John Coon ★★ Paige tells her friends that their trip to Las Vegas needs to be by car because of her fear of flying. She fails to mention that the real reason she wants to drive is so that she can follow the route taken by her brother before he disappeared. Mechanical failure leads to…… Continue reading Under a Fallen Sun
Month: April 2020
Golden State
Ben H. Winters ★★★★ Set in a future dystopia where lies, no matter how small or well-intentioned they may be, are criminal acts, Golden State is a murder mystery with a twist. Laszlo Ratesic is a citizen of the Golden State, and a detective of the Speculative Service; a man with a psychic gift (or…… Continue reading Golden State
Elevator Pitch
Linwood Barclay ★★★★ Elevator Pitch is a fast-paced thriller with a credible and somewhat disturbing premise. Every single day, millions of people in New York City use elevators in order to go about their lives. In a city of skyscrapers and high-rise buildings, what would happen if terrorists could take control of the elevators and…… Continue reading Elevator Pitch
Bone Harvest
James Brogden ★★★★ On the killing fields of World War One, a British soldier abandons his regiment to join the Grey Brigade – a company of deserters who pledge allegiance to no country and fight for no army. Amongst this motley group he meets Bill, an adherent of an old Celtic religion, who makes outlandish…… Continue reading Bone Harvest
The Last
Hanna Jameson ★★★★ The Last is a curious genre-spanning novel which works surprisingly well. Guests and staff at a remote Swiss hotel are blindsided by the news of nuclear strikes on Washington and London, and those who don’t immediately flee decide that they’re safer staying where they are, away from population centres that may also…… Continue reading The Last
Panik
Chris Selwyn James ★★ It starts in Oxford. At first, they thought it was murder, but it soon became clear that the victims were doing it to themselves. Cases increase on a nightly basis, for it is sleep that triggers the Panic. The only way to guarantee making it through the night is not to…… Continue reading Panik
Body Tourists
Jane Rogers ★★★ In the mid twenty-first century, a brilliant scientist discovers a way in which a cryogenically preserved brain can be downloaded into the body of a living person. In Body Tourists, Jane Rogers considers the various ethical, legal, physical and emotional ramifications of this process. In a dystopian British society, the poor are…… Continue reading Body Tourists
Giracula
Caroline Watkins & Mark Tuchman ★★★★ Giracula is a charming and beautifully illustrated storybook for children, telling the tale of a zoo giraffe who gets bitten by a vampire bat. Fortunately, he develops a thirst for cakes and sweets rather than the traditional vampire fare, so remains in the ‘suitable for small children’ category. The…… Continue reading Giracula
The Solitary Apocalypse
Jeffrey Haws ★ When a global pandemic hits, it spreads quickly across the world, killing nearly all those in its path. The town of Alessandra somehow escapes its wrath, and a wall is built to keep the infected out. Scientists discover that the plague is spread by touch, so townsfolk are separated from their families,…… Continue reading The Solitary Apocalypse
