A clever and unusual read ... I was on a journey with these characters, and completely transfixed' Susi Holliday Lennox is a troubled teenager with no family. Ava is eight months pregnant and fleeing her abusive husband. Heather is a grieving mother and cancer sufferer. They don’t know each other, but when a meteor streaks over Edinburgh, all three suffer instant, catastrophic strokes …

Prioritising pace, tension and high stakes … a plea for empathy, compassion and perspective … shot through with vivid characters and a sense of wonder’ Herald Scotland As ever a huge thank you to Karen Sullivan and the wonderful Orenda Books for feeding my Doug Johnstone habit.All the drive, curiosity and wonder of his crime and mystery novels … science fiction gains a new author’ Derek B Miller Look out for the book appearing on the up and coming series of BBC Between the Covers The Rating Buy Perhaps unsurprisingly, given what has been going on in the news over the past week while I have been reading this book, the most prominent theme that stood out to me is difference and how people react to it. Sandy is an alien creature and, without knowing anything about it, people have very different reactions to it. For some, it represents threat, in others in evokes compassion, friendship and a feeling of protectiveness. The difference comes down to empathy and a willingness to learn and understand what this creature is, why it has come to our planet and what its intentions are, without making assumptions. It is impossible to read this book without drawing comparisons to what is going on here today and I think this is part of the reason it evoked such strong emotions in me on this reading. I am 100% sure this is deliberate and it is done in a way that is illustrative and not preachy.

a b "Doug Johnstone promises a dead good read". www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com. 5 April 2014. Archived from the original on 6 March 2019. Yup, fair to say I was a bit conflicted about this one as I’m really not much of a sci-fi fan but I’m certainly a fan of Doug’s work. The main characters, their lives and their struggles, are portrayed very vividly. I was straight into this, just like a thriller’ Ivo Graham on Between the Covers I can see this book being adapted for the screen. There’s a definite filmic vibe to it and the road trip across Scotland would definitely lend itself well.

Doug Johnstone is an author, musician and long-time Big Issue books critic. Here he describes how suffering a stroke changed his outlook, and his writing. When news reaches them of an octopus-like creature washed up on the shore near where the meteor came to earth, Lennox senses that some extra-terrestrial force is at play. With the help of Ava, Heather and a journalist, Ewan, he rescues the creature they call ‘Sandy’ and goes on the run. Lennox is a troubled teenager with no family. Ava is eight months pregnant and fleeing her abusive husband. Heather is a grieving mother and cancer sufferer. They don’t know each other, but when a meteor streaks over Edinburgh, all three suffer instant, catastrophic strokes… When news reaches them of an octopus-like creature washed up on the shore near where the meteor came to earth, Lennox senses that some extra-terrestrial force is at play. With the help of Ava, Heather and a journalist, Ewan, he rescues the creature they call 'Sandy' and goes on the run.

Alien showdown in Ullapool As pregnant Ava comments near the start of Doug Johnstone’s heart-pounding sci-fi thriller The Space Between Us – “You can learn to live with anything.” Ultimately the book is about what makes us human, told through a Close Encounters of the Third Kindtype of narrative. A journey across the rugged beauty of Scotland, to preserve something out of this world, lays bare the strength and frailties of humanity. The Space Between Usis a moving novel that very much espouses the idea that there is a hero inside us all. A moving as it is magical and mysterious. Doug Johnstone has hit it out of the park again’ Mark BillinghamBut they aren't the only ones with an interest in the alien ... close behind are Ava's husband, the police and a government unit who wants to capture the creature, at all costs. And Sandy's arrival may have implications beyond anything anyone could imagine... For a long time I’ve hankered to write science fiction. I’ve had a folder in my desk drawer for years with science fiction ideas, or at least ideas that wouldn’t fit into the crime fiction mould. I never felt I could make that shift, but my attitude to that changed after my stroke. It’s a cliché, of course, whenever anyone has a life-threatening event, that they come out the other side changed, seeking to grasp every moment, appreciate life more intensely, smell the flowers and all that. But there is an element of truth to it all the same. I felt suddenly less inhibited in my writing. Remember, this was during the early days of the pandemic, too. If anyone could die at any moment, myself included, why not write whatever the hell I wanted?

Clever and unusual … I was on a journey with these characters, and completely transfixed’ Susi Holliday There’s a wonderful 4th human character too. Ewan is a veteran local newspaper reporter. Disillusioned by how social media is eroding good journalism and pushed to the margins by obsolescence, Ewan senses an opportunity for a big story. Determined to find the truth, he too comes under Sandy’s sway, becoming a fourth person helping the cause. For me, Ewan is the glue in the binding that holds the book together (possibly just because he was close to me in age and obsolescence). The George Harrison of the novel, if you will. These three are special for reasons they don’t understand, and they are drawn to a strange octopus-like creature on a beach outside Edinburgh, where the meteor was seen crashing into the sea. To save its life, they have to go on a road-trip across the Scottish Highlands, dark forces chasing after them all the way. I jokingly told my publisher the elevator pitch: ‘ ET meets Thelma and Louise’. But there’s a kernel of truth in that. High stakes, high adrenaline and somehow so gentle and moving. This is one of the most beautiful, extraordinary books I've ever read'Doug Johnstone (born 22 July 1970) is a Scottish crime writer based in Edinburgh. His ninth novel Fault Lines was published by Orenda Books in May 2018. [1] His 2015 book The Jump (published by Faber & Faber) was shortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize for Best Scottish Crime Novel. [2] Lennox is a troubled teenager with no family. Ava is eight months pregnant and fleeing her abusive husband. Heather is a grieving mother and cancer sufferer. They don't know each other, but when a meteor streaks over Edinburgh, all three suffer instant, catastrophic strokes... Like many great sci-fi novels (well, Day of the Triffids)the novel opens with a meteor shower. Nobody goes blind but it does cause an unprecedented number of catastrophic strokes. Three of the people affected, however, suffer no ill effects. Though completely different, all with their own troubles, the three find themselves drawn together, after leaving hospital. Drawn together and to an Edinburgh beach where a mysterious octopus has washed up. Not only do the trio save Sandy but he also saves them. In connecting with each other, examining their lives and each finding a way forward. I guess it’s easier to see your problems as small when the wealth of the universe has opened up for you. The story behind The Dead Beat - Online by Doug Johnstone". upcoming4.me. Archived from the original on 9 May 2014.