M.D. Lachlan 2022. Celestial. London: Gollancz. 324 pp.

A psychological SF based in an alternate 1960s where an alien ship is found buried in the moon by the first lunar astronauts and cosmonauts. Little is disclosed about the alien civilisation other than it has been formative for human cultures and in the origin of human consciousness. Anyway, that’s enough for this to work.

I found it worth reading for the long trippy ride the surviving cosmonauts and astronauts embark on, discovering each other and themselves as the alien ship gives their various personalities free rein to create their own realities. A long ambitious virtuoso piece of writing wherein M.D. Lachlan draws on his own imagination and well worn 1960s themes (Vietnam, cold war, cultural phobias of capitalism and communism).

Looks as if it will be worth seeking out a bit more from M.D. Lachlan.