NK JEMISIN The City We Became. Reviewed by Robert Goodman
NK Jemisin’s new novel is both an urban fantasy and a love letter to New York. NK Jemisin has come off her three-for-three Hugo wins for the Broken Earth trilogy with something completely different. The City We Became firmly puts the urban into urban fantasy,...
HAFSAH FAIZAL We Hunt the Flame. Reviewed by Amelia Dudley
Hafsah Faizal draws on Arabic culture in her first novel, spinning a tale of an evil forest, a lost jewel, and a magical quest. Love is for children, said the girl. Death is for fools, said the shadow. Darkness is my destiny, said the boy. Allegiance is my...
JULIET MARILLIER The Harp of Kings. Reviewed by Amelia Dudley
The author of the Sevenwaters series returns to the magic of ancient Ireland and the mysterious Otherworld in her latest novel. The Harp of Kings is the first in the new Warrior Bards series from Juliet Marillier. It is loosely connected to her Blackthorn and...
ANDREW HUNTER MURRAY The Last Day. Reviewed by Robert Goodman
The world has literally stopped turning in Andrew Hunter Murray’s dystopian thriller. Andrew Hunter Murray’s debut novel The Last Day is one of an interesting new strain of post-apocalyptic dystopian thrillers. Unlike standard cli-fi apocalypses that project...
LILI WILKINSON After the Lights Go Out. Reviewed by Amelia Dudley
An outback mining town is the setting for the apocalypse in Lili Wilkinson’s novel. In a parallel universe, a version of me gets to have a normal life, where ‘being prepared’ means bringing a cardigan… Pru’s father is a doomsday prepper. She and her twin sisters...
MARC-UWE KLING QualityLand. Reviewed by Robert Goodman
Marc-Uwe Kling’s satirical dystopia QualityLand is set in a world uncomfortably close to our own, where algorithms rule. Welcome to QualityLand by Marc-Uwe Kling (translated from the German by Jamie Lee Searle), the newest book in the over-the-top,...
LEIGH BARDUGO Ninth House. Reviewed by Robert Goodman
This adult novel from the bestselling YA author delivers fantasy on the dark side, inspired by real places. There are so many magical-academy-style books that they could probably form their own sub-genre. The Harry Potter series is probably the most popular and...
CLAIRE G COLEMAN The Old Lie. Reviewed by Michael Jongen
The award-winning author of Terra Nullius returns with an ambitious new novel melding speculative fiction, war and history. The Old Lie is probably the most satisfying novel I will enjoy this year. The title is from Wilfred Owen’s World War I poem ‘Dulce et Decorum...
LAVIE TIDHAR The Violent Century. Reviewed by Robert Goodman
What makes a hero? Lavie Tidhar’s novel explores another history behind the one we know, one peopled by those with superpowers. Superheroes are pretty much everywhere you turn these days, whether it is the bright colours of the Marvel cinematic universe, the...
KATE MASCARENHAS The Psychology of Time Travel. Reviewed by Amelia Dudley
In this debut novel Kate Mascarenhas creates a world where time travel is not only possible, it could be linked to a murder … In 1967, four female scientists invent time travel, but only three of them become household names for the right reason. The fourth,...
ROB HART The Warehouse. Reviewed by Robert Goodman
Rob Hart’s dystopian novel about an online fulfilment warehouse describes a world that feels disturbingly familiar. Consumerism and the American Dream are in the firing line in Rob Hart’s debut novel The Warehouse. David Eggers mashed Google, Microsoft and Apple...
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