TERRY PRATCHETT and STEPHEN BAXTER The Long War. Reviewed by Folly Gleeson
Humans, trolls, bad governments and parallel worlds: Pratchett and Baxter offer a rich cast of characters and provocative ideas in their latest novel. There is so much going on in this sequel to The Long Earth that it is a wonder the authors can hold it...MAX BARRY Lexicon. Reviewed by Keith Stevenson
This is fiction on the edge of the now – a contemporary thriller that moves backwards and forwards in time. Wil Parke prays it’s a case of mistaken identity when he’s waylaid in an airport toilet by a couple of guys who stick a needle in his eye and propose...EMMA NEWMAN Any Other Name: Book Two of The Split Worlds. Reviewed by Folly Gleeson
Mirrored worlds of urban and traditional fantasy meet in this richly intriguing and inventive series. In all good fantasy it is the edges and borders that throw up the most exciting stories, rather like the way the edges of tectonic plates throw up volcanoes, and the...M JOHN HARRISON Light: Book One of the Kefahuchi Tract. Reviewed by Keith Stevenson
Hallucinatory, worldly and entertaining science fiction with a lot to say about the human condition. Michael Kearny is a particle physicist working on developing quantum computing. He’s also a serial killer haunted by a horse-headed apparition he calls the Shrander....DUNCAN LAY Valley of Shields: Empire of Bones Two. Reviewed by Folly Gleeson
This fast-paced epic fantasy has plenty of Machiavellian twists and poses some deeper questions. Book Two of Duncan Lay’s Empire of Bones trilogy opens with an emotionally devastated Rhiannon trying to deal with a series of powerful shocks. She has found that the men...LAUREN BEUKES The Shining Girls. Reviewed by Jean Bedford
This intriguing and original time-travelling thriller is not for the faint-hearted. Lauren Beukes is known for her genre-bending. Her first novel, Moxyland (2008), was a futuristic cyber-punk story combined with social realism and her second, Zoo City (2010),...ROBIN HOBB Blood of Dragons: Book Four of the Rain Wild Chronicles. Reviewed by Jean Bedford
Inscrutable dragons and a mysterious city: the final volume of Robin Hobb’s latest series ties up the loose ends and reveals a few surprises. Blood of Dragons is the fourth and final book in The Rain Wild Chronicles and follows seamlessly from City of Dragons,...KATE FORSYTH The Wild Girl. Reviewed by Folly Gleeson
Kate Forsyth’s new novel takes us beneath and beyond the fairytales of the Brothers Grimm. This novel offers the reader an enormous surprise. What seems a simple but richly told story of enduring love arising in childhood opens into an imaginative and wrenching...HUGH HOWEY Wool. Reviewed by Folly Gleeson
Inventive and page-turning, this dystopian tale turns on a society’s clash of values. This is the kind of science fiction that is very close to realism. Hugh Howey deals with a very believable dystopia, where humanity lives in a vast silo set in an environment...NEAL STEPHENSON Some Remarks: Essays and Other Writing. Reviewed by Matthias Schreck
This book of essays and stories adds new perspective to Stephenson’s interests and plot devices. Reviewing a collection of essays is a tricky task at the best of times, since they have often been written over a long period, with differing levels of...CHINA MIÉVILLE Railsea. Reviewed by Folly Gleeson
China Miéville continues to give a poetic and intelligent edge to the fantasy genre. This new book is an absolute joy. Miéville’s writing in Railsea is full of clever allusions, sly glances at popular culture and the work of other writers, wit, and warmth. As...
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