Antony Jones
I'm Ant Jones, the current owner of SFBook and one of the team of reviewers. I have a deep love of most genre fiction (with the firm exception of romance and paranormal romance) and some years ago decided to start sharing that enthusiasm with anyone who'd listen, and some who wouldn't. After cutting my teeth on another site, I took over SFBook from its original creator and reviewer, TC, who ran it from 1999 to 2005.
I've been reading for over forty years, so there are plenty of novels I've worked through that aren't yet represented here. Some I hope to revisit and write about properly in time.
My earliest memory of the fantastic is Enid Blyton's Faraway Tree series, either read to me or by me at a very young age. It seized my imagination so completely that I had recurring dreams about that land and its inhabitants for years afterwards. Sometime later, The Weirdstone of Brisingamen (Alan Garner's debut) reawakened my appetite for stories alongside The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, borrowed from my Gran (who didn't seem to have other books).
Away from SFBook I'm a Senior Tech Lead at Future PLC, leading teams and working on the platforms behind a fair chunk of the company's specialist media. I've also spent years writing freelance for magazines and newspapers, with bylines in the LA Times amongst others. I'm currently finishing writing my first book, A Thirst For Silence, an Upmarket scifi novel that explores immortality, addiction, and the difference between being alone and being unrecognised.
This year I'm serving as a judge for the Arthur C. Clarke Award, the UK's longest-running prize for science fiction. It's a privilege, an education, and an enormous amount of reading.
Books reviewed by Ant (853)
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![Battle GroundJim Butcher]()
FantasyA brief admission to start. I've just finished Twelve Months and realised, slightly to my embarrassment, that I never actually got round to writing a review for Battle Ground. So here, six years late, is that review. I will keep this one largely spoiler-free; the events of Battle Ground are by now w...
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![Peace TalksJim Butcher]()
FantasyA short warning before the review: Peace Talks is the first half of a single story that concludes in Battle Ground, and certain late-book events spill across both volumes. I have kept the major plot resolutions and the ending out, but if you want to come to the book entirely cold, bookmark this and...
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![Skin GameJim Butcher]()
FantasyA small note before the review: Skin Game is the kind of book that hides a lot of its best work in its second half, and to talk about it usefully I will need to touch on a few of the setup beats from the opening chapters. I have tried to keep specific plot resolutions and the bigger character develo...
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![Third Loch from the sunRex Burke]()
Science FictionI stumbled across this one at WorldCon in Glasgow last year. You know how it is, wandering the dealer's room, picking up flyers, trying to avoid eye contact with anyone who looks like they want to talk about their self-published epic. But I’d previously attended a panel about Scottish sci-fi a...
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![The RoamersFrancesco Verso]()
Science FictionWhat if your physical body were no longer a lifelong commitment? What if we could, instead, free ourselves from that mortal constraint and simply inhabit the hardware you happened to be running at the time? This is the central question at the heart of Francesco Verso’s The Roamers, a novel of...
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![Annie BotSierra Greer]()
Science FictionI picked this book up after learning about it being short-listed and eventually winning the Arthur C Clarke Award. It's proof of not judging a book by its cover because I'd have completely passed it by sitting on a table, with its shockingly bright pink swirlyness and quote by Sheena Patel that says...
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![Network EffectMartha Wells]()
Science FictionAfter a string of novellas that were, frankly, brilliant, the fifth book and first full-size novel in The Murderbot Diaries, Network Effect stormed the science fiction scene when it was released, winning the holy trinity of Hugo, Locus and Nebula awards for best novel. As I write this the first...
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![VigilanceAllen Stroud]()
Science FictionVigilance is the third book in the Fractal series from Allen Stroud, following Fearless and Resilient. You know how it is with series; by the time you hit book three, you've got a pretty good idea of what you're getting into. The big question is whether the author can keep the momentum going, or if...
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![The Last ManPeter Roberts]()
FantasyI found this book while wandering around the Dealers' room at EasterCon 76 (Belfast Reconnect). I had the honour of being the first person to buy the book, and had a chance to meet the author, who had travelled from the distant lands of Paris to make an appearance. I believe it's his debut novel, bu...
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![Alien ClayAdrian Tchaikovsky]()
Science FictionThere is no doubt that Tchaikovsky is a prolific author - I'm counting at least 38 novels and many novellas and short stories. Every few months, there seems to be a new book on the horizon. But that regularity of releases doesn't seem to impact the quality of his writing or the sharpness of his visi...
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![What Moves the DeadT Kingfisher]()
HorrorThere has been somewhat of a renewed interest in all things fungi since the Last of Us depicted a post-apocalyptic world ravaged by such an infection that could spread to humans. It's one of those things that at first glance seems worryingly within the realm of possibility, all too well described in...
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![ResilientAllen Stroud]()
Science FictionResilient is the second book in Allen Stroud's Fractal series, picking up right after the events of Fearless. As such it's impossible not to provide some minor spoilers about Fearless while talking about Resilient. I will however try my best to give away as little as possible, and anything mentioned...
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![Unto leviathanRichard Paul Russo]()
Science FictionUnto Leviathan was originally released back in 2001, under the title Ship of fools, winning the Philip K Dick award in the process. It's since been re-released by Orbit under the current title. The generational ship Aragonos travels the galaxy, looking for signs of life and a possible place to...
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![DrakePeter McLean]()
FantasyI picked this book up as I was looking for more urban fantasy to try. I love the Dresden files and given that new books in that series only seem to appear infrequently, I was getting an urban fantasy itch. This book stood out as it was recommended by talented and under-appreciated author Dave Hutchi...
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![Empire of the VampireJay Kristoff]()
FantasyI've been meaning to read this book for quite some time. It's been staring accusingly across the room. But I'm still trying to find time to read right now and it's not the most sveltely of shapes, coming in at a weighty 730+ pages. I finally gave in, and I'm glad I did. This does invariably mean how...
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![Before the coffee gets coldToshikazu Kawaguchi]()
Science FictionThere seems to be a bit of an explosion of time travel novels in the last few years, some even flying under the radar of being labelled "science fiction" - so that people who only read "serious fiction" can be entertained too I guess. Before the coffee gets cold, the first in a series, initially see...
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![HammeredKevin Hearne]()
FantasyHammered is the third book in Kevin Hearne's Iron Druid Chronicles series, following the story of Atticus O'Sullivan, a 2,000-year-old druid who runs a bookstore in Tempe, Arizona. The plot revolves around Atticus trying to defend himself and his store from the wrath of the Norse god Thor, who has a...
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![HexedKevin Hearne]()
FantasyHexed is the second book in Kevin Hearne's Iron Druid Chronicles, a series of urban fantasy novels featuring the adventures of Atticus O'Sullivan, a two-thousand-year-old druid who is trying to keep a low profile in modern-day Tempe, Arizona. The story picks up where the first book, Hounded, left of...
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![HoundedKevin Hearne]()
FantasyHounded is the first book in Kevin Hearne's Iron Druid Chronicles, a series of urban fantasy novels that follow the adventures of Atticus O'Sullivan, a 2,000-year-old druid living in modern-day Arizona. The story begins with Atticus, who has managed to keep his true identity and magical abilities hi...
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![Nebula award stories 8Isaac Asimov]()
Science FictionThis time last year, I finally got around to reading the 1973 annual world's best science fiction, which had some interesting stories, but were all written by male, American authors. Hardly world fiction at all, and even then not the best of the previous 12 months. Nebula award stories 8 seems...
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![A man called OveFredrik Backman]()
General FictionNever judge a person till you've walked a mile in their shoes, the late Terry Pratchett might add "because then you're a mile away, and have their shoes". It's something we do all the time, form snap judgements about people and situations, often based on first impressions. Perhaps it's a genetic leg...
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![Artificial ConditionMartha Wells]()
Science FictionArtificial Condition is the second book in The Murderbot Diaries, and the follow up to All Systems Red. It won the 2019 Hugo and Locus awards for best novella, and like the others in the series, has received a great deal of praise. It is highly recommended (but not imperative) you read All Systems R...
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![All Systems RedMartha Wells]()
Science FictionAs I write this, the fifth book and first full-length novel in the Murderbot diaries, Network Effect, has won the Hugo award 2021 for best novel, already having won the Nebula and Locus. The series itself has also won the 2021 Hugo for best series. I guess I have some catching up to do. All Systems...
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![The 1973 annual world's best SFDonald A Wollheim]()
Science FictionThe year 1973, UK, Ireland and Denmark join the European Union, CBS sell the New York Yankees for $10 million and Skylab, the United States first ever space station, is launched. It's not a year that's often recalled in history, but quite a bit did happen. Inflation caused issues around the world, w...
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![The Stone manLuke Smitherd]()
Science FictionOne of those books I missed the first time around, The stone man is the first in a series of science fiction thrillers. It looks like it's already become a bit of a self-published success story and the second in the series, The empty men is out now. The story begins on one July afternoon in a busy c...
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![84KClaire North]()
Science FictionDespite repeated and continued efforts by the UK government (amongst others) of turning it into a reality, I still enjoy the odd dystopian fiction. More and more often though it does feel like things that will be rather than things that may. 84K is a good example. Set in a future where the inevitabl...
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![The thief of timeJohn Boyne]()
FantasyI picked this book up some time ago as I like tales of immortality and time and what not, and it seemed intriguing that the same author who wrote The boy in the striped pajamas would write an historical fantasy. Of course it's one of those books that people who don't like fantasy will tell you...
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![DuneFrank Herbert]()
Science FictionThroughout history many have searched for ways to live longer, from healthy eating and exercise to eliminating illness and seeking an elixir of life. I think it’s fair to say it’s a common goal to extend our lifespan. What would you say if I told you there was a substance that, if ingest...
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![Autumn - DawnDavid Moody]()
HorrorIt's good to see that we are slowly getting used to living our lives in a pandemic / post-pandemic society. It's a tough time for most people (unless you happen to be a space faring billionaire) but we have vaccines and some promise that with enough people vaccinated, we should at least be able to c...
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![The 13th WitchMark Hayden]()
FantasyI find it amazing how easy it is to miss things that are right on your doorstep. I grabbed this book online (not by choice, this was before the shops had re-opened) because I was after some easy reading. I often find good urban fantasy easy and immersive. It was only after actually picking the book...
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![FearlessAllen Stroud]()
Science FictionIt's 2118 and humanity has not only got over the coronavirus, but have reached out into space - colonising the Moon, Mars, Ceres and Europa. It's still early days of mankind's expansion though and the ship Khidr is part of a small fleet who travel between the different colonies, assisting the huge c...
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![The Farseer TrilogyRobin Hobb]()
FantasyThe Farseer Trilogy is one of those series that is so well crafted, unique that it defines a genre. It's been twenty five years since Robin Hobb (a pseudonym of Margaret Astrid Lindholm Ogden) started writing about the Realm of the Elderlings and the adventures of Fitz and the Fool. Since then she h...
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![Red DustYoss]()
Science FictionFor those who haven't heard of him, Yoss is a Cuban science fiction author. He's one of Cuba's most iconic figures in literature, having written over twenty books so far, run science fiction workshops and even found time to be the lead singer of Heavy Metal band Tenaz. Red Dust (translated from Span...
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![The Doors of EdenAdrian Tchaikovsky]()
Science FictionAdrian Tchaikovsky has a talent for writing deep, meaningful scifi. He won the Arthur C Clarke award in 2016 for Children of Time and the 2019 BSFA best novel award for the follow-up Children of Ruin. There are few authors that can quite match his vision for non-human intelligence, or his flair for...
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![The Pillars of the earthKen Follett]()
General FictionFair warning, this isn't going to be a normal review, it's the first one I've written post-covid and is much more personal than usual. Some years ago, my father started reading again. Previous to that he hadn't read much for the last few decades outside of Haynes manuals and instruction leaflets (a...
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![Bone SilenceAlastair Reynolds]()
Science FictionBone Silence is the third book in Alastair Reynolds Revenger series and follows on from the events of Shadow Captain and Revenger. First off, if you haven't read the first two books in the series, I suggest you do before starting Bone Silence. You could read it stand alone but it wouldn't make as m...
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![World Engines: DestroyerStephen Baxter]()
Science FictionIn Stephen Baxter's collaboration with the late Terry Pratchett, he imagined that there were a limitless number of parallel dimensions just a small step away, each with a slightly different version of Earth (although none others of which contained indigenous humans). In his latest novel, World Engin...
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![Echoes of WarCheryl Campbell]()
Science FictionIn Cheryl Campbell's vision of the future, humanity finds itself enslaved by a genocidal faction of an alien race known as the Wardens. Decades of war has left much of the planet in ruins and threatens the existence of any human (or alien) who offer any form of resistance. Dani thought she had surv...
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![Blood of an exileBrian Naslund]()
FantasyOnce a noble lord, after a failure on the field of battle, Silas Bershad "The Flawless" was stripped of all titles and forced into the life of a dragonslayer, moving from one perilous hunt to the next. Stalking dragons and collecting their valuable oil, his only escape seems to be death. But death h...
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![The Return of the Incredible Exploding ManDave Hutchinson]()
Science FictionFailed science writer Alex Dolan is just floating along, struggling to find work when multi-billionaire Stanislaw Clayton provides a surprising, well-paid offer out of the blue. He wants Alex to write a book about the world's first privately funded high-energy physics facility - the Sioux...
