This horror / sci-fi novella is billed as a ‘dystopian’ tale, which suggests a bleak futurescape of social or technological woe. Instead, Crossfades uses movie-making language in a supernatural / paranormal setting, to describe the moment between life and death, where a few lost souls get stuck in imaginary worlds of their own making. So,…
From urban fantasy to space-opera via fantasy quests, dystopian post-apocalyptic zombie romps, alternate history, warlocks, prophets, sword-n-sorcery, robots, telepaths and creatures of myth and mystery [phew], here are eighteen inspired titles from indie authors, new writers and a couple of old favourites to add to your to-read list… BEST LEFT IN THE SHADOWS by Mark Gelineau…
Just about every enjoyable aspect of 1970s science fiction is dragged out of the cliché cupboard, given a 21st century splash of dazzle and delivered here with dash and panache. It seems to be a carefully calculated mash-up of the first contact novels of Niven and Pournelle, the convoluted space opera of EE Doc Smith, and…
Heads up: Despite its title, and Amazon’s tendency to classify this book in the ‘horror’ category, this is not a zombie romp. Far from it. This is a near-future action thriller with a high-tech twist and an equally high body count. It introduces a near-invincible uploadable assassin who can jettison his meatware once a kill…
Dazzling. That’s the best word to describe this introduction to an extensive dystopian sci-fi saga. The first book in a series of five, ‘Jubilee’ sets the scene and themes in a complex, carefully crafted future history. It’s a world of contradictions and contrasts, saturated in vibrant technicolour throughout. The author uses a glittering palette to…
This sprawling family saga began brilliantly, with an immense, imaginative introduction to the near future, and the corporate colony on the Moon. It’s a coherent, cohesive future history, told through the development of one family which started with a single engineer. She travelled to the Moon to escape desperate poverty on Earth, saw an opportunity…
The trouble with the first part of most series is that you spend an awful lot of time on establishing the situation, the major players and the general set-up. Then just when things get really interesting… wham, bang, thank you and please buy the sequel. That’s pretty much Brainrush all over. It’s a slightly sci-fi…
This is an ideal read for sci-fi nerds. If you believe that the geeks will inherit the earth, and your idea of an A1 weekend is unravelling a few Brannon Braga time paradoxes, then Landfall is entirely up your alley. Author John McWilliams also manages to mix a fair dash of action-adventure in with his…
In this future, computer intelligences are neither servants nor enemies of mankind. They have become gods. Seemingly benevolent, corporate, near omnipotent entities. And like the old gods of myth they are as indulgent and feckless and untrustworthy as any independent individual with its own agenda. Humanity meanwhile lives in a multi-layered artificial habitat, submerged in…
Folks in the UK have a long weekend looming – the perfect opportunity to grab some quality time with your favourite author. Or maybe experiment with new writers, different characters and strange situations. Here’s some suggestions from the MMM TBR shelf: crime-thrillers, murder-mysteries, Nordic noir, cosy crime, sci-fi, fantasy and crossover titles from well-known and…
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