“Judi Moore's novel Is Death Really Necessary? provides a fresh and intelligent approach to the genre of science fiction, dispensing with stereotypical fodder such as androids and electric sheep and, instead, introducing an intriguing environmental terrorism angle that is relevant to today's concerns about the planet. This clever combination of both the current and an idea of the future grips the reader from the start and ensures their interest is maintained throughout. The other main plot driver - the race to find a life-saving tonic for Teddy, the main female protagonist, brings to mind the topical debate of science playing God and asks how far will people go to cheat their own mortality. Thrown in to the fast-paced tension is a spot of romance, broadening the appeal and the scope of the novel to beyond the traditional realms of science fiction.

Moore handles the material deftly, with an attractive writing style that defies other exponents of Sci-fi. The narrative makes use of a wide range of writing styles to complement the unfolding action - we have beautiful, descriptive prose alongside tense action, and all wrapped up in a subtle yet charming humour that makes the novel easily likeable. The characterisation is skilful and the dialogue realistic and well-balanced, achieving a good parity between general fiction and the more specialist vocabulary and narrative style of science fiction. This is a novel that will appeal to a broad readership - male and female, sci-fi fans and lovers of general fiction - and the adept use of nanonics in the storyline weaves the science fiction alongside elements of the thriller, with a level of comedy that provides well-placed relief from the tension. A great story by a talented, skilful and diverse writer.”

April 2014