My mother handed me this book after being recommended it by the Hay Festival newsletter, observing that it had a similar feeling to one of my own works. My observation is that the only similarity is the fact there is an apocalypse in it. Something neither I, nor Manon Steffan Ros, invented, though I imagine we’ve likely been inspired by similar works. If you like post-apocalypse fiction aimed at young people, this particular book lies more in the slower, inter-personal relationships side of that rather than the drama and adventure of YA apocalypse.
Continue readingTag: scifi
Burning Through Books: Autonomous
Unlike my usual books that exist to crowd up my shelves, Autonomous by Annalee Newitz was lent to me for a bookswap (I gave The Psychology of Timetravel and Release, both of which I’ve reviewed previously). From what I understand, this book was their debut novel back in 2017 after a history in journalism, which I feel is pretty well reflected in the world and characters of the book.
Continue readingBurning Through Books: Always Coming Home
For once this wasn’t a book off my own shelf, but rather one passed to me to read. Being my first Ursula Le Guin, I didn’t have any expectations for it, which I think benefitted my read as Always Coming Home is very unusual in her catalogue of works.
Continue readingBurning Through Books: The Psychology of Time Travel
I’ll be honest, this was supposed to be last month’s book, but I just didn’t have the time to finish it. Now I’ve managed to finally get to the end and I’m so glad I did because it was a thoroughly enjoyable read. For the first in a long time, I’ve returned a book to the shelf rather than put it on the donation pile. I’m particularly excited to re-read this book.
Continue readingI AM THE STAR: Chapter 1
This year for NaNoWriMo I have decided that every day I’m going to upload one chapter of this short novel. I’m not guaranteeing amazing quality, but I am guaranteeing writing growth, commitment, and hopefully something to keep everyone entertained in the cold lockdown month.
Ore watched the night sky split down the middle and wondered if a good photo of it might go viral. A beat later the ground shook and a burst of flame shot up over the curve of the wet banks, throwing earth into the sky. The following cloud of smoke turned the clean comet-trail into a murky orange haze.
Continue readingReview for the Tired Reader: The God Killer, and other Tales of Chaos
‘The God Killer and other Tales of Chaos’ is a stark contrast to it’s predecessor, ‘Stories to Stay Alive To’.
Review for the Tied Reader: Nightmare Scenario
Nightmare Scenario by Hazel Clarke is as gripping and fast-paced as it is easy to tear through.
Short Story – Honest Work
I wrote this for my Creative Writing course in response to a sci-fi brief.
Honest Work
Light shone over the city of London, the great council-regulated bushes and flowers basking in the sun where they’d been placed over every available flat surface. It glittered off the Thames and created dancing shadows where fish darted about in the clear water and the anemone stirred, creating long waving shadows across the riverbed. A large plaque announcing the installation date of the eco-friendly sewage filter system shone with a recently polished gleam.
The day-crowd of people wandered the streets, either on aviation bikes (avibikes) or hoverboard or even just walking happily, browsing the indie businesses that lined the edges of the streets or were dotted about the place in little market stands. The smell of freshly cooked pastries and sizzling food on open grills filled the air, steam puffing into the sky as stall-owners flipped burgers and shook pans in front of queues of hungry onlookers. Some people sat on benches set in shadow beneath large walkways going between buildings a few stories above, just as busy as those beneath them. Street cameras with bat boxes and birdhouses were positioned high on the roofs, looking down over the crowd with their huge gaze and up-to-date disturbance-identifying zoom technology.
The gentle hubub of the city was muffled between the walls of buildings, almost impossible to see down sometimes where light didn’t reach, or stalls were set up in the way. Not even tenants of the huge geothermal flats would have known what was happening down by the compost skips.
a place of words 