The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances - Glenn Dixon

54%

01.09.26

If this story is anything to go by, cosy dystopia is as problematic a genre as it sounds. Or, detached from its setting, it's just a typical 'underdog heroes fight the villain' story. It was fine but I've read better 'what makes us human' novels.

Constance - Matthew Fitzsimmons

 

48%

17.01.22

Three main things made this 'thriller' relentlessly unthrilling. One: the confusing plot, bogged down with existential questions. Two: the characters with no character. Three: the effort that instead went into the endless, pointless descriptions, detailed to the extent of irrelevantly stating the race of even each one-scene bit-part - please let the reader construct their own visual world.

Followers - Megan Angelo

63%
27.05.20

A oddly compelling account of shallow people leading shallow lives and then sort of, maybe, regretting it. It's a strange mixture of competent, fluid prose and a creaky, US-centric plot.

When the Floods Came - Clare Morrall

66%
08.04.18

As post-apocalyptic, dystopian novels go, this was a lot of fun. A well-imagined situation, with interesting characters. Best not to think about the coincidences and plot holes too much.