The Carrier by Ruth Newton #thecarrier @ruth.e.newton @bantambooksuk @randomthingstours #bookreview #speculativefiction #dystopia

 

Why should you suffer when she can do it for you?

A revolutionary company can free you from your unwanted emotions. Jealousy, grief, despair. If you can afford to, you need never feel them again.

In your place is a Carrier – a woman who is paid to process your pain. In a world full of suffering, there is no shortage of demand.

But this company has secrets. The true cost of your freedom is a Carrier’s life.

Would you let her pay the price?

The Carrier by Ruth Newton was published on 2 July 2026 by Bantam/Transworld. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review as part of this #RandomThingsTours Virtual Book Tour 

As someone who is always drawn to speculative and dystopian fiction, particularly stories written by female authors, Carrier by Ruth Newton was always going to catch my attention. Happily, it more than lived up to my expectations. Clever, unsettling and so impossible to put down, this is the kind of novel that is so entertaining but also asks some deeply uncomfortable questions about the world we live in.

The premise is brilliant. Eudaimonia offers a service that allows people to rid themselves of unwanted emotions. Grief, jealousy, fear and despair can all be transferred to a Carrier, a woman paid to process someone else's pain. It is a fascinating concept that feels just close enough to our reality these days to be frighteningly chilling. As the story unfolds, the cracks in this seemingly perfect system begin to appear, revealing the human cost hidden beneath the company's polished image.

Viv is a fantastic central character. She believes wholeheartedly in Eudaimonia and the work she does as an Emotional Transporter. Her loyalty and conviction make so compelling as events force her to question everything she has accepted as truth. Watching her struggle with her conscience kept me completely engrossed in the story. Alongside Viv, the voices of the Carriers themselves add some real emotional depth. 

Ruth Newton has created a world that feels frighteningly believable. The science is explained in a way that is easy to follow without bogging down the pace of the book, and the themes of emotional labour, inequality, corporate power and the exploitation of women are woven so well into the narrative. Rather than feeling preachy, these ideas emerge naturally through the characters and the story itself. It's very powerful and cleverly done. 

The short chapters kept me turning the pages, and there was a constant sense of tension as Viv uncovered more about the organisation she had once trusted. It is one of those books that leaves you thinking long after you have closed the final page, I thought about how much our emotions shape us and whether they should ever be treated as something to simply hand over to someone else.

Carrier is an outstanding debut that mixes a really clever concept with fabulous characters and themes that really made me think. It is a gripping, intelligent dystopian thriller that I would wholeheartedly recommend to anyone who enjoys speculative fiction, especially novels that explore women's lives. I cannot wait to see what Ruth Newton writes next. Highly recommended. 

Ruth Newton is a writer and campaign producer, working with charities and NGOs.

The Carrier, her debut novel, was longlisted for BPA's first novel award, shortlisted for Hodderscape x The Science Museum's Debut Science Fiction award and won the Jericho Writers’ Friday Night Live competition.

She lives in the North East with her husband and son.