ANDY HEDGECOCK is entertained by a playful novel that embeds a fictional game at its heart
TWO US college friends undertake a trip by canoe through the beautiful, dangerous wilderness of northern Canada in The River by Peter Heller (Weidenfeld, £14.99).
Their joint love of classic expedition literature leads them to a back-to-basics approach. They carry no means of communicating with civilisation — if trouble comes, they will rely on their skills, their courage and their unbreakable bond to get them out of it.
CARL DEATH introduces a new book which explores how African science fiction is addressing climate change
Timeloop murder, trad family MomBomb, Sicilian crime pages and Craven praise
BLANE SAVAGE recommends the display of nine previously unseen works by the Glaswegian artist, novelist and playwright
A heatwave, a crimewave, and weird bollocks in Aberdeen, Indiana horror, and the end of the American Dream



