Where the Axe is Buried by Ray Nayler review – speculative, emotional fiction

Though American author Ray Nayler is most noted for his science fiction, his second full novel, Where the Axe is Buried , demonstrates elements of speculative fiction, but is also a political thriller, albeit one set in a terrifying near-future.

Nayler has spent many years working internationally for the US government in the fields of environmental science and technology , and he brings that breadth of knowledge and experience to this complex, panoramic novel set in various parts of what was once Europe. There are two very different models of political power on display here, each with their own frightening implications, and both on the brink of possible collapse.

In the Foundation (formerly Russia) a power-mad leader is preparing to upload his consciousness to his latest, younger p