COLLECTABLES

The month’s most collectable merch, snapped and reviewed.

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In the year 2125, a nine-ship convoy launches from Earth on a mission to investigate the anomalous behaviour of the distant star LQ Pyxidis, a mission that will take centuries to complete. But Marina Lostetter’s novel is not really about what awaits the crew at the end of their long journey through sub-dimensional space to their destination. At its heart, it’s about the relationship between individuals and society, taking in themes of utopianism, authoritarianism, nature vs nurture and eugenics.

Fortunately, Lostetter comes to these weighty themes with a deft, light touch, exploring them through a diverse cast of memorable, engaging characters, from the idealist who first conceives of the mission to the volatile people who, for very different reasons, threaten to bring it to an abrupt end. Each chapter jumps forwards in time, breaking up the odyssey into digestible chunks and making sure the plot never becomes slowed down by the long haul of intergalactic travel.

There are several brilliant twists along the way – not least what happens to civilisation back on Earth while the convoy is away – and Lostetter skilfully maintains a consistent thread of suspense despite the chronologically fragmented structure. A fantastically assured accomplishment for a debut novel, Noumenon will thoroughly satisfy both the heart and the mind.