The Deep Sky

How it reads

The Deep Sky is science fiction (space thriller, specifically), and its dominant mood is tense. The suspense is the kind you feel in your shoulders. It moves fast: plot-driven and hard to put down, the kind of book that carries you along even when you're tired.

It's set in the wilderness or at sea, in the future, told in the first person by several narrators. Its central concerns are survival, friendship and identity. In weight it sits in the middle: substantial without being heavy going.

It stands alone, so there's nothing else you need to read first or after. The ending is left open, for you to argue about. It's a hidden gem — known to relatively few readers.