Section
Fiction
Spectres and Spies: China Miéville’s Paranormal Cold War Epic
China Miéville’s new novel, set in 1970s London, follows Maur as she investigates suspicious military deaths linked to supernatural phenomena and Cold War espionage. The…
Farewell to Eden: Naomi Alderman’s Exploration of Grief and Ecology
Naomi Alderman's novel *The Strangers* blends memoir and speculative fiction to explore grief through the story of a woman coping with personal loss alongside the…
Emily St John Mandel’s Novel Explores Apocalyptic Parallel Realities
Emily St John Mandel’s novel *Exit Party* follows Ari Waker’s release into a fractured America where parallel realities and political chaos intersect, triggering mysterious events…
A murder mystery to give you the creeps
Sarah Pinborough’s new psychological thriller follows Anna as she confronts a series of unsolved murders linked to her grandmother’s home, facing the danger of becoming…
Secrets and myths in the American west
Téa Obreht’s 2024 novel *Sunrise* interlaces stories from 1902, 2003, and 2024 Wyoming to examine memory, myth, and moral ambiguity in the American West. By…
Gossip and grief: a timeless tale of family drama in rural Ireland
Irish author Donal Ryan’s novel *Where Are the Kings* follows a 12-year-old boy named Jack as he copes with his mother’s suicide and the fractured…
Popular Fiction Review: A Fatal Love by Louisa Treger
Louisa Treger’s novel *A Fatal Love* dramatizes the life and tragic downfall of Ruth Ellis, the last woman executed in the UK, focusing on her…
My Only Boy: A Darkly Funny Near-Future Dystopia
Rosa Rankin-Gee’s novel *My Only Boy* depicts a near-future dystopia where climate crisis, economic inequality, and political unrest intertwine through the story of Elle, a…
Haunted houses: Claire Fuller brilliantly blends social realism and gothic horror
Claire Fuller’s novel *Hunger and Thirst* follows Ursula, a young woman scarred by early trauma and the failures of Britain’s 1980s care system, as she…
Boy meets girl: Romance for the terminally online
Jem Calder’s debut novel, *I Want You to Be Happy*, follows the evolving relationship between a young woman and an older man amid the pervasive…
Douglas Stuart’s John of John: A Brooding Tale of Family and Tradition
Douglas Stuart’s third novel, *John of John*, follows a young man named Cal as he grapples with personal freedom and family secrets in a tightly…
Yann Martel’s 'Son of Nobody' blends personal grief with Homeric epic
Canadian author Yann Martel’s new novel *Son of Nobody* follows researcher Harlow Donne as he reconstructs a fictional Homeric epic while grappling with personal tragedy…