The Wild Dead, by Carrie Vaughn, is the second book in the Bannerless series. It’s part of a new wave of popular science fiction that, at its core, is about fertility and parenting. A very different kind of post apocalyptic world is imagined by Vaughn, one where people have figured out how to live together […]
speculative fiction
Book review: The Water Cure, by Sophie Mackintosh
Oh my. Where to start? The Water Cure is a seriously strange, dark, twisted, warped story about three sisters and their parents living in near-isolation on an island. Set in the near future where the environment itself – and men in particular – is literally making women sick. Years ago, Mother and ‘King’ withdrew their family […]
Book review: The Blinds, by Adam Sternbergh
The Blinds is somewhere between Kill Bill – for body count – and True Blood – for quirky small-town humour and a fairly casual attitude toward things which are actually pretty out-of-this-world. Caesura is a tiny town, population 48, in the tornado belt of the U.S.A. Surrounded by tall chain link fences, you won’t find […]
Book review: Freshwater, by Akwaeke Emezi
You know that Pixar movie where the girl has all the people in her head? Mad, sad and happy or something. And it’s really funny but poignant? Well, Freshwater is sort of like that. Except it’s for adults and some of the people in the girl’s head are rather malicious. Also, they’re actually gods, born and […]
Book review: The Toymakers, by Robert Dinsdale
Best described as a sort of Narnia for adults, The Toymakers is the story of the owners of Papa Jack’s Emporium, a magical toy store in central London that opens each year with the first frost and closes when the first snowdrop flowers. I have always loved books about magic and quirky toy stores, so I jumped […]
Review: Year One, by Nora Roberts
Year One appealed to me because I’m a sucker for dystopian fiction and I was fascinated by the idea that Nora Roberts had ventured into the genre. I associate her name with light – but enjoyable – romance novels and crime fiction. Though really, it’s probably not such a big leap to go from crime […]
