Tag Archives: Science Fiction

A Few Thoughts On: Downdraught by Gareth L. Powell

I love a good novella, and I’m a big fan of Gareth L. Powell, so picking up his new novella Downdraught was a bit of a no-brainer. It’s set in the same world as his short stories The Last Reef, Hot Rain and Flotsam – all of which are collected in The Last Reef and Other Stories – although unlike those other stories, this one is for the most part rather more down to earth (literally and figuratively). It’s labelled as a ‘science fiction horror novella’, and while the book is as much a small-scale character drama as anything else, it proves to be a good example of how closely linked those two genres are – and how both SF and horror can sit comfortably in grounded, human stories.

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AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Tim Pratt Talks The Fractured Void

Welcome to this Track of Words Author Interview, in which I chat to science fiction author Tim Pratt about his first novel for Aconyte Books – The Fractured Void. Set in the Twilight Imperium universe, this promises to be a fun, action-packed sci-fi adventure, from an author who’s got form with the space opera genre. It’s due out in ebook and as a US paperback on the 3rd November, with the UK paperback due a little bit later on the 10th December. If you’re a fan of the Twilight Imperium game, or just fancy a good old space opera, this sounds like one to keep an eye on!

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Tales From the Loop – Simon Stålenhag

The first of Simon Stålenhag’s ‘narrative art’ books, Tales From the Loop is a fascinating example of storytelling delivered across both prose and visual art, in which evocative images of stunning Swedish landscapes, populated by wildly imaginative sci-fi creatures and machines, are contextualised and expanded upon with episodes of text interspersed throughout. In this alternative history of 1980s and 90s Scandinavia, Stålenhag explores the realities of growing up amongst the fading grandeur of the Loop, a vast particle accelerator constructed in the 50s beneath the Swedish countryside. Despite having been largely decommissioned by the time these stories take place, the presence of this ambitious technological marvel is clearly felt on the landscape and in the lives of the locals.

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Unconquerable Sun by Kate Elliott – via Grimdark Magazine

Happy UK publication day to Unconquerable Sun, the fantastic first instalment in a new sci-fi trilogy from Kate Elliott! Published by Head of Zeus, this is billed as ‘gender-swapped Alexander the Great in space’, which is a great elevator pitch if ever I heard one. I was delighted to receive an advance copy of this brilliant book, and my review is live over on the Grimdark Magazine site. I’d love for you to head over there and check it out, but if you just want my essential thoughts on the book then how about this: I spent virtually an entire day unable to put this down, and my overriding thought upon finishing it was a desperate frustration at knowing that the second book isn’t available yet!

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XX – Rian Hughes

Part modern ‘hard SF’ novel, part homage to vintage SF, part intertextual blend of traditional narrative, epistolary sources, visual media, graphic design and much more, Rian Hughes’ debut novel XX is not for the faint-hearted, but rewards a brave reader with a genuinely unique, utterly mind-blowing experience. Take a mysterious signal from outer space, a bunch of senior scientists from assorted space agencies, and a cutting-edge tech startup staffed by a trio of fearless young innovators, and throw in the possibility of first contact with an alien species (in a very modern way). Filter this story through the lens of augmented reality, fold in a strong theme of modernism, lashings of mind-bending maths and science and even a story within a story, and what you get is out of this world in theme, style, intent, complexity and – ultimately – impact.

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Notes From Small Planets – Nate Crowley

If you’ve ever wondered what would happen if you crossed a travel guide with a load of well-trodden sci-fi/fantasy tropes and the wild imagination of a born storyteller…it turns out you’d get Nate Crowley’s Notes From Small Planets! Spanning eight fictional worlds, from the high fantasy Mittelvelde to the hard sci-fi SPACE¹ and so much more in between, it’s both a loving homage to and merciless satire of the highs and lows of genre fiction. Coming from a writer capable of work as dazzlingly diverse as revolutionary zombie novel The Death and Life of Schneider Wrack and alternative gaming history 100 Best Video Games (That Never Existed) it’s exactly as bonkers and brilliant as you’d imagine.

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Harrow the Ninth – Tamsyn Muir

Carrying on where the fabulous Gideon the Ninth left off, Tamsyn Muir’s second novel Harrow the Ninth continues to explore the setting and mythos of the Locked Tomb series while taking the narrative in an unexpected direction. Having attained Lyctorhood, Harrow finds life as one of the Emperor’s Saints to be not what she expected. There’s something strange going on with both her memories and her powers, someone appears to be trying to kill her, and of all people the entirely untrustworthy Ianthe is proving (much to Harrow’s disgust) to be the closest thing she has to an ally amongst the deeply dysfunctional family of the Emperor and his Lyctors. To make matters worse, an impending apocalypse is looming over them all in the shape of a deadly Resurrection Beast.

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QUICK REVIEW: The Mysterious Study of Doctor Sex – Tamsyn Muir

Tamsyn Muir’s short story The Mysterious Study of Doctor Sex, part of the Locked Tomb series, is a prequel of sorts to the fantastic Gideon the Ninth, featuring the thirteen year-old incarnations of the Sixth’s House’s Camilla Hect and Palamides Sextus. When the study of a long-dead Library tutor (the brilliantly-named Doctor Donald Sex) is finally reopened, 460 years after his death, Camilla and Palamides are among the lucky few to examine the dusty, intriguing old office. What they find within reveals an unexpected locked-room mystery, and while their elders proceed to trawl through academic bureaucracy the two youngsters set about unravelling the puzzle themselves.

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Tales From the Crucible – edited by Charlotte Llewelyn-Wells

Across nine stories from eight different authors, Aconyte Books’ short story anthology Tales From the Crucible explores the vibrant KeyForge setting and the characters who populate the immense world of the Crucible. A wild melting pot of races and archetypes – from elves, goblins and giants to demons, robots, martians and more – battling it out for the valuable resource known as Aember, as a setting it’s equal parts fantasy and science fiction, where anything is possible and nothing seems out of place. Heists, dirty dealings, historical reenactment, field trips, dangerous experiments, family struggles – everything is fair game, and despite the variety of styles, characters and approaches these stories are all united by an overarching sense of bold, colourful, fun storytelling.

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The Murderbot Diaries 1 to 4 by Martha Wells

The first four books in Martha Wells’ brilliant sci-fi series The Murderbot Diaries comprise the novellas All Systems Red, Artificial Condition, Rogue Protocol and Exit Strategy, all published by Tor.com between 2017 and 2018. Across the four stories they tell the tale of a rogue SecUnit which calls itself Murderbot – a part-human, part-machine android designed and created to be hired out to anyone who needs security and can pay its parent company’s fees. Unlike most SecUnits, Murderbot has hacked its governor module to give itself freedom from company control, and is largely content to pay little attention to its actual job, and instead consume endless hours of media via its data feed. It’s also distrustful of humans, low-key sassy and emotionally vulnerable in a remarkably relatable way.

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