The Blood Tree - Paul Johnston

The Blood Tree is the third of Paul Johnston's novels set in the futuristic state of Edinburgh (this time the year is 2026) and follows on from his very sucessful and award-winning Body Politic and its sequels The Bone Yard and The Water of Death. Johnston's future is not of the farfetched, hi-tech variety but rather paints a grim picture of a dictatorial 'council' who have created a some-are-more-equal-than-others state of citizens and (slightly higher up the food chain) auxilliaries (basically glorified civil servants) who work as a collective to keep body and soul together and protect the city's tourist income. In fact, tourism is ...  Read the complete review