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This is a list of all the reviews that SFBook have published in 2019.

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2001 an odyssey in words by  by Ian Whates
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2001: An Odyssey in words is a collection of twenty-seven stories, all exactly 2001 words in length and written to honour the late, great author Arthur C Clarke. The anthology is a collaboration between The Arthur C. Clarke Award and NewCon Press which began life as...

Article by Ant on 2nd January 2019
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Across the Void by  by S. K. Vaughn
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On our first trip to Mars I hope that they send the best equipped, those with the skills and temperament to handle any situation that may occur. If disaster struck I would hope that these men and women would tackle the challenge dispassionately in an attempt to survive the oncoming end with as...

Article by Sam Tyler on 4th January 2019
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Ollie Clay is a supply teacher who inherits fifty thousand pounds and spends it on a house. It turns out the house is next door to a neo Nazi called Chas Walker. Walker’s anti-social behaviour contributes to Clay’s life spiralling downhill, until he tries to take matters into his own...

Article by Allen Stroud on 8th January 2019
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It is feels increasingly complex to be a Star Trek fan. Things started off being about Kirk and co, then Picard, then Sisko etc. By now there are various TV shows that have been and gone, but also films that are set in parallel universes and I have no idea what is happening in...

Article by Sam Tyler on 11th January 2019
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Arm of the Sphinx is the second in the Books of Babel series by Josiah Bancroft and follows on from the events of Senlin Ascends.

Tom - who is now going by the name of Captain Mudd, continues his search for Marya. He has help, with the airship The Stone Cloud and it's motley crew. Since...

Article by Ant on 14th January 2019
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Shadow Captain by  by Alastair Reynolds
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I've been reading Reynolds books since he began writing them and have seen him grow over the years from a seriously talented writer to one of the best in his field. Revenger was one of his finest works to date, Shadow Captain eclipses it easily. It's the second in a planned trilogy but manages...

Article by Ant on 16th January 2019
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There are times in history that don’t seem very funny and if you lived through them you would find it hard to laugh. The 1970/80s in Northern Ireland may just be one such era as sectarian violence means that you are always wary of your surroundings. This is exemplified for Detective...

Article by Sam Tyler on 23rd January 2019
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Our Child of the Stars by  by Stephen Cox
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I read a lot of science fiction and one element I am not duly bothered about is feelings. I prefer the imagery of cold steel roaring through space over the relationship between two characters, but without emotions what is the point of a story at all? Our Child of the Stars by Stephen Cox is a...

Article by Sam Tyler on 27th January 2019
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What makes a great trilogy? Three stories that combine to make one, but are themselves also valid. Each book should have a start, middle and end that combine together to make a longer narrative. There are not many things worse for a fantasy or science fiction reader than getting their hands on a...

Article by Sam Tyler on 30th January 2019
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Illustration ©Grahame Baker-Smith from The Folio Society edition of The Time Machine by H.G. Wells

The work of H. G. Wells is both seminal and formative to our current interest in Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy. The collection of these two novellas in one volume is a common...

Article by Allen Stroud on 3rd February 2019
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Batman: The Court of Owls by  by Greg Cox
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Batman stalks the villains of Gotham and for many he is their worst nightmare. Bats may be inherently scary to some, but in nature they are not the top of the food chain and several animals like to eat them for a snack. One such animal is the Owl, a natural enemy of the Bat. This being Gotham...

Article by Sam Tyler on 5th February 2019
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Iron Gold by  by Pierce Brown
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Being an author there are hard decisions to be made. Do you stick with the same characters or try to be someone who writes about different times and places in each book? After the original Red Rising trilogy, author Pierce Brown had the option to stop writing about Darrow’s...

Article by Sam Tyler on 7th February 2019
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City of the Iron Fish by  by Simon Ings
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By the end of the eighteenth century, our world had become fully charted, catalogued, mapped and explored. No longer could it be imagined that beyond some distant horizon there lay a land of extraordinary wonders—a hidden utopia, for example, nestled away somewhere safe from the corrupting...

Article by Matt Buscemi on 11th February 2019
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The original USS Enterprise was sent out on a five year mission to explore Space, but even the biggest Star Trek fan would not want to know about every single detail that happened on the voyage. We can forgo the times that they slept or went to the loo. Perhaps even skip a few lengthy sessions...

Article by Sam Tyler on 14th February 2019
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Golden State by  by Ben Winters
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In the wake of the 2016 US presidential election, a meme boiled up to the surface of our cultural dialogue about us having entered an age of “post-truth.” As the election showed us, we have arrived into a societal configuration, in which two major ideological groups do not just vote...

Article by Matt Buscemi on 15th February 2019
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Brothers Keeper by  by Donald E Westlake
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The world of crime is riddled with the worst vices known to man; murder, kidnapping, estate acquisition. It is also full of the most ruthless people; bank robbers, killers, monks. You may have noticed that a couple of elements snuck in there that are not always synonymous with crime fiction, but...

Article by Sam Tyler on 17th February 2019
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The Ruin of Kings is the debut of Jenn Lyons, it's an impressive way to make an entrance. The beginning of epic fantasy series A Chorus of Dragons, the book has just been optioned to be turned into a TV series.

Growing up in the slums of the city Suur, Kihrin learns to entertain with...

Article by Ant on 18th February 2019
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Corax Lord of Shadows by  by Guy Haley
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Corax Lord of Shadows is the tenth book in the pre-Horus Heresy Primarch series, featuring the leader of the Raven Guard. Set During the great Crusade, the immense void-cities of the Carinae must be brought under the control of the Imperium. Corax joins his Legion with an Imperial War Host...

Article by Ant on 21st February 2019
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The Batman Universe comes in all shades as long as they are dark blue, dark grey or black. You have your lighter fare such as LEGO Batman or the 60s incarnation and you also have your darker versions. Tim Burton’s Batman was dark, Christopher Nolan’s was...

Article by Sam Tyler on 23rd February 2019
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Blackfish City by  by Sam Miller
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One of the many hats I wear is that of a professional software engineer. As a junior professional software engineer, I experienced acute imposter syndrome. It didn’t help that I was surrounded by people who had been engineering software for years, even decades, longer than I had.

I...

Article by Matt Buscemi on 25th February 2019
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The Hunger by  by Alma Katsu
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The hardback version of The Hunger was originally launched last year and it drew some critical acclaim from authors including Sarah Pinborough and Joanne Harris. Both the Observer and the Guardian loved it. Stephen King said of it:

Deeply, deeply disturbing, hard to put down, not...

Article by Ant on 27th February 2019
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There is a huge difference between a battle and a war. You can lose one, but still be victorious in the other. Or indeed win a battle, but overall be on the losing side. Brian McClellan’s latest trilogy set in the Powder Mage universe shows that even in a fantasy setting, war is hell....

Article by Sam Tyler on 28th February 2019
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Junction by  by Daniel M Bensen
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Junction asks the question: what would we do if we had access to a brand new, virgin world? Would we destroy it like we are doing with our own world? Or would we learn from our mistakes and treat this as a second chance to do things right?

Daisuke Matsumori is a Japanese nature show host...

Article by Ant on 1st March 2019
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It is not hard to see where Marvel Studios get all their ideas from as they sit upon a rich heritage of characters and storylines that will take decades to exhaust. I am somewhat of an old school Marvel fan and know the classic runs. Therefore, the newer creations flummox me. Captain Marvel is...

Article by Sam Tyler on 2nd March 2019
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The Telling by  by Ursula K Le Guin
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What is religion?

Most of us aren’t used to contemplating that question too hard. The answer seems self-evident. In the world around us now, we have Christianity, Judaism, and Islam as the big three monotheistic religions. India and East Asia provide numerous examples of the...

Article by Matt Buscemi on 3rd March 2019
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Anansi Boys by  by Neil Gaiman
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Illustration ©2019 Francis Vallejo from The Folio Society edition of Neil Gaiman’s Anansi Boys.

The asymmetrical sequel to Gaiman’s American Gods, Anansi Boys makes use of the same dramatic conceit, that Gods exist and walk amongst us. However, this...

Article by Allen Stroud on 6th March 2019
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Lies Sleeping is the seventh book (eighth if you count The Furthest Station) in the impressive River of London urban fantasy series, following Peter Grant - detective constable for the metropolitan police and apprentice wizard.

It looks like time may finally be up for the Faceless Man...

Article by Ant on 11th March 2019
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Titan Death by  by Guy Haley
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The 53rd and penultimate book in the epic Horus Heresy series and the brave soldiers of the Emperor attempt to hold back the armies of chaos from reaching Terra.

The line is drawn on Beta-Garmon and god-machines of the Adeptus Titanicus are at the front. Horus has defeated all that...

Article by Ant on 18th March 2019
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The crime genre is very well established and has many shortcuts and tropes that you can use. This allows genre authors to drape their own unique ideas over familiar territory. Want to write a book about a Dinosaur PI – go ahead. Sherlock Holmes actually a Warlock – sorted. You can...

Article by Sam Tyler on 19th March 2019
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The Buried Dagger by  by James Swallow
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So this is it, the 54th and final book in the Horus Heresy series. But before you despair, it isn't the end of the story and the mad Titan Horus is only just knocking on the doors of Terra. The final battle will be played out over a series of novels called the Siege of Terra, presumably...

Article by Ant on 25th March 2019
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Molten Heart by  by Una McCormack
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Back in the day the Doctor Who spin off novels had a real advantage over the TV show as they had no budget. The limit to what could happen in these books was not down to the pen pushers at the BBC or the naivety of special effects. The only limit to the books was the author’s imagination....

Article by Sam Tyler on 26th March 2019
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The Passengers by  by John Marrs
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Call me old fashioned, I am a little scared of the future. This is a sentiment that will hit many of us eventually. What is wrong with the way technology works right now? Do I really need to talk to my speakers or plug myself into the Matrix just to order a pizza? The idea of getting behind the...

Article by Sam Tyler on 29th March 2019
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The Magnificent Nine by  by James Lovegrove
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Any show on the US TV network Fox has to realise that its days could be numbered. Fox have the reputation of axing cult shows before their time from Arrested Development to Family Guy. Despite their cancelation these shows are still being made. Firefly was not so lucky. This was a science...

Article by Sam Tyler on 9th April 2019
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A Hopeful Future

Review kindly provided by Vanessa Smyth. 

Welcome to the third and latest instalment in The Wayfarers series, Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers. This current narrative is set within the same captivating universe as the first two books and, despite...

Article by Vanessa Smyth on 12th April 2019
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Warlock Holmes is back. No, not Sherlock, Warlock. If you think about it, what makes more sense; a man who can somehow divine everything from a few clues, or a Warlock who just uses magic to do the same? The Sign of Nine continues the premise that Sir Conan Doyle’s original stories were...

Article by Sam Tyler on 13th April 2019
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Master & Apprentice by  by Claudia Gray
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With the new films, TV shows and cartoons it is sometimes hard to keep up with the Star Wars Universe and all its moving parts. Some of the less fashionable elements could be ignored in favour of big flashy characters like Han Solo or Boba Fett. Thankfully, the Star Wars books are continuing to...

Article by Sam Tyler on 16th April 2019
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No Way by  by S J Morden
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No Way is the follow up to the gripping thriller One Way.  A perilous journey to the Red Planet by a group of convicts. Deciding that it was much more economically viable to train people that would have otherwise rotted in a jail rather than a group of experienced and highly trained...

Article by Ant on 19th April 2019
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The Crying Machine by  by Greg Chivers
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Science documentary producer Greg Chivers’ first novel is a delightful combination of sci-fi, politics, and the three strange characters ensconced within them.

Chivers’ future Jerusalem is a city all but ignored as irrelevant by the world’s leaders, and in its anonymity...

Article by Alice Wybrew on 22nd April 2019
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Post-Katrina New Orleans is haunted by history and destruction. Similar burdens are shouldered by the Street Magician Jude Dubuisson. He's got a gift of finding things people have lost - inherited from an unknown father. His gift has become an almost overwhelming curse following the storm, with...

Article by Ant on 24th April 2019
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Following the events of A Time of Dread, this book raises the stakes even further. Drem and friends flee the horrors at Starstone Lake. They must warn the Order of the Bright Star that a Demon has risen, but Fritha, the Demon's high Priestess has other ideas and is hot on their heels....

Article by Ant on 29th April 2019
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From Divergent Suns by  by Sam Peters
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Science fiction is a minefield for any author. So many others genres are available that have a set of rules that you can follow. Crime has it, even most fantasy books follow a pattern, but science fiction can be almost anything. It can be set in an alternative today with only a tiny tweak to our...

Article by Sam Tyler on 7th May 2019
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Broken Branches by  by Ben Ellis
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In the not too distant future, your social standing is based on the "purity" of your genes and the ability to trace your family through the "national family tree" genetic database. All men are sterile and fertility drugs are only given to state-sponsored couples whose genetic match are approved....

Article by Ant on 15th May 2019
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Children of Ruin by  by Adrian Tchaikovsky
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The sequel to the 2016 Clarke Award winner, Children of Time, the story of the far future human and spider civilisations picks up several generations after the events at the end of the previous novel.

A terraforming team, led by Dirsa Senkovi and Yusuf Baltiel discover alien life on a...

Article by Allen Stroud on 16th May 2019
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Thanos: Death Sentence by  by Stuart Moore
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To anyone who has seen the latest Avengers movies you will know that Thanos is not a nice chap. He single handily (infinitely glovely) creates an intergalactic genocide. Despite this, the films try to give him some sympathetic elements; he only wipes out so many to save the whole. The Thanos of...

Article by Sam Tyler on 17th May 2019
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Illustration ©2019 Tim McDonagh from The Folio Society edition of Ray Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes

The bright yellow cover of this Folio Society edition of Bradbury’s classic fantasy novel is inset with a cartoon-like carnival poster, clearly...

Article by Allen Stroud on 18th May 2019
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A Memory Called Empire by  by Arkady Martine
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A Memory called Empire is the debut of Arkady Martine, although reading the book you'd be forgiven for thinking she's been writing best-sellers for years.

The vast, interstellar Empire of the Teixcalaanli have appointed Mahit Dzmare as new Ambassador to the capital. When she arrives she...

Article by Ant on 20th May 2019
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Ancestral Night by  by Elizabeth Bear
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Haimey is the engineer aboard the Singer, an interstellar salvage vessel named after its shipboard Intelligence. Haimey is genetically modified for zero-G, and she has brain-enhancing implants that connect her to the rest of the crew and chemically manage her emotional state. Haimey, Singer, and...

Article by Russ Brown on 21st May 2019
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There is no such thing as déjà vu, it is just your mind failing to process things properly. Even so, one day I was reading a book and was struck with a fearful sense of déjà vu. I could almost see what was going to happen next, it was unsettling. Was this a...

Article by Sam Tyler on 22nd May 2019
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A Wanted Man by  by Lee Child
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A good thriller should grab you from the very first page. In the past decades Lee Child has become a master of this and the majority of his Jack Reacher books open at a canter. What would you do if when hitchhiking you got into a car with wrong people? Keep your head down and try to find a way...

Article by Sam Tyler on 30th May 2019
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Green Valley by  by Louis Greenberg
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The average person seems to put a lot of trust in their Government. No way they are spying on me online and even if they are, what am I doing that they would care about? This attitude has shown that ignorance is not bliss, they may just sell your data to the highest bidder and before you know it...

Article by Sam Tyler on 1st June 2019
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An exciting collection of short stories, for many different tastes. I enjoyed them all. They vary from what looks like a traditional sword and sorcery tale (but is a lot else besides), to modern myths exploring identity and the impact of childhood neglect on the adult. The characters of these...

Article by Irene Rosenfeld on 21st June 2019
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Heroic Fantasy doesn't always get the credit it deserves, but when done well can be powerful, energetic and immersive fiction. Sky in the Deep is one of the best examples of recent times and an equal to Gemmell's past stories.

The story follows Eelyn, a member of the Aska...

Article by Ant on 24th June 2019
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Alphabet Squadron by  by Alexander Freed
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Many stories end abruptly with our heroes achieving their goal. The girl marries the Prince, the good guys win the fight. We all know that in real life stories don’t actually end, they carry on regardless whether you got married or now sport a medal. At the end of The Return of the Jedi...

Article by Sam Tyler on 27th June 2019
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Religion is a tricky thing, a lot of people think they have picked the right one. Some believe in one God, but many people have several. The Mayans had some deities you would not want to meet in a dark alley as they prey on humans from the underworld. Meeting one of these Gods would be scary,...

Article by Sam Tyler on 4th July 2019
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Call Him Mine by  by Tim MacGabhann
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The politicians in Mexico seriously need to have a word with whoever is in charge with promoting their country. This vast and gorgeous nation is increasingly being known more for its hideous crimes. With drug cartels running rife and corrupt police it seems that a fresh murder happens every few...

Article by Sam Tyler on 7th July 2019
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Missing Person by  by Sarah Lotz
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The crime genre is a well-trodden one, so much so that anyone who reads the genre exclusively may find themselves jaded by similar storylines occurring over and over again. One way to excite both author and reader is to try and find new approaches. How about a crime novel told entirely from the...

Article by Sam Tyler on 16th July 2019
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Shrouded Loyalties by  by Reese Hogan
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What is war good for? Not much, but it does advance some technologies faster than they might have been. Microwave technology, nuclear, plastic surgery – all have benefitted from being pushed by necessity. What about a war on a distant planet? Like here on Earth, any opposing armies will be...

Article by Sam Tyler on 19th July 2019
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Wanderers by  by Chuck Wendig
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There seem to be a worryingly large number of ways we, as a species, could become extinct. From huge extra terrestrial rocks hurtling through space or climate change making our world uninhabitable to Trump pressing the wrong button at the wrong time. A virus that seems to strike at random,...

Article by Ant on 22nd July 2019
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The Outside by  by Ada Hoffman
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This debut novel from Ada Hoffman comes on the back of a strong catalogue of short story success in Uncanny, Asimov’s and other well-known SF magazines.

Onboard the space station, Pride of Jai, autistic scientist Yasira Shien leads a huge science and engineering project in power...

Article by Allen Stroud on 24th July 2019
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A lot of crime fiction is told from the prospective of an investigator. We follow them as they stumble across clues and finally get their suspect. This method provides structure and cohesion as even amateur sleuths follow some sort of logical pattern. Authors such as John Sandford and his Prey...

Article by Sam Tyler on 25th July 2019
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David Moody has been writing his Hater series (which has been optioned for a film by Universal Studios) since 2006, originally with the books Hater, Dog Blood and Them or Us. Then in 2017 he started from the beginning of the story again but from a totally different perspective with One of...

Article by Ant on 25th July 2019
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Lent by  by Jo Walton
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Jo Walton is a multi-award winning, talented and often under-appreciated author. A number of her novels examine philosophy, religion, divinity and humanity. Lent continues some of these themes along with her knack for creating irresistible, thoughtful and engaging fiction.

Girolamo...

Article by Ant on 26th July 2019
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As the world tears itself apart in front of us, there is something comforting about reading a good dystopian novel. If we are going to go out, at least it will not be due to zombies, bombs, viruses or all the bees dying out. Then again, it could be all of these together. Once the nuclear fallout...

Article by Sam Tyler on 27th July 2019
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A surreal science fiction story, ostensibly set in 1992, Ubik tells the story of an alternative Earth where a range of telepathic abilities have manifested amongst all aspects of society and to counter them, a series of anti-talents have emerged that dampen and suppress these new gifts.

...
Article by Allen Stroud on 30th July 2019
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Crowfall by  by Ed McDonald
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Crowfall is the third novel in Ed McDonald's Raven's Mark series, following on from Blackwing and Ravencry. If you haven't read the previous two books I recommend you do so before reading this book, or indeed this review.

 

Some time has passed since the events of Ravencry,...

Article by Ant on 2nd August 2019
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Cage of Souls by  by Adrian Tchaikovsky
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A change of pace and approach from Adrian Tchaikovsky, Cage of Souls is a first-person past narrative, presented as a journal. This is a collection of writings from Stefan Advani, the chronicler of the last days of the last city of humankind – Shadrapar.

Our story begins with...

Article by Allen Stroud on 5th August 2019
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Thrawn - Treason by  by Timothy Zahn
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When the Star Wars sequels were announced a world of fandom got very excited. What happened to Han Solo, Luke and Leia et al? Many Star Wars fans already had an inkling having read the many Star Wars tie in book that released from the early 90s onwards. However, like many a Star Wars film, there...

Article by Sam Tyler on 13th August 2019
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The Colorado Kid by  by Stephen King
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There are few names in modern writing more evocative than Stephen King. This horror maestro is one of the most successful authors of the past 40 years, but there has always been more to him than killer clowns and sentient cars. King has dabbled in a multitude of other genres; science fiction,...

Article by Sam Tyler on 21st August 2019
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The Fantasy genre has the unwarranted reputation of being staid. If you do not read it, you may think that it is all still elves and dwarves hanging out in some sort of fellowship. Fantasy fanatics know different. There are distinct fashions within the genre that has evolved between high and...

Article by Sam Tyler on 25th August 2019
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When embarking on a new work based on a beloved IP the creator must have a haunting voice whispering in their ear…. “Fear the fan.” The most ardent supporters of a property can also be the most adamant to tear it all down if something is not to their liking. How many times...

Article by Sam Tyler on 29th August 2019
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Strange Ink by  by Gary Kemble
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Getting a few tattoo can be a thrill. It is going to hurt, but for many that is part of the joy. Think for a moment about that poor sap who wakes up after a heavy drinking session with a new tat. Not only did they miss out on the anticipation, they also probably have no idea what they got....

Article by Sam Tyler on 1st September 2019
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Shatter War by  by Dana Fredsti
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What would you do should a sudden cataclysmic event effect the Earth? The answer is that you will probably be dead, but if you are lucky enough to be the protagonist of a book you are likely to have survived. It would be a very short book otherwise. The events in Dana Fredsti and David...

Article by Sam Tyler on 3rd September 2019
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Where do dreams go when we forget them? Do they dissipate into the ether, or do they settle somewhere? This is the intriguing premise of Tyler Hayes’ The Imaginary Corpse, an alternative detective noir novel. How alternative? It stars a stuffed toy triceratops private investigator called...

Article by Sam Tyler on 10th September 2019
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Dark Ink by  by Gary Kemble
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People have power over on another. Someone who is charismatic may be able to manipulate others to do their bidding even against their own best interests. The opposite sex can also have power. What would you do to be with the partner you love/lust for? Mistress Hel is a Dominatrix...

Article by Sam Tyler on 21st September 2019
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To the uninitiated, Star Wars is just a film. To everyone else, that is just nonsense. There are multiple films, games, books, toys, teddies and now a theme park. A small part of the Star War Universe resides in Disneyland. You can visit the outpost of Black Spire and...

Article by Sam Tyler on 23rd September 2019
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Failed science writer Alex Dolan is just floating along, struggling to find work when multi-billionaire Stanislaw Clayton provides a surprising, well-paid offer out of the blue. He wants Alex to write a book about the world's first privately funded high-energy physics facility - the...

Article by Ant on 2nd October 2019
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There are books that ruin it for anyone else. Harry Potter has basically made it impossible to make a book set in a magical school without someone saying, “rip off”. Just don’t mention to those people that The Worst Witch has been around a lot longer. Still, it takes a brave...

Article by Sam Tyler on 4th October 2019
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Once a noble lord, after a failure on the field of battle, Silas Bershad "The Flawless" was stripped of all titles and forced into the life of a dragonslayer, moving from one perilous hunt to the next. Stalking dragons and collecting their valuable oil, his only escape seems to be death. But...

Article by Ant on 8th October 2019
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The first in the Eidyn series, The Lost War begins its story part way through, in the aftermath of a ruinous war for the kingdom of Eidyn. The location of the opening scenes, in a tavern no less, and the easy interplay of two of the main characters Aranok the draoidh and Allandria, his bodyguard...

Article by Allen Stroud on 17th October 2019
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King Con by  by Stephen J. Cannell
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There is nothing quite like a caper movie. A bunch of loveable rogues essentially breaking the law, but it is ok as they are up against even worse rogues. It is not a genre that I have found in a book format too often, can you capture the humour and pace required to make the ride an exciting...

Article by Sam Tyler on 19th October 2019
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Echoes of War by  by Cheryl Campbell
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In Cheryl Campbell's vision of the future, humanity finds itself enslaved by a genocidal faction of an alien race known as the Wardens. Decades of war has left much of the planet in ruins and threatens the existence of any human (or alien) who offer any form of resistance.

Dani thought...

Article by Ant on 21st October 2019
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Angel Mage by  by Garth Nix
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It sometimes feels that if you have read one fantasy novel, you have read them all. The same tropes crop up again and again. This may be comforting to fans of the genre, but people that dabble may soon become bored. Those of us in the know realise that there is a wealth of variation if you are...

Article by Sam Tyler on 24th October 2019
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In Stephen Baxter's collaboration with the late Terry Pratchett, he imagined that there were a limitless number of parallel dimensions just a small step away, each with a slightly different version of Earth (although none others of which contained indigenous humans). In his latest novel, World...

Article by Ant on 25th October 2019
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There is an inherent problem with superheroes. Sometimes they are just too super. How is any mortal person meant to take down a being that can fly into the sun or bounce bullets off their bracelets? It is up to the comic creators to come up with an enemy that will match the super heroics with...

Article by Sam Tyler on 3rd November 2019
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Sherlock Holmes is long dead, but this has not stopped the character’s legacy from living on. Sherlock was incredibly popular in his Victorian heyday, but the number of TV shows, films and books still being made today suggests that this popularity is still the case. Taking the concept of...

Article by Sam Tyler on 5th November 2019
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A fantasy writer needs to be aware that they could fall into a rut. Another trilogy of books set in the same world, with similar characters doing similar things. This may appease those fans that fear change, but to drive themselves as a writer it is important to evolve; even if evolving within...

Article by Sam Tyler on 13th November 2019
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Dooku: Jedi Lost by  by Cavan Scott
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Star Wars is a franchise rich with great characters, but who to choose? It is tricky writing a cannon book on the likes of likes Han Solo or Rey lest you impinge on the films themselves. Thankfully, with such an abundance of history to choose from, there is always an interesting character to...

Article by Sam Tyler on 15th November 2019
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Cold Storage by  by David Koepp
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We are only one mutation away from an organism that could wipe out humans. Sound all dystopian and farfetched? This is what I was reading in the paper this very morning as super bugs are becoming increasingly prevalent and our conventional medicines are having no effect. David Koepp is an...

Article by Sam Tyler on 28th November 2019
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CTRL+S by  by Andy Briggs
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Computer Games used to be a child’s plaything, but as gamers grow older and are still playing this is no longer the case (if it ever was). As many gamers mature their reflexes deaden and will they one day even be able to pick up a conventional controller? Something like Virtual Reality may...

Article by Sam Tyler on 3rd December 2019
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Resistance Reborn by  by Rebecca Roanhorse
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The Star Wars tie in novels have a rich and varied galaxy to explore. An author can reach into the distant past or take on the history of an obscure character. Sometimes you just want to read about the big hitters. What happens between those massive blockbuster movies? Whilst we are waiting for...

Article by Sam Tyler on 10th December 2019
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