Publisher: WoodPig Press
Written By: Gareth Southwell
RRP: £7.99 / $8.99 (Paperback) | £2.99 / $2.99 (Kindle)
Reviewed by: Sebastian J. Brook

Ghosts & Monsters (Tidelands: Part 1) by Gareth Southwell is a first for us here at DWO, as this is the first book we've reviewed that acts as a collective repository of weekly serials from the author. Sound familiar? As Doctor Who fans, I'd argue that episodic storytelling is baked into our DNA, so it's refreshing to experience it in book format.
The setting: a dystopian future, ravaged by our ability to drain resources and wreck our climate. Sound familiar? This is why I think dystopian stories work so well; you can either go off-piste and remove yourself from everything that's familiar, or you can go the route of taking what's happening now and projecting it with a futuristic lens. The latter may sound like the easiest of choices, but it's not; you have to show skill in being able to evolve humanity's story (and our planet), and take it somewhere interesting - something the author does in spades!
The disparity between the class system is palpable; for the rich, a much more comfortable existence in this world is available, but for the rest, it's dog-eat-dog in an ecosystem as fragile as the climate.
Our protagonist is a strong female lead in the form of 'Squirrel' - a girl with special abilities that allows her to tap into the minds of others and extract information in exchange for remuneration. She's beautifully (and expertly) written, and you get a real sense of journey with her character arc.
Southwell's descriptive skills are firing on all cylinders in Ghosts & Monsters; delicious details that bring people and places to life, which add to the immersive nature of the story.
Throw in a few twists and turns, and a terrific cliffhanger, you are absolutely left wanting more by the close. Just as well book 2 is already out, and we cannot wait to dive back into Southwell's immersive world!
+ Tidelands: Ghosts & Monsters is Out Now!
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+ Buy this book from Amazon.com!
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