DOCTOR WHO: THE MAZE OF DOOM FIREWALKERS
RELEASED OUT NOW! 266 pages | Paperback/ebook/ audiobook
Author David Solomons Publisher BBC Children’s Books
Spin-off books of TV shows are notoriously difficult to get right; unable to make major changes or evolve characters, they’re often neutered and flat. And writing for children adds an extra level of difficulty: the need to captivate an easily distracted audience while retaining all the interest any novel requires. This latest Doctor Who title for kids coasts past these potential pitfalls, delivering a funny, solidly plotted adventure that’s an enjoyable read for any fan of the Thirteenth Doctor.
When the “fam” find a collection of clockwork figurines – which then explodes – they’re set on a path that leads to a London auction, a pair of ultra-rich Greek siblings and some familiar minotauralike aliens, the combination of which might destroy the world. Long-time fans will recognise the Nimon immediately, but the book manages the balancing act of not confusing newer fans while never patronising those in the know.
David Solomons is already a bestselling children’s author and he tells this tale with skill and gusto. He delivers some brilliant turns of phrase, and the companions are pitch perfect (particularly Yaz); you can hear every line in the actors’ voices. Perfect for any younger Who fan, with plenty to entertain older ones too. Rhian Drinkwater
RELEASED OUT NOW! 185 pages | Hardback/ebook
Author Adrian Tchaikovsky
Publisher Solaris
Given the present state of the world, a bit of good old-fashioned climate dystopia comes as a refreshing change. The title of Adrian Tchaikovsky’s new novella refers to the techies-for-hire who live around the Anchor, a space elevator situated at the equator of an increasingly uninhabitable Earth. This zone is kept just cool enough to be liveable, so the super-rich can pass through on their way up to the space station that offers escape. But the solar panels that provide power to the Anchor are located in the barren land beyond, and the Firewalkers must travel out to fix them whenever they break.
Our lead characters – Mao, Lupé and Hotep – set out on what seems like a routine job, to locate the source of a power drain and put a stop to it, but this quickly develops into a Heart Of Darkness-style quest into the unknown. Every chapter throws fresh surprises at the reader, continually opening out the scope of the novel, and the imagery is wonderfully vivid throughout.
Tchaikovsky focuses the taut story in such a way that every detail is relevant, building towards a climax that doesn’t feel possible at the beginning but which, by the end, feels like the perfect pay-off. The scenario of a wealthy minority abandoning the masses after profiting from the planet’s destruction is all too plausible, and it’s tackled here with righteous anger. Eddie Robson