Blogtour Review - The Transcendent Tide by Doug Johnstone

The Transcendent Tide (Enceladons, 3)
Doug Johnstone
Orenda Books, 14 August 
Available as: PB, 283pp, audio, e   
Source: Advance copy
ISBN(PB): 9781916788626

I'm grateful to Orenda for sending me a copy of The Transcendent Tide to consider for review, and to Anne for inviting me to join the book's blogtour.

In the third and final part of The Enceladons Trilogy, we follow the mysterious jellyfish hive mind to the Arctic Ocean where the refugees from Enceladus have sought shelter. While the story could continue - and perhaps one day it? - this book draws a line, of sorts, for now, indicating what the presence of this peaceful, aquatic species may mean for Earth and its natives. Sandy reappears of course, as do Lennox, Vonnie, Ava, Chloe and Heather. 

Heather, ever restless, burdened by her life, chose to join with the Enceladons, to become, not one of them but more like them. Even this has not though wholly healed her mental wounds and she has also become concerned that Enceladons themselves may have changed, at last reacting to human aggression not by withdrawing but by retaliating. Boats have been sunk, hunters found dead. Heather wants to know more.

Lennox and Vonnie have been hiding out evading the authorities while missing their connection with the Enceladons. Ava has been caring for baby Chloe, but meets a crisis that she believes on Sanday can help her with. At the same time Lennox and Vonnie are tracked down by a mysterious billionaire, Karl Jensen, who clearly knows more than he should about the Enceladons.

I have been impressed by the way that Doug Johnstone has made each of the books in this series a different story, not just a recap of the same story. In Book 1, The Space Between Us Heather and Ava in particular had difficult personal circumstances which intertwined with an almost Buchan-esque flight across Scotland, pursued by both the authorities and a vengeful husband. Sandy's true nature, and that of his fellow Enceladons, were revealed in the course of this, showing the peaceful Enceladons in contrast to the patriarchal human authorities and attitudes. In Book 2, The Collapsing Wave, a secretive US military operation imprisoned our heroes and sought to control - and perhaps destroy - the Enceladons. Again, human militarism and desire for control were shown, but on a wider stage than in Book 1 and perhaps with wider consequences

Now, in The Transcendendent Tide, just as they seemed to have achieved safety, new threats arise for the Enceladons - and for the little band of friends. Also threatened is Niviaq, an Indigenous Greenland woman who is well aware of the realities of colonialism and might therefore be expected to be wary of the mysterious space aliens as well as the  wealthy private organisation now operating helicopters, ships and private jets from a sophisticated base in her homeland.

I enjoyed The Transcendendent Tide as much for its moral dimension as I did meeting dearly loved, familiar characters. There is action and mystery here - what is Jensen really up to? What's been happening to the sinking ships? - but also a crunchy ethical debate. What steps is one entitled to take - perhaps obliged to take - in the face of threats to life and to a way of life? What might though be lost of a peace loving species take such steps? Heather perhaps acts here as something of a conscience, I liked the way she doesn't judge but wants to know. Her conversations with Sandy are frustrating, limited as ever by the different conceptions the two have of individuality (even after Heather's transformation) and she's forced to investigate herself. But she doubts her judgement and even more, her right to judge.

All in all an exciting and satisfying end (or, I hope, pause?) in this evolving story, with tough choices for all.

For more information about The Transcendent Tide, see the publisher's website here - and of course the other stops on the blogtour which you can see listed on the poster below. 

You can buy The Transcendent Tide from your local high street bookshop or online from Bookshop UK, Hive Books, Blackwell's, Foyle's, WH Smith, or  Waterstones.

#Blogtour #Review - The Burning Stones by Antti Tuomainen (trans David Hackston)

The Burning Stones
Antti Tuomainen (trans David Hackston)
Orenda Books, 24 October 2024
Available as: PB, 300pp, audio, e   
Source: Advance copy
ISBN(pB): 9781916788435

I'm grateful to Orenda for sending me a copy of The Burning Stones to consider for review, and to Anne for inviting me to join the book's blogtour.

Anni Korpinen is the star saleswoman at sauna stove maker Steam Devil.

But is Anni also a serial killer?

All the facts seem to suggest it. Anni's colleagues have her down as a cold-blooded killer (albeit one who employs hot steam for her murders) and local police chief Kiimaleinen is determined to make charges stick. 

Only one person believes in Anni's innocence - herself. But can she really hold out in the teeth of the evidence?

The Burning Stones was a fun book to read. It's described as comedy crime, but I think the truth is more nuanced than that - while the story does have its humorous aspects, it's a very dark humour, and the comedy arises from a desperate human predicament. The crime we see is also very, very gruesome. And the eventual revelation of who the killer is and what their motives are points less at human wickedness but at small, rather pathetic and plaintive motives - certainly compared with the nature of the killings. So it's equally a rather sad book, the record of a few days that turn Anni's world upside down, stressing all her relationships and breaking some behind repair. 

I enjoyed the way that Tuomainen throws the burden of proving her innocence on a woman who manifestly has no special talents in that line. As she repeats several times, she is a saleswoman (though a very good one) not a detective. Anni's attempts at tracking down the real killer often seem apt to land her in more trouble, and there's a murky secret in her past that makes it hard for her to be frank with (possibly) sympathetic policemen who might be willing to help - so she's very much on her own, surrounded by colleagues who mistrust her and who, let's be plain, all have questions to answer themselves.

Anni does though have one resource to fall back on - the peace she gains from her regular sauna sessions and swimming in the local lake. Many times in the story she retreats to ponder matters in the steam. But might even this, her understanding of the uses of the sauna, be evidence of her guilt? 

A real mystery, an involving and enjoyable story with well drawn and plausible characters and a tale with ratcheting tension, as Anni waits for that knock on the door, this is a book I'd strongly recommend. It's also a window onto Finnish sauna culture which was enlightening to say the least! I'd never, for example, heard about the concept of a "bumlet" (you'll just have to read the book!) I think that David Hackston's translation is brilliant here, it's as though Tuomainen is deliberately posing challenges, using colloquialisms, songs and jingles, technical terms and very specific language for which, clearly, there are no direct English equivalents and which require words to be created. Hackston deals with all this and more with aplomb and gives us a very readable text besides.

For more information about The Burning Stones, see the publisher's website here - and of course the other stops on the blogtour which you can see listed on the poster below. 

You can buy The Burning Stones from your local high street bookshop or online from Bookshop UK, Hive Books, Blackwell's, Foyle's, WH Smith or Waterstones.