Dave Higgins's Blog, page 67

Fractured Skies by Stephanie Flint & Isaac Flint

The Flints mix the ethics of regime change, magic, future technology, and teenage angst to create a tale that is both an extravaganza of fantastical events and a nuanced exploration of moral choice. This novel is the second in the Distant Horizons series, and includes events that happen at the same time as the Glitch … Continue reading Fractured Skies by Stephanie Flint & Isaac Flint

The Black Sea of Experience

Proving once more that psychogeographers and chaos magicians might be onto something, the chance collision of pedestrian-crossing etiquette and computer gaming has summoned forth before me a dread irony: the human mind inconsistently correlates the meaning Lovecraft’s work, and that results in a lack of mercy. A couple of days ago, a friend shared an … Continue reading The Black Sea of Experience

Out of Sight by Matthew S. Cox

Blending the common truths of being a teenager and being homeless with engaging science fiction world building and exciting challenges, Cox creates a tale that will interest fans of young adult, social commentary, and ripping yarns alike. Wars, disasters, and social collapse have turned Earth into to a single city-state distributed throughout the urban wasteland … Continue reading Out of Sight by Matthew S. Cox

Of Tongue and Penknife

While flattening a stubborn package to go in the recycling, I was reminded of my first encounter with penknife ownership; and of the depths of feeling behind that moment. A story that feels apposite today. Many years ago, when I was a child, I was on holiday with my parents and maternal grandparents in Devon. … Continue reading Of Tongue and Penknife

H+ incorporated by Gary Dejean

Dejean neither confines himself to the provably likely nor indulges in flights of fancy, creating a story that is both futurist narrative and cyberpunk thriller. When disastrous floods hit Manila, political corruption let corporations buy not only an unfair share of safe ground but a tighter hold on government itself. Already reeling from the loss … Continue reading H+ incorporated by Gary Dejean

Deep Joy

I’m still settling into our new house, but my moments of joy have become more nuanced and abstruse. It’s been—depending on which definition one uses—almost exactly a month since we moved house; and, as my wife and I devoted a lot of time immediately after moving to unpacking everything and getting things into sensible places, … Continue reading Deep Joy

Stone Heart by Garrett Robinson

Robinson explores the implications of shape-shifting magic on gender while also providing a fantasy tale packed with both action and politics. This is the second volume in the Tales of the Wanderer. There may be spoilers ahead. After listening to Albern’s tale and helping him foil a vampire attack, Sun has chosen to leave the … Continue reading Stone Heart by Garrett Robinson

Millhaven Press’ Christmas Sale

All three volumes of Millhaven Tales (including Millhaven’s Tales of Suspense, featuring a story by me) are on sale until 25th December 2018. Fill the gap in your wonder, suspense, or terror collections here. Advertisements

Ghost Black by Matthew S. Cox

Cox blends speed-boosted cyber-action with more introspective questions about individual and social costs to create a seamless blend of action and depth that is likely to appeal to science-fiction and espionage fans of all flavours. This novel is the third in the Daughter of Mars series. Displaying this review might corrupt surprises in previous volumes. … Continue reading Ghost Black by Matthew S. Cox

House Hunting

My wife and I finished arranging the furniture in the attic room over the weekend, so the new house is—for a reasonable granularity—tidy. As we now have significantly more floor space, Jasper has taken it upon himself to test all the carpets to make sure they are suitably roll-upon-able. Being a diligent soul, he’s also … Continue reading House Hunting