Once a Monster by Robert Dinsdale
Review by David Harris Once a Monster is firmly historical fiction – it takes us back to 1861, where the narrative is very much set in the realities of the…
The Circumference of the World by Lavie Tidhar
Review by David Harris Lavie Tidhar seems to be amazingly productive just now, publishing The Circumfernce of the World, an SF novel that really gets to grips with the fact that…
The Pursuit of William Abbey by Claire North
Review by David Harris A new book by Claire North is always a very special event in my reading calendar, and William Abbey didn’t disappoint. In something of the same vein as…
Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
Reviewed by David Harris This was the first time I’d read a book by Novik. Her Temeraire series and Uprooted (reviewed for Shiny by Sakura here) have received lots of praise so I was pleased…
Early Riser by Jasper Fforde
Reviewed by David Harris Skinny Pete went to sleep, underfed and bonySkinny Pete went to sleep, and died a death so lonely. The enemy aren’t the Villains, nomads, scavengers, insomniacs,…
By the Pricking of Her Thumb by Adam Roberts
Reviewed by David Harris Roberts seems to have been very busy lately so I’m glad he managed to include a return to the world of The Real-Town Murders, one of my favourite books…
I Only Killed Him Once by Adam Christopher
Reviewed by David Harris Ray was first introduced – as detective – in Made to Kill (reviewed here), where, apart from cracking the case, he discovered his true nature as a killer. The…
Gnomon by Nick Harkaway
Reviewed by David Harris This has been a hard book to review. I find this is surprisingly often of true the very best books, say the ones you’d give six…
The Gradual by Christopher Priest
Reviewed by David Harris This was the first of Christopher Priest’s books that I’d read. While I gather from other reviews that it’s particularly accessible for him and so probably…
Revenger by Alastair Reynolds
Reviewed by David Harris Alastair Reynolds has a reputation as a prolific writer of SF and made waves a few years ago when he signed a ten book deal with…
Nod by Adrian Barnes
Reviewed by David Harris At first sight this book is (post)apocalyptic fiction in the classic vein, meaning, of course, John Wyndham. We are introduced to the world as it is…
Made to Kill by Adam Christopher
Reviewed by David Harris Made to Kill is the first volume of a projected trilogy featuring a PI (ostensibly) who is also the last robot on Earth. While being another book…
Witches of Lychford by Paul Cornell
Reviewed by David Harris I’d been eagerly waiting for this book. Cornell has recently published two volumes in an urban fantasy series, The Shadow Police, set among the supernatural threats of…
The Killing Kind by Chris Holm
Reviewed by David Harris At first sight, this book was surprisingly different from the previous books of Holm’s that I had read: his Collector series was a noir-tinged fantasy trilogy featuring an operative who…
The Seed Collectors by Scarlett Thomas
Reviewed by David Harris This book is very different from Thomas’s last, Our Tragic Universe. We see events from several viewpoints, mostly members of the rambling Gardener family: Fleur, her lover…
Seveneves by Neal Stephenson
Reviewed by David Harris The first thing to say about this book – and it’s the first thing you will notice – is that it’s long. Massive. An 861 page…
The Vagrant by Peter Newman
Reviewed by David Harris ‘The Vagrant is his name’ runs the strapline for this book. ‘He has no other.’ In fact, the titular character is never called ‘The Vagrant’ by…