"The Old Lie" by Claire G. Coleman

Started reading: 4th October 2019
Finished:sometime in October 2019.

I read Claire's first novel "Terra Nullius" last year, and it was a very powerful book that had a huge impact on me. While very different in some ways, "The Old Lie" also has similar powerful themes throughout it, making you reflect on humanity, refugees, empathy, racism, colonialism, all while being gripped by a sci fi war story full of interesting characters whose paths eventually intertwine in unexpected ways. I thoroughly recommend it. The book also connects to one of the few poems I remember learning at high school that made an impression on me at the time - Wilfred Owen's "Death et Decorum est" - the beginning of the story definitely transported me into the scenes that poem evoked.

Aussie Author Challenge: Female author, Indigenous Australian Author, Science Fiction, Speculative Fiction.

"From the Wreck" by Jane Rawson

I read this book as part of the Aussie Author Challenge 2018.  The book was set in South Australia during the 1800s, and the key incident in the book is the 1859 shipwreck of the SS Admella which I believe was a real event in history. I enjoyed the little historical snippets throughout the book giving glimpses of what life in Adelaide during the 1800s was like, and how some of the places described are still so recognisable today e.g. the botanic gardens and the lily pond and the grand buildings on North Terrace.

However, this is not your typical historical novel about a shipwreck -there is also a strong element of science fiction throughout and it is a very unique story. One of the main characters in the book, George Hills, survives the shipwreck, apparently through the help of a female passenger on the ship, Miss Ledwith who turns out to be a shape-shifting alien being rather than a human.  

Many of the sections written from the point of view of the alien reminded me in style to some of Neil Gaimon's writing...seemingly free-flowing, dream-like/nightmarish scenes, not always comprehensible, but dark and creative and strange yet captivating too.

I didn't really love the book, and found some of the characters very superficially described, but I did appreciate the uniqueness of it, and the 'creative writing' feel to it, so I am giving it 7/10.

Started reading this book on my kindle 30/01/2018
Finished: 07/02/2018
My score: 7/10
Aussie Author Challenge stats: Female Author, New to me Author, Genre: Mix of science fiction and historical fiction.