The Space Between Us: This year's most life-affirming, awe-inspiring read – Selected for BBC 2 Between the Covers 2023 (Volume 1) (The Enceladons Trilogy)

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The main characters, their lives and their struggles, are portrayed very vividly. I was straight into this, just like a thriller’ Ivo Graham on Between the Covers All see a flash of light in the sky and collapse where they are; all three wake up in the same hospital ward. Overnight, a whopping 16 people have had strokes, all of them were outdoors at the time. But while one of the bullies lies in the corner of the ward, alive but barely able to move, Lennox, Ava and Heather have recovered completely. A clever and unusual read ... I was on a journey with these characters, and completely transfixed' Susi Holliday A clever and unusual read … I was on a journey with these characters, and completely transfixed’ Susi Holliday Doug Johnstone is best known as a crime author, but with The Space Between Us he successfully moves to Sci-Fi. If you aren’t a sci-fi fan please don’t let this put you off as this is such a beautiful book that touched my heart and soul. Three very different characters, at different times in their life are brought together by Sandy, an octopus from another planet. This takes them on a road trip through the highlands of Scotland, as they try to save Sandy, a trip both physical and emotional that looks at the human condition and how we need others in our lives.

Alien showdown in Ullapool As pregnant Ava comments near the start of Doug Johnstone’s heart-pounding sci-fi thriller The Space Between Us – “You can learn to live with anything.” For a long time I’ve hankered to write science fiction. I’ve had a folder in my desk drawer for years with science fiction ideas, or at least ideas that wouldn’t fit into the crime fiction mould. I never felt I could make that shift, but my attitude to that changed after my stroke. It’s a cliché, of course, whenever anyone has a life-threatening event, that they come out the other side changed, seeking to grasp every moment, appreciate life more intensely, smell the flowers and all that. But there is an element of truth to it all the same. I felt suddenly less inhibited in my writing. Remember, this was during the early days of the pandemic, too. If anyone could die at any moment, myself included, why not write whatever the hell I wanted? Perhaps unsurprisingly, given what has been going on in the news over the past week while I have been reading this book, the most prominent theme that stood out to me is difference and how people react to it. Sandy is an alien creature and, without knowing anything about it, people have very different reactions to it. For some, it represents threat, in others in evokes compassion, friendship and a feeling of protectiveness. The difference comes down to empathy and a willingness to learn and understand what this creature is, why it has come to our planet and what its intentions are, without making assumptions. It is impossible to read this book without drawing comparisons to what is going on here today and I think this is part of the reason it evoked such strong emotions in me on this reading. I am 100% sure this is deliberate and it is done in a way that is illustrative and not preachy.He’s taught creative writing and been writer in residence at various institutions over the last decade, and has been an arts journalist for over twenty years. In The Space Between Us, by Doug Johnstone, an unlikely trio of heroes have medical episodes that defy unexplanation, then go on the lam to help an extraterrestrial cephalopod evade those who wish to harm it, and reunite with the larger organism it belongs to. Look out for the book appearing on the up and coming series of BBC Between the Covers The Rating Buy

This book is taking an epic tour around some of the best book blogs there are so please do visit some of them and see what they have to say about the novel:It is however one book that a synopsis simply can’t compare to the wild ride of a story you are in for. But there is a brilliant cast; A heavily pregnant woman, a brain tumour patient and a teenage boy all connected…oh yes and by an octopus-like creature. They go on the run through Scotland…what are they running from and why? and what they find along the way…you can only read for yourself to find out. Lennox is a teenager, approaching his majority, a long-term ward of the care system. Ava is 8 months pregnant and trapped in a coercive relationship. Heather has terminal cancer. Together they are drawn towards Sandy, the creature washed up on the beach. As they approach, each of them can commune with Sandy, each in a subtly different way. They all discover a deep and gentle hive mind.

When news reaches them of an octopus-like creature washed up on the shore near where the meteor came to earth, Lennox senses that some extra-terrestrial force is at play. With the help of Ava, Heather and a journalist, Ewan, he rescues the creature they call 'Sandy' and goes on the run. The Space Between Us works on so many levels. It is full of humanity. I suppose technically it is sci-fi, but it is also so much more. Doug excels in looking at the human race in relation to the rest of the universe, giving a real sense of perspective as to who we are and how our actions impact on each other, as well as making us think about how we treat each other. He published two novels with Penguin, Tombstoning (2006) and The Ossians (2008), which received praise from Irvine Welsh, Ian Rankin and Christopher Brookmyre. [3] [4] On multiple occasions, the book pulls the “magical healing” trope that I hate. I could overlook it in the case of the alien-induced stroke, but I was not OK with the “twist” at the end where Sandy magically removes Heathers tumor and cures her cancer. From a disability-standpoint, ánd that of a cancer-survivor; this trope has always been a slap in my face. If you chose to make cancer a part of your story, you have to commit to it. There are no magical cures, ánd I strongly resent the idea that the only way to write a fulfilling ARC about illness is to cure it. Usually, this trope is a deal-breaker for me. Considering it came so late in the book and I already enjoyed the rest of it so much, it’s surprising that it didn’t impact my experience more. This is more than science fiction that delves into the meaning of humanity: it is a psychological, literary, feel-good road trip book. It delves into the loneliness of being human. Sandy is total empathy, able to enter into their inner thoughts and feelings, infusing them with well-being and love. Who wouldn’t want that?

The quartet soon discover that they have Ava’s husband on their heels, followed by local police, and the government officials… Can they help Sandy?