Jamie Marriage

Jamie Marriage is an Australian science fiction writer who lives Sydney. He has a keen interest in the cyberpunk genre and Japan.

The works of Peter F Hamilton are epic tomes, dense with plot and character, rife with intrigue and complex stories within stories, and among them The Abyss Beyond Dreams is easily one of the most fulfilling novels of the last year.

Building from his earlier works of the Commonwealth and Void sagas, Hamilton subverts convention by folding genres in this newest tale, wrapping space opera within a tale of survival within what could be considered Revolution 101.

Nigel Sheldon, thousand year old entrepreneur and part founder of the galaxy spanning Commonwealth, is approached by the mysterious guardians of the system-engulfing void to solve a quandary: how could the survivors of a fleet of ships, consumed by the void centuries prior, be living on within the blackness as a three millennia old civilization? And more importantly: how can the void be prevented from consuming any more of the galaxy within its abyssal pocket universe?

Within the void, civilization has prospered under the tyrannical rule of the long crashed colony fleet. In constant fear of the cannibalistic alien mimics, the Fallers, life is difficult for those trying to protect the human population of the void-stricken planet where advanced technology quickly falters and is replaced with powers of telepathy and telekinesis.

Narrative and character development stand strong in The Abyss Beyond Dreams, switching frequently between Nigel, ex-regimental officer Slvasta driven by thoughts of revenge and revolution against the creatures and bureaucracy that resulted in him losing an arm and friends to the Fallers, and the young and spirited Kysandra, rescued by Nigel just before she was sold to repay debts and gifted with knowledge of the outside universe.

Split into six books, each cataloguing a period within the chain of events originating with the first landing within the void, Hamilton has managed to avoid the sluggish pace that often accompanies novels of this length. Action fires at an often erratic pace, with periods of world building broken by sporadic intrigue and conflict, but never detracting from the story as a whole.

The Abyss Beyond Dreams is an inspired and complex web of a novel with each interaction guiding readers to possible conclusions before sudden revelations twist the story into further peaks and troughs. That being said, Hamilton has not simply relied on Deus Ex Machina to resolve his narrative; in fact, the characters themselves are often the impetus of sudden change. Readers not daunted by the size of the novel will find this a solid and satisfying read as Hamilton’s, often intense, writing style rewards the dedicated reader with plots-within-plots, and well developed characters.

The Abyss Beyond Dreams is a novel that went far beyond my expectations. Whether you’re a newcomer, or a dedicated Hamilton reader, this novel stands on its own story and will satisfy even the most critical science fiction fan.

Jamie Marriage

Jamie Marriage is an Australian science fiction writer who lives Sydney. He has a keen interest in the cyberpunk genre and Japanese culture.

Writer, mother, feminist, humanitarian: Tara Moss embodies these roles and more besides. This is made eloquently clear in her new autobiography\exposition on sex and gender The Fictional Woman.

In a world that frequently stifles those speaking out against the harsh realities of inequality and conformity, Tara strips away layers of long held prejudices regarding the female sex, gender roles, female and male beauty, the inconsistencies revolving around career and motherhood, and feminism. And with such a varied life story she is in an unshakable position to do so.

The Fictional Woman is a well-researched and intellectual break-down of many aspects of women’s lives as they pertain to Tara’s personal journey; from her early years as a young woman and model, to being a writer in a world where many believed that a model couldn’t do something as challenging as writing a novel (to the extent of having her take a lie-detector test to prove that she wrote her own books), to the stresses of becoming a mother, and beyond.

Many of the chapters elicit strong responses. Tara writes about and from her experiences and much of the content wrestles with long held notions of gender roles and the inequality that are still as old fashioned as the bible. But only by stripping away these beliefs and ideals can we grow as a people.

The Fictional Woman isn’t an intentionally humorous autobiography, but there are parts that may make you laugh, while others will make you cry, or grit your teeth in anger at a system that often leaves half the world’s human population in the position of second class citizens. Emotion is a very strong aspect of this book, making it all the harder to put down.

Tara Moss has been many things in this world; but if this book proves anything, it’s that she is an incredible human being.

Krista McKeeth

Krista McKeeth is a blogger and reviewer from Utah. Visit her website.

Book #1 in The Case Files of Justis Fearsson; new contemporary fantasy series from fantasy all-star David B. Coe. A hardboiled, magic-using private detective hunts a serial killer in Phoenix, Arizona.

Justis Fearsson is a private investigator on the trail of a serial killer in Phoenix, Arizona. Justis is also a weremyste;a person with a wizard’s gifts and the ability to see into the paranormal world.

Unfortunately, weremystes also tend to go crazy on the full moon, which is why Justis is no longer a cop: hard to explain those absences as anything but mental breakdown. But now an old case from his police detective days has come back to haunt him, literally, as a serial killer known as the Blind Angel strikes again. His signature stroke: burning out the victims eyes with magic. Now the victims are piling up, including the daughter of a senator, and Justis must race to stop the Blind Angel before he, she, or it, kills again. There’s only one clue he’s got to go on: the Blind Angel is using the most powerful magic Justis has ever encountered, and if he doesn’t watch his own magical step, he may end up just as dead as the other vics.

Justis is a P.I. living from paycheck to paycheck. Then his old cop partner Kona calls and tells him that she believes that the serial killer “The Blind Angel” has returned. She asks him to come and look for magic surrounding the crime scene. Since Justis is no longer employed by the police department, he is hired as a PI separately by the senator’s family, to look into their daughter’s life.There’s a connection between the death and a new drug that is out called Spark.

Justis begins by tracing down the dealers and sellers of the drug to find out more about how the senator’s daughter was living at the time she died. He’s is aided by a shaman (Ghost) who guides him. However, the ghost cannot see a lot of things–especially with regard to Justis’ future–and becomes more of a moral support, keeping him on track with his training to perform harder and more powerful magic.

David Coe’s writing is not as procedural as a hard boiled detective novel would be; it conveys a more relaxed feel around the investigation but adds in more suspense through the magical side of the story and the world of weremyste and runemyste.

I found this story to be really interesting–the world building and details the author goes into regarding how the magic works; and the different supernatural worlds that overlap with the human world. The introduction of the drug Spark added another dimension.  Though I thought that the narrative was going to be predictable, surprises popped up along the way, keeping me intrigued.

It’s a book I’d recommend to fans of James Swain and am happy to have lost myself in it for a couple of days. If you enjoy magical worlds and murder mystery with a twist, give this one a go!