2019 has seen an absolutely bumper crop of dystopian, post-apocalyptic and other speculative fiction stories which don’t fit neatly into either category. With the real world as tumultuous as it is, I can’t help but wonder if it’s making science fiction authors’ jobs that bit harder to imagine a dark and scary “other” world. With […]
speculative fiction
Review: Revelation, by Mikaeyla Kopievsky
Revelation is the novella prequel to the Divided Elements series by Australian author Mikaeyla Kopievsky. Set in a future Paris after the Singularity and Emancipation, citizens now revel in a veritable utopia of ubiquitous drugs, alcohol, and entertainment, washed down with full employment, universal healthcare, and affordable housing. All made possible by the Orthodoxy—a new […]
Review: Beyond – A Short Story Collection, by Alanah Andrews
I’ve become a big fan of short story collections in recent years. They’re fabulous to dip in and out of, and great for when you’re tired and can’t focus on a novel-length narrative. Beyond, by Alanah Andrews, is aimed at YA level but is very enjoyable for adults as well. The stories range in length […]
Review: Eve of Eridu, by Alanah Andrews
Emotions are dangerous; restraint of feeling is necessary for a peaceful society. ~ Book of Eridu Nuclear fallout and and biological warfare have driven the few remaining people underground to try to keep the human race alive in a new society they call Eridu. Several generations later, Eve is entering her final cycle before the […]
Review: The Shining Wall, by Melissa Ferguson
LeaderCorp didn’t care about people. Everything was a transaction to them. If the cost exceeded their benefit, there was no point. The Shining Wall, by Melissa Ferguson, imagines a future dystopia that mashes together all the worst possible scenarios from a deeply humanised perspective – climate change, human destruction (increased radiation levels are mentioned), exploitation […]
Review: Watershed, by Jane Abbott
The brutality of climate change has destroyed civilisation as we know it in Watershed‘s dystopian future. The seas have risen and the last time it rained on land was decades ago. Catastrophic weather patterns have rendered all forms of advanced technology useless. For a long time, anarchy reigned. In the Citadel, the Tower has built […]
