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A return to the Revelation Space universe is always good news for Alastair Reynolds fans. It's a rich universe that always has potential, not least in the existence of the terrifying entities called the Inhibitors, also known as wolves. As pretty much invincible AI technology whose only purpose is to eradicate the human race from every corner of the universe where they can find it, this is almost guarantees a thrilling adventure in every encounter. In Inhibitor Phase , it's more of an undercurrent of threat than an encounter, with humanity now down to a few remote outposts, trying to keep themselves hidden, fearful of what might happen should the wolves be alerted to their presence. That's the case for the small outpost of five thousand souls on Sun Hollow, who since they have no contact with anyone else, might as well be - and could even be - the last remnant of humanity in the universe. So when a ship approaches and risks alerting the wolves, they have no option to destro...

The third part of the wonderful historical medical murder mystery series, A Corruption of Blood operates very much to the high standards of the previous books, but there is also progression here and a slight change of emphasis. There are a few early hints of the medical issues of childbirth and the role the newly discovered anesthetisation through use of chloroform, a suspicious child death an a suspected murder investigation that has the potential to upset the establishment. Inevitably then since it has invested so heavily in the characters of Raven and Sarah, their relationship and the social complications, class divisions and gender create, comes more to the fore in relation to these matters. Again there is a neatness in how the social behaviours, expectations and even twists of fate that conspire to keep Raven and Sarah apart also provide a context for the period drama and the murder mystery developments. Sarah's ambition to go to Europe to meet the famous female doctor Dr Bla...

The characterisation is a bit colourful and somewhat lacking in originality and the plot fairly dubious in places, but Lebel's Sans pitié ni remords , the third book in his Captain Mehrlicht series develops into an entertaining crime police thriller that is never short of incident. All the expected character types are there, the cynical, world-weary police criminal investigator with a colourful team and incompetent bosses. Mehrlicht, a heavy drinker and heavy smoker of Gauloises, does however have good reason to be self-absorbed this time, as he has just buried his best friend. His intention to take a leave of absence is abruptly cancelled however when he is brought in by another division dealing with a long-standing case of missing African artefact. When a diamond belonging to one of the missing artefacts is handed over to Mehrlicht at the reading of Jacques will, the case blows open again, putting Mehrlicht in a lot of trouble. Not as much trouble as the museum employees who unwi...

El rey recibe is the first of a trilogy where Mendoza blurs the line between autobiography and real life, playing it for humour. The protagonist is Rufo Batalla, young man starting out on a career in journalism in 1968 who gets his unexpected break covering a royal wedding for a small Catalan newspaper's society column. During the Franco years, the public's interest in royalty remains undiminished, with the coverage of Grace Kelly still memorable for its impact, not least in popular gossip magazines. This royal wedding doesn't seem quite as promising but, inevitably with one of Mendoza's protagonists, complications ensue as he runs into any number of eccentric characters. Batalla doesn't get too far in his plans and hopes for furthering his career. After an encounter with a young woman the day before, he ends up being late for the wedding at a hotel in Mallorca, and when he does turn up he is bundled off to a room at the hotel by the minders. He might have missed t...

There's not a lot of raising of the dead going on in Johannes Cabal the Detective , the necromancer far too busy striving to keep himself from getting into that state himself, with little chance of resurrection. Imprisoned for attempting to steal an occult book from a library in Mirkarvia, he finds his stay of probable execution at least temporarily put aside at the behest of the nation's military commander. The Emperor has unfortunately expired before he can rouse his citizens to invade their neighbours, and a necromancer can come in handy for just such an eventuality. Once accomplished, not without ensuring some characteristic mischief and petty but necessary payback for the indignities suffered while in a Mirkarvian prison cell, much of the remainder of Johannes Cabal the Detective sees the necromancer acting indeed as a detective. On an airship. That's his mode of transport escaping from the Mirkavian authorities in the guise a minor civil servant for the Department of...

David Mark can come up with some nasty characters involved in some gruesome dark crime situations in his DS McAvoy series, and some even more horrific scenarios in his standalone books, but he outdoes himself with the premise behind The Guest House , a dark tale involving the illicit dealing in body parts from unwilling and unwitting donors on a remote part of the Scottish west coast. The police and special services have mounted a covert operation however including one agent deep undercover, Nicholas Roe. Unfortunately there are a number of innocent people involved, Ronnie, the owner of a little guest house in the area and her estranged husband Callum. Things aren't working out well not just in their marriage but with three kids to manage and anger issues to control over a cheating husband, Ronnie is finding it a struggle to keep the business going. Some of the current guests are a bit on the dodgy side too. In some respect this is typical David Mark, on the one hand creating some ...

If you’ve read any of Patrick McGrath’s work before you’ll be aware and expect his book to deal with madness, but madness takes many forms. While in books with evocative titles like Asylum , Trauma and Dr. Haggard’s Disease  it is often related to acts of madness in fictional doctors and damaged artists in Gothic asylums, McGrath has extended its range to take in wider dysfunction in American society, as well as the trauma inflicted by historical events, from 9/11 in Ghost Town to the American Revolution years of Martha Peake . What greater collective social madness can there be then than a country involved in a civil war? Last Days in Cleaver Square has quite a few of McGrath’s familiar elements, not least of which is a narrator who appears to be gradually losing his mind, which can only be a good thing for fans of his deliciously delirious fiction, and it is indeed again an artist who is afflicted with the onset of madness here. Francis McNulty is an aging poet who in his yout...