MARIANNE DE PIERRES Mythmaker. Reviewed by Keith Stevenson
Virgin Jackson confronts demon wolves, gang lords and stone witches in this sequel to Peacemaker. In 2014, Marianne De Pierres pulled off an impressive hat-trick with Peacemaker, the first book in her Virgin Jackson series, effortlessly blending crime, sci-fi and...
IAIN PEARS Arcadia. Reviewed by Chris Maher
The author of An Instance of the Fingerpost explores what happens when words create worlds. What if Alice’s Wonderland was a science fiction creation rather than a fantastic one? By what previously undiscovered scientific laws would that be possible? In Arcadia, Pears...
NEAL STEPHENSON Seveneves. Reviewed by Keith Stevenson
This science fiction epic combines cutting-edge science and technology with strong characters and high stakes. Neal Stephenson came to the fore with his third book Snow Crash, which gave William Gibson a run for his money in the cyberpunk stakes. Since then he’s...
MIKE JONES The Mothers: The Transgressions Cycle Book One. Reviewed by Lou Murphy
The Mothers is a gripping, cinematically detailed horror story following a fearless 19th-century heroine as she journeys from England to Van Diemen’s Land. Liverpool, England 1880. Rosanna is a young woman whose mother had died during childbirth....
EMILY ST JOHN MANDEL Station Eleven. Reviewed by Keith Stevenson
Here is a post-apocalyptic novel that still allows for hope, beauty and art in a terrible world. Station Eleven is a book that will defy your expectations. It may be set on an Earth where 99 per cent of the population has been killed by a virulent influenza, but...
ANGELA SLATTER The Bitterwood Bible and Other Recountings. Reviewed by Lou Murphy
The Bitterwood Bible is a masterful offering of haunting stories that traverse the bounds of myth and legend. In this prequel to Sourdough & Other Stories (2010) Slatter proves herself to be a master storyteller, offering a compendium of bittersweet tales to be...
KIM STANLEY ROBINSON Aurora. Reviewed by Keith Stevenson
This novel centres on surely the greatest adventure any group of humans could embark upon: a one-way trip in search of a new Earth to call home. Kim Stanley Robinson is pretty much a god in science fiction circles. Winner of 11 major science fiction awards, including...
MARK LAWRENCE The Liar’s Key: The Red Queen’s War, Book Two. Reviewed by Folly Gleeson
Magic, blood and even trolls – this is engaging picaresque fantasy with a feckless hero. The Liar’s Key is Book Two of The Red Queen’s War series. It continues the adventures and misadventures of Prince Jalan Kendeth, grandson of the Red Queen of the Red March,...
PAUL MCAULEY Something Coming Through. Reviewed by Keith Stevenson
Which is more dangerous? Aliens bearing gifts? Or human nature? Paul McAuley is a multi-award-winning speculative fiction author whose Quiet War series, which spawned four novels and a collection of short stories, is one of the most enjoyable space-based speculative...
BEN H WINTERS The Last Policeman Trilogy. Reviewed by Jean Bedford
This original and exciting police-procedural trilogy poses ethical and moral dilemmas as the end of the world draws near. The Edgar-Award-winning first novel in this series, The Last Policeman, introduces us to Henry (Hank) Palace, a recently promoted detective in the...
DAVID M HENLEY Manifestations. Reviewed by Folly Gleeson
The second book in the Pierre Jnr trilogy is a compelling read, full of ideas and fast-flowing events. David Henley’s Pierre Jnr trilogy explores the world of the future. 2159 is a time not so far in the future, however, that it doesn’t contain many ideas and...
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