John Staughton, Senior Reviewer

A dark prophecy for America wrapped in a dystopic thriller, The Pystead Group: Daring To Be by James Pryor is a gritty examination of tyranny, technology, and the mind-bending realm of cognitive science. Beginning a new chapter of life away from the oppressive regimes of the American mainland, Phillip unwittingly aligns himself with a shadowy think tank, enmeshed in a Kafkaesque conflict between authoritarianism and a morally questionable revolution. Boasting a slow-burning plot, a manic-minded protagonist, and thought-provoking philosophical asides, this intense imagining of our potential future is chillingly prescient and entertaining from the start.

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Aneiress Torian is back for another engrossing adventure with his eccentric cadre of companions in Athens Ophelia The Partitioner: Doemitonal Magic by Zachary Aneiress. The son of Athena’s ever-growing powers are no match for the delicate act of introducing your first boyfriend to your father, but when a sinister force from the underworld threatens to destroy his newfound joy, Aneiress must conquer his demons, both inside and out, to protect the many loves in his life. The fiercely contemporary tone and timely themes don’t entirely counteract the problems with grammar and editing, but this latest gritty installment is still packed […]

Flipping the paradigm of human domination on its head, The Scorching: Just Press Play by Nick Snape is an inventive new sci-fi series that reimagines survival for our species, carving its own niche in a hugely entertaining mash-up of post-apocalyptic, alien invasion, and climate fiction. The titular apocalyptic event has driven humans underground and under the sea, even as a newly arrived alien force delivers potential salvation on an overheated planet. With genetic modification, mind control, conspiratorial rebellions, and a powerful undercurrent of savage social critique, this opening of a new trilogy is a staggeringly original and timely release from […]