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Christina Dalcher
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Q: The most explosive thriller of 2021 from the bestselling author of VOX Paperback – January 7, 2021

by Christina Dalcher (Author)
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 2,590 ratings
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IN THIS WORLD, PERFECTION IS EVERYTHING

‘Terrifyingly plausible’ Louise Candlish
‘Devastating and brilliant’ Woman & Home
‘Thought-provoking’ Alice Feeney
‘Shocking . . . A powerful tale’ Cosmopolitan
‘Timely’ Kia Abdullah

It begins as a way to make things fairer. An education system that will benefit everyone. It’s all in the name of progress.

This is what Elena Fairchild believes. As a teacher in one of the government’s elite schools for children with high ‘Q’ scores, she witnesses the advantages first-hand.

But when Elena’s own daughter scores lower than expected, she is taken away. Elena follows her to her new home. A government institute.

What she finds there makes Elena question everything. Because this world is about perfection – and that comes at a terrible price.

What readers are saying about Q

‘To everyone that loved Vox and wants to read another like it this is just for you!!’

‘I love Dalcher’s books, they grip me from the beginning and I find them impossible to put down’

‘I read this book in 24 hours! I loved it.’

‘An amazing read . . . thought provoking and made me eager to know what is coming next from this brilliant author.’

‘This book had me hooked from start to finish.

‘Both timely and chilling. Q is a thrilling read’

Previous page
  1. Language
    English
  2. Publisher
    HQ
  3. Publication date
    January 7, 2021
  4. Dimensions
    5.08 x 0.98 x 7.8 inches
  5. ISBN-10
    0008440603
  6. ISBN-13
    978-0008440602
  7. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ HQ (January 7, 2021)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0008440603
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0008440602
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 7.8 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.08 x 0.98 x 7.8 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 2,590 ratings

About the author

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Christina Dalcher

Christina Dalcher

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Christina Dalcher is a linguist, novelist, and flash fiction writer living in the American South. She has over 100 publishing credits in the UK, US, and Australia. Recognitions include first prize in the Bath Flash Fiction Award (February 2019), second prize in the 2016 Bartleby Snopes Dialogue-Only Contest, and nominations for The Pushcart Prize, Best of the Net, and Best Small Fictions. Her debut novel VOX was a Sunday Times Bestseller.

Her flash fiction appears in The Molotov Cocktail Prize Winners' anthology, Whiskey Paper, Split Lip Magazine, (b)OINK, Five2One Magazine, and several others.

Laura Bradford of Bradford Literary Agency represents three of Christina's novels: VOX, Q (Master Class in the US), and FEMLANDIA. For other works, please contact Cicely Aspinall at HQ Stories/HarperCollinsUK for literary subrights.

Jasmine Lake of United Talent Agency is the contact for any film inquiries.

Christina lives with her husband and the ghosts of several dogs and cats.

To read more about her, or see samples of her work, please visit www.christinadalcher.com

Photo credits: Laurens Arenas, Bruce Dalcher

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
2,590 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Whispering Stories
4.0 out of 5 stars This is a book that dystopian fans should read.
Reviewed in the United States on May 11, 2020
For many years I have loved dystopian books. I love reading about how the authors’ idea of a futuristic, government-controlled world would look and whilst there are some vast differences between dystopian books there is always one similarity, the rich, clever, and good get the best in society, the poor, not so well educated, and those that are not perfect, get the worst there is to offer. In Q this is certainly brought to the forefront.

Everyone has to undergo tests every so often to discover what their Q score is. Score highly and you get the best in life such as a good job, the ability to shop whenever you wish, a nice house, etc. Score badly and all that changes. The score isn’t only based on your IQ level it is based on your genetics, married status, finances, health, sexual status, etc.

The schools are split into different levels, the high achiever’s school, the less achiever’s school, and the yellow card boarding school where those that go below a certain score are sent, away from others in society.

Elena Fairchild is a popular and well-liked teacher at one of the more elite schools. She is married to Malcolm who is a member of the government department responsible for setting up and monitoring these rules and implementing them. They have two daughters, Anne who excels at everything, and Freddie who is nine and in today’s society would probably be on the Autism Spectrum. Her grades are not so good.

In fact, Freddie scores so low on one of her tests that she is sent to one of these boarding schools in Kansas. Elena does what any drastic mother would have done in that situation, she botches her own test so that she can stay with her daughter, but the boarding school isn’t like what they have been made to believe, it is hell on Earth.

This is the first book by Christina Dalcher that I have read and from what I know about her first book and after reading this one she sure can write a dystopian novel. The book is heartbreaking, angering, comforting, and body-shuddering all at the same time.

You have the government and their policies and boarding school on one side, versus a mother’s love on the other. We not only get to read about what is happening now, but we are also taken back in time and see how this all began and how Elena after finding out during pregnancy that her baby wouldn’t score very well changed the results so that she could keep her child.

You also always find one character in these types of books that make you want to reach into the pages and ripped them apart and Elena’s husband Malcolm is that person in this book. How she married such an evil, despicable man in baffling. What makes a person behave and think the way he does?

Overall this is a book that dystopian fans should read. It is edgy, riveting, and kept me turning the pages needing to know everything. It also had me thankful that even though we are living through horrid, scary times at the moment they are nothing compared to what living in a Q society would be like.

Book Reviewed on Whispering Stories Book Blog
*I received a free copy of this book, which I voluntarily reviewed
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damppebbles
4.0 out of 5 stars Q by Christina Dalcher
Reviewed in the United States on January 7, 2021
I chose to read and review a free ARC of Q but that has in no way influenced my review.

I have mixed feelings about Q. On the one hand the writing is powerful, the story immersive and the subject matter is highly emotive. On the other, I didn't like any of the characters apart from one (one character in particular made my blood absolutely boil to the point he nearly sent me into a screaming rage) and despite frequently wanting to return to the book, I found myself needing to take regular breaks to calm my blood pressure and just stop thinking! Q is a devastating story which could, in fact, be all too plausible. I have Vox by the same author on my TBR and I now know that it's going to break me, but I can't wait to read it!

A new system has been implemented in the US which grades adults and children according to their intelligence, family standing, their income (or the income of their parents) and their attendance rate, among other things. Students and staff in the 'new and improved' school system are subjected to monthly high ranking tests to determine their individual 'Q Score'.  The 'Q' is everything and can make or break a family in many ways. But that's not something teacher Dr Elena Fairchild needs to worry about. Her husband, Malcolm, is the Deputy Education Secretary and her two daughters - teenage Anne and 9-year-old Freddie - are successful. But Elena has always had concerns over Freddie who is struggling with the pressure and suffers regular panic attacks come test day. Having slightly smudged Freddie's prenatal Q score, Elena is always watchful over her younger, slightly less able daughter. And then Freddie fails the monthly test and is sent from her 'green' tiered middle school to a 'yellow' state school - the lowest of the low. Completely cut-off from seeing or speaking to her daughter, Elena does the only thing that makes sense. She fails her own test and gets sent to the same isolated school in Kansas. But what if everything you thought you knew wasn't actually true? What if you're now part of an evil, despicable plan to change humanity forever...?

Elena is an interesting character and I wanted to like and sympathise with her situation but there were certain things about her which irritated me no end. For example, despite the dawning realisation of the situation she finds herself in, she appeared to be part of the problem, alongside a teenage Malcolm. The flashbacks to 'then' detail a time when Elena and Malcolm were friends at school. Bullied and harassed for being nerds, the last in line for the school canteen, missing out on social events - you know how these things go when you're a kid. The popular kids versus the not so popular kids. So a colour card system is introduced (oh the power these teenagers have in their school!) which soon puts the popular kids at the back of the queue. I guess I felt Elena only stepped up to the mark when her own family were affected, which I think is what the author was going for. A case of everything is hunky dory providing it doesn't affect me.... But I also think the author wants you to side with this determined female lead, see the wrong she has done, forgive past decisions and cheer her on as she battles onward. But I just couldn't. Elena Fairchild was past redemption for me. Nothing she said or did would save her.

In Q I met quite possibly the most frustrating, despicable and controlling character I have ever met in fiction - Elena's husband, Malcolm Fairchild. He made my blood boil. The way he treated his wife and children, particularly Freddie, made me feel deeply uncomfortable and I hated him with every ounce of my being. I don't think a book has ever affected me the way Q has. I went from being angry to being frustrated to being sad that the book was over and sobbing quietly to myself. I don't cry often at the end of books and to be honest, I was surprised I did at Q but I think it really got under my skin.

Would I recommend this book? I would, yes. I found Q to be a difficult read but I became so emotionally involved with the story and, despite not liking the characters, there was an attachment of some sort there which left me feeling a little bereft once I had finished the last page. The subject matter is highly emotive and the story-telling doesn't pull any punches which I applaud Dalcher for. I found Q to be a very compelling novel despite wanting to throw it through the window several times because it made me angry (I hope that's what the author wants her readers to feel!). I would have liked Elena to be a little less agreeable and to have a little more sass. She felt almost 'sheep-like' at times and that frustrated me no end. But, that aside, this is a very readable book which will be hard to forget. Recommended.

I chose to read and review a free ARC of Q. The above review is my own unbiased opinion.
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Top reviews from other countries

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Nathalie Chassagne
5.0 out of 5 stars Super dystopie über Schule System mit IQ Level
Reviewed in Germany on April 1, 2023
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Spannend
Viele Frage während den Lesen
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Coquille
3.0 out of 5 stars Redondant
Reviewed in France on March 4, 2022
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J'ai la sensation de lire le premier roman de l'auteur dans les lignes directrices et les thématiques. Le premier roman m'avait plu (Vox), donc je ne suis pas non plus déçue, mais c'est dommage ...
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zanna bianca
4.0 out of 5 stars Appassionante
Reviewed in Italy on February 17, 2021
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È un romanzo che incolla subito alle pagine, un presente distopico con radici nel passato, su cui porta a riflettere. La scuola come luogo delle disuguaglianze è interessante, forse quel che fa dubitare di tutto l’impianto è la dittatura di un ministero o dipartimento dentro un sistema democratico e solo quando la professoressa e io narrante si ribella e indaga salta tutto. Ma Dalcher è molto brava a creare l’atmosfera cupa, spietata e triste di un mondo basato esclusivamente sulla competitività
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RaeRae Kinsella Chippendale
5.0 out of 5 stars Superb
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 21, 2020
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I was thoroughly absorbed by and fell in love with this authors work when I read Vox last year.
I’m a glutton for dystopian sci-fi, more so when the events are only a tiny credible & logical extrapolation of our present & past history.
This story is not only believable, but a highly plausible direction in which society May proceed if the lessons of the last century are forgotten & the current nationalism, dehumanisation of “the other” & rampant selfishness & intolerance continue.
Christines writing style is highly compelling.
My one tiny criticism (and this takes nothing away from this beautifully crafted story) is that I don’t need to be preprepared for things to go wrong with a “how wrong I would come to realise I was” type statement at the end of chapters. I think the text would flow fine without them.
However, that may just be my European perspective as I believe that this style is extremely popular in the US.
Again, this takes nothing away from this beautifully crafted, deeply researched and compelling book. 5 stars
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Sherryl
5.0 out of 5 stars Loved it
Reviewed in Australia on September 5, 2020
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Great read, very sad. Makes you think. Fast read but enjoyable. Recommend.
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