The Big Issue – August 20, 2018

Thecentral character is Frank, who is

servinglifeforthemurderofhisson’sdrug

dealer.Frank’scaptorsgivehimthechance

to travel to Mars to help build the first

permanentbasethere.Theconstructionteam

areallconvictedcriminalsandastheyreach

Marsandunfortunateaccidentsstarttopile

up,Frankrealises that oneofthecrewis

behind it all.

It ’saniceset-up,andwhileOne Wayowes

somethingofadebttoAndyWeir’shugely

successful book The Martian and the

subsequentmovieadaptation,theauthor

stamps his own identity on it, with meticulous

attentiontoscientificandengineeringdetail

intermingled with smart plot twists and turns.

One Wayis essentially a sci-fi updating of the

old locked-room mystery scenario that Agatha

Christiemadeherown,soit’sasmuchabout

the characters trapped in the scenario as it is

aboutwho’stoblameforthedeaths.

Morden’s prose style is suitably pacy and

streamlined,withtheactionaroundFrank’s

situationinterspersedwithmissivesand

transcribed conversations between interested

parties, especially the company behind the

wholefatefultrip,allofwhichadds texture

and depth. Compelling stuf.

Words: Doug Johnstone @doug_johnstone

S

cience fiction is as wide and

deep as any other genre in

fiction, and this week we’re

lookingattwobooksfrom

opposite ends of the spectrum in terms

of style and approach.

FirstupisBall Lightningby Cixin

Liu,whobestknownforhisThree-Body

Problemtrilogy,aseriesoffirstcontact

sci-finovelsthatwonawardsallover

theplaceandpraisefromthelikes

of Barack Obama and George

RR Martin.

Ball Lightningis a standalone that

waswrittenbeforeLiu’sfamoustrilogy

buthasbeentranslatedintoEnglishfor

thefirsttime,andit’safascinatingpiece

of speculative fiction. Liu’s previous

work brilliantly blended big scientific ideas

withpersonalstoriesandthesamegoesfor

Ball Lightning,whichfocusesonChen,whose

parentsareincineratedbyablast of ball

lightningonhis14thbirthday.

As a result, Chen makes it his life’s work to

understand the real-life phenomenon,

bringinghimintocontactwithLinYun,a

beautifulChinesearmymajorworkingon

militarising the energy involved in these

unexplainedfireballs.

Compared toThe Three-Body Problem

thereislessexternalthreattorampuptension

here,butLiuinsteaddelvesdeeplyintoall

sortsofscientificareas,fromquantum

mechanicstocosmology,aswellaslooking

uncompromisingly at where science crosses

over with philosophy and morality. The

conflictbetweenknowledgeforitsownsake

andtheapplicationofthatknowledgeinthe

realworldisbroughttotheforeinChenand

Lin Yun’s relationship, and as events slowly

escalate,aghostlysenseofuniversal

resonanceseems to pervade everything.

This is unsettling and thoughtful writing,

all the more so for the understated translation

ofLiu’sprosestyleandmatter-of-factdelivery.

Ultimately,Ball Lightningdoes what all the

bestsciencefictiondoes–itmakesthereader

look at the world around them anew, and

makes them think about the possibilities of

the future.

Going from the cerebral to the visceral, this

week’s second title isOne Wayby SJ Morden.

TheexperiencedBritishauthorhaswritten

extensivelyacrossthesci-figenreandherehe

deliversanexplosivethriller that blends

science fiction with crime.

Illustration: Dom McKenzie

REVIEWS

BALL LIGHTNING  ONE WAY

Flash and blood

Two contrasting science fiction novels give

Doug Johnstone’s grey matter a thorough workout

Ball Lightning

by Cixin Liu, out now

(translated by Joel Martinsen,

Head of Zeus, £18.99)

One Way

by SJ Morden, out on

August 23 (Gollancz, £7.99)

READ MORE FROM...

VISIT BIGISSUE.COM

DOUG JOHNSTONE

ANDY BURNHAM

TOP BOOKS ON

SCOTTISH HISTORY

A HISTORY OF

SCOTLAND

byNeil Oliver

Neil Oliver ‘from of the TV’

writes in an informal style,

looking at ancient history,

forgotten battles, debunking

myths and covering more recent social history

such as politics and patriotism, religious

infighting and class exploitation.

A HISTORY OF

SCOTLAND’S

LANDSCAPES

by Fiona Watson and

Piers Dixon

In the style of a cofee table

book with well-written entries

on historical and archaeological topics.

Fiona Watson’sScotland from Pre-History

to the Present(2003) is worth a look.

SCOTLAND THE BEST

100 PLACES

by Peter Irvine

Notreally a history book but

this is a great best-of book,

with wonderful photos of Peter’s favourite

places. Plenty of historical places are featured,

such as Rosslyn Chapel and – tragically –

Glasgow School of Art.

SCOTLAND: THE

AUTOBIOGRAPHY

 2,000 YEARS OF

SCOTTISH HISTORY

BY THOSE WHO

SAW IT HAPPEN

by Rosemary Goring

Very diferent from most history books, this

is compiled from the first-hand accounts of

various writers through the ages, including

some wonderful poems. It doesn’t provide

background, though, so you do need some

prior knowledge of the periods to fully

appreciate what’s going on.

AN ILLUSTRATED

TREASURY OF

SCOTTISH FOLK

AND FAIRY TALES

by Theresa Breslin,

illustrated by Kate Leiper

Written for children but

appreciated by everyone, these stories include

fairies, kelpies, selkies and all manner of mythic

beasts with beautiful illustrations.

The Old Stones: A Field Guide to

the Megalithic Sites of Britain and

Irelandedited by Andy Burnham

is published on September 20

(Watkins, £29.99)