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Into Everywhere (SF) - Paul McAuley ***

This sequel to Paul McAuley's excellent Something Coming Through holds a lot of promise. Like its predecessor it is set in a near future where we are travelling to multiple worlds through gateways after first contact with two alien species. On these frontier planets, humans uncover alien artefacts from now disappeared races - some result in great medical and scientific breakthroughs... others modify the brains of those who activate them, mostly in a negative fashion.

Another similarity with the first book is the alternation of two initially very different timelines which come together as you get through the story, in this case linked particularly by an individual who appears initially in very different ways. One thread, which I enjoyed more, features Lisa, a former tomb raider seeking alien artefacts who has become a loner living with her enhanced dog before her ex-husband drags her into a complex situation. The other features a rather Dune-like noble house, where a young man's attempts to rebel against family strictures becomes a fight for survival as dark forces attack.

So far, so good - and I very much enjoyed it to begin with. But by the time I got half way through I was beginning to feel that I had been reading it for months. The action is drawn out and seems to take ages to get anywhere. It simply lacked the narrative drive of the first book. The ideas are still great though.

Things do pick up past the mid-way point and I enjoyed it again at the end, where I found the first book hard to put down, this one I had to force myself to come back to. If you read and enjoy Something Coming Through, it's well worth getting Into Everywhere as well - but it didn't live up to my (very high) expectations.

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Review by Brian Clegg - See all Brian's online articles or subscribe to a weekly email free here

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