At Boundary's Edge
@hormannalex.bsky.social
Science Fiction reader and blogger https://atboundarysedge.com
Take my favourite SF author Add one of the most popular fantasy authors of all time And what do you get? Unfortunately, you get a disappointment
BOOK REVIEW: The Long Earth Series, by Terry Pratchett & Stephen Baxter
Teaser One day, humanity discovers the ability to Step. To shift from one version of Earth to another. With seemingly endless Earths, all uninhabited, a new age of discovery begins . . . Review I a…
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The series that got me into blogging is over. But was it worth it?
BOOK REVIEW: Shadows Upon Time, by Christopher Ruocchio
Teaser With his allies and his enemies alike gathering at Gododdin, Hadrian Marlowe prepares to meet his fate. The final hour is at hand, but is Hadrian willing to pay the price for victory . . ? R…
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Who wants a single-volume space opera epic? Hopefully you do.
BOOK REVIEW: Slow Gods, by Claire North
Teaser Mawukana na-Vdnaze is born into debt, and dies in servitude. But it is afterlife that will be remembered, for the thing that remembers being Mawukana will play a pivotal role in the end of s…
atboundarysedge.com
Some people are calling 'The End of Everything' the best book of the year. I'm calling it okay. Who's right? You decide!
BOOK REVIEW: The End of Everything, by M. John Harrison
Teaser In the near future, following a series of crises, beachcombers scour the Channel looking for alien relics that can be sold for a profit. But with everything slowly falling apart, what hope i…
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Now for a book that met my expectations in all the right ways. And a question: Howe many changes can you make before historical fiction becomes alternative history?
BOOK REVIEW: Final Orbit, by Chris Hadfield
Teaser For its final mission, the Apollo programme will do what no other American space programme has done. Shake hands with the Russians while in outer space. Unfortunately, the monopoly these two…
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A new Corey book is usually something to be celebrated, but this one left me wanting more in all the worst ways.
BOOK REVIEW: The Faith of Beasts, by James S. A. Corey
Teaser With the remnants of humanity enslaved by the Carryx, Dafyd Alkhor continues his plan to bring down the system from within. But not everyone is happy to wait for his plan to work, and there …
atboundarysedge.com
August reading plans include books, books, and then some more books.
August 2026 At Boundary’s Edge: Everything New Is Old Again
August is here, which means we’re barrelling towards the end of summer. Unfortunately, there’s no end in sight when it comes to the drought we’re currently experiencing. Thankfull…
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Ending the month with a review of one of my favourite books of the year.
BOOK REVIEW: The Republic of Memory, by Mahmud El Sayed
Teaser Two centuries on from its launch, the generation ship Safina has strayed from its purpose. Its crew are now divided by language, its precious cargo of sleeping ancestors at risk from power s…
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Some thoughts on Duengon Crawler Carl. Fair warning, the thoughts are largely negative.
BOOK REVIEW: Dungeon Crawler Carl, by Matt Dinniman
Teaser When an all-powerful alien corporation claims ownership of Earth, the survivors of humanity are given a chance to win their freedom. All they have to do is survive a sprawling dungeon filled…
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Romance in science fiction? It works better than you might think.
BOOK REVIEW: Affairs of State, by Calvin James
Teaser Levar Boylan is just a soldier, which is why he’s surprised to be attached to his nations diplomatic team. Even more surprising is the revelation that the Emperor he has been at war wi…
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And now for a review of a book that I put off for far too long.
BOOK REVIEW: The Fall of Hyperion, by Dan Simmons
Teaser War is coming. A war that will decide the future of humanity. Yet though all hope seems lost, there is one factor nobody can predict: The actions of a handful of pilgrims on the remote world…
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New post from me. This time it's not about books. Still sci fi though. I have some standards.
Beyond the Books: Science Fiction in Other Media (2026 So Far…)
Most of this blog, as you’ve probably gathered by now, is about books. Books are both my favourite hobby, and the core of my research into science fiction as a genre. But there’s more t…
atboundarysedge.com
Two reviews for the price of one.* *Reviews still free
BOOK REVIEW: Two Academy Novels, by Jack McDevitt
Five years ago, I found a row of books in a charity shop in Worthing, all by Jack McDevitt. I’d never heard the name before, and grabbed the most interesting one. It was called Chindi, and I …
atboundarysedge.com
This month's book club read was certainly epic. But is there such a thing as too epic?
BOOK REVIEW: Marrow, by Robert Reed
Teaser Entering our galaxy from regions unknown, the great ship is an enigma. Who built it? When? Why? Humans are not alone in entering the ship in search of answers, but humans might just be the o…
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2 books into The Long Earth, and I think I can pin down why I don't get on with Terry Pratchett. It's not just that I don't like written comedy, but that I'm constantly aware of Pratchett doing the talking when I'd much rather be engaged with the story itself.
Climbing back into my reviewing saddle with one of my favourite books of the year so far.
BOOK REVIEW: Children of Strife, by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Teaser Avrana Kern was not the only scientist running terraforming projects as humanity fell apart. Now the Portiids, Nodans, and a mantis shrimp called Cato must face an entirely unfamiliar form o…
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Farewell to one of the titans of book blogging.
The Fantasy Hive@thefantasyhive.bsky.social · last mo.We have a big announcement to make today - unfortunately, we have made the difficult decision to close the Fantasy Hive We will be staying open for SPFBO reviews for the remainder of SPFBO 11 Read more here: tinyurl.com/4cz7zcjv
Having recently started Starfleet Academy (brilliant so far), Sugar (second season just as mystically stylish as the first), and coming off the back of For All Mankind, I think this is one of the best years for Sci Fi TV I can remember
A little later than planned, it's my annual rundown of the best British science fiction authors.* *Now with added authors
The Best British Science Fiction Authors
Well, it’s that time of year again. The time of year when I collate the data and bring you my list of the best British science fiction writers. The maths is simple. I rate every book I read o…
atboundarysedge.com
Kicking off the week with a brand new book review.
BOOK REVIEW: Ark, by Stephen Baxter
Teaser As global sea levels continue to rise, drowning the entire world, one group looks to the stars for salvation. But even if they can get off the ground, will they find a new world . . ? Review…
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FantasyCon tickets booked. Let the anticipation begin.
Today on the blog, I finally catch up on my review backlog with a look at Dan Abnett's latest mammoth novel from Black Library. Spoiler: It's a bit good.
BOOK REVIEW: Hive, by Dan Abnett
Teaser This is a city on the brink of chaos. The governor is gone, and his replacement is untested. Law enforcement struggles to maintain order as gang wars overrun the lower levels. And in the dar…
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New to science fiction? Looking for a thriller? Charlotte Robinson is here to bring you the solution to both problems.
BOOK REVIEW: Mars One, by Charlotte Robinson
Teaser Four years after the last Mars mission ended in disaster, a privately-funded team aim to be the first to step foot on the Red Planet. The Crew of Mars One know that they’re on a one-wa…
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Some overly ambitious reading plans for the coming month.
July 2026 At Boundary’s Edge: Finish What You’ve Started
Summer is in full swing, and that means it is far too hot to be out and about. Granted, the first severe heatwave in this part of the world is in the rear view mirror, but the upcoming weeks are lo…
atboundarysedge.com
Wrapping up my second underwhelming series readthrough of the month. Maybe this wasn't the month to find the Best of British SF after all.
BOOK REVIEW: The Fall Revolution Series, by Ken MacLeod
Is art political? That’s probably too big a question to open a review with, but if we can answer that, we can get to why my thoughts on Ken MacLeod’s debut series fall the way they do. …
atboundarysedge.com
One of the reasons I've been slow on reviewing this month is because I've been reading two long series. Here's a review of the first of them.
BOOK REVIEW: The Humanity’s Fire Series, by Michael Cobley
Teaser Three colony ships fled Earth during the great war. For over a century, they were presumed lost, but now one has been rediscovered. The people of Darien are about to find out how much the ga…
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Time to delve into the SF Masterworks list for a book (and an author) very few people seem to have heard of.
BOOK REVIEW: Of Men and Monsters, by William Tenn
Teaser Humanity has been defeated, forced to live as vermin in the walls of vast alien monsters. Eric, from the isolated tribe of Mankind, must now do his part for the human race . . . Review What …
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Look at me, reading the same book as all the cool kids. Fear not, brave reader, out of touch niche reading will resume shortly.
BOOK REVIEW: There Is No Antimemetics Division, by qntm
Teaser There is an organisation dedicated to safeguarding humanity against unknown threats. Except some of those threats are so unknown that they cannot be remembered . . . Review Those of you who …
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atboundarysedge.com/2026/06/19/g... Some thoughts on SF, F, and SFF. Are they more different than we give them credit for?
Get the F Out of Here! The Case for Separating Science Fiction and Fantasy
I used to be a fantasy reader. Tolkien, Gemmell, Sanderson, I read all the big names. Somewhere along the line, fantasy stopped doing it for me. That’s when I became a science fiction reader.…
atboundarysedge.com
Today on the blog, a book that should have been marketed as a sixtieth anniversary special rather than a Picard novel, but still has a lot to offer.
BOOK REVIEW: To Defy Fate, by Dayton Ward
Teaser Time is unravelling. With the nature of reality at stake, Wesley Crusher enlists the aid of his mother, Admiral Picard, and Seven of Nine to protect time from an unknown, and unrelenting, fo…
atboundarysedge.com