It’s time again for another issue of my favourite sci-fi mag, Shoreline of Infinity!

While the previous edition featured a short story of mine (Secret Ingredients, SoI Issue 15) I’m back to reviewing books in the October offering.

This time around I had the absolute pleasure of reading and writing about Vicki Jarrett’s new novel Always North, published this month by Unsung Stories. It’s a twisty, tricky ‘cli-fi’ tale featuring a vengeful polar bear and a deeply Scottish sense of humour. I wrote:

“Complicity in our own destruction is at the heart of Vicki Jarrett’s second novel, Always North, a climate catastrophe story that takes us from the barren splendour of the Arctic to the equally arresting vistas of the Cairngorms.

“The story slips and twists through various sci-fi subgenres, the altering terrain of the novel’s form itself an allegory for the climate change it’s describing.”

(You can read my full review by ordering the magazine here, or if you’re already convinced, go straight ahead and buy the book here.)

This issue is a bit of an Always North extravaganza, also including an extract of the novel as well as an insightful interview with Vicki Jarrett herself.

There is also, of course, the usual excellent selection of short stories, cartoons, artwork, some fantastic poetry featuring Captain Kirk by Rachel Plummer, and Ruth EJ Booth’s BFS award-nominated column, Noise and Sparks.

Check it out!