The Echo
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3.0 • 9 Ratings
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- £3.99
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- £3.99
Publisher Description
The stunning sequel to James Smythe’s critically acclaimed literary sci-fi novel The Explorer.
TWENTY YEARS following the spacecraft Ishiguro’s disappearance, humanity is setting its sights on the heavens once more.
Under the direction of two of the most brilliant minds science has ever seen – twin brothers Tomas and Mirakel Hyvönen – this space programme has been tasked with one of the most difficult missions in its history: to study what is being called ‘the anomaly’ – a vast blackness of space thought to be responsible for the loss of the Ishiguro.
But as the anomaly tests Mira and the rest of the hand-picked crew’s sanity, Tomas will have to use all his ingenuity if he is to save his brother and their mission.
Reviews
‘Creepy, compulsive Science Fiction’
Metro
‘Science Fiction for those who don’t think they like it’
Independent
‘A tightly knotted, expertly constructed space trip of a read’
Guardian
‘The Explorer has the dreamlike detachment of an Ishiguro
novel…. reminiscent of a 1970s space movie, where the darkness of the void mirrors the darkness of the human soul’ Financial Times
‘Beautifully written, creepy as hell. The Explorer is as clever in its unravelling as it is breathlessly claustrophobic’ Lauren Beukes, author of THE SHINING GIRLS
‘A wonderful examination of coping with loss, time and
death’ SFX
‘It’s like an episode of Star Trek written by JM Coetzee’ Guardian
About the author
James Smythe is the winner of the Wales Fiction Book of the Year 2013, and was shortlisted for the Arthur C. Clarke Award 2014. He is the author of THE EXPLORER, the first book in The Anomaly Quartet, as well as the novels THE TESTIMONY, THE MACHINE and NO HARM CAN COME TO A GOOD MAN. James lives in London and teaches creative writing. He can be found on Twitter @jpsmythe
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Set primarily in the depths of space, the second novel in Smythe's Anomaly Quartet (after The Explorer) picks up 23 years after the disappearance of spaceship Ishiguro as identical twins Mira and Tomas Hyvonen are put in charge of the latest expedition to outer space. As Mira leads a team to the anomaly, Tomas is left behind to run the mission from Earth, and a subtle resentment beings to build between the brothers as a result of their various roles. Yet just when the spaceship reaches the anomaly, the mission begins to go off the rails. Mira must battle with his desire to learn about the anomaly, save his crew, and please those on Earth who funded the mission, all the while trying to get back alive. Told from Mira's perspective, we become enthralled with his increasing paranoia and frustration with his perfect mission going awry. The anomaly presents the fascinating mysteries we expect from space and opens up the story to morally ambiguous choices for the characters. We may learn very few nuances about the anomaly, but there is more to come.
Customer Reviews
Lost in space
I felt a bit conned by this book. The initial mystery doesn't ever progress beyond a certain point the main character might as well not be there as he achieves nothing and the strange behaviour and attachments to the brother just go round in circles without the reader any the wiser. I got to the end and went "is that it?" I felt let down to find the story to be lacking any real substance at all. Most of the other characters barely merit the title. Some good ideas and characterization of the main role, but feel it should have aimed much higher. I Wanted thought provoking character driven sci fi. Felt more like I got an episode of lost.