In Lois Murphys atmospheric debut, Soon (Titan, 7.99), something very strange is happening in the remote Western Australia township of Nebulah. It was once a thriving mining town, but now its population has been reduced to 500. One day a convoy of grey vehicles arrives, only to mysteriously vanish. They are followed by a creeping mist haunted by the ghosts of the towns dead; citizens who venture outside in darkness are taken by the mist, never to be seen again. Soon the population of Nebulah stands at a mere six benighted souls, the derelict and downtrodden, who have their own reasons to remain. Narrated by Pete McIntosh, a flawed but likable washed-up ex-cop, this story of low-key horror and creeping paranoia follows the fate of the last half dozen to its devastating climax. Winner of the prestigious Australian Aurealis award for the best horror novel of 2017, Soon is a penetrating psychological study of desperate characters existing on the edge of society, and their struggle to retain a semblance of humanity in the face of an unknown terror.
In Kassandra Montags first novel, After the Flood (Borough, 12.99), its the year 2130 and global heating has taken its inevitable toll. Rising sea levels have inundated the continents and what was once the US is now a string of small islands. Some survivors eke out a subsistence living on land, while others have taken to the seas, where life is even more precarious. Myra and her daughter Pearl are among the latter, trading the fish they catch while attempting to avoid pirates, who treat women like cattle. Seven years earlier, Myras husband abducted her younger daughter Rowena, and Myras life since then has been a constant, heartbreaking search for the girl. When Myra hears a rumour that Rowena might be living in remote Greenland, she persuades a ships captain to take her on the long voyage north. Montag balances graphically rendered set-piece adventures with a moving account of a mothers love as Myra, resilient yet vulnerable, faces triumphs and setbacks on her perilous quest to reclaim her daughter. By turns bleak and uplifting, this is a refreshingly original take on the dystopian post-apocalyptic subgenre.
Alex Stern, protagonist of Ninth House (Gollancz, 16.99), Leigh Bardugos first novel for adults, is not your average Yale student. The wayward daughter of LA hippies, Alex is a vulnerable high-school drop-out with a history of drug abuse. She also possesses unique supernatural abilities, which is why she was offered a place at the university. Alex becomes one of the guardians of Lethe House, a secret society monitoring the dark goings-on in the eight other Houses, which are run by a privileged elite inclined to occult excess. When a student is murdered, she uncovers a web of terror and abuse. Ninth House is a timely exploration of the use and abuse of power and a gut-churning thriller that pulls no punches, with a strong female lead and a headlong plot.
In the first book of the Salvation series, Peter F Hamilton introduced a large cast scattered across a sprawling galaxy-wide utopia threatened by an enigmatic alien race. In Salvation Lost (Macmillan, 20), he ratchets up the tension and splits the narrative between the 23rd century and the far future. We follow many characters from volume one, as well as a host of new faces, as the human race joins forces with benevolent extraterrestrials, the Nena, and works to save itself from the malign Olyix, who are intent on harvesting Homo sapiens as offerings to their god. Hamilton excels at interweaving the narratives of multiple viewpoint characters without once relaxing narrative impetus, combining time-lines to great dramatic effect and telling a tense hi-tech story that never loses sight of the human element. Best read after the opening volume, Salvation Lost is action-oriented hardcore science fiction at its page-turning best.
Loosely based on the killings of a mother and daughter accused of witchcraft, Clay McLeod Chapmans The Remaking (Quirk, 9.99) retells and recasts the real events in a series of connected episodes. When Ella Louise Ford and her daughter Jessica were burned as witches in Pilots Creek, Virginia, in 1931, the murders and the stories of the subsequent ghostly hauntings echoed down the years. In 1971 the story is made into a low-budget horror film starring nine-year-old Amber Pendleton in the part of Jessica, a role that will haunt her for the rest of her life. In 1995 the original film is remade, with a washed-up, drug-addicted Amber this time playing the part of Jessicas mother. The story jumps to 2016, when the director of a podcast travels to Pilots Creek to track down Amber and investigate the events of 1931. Chapman uses an array of narrative techniques in an ambitious mosaic novel exploring the power of urban myth and superstition.
Eric Browns latest novel is Murder Served Cold (Severn House).
Continued here:
The best recent SF, fantasy and horror review roundup - The Guardian
- Travel & Resources: HONG KONG - Gay Asia and... - Utopia - December 8th, 2016 [December 8th, 2016]
- DELHI / NEW DELHI: Massage and Spas - Utopia - December 8th, 2016 [December 8th, 2016]
- Utopia (book) - Wikipedia - December 8th, 2016 [December 8th, 2016]
- Who is authorized to bind your family business to contracts? - Lexology (registration) - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Meanwhile in Canada Things Are Just as Bad - New York Times - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Stellaris: Utopia expansion lets you craft megastructural ringworlds - PC Gamer - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- JME Will Play Himself In A New Movie About A Vegan Utopia - The FADER - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- 'Stellaris' Utopia DLC Gets First Trailer; Will Introduce New Buildings And Perks - iDigitalTimes.com - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Utopia Pipeline project to bring 300 temporary jobs to New Philadelphia - New Philadelphia Times Reporter - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- With violin in hand, Mark Menzies finds hope for the future in the past - Los Angeles Times - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- The village aiming to create a white utopia - BBC News - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Brooklyn's A/D/O Co-Working Space Is Building a Utopia for Creatives of All Kinds - Artsy - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Revolution: Russian Art review from utopia to the gulag, via teacups - The Guardian - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- A notable show BAMPFA's 'Hippie Modernism: The Struggle for Utopia' - Berkeleyside - February 9th, 2017 [February 9th, 2017]
- In praise of utopias, not dystopias: Salutin - Toronto Star - February 10th, 2017 [February 10th, 2017]
- British Airways Concorde 'Alpha Foxtrot' Arrives at New Bristol Home - AirlineGeeks.com (blog) - February 11th, 2017 [February 11th, 2017]
- The Bannon-Trump Arc of History | The American Spectator - American Spectator - February 13th, 2017 [February 13th, 2017]
- Plotting 'No-Place' in 'Utopia Neighborhood Club' - Seattle Weekly - February 15th, 2017 [February 15th, 2017]
- Bruno Ganz on New Film About Last Days of East Germany: 'This Is a Subject That Will Never Let Me Go' - Variety - February 16th, 2017 [February 16th, 2017]
- Utopia releases its next version of master data governance solution for enterprise asset management - SDTimes.com - February 16th, 2017 [February 16th, 2017]
- Drought-crazed utopia flushes away common sense - NewHampshire.com - February 16th, 2017 [February 16th, 2017]
- New Barbarians: Inside Rolling Stones' Wild Seventies Spin-Off - RollingStone.com - February 16th, 2017 [February 16th, 2017]
- Katy Perry's New Music Video Might Just Be Her WILDEST Yet - TeenVogue.com - February 18th, 2017 [February 18th, 2017]
- Lenkom Theater: From Soviet utopia to post-modern dystopia - Russia Beyond the Headlines - February 20th, 2017 [February 20th, 2017]
- Utopia Opera Presents THE GRAND DUKE, 3/3-3/11 - Broadway World - February 21st, 2017 [February 21st, 2017]
- Chuck Huckelberry: Pima County sees the world as it is - Arizona Daily Star - February 21st, 2017 [February 21st, 2017]
- Mardi Gras brings on the fun - Tullahoma News and Guardian - February 22nd, 2017 [February 22nd, 2017]
- Anglea Henderson-Bentley: New take on Jack the Ripper an idea whose 'Time' has come - Huntington Herald Dispatch - February 23rd, 2017 [February 23rd, 2017]
- Knowledge can fight ignorance: New speakers series will shed light on Yemen - Detroit Metro Times - February 23rd, 2017 [February 23rd, 2017]
- Utopian sci-fi survival horror game, PAMELA, enters Steam Early Access on March 9th New Screenshots - DSOGaming (blog) - February 24th, 2017 [February 24th, 2017]
- Reese Witherspoon on New Zealand: 'You can't capture it in pictures' - Newshub - February 24th, 2017 [February 24th, 2017]
- $168000 headphones to go on display - The New Paper - February 24th, 2017 [February 24th, 2017]
- A peek inside the Downtown Project with Aimee Groth - Las Vegas Review-Journal - February 25th, 2017 [February 25th, 2017]
- Utopia is coming, with a basic income for all - The Times (subscription) - February 27th, 2017 [February 27th, 2017]
- Government shakeups and political unrest are coming to Stellaris in its Utopia expansion - PCGamesN - February 27th, 2017 [February 27th, 2017]
- The board hoard: your guide to the best new board games - The Guardian - February 28th, 2017 [February 28th, 2017]
- Tempted To Move Out Of The U.S.? New Zealand Wants To Help ... - Forbes - February 28th, 2017 [February 28th, 2017]
- New Utopia | Prometheism.net - Part 4 - February 28th, 2017 [February 28th, 2017]
- Utopia expansion for Stellaris coming in April, new trailer - PC Invasion - PC Invasion (blog) - February 28th, 2017 [February 28th, 2017]
- THE SOUND OF MUSIC to Welcome New 'Georg von Trapp' on Tour in Hershey - Broadway World - March 1st, 2017 [March 1st, 2017]
- At BAMPFA, 'Hippie Modernism' Proves the Fight for Utopia is Far from Over - KQED - March 1st, 2017 [March 1st, 2017]
- Watch brutal Xenomorph attack in new 'Alien: Covenant' trailer - CNET - March 1st, 2017 [March 1st, 2017]
- Stellaris: Utopia Path to Ascension release date trailer - Gameplanet - March 1st, 2017 [March 1st, 2017]
- Utopia Frozen Yogurt and Coffee House | Ellensburg, WA - March 1st, 2017 [March 1st, 2017]
- Stellaris Utopia Gameplay Expansion Out In April - Attack of the Fanboy - March 2nd, 2017 [March 2nd, 2017]
- Dr. John to headline Utopia Fest in final year at Four Sisters Ranch ... - austin360 (blog) - March 2nd, 2017 [March 2nd, 2017]
- JUSTIN JOHNSON: It's a TRAP! - SCNow - March 2nd, 2017 [March 2nd, 2017]
- Want utopia? Start with universal basic income and a 15-hour work week - Wired.co.uk - March 3rd, 2017 [March 3rd, 2017]
- Extreme Channel 4 reality challenge Mutiny makes its sailors suffer - iNews - March 3rd, 2017 [March 3rd, 2017]
- Rutger Bregman: 'We could cut the working week by a third' - The Guardian - March 4th, 2017 [March 4th, 2017]
- March 4, 2017 - EDP Foundation - Utopia/Dystopia / Hctor Zamora: Order and Progress - E-Flux - March 4th, 2017 [March 4th, 2017]
- Utopia for Realists and How We Can Get There by Rutger Bregman ... - The Guardian - March 6th, 2017 [March 6th, 2017]
- A taste of 'Utopia' - Otago Daily Times - March 6th, 2017 [March 6th, 2017]
- Father John Misty references Taylor Swift in new song, 'Total Entertainment Forever' - EW.com - March 6th, 2017 [March 6th, 2017]
- 'Time After Time' delivers Jack the Ripper to modern-day New York - The San Gabriel Valley Tribune - March 7th, 2017 [March 7th, 2017]
- Father John Misty Explained The Taylor Swift Sex Line In 'Total Entertainment Forever' - UPROXX - March 7th, 2017 [March 7th, 2017]
- Why everyone hates the GOP's new health plan - The Week Magazine - March 8th, 2017 [March 8th, 2017]
- Hello Cuba, Adios Utopia: Cuban Art in Texas - Observer - March 11th, 2017 [March 11th, 2017]
- Why Canada will come to regret its embrace of refugees - New York Post - March 11th, 2017 [March 11th, 2017]
- Utopia in the Time of Trump - lareviewofbooks - March 11th, 2017 [March 11th, 2017]
- Whole of It: 'Free Cake at the Top' - Scottsbluff Star Herald - March 12th, 2017 [March 12th, 2017]
- Portugal's MAAT could become the world's most exciting venue for art and architecture - The Architect's Newspaper - April 8th, 2017 [April 8th, 2017]
- Stellaris Utopia DLC Review - Paradox's spacefaring grand strategy ... - PC Invasion (blog) - April 8th, 2017 [April 8th, 2017]
- The post-Brexit fantasy of a utopia of flammable sofas - New Statesman - April 8th, 2017 [April 8th, 2017]
- Why Open Borders Would Strengthen Our Economy | The Huffington ... - Huffington Post - April 8th, 2017 [April 8th, 2017]
- Best of the Week: Focal Utopia, Sonos Playbase, Sgt. Pepper reissue, new 4K Xbox and more - What Hi-Fi? - April 8th, 2017 [April 8th, 2017]
- Stellaris: Utopia review | PC Gamer - PC Gamer - April 8th, 2017 [April 8th, 2017]
- Utopia lost: Man wants Berrien 'town' on the map - Valdosta Daily Times - April 8th, 2017 [April 8th, 2017]
- Psych Ward: The Hulk - Marvel (press release) (registration) (blog) - June 6th, 2017 [June 6th, 2017]
- Men Are from Mars, Wonder Woman is Also from Mars - VICE - June 6th, 2017 [June 6th, 2017]
- Jordie Bellaire: Vision Visionary - Marvel (press release) (registration) (blog) - June 6th, 2017 [June 6th, 2017]
- The Dark Side of Globalization - American Spectator - June 6th, 2017 [June 6th, 2017]
- China's next 'city from scratch' called into question - Financial Times - June 7th, 2017 [June 7th, 2017]
- Wonder Woman's dueling origin stories, and their effect on the hero's feminism, explained - Vox - June 7th, 2017 [June 7th, 2017]
- Introduction: Open Utopia | The Open Utopia - June 7th, 2017 [June 7th, 2017]
- Paperback Row - New York Times - June 8th, 2017 [June 8th, 2017]
- NEXUS pipeline revved and waiting - News - Times Reporter - New ... - New Philadelphia Times Reporter - June 8th, 2017 [June 8th, 2017]
- MAVI Museum of Visual Arts - E-Flux - June 9th, 2017 [June 9th, 2017]
- World-famous author has found his writing utopia outdoors, under a tarp, in Davis - Sacramento Bee - June 9th, 2017 [June 9th, 2017]
- Let's break down the incredible Black Panther trailer - The Verge - June 10th, 2017 [June 10th, 2017]