ANTONIA PONT The Memory Library. Reviewed by Ann Skea
Memories are not merely recounted in Antonia Pont’s novella. How would you like to share someone else’s memories? No, not to just listen to them or read them, but to experience them, to be where they were, do what they were doing, hear what they heard (voices, birds,...
KA LINDE The Wren in the Holly Library. Reviewed by Amelia Dudley
In KA Linde’s latest fantasy series, humans and monsters live together under a tenuous peace treaty in an alternate New York. Kierse’s latest contract – to break into some rich guy’s house and steal a ring – seemed simple enough until she realised the rich guy,...
JOHN RICHARDS The Gorgon Flower. Reviewed by Paul Anderson
John Richards’ stories explore the phantasmagoric, the mysterious, and the follies of empire. The Gorgon Flower, John Richards’ first book, is an intriguing collection of speculative short fiction of impressive range that explores the space-time continuum. It...
MYKAELA SAUNDERS Always Will Be. Reviewed by Robert Goodman
Mykaela Saunders’ stories imagine a future where the connection to land and culture is central. Mykaela Saunders won an Aurealis award for her exciting and thought-provoking anthology of First Nations speculative fiction This All Come Back Now. In the same year her...
SEBASTIAN FAULKS The Seventh Son. Reviewed by Ann Skea
Sebastian Faulks’ latest novel explores the consequences of amoral genetic research in a not-too-distant future. Alaric teaches disinterested children history in an English comprehensive school. … he enjoyed giving them an idea that the world had not always been as it...
MYKAELA SAUNDERS (ed.) This All Come Back Now. Reviewed by Robert Goodman
This anthology showcases the range of First Nations speculative fiction. This All Come Back Now is a collection of speculative fiction by First Nations authors curated by Mykaela Saunders, who observes that First Nations writers in this genre are rarely able to get...
RHETT DAVIS Hovering. Reviewed by Robert Goodman
Rhett Davis’s novel explores the relationship between art and artist in an increasingly surreal landscape. Rhett Davis’s debut Hovering won the 2020 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for best unpublished manuscript. This award has achieved a reputation...
ANDREW NETTE and IAIN McINTYRE (eds) Dangerous Visions and New Worlds: Radical science fiction 1950 to 1985. Reviewed by Michael Jongen
Dangerous Visions and New Worlds explores how science fiction reflects the times in which it is written. In this lavishly illustrated collection of essays, Nette and McIntyre take a third loving look at the era of pulp fiction, following on from their Girl Gangs,...
NOAH HAWLEY Anthem. Reviewed by Robert Goodman
The author of Before the Fall has created a grim vision of the near future in this fast-paced new novel. Noah Hawley is angry and a little bit scared of the future, especially on behalf of his children. Those familiar with his previous book Before the Fall could not...
SARA FOSTER The Hush. Reviewed by Emma Foster (no relation)
An unsettlingly plausible near-future UK provides the backdrop for Sara Foster’s dystopian thriller, The Hush. In Sara Foster’s seventh novel, the world is emerging from years of pandemic lockdowns; the threat of food scarcity, economic turmoil and climate...
CATHERYNNE M VALENTE The Past is Red. Reviewed by Robert Goodman
Catherynne M Valente’s new novel focusses on hope and resilience while asking what future generations will make of our wasteful ways. Just when you think the post-apocalyptic narrative might have become a bit stale, along comes Catherynne M Valente to blow it...
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