Tag: sci-fi

From the international bestselling M. R. Carey comes a thrilling tale set in the multiverse – the tale of humanity’s expansion across millions of dimensions, and the AI technology that might see it all come to an end . . . INFINITY IS ONLY THE BEGINNING.

The Pandominion: a political and trading alliance of a million worlds – except that they’re really just the one world, Earth, in many different realities. And when an AI threat arises that could destroy everything the Pandominion has built, they’ll eradicate it by whatever means necessary, no matter the cost to human life. Scientist Hadiz Tambuwal is looking for a solution to her own Earth’s environmental collapse when she stumbles across the secret of inter-dimensional travel. It could save everyone on her dying planet, but now she’s walked into the middle of a war on a scale she never dreamed of. And she needs to choose a side before it kills her.

Discover the start of the thrillingly original, mind-bending SF duology The Pandominion, from the author of the million-copy bestseller The Girl With All the Gifts. Perfect for fans of The Space Between Worlds, The Long Earth and Children of Time.

M. R. Carey has been making up stories for most of his life. His novel The Girl With All the Gifts has sold over a million copies and became a major motion picture, based on his own BAFTA Award-nominated screenplay.

Under the name Mike Carey he has written for both DC and Marvel, including critically acclaimed runs on Lucifer, Hellblazer and X-Men. His creator-owned books regularly appear in the New York Times bestseller list. He also has several previous novels including the Felix Castor series (written as Mike Carey), two radio plays and a number of TV and movie screenplays to his credit.

My thoughts: imagine if there really is a multiverse, millions of versions of Earth, sitting alongside each other, each slightly different to the previous. Imagine there’s a technology that allows to Step into each world. Now imagine a terrifying autocratic regime that controls a lot of those worlds, with augmented soldiers and the power to basically crush your planet’s. And they’re at war with robots – robots that are sort of alive.

It sounds really confusing, but it isn’t. Because like many books, it’s about people. A scientist, an AI, a giant bunny, a machine that doesn’t want to go home, a soldier and a man who was just in the wrong place at the wrong time really. Oh and a mysterious omniscient narrator.

It’s a sci fi novel with lots of twists and turns, lots of embracing the unknown and the terrifying, lots of action but also nobody really knows what they’re doing. But something does.

M.R. Carey is a brilliant writer, and this is an extremely readable, enjoyable book. I didn’t even pretend to understand what Hadiz did to develop her technology, physics is not my thing, but just went with it. Which is probably the default of most of the characters and everyone around them.

There’s some very funny moments, and some incredibly dark ones. I liked that it was set in Lagos and its mirror selves rather than New York or wherever, it was refreshing to read something set in a city that’s not familiar from a million other books, made me feel a bit like the characters – it’s like their homes but also, distinctly, not.

And the ending, no spoilers but I absolutely need book two immediately to find out what happens next!

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

Lennox is a troubled teenager with no family. Ava is eight months pregnant and fleeing her abusive husband. Heather is a grieving mother and cancer sufferer. They don’t know each other, but when a meteor streaks over Edinburgh, all three suffer instant, catastrophic strokes … …only to wake up the following day in hospital, miraculously recovered.

When news reaches them of an octopus-like creature washed up on the shore near where the meteor came to earth, Lennox senses that some extra-terrestrial force is at play. With the help of Ava, Heather and a journalist, Ewan, he rescues the creature they call ‘Sandy’ and goes on the run. But they aren’t the only ones with an interest in the alien … close behind are Ava’s husband, the police and a government unit who wants to capture the creature, at all costs. And Sandy’s arrival may have implications beyond anything anyone could imagine…

Doug Johnstone is the author of fourteen previous novels, most recently Black Hearts (2022). The Big Chill (2020) was longlisted for the Theakston Crime Novel of the Year and three of his books, A Dark Matter (2020), Breakers (2019) and The Jump (2015), have been shortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Novel of the Year.

He’s taught creative writing and been writer in residence at various institutions over the last decade, and has been an arts journalist for over twenty years. Doug is a songwriter and musician with six albums and three EPs released, and he plays drums for the Fun Lovin’ Crime Writers, a band of writers. He’s also co-founder of the Scotland Writers Football Club, and has a PhD in nuclear physics.

My thoughts: at first I was disappointed it wasn’t a new Skelfs book but then I read it and now I want more Sandy & the Gang (as I am calling them). I loved Sandy the cephalopod from space. There’s several incredibly touching moments between them and the humans they’ve bonded with, Lennox, Ava and Heather, especially when Sandy can help check on Ava’s unborn baby for her. That was so lovely. All Sandy wants is to be reunited with the rest of their kind, fleeing from an invasion of their home. They’ve picked Earth even though it might not be super friendly because presumably the waters here are suitable and have the right environment for them.

Unfortunately a government organisation, possibly MI7, also wants Sandy and not for friendly reasons. Why are we so hostile to the idea of other people? It feels very timely with the current carry on in Westminster about refugees. Sandy and their kind are fleeing danger too, and they just want to be safe here on Earth in the sea loch off Ullapool. Which I’m sure the fish have no issues with, just the humans.

Funny, warm, with a huge heart and lots of brains (octopus have mini brains in each of their tentacles, so maybe Sandy does too!) and a real sense of the ridiculous (the ancient camper van, Sandy in a rucksack, waving), this is lovely and I hope there’s more. As Lennox says “now what, Sandy?”

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.