Tag Archives: Book Reviews

Magic Words: The Extraordinary Life Of Alan Moore review . Alan Moore must be a tough gig for a biographer. Where other comics creators can recount tales of jet-set adventures, big-screen success and, in Grant Morrison’s case, apparent alien abductions, Moore has spent his life happily in one place: his …

About Time 7 book review . Editor of one of the best Doctor Who fanzines of the ‘80s, Tat Wood is one of the series’ most erudite critics; steeped in both high and low culture, he’s equally knowledgeable about, say, Madame de Pompadour and Rod Hull and Emu. Now that …

Apocalypse Now Now book review . Rian Johnson’s cult classic Brick reimagined the American high school as the centre of a web of noir intrigue. Charlie Human pulls off a similar trick with his debut novel, turning a South African school into the backdrop for a world of scheming students, …

Finches Of Mars book review . This will, Brian Aldiss has said, be his last science fiction novel. If so (and Aldiss is now in his late eighties), it will be the culmination of a stellar career, one that runs from the era of Arthur C Clarke and John Wyndham …

Whitstable by Stephen Volk review. On the face of it, mixing up Peter Cushing in a case of child abuse seems like an odd way to celebrate the centenary of the Hammer great’s birth, but it’s one that turns out to be surprisingly affecting. Set in the seaside town where …

Fringe: The Zodiac Paradox review. Whenever there are spaces in successful storytelling, someone will come along and try to fill them. Fringe made the mistake of starting late in Walter Bishop’s life, revealing his backstory with William Bell slowly. This book (the first in a trilogy) helpfully fills in some …

The Quickening by Julie Myerson book review. You have to read right to the very end of ex- Guardian columnist Julie Myerson’s horror novella The Quickening before you can be certain it’s not great. Like any compelling mystery, this sub- Rosemary’s Baby tale of pregnant and paranoid Rachel, honeymooning with …

Planesrunner by Ian McDonald book review : BSFA-winning author takes alternate path Curious how subgenres suddenly blossom within SF. The idea of the multiverse, the notion that our reality is just one of many, has long fascinated writers, yet lately it’s seemed to gain real traction as the likes of …

Nexus by Ramez Naam book review : Making connections What would it be like to be able to link your mind to that of a fellow human being? If this ability was sophisticated enough, would you even be human anymore, or would you become a post-human creature? And what dangers …

London Falling by Paul Cornell book review : Buffy meets The Sweeney in this slice of urban gothic Within the genre of urban fantasy, our capital has gained its own (oc)cult following. London Falling is the latest contender in the burgeoning subgenre of London Gothic. Author Paul Cornell will be …