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Godfall by Van Jensen (Bantam, £20)
The debut novel by a popular comic-book writer is set in a small town in Nebraska, after the landing of a three-mile-long alien figure dubbed “the Giant”. Local sheriff David Blunt is struggling to do his job following the sudden boom in population: in addition to scientists, government agents and soldiers at the highly classified research area established around the mystery from outer space, many more enthusiasts flood to the town, possibly including a serial killer. Two people have been killed in a horrifically brutal way when the FBI takes over and tries to shut him out. But when the next victim is a man he’s known all his life, Blunt is more determined than ever to catch the killer. His investigation draws him to infiltrate a doomsday cult and to discover more about the tangled lives of the people he grew up with, along with the possibility that there could be a clue in the physical composition of the Giant. A suspenseful, well-written blend of science fiction and serial killer thriller.
The Salt Bind by Rebecca Ferrier (Renegade, £18.99)
In 1770s Cornwall, Kensa’s father was hanged as a smuggler, and she now feels a despised outsider, especially in contrast to her quiet half-sister. Only when the local wise woman, Isolde, accepts Kensa as her apprentice can she imagine a future in which she could be respected as a healer. But there’s more than useful potions and a helpful dose of trickery to the role: the wise women of Cornwall are responsible for making sure an ancient pact between land-dwellers and the creatures of the sea continues to hold. Kensa has learned little of the Old Ways when she must suddenly act alone. She has seen Isolde summon the Father of Storms from under the sea, but when she does the same, she finds she has made a horrifying bargain. If she can’t put things right, the sea will rise and drown the whole area. A moving exploration of sisterhood and community, this is an evocatively written folkloric fantasy.
The Poet Empress by Shen Tao (Gollancz, £20)
This impressive debut is set in a fantastical version of ancient China where poetry is a magical art, and the right to rule is established by physically subduing a dragon. Wei Yin, a simple village girl, is chosen by the heir to the throne as his most favoured concubine. Prince Terren rejects tradition, sending for Wei alone, night after night, leaving the other concubines to fume and plot against her. Only Wei knows that the prince has no love for her, and no interest in making her pregnant. He amuses himself by torturing her, then using spells to heal her visible wounds. Women are forbidden to learn to read and write, but Wei orders her eunuch servant to teach her. There is said to be only one spell that could kill the cruel prince; but for the “heart-spirit poem” to work, it must be written with love. How can this be possible, when she feels only hate for him? A powerful, engaging story with real psychological depth as well as convincing worldbuilding rooted in Chinese history.
A Hole in the Sky by Peter F Hamilton (Angry Robot, £9.99)
Set on a generation starship, the first volume in the Arkship trilogy is narrated by 16-year-old Hazel, who begins to question the rules imposed after a violent mutiny 500 years earlier destroyed most of the machines the inhabitants had relied on. Resources are finite, so everything is Cycled - including people, whose lives are ended when they are no longer considered productive. This differs from Hamilton’s previous blockbusters in being much shorter, simpler and seemingly aimed at younger readers. But it’s an enjoyable, fast-moving adventure that won’t keep us in suspense for too long; the two sequels are scheduled for publication later this year.
Hello Earth, Are You There? by Brian Aldiss (HarperVoyager, £9.99)
This fine collection, assembled by his daughter to celebrate the centenary of the birth of SF legend Brian Aldiss, contains 27 short stories out of the more than 300 he wrote over five decades. As William Boyd writes in his introduction, while Aldiss was one of the leading members of the British SF boom that began in the 1960s, his literary output was never restricted to one genre; he also wrote mainstream and comic novels, memoirs, criticism, journalism, and worked as an editor and historian of SF. A welcome sampling of an important, always entertaining writer.
