RJURIK DAVIDSON The Stars Askew. Reviewed by Keith Stevenson
The Stars Askew continues Australian fantasy author Rjurik Davidson’s dark tale of revolution, treachery and personal sacrifice begun in his debut novel Unwrapped Sky. Again, this story is set in the richly imagined city of Caeli Amur where magical beasts, grinding...
BEN PEEK Leviathan’s Blood: Children Book Two. Reviewed by Keith Stevenson
Leviathan’s Blood covers a lot of ground and introduces a whole new world of wonders, all vividly and indelibly portrayed. I’m not overstating things when I say that Ben Peek is one of the most accomplished writers of richly detailed and intricately plotted epic...
MURIEL BARBERY The Life of Elves. Reviewed by Folly Gleeson
The author of The Elegance of the Hedgehog creates an intensely poetic battle between good and evil in The Life of Elves. This story concerns two changeling babies who are found in strange circumstances. One is adopted by a family in rural France and the other is...
MIKE JONES The Scrimshaw Marionette: The Transgressions Cycle Book Two. Reviewed by Lou Murphy
This gritty gothic horror novel of hardship and brutality contains a vile mystery that only time can solve. The Scrimshaw Marionette begins with a prologue set in 1881 on Flukesplade Island, a remote whaling station in the Tasman Sea and an unforgiving environment...
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...
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