Review

Teleport 2: Into the Darkness by Joshua T. Calvert

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The novel “Teleport 2: Into the Darkness” by Joshua T. Calvert was published for the first time in 2023. It’s the second book in the Teleport series and follows “Teleport”.

James Hamilton finds himself on a mission unlike any he’s ever faced. Rescuing a group of scientists who ended up in a dangerous location tests his abilities like never before. Encountering a native population is a great short-term help, but James knows that much more is needed to return home.

The region where the travelers can somehow recover is strange, with a forest seemingly immune to the radiation and storms that represent the main dangers. The decision they have to make is difficult, but the ruins of a city may represent the only real hope.

Sinister Barrier by Eric Frank Russell

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The novel “Sinister Barrier” by Eric Frank Russell was published for the first time in 1939 in the magazine “Unknown” and in 1943 as a book in a revised and expanded version.

Bill Graham is shocked when two scientists his agency has funded die within a short time. A quick investigation leads him to discover that they were two of the many scientists who have recently died, and that some of them appeared to have gone mad. This situation immediately raises his suspicions.

When he turns to the police, Bill Graham is met with skepticism because there’s no evidence that the scientists were murdered, but Lieutenant Art Wohl helps him uncover other cases, making such a coincidence highly unlikely. Gathering fragments of information, the two of them discover that Peder Bjornsen had identified the presence of strange creatures, visible only in infrared light, which appear to be able to control humans.

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The novella “Firewalkers” by Adrian Tchaikovsky was published for the first time in 2020. In 2023, it was published as part of the anthology “Terrible Worlds: Revolutions” as well.

In the African desert, the Firewalkers are tasked with maintaining the facilities that operate the space elevator that takes people into orbit. When a problem arises with the power grid, Mao, Lupé, and Hotep set out to look for the fault.

In an area where conditions are unsuitable for human survival, the three Firewalkers find a house. They discover that Bastien Fontaine, who had worked on the systems of the spaceship where the rich live, and his family live there. However, not everything is as it seems.

Addendum by Randall Sharpe

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The novel “Addendum” by Randall Sharpe was published for the first time in 2023. It’s the second book in the Astral Alignment series and follows “Astral Alignment”.

For Annabelle, seeing a dead body near the local lake is traumatic, especially since various murders have occurred in the area. She and her friend Charon try to support each other in a difficult time in various ways. Other strange events see them sometimes as witnesses and, on other occasions, as protagonists. The presence of Darien Weever, who seemed like a normal substitute teacher at their school but turns out to be something else, adds to the strangeness. Their path also crosses that of a masked vigilante. Danger comes from strange creatures, but also from the Delta Freya and religious fanatics who show that humans can be the worst monsters.

Ray is a vampire but has no malicious intentions towards others. When she finds herself in legal trouble because of an empath she met by chance, her parents hire a lawyer to defend her, who turns out to be a vampire herself and a prominent one among vampires. Mallory alternates between transporting people and running a conspiracy website. The Delta Freya take at least some of her articles so seriously that they kidnap her and her husband and force her to take them to the depths of the Earth. Clover Field encounters a sasquatch who predicts a momentous future for her, but under circumstances that are shocking to her.

Nightshade by Mark Gatiss

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The novel “Nightshade” by Mark Gatiss was published for the first time in 1992. It’s No. 8 in the “New Adventures” range by Virgin Publishing.

The Seventh Doctor seems to be particularly burdened by the events he and Ace have recently experienced and feels ready to retire. He also thinks it may be time to separate from Ace. He takes her to the village of Crook Marsham in 1968 in search of peace.

What was supposed to be a holiday quickly turns into another dangerous adventure, as several people in Crook Marsham have died after seeing ghosts that seem very real. Actor Edmund Trevithick sees a monster that had appeared years earlier in the TV show “Nightshade”, which had brought him fame and success. The Doctor sees Susan.