09 July 2026

Thank you to Random Things Tours for inviting me to participate in this blog tour. While science fiction is not a genre I read very often, the blurb for this book immediately piqued my curiosity, and I was eager to discover this impressive debut novel.

The Carrier explores the ways in which women can be victimised in an entirely new and disturbing way. Women have long been viewed as the weaker sex, yet they are also the ones who bear children, give birth, and shoulder so much of the emotional burden in society. Ruth Newton takes this idea one step further, imagining a world where women are expected to literally carry the pain, grief, and suffering of others.

Throughout the novel, the author includes short testimonies from various carriers, allowing them to share their thoughts, feelings, and experiences alongside Vivian’s story. These brief interludes add emotional depth and serve as a powerful reminder that every carrier has their own story to tell.

Vivian H is a loyal employee of Eudaimonia. She genuinely believes she is helping people and trusts that the company cares about its employees. Thanks to Eudaimonia, her future looks bright, and she is on the verge of gaining custody of her younger sister. However, everything changes when Vivian witnesses the death of a carrier. Suddenly, the foundations of everything she has believed begin to crumble, forcing her to question both the company she devoted herself to and the world she thought she understood.

One of the novel’s most compelling ideas is the ability to extract pain, grief, despair, and even jealousy from one person and transfer those emotions to someone else. The result is a society that never has to confront difficult emotions—a population that no longer understands loss, heartbreak, or emotional resilience because those feelings have been outsourced. At first glance, it sounds like an ideal world, but the novel raises an important question: can people truly be happy if they never experience sadness?

I particularly enjoyed how the story highlights the importance of the emotions we often wish we could avoid. Pain, grief, and heartbreak shape us just as much as joy and love do. Without them, we lose an essential part of what makes us human. It is a thought-provoking concept that stayed with me long after I finished the book.

The author also does a brilliant job developing Viv as a protagonist. She is introduced as a confident, successful woman who appears to be living her best life. As the story unfolds, however, it becomes clear that appearances can be deceiving. Viv’s shock as she uncovers the truth feels completely believable, and it is easy to share in her confusion, fear, and growing determination. Her love for her sister adds a strong emotional core to the story, while her compassion for the carriers and her willingness to risk everything to protect others made her an easy character to root for.

Although I am generally a little wary of science fiction, I found myself completely engrossed in this story and eager to discover how it would end. The pacing kept me turning the pages, and I raced through the book in just a few sittings. The Carrier is an impressive debut that combines thought-provoking ideas with an engaging, character-driven story. I loved every minute I spent with it and will certainly be keeping an eye out for whatever Ruth Newton writes next.