9 d. ago The best recent science fiction, fantasy and horror – review roundup

Godfall by Van Jensen; The Salt Bind by Rebecca Ferrier; The Poet Empress by Shen Tao; A Hole in the Sky by Peter F Hamilton; Hello Earth, Are You There? by Brian AldissGodfall by Van Jensen (Bantam, £20)The debut novel by a popular comic-book writer is set in a small town in Nebraska, after the landing of a three-mile-long alien figure dubbed “the Giant”. Local sheriff David Blunt is struggling to do his job following the sudden boom in population: in addition to scientists, government agents and soldiers at the highly classified research area established around the mystery from outer space, many more enthusiasts flood to the town, possibly including a serial killer. Two people have been killed in a horrifically brutal way when the FBI takes over and tries to shut him out. But when the next victim is a man he’s known all his life, Blunt is more determined than ever to catch the killer. His investigation draws him to infiltrate a doomsday cult and to discover more about the tangled ...

Events

2 w. ago Solomun set for 'historic and magical' moment as he faces ultimate challenge

Solomun, who has worked with the likes of Lana Del Rey and Jamiroquai, has promised nights to remember as he eyes up his 'natural high point in my long-standing love affair' with London's nightlife

Politics

2 w. ago Last chance to buy Lovehoney 'moment of magic' toy for half price

Lovehoney has up to 70% off selected items on its website for a limited time only

Economics

2 w. ago ‘A total knockout!’ The best television you never watched in 2025

From the most beautiful show Netflix has ever made to a thriller about a menopausal hitwoman and a dazzling documentary set in outer space, here are some TV gems that may have passed you by this yearIn a bizarre move, Netflix released this series by Japanese master Hirokazu Kore-eda – the Palme d’Or winner renowned for movies such as Shoplifters and Nobody Knows – with absolutely no fanfare this year. But Asura was a total knockout – a rich and sumptuously shot drama about four sisters in the 70s who discover that their dad has been having a lifelong affair. It was so good, in fact, that it might even be the most beautiful show they’ve ever released. Talk about selling yourself short. Watch it on Netflix. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago How Beyonce is using planning loopholes to build her spectacular dream mansion on greenfield land in the Cotswolds

Beyonce and husband Jay-Z are understood to be poised to buy a countryside spot in Oxfordshire with planning permission for a modernist mansion balanced over a lake

Politics

3 w. ago The Guardian view on the new space race: humanity risks exporting its old politics to the moon | Editorial

Over the holiday period, the Guardian leader column is looking ahead at the themes of 2026. Today we look skyward, where a new lunar contest mirrors humanity’s struggle to live within planetary limitsDuring the cold war’s space race, the Apollo moon missions were driven by the need to prove American superiority. Having made that political and technological point with the 1969 moon landing, the contest between Moscow and Washington petered out. A new dash across the skies kicks off in 2026, reigniting geopolitical competition under the guise of “peaceful exploration”. The moon’s south pole is emerging as the most valuable real estate in the solar system, offering “peaks of eternal light” for solar arrays and ice deposits in craters shielded from the sun.The US and a China-led bloc are eyeing the lunar surface and its potential to control a post-terrestrial economy. Space had been humanity’s last commons, supposedly shielded by the 1967 UN outer space treaty that bans state ...

Politics

3 w. ago Magical moment when meteorite fell from outer space and landed in Cotswolds cul

When Kate Middleton handled a small piece of rock at London’s Natural History Museum she became one of the few people on earth to have touched a meteorite.

Politics

3 w. ago 'Alien life' on Saturn as scientists make wild discovery on planet's volcanoes

A small icy moon orbiting Saturn is a likely candidate to host outer space life, as a major space organisation is targeting Enceladus to uncover life beyond earth

Science