Fiction
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Susan Greenfield - 2121
13 Jun 2013
Renowned science writer publishes first fiction novel on mankind's dependency on technology
In renowned science writer Susan Greenfield’s first foray into fiction, she has created a dystopian world where the technology we rely upon today has left us too dependent on it. Mankind has become divided into the functional NPs (Neo-Puritans) and…
Flash Fiction: Bent by Elizabeth Reeder
12 Jun 2013
An ultra-short story from the Chicago-born, Glasgow-based author of Ramshackle and Fremont
He’d toed the line for years -- he’d drawn it across the same patch of worn carpet, for the same audience of one -- his younger, arrogant, flaunt of a sister -- while their mum was in the kitchen making tea each Sunday. It was a duel of sorts: he drew…
Neil Gaiman - The Ocean at the End of the Lane
11 Jun 2013
Multi award-winning author returns with hit that justifies the hype
Readers of The Ocean at the End of the Lane may experience an occasional sense of déjà vu. So many of the story’s key elements are staples of classic children’s fantasy: three mysterious women in a ramshackle farmhouse who may be more than they appear…
Celebrate flash fiction in Edinburgh this June
11 Jun 2013
Small But Perfectly Formed is the approach for National Flash Fiction Day
To those with a foot in the literary scene, flash fiction isn’t a new concept. In fact it’s become so entrenched that there’s now even a national day when it might be celebrated and performed. Edinburgh’s plentiful array of literary promoters are coming…
Top 5 feminist road trip books
10 Jun 2013
Apocalypse Baby, The Borrower, Nellie Bly and Foreign Parts among the best pro-woman travel stories
Apocalypse Baby is the latest novel by Virginie Despentes, subversive writer and filmmaker of Baise-Moi. It focuses on missing teenager, Valentine, and Lucie, the inexperienced private detective hired to find her. When you've finished chasing the pair…
Simone van der Vlugt - Safe as Houses
10 Jun 2013
A well-paced home invasion thriller that ultimately borders on predictable
Functionality of language is key in this tight thriller from best-selling Dutch author Simone van der Vlugt. Mother to five year old Anouk, Lisa finds herself in an unimaginably horrific situation: her isolated country home is infiltrated by a convicted…
Charlotte Grimshaw - Soon
10 Jun 2013
An efficient, coolly poetic tale of Auckland’s glitterati
Treading a fine line between literary and commercial fiction, Charlotte Grimshaw’s Soon is a nuanced, exciting tale of Auckland’s glitterati. Successful obstetrician Simon Lampton holidays with the Prime Minster, David Hallwright. In the melting…
Pandemonium: The Lowest Heaven
10 Jun 2013
Science fiction anthology published to coincide with ROG's 'Visions of the Universe'
In this visually beautiful anthology, each short story is inspired by a different object in our solar system, from the sun to the moon to Halley's Comet. Speculative fiction fans will be excited just looking at the contents page, with original stories…
David Shaw Mackenzie - The Interpretations
10 Jun 2013
Gripping mystery novel lacks leading character voice
Told across two decades, The Interpretations explores circumstances surrounding the disappearance of Tom Kingsmill, a runner who starts an organised race across Dalmore's new suspension bridge but never reaches the other side. Local police write the…
Iain Banks - The Quarry
6 Jun 2013
Iain Banks' final book skillfully portrays our increasingly digital world with famous black humour
Brought forward for publication following Iain Banks’ announcement three months ago that he is ‘officially Very Poorly’ with terminal cancer, The Quarry initially seems a uniquely difficult read. The fact that one of its main characters is in the final…
Suzanne Egerton - Out Late With Friends And Regrets
31 May 2013
Effortlessly funny and uplifting story about a woman's fight for her independece
Egerton’s debut is charming and effortlessly funny. She brings her characters to life in such a distinctive way that readers will love rooting for them in their triumphs and heartaches because they remind us so much of ourselves. The novel follows…
Morgan McCarthy - The Outline of Love
31 May 2013
Berkshire born author's second novel is an enjoyable coming of age story with a twist
Raised by her father in the Highlands, Persephone Triebold flees her lonely life for university in London. The sights and smells of the big city are evocatively described as Persephone throws herself headfirst into an alien world of female friendships…
Lance Weller - Wilderness
31 May 2013
A striking and beautiful historical novel
This debut novel from Lance Weller alternates between 1864 and 1899 and tells the story of Abel Truman, a solider who fought and nearly died for the Confederacy in the American Civil War, before being taken in by two former slaves. It is a bold novel…
Joseph Smith - Finally My Ambulance
29 May 2013
Smith's short story 'album' is pretentious, mannered and deeply disappointing
A central conceit in Joseph Smith’s first two novels - The Wolf and Taurus - is that they’re told from the point of view of their titular animals. In this new collection - pretentiously described as an 'album' for some reason - only one of Smith’s tales…
Derby Shorts
24 May 2013
Collaborative anthology on roller derby will make you want to get your skates on
Whether you’re new to roller derby, a wannabe rollergirl or a force to be reckoned with on eight wheels, there can be no finer companion to the beautiful game than the new collaborative anthology from For Books’ Sake and the London Roller Girls. Derby…
Horror author Joe Hill introduces his new novel, NOS4R2
16 May 2013
The writer also touches on working with Daniel Radcliffe and being Stephen King's son
The latest novel from author Joe Hill is a full throttle horror story. In NOS4R2, a serial killer prowls both real and imaginary worlds in his Silver Wraith Rolls Royce, abducting children for a hundred year reign of terror. The killer takes his…
James Robertson - The Professor of Truth
16 May 2013
A contemporary story dealing with the aftermath of a Lockerbie-like attack
Twenty-one years after the death of his wife and child in a plane bombing, Dr Alan Tealing remains unconvinced by the official account of this atrocity. Tealing’s obsession with what he calls The Case defines the novel: this is Lockerbie in everything…
Kate Manning - My Notorious Life by Madame X
16 May 2013
A timely historical drama about abortion and the female body in the Victorian era
After a year of American politicians sounding off about women’s bodies like it was the 19th century, Kate Manning’s novel, inspired by an infamous midwife/abortion provider from that era, comes as a reminder of how grim things used to be. Axie…
Curtis Sittenfeld - Sisterland
15 May 2013
A tense, gripping narrative let down by hard-to-swallow racist and homophobic tendencies
When Kate’s identical twin sister, professional psychic Vi Shramm, has a premonition that a giant earthquake is about to strike their hometown of St Louis, Kate begins to set in motion a plan to protect her family. As Vi gets carried away by the media…
Jenny Mayhew - A Wolf in Hindelheim
15 May 2013
Former screenwriter Mayhew's debut novel is a strong, atmospheric story set in pre-WWII Germany
War hangs heavy over the small German mountain community of Hindelheim in Jenny Mayhew’s unusual crime novel, set in 1926. WWI has left local constable Hildebrandt crippled and estranged from his adult son, while the war which we know is still to come…
David Gaffney - More Sawn Off Tales
10 May 2013
Small tales of great depth
When reading this collection of very short stories you will forget where you are, what you’re supposed to be doing and where you’re supposed to be going. It is utterly, and wonderfully addictive. Each 150-word story in this follow up to Sawn Off Tales…
Stephen Collins – The Gigantic Beard that was Evil
26 Apr 2013
Collins’ graphic novel inspects the havoc wreaked on a neat community by unruly facial hair
On the bland, egg-shaped island of Here, Dave lives a comfortably dull life: by day he performs a data-processing job; by night he sketches the view from the windows of his suburban home. Like the other inhabitants of Here, Dave is wary of change and…
Richard T Kelly - The Possessions of Doctor Forrest (review)
26 Mar 2013
Gothic thriller makes for a pleasant departure for the Crusaders author
(Faber) Take three respected Scottish doctors, a paediatric surgeon, psychiatrist and cosmetic surgeon, now all living comfortably in suburban London. Make the hedonist cosmetic surgeon suddenly disappear and you have the beginnings of a very…
Flash Fiction: Heft, by Jane Flett
22 Mar 2013
The newest instalment in our series of ultra-short stories
The only way you’re going to get this is to clamber in and heft it out, this thing, this beast, almost human in weight. Note the squish of sundried tomato between your teeth, throw a sweater across the room, tell your friend that’s the song you love and…
Flash Fiction: Think of Icebergs, by Tania Hershman
22 Feb 2013
The first in our new series of ultra-short stories
‘It’s hot,’ you said. ‘Think of icebergs,’ I said. ‘Melting,’ you said. ‘All melting. What happens?’ ‘When?’ ‘When we run out of ice?’ I put my arm around you, felt your bony shoulders. ‘Don’t worry,’ I said. ‘People are clever. Very clever.
