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Out of the Dead Lands
Cephus Twala is dying. During his final moments he foresees the arrival of a descendant of his, a man not yet born, January Twala.
Helen Botes, one-time apartheid apparatchik, cannot reach her son. During her anxious marshalling of a home bent on disrepair, she’s attacked by an intruder who wants only to suck on her finger.
And Steven Moyo, environmental refugee and soft-hearted Red Ant, has resolved to seek out the strange squatter who claims to have walked from a fading future to save a neglected past.
Out of the Dead Lands is a novel about remembering and forgetting. It’s a ghost story set in a Johannesburg out of kilter with itself. Those from the future and the past wander through the present, disconnected from their places in time, or forced (it seems) into asylum by a neglect that threatens their likelihood of ever properly existing.
Helen Botes, one-time apartheid apparatchik, cannot reach her son. During her anxious marshalling of a home bent on disrepair, she’s attacked by an intruder who wants only to suck on her finger.
And Steven Moyo, environmental refugee and soft-hearted Red Ant, has resolved to seek out the strange squatter who claims to have walked from a fading future to save a neglected past.
Out of the Dead Lands is a novel about remembering and forgetting. It’s a ghost story set in a Johannesburg out of kilter with itself. Those from the future and the past wander through the present, disconnected from their places in time, or forced (it seems) into asylum by a neglect that threatens their likelihood of ever properly existing.
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Published September 1, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 10, 2025
4.5 stars
As a dyed in the wool genre fiction reader, I went into OUT OF THE DEAD LANDS forewarned that it would be a literary step beyond my usual. I wasn't surprised, then, when I initially found this a difficult read. Kemp's writing has a poetic turn to it. The moments we're presented with don't immediately fit together into a linear narrative. Despite the hazy nature of the opening, I was intrigued. More than intrigued, it engrossed me. As the novel progressed, story hooks presented themselves, and OUT OF THE DEAD LANDS resolved into a desperate race against a calamitous future.
While the blurb describes this as a 'ghost story set in a Johannesburg out of kilter with itself' don't take that to mean there are literal ghosts. OUT OF THE DEAD LANDS is a book about time as something more than a one-way dimension. Flickering shades of branching timelines overlap. It is also a book steeped in South Africa. There are concepts, jargon, and historical references that are touched on without further explanation, trusting the reader to familiarize themselves with the history and consequences of apartheid to fill in any context they may be lacking. Personally, I appreciated that. I love a book that doesn't compromise to make itself accessible to a foreign audience. OUT OF THE DEAD LANDS demands that readers meet it where it is at. And where it is at, is smack bang in Johannesburg's tumultuous urban heart.
There are without a doubt aspects of this I didn't comprehend. That's 100% a me issue, not the book. I'm so ready for more people to read this so we can talk about it!
I received OUT OF THE DEAD LANDS for review from Mirari Press as part of their Luminary Programme.
As a dyed in the wool genre fiction reader, I went into OUT OF THE DEAD LANDS forewarned that it would be a literary step beyond my usual. I wasn't surprised, then, when I initially found this a difficult read. Kemp's writing has a poetic turn to it. The moments we're presented with don't immediately fit together into a linear narrative. Despite the hazy nature of the opening, I was intrigued. More than intrigued, it engrossed me. As the novel progressed, story hooks presented themselves, and OUT OF THE DEAD LANDS resolved into a desperate race against a calamitous future.
While the blurb describes this as a 'ghost story set in a Johannesburg out of kilter with itself' don't take that to mean there are literal ghosts. OUT OF THE DEAD LANDS is a book about time as something more than a one-way dimension. Flickering shades of branching timelines overlap. It is also a book steeped in South Africa. There are concepts, jargon, and historical references that are touched on without further explanation, trusting the reader to familiarize themselves with the history and consequences of apartheid to fill in any context they may be lacking. Personally, I appreciated that. I love a book that doesn't compromise to make itself accessible to a foreign audience. OUT OF THE DEAD LANDS demands that readers meet it where it is at. And where it is at, is smack bang in Johannesburg's tumultuous urban heart.
There are without a doubt aspects of this I didn't comprehend. That's 100% a me issue, not the book. I'm so ready for more people to read this so we can talk about it!
I received OUT OF THE DEAD LANDS for review from Mirari Press as part of their Luminary Programme.
March 11, 2026
This book is vivid poetry.
Out of the Dead Lands is an incredible, slightly strange novel. It’s the kind of book I know I’ll need to read again, not because it’s confusing, but because there’s so much depth woven through it that I want to experience it all over again.
The multiple timelines and shifting points of view are handled so beautifully. What starts off feeling separate and fragmented slowly begins to come together in such a satisfying way. Watching those threads connect felt intentional and carefully crafted.
The writing has a poetic quality without ever feeling heavy. It paints vivid images and creates an atmosphere that’s haunting and slightly off-centre. The Johannesburg in this story feels layered with memory; past, present, and future all brushing up against one another.
The characters are flawed, complicated, and very real. They don’t feel polished or perfect, and that’s exactly what makes them compelling.
It’s like listening to a story told by a painter with ADD.
10 I don’t know what’s happening but I like it out of 5.
Out of the Dead Lands is an incredible, slightly strange novel. It’s the kind of book I know I’ll need to read again, not because it’s confusing, but because there’s so much depth woven through it that I want to experience it all over again.
The multiple timelines and shifting points of view are handled so beautifully. What starts off feeling separate and fragmented slowly begins to come together in such a satisfying way. Watching those threads connect felt intentional and carefully crafted.
The writing has a poetic quality without ever feeling heavy. It paints vivid images and creates an atmosphere that’s haunting and slightly off-centre. The Johannesburg in this story feels layered with memory; past, present, and future all brushing up against one another.
The characters are flawed, complicated, and very real. They don’t feel polished or perfect, and that’s exactly what makes them compelling.
It’s like listening to a story told by a painter with ADD.
10 I don’t know what’s happening but I like it out of 5.
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March 15, 2026rtc
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews