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Interstellar space travel, the discovery of new planets, evidence of ancient alien civilisations and first encounters still remains one of the more fascinating sides of science fiction. The apocalyptic and environmental catastrophe perhaps not so much at the minute as we seem to be rapidly heading towards living in a J.G. Ballard novel – not that Ballard’s genius and vision has diminished at all. It remains fascinating because it’s still largely a journey into the unknown and there are many technical advances that have to be achieved or imagined to get us there, advances nonetheless that can also be used for other purposes back on Earth. Purgatory Mount opens with a journey to the planet y, the third Earth sized planet in the V538 Aurigae system, a mere 40 light years away. The five-man crew of the Forward are there to explore a tower that is not a natural phenomenon, but a vast pillar that extends 142 kilometres above the surface of the planet. The crew think of it like a structure t...