The race /

British writer Allan's debut novel (first published in the UK in 2014) is a collection of four interlinked novellas, each named for its narrator. The first is a staccato-paced and deeply fascinating snippet of the rough lives of Jenna and Del, siblings who live in a dystopian future England. Their survival depends largely on the illegal sport of genetically modified smartdog racing. Jenna and Del's sketchy existence in the coastal town of Sapphire is blown apart by the kidnapping of Del's toddler daughter, Maree, as part one screeches to a halt. In part two, we meet unhappy, modern-day English girl Christy, who also has an unstable brother. Christy's story ends in violence and secrecy, leading directly to part three, the story of a Alex, a minor actor in Christy's brother's romantic drama. Part four returns us to the world of Sapphire, focusing on the now-grown Maree. Allan's lovely writing is hindered by the abrupt switches in setting, but readers of David Mitchell will appreciate the complex and nested nature of the stories themselves.--Szwarek, Magan Copyright 2016 Booklist

Like a pair of facing mirrors, this enticingly mysterious episodic debut novel by BSFA Award-winner Allan reflects upon itself in endless dizzying ways. Jenna Hoolman, an artisan glove maker, worries about her brother, Derrick (called Del), who races genetically modified greyhounds called smartdogs, and his missing daughter, Lumey. Christy, a writer, worries about her brother, Derek (also called Del), and keeps a journal full of stories of Jenna. Maree, a woman who can understand the language of the smartdogs, is kidnapped by government researchers who hope to learn more about her connection with the smartdogs and struggles to reach her father, Derek Hoolman, and aunt, Christy-who may or may not be the Derek and Christy mentioned earlier. The setting shifts from the fictional English town of Sapphire to the actual one of Hastings, even as real countries take on or remove altered fictional guises. Allan works to create a permeable set of universes that are as connected by dreams and nightmares as by cell phones and the Internet, changing realities on the sly like a magician manipulating her cards. Her protagonists catch mesmerizing glimpses of alternative lives but remain resolutely focused on fixing the ones in which they find themselves. Strong writing and the layering of realities gives the book a mental hook akin to the best alternative history fiction, and just chasing down the various meanings of the title will keep readers fascinated for hours. (July) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

This first novel, consisting of four interlinked novellas, by the winner of the 2014 British Science Fiction Association Award for Best Short Fiction takes place in a future Britain ruined by fracking. Jenna Hoolman lives in the coastal town of Sapphire, making high-end gloves for runners who participate in illegal smart dog racing (involving greyhounds spliced with human DNA). Her brother Del has dreamed of becoming a runner since childhood, but a brain abnormality changes his life course, as does his drug dealing, which leads to the loss of someone dear to them both. Writer Christy lives in fear of her volatile brother Derek. She reaches out to Alex, a man who once dated her sister-in-law, in order to discover the truth of her fears, while Alex fights his own demons. Maree, a young woman crossing the Atlantic to work on a secret project, knows that her ability to speak the smart dogs' language has ramifications for the future, but dealing with her past becomes paramount when she meets a mysterious man who both intrigues her and offers her a choice. VERDICT Allan's dystopian journey compares to Emily St. John Mandel's Station Eleven, weaving the alternate realities so tightly that when the final page is turned, readers will not know what is reality and what is not.-KC © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Four semi-intertwined novellas featuring genetically engineered dogs and a troubled family. Jenna and her brother, Del, live in a future England ravaged by war and environmental disaster. The seaside town they live in, Sapphire, is dominated by illegal greyhound racing. The dogs, called "smartdogs," are genetically modified with human DNA, facilitating a telepathic link with humans whose brains have been implanted with special chips. Jenna's and her brother's lives quickly unravel, though, when their niece, Maree, is kidnapped. This tautly written first novella creates a brilliantly weird world that's utterly rivetingwhich makes it especially disappointing when the next one reveals that everything you've read was created by a woman named Christy, who lives in present-day England with her brother, Derek. Christy dreamed up that world to escape from her life after her mother abandoned their family and her brother became increasingly violent. When Derek's girlfriend vanishes, Christie suspects the worst. This story should be fraught, but instead it's flabby and inert, save for a stomach-turning assault that feels as if it's only there to shock. The next novella jumps ahead 20 years and is told from the point of view of Alex, who's acquainted with Derek's vanished girlfriend. Christy seeks him out to determine what happened to her, but instead the narrative gets bogged down by details of Alex's life and an unsubtle, tin-eared examination of the racism he's experienced. The final novella returns to the first's dystopian future, although readers will likely find it difficult to work up enthusiasm for this now doubly fictional world. Maree is now a young adult with no memory of her family. She's able to communicate with smartdogs without a neural implant and was raised with other psychic children as part of a scientific program. When she finds out details of her past, she's left to decide her own fate. The book ends with a baffling and extraneous appendix of short pieces drawn from both fictional universes, which read like writing exercises that were never meant to see the light of day. One spectacular sci-fi novella dragged down by three tedious ones. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.