The Echo

TWENTY YEARS following the disappearance of the infamous Ishiguro - the first manned spacecraft to travel deeper into space than ever before - humanity are setting their sights on the heavens once more. Under the direction of two of the most brilliant minds science has ever seen - that of identical twin brothers Tomas and Mirakel Hyvönen - this space craft has a bold mission: to study what is being called 'the anomaly' - a vast blackness of space into which the Ishiguro disappeared. Between them Tomas (on the ground, guiding the mission from the command centre) and Mira (on the ship, with the rest of the hand-picked crew) are leaving nothing to chance. But soon these two scientists are to learn that there are some things in space beyond our understanding. As the anomaly begins to test the limits of Mira's comprehension - and his sanity - will Tomas be able to save his brother from being lost in space too?

About the Author

James Smythe was born in London in 1980. Since completing a PhD in Cardiff University, he has taught creative writing, and is currently writer/narrative designer for a major forthcoming video game. He lives on the grounds of a boarding school in West Sussex. He has also written a novel called The Testimony, which was published by Blue Door/HarperCollins in 2011.