Hill made a splash with his first novel, a contemporary horror story in the tradition of his father, Stephen King. He's followed it up with a switch of genre and form: Gunpowder is a science fiction novella set in a future where humankind has spread to the stars, terraforming planets for the voracious, never-ending colonial expansion. The twist is that the terraforming is performed not by scientists but by genetically altered children with psychic abilities. Elaine is the surrogate mother of 30 boys terraforming the world of Gunpowder; the familial stability of their regime is threatened when Earth forces order the boys' powers to be turned to the defence of their race. Read as a cautionary tale, Gunpowder successfully depicts what happens when the needs of the many impact upon the desires of a potent few.

• Eric Brown's latest novel is Necropath (Solaris).