“We did not touch. It had become automatic the minute the virus had landed on Australian soil. It wasn’t a spoken rule; arms could brush, shoulders could bump, and accidental skin contact was repellent but forgiven, but conscious touch – fingertips, a warm hand, a face too close – it just went without saying. Personal space had shrivelled to a hard nut so far inside each body even your own hand on your skin could seem unwanted”

Red Queen is the first novel by Australian author, Honey Brown. Shannon Scott and his older brother Rohan are living in an isolated cabin in the bush. As they wait out the effects of the Red Queen virus that has decimated the population and destroyed the social order, they guard what they have. Shannon tries to follow Rohan’s often arbitrary (and seemingly paranoid) rules with mixed success.

He is so starved of distraction, of company, that, when a woman manages to evade their guard, he is, in his naiveté, more excited than worried. Rohan grudgingly allows Denny Cassidy to stay. She manages to get under his guard, but he is still wary, despite the intimacy she provides. Is Denny a genuine solitary survivor, or does she have her own agenda?

Brown uses young Shannon as her narrator, and, giving the reader events from his (perhaps somewhat gullible) perspective, creates an ominous “this can’t end well” feeling. Brown conveys the Australian bush with consummate ease, as well as effectively rendering the tension between characters: “We were silent. The night was like a held breath; I thought how it might never exhale”. Post-apocalyptic novels are common, but Brown’s has a distinct Aussie flavour, builds up to a heart-thumping climax, and has a twist or two to keep things interesting. A brilliant debut novel!