The Disco at the End of the World
By Nathan Tavares
- The Disco at the End of the World
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Author: Nathan Tavares
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Publisher: Titan Books
- ISBN: 9781835414200
- Published: June 2026
- Pages: 361
- Format reviewed: Paperback
- Review date: 03/07/2026
- Language: English
Last night a DJ saved my life. It can feel like that for some people as they crave the weekend, those hot sweaty nights dancing with the people they feel closest to. The community not of family or work colleagues, but the friends and family that you pick up on the way. In the case of The Disco at the End of the World by Nathan Tavares there is a disco in LA that may just literally save Earth.
In this alternative America, the Cold War is running a little hotter and one area of conflict is on the moon. Once up there Mitch finds that there is not much to do and there are no women. That is not an issue for Mitch has he his openly gay, but in a military that this is not allowed, he manages to survive by providing a contraband service. After altercations on the Moon, Mitch and his roommate Gloria are sent back to Earth, and at this point that the real mission starts. Two dishonourable ex Star-Men must use the power of disco to save the Earth.
Alternative history is a tricky tightrope of a genre to master, if you change too much, then it will no longer feel like our history. There are elements of Disco that are truly the same, but there is a darker undercurrent. Saying this undercurrent did not exist is not true, it is just that Tavares brings it more to light. The right leaning, authoritarianism that sits beneath some politics. It was present in Reagan (and certainly the version in this book), but perhaps this late 70s novel speaks more about the politics of today?
Trying to separate the politics from the science fiction in Disco is a folly, the politics is the science fiction. There is a power in the gay community that speaks to a strange aliens that want to bring the Earth into their harmonious fold, but they cannot stand the harsh rest of the world. Can the gays of LA be loud enough and proud enough to save the day? To do so they must do so from the underground.
Some queer fiction tickles around the edges, a love story that just happens to be about the same sex. Tavares goes deeper into the counterculture of the 70s, full on disco, of men and woman enjoying life and one another. Here, you get a sense of the real in the Alt History, a realistic portrayal what it must be like to be a minority under an authority. It speaks of the past but also offers a warning to a possible future.
In parts Disco is a Gonzo tale. It starts on the Moon in a closed environment that I could get my head around. I would have happily read an adventure with Mitch and Gloria on the Moon, but the book is bigger than that. After an encounter on the Moon, the duo is sent back to Earth and the story really begins. Now things get weird, almost trippy. The lines between a cult and a disco become blurred.
Disco is a thoughtful book that explores big ideas of oppression and resistance. This alone would have made for a good book, or the mission on the moon. It is the strange magical connection to the alien beings that really makes the book bizarre and harder to follow. There are one or two ideas more than required in the book making it feel too stuffed. Still an interesting and passionate read, just one that is tricky to get your head around at times.
Written on 3rd July 2026 by Sam Tyler .
Topics and themes
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