Foe

Foe is the second novel by Canadian writer Iain Reid. It was released in August 2018 in the United States by Simon & Schuster. The book has been described as a psychological thriller and horror fiction against a science fiction backdrop. Reid referred to it as a "philosophical suspense story". Foe is set in the near future and is about a married couple living on a remote farm whose lives are thrown in turmoil when a stranger arrives. Foe was placed on the Horror Writers Association's 2018 Bram Stoker Awards Preliminary Ballot for "Superior Achievement in a Novel". The book was translated into German by Anke Kreutzer and Eberhard Kreutzer as Enemy and published by Droemer in 2019. Plot summary Foe is set in the near future, and is narrated by Junior, who lives with his wife Henrietta (Hen) on a remote farm. In the novel, all dialogue is punctuated with quotation marks, except for Junior's, which has none. One night a stranger appears at their door who introduces himself as Terrance from an aerospace corporation called OuterMore. Terrance announces that Junior has been selected to travel to the Installation, a large space station in orbit around Earth. He will remain there for about two years, before returning home. Junior is deeply in love with Hen and is not happy leaving her alone. Terrance reassures him that while he is gone, he will be replaced by a biomechanical duplicate that will care for her. Junior is horrified. Terrance visits the farm house regularly to interview him and collect data to help configure his replacement. Relations between Junior and Hen become strained. He resents Terrance's presence and she will not talk about it. After about two years, Terrance moves in with them so he can monitor Junior's daily routine. Terrance also spends time interviewing Hen, which angers Junior. He manages to eavesdrop on some of their conversations, and it seems that she knows more about what is going on than she is telling him. Once Terrance asks her if she would like to get away, and she relates to him a fantasy she has of walking out on her husband. After seeing Terrance spend so much time with Hen, Junior becomes convinced that it is Terrance who will be replacing him when he has gone.