(1999) Richard Calder, Earthlight, pbk, £5.99, 282pp, ISBN 0-671-03719-6
Tired of her parents and tired of life, Nicola E. Newton teams up with the gunslinger, John Twist, and his Death, Viva Venera. In the transdimensional corridor known as The West, linking Earth to Venus, Tombstone is a gothic cemetary modeled on the ‘wild west’. But even here among the death seekers there are foes to fight, and the trio must undertake an adventure to see that Earth is not consumed by a quantum bomb... Which is just the smallest part of Calder’s treat. The Twist is a lyrical, though not overly sentimental, look at death and, therefore, at life. The characters are engaging, not least the nine year old protagonist Nicola, and their landscape arresting. Calder’s sixth novel shows all his strengths and bodes well for more to come.
Tony Chester
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