SCI FI FANTASY

IN THE HEART OF HIDDEN THINGS by Kit Whitfield (Jo Fletcher £14.99, 400 pp)

AS TART, dark and juicy as a summer pudding, Kit Whitfield combines power and poetry to serve up the perfect slice of folk Gothic.

In a little woodland village, the smith family keep the fey at bay with forged iron. But trouble is a-brewing in the woods. the youngest smith, as lyrical as he is logical, accidentally upsets a talking blackberry bush and suddenly thorns, real and metaphorical, are tearing the bonds of village life apart. It’s not just vindictive landlords that the smiths must deal with: there’s a monstrous ghost-hound, a fearsomely snobbish cat and a sense of evil trailing in the wake of disruption. Can good prevail? Only with luck, perseverance and a healthy dollop of guile.

THE FINAL STRIFE by Saara El-Arifi (Harper Voyager £16.99, 496 pp)

THE Warden’s empire is built on a hideous caste system where embers rule by magic, Dusters get by and the Ghostings, hands and tongues removed at birth, are the drudges. It’s all in the blood, because it controls the runes on which power is based. Into the mix throw Sylah, a deliciously sweary, drug-addled assassin; Anoor, a pampered and voluptuous posh girl, and Hassa, a Ghosting who knows more than she should. Add a clever plot, rebellion and combat trials and what do you get?

A compelling, charming, sexy fantasy debut whose controlled fury sets it apart.

UPGRADE by Blake Crouch (Macmillan £16.99, 341 pp)

THE world’s gone to hell in a handcart when an attempt to gene-splice China’s rice harvest goes wrong and many millions starve to death. so what is Logan ramsay to do when his

mother, the scientist behind the disaster, sends her children a gift from beyond the grave: personal, genetic upgrades that boost pretty much everything he might ever want boosting?

His sister’s in no doubt: if her superbrain can save the planet, then upgrade everyone else whatever the risk. Logan is not so sure …

You can sum up Upgrade in one word: unputdownable.