Shaky science aside, The Last Day is an impressive dystopian techno-thriller. What follows is a taut, thrilling runaround as Ellen, aided by her ex-husband and brother, works to uncover her tutor’s secret while keeping one step ahead of those who will stop at nothing to discover it before her. Her former Oxford tutor has earth-shattering information to impart, but dies before he can do so. Ocean scientist Ellen Hopper, employed on a rig in the North Atlantic, is whisked to London by government operatives. Fortunately for the United Kingdom, it exists in the temperate meridional strip, and now rules over stretches of western Europe with totalitarian ruthlessness. The world has stopped rotating due to the close approach of a white dwarf star, and the majority of the planet is divided into two uninhabitable zones, one frozen and the other sun-scorched. Charnock tells her story through the lives of ordinary people caught up in situations beyond their control, and Bridge 108 is all the more powerful for that.Īndrew Hunter Murray’s debut novel The Last Day (Hutchinson, £12.99) opens in 2059. By switching viewpoint from chapter to chapter, it builds a comprehensive picture of a country beset by the effects of climate change,where citizens are forced into indentured servitude. The narrative charts his perilous journey across a bleak future England, meeting others as desperate as himself as he searches for his parents. After his mother’s disappearance, Caleb finds himself among other illegal immigrants working in a clothing factory. Among them are 12-year-old Caleb and his mother, following in the footsteps of Caleb’s father, making the gruelling journey from Spain in hope of a better life. At the close of the 21st century, bushfires and drought have ravaged Europe and refugees in their thousands are flocking to Britain. Anne Charnock won the 2018 Arthur C Clarke award for Dreams Before the Start of Time, exploring the future of reproductive technology her fourth novel is the dystopian Bridge 108 (47North, £8.99).

The library of the unwritten series