long suspected of raping Delage (Delage is still unforthcoming regarding this event). Cavala threatens to kill Mark Pol, who re-iterates that Cavala cannot trust himself as he is a 'rapist' and it is probably Cavala himself who raped Delage. Cavala leaves Mark Pol, thinking that indeed it might be possible. However, he runs into Delage and she has her head. It transpires that his betrothed headless Delage has been pretending to be the real Delage but has genuinely fallen in love with him anyway. They eventually run into the police inspector again, who reveals he was attempting to pin Deluge’s rape on Cavala. He believed Cavala deserved to be killed for his original crime and had expected him to take the blame for this crime to prevent the real Susan Delage losing her head by beheading. In the inspectors mind Cavala ruined everything by not taking the blame as he planned and he states that he thought he had some decency. After arguing with the Police Inspector about this and his past crime, Cavala and the headless Delage run away to a remote location and, it is hinted, start planning a headless uprising against the uncaring society that has decapitated them. Reception Lisa Tuttle in her review for The Times said that "the Land of the Headless is a darkly satirical tale that extrapolates an absurd idea into something weirdly plausible. This is not escapist adventure but a dystopian vision in the tradition of Swift, Orwell and Atwood against the cruelest extremes of human stupidity." References External links The Author's Website 2007 British novels British science fiction novels 2007 science fiction novels Dystopian novels Works by Adam Roberts (British writer) Novels about writers Orion Books books Victor Gollancz Ltd books