‘When three people suffer strokes after seeing dazzling lights over Edinburgh, then awake completely recovered, they’re convinced their ordeal is connected to the alien creature discovered on a nearby beach…’

The Space Between Us by Doug Johnstone is published with Orenda Books and is described as ‘an adrenaline-soaked, deeply humane, life-affirming first-contact novel from one of Scotland’s most revered authors…’ It is the first book in a proposed new series and is the first step into the sci-fi genre for Doug Johnstone, albeit he does have a PhD in Nuclear Physics.

Set in Edinburgh, The Space Between Us is the story of three people who become connected in the most bizarre fashion. Lennox, Ava and Heather are all facing challenges in their lives that appear to be insurmountable. On the same evening, all three are in the midst of possible life-changing events when they sense something in the air and see an extraordinary scene in the skies above them. The next all three know is that they wake up in a hospital ward, all having suffered a stroke, but all now remarkably unaffected and fully recovered. Many others are left affected by this strange phenomenon but for Lennox, Ava and Heather, life is going to get very very strange.

All three feel a compulsive and inexplicable draw to a beach where an octopus-like creature has been washed up. There is media curiosity but, in most cases, it is thought to be just an odd looking creature that needs disposing of. But there are others out there who think differently. Lennox, Ava and Heather put together a plan to rescue this creature and what follows is a race against time as they all fear for their own safety and the safety of this creature they have affectionately named Sandy.

As they criss-cross the Scottish landscape, they are faced with multiple dangers. Ava is heavily pregnant with an abusive husband on her tail, Heather is carrying a terminal diagnosis and Lennox is a lost boy without any clear purpose in life until now. A motley crew, they call on anyone they can to help them on this insane journey and start to make discoveries about themselves, each other and about an alien creature looking to find home.

The Space Between Us did remind me a little bit of that classic Stephen Spielberg movie, ET. A cute alien trying to reconnect with their own, who gets assistance from a couple of humans. These humans understand and are willing to do anything to save this creature from the experimental hands of the scientists and government officials. All written with a few very modern twists, no bicycles in this one!

Sandy manages to communicate with Lennox initially which guides all three in the direction where Sandy needs to go. As the pace ramps up, danger lurks at every corner. But through connections and understanding, Lennox, Ava and Heather realise the enormity of what they are involved with and the consequences of every action they take or do not take.

I admire Doug Johnstone for diving into a different genre. I really enjoy his writing across his Skelf series, and his book Breakers is one that I still recommend to people as an exceptional read. I’m not normally a science fiction reader and I chose to take a gamble with The Space Between Us, as I really like Doug Johnstone’s style, but I just didn’t love this one as much as other folk. It has been selected for the BBC 2 Between the Covers book club with Sara Cox, which is great news, and confirms really that, for me, this is simply a case of the wrong reader for the book. If you are Sci-Fi fan, please do check this book out, as Doug Johnstone is a wonderful writer and I’m sure you will love The Space Between Us as much as others have.