All The Galaxies

by Philip Miller

The Lovely Bones meets Margaret Atwood in this extraordinary, deeply moving, supernatural story of a young man’s journey to find his mother, wrapped in a dystopian novel about an epic battle between good and evil that threatens to destroy a near future city.
John Fallon is a disillusioned journalist on a failing Glasgow newspaper. After a second failed independence referendum, Scotland is in turmoil, having broken into a number of autonomous city states.
Roland, his son, has gone missing after a student protest turns into a violent clash with the newly militarised police. In outer space, a boy is wakened in the afterlife by his spirit guide, his beloved childhood dog, Kim. Kim takes the boy on a journey to the planets where the dead go, where he hopes to find his long dead mother.
Meanwhile, Fallon, searching for his son, uncovers a trail that leads to beleaguered city leader, Parry, and his shadowy advisor, Norloch.
As the boy and his dog make a shocking discovery that requires an impossible choice, Fallon discovers that a great deal more is at stake than the future of one nation. In All the Galaxies, Philip Miller presents a mesmerising morality tale than proves both a compulsive page-turner and unforgettable emotional journey.

Genres: Science Fiction

272 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2017

About the author

Philip Miller is a writer and poet who lives in Edinburgh. He was an award-winning arts journalist for 20 years, and his published novels include The Goldenacre (2022), All The Galaxies (2017) and The Blue Horse (2015). His poetry has been published in print and online, and he received a RL Stevenson Fellowship in 2019.

Reviews

[Rina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Glasgow is uneasy after a series of terrorist attacks orchestrated by a self proclaimed nihilist organization. A boy and his dog search the galaxies looking for his mother, while a father searches for his son in Glasgow. Prepare to unravel the mysteries in All the Galaxies for nothing is what it seems. Gritty and surreal, this book will make you think and maybe cry. (I found tissues necessary).

[Theresa Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

My thoughts on All the Galaxies...there are certainly many of them; I hardly know where to begin. This is such a meaningful novel on so many levels. The author, Philip Miller, is a journalist and this experience shines brightly throughout, lending an integral authenticity to his journalist characters and their experiences of working for newspapers. I always enjoy novels written by authors who have to a certain degree lived similar lives to their characters, be it professionally or through lived experiences. It just adds a realistic edge to a story that is otherwise unmatched.

There are some excellent lines throughout All the Galaxies and some truly funny moments; there's an awful lot of swearing, yet this seems to be a Scottish tendency so it by no means distracted from the narrative – in some places it had me in stitches from laughing so hard. I normally like to talk about the characters individually in my reviews, but there are an awful lot of characters within this novel, many of them pivotal. Suffice to say, they all filled their roles accordingly, and I enjoyed the varying degrees in which they were crafted.

The notion of newspapers, and even journalism, as a redundant need for society was so interesting to explore. That we would move to online news exclusively is not all that hard to envisage, but to remove the journalist and have all news written by members of the community; isn't that what social media is? Is that really what we're headed for? Maybe. When posed as it was in All the Galaxies, it seems quite likely indeed. It's an idea worthy of reflection but that loss of professional impartiality is to my mind something to be feared; we only need to look at the quality of current affairs on Australian commercial TV to see what grassroots community written electronic newspapers would look like. Actually, just log onto Facebook and search for your local community ‘vent’ page; there's your newspaper of the future. Say no more. The Mercury, the focal paper within All the Galaxies, was facing a reinvention of this nature and the journalists working there were either fighting fiercely to prove their worth, and therefore hang onto their job, or they were giving up and moving on. I love this line spoken to John Fallon by Anne Pierce, his boss, as she tells him of her intention to leave the paper:
“...you were made for journalism. You always seem to be on the outside. Looking in. I felt that too. Not part of things. And of course it's a failure, or at least a feature, of us that we report on and try to shape society while wanting, in our hearts, no part of it.”

Journalism isn't the only thing under the microscope in All the Galaxies. Terrorism as a way of life forms a basis for the setting. Glasgow is a city in turmoil, barely recovering from a reign of terror known as The Horrors. While dystopian in its themes, All the Galaxies is a timely scaled down examination of the global war on terror that we've all been living under the shadow of for almost 16 years now. My children have not lived in this world without terrorism being a constant threat. They'll probably never have that freedom we took for granted before 9/11. They'll never be able to plan an overseas trip without having to account for terrorist threats. And for what are we all suffering for? John Fallon contemplates The Horrors at one point within the story, and it in turn made me contemplate all the terrorist attacks of recent years:
“But at the heart of The Horrors was a grey void. It had achieved nothing but blood, injury and misery. Nothingness and erasure. There was a sterility to their apolitical, nihilist insurrection.”
How incredibly truthful and insightful. How this relates to the world today. A grey void of nothingness and erasure. With no end in sight, just an adjustment to how we all have to live our lives.

Within this story of destabilisation and rampant terrorism, there is a man who is experiencing stigmata – for non-Christians, this refers to body marks, sores, or sensations of pain in locations corresponding to the crucifixion wounds of Jesus Christ, such as the hands, wrists, feet and head. John-Jo is experiencing extreme stigmata, he's even pulling nails out of his palms and pieces of wood out of the side of his body. He no sooner heals and he's splitting open again. A supernatural fancy, for sure, but what John-Jo represents is hope. Hope against evil, and I really appreciated this, particularly towards the end, when John-Jo fulfils his prophecy:
“The end comes not with broken seals and the foretold apocalypse, but with the subtle change of the mind, a breath of new air. Then history is torn.”

Now, as if all this was not enough to make for a cracking story, there is also the notion of life after death interspersed throughout. I don't really want to comment too much on this aspect of the novel as I think these sections are open to interpretation based on your own beliefs and imagination. Needless to say, they added another layer to the overall themes of morality and existence that run rampant in All the Galaxies, giving it a sophisticated edge that elevates this novel to a higher plane of contemplation.

All the Galaxies is an incredibly complicated novel that is incredibly easy to read. It will pull you in, set your mind on fire, and then leave you wanting more. I liken this story to a puzzle, a living puzzle that continually changes its pieces, the final picture assembled resembling nothing like you could have imagined. At times you're not too sure if all the pieces are going to fit, but in the end they do. And in the most magnificent way.

“Among the stars we all live again...And in his triumph the Enemy will be confounded.”
Something for us all to hope for.

Thanks is extended to Allen and Unwin for providing me with a copy of All the Galaxies for review.

[Essi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Weird. Strange. Not bad, but I am so confused right now.

[E.P. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some time in the near future, after another failed referendum on independence, Scotland is torn apart by seemingly senseless violence. Meanwhile, a boy finds himself exploring the planets of the dead in his own post-life body, with his faithful childhood dog companion at his side.

"All The Galaxies" defies genre distinctions. It's one part gritty thriller, set against the backdrop of Glasgow and Edinburgh, kind of like a futuristic Ian Rankin novel. And then it's another part the story of a failed marriage and adult (self) disillusionment and disappointment, and a third part a gloriously surreal young adult fantasy tale interwoven with themes and imagery taken from the Gospels and Revelation, somehow reminiscent of "A Wrinkle in Time" and the books in that series.

Which is not to say that this is a story for children. The writing style is dense and poetic, so that, while it's a short book, it's not necessarily a quick read. This is not a criticism, but rather a notice that readers should not jump into this book thinking it will be a quick evening's entertainment. Although the book is full of brilliant imagery and sharply delineated characters, the complex plot and the intensely literary style demand the reader's full attention. Readers looking for light and fluffy escapism should steer themselves elsewhere. However, for readers looking for something a bit different, something that will provide a tough, chewy, and memorable reading experience, "All The Galaxies" may be just what they are looking for.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a review copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

[Jennifer (JC-S) · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘Overhead the stars wheeled and curled.’

There’s been a second failed independence referendum in Scotland. As a consequence, Scotland is in turmoil and has split into a number of autonomous city states. In Glasgow, John Fallon is a disillusioned journalist working for a failing newspaper. His son Roland, participating in a protest, has gone missing after the peaceful protest turned violent. Fallon is worried.

In another world, a boy awakes in the afterlife. He’s accompanied by his spirit guide, his beloved childhood dog Kim. He asks Kim to call him Tarka. Together, they take a journey, to the planets where the dead go, where the boy hopes to find his long dead mother.

‘I’ve been here for years. I know the ways. ’

As the boy and his dog move between the planets searching for the boy’s mother, Fallon is searching for his son. Both will discover that life (and death) are more complex than each had thought. And the boy? He learns something which requires him to make a difficult choice. Fallon makes his own discoveries, considers what journalism means, wonders about the future. But most of all, it is his son he is searching for. Or is it?

At times I found it hard to navigate my way through this novel. While I liked the idea of a long-dead pet being a guide in the afterlife, I struggled to shift between the two worlds. When I stopped trying to make sense of it, I found it easier going. By the end, I preferred the afterlife to the awful image of Glasgow. And it isn’t just Glasgow, is it? It could well be the world.

There were elements of this novel I really enjoyed, elements that made me think about the world and my own place in it. About my own beliefs and the changes I’ve seen in the last six decades. There were other elements that made me uneasy. But that is surely the role of dystopian fiction, to present confusion, to make the reader uncomfortable, to wonder about ‘what if’?

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

[Lolly K Dandeneau · Rating 4 out of 5]

via my blog https://bookstalkerblog.wordpress.com
He had the shape of a memory, but it was pale, uncolored.

This is a hard novel to describe because it is Sci-Fi, mystical, but with an oppressive world thrown in, full of the sort of questions we ask ourselves hoping for and fearing the answers. The questions that swallow us, life and death and everything gooey in between. It is apocalyptic and dark, but I loved the father/son story. John Fallon is a single father, a journalist, miserable. Scotland has fallen apart, those taking charge are corrupt, the future of Scotland , separated into states, looks bleak. Fallon’s son Roland has gone missing after student protests against the police have soured and become violent. Parallel to their story, a boy and his dog (spirit guide) traverse the universe, the afterlife looking for his mother. Is he real? How does the story of the young boy and his dog tie into the father/son? When do journeys begin and end? What do we understand of the world and each other?

It’s about a father’s failure in relation to his son, as much as the world around him is falling, failing. It’s about so much that I can’t even find the words to describe it. It engages the reader, leaving you a bit numb wondering about life, meaning. Time controls so much, we make so many mistakes with our loved ones. Can love traverse chaos, corruption, galaxies, time or death? This was sadder than I expected when I got to the end. It seems nothing is solid here, and what you think you know and understand shifts. Perfect for readers who like to question the universe and every creature inside and outside of it. While it is Sci-Fi there is a supernatural flavoring too.
Lovely.

Publication Date: April 6, 2o17

Freight Books

[Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very difficult book to review, this, and I would certainly imagine unfilmable! The book jumps between past, present and future, Earth and outer space, talking dogs and Glasgow terrorists. The different strands of the novel are nothing alike, yet they come together in a very satisfactory way. The descriptions of the boy and his dog fizzing through space and time are unique and vivid, yet it's the world-building of a future Glasgow that really impressed me. There is a huge amount packed into these 300 or so pages, and I'd recommend if you're looking for something completely different from anything else out there.

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway. Could not get into this story at all, tedious to read, although it did have a few thought provoking issues. Liked the cover though

[Zeljka · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book through Netgalley. I have read it in only three days - it was a dark and depressing novel, yet so captivating in all its complexity. There were so many interesting intermingling storylines, from the past, today and the future, all in the same time. The today storywise wasn't our real present day, more like an alternate reality, so it made the reading comprehension all the more difficult. At times it was hard to grasp what's going on and when, but I didn't want to stop reading. Setting descriptions and characters were written beautifully. Their hurt, insecurities and overall despair were palpable. The mystery and its solving were equally interesting part of the story, although I wish the ending did not require so much of my own imagination to complete the puzzle. In the whole, this certainly isn't a book for everyone. It requires thinking and not so a happy-go-lucky attitude because you won't get far with it if you aren't in a mood. I believe fans of horror and science fiction would like it.

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's me, not you. I could not get into this book and it was a total slog for me. I couldn't get into the characters or the story. It was multiple arcs of something I couldn't get drawn into any of it. It jumped too quickly and bored me immensely.

Give me a book with a dog on the cover with a semi interesting summary and I'll read it. But sometimes, like this, I truly regret it.

[Esther · Rating 1 out of 5]

this book sucked shit.

written by a man who thinks that women are very different from men.

didn't use quotation marks around people speaking , which was not artistic or clever, just very annoying.

i did not finish.

unreadable.

[Anushka · Rating 1 out of 5]

An Awesome book ...

[MisterHobgoblin · Rating 4 out of 5]

All The Galaxies is a strange and hypnotic blend of four stories that cross and merge and unmerge again.

First, there is Scotland in the near future. Following a second independence referendum (which we presume Scotland lost), law and order has broken down in The Horrors, but strong city state governments have emerged from the remnants of local councils. Within Greater Glasgow, control is being reasserted, the internet has been restored and the leader of the sinister Wardens movement, Wee Lawrence, is in Barlinnie. Oh, and Rangers FC (or should that be Sevco) is no more – so it’s not all doom and gloom.

Second, there is the story of John Fallon, a news editor in the fictional Mercury newspaper. Originally from England, he has landed up in Glasgow, his wife long gone and contact with his adult son Roland about to evaporate. He and his crew try to provide objectivity and sense from the chaos, all the while lurching from bar to bar, extending one night stands for as long as they will go, living in debauched squalor.

Thirdly, there is the story of Fallon’s son Roland, remembering life in Tyrdale as a child, holidays to the Scottish islands and drunken student parties.

And finally, there is a boy, Tarka, travelling the heavens with his spirit-guide dog Kim.

The novel is really well constructed, balancing the elements carefully – no mean feat considering the multiple points of view and the strangeness of some of the subject matter. And the fourth narrative in the heavens is very strange indeed – no longer bound by the laws of physics, time, location or society. No dog lover could read this section without falling for Kim, the wise, kind, loyal and talkative border terrier (though whoever thought a cover picture of a dead dog would sell a book needs professional help).

My favourite story, though, is the Scottish dystopia. Knowing Glasgow helps – particularly the immediate environs of George Square and Kelvingrove. But knowing Scottish politics – and Northern Ireland’s recent history from which so many of the novel’s scenes have been borrowed – probably helps even more. And the great thing is that unlike typical fictional dystopias, we are not on the verge of the end of the world; we haven’t seen the collapse of the system; we haven’t descended into savage people roaming through smouldering embers in search of canned food. It is a plausible situation where commerce continues, communications remain in place, people travel and work and socialise, and Glasgow City Council officials seize the power they have spent their entire careers envying. And goodness me, Philip Miller must have spent some time in the “cube” of City Chambers to have been able to evoke it so accurately.

If there is a criticism, it is that the plot does not always live up to the stellar settings and descriptions. Only Tarka is allowed a personality that develops; the other characters have to be taken as found. Fallon’s life, in particular, is not always fascinating and the intrigue involving the journalists and the council was perhaps a little too murky and ended up a little too unresolved. In fact, the ending as a whole felt a bit of a let-down after much promise.

But these are minor criticisms of an otherwise excellent novel that will make the reader think about the ephemerality of life, the importance of love and friendship, the machinery of government, and astral dogs.

[Ken Richards · Rating 2 out of 5]

First the positives. Eloquent prose, a dark and disturbing picture of a near future dystopic Glasgow. Written with punch and power. The prose sometimes flows with a grandiose sense of the possibilities and potential. A heartfelt lament for the passing of journalism, and a healthy contempt for the asset strippers of capitalism, all jargon and no heart.

And to the failings.

A rather bewildering plot, lost boys and men, seeking their mothers and failing to find them. A lament for the fall of civilization, all the while fetishising the violence and nihilism of male fascist fantasies which brought about the fall. A garnish of apocalyptic Christianity, with a stigmataed Christ figure, who may or may not be a saviour or harbinger of the End. No characters with much redeeming virtue.

A somewhat pointless quest through the galaxies, with spirit guide terrier, in search of what is never found. I took a point off for the slander of cats.

Not a complete waste of time though.

[Furrawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I still can't decide what I think about this book. Much of it was beautifully written. It was lyrical and inventive. In the end, I think that God was a gigantic alien and Jesus was a little boy who agreed to leave his dog and be reborn on Earth as its last chance. It wasn't bad. I'm not sure what it was. I'm still thinking about it.

It will cause you to go kiss your dog an extra time. It's too... it's too everything...yet, it was wonderful... only not.

I felt like I'd just returned to Earth from an extended time away elsewhere (off planeting) with a dog and galaxies...

Try it. I think I'll read it again... I'm still not sure what I think about it, really.

[Mark · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two stars is maybe a bit harsh, but any more would have been too generous.

This book got better after a disjointed, almost incomprehensible, start, but I never did really get the hang of it. While parts of the story work, the structure is a mess and there are no likeable characters. The writing is no better than adequate.

There was never any danger of my not finishing this, but at the end my biggest question was - how did this get published? At the very least, it needed a pretty thorough edit.

[Tiff Woody · Rating 1 out of 5]

Written by someone who apprently has only just discovered adjectives. Used the word "sloppy" or variations of enough times in only a two page segment for me yell "WE GET IT. THE DRINKS ARE SLOPPY. MOVE ON!"
And no speech marks? Purely annoying. It was such a great sounding premise but again, seems like its written by some idiot goody two shoes child trying to impress their teacher by describing anything and everything possible in insane ways that dont really make much sense or help the story in any way.

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book as giveaway from Goodreads. Odd but compelling. Very dark and a completely different look at love, loss and death played out on the backdrop of near anarchy in Glasgow. It leaves you much to think about, so weird at times but beautifully written. I just couldn't stop reading to find out what was coming next.

[Mairi Stewart · Rating 2 out of 5]

Decent book, read it a while ago now but a bit too...weird? for me. I like an odd book, and a book set in Glasgow about the afterlife and everything was very interesting, but I felt like I was waiting for a lot of the book and then just strange things were revealed that didn't make sense to me. Maybe I just wasn't in the right mood for this book however.

[Fi Murphy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was pretty geared up to like this book so I was surprised when it just didn't really engage me at all. I liked the concept a lot, but I found the descriptions inaccessible at times and a lot of the metaphors and things just didn't quite work. I thought the descriptive passages about Kim were far better by comparison, and it's a shame that the rest of it was just a bit "meh".

[Andrea · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was just too surreal for me. The erratic writing bothered me too much for me to really enjoy the book. Then there was just too much bleakness, hopelessness - I had to talk myself into picking it up again to finish it. But it did give me a few things to think about.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dark and poetic, this book is well written and interesting. It is not for the faint hearted. Rather, it is complex and thought-provoking and delves into dark depths.

[Rachel England-Brassy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finished this whilst sitting on the beach listening to the waves, the book is so quietly powerful that it takes time to sink in. Beautifully written, multi-layered story that I wished didn't end.

[Malky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it apart from the ending. The bits with the flying dog were my favourite.

[Erik · Rating 1 out of 5]

Read about 20% and couldn’t go any further. Top esoteric and trying to be cool. Awful

[Scott · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think I missed something with this book!
I had no idea what happened at the end.....

[Jill Andrews · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can't confess to fully understanding everything I read. But the bits I did were engaging, gripping and at times very humorously written.

[Silvia Kay · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sadly, I couldn't finish this book. I had trouble becoming immersed in the story for some reason and ended up putting it down quite early on...

[Stuart Kenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Found this a very mixed read - at times absolutely gripping and at times a little of a drag. Great base concept though which ensures you always end up back at the gripping stuff in the end.

[Joy · Rating 2 out of 5]

O.K. - that was my reaction as I closed down my kindle after reading the last page of All the Galaxies . This is a strange little novel that could have been great with some significant editing. The premise is intriguing (especially for those with a penchant for dystopia) - Scotland has recently gone through a period of domestic terror attacks known as "The Horrors." There's a large cast of characters, with a father (Fallon) and son (Roland) at the forefront. Then there is a bunch of fantastical, semi-religious, speculative stuff that I can't fully describe, at least not without giving away a few spoilers. These are the parts that could have used some serious editing. Perhaps it was the strong Judeo-Christian undertone that bothered me, or maybe it was the jumping around in writing styles - from realism to fantasy, from straight-forward prose to lyricism. In the "normal" parts, I thoroughly enjoyed the story and the pacing. The characters and dialogue were witty, and there was enough humor to keep the reader from getting too bogged down in the depressing aspects of the story. There were just too many times when I thought to myself, "what the hell just happened", especially the ending, which left myriad unanswered questions. Perhaps this is too high-brow fantasy for me or perhaps it would be enjoyed more (or less, depending on how you look at it) by those who ascribe to the Judeo-Christian worldview. It did make me want to hug my dog!

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.