When I got sent a copy of Dissolution to read and review, it brightened a bit of a tough day and as it happened it did the same for the next six days of reading. As with his previous book Ascension, this is a speculative sci-fi thriller and it happens to tick all the boxes for me. It has a deepness that many books from the genre tend to lack. I guess you could say that it's a love story buried within a sci-fi framework which manages to pull me deeper and deeper into the story. It's also nice that the story doesn't get lost behind all of the science involved within this novel. It's extremely accessable for science lovers or those that have no interest in science at all. As for the storytelling, it's exemplary. You'll be thinking you've sussed things out and then, bam! The story twists and turns, feeding you little hints here and there, pulling you along with it. I've purposely not revealed any of the themes within due to not wanting to spoil this for anyone, but if you love a good thriller or science fiction novel then I'd suggest giving this a go. Exemplary work for Nicholas Binge yet again.

A mind bending and fiendishly clever speculative fiction. It achieved that magical, sought after quality that great books have; I could NOT stop thinking about it. When it wasn’t in my hands I was itching to carve out time to dive straight back in. The premise is clever, the pacing is perfect, and the characters will stick with me for a long time.

A blend between the mind bending reality of Inception and the dark academia of The Secret History by Donna Tartt. Dissolution is a story of ambition corrupted, lives both lived and wasted, and ultimately unrelenting love in the face of darkness. The story moves like a game of chess with pieces of the plot moving forwards and backwards in time, POV switching from one player to the next. It can feel a little overwhelming to start, but as the game progresses, you can’t help but become obsessed. No matter how many pieces fall into place, you’ll never see the ending coming until it’s suddenly upon you. Check mate. Our FMC is Maggie, an 80 year old woman that doesn’t take any nonsense from anyone. She is fierce and loyal, cunning and proactive, EVERYTHING we deserve in a FMC. Her love and tenacity as she fights to save her husband from his failing mind is the tender heart of this science fiction thriller. What I loved most was Binge’s ability to blend action with emotional impact. The plot is fast paced and suspenseful, but it never loses sight of character depth and development. Binge’s writing is that golden combination of science fiction and thriller with a sprinkling of horror. I read his debut novel, Ascension, in 2024 and it was easily one of my top 3 reads of that year. He has cemented a place as one of those authors I will implicitly trust and recommend. Perfect for fans of The Secret History by Donna Tartt or House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski.

This was an incredible book! I read an eARC of this book on NetGalley so that you to the author and the publisher. This was such a fascinating and high stakes exploration of memory. I was utterly gripped. We meet our octogenarian MC Maggie when she’s being interviewed in what seems to be an empty swimming pool, feeing completely disoriented and having very little understanding of what’s happening. Maggie will be forced to delve into the memories held by her and her husband to save them from a menacing threat. I absolutely am loving the recent trend of older female main characters. I’ve read many of these lately and it’s fantastic. The characters have so much life experience and a different perspective, their choices informed by their wisdom. Indeed, this book could never have worked so well with a younger protagonist because it’s the richness of Maggie’s history with her husband that create so many breadcrumbs for her to follow, and so much motivation to rescue him. This was such a clever book. I loved how it unfurled with the memories timeline and the recollecting timeline intertwining, with things building and making more sense as you uncover how they connect. Throughout all of the story there is a real sense of a race against time and an incredible tension as Maggie learns more about what’s happening, who the players are and how she and her husband fit into what’s at stake. This was a tense, fascinating, intelligently written book which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Dissolution is the story about Maggie Webb, who sits with the mysterious Hassan and relays both their stories back to him as they count down to the oncoming dissolution. For the last ten years, Maggie has looked after her husband Stanley, who is suffering from memory loss in the Sunrise Care Home Centre. Hassan tells her that the centre is removing Stanley's memories, and he can save him by helping Maggie delve into her husband's memories as a form of time travel. As the story progresses, we see that Hassan is not what he seems, and Stanley's life is a lot more mysterious than Maggie could ever imagine. With the use of transcripts, flashbacks and Maggie's POV, Nicholas Binge manages to keep the story exciting by slowly revealing more and more as Maggie delves into her husband's life. Dissolution is a brilliant, mind-bending read—one of the best books and audiobooks I’ve read/listened to this year.