Beyond the Sun

Book review by Paul Scoones

This book, along with its immediate predecessor, stands out from the rest of the first five Bernice New Adventures as a serious science fiction novel, unlike the wackiness that seems to be pervading this series of late.

Matthew Jones has followed up his impressive debut novel (Bad Therapy) with an equally enjoyable epic adventure. His main strength as a fiction writer appears to be in developing realistic and believable characters, and in particular the two students, Emile and Tameka, who accompany Bernice on her mission to an alien planet are particularly memorable - and in fact have now resurfaced in Gary Russell's novel, Deadfall.

The only aspect that detracts from this otherwise enthralling grim story of a desperate battle for survival in an unforgiving environment is a brief section in which some of the characters perform a stage act in drag for not entirely convincing reasons. It's almost as if, even in a serious novel such as this, the wackiness still pervades. [4/5]