There's a quote on the back of this book from Alan Grant - 'Noel K. Hannan blows me away'. I can understand why.

The thirteen stories contained in this book cover a variety of SF themes that have been written about countless times over the years. What the author does in this book is he writes about them in a way which makes them seem fresh and new, as though he was the first person to ever cover the topics.

We have a war on a generations starship (The Brightside and Monger War), a Doctor practising medicine in a city reminiscent of 'Escape from New York' (Medical Ethics, 'Stone Cold Killer'), life in a dark future city (Saturday Nightshift), Alien Encounters (Thoughs of Life and Death...), computer hacking (Divide By Zero) and other such familiar topics.

There is a general theme running through this book, one of a dark future. His vision of how today's problems in the cities, the impersonal nature of the workplace, and the environment are to progress in the future is bleak (very bleak in some respects). But his characters do not dwell on this, there is not a feeling here of preaching a message. The settings are merely backdrop to some quite wonderful tales.

Each of the tales contained within is told in a clear prose style, with no grandeous words blocking the rapid flow of the narrative and causing the reader to reach for the dictionary. The tales are quick to read and thoroughly satisfying. This is a writer who should be read by anyone who needs a fresh look at SF.

Just try the first tale in the collection (my personal favourite) Seeds. It is a story of a scientist who plays at being god and is perhaps the exception in terms of feel and setting, being as it describes a experiment of life creation set in a forest.

I expect to hear good things of Noel Hannan in future years.