DENNIS BROE enjoys the political edge of a series that unmasks British imperialism, resonates with the present and has been buried by Disney
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Fantasy and science fiction round-up
Reviews of the latest from Leigh Bardugo, Nina Allan, Mike Shackle and Simon Morden
Captivating: Nina Allan
[Diana Patient/United Agents] 
STEVE JOHNSON speaks to DJ and singer/songwriter Mark Radcliffe
JAMES WALSH takes advantage of an evening of comedy snippets to pick out which clowns will make it in Edinburgh
MAYER WAKEFIELD is swept up by the tale of the south London venue where music forged alliances across race, class and identity
MAYER WAKEFIELD applauds Rosamund Pike’s punchy and tragic portrayal of a multi-tasking mother and high court judge
FIONA O CONNOR recommends an unflinching depiction of child sexual abuse and its aftershocks, set in a working-class Liverpool family
WE’VE all heard of the ultra-conservative, secret societies based at Yale University such as Skull and Bones. But what we didn’t know is that each of the eight “houses” specialises in a different type of sorcery, like using the entrails of homeless people to foretell movements on the stock market.
That at least is the premise of Leigh Bardugo’s fabulous fantasy novel Ninth House (Gollancz, £16.99).
In her version, the ninth of the societies polices a code of conduct intended to prevent the young aristos from getting completely out of control.
More from this author
MAT COWARD presents a peculiar cabbage that will only do its bodybuilding once the summer dies down
A heatwave, a crimewave, and weird bollocks in Aberdeen, Indiana horror, and the end of the American Dream
A corrupted chemist, a Hampstead homosexual and finely observed class-conflict at The Bohemia
Beet likes warmth, who doesn’t, so attention to detail is required if you’re to succeed, writes MAT COWARD
