Book review
Written by Brian Aldiss
Gerald Duckworth & Co (UK); Del Rey (USA) hardback & paperback
Release date Out now (hardback); October 2008 (paperback)

A Muslim man is thrown into a secret prison in an unknown country, and is brutally interrogated about a book he has written. To escape his bleak reality, he imagines he is on Stygia, an alien world ruled by an austere tyrant…

Brian Aldiss may have been writing fiction for over 50 years now, but Harm shows that the veteran author is still capable of creating relevant, cutting-edge sci-fi.

The twin threads running through his latest novel are equally compelling. The first is set in what we assume is the near future, where the protagonist is subjected to a series of psychological and physical tortures for perceived crimes. The fantasy world is no less bleak, a place where illiterate, pre-industrial humans live on a barren world over-run by insect-derived animals.

It’s a believable blend of serious-minded fantasy (complete with mouthless “large, furry black things” and lake-dwelling monsters) and social commentary that attacks the fear and intolerance of the current political climate. Aldiss mostly sidesteps heavy-handed allusions to the War on Terror, and the result is an intelligent and impassioned humanist fantasy. Matt McAllister

VERDICT: 8/10
A downbeat but gripping contemporary science fiction tale.