The Isis Covenant by James Douglas

Publisher: Corgi
Pages: 480
Year: 2012 (2 August)
Buy: Paperback, Kindle
Source: Review copy

Review
James Douglas made his thriller debut last year with The Doomsday Testament, a fine novel which pitted British art dealer Jamie Saintclair against neo-Nazis in a gripping and horrifying chase across Europe and Tibet to recover a lost Raphael painting and so much more besides. I am delighted to see Jamie, one of the most likeable and amusing heroes you could meet in such dire circumstances, back again in the follow-up novel The Isis Covenant, published this week.

The Isis Covenant makes use of one of the most successful and fascinating aspects of The Doomsday Testament – parallel mysteries in the present day and in the Second World War, in this case, during the very closing days of the war, in a tortured Berlin. We’re used to nasty Nazis in thrillers but in these two novels there is much more to it than that, not least because of the brilliant descriptions of Berlin and the desperation, fear and evil that pushed these men on while the bombs fall and bullets fly around them. James Douglas is the pseudonym of one of my favourite historical writers – Douglas Jackson – and so it comes as no surprise that he can bring the history around these characters to life.

The Isis Covenant focuses on the pursuit of men both good and bad to find the crown of Dido, a wonder lost to history by the Phoenicians and much later abused by Nazi treasure hunters and torturers. What complicates matters is the gap in the crown’s front. This once held the largest diamond ever seen, a legendary gem, known to some as the Eye of Isis. If the Eye and the crown are again united then its power would be revealed but only, so the villains believe, with the spilling of young and innocent blood. The pursuit of the crown and the diamond results in horrors in both 1945 and in the present day as well as in the distant past when Nero was one of the first tyrants to hunt this gift that just may hold the answer to death itself.

Jamie Saintclair is still suffering from the consequences of his previous adventure, not least a price on his head. When (female) New York detective Danny Fisher offers this infamous discoverer of lost artefacts the job of helping her to solve the riddles surrounding the brutal and horrid murders of two families (both called Hartmann) on either side of the Pond, he grabs the chance to keep one step ahead of the men on his trail. Of course, they’re not the only ones. As with The Doomsday Code, there is a charismatic and utterly terrifying baddie following his own trail and savage plan towards the same goal. The paths will cross. And that’s not counting the Russians.

Jamie Saintclair is as agreeable a hero as ever but this time he is partnered with an equally interesting and much more-rounded heroine – tough, brave but wary Danny. There are other intriguing characters here, some of whom are surprisingly likeable. There are several strands of story, set in the present day and in 1945, and you need your wits about you to keep all the threads untangled – just what I want in a thriller. The action moves around the countries too and I especially enjoyed the scenes set in past and present Berlin and in modern Switzerland.

The descriptions are vivid, the action is taut and there is frightening brutality, offset by the appealing Jamie and Danny. All in all, this series of thrillers has great ingredients and I can’t read them fast enough. With The Isis Covenant, James Douglas – aka the wonderful Roman historical fiction writer Douglas Jackson – has built on the both impressive and enjoyable strengths of The Doomsday Testament and produced a corker of a thriller.

Review of The Doomsday Testament.

Reviews of novels by Douglas Jackson:
Caligula and Claudius
Defender of Rome.

Spartacus: Rebellion by Ben Kane

Publisher: Preface
Pages: 416
Year: 2012, Pb 2013
Buy: Hardback, Kindle, Paperback
Source: Review copy

Review
After reading Ben Kane’s first Spartacus novel, I couldn’t read its follow up Spartacus: Rebellion fast enough. Luckily for us, then, the wait has been a short one. At the close of the first novel, Spartacus appears, in his own eyes and in those of his vast slave army, invincible. Having disgraced the most senior of Rome’s generals in the battlefield, the myth of Spartacus is unchallenged, by Rome at least. But Rome is relentless. It never gives up. We are reminded that Rome salted the soil of Carthage so that it would never yield crops, so resolute was it in its determination to eradicate Hannibal from the face of the earth. How, then, could Rome allow a slave army, a mass of sub-humans, to march free across Italy, turning slave against master? While we all must know the final fate of Spartacus and his revolt, this doesn’t make its depiction by Ben Kane any less powerful and poignant.

In this second novel, the tide shifts. Spartacus is matched against Crassus, the richest of Romans, who is aided by Julius Caesar, the most ambitious. Crixus the Gaul, who escaped from the gladiator ludus with Spartacus, has left but further divisions between Gauls and the Thracian Spartacus still threaten. Spartacus’ wife Ariadne, the priestess of Dionysus, has terrible dreams that she keeps from her husband. As Rebellion begins, the Alps loom over the army, the gateway to freedom that the slaves have worked so hard to reach. But now that they see this exit from Italy, will they make that break or will they instead turn and march, taking on Rome yet again, ever hopeful that they win freedom in their own homeland? The revolt may not be as controllable as Spartacus would claim.

The prowess as a military strategist of Spartacus is in no doubt and so in this book there are fewer battles than in the first. Instead we read reports, see shamed generals admit defeat in the forum in Rome, witness towns prepare for assault and hear of their fate. The emphasis instead is on the build-up to the inevitable – the entrapment of Spartacus in the toe of Italy – and its affect on Spartacus, his wife, his followers and his enemies.

A figure we think we may know, thanks to Hollywood and more recent TV dramas, has been rewritten by Ben Kane. Spartacus is far more complicated than I was expecting and even more so in this second novel. The public figure is very different from the private man. Although his followers, such as the wonderful rogue Roman Carbo (so often our eyes and ears), love him and are in awe of him, they are also afraid of Spartacus. Very afraid. Any sign of weakness or treachery is dealt with brutally. Spartacus may lament his inability to stop his army from committing acts of rape and murder but he makes little effort, accepting it as an inevitable consequence of warfare. Roman generals decimate their men. Spartacus beats and threatens his. Romans and the slave army compete in cruelty to their captives – it’s a close contest.

Spartacus is a warrior first, his thirst for vengeance drives him on. How this tallies with his other role as husband and father is something he and especially Ariadne has to deal with.

Spartacus: Rebellion is a remarkable achievement. Building on the character and drama of the first novel, Ben Kane has turned this legendary figure into a living, breathing and rounded man – charismatic, fearsome, brave. Not always likeable, but a hero many risked everything for. But, in the end, this is a terrible human tragedy and Ben Kane doesn’t let us forget the horrors faced by everyone involved, whether they be Spartacus and his men, Roman legionaries, or innocent slaves murdered in the fields they didn’t own. Spartacus: Rebellion is most definitely far more than a book of battles.

Ben Kane’s research is meticulous and he presents his knowledge at a pace and with a heart. This novel presents a terrific conclusion to the series and I can’t recommend it enough.

Review of Spartacus.

Review of Hannibal: Enemy of Rome.

Bloodline by James Rollins

Publisher: Orion
Pages: 464
Year: 2012 (2 August)
Buy: Hardback, Kindle
Source: Bought American copy

Review
Hot on the heels of The Devil Colony, the last Sigma thriller, comes Bloodline. So good was The Devil Colony and so desperate was I to discover what would happen next to Crowe, Gray, Monk and Seichan et al, I couldn’t wait for the UK August release of Bloodline and instead opted for the anxious wait by my letterbox for an American copy to arrive (the cover here is the UK edition). I don’t know how James Rollins does it – the Sigma thrillers may be a chain of novels but each is unique and completely different from what went before or what will happen next. With two exceptions: they are extremely well-written and are utterly unputdownable. If you want to spend two or three days with your nose glued to a book, robbing you of any care or thought for what may be going on beyond its cover, then may I suggest the Sigma series?

I haven’t read all of them, although I intend to, but that doesn’t matter too much. The novels follow events in the lives of the members of Sigma Force, a secret organisation in the White House comprising ex-military figures whose speciality is combating dangerous science. This can mean tackling conspiracies wrapped around mythological or archaeological mysteries or taking on the lethal contents of a test tube or nano-robot. Led by Painter Crowe, Sigma now has to deal with the knowledge that has increased throughout the novels that there is a force opposed to them, something called the Guild. As each books progresses, further clues come to light.

Although as I mentioned you don’t need to have read all of the Sigma novels (I think there have been eight) before appreciating any of them, I would suggest you read The Devil Colony before Bloodline. This will not only be a pleasure, it will also help to explain some of the actions and relations of Bloodline. Deep mysteries of the Guild are tackled in The Devil Colony and that web of intrigue is spun larger than ever in Bloodline.

In Bloodline, the threat to democracy and humanity is focused upon a baby, the unborn baby of Amanda, the daughter of the President of the United States, Gant. When Amanda is kidnapped by pirates from a yacht off the coast of Somalia, Gant calls upon Sigma Force to save her life and that of his grandchild. It’s not long before it becomes clear that Amanda’s disappearance is part of a much wider scheme that involves fertility clinics across America and beyond. Crowe puts Grey and Saichan into the field to follow the trail. They could never have guessed how far it could take them.

With a story involving micro- and macro-robots, macabre genetic engineering, elaborate Dubai islands, medieval knights and the devious schemes that can be achieved only by the most rich and powerful, there is so much going on. Trails divide and divide again. The extent of the threat becomes more known and increasingly elaborate. As teams split up, we follow them across the globe and as we pass from one to the other, the pace never gives. We constantly want to know what will happen next and as we move continually between the different threads of the web it’s impossible not to be impressed and awed by James Rollins’ sheer ability to hold it all together so tightly while keeping you awake for much of the night, enthralled.

Some characters are familiar but there are others who are less well-known but given the chance to take centre stage. There are also new individuals and chief among these are Tucker and Kane. Kane is a Major, a high-ranking ex-military dog (a Belgian Shepherd) and Tucker is his lesser-ranking handler. They form the perfect partnership, adept at communication and acutely sensitive to each other and to others, including vulnerable people. At times Kane bravely leads us into the unknown and then James Rollins gives us Kane’s senses. I’m sure I’m not alone in wishing that we see much, much more of Tucker and Kane in future novels, Sigma or otherwise.

There are twists galore in Bloodline. There are revelations to make your jaw drop. From the first page I knew I would be hooked and I kept on reading with barely a break. It is quite astonishing how James Rollins continues to excel even himself.

My review of The Devil Colony.

Warlord by Angus Donald

Publisher: Sphere
Pages: 464
Year: 2012, Pb 2013
Buy: Hardback, Kindle, Paperback
Source: Review copy

Review
Angus Donald is responsible for reigniting my interest in medieval history – in the late 12th century no less, the time of Richard the Lionheart, Crusade, castles, chivalry, knights and outlaws. Especially one outlaw: Robin Hood. You may be forgiven for thinking that there is nothing new or original to say about this most infamous and familiar of rogues but how Angus Donald continues to prove this wrong, novel after novel after novel. Warlord is the fourth in the Outlaw Chronicles, a series that takes us into the heart of the world of Robin, Earl of Locksley, via one of his most loyal and brave knights, Alan Dale. Both poet and warrior, Alan is our witness and Warlord continues his account of these years of war and cruelty and short lives, fighting for King Richard in the retinue of Robin while trying to scrape together the seeds of a future peaceful life.

I would strongly recommend that you read the first three Outlaw novels first: Outlaw, Holy Warrior and King’s Man. If you haven’t read them yet, then do be aware that this review will inevitably contain spoilers for what came before – previous events have had consequences.

Set in the 1190s, the Outlaw Chronicles follow closely on the one before, charting the growth to manhood and then knighthood of young Alan, a peasant child driven to thievery after the hanging of his father. Rescued by Robin, then an outlaw, Alan grows up close to this charismatic leader who will do all in his power to help a member of his ‘family’ and is merciless in their protection. Robin of Locksley is a gangster, dispensing largesse and cruelty. These are dangerous days. The path to glory lies fighting infidels and fellow Christians, protecting Richard’s lands and defending the Holy Land. And yet, despite the glory and the thirst for chivalric honour, in the end it comes down to violence, vengeance, blood, scrambling to stay alive on battlefields, in forests and on besieged and battered castle walls. Greed for wealthy hostages and booty plays its significant part.

Previous novels have taken us on Crusade, into Germany and Austria to rescue the hostage King Richard, and we have witnessed horrors nearer to home, not least the vividly memorable account in King’s Man of the slaughter of York’s Jews. Warlord focuses on the five years after Richard’s liberation when he and his men have to put his realm back together again, reclaiming lands lost by Prince John and other nobles and going to war against the traitorous French king Philip. War’s one way to describe it but actually it’s more a series of sieges and skirmishes followed by treaties, all inevitably broken.

Alongside this sequence of terrifying and bloody exchanges, we have Alan’s struggle to come to terms with himself as a killer, as a future husband of his beloved Goody and as a lord in his own right. He is responsible for his own men, several of whom are men we are grown attached to, and he also has to pay the price for any wrong doing done to the most tragic of characters in the whole series, Nur. As Alan grows older and contemplates starting a family of his own, he is increasingly haunted by the fate of his father. Who is ‘the man you cannot refuse’, the man who is responsible for his father’s death at the end of a rope? Is it someone distant or someone much closer?

Warlord, very originally, looks at the impact of post traumatic stress on these medieval warriors. The things they witness and do are horrific. We are barely spared as readers. Angus Donald also shows the affect of such prolonged and back and forth conflict on the daily existence of ordinary people and on families. These are times when the distinction between French, English and Norman are blurred. Families are divided in two and loyalties become complicated. Despite the awful situation, Alan develops his own set of family loyalties which exist outside the oath to one’s king.

As we’d expect from this wonderful series, the characters are all richly rounded and fully explored. There is much, much more to the novels than battle, exciting as these scenes are. The richness of the books, including Warlord, is in the development of Alan and his perception of the world about him. Through him, we see the flaws and qualities of the most charismatic of people. Robin himself has changed since the earlier novels as Alan has grown up; Richard continues to mesmerise and charm despite his vanity and greed; William Marshal is a new force here, a rough and brave knight, a hero in the eyes of his men and king. We have lost baddies along the way but in this novel we have a good couple more and they are fascinatingly evil.

This is also a time of great growth and grandeur. Alongside the building of Paris’ Notre Dame we have Richard’s construction of the ultimate fortress, Château Gaillard. Men are seeking a closer relationship to God while grinding many of their fellow man into the ground.

Warlord introduces the extra element of a medieval mystery, a matter that stirred knights for generations. It adds another dimension to the novel, rooting it in the courtly mythology of the day.

King’s Man, the most recent of the Outlaw Chronicles, is a superb book and a tough act to follow, let alone beat. Nevertheless, Warlord manages it. The final two thirds in particular are compelling. From the moment that Alan arrives in Paris on his quest, the pages rip through the fingers. Brilliantly created by Angus Donald, Alan has grown into himself through the novels and in Warlord we are given a thoroughly convincing and mesmerising portrait of a medieval knight, complete with flaws but outstanding in his qualities. I am so relieved that there is more to come.

Reviews of the Outlaw Chronicles:
Outlaw
Holy Warrior
King’s Man

The Testament of Jessie Lamb by Jane Rogers

Publisher: Canongate
Pages: 308
Year: 2012
Buy: Paperback, Kindle
Source: Bought copy

Review
Imagine a future, and a not too distant future either, in which an unwanted pregnancy doesn’t just risk stigma or other social and financial consequences but can and will result in the death of the mother. Jane Rogers places us in such a world. Set in the UK a few years from now, an act of biological terrorism has unleashed a plague on the entire world’s population. All women now have a strain of ‘mad cow’ disease dormant in their bodies. It is sparked into life by pregnancy. MDS, or Maternal Death Syndrome, turns a pregnant woman’s brain to grey soup. Death follows in a matter of days, the unborn child dying with her. This then is the situation in which 16-year-old Jessie Lamb finds herself. The end of mankind can only be a generation or two away. The last children will age and then there will be no more and humanity will be lost.

There is, however, one sad and tragic chance for mankind. It comes in the shape of ‘Sleeping Beauties’, young women who sacrifice their lives to bear a child they will never see. Put into a coma during pregnancy, their brain dies but their bodies last full term. Once the baby is born, the mothers are allowed to die. While these children are also infected with MDS there is the possibility that embryos will be created, or engineered, that will be free of the genetic timebomb, just as long as there are young women brave enough to make the ultimate sacrifice for their child.

As is the case with much dystopian fiction, the new world is shown through the eyes of a few, in this case teenager Jessie Lamb is our guide. Her father is among the doctors investigating MDS in the midst of protests, riots and religious zeal. Teenagers have become militant and Jessie is caught up in this, not least as a form of rebellion against her parents. Meanwhile, her aunt goes the other way, becoming part of a new religious movement, a cult that may or may not end up demanding a new type of mass suicide from its female devotees.

Jessie Lamb is a very normal teenager in most other ways, dealing with school and boyfriends. Her fumblings with boys now have an added frisson – the real danger of an unwanted pregnancy. New barriers are erected between the sexes due to the fear of MDS and while this is yet another problem for teenagers to overcome, for others it leads to a sexual division between men and women or to a predatory upsurge in rape as a weapon. There are victims in this near future world and they are women. Female dead number in their millions.

The Testament of Jessie Lamb is one of those marmite novels. Winner of the Arthur C Clarke Award for 2012 and longlisted for the Man Booker in 2011, it clearly has much support amongst many critics and readers. However, the novel left me cold. I had been counting down the days until the publication of the book and so it was all the more disappointing to discover that I could not bear to spend time in the company of Jessie Lamb. With everything going on around her and in the world, she is still fixated on the same old issues – boys, sex, peer pressure, rebellion against parents – which, while no doubt realistic, do not make for an interesting read. I’ve read quite a bit of Young Adult fiction and I was a teenager once but, while I could recognise elements of the younger me in Jessie Lamb, her selfishness irritated me to such a degree that I couldn’t wait for the novel to finish. Fortunately, it’s not a long one.

The novel moves between Jessie’s past and present, exploring how she came to make the choices she did and their cost. However, not a shred of growing up does Jessie do during this time. She never explores the point of view of anyone else, especially of those she hurts. Perhaps it’s because of this lack of empathy from Jessie that none of the other characters have much colour or substance.

While the world building is excellently done – and interesting to find it focused on the UK – I felt let down by its subject. Also, as a woman, I was disappointed with the air of martyrdom or heroism surrounding Jessie’s character. Like Age of Miracles, The Testament of Jessie Lamb has not been marketed as a YA novel which is fine but it does rather create problems as how else to classify it. It certainly has too many holes to be science fiction. But my overriding impression of The Testament of Jessie Lamb is tedium, aggravated by the two-dimensional characterisation.

For the other point of view, I recommend you read this review from Robin’s Books.

Hunter’s Rage (Stryker Chronicles 3) by Michael Arnold

Publisher: John Murray
Pages: 480
Year: 2012 (2 August)
Buy: Hardback, Kindle
Source: Review copy

Review
Ever since Michael Arnold ignited in me a fascination with the English Civil War – in fiction and in the hitherto unexplored history of places around me – I have seized upon his Stryker Chronicles. Captain Stryker has my full attention. A one-eyed, brave and formidable Royalist, he leads a small band of battered men on desperate missions to put a halt to the progress of rebel forces. Always, though, matters get personal.

In the first two novels, Traitor’s Blood and Devil’s Charge, we have seen Stryker under fire at Edgehill and under siege at Lichfield. Now, in the third novel Hunter’s Rage, Stryker is located on the border of Parliamentarian Devon and the staunchly Royalist Cornwall. While news spreads of forces amassing on either side, Stryker is marooned with just a few men on Dartmoor. With nothing but ancient stones for cover, Stryker has to fight off two rebels with very personal grudges against him. Colonel Wild, known for the black cormorant feathers in his cap and those of his men, wants vengeance on the man who stole from him a wagon of gunpowder but Osmyn Hogg is another matter entirely. Hogg is a witch finder, freshly returned from Salem. He can never forget an injury done to him by Stryker and he will prick and torture his way to his sole goal – Stryker hanging on a rope not long enough to break his neck.

To complicate matters further, Stryker has to protect a young woman Cecily who holds the secret to something that both sides want desperately. By Stryker’s side though are his loyal men and the extraordinary Payne, a giant of a man, a real figure from history, who strikes fear into the heart of every enemy but very different emotions in ours.

The excitement of the adventure never eases and yet through it all we have glimpses of the relationships between Stryker and his men. There are familiar figures here from the previous two novels and so I would urge you to read these novels in sequence if you haven’t done so already. Matters do get complicated and they have consequences. You’ll feel it more if you’ve read the previous books.

While Traitor’s Blood and Devil’s Charge are both excellent novels, it is clear from a very early stage that Hunter’s Rage exceeds even them. Each of the three novels are as exciting as the others, but in Hunter’s Rage, the characterisation and storytelling reach new heights. I was especially struck by the quality of the dialogue and the relationships between the characters but, more than anything, it is the mood of this third novel that makes such a deep impression. With the setting of the bleak and exposed moors a constant factor, we vividly watch men scramble to stay alive. As usual with the Stryker Chronicles we are struck by how Civil War can create demons on both sides and it’s the innocent who suffer. Good men fight good men but there are also truly evil men here who are given free reign by the excuse of war.

I thoroughly enjoyed the thrill of Hunter’s Rage. I loved the friction caused between the men by Cecily. I was also terrified by Hogg.

The story is tightly plotted and the fact that everything takes place over just a few weeks during the spring of 1643 means that we are never allowed to take our eyes off the action. The familiar places of Bude and Okehampton have new colour for me now as I think of the unmarked graves that cover this landscape, the result of forgotten skirmishes.

There is something else that impresses me about Hunter’s Rage. Mike Arnold has created a fascinating cast of characters but such is the strength of his storytelling he doesn’t need to use all of them all of the time, or even for an entire novel.

I have no doubt that Hunter’s Rage will count among my favourite reads of 2012. It is published on 2 August.

Review of Traitor’s Blood.
Review of Devil’s Charge.

172 Hours on the Moon by Johan Harstad

Publisher: Atom
Pages: 362
Year: 2012 (originally published in Norway in 2008)
Buy: Paperback, Kindle
Source: Bought copy

Review
It’s time to go back to the Moon. In the near future, with space exploration stalled, NASA decides that it needs some good publicity. What better way than to send a bunch of people to the Moon in the full glare of the cameras, with every step of the journey monitored by the media and social networkers? Actually, there is a better way. Make half the crew teenagers, recruited by means of a glorious international lottery, and you have the makings of some fabulous reality show. And so we have Mia from Norway, Antoine from France and Midori from Japan, three youngsters aged 16 and 17, who find themselves not only envied by the world but also facing their fears.

The novel is divided into two and much of it is not spent on the Moon. A generous amount of time is spent giving the three teens their chance to vent against the injustices of the world, the stupidity of their parents and the meanness of friends and boyfriends/girlfriends. However, far from finding this irritating, I was genuinely interested in their stories, especially as they were a little outside the norm, coming from parts of the world other than America and Britain. They also demonstrated that no matter the country, teenagers are united by a common language and it resonates. Possibly, for some, the solution is to go as far as possible from everyone and everything. The Moon, then, is perfect.

The parents, too, have their own perspective. Eager for their children to extract all they can from this incredible life-changing adventure, they also have to face the fear and worry. Mia’s parents in particular realise the importance of this trip for the process of letting their daughter go, letting her lead her own life. The symbolism is strong.

But, of course, as soon as the reality hits and the excitement of the lottery win wears off, the two girls and boy are faced with the very real danger of a trip into space, to spend 172 hours, a full week, on the surface of the Moon. It doesn’t help that they each experience mysterious and creepy clues that not all is as it seems. And they are not alone in this. The good reason for this unease is proven early on with NASA’s announcement that the team of teenagers and astronauts will stay in DARLAH 2 – a base on the Moon built secretly during the 70s as an extra measure of security during the Cold War. But, as one of the teens points out, what happened to DARLAH 1?

The second half of the novel did its very best to give me the heebie jeebies. Once on the Moon, everything familiar is challenged and not even the most qualified astronaut is prepared for what they face. Suddenly, 172 hours seems a very long time indeed.

172 Hours on the Moon is a fun, fast, undemanding and spooky read, with characters (teen and astronaut) that do enough to make you very worried indeed for their chances. There might be the occasional loose end or plot hole but I was prepared to let those slip as the pages flew by. The book itself is an interesting one with plans, diagrams, images and an imaginative use of black and white. I originally intended to read this on the kindle but once I saw the book I had to read that instead.

The Moon has fascinated me for as long as I can remember. After reading this, I might turn down the trip.

Existence by David Brin

Publisher: Orbit
Pages: 553
Year: 2012
Buy: Paperback (special edition), Kindle
Source: Bought copy

Review
As my exploration of science fiction continues, David Brin’s Existence proved irresistible. It examines some of the biggest, most compelling themes. Is humanity alone in the universe, a mere freak of creation? If, on the other hand, there is intelligent life out there, why has it chosen to remain silent?

Brin’s focus is on several characters in the near future, a time when space exploration has stalled but leaps in technology are fast and ambitious. Gerald is one of the few humans in space, gathering debris from the orbit of earth and flicking it into the planet’s atmosphere for annihilation – he finds an Artefact, a non-human entity that communicates through him; Peng Xiang Bin lives on the margins of survival in Shanghai, a watery existence in the flooded ruins of devastated seaside mansions – he finds another artefact, which appears to be aware of the other found by Gerald. It doesn’t like it; Hacker is a rich man who seeks thrills. He finds them in space, in self-funded rockets that peek into space before falling back to earth; Hamish is a famous film maker and writer, a celebrity, who works for a confederation that seeks to turn from the stars and heal the earth through the abolishment of democracy and the emergence of a more basic society run by a rich elite; Tor is a journalist who speaks for the flashmob. Seeking to report the truth about the Artefact, Tor finds herself in the unique position of seeing humanity from the other side.

This cast, as well as many others who come and go through the pages, slowly begin to circle around the space artefact, its opposing earth artefact, and show us the world that earth has become. Hacker’s rocket, for instance, crashes into the sea and the only way he can survive is through the help of intelligence-developed dolphins, while his mother and others debate the merit of technology outstripping the ability of humans. It’s not long, though, before the alien voices of the artefact are added to the noise of unease and, above all, fear. The aliens bring a message and how to deal with that message is a theme of this novel. Humans, such as Hacker’s mother Lacey, may have spent millions trying to detect the existence of aliens but, once they’re noticed, what they have to say may not be what is expected.

Existence shows us how people behave when they learn that they, us, are not alone. Interspersed with the narrative are brief passages which examine, for example, potential methods of extinction – the other side of the coin to existence. We also hear hints of other beings, the reborn Neanderthal child, as well as pleas from one of the characters imploring alien life forms to reveal themselves.

These passages don’t particularly disturb the flow of the novel because that is already fragmented by the chopping and changing between characters. This is an issue with Existence. The stories are each so vividly told that the interruption as we move from one to another is felt keenly. The fact that this matters is testament to the quality of the story telling.

Thrown into this are some fascinating ideas – we hear about Awfulday, without being given details, but it is clear that this was some unspecified nuclear cataclysmic event. There has also been a plague that has resulted in Auties – vast numbers of autistic survivors. Artificially intelligent life forms are evolving. The oceans have risen, resulting in slums on the edges of the sea. There are hints throughout of great disasters. We also have glimpses of animal life. Amongst the extinctions, there is the monkey who works with Gerald to destroy space debris as well, of course, as those most marvellous dolphins, and the emptying waters fished by Peng.

Then we have the aliens within the artefact. I don’t want to spoil them and would urge you to read Existence for the surprises in store. They’re astonishing.

Existence is hard science fiction. There is a great deal of contemplation by characters and the narrator about the world and universe around them. Their self awareness increases and we are a part of the discovery. This is especially true of Tor who is transformed through the novel in almost every way. She is a fascinating character.

Existence is about 550 pages. However, don’t let that mislead you. The size of the font means that you may as well double the size. It’s not a fast read but it is an absorbing one. I found it extremely compelling and I didn’t want to be away from it too long. This was because of the characters – particularly Tor, Hamish and Gerald – but also because of some of the other themes we come across, some human and some alien. I didn’t miss a word, I didn’t skim a page. The fact that it was wordy and long stood in the novel’s favour. There was so much I wanted to read.

There were issues for me – especially, as mentioned, the leaping between characters and, as the novel goes on, the leaping between years. The latter led to characters disappearing and loose ends loosened further. I think the novel could have been made tighter. Nevertheless, I was mesmerised by the read. This is Brin’s first novel for ten years. After Existence I can only hope that we have to wait a mere fraction of this for the next.