The Collapsing Wave by Doug Johnstone

I'm always excited when a new Doug Johnstone book comes out because I've loved every one I've read so far. And I love that he seems to be able to turn his hand to anything. If anyone else had written this book, and The Space Between Us before it, I might not have picked them up - definitely not my usual reads. But I knew I was in safe hands. So welcome to my stop on the blog tour for The Collapsing Wave by Doug Johnstone. Huge thanks to Anne Cater for the invitation and to the publisher for my review copy. I will be buying my own paperback. 

The Blurb

Six months since the earth-shattering events of The Space Between Us, the revelatory hope of the aliens' visit has turned to dust and the creatures have disappeared into the water off Scotland's west coast.

Teenager Lennox and grieving mother Heather are being held in New Broom, a makeshift US military base, the subject of experiments, alongside the Enceladons who have been captured by the authorities.

Ava, who has given birth, is awaiting the jury verdict at her trial for the murder of her husband. And MI7 agent Oscar Fellowes, who has been sidelined by the US military, is beginning to think he might be on the wrong side of history.

When alien Sandy makes contact, Lennox and Heather make a plan to escape with Ava. All three of them are heading for a profound confrontation between the worst of humanity and a possible brighter future, as the stakes get higher for the alien Enceladons and the entire human race…

My Review

I loved the first book in this series, The Space Between Us  (if you put Doug's name in the search box you can find my reviews of many of his other books) where Lennox, Ava and Heather first met Sandy (their name for him), a cephalopod alien who had been separated from others of their kind. In this book, the Enceladons (they come from  Enceladus, one of Saturn's moons that is covered by a giant ocean) are all together again having sought sanctuary on Earth. They are hive creatures, each separate but part of the whole, a connected collective. Unfortunately, the US military do not see them as refugees but as a threat, and take action accordingly, capturing Enceladons and experimenting on them. Lennox, Heather and Ava must do what they can. 

This is a tough one to review because the Enceladons are hard to describe! They are sea creatures although at least some can survive for a while on land, as we see with Sandy. They communicate with thoughts, nothing verbalised out loud, with each other and with some humans. It's clever stuff and I'm pretty sure I don't understand how it works. But that doesn't matter. Because, whilst this is a sci-fi book full of amazing aliens, it's just as much about humans, about how we treat others who are different from us. In this case, aliens, but we see it in real life with immigrants and refugees from war torn countries. To our shame, we don't always treat them well. 

There is a very definite good and bad in this book, and the US military don't come across well, but it could just as easily be soldiers from somewhere else, I think. It was brilliant to catch up with Lennox, Heather and Ava but, goodness, they got a lot going on. These are characters that I am very invested in. They are full of heart, kindness and a desire to do the right thing. Each of them has stuff to deal with and we feel their pain, feel their love. They are connected, to each other and the Enceladons. The supporting cast is big - Vonnie and Oscar were standouts for me. And for very different reasons Carson and Gibson. I love it when I'm fully invested in a baddie! That's down to great writing. 

The Collapsing Wave is a beautifully written, fast moving sci fi thriller with much to say about humanity. We see the best of it and the worst of it in this book. As I mentioned above, for me the Enceladons are like any other refugees (I mean, their not like them obviously because they are alien sea creatures, but you get what I'm trying to say!) seeking asylum and safety but hitting a brick wall. Or worse. This book might be about aliens but it's just as much about what it means to be human, to show kindness, to show friendship, to show love. And these are big, important things. I loved this book. And it made me cry. Actually, I think I've cried at all of Doug's books that I've read! This is a good thing. Anyway, I highly recommend The Collapsing Wave, there is much to enjoy here. 

The Author

Doug Johnstone is the author of fifteen novels, most recently The Opposite of Lonely (2023) and The Space Between Us (2023). Several of his books have been bestsellers, The Big Chill (2020) was longlisted for the Theakston Crime Novel of the Year, while A Dark Matter (2020), Breakers (2019) and The Jump (2015) were all shortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Novel of the Year. He’s taught creative writing and been writer in residence at various institutions over the last decade and has been an arts journalist for over twenty years. Doug is a songwriter and musician with six albums and three EPs released, and plays drums for the Fun Lovin’ Crime Writers. He’s also co-founder of the Scotland Writers Football Club and has a PhD in nuclear physics.


Do check out the rest of the blog tour!