HellSans

by Ever Dundas

Overview

HellSans is set in a fictional UK, where HellSans is a ubiquitous typeface, enforced by the government in all communications and in all public spaces. It is the ultimate control device. The majority of the population experience bliss when they see the typeface, but there’s a minority who are allergic to it. The HellSans Allergic (HSAs) are persecuted, and live on the streets or in a ghetto on the outskirts of the capital city.

Jane Ward, CEO of the company that manufactures the Inex (a cyborg doll-like creature that has replaced the smart phone as the essential aid and accessory) has everything: fame and fortune, until she falls ill with the allergy and becomes embroiled in the government’s internal power struggles. She loses her job and her wealth, ending up in the ghetto until she is rescued by Dr Icho Smith. 
Icho is a scientist who has developed a cure for the allergy, but she is on the run from the government and the Seraphs (the ghetto ‘terrorist’ group), who all have their own agenda for the cure. Jane and Icho work together, aiming to expose government corruption and bring the cure to the HSAs.

HellSans is written in three parts. Parts one and two can be read in either order which provides a unique approach to the perspectives of the haves and have-nots in the run-up to the revolutionary conclusion.

File Under: Science Fiction [ Dystopian Nightmare | Typography Matters | Artificial Friends | Nevertheless Resist ]

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781915202215
Publisher:	Watkins Media
Publication date:	10/11/2022
Pages:	456
Sales rank:	630,123
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 8.50(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author

Ever Dundas has a degree in Psychology and Sociology and a Masters in Creative Writing. Her first novel, Goblin, won the Saltire First Book Award. She has ME and Fibromyalgia and has funneled her anger at how disabled people are treated and marginalised into this, her second novel. She received a Creative Scotland Funding award to support the writing of HellSans. Ever, and fellow writer Julie Farrell, set up Inklusion, securing funding to produce a kickass guide to making literature events accessible for disabled people. This guide will launch in August 2022 at Edinburgh International Book Festival.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"A smart and unique dystopian thriller… Give this one to readers who like their heroes morally ambiguous."
– Library Journal

"Dundas’s wildly imaginative debut tackles big ideas of identity, narrative, surveillance, and the societal marginalization of queer and disabled people, while also working as a dark, emotionally centered thriller full of both unsettling absurdity and psychological resonance… Clever metatextual elements and dubious narrators enhance the ride. The harrowing worldbuilding and strong message make this stand out."
– Publishers Weekly, starred review

"If you like your near future sci-fi dystopia delivered straight up, then HellSans will pull you into a dark, brilliantly imagined world. We are lucky to have Ever Dundas' inimitable talent, HellSans' rage, love and sorrow is perfectly contained!"
– Jenni Fagan, bestselling author of Luckenbooth

"This terrific book; a dark and clever sci-fi social satire."
– Joanne Harris, author of Chocolat

"Clever, terrifying, and full of love and rage – I'm deeply jealous."
– Mat Osman, author of The Ruins

"HellSans is speculative fiction at its best: political, fearless, smart, badass. And also with tons of horrific body horror and cruelty from just about everyone. To put it down is unthinkable, you care about everything and everyone all the time."
– Mariana Enriquez, author of International Booker shortlisted The Dangers of Smoking in Bed

"This is visceral, powerful writing that gets right under your skin, that provokes the kind of physical reaction that leaves you reeling. I was enraged, I was inspired - I want to read every word that Ever Dundas writes."
- Helen Sedgwick, author of The Growing Season

"A violent and compelling thriller, fuelled by real anger and compassion, with far more psychological and moral complexity than the general run of dystopian fiction."
– Lisa Tuttle, The Guardian

"HellSans is a remarkable and admirable work... the late Iain M Banks has a worthy, horrible, gimlet-eyed heir."
– Stuart Kelly, The Scotsman
 
"Dundas has written a complex, layered novel featuring powerful and driven characters. HellSans is a must-read book for fans of dystopias or simply dynamic female characters."
– Phil Nicholls, The BSFA

Editorial Reviews

★ 09/05/2022

Dundas’s wildly imaginative debut tackles big ideas of identity, narrative, surveillance, and the societal marginalization of queer and disabled people, while also working as a dark, emotionally centered thriller full of both unsettling absurdity and psychological resonance. In a technodystopian, near-future U.K., the government communicates and controls via HellSans, a typeface that induces bliss in the majority of the population while the minority who are physically allergic to the font are persecuted and ghettoized. Per Dundas’s author’s note, the first two sections are readable in either order at the reader’s discretion. The first follows Dr. Icho Smith, the creator of a treatment for Hellsans allergies who hopes to get it directly into the hands of sufferers rather than allowing the government to control the cure, the other Jane Ward, creator of the Inex, a ubiquitous sentient humanoid personal assistant. Jane’s sudden development of HellSans allergy makes her officially persona non grata and leads, in the third part, to the two women coming together in a revolution-fueled relationship, pursued by both the government and the radical Seraphs, who want to dismantle the Hellsans-centered society rather than merely help the ill manage their symptoms. Clever metatextual elements and dubious narrators enhance the ride. The harrowing worldbuilding and strong message make this stand out. Agent: Jenny Brown, Jenny Brown Assoc. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

"A smart and unique dystopian thriller… Give this one to readers who like their heroes morally ambiguous."
– Library Journal

"Dundas’s wildly imaginative debut tackles big ideas of identity, narrative, surveillance, and the societal marginalization of queer and disabled people, while also working as a dark, emotionally centered thriller full of both unsettling absurdity and psychological resonance… Clever metatextual elements and dubious narrators enhance the ride. The harrowing worldbuilding and strong message make this stand out." 
– Publishers Weekly, starred review

"If you like your near future sci-fi dystopia delivered straight up, then HellSans will pull you into a dark, brilliantly imagined world. We are lucky to have Ever Dundas' inimitable talent, HellSans' rage, love and sorrow is perfectly contained!"
– Jenni Fagan, bestselling author of Luckenbooth

"This terrific book; a dark and clever sci-fi social satire."
– Joanne Harris, author of Chocolat

"Clever, terrifying, and full of love and rage – I'm deeply jealous."
– Mat Osman, author of The Ruins

"This is visceral, powerful writing that gets right under your skin, that provokes the kind of physical reaction that leaves you reeling. I was enraged, I was inspired - I want to read every word that Ever Dundas writes."
- Helen Sedgwick, author of The Growing Season

"HellSans is speculative fiction at its best: political, fearless, smart, badass. And also with tons of horrific body horror and cruelty from just about everyone. To put it down is unthinkable, you care about everything and everyone all the time."
– Mariana Enriquez, author of International Booker shortlisted The Dangers of Smoking in Bed

"Dundas’s wildly imaginative debut tackles big ideas of identity, narrative, surveillance, and the societal marginalization of queer and disabled people, while also working as a dark, emotionally centered thriller full of both unsettling absurdity and psychological resonance… Clever metatextual elements and dubious narrators enhance the ride. The harrowing worldbuilding and strong message make this stand out." 
– Publishers Weekly, starred review

"A smart and unique dystopian thriller… Give this one to readers who like their heroes morally ambiguous."
– Library Journal

"So smart and provocative it hurts, this fabulously unique debut is is one to place at the top of your reading lists."
– Liz Robinson, LoveReading

"A cracking read."
– The Times

"HellSans is innately cinematic, with relentless action, dramatic backdrops, unexpected twists."
– The Herald Scotland

"This novel. Oh wow, this novel."
– BookRiot


PRAISE FOR GOBLIN BY EVER DUNDAS

“In my opinion, the best debut fiction by a Scottish author since 2012. Profoundly affecting, intellectually challenging and beautifully written. An instant classic of modern mythology.”
– Stuart Kelly, The Scotsman

“Terrific… Goblin brims throughout with reckless joy.”
– Peter Ross, The Guardian

“Enthralling... a captivating debut... Dundas presents us with an iconic protagonist: a powerful imaginative force who looks beyond the façade of 20th Century Britain.”
– Alastair Mabbott, The Herald

"A standout debut...sophisticated."
– Nick Barley, Herald, Books of the Year 2017

“Confounds your expectations and enchants your sensibilities... an indelible and haunting novel.”
– Alistair Braidwood, Scots Whay Hae

“A love letter to the outcasts, rebels and underdogs... a dazzling narrative... Unflinching, raw and diamond bright.”
– Megan Kenny, Disclaimer Magazine

“Magic Realist stories often see their hero slipping off somewhere fantastical to escape the harshness of the real world. In a good story, you’re often not sure whether these moments of magic are real or the imaginative embellishments of a vulnerable mind. In a great story, you’re left feeling like it really doesn’t matter. Goblin is a great story.”
– Ross McIndoe, The Skinny

From the Publisher

09/01/2022

In Dundas's (Goblin) latest, HellSans is not just a ubiquitous typeface in the near future but it's also government-mandated for all communications. Most people who read HellSans get a hit of bliss no matter the message being delivered, resulting in a complacent and easily controlled population. Those few who are allergic to HellSans have intense physical reactions and are treated as less than human. Jane Ward is the rich and famous inventor of a series of robots that have become essential for everything from scheduling to banking; when she develops the HellSans allergy, her world crumbles. Dr. Icho Smith is a scientist working on a cure for the allergy. When her research reveals the depths of government corruption, she is forced on the run. Icho and Jane must work together to expose the corruption and stay alive. Dundas's innovatively styled book is written in three parts; the first two parts (from Jane's and Icho's perspectives) can be read in either order. VERDICT A smart and unique dystopian thriller that is especially fun for fans of graphic design and fonts. Give this one to readers who like their heroes morally ambiguous.—Portia Kapraun

Library Journal