Title: Europe at Midnight
Author: Hutchinson, Dave
Published by: Solaris
Year: 2015
First published: Solaris, 2015
Date reviewed: 12.15
ISBN: 978-1-78108-398-7

This is the follow-up to “Europe in Autumn“. Unimaginatively, I’d expected it to pick up where ‘Autumn’ left off, but in ‘Midnight’ we have a whole new cast of characters.*

Hutchinson develops the theme at the heart of ‘Autumn’, taking it well beyond anything hinted at there. The story has a sustained intensity: you will need to pay attention all the way as the characters weave around in a world where dissembling is taken for granted. So while the book may be demanding, it moves at a fast pace and keeps up the excitement all the way.

Both books are extraordinarily imaginative but are definitely science fiction, not fantasy. The background of life in this dysfunctional future is just as recognisable as our own. Hutchinson manages to maintain complete consistency within his complex world: there’s nothing that trips you up thinking “That wouldn’t happen!”.

Despite being the second in a promised trilogy (or more?) the book stands on its own, but I recommend reading ‘Autumn’ first if you can.

* Well, almost all of them are new — but no spoilers!