The End of Everything by M John Harrison review – near-future visions from an SF master

M John Harrison's novel, "The End of Everything," published on June 9, 2026, presents a near-future vision set in an unnamed town on the Kent coast, reflecting contemporary anxieties through its narrative of enigmatic alien entities and slow social collapse. Harrison, whose prose has been admired by authors like Angela Carter and Deborah Levy since the 1970s, has historically operated within science fiction and fantasy genres, though his work is often described as genre-fluid and peculiar. His earlier Viriconium stories, set in a crumbling, decadent city, offered escapist adventures, but "The End of Everything" situates its anarchic and disintegrated urban landscape in contemporary London and the Kent coast, suggesting the fantastical nature of the present day negates the need for purely fictional settings. The novel is characterized by its bleak yet brilliant exploration of life's terrifying insecurity, a theme that has resonated with readers and critics alike, despite what the review terms 'snobbery about the genres' in which Harrison made his mark.