CATHERINE STEEL relishes a compelling novel about Augustus’s right hand man, but misses the politics, the cultural shifts, and more detail about his restoration of Rome
Latest editorial
Near-future fantasies mirror contemporary concerns
Science fiction round-up with Mat Coward
TONY BURKE speaks to JOEL McIVER, co-author of the biography of bluesman John Mayall
A misfit couple unhappily ever after, a dead man walking, dodgy journos, and trench art trucking
New releases from Javon Jackson, IZE Trio, and Mal Waldron Trio
PAUL DONOVAN applauds an intriguing multi-layered depiction, dominated by a stunning impersonation of Marilyn herself
EWAN CAMERON marvels at the impossible ambition, realised with dreamlike finesse of translating Italo Calvino to the stage
“THERE is no Planet B,” they say. But in Yen Ooi’s debut novel Sun: Queens of Earth (Spectacle Publishing, £7.85) an uninhabited and previously undetectable Earth-like planet has been found in our own solar system.
In a near future where humanity is struggling to recover from yet another “Great War,” the chance to start afresh is irresistible — but can we do so without repeating the same mistakes?
Thought-provoking and strange, this short novel is overflowing with invention. The writing style is rather unadorned, reminiscent of a fable, against which the ideas and the human conflicts stand out in contrast.
Similar stories
Communists in Australia, Britain and the US outlined a joint state agreement against their governments’ militarist provocations.
Monster profits on the Tube, paternal dilemmas for time travellers, and an alien abduction buddy saga
SYLVIA HIKINS welcomes a an in-depth study of environmental activism that shows how governments work against citizens who put community before profit
Looking for moral co-ordinates after a tough year for rational political thinking and shared human morality