A recurring image in China Mieville’s 140-page novella
Alien relations served writer Alice Bo Sheldon well as a metaphor for the gender obtuseness and sexual obsessions of dominant human males on Earth.
Frank Schatzing’s Limit is a tautly-written blockbuster while Ian MacDonald’s Luna – New Moon is a dark fantasy, writes Gwen Ansell.
A refugee family is producing traditional Syrian Pita bread and pastries for the South African market.
Violence and murder – of Marikana miners and foreigners – inspired works by saxophonist Salim Washington
Fascinating arguments and ideas combined with a taut narrative tension make prize-winning novel by eminent author hard to put down.
Lesego Rampolokeng’s latest collection reveals a poet who is adept at harsh, harrowing imagery and flights of sonic beauty.
Some local jazz heavyweights and a clutch of crowd pullers are setting the right tone for next year’s festival.
Speculative fiction, science fiction, fantasy, thriller – who cares about genres when the writing is as good as in the novels reviewed here.
As the bassist prepares for his Joy of Jazz show, Gwen Ansell unpacks the musician’s life and the label “avant-garde”, which he has been linked to.