The Collapsing Wave by Doug Johnstone

 

It is six months since the Enceladons arrived on earth and they've all but disappeared. Ava is on trial for her husband's murder. Lennox and Heather are being held captive at a military site and used in experiments to try and communicate with the aliens. 

The Collapsing Wave by Doug Johnstone is the second book in The Enceladons trilogy. To get the most out of this wonderful story you really must read the first book in the series, The Space Between Us. Don't let the thought of either of these books being science fiction put you off, they certainly don't come across as typical of the genre. It would be better to think of the books as modern fairy tales or morality tales.

With events taking place six months after the Enceladons descended from the sky it is amazing that there is virtually no public interest. The event has been manipulated by the government and media and passed off as fake news. The only people who have shown any interest are those who feel a connection to the creatures and have set up a camp on the outskirts of the military base on the edge of Loch Broom.

The military sees the aliens as a threat to the status quo, particularly because the different species are able to live together in harmony and pose no threat to humanity, they are simply looking for a new home. By experimenting on Lennox, Heather, Ava and her baby, Chloe, they hope to find out how the Enceladons communicate and track them down since they have gone into hiding.

Thankfully, there are people both inside the base and outside who are willing to help the captives, they realise that "people have power when they work together" and that power is multiplied beyond belief when they work with the Enceladons. I'm trying my hardest to keep this a spoiler-free zone, you really do need to read, and experience, this book for yourself. I read it in a day because I was so invested in all the characters I wanted to know what happened to them.

There is so much to unpack in the novel, this would make an ideal choice for a reading group. As well as the misinformation and media control mentioned at the beginning there is also the plight of refugees, military powers akin to Nazi Germany, animal welfare and the fragility of the human body. These, and so much more, are all wrapped up in a story where the pace never lets up for a moment. And now, it's a case of waiting for the third book in the trilogy to discover what happens next.

The Collapsing Wave by Doug Johnstone is available now in paperback, ebook and audio format.

Author Details

Doug Johnstone is the author of Fourteen novels, includingThe Great Silence, the third in the Skelfs series, which has been optioned for  In 2021, The Big Chill, the second in the series, was longlisted for the Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year. In 2020, A Dark Matter, the first in the series, was shortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Novel of the Year and the Capital Crime Amazon Publishing Independent Voice Book of the Year award. Black Hearts (Book four), was published in 2022, with The Opposite of Lonely (book five) out in 2023. Several of his books have been bestsellers and award winners, and his first science fiction novel, The Space Between Us, was a BBC2 Between the Covers pick. He’s taught creative writing, been writer in residence at various institutions, and has been an arts journalist for twenty years. Doug is a songwriter and musician with five albums and three EPs released, and he plays drums for the Fun Lovin’ Crime Writers. He lives in Edinburgh.