, a mutant mix of child and mosquito, the result of crazy experimenting driven by ultra-capitalistic corporations racing against each other to own viruses and their cures, destroying even their very own children’s existence to cash in on the stock exchange.
Another of the surprising effects of the thaw is the appearance of powerful telepathic pebbles from the bowels of the earth that seem to encapsulate the world's original wisdom, and which are the subject of lucrative smuggling. Meanwhile, the wealthy of the region chose to cruise around on ships where they can experience ice-skating and hand carve ice from valuable remains of glaciers. In their ultra-air conditioned homes, their kids play Indians vs Christians, a brutal video game set in the historical 19th century.
The future according to Michel Nieva looks frenetic and shocking. His is one of the most exciting literary voices emerging from Argentina, packing punches in a deeply intelligent, informed, and humorful prose which takes root in Latin American storytelling and sci-fi tradition.
Book Details
Format:
Hardcover
Price:
25 USD
Published: 2025-02-04
ISBN: 9781662602658
Imprint:
Astra House
Page Count: 224
Trim Size: 5 x 7
★ "Delightfully gonzo and hilariously surreal, this novel turns nightmarish visions into vital art. It’s a sui generis showstopper."
—Publishers Weekly, starred review
★ “A dystopian fever dream that’s equal parts poetic and profane, beautiful and splattered with gore.”
—John Keogh, Booklist, starred review
"Nieva’s English-language debut boils both into a hallucinogenic cocktail about the end of one world and the beginnings of another . . . [Dengue Boy is] a hyperkinetic, audacious grotesquerie about metamorphosis and the inevitability of change."
—Kirkus Reviews
"An incredibly exciting new voice in speculative fiction . . . Dengue Boy is a striking reminder of the power of genre fiction to speak truth to power and to vividly reveal the uncomfortable inequalities our society is built on. It mixes plausible biological and technological speculation with cutting satire and imaginatively surreal imagery. Nieva has created a modern masterpiece, and established himself as a key new voice in speculative fiction."
—Jonathan Thornton, The Fantasy Hive
“Michel Nieva has placed a strong bet with this steampunk novel that imagines the disappearance of the south of Latin America between gaucho literature, violent videogames and monetized diseases. Intelligent, entertaining and brutal.”
—Mariana Enriquez, author of A Sunny Place for Shady People
“An incandescent imagination that illuminates the strangeness of everything around us with just the right amounts of unease and tenderness.”
—Valeria Luiselli, author of Lost Children Archive
“Do not lick this book! Dengue Boy is a psychedelic literary funhouse like no other, its richly imagined narrative mutating and reconfiguring chapter by chapter like the Dengue Boy himself. Michel Nieva's vision of our beleaguered world two centuries into the future is at once hilarious, horrifying and heartbreaking, with no mercy shown for any of its survivors. Be warned though: the psychotropic effects of Dengue Boy have not been studied, but their hallucinogenic impact will linger long after you turn the final page.”
—David Demchuk, author of RED X and The Bone Mother
