Book Review: Hothouse (aka The Long Afternoon of Earth)

Hothouse by Brian W. Aldiss
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Brian Aldiss never disappoints. This novel, which first came out in the U.S. with the title THE LONG AFTERNOON OF EARTH, won the Hugo Award in 1962. Rich in style and evocative in its imagery, it follows a band of some of the last survivors of humanity in the far future. The Earth has stopped rotating and the sunlit side is now a thick jungle dominated by a continent-spanning banyan tree.

Plant life has almost entirely taken over, with many strange and improbably plants species imitating forms previously known as animals and insects. Most plants are extremely deadly, and Aldiss kills off characters with reckless abandon.

Aldiss was criticized at the time for the lack of scientific believability in this novel. Indeed, it's almost science fantasy. Suspend your disbelief, however, and it's an absorbing read.

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My short story collection is out!

My short story collection, The Night the Nazis came to Dinner, and other dark tales, is out now as an ebook.

A spectral dinner party goes horribly wrong. . .
An immortal warrior hopes a final battle will set him free. . .
A big-game hunter preys on endangered species to supply an illicit restaurant. . .
A new technology soothes First World guilt. . .

Here are four dark tales that straddle the boundary between reality and speculation. You better hope they don’t come true. 

These genre-bending tales mix fantasy, science fiction, horror, and a dose of satire. I've priced it at 99 cents in order to entire readers, and hopefully get them to move on and buy my Civil War novel. A special thanks goes to Dale Roberts, author of Irrefutable, for doing the excellent cover art.

The Night the Nazis came to Dinner is available at Amazon, Amazon UK, and all other Amazon outlets. Coming soon to Smashwords too!