Another Space in Time, Returns", works well as a standalone book even though it was envisaged as a sequel to "Another Space in Time" before the first book was finished. In this novel we continue to follow the fortunes of Rodwell Richards as he struggles to defeat the terrorists who all but destroyed him. Rodwell is settled and married in his second life, and is about to become a father as this story begins. Neither he, nor his wife, has yet any idea that Rodwell is going to be an almost immediately absent father. Rodwell is soon to replace his twin brother inside the local terrorist cell of the Vids, in an attempt to accumulate enough evidence to bring the criminal organisation down. Life on this other earth-like planet, Axa-Goranas, isn't so very different that we can't recognise its landscapes, and human technologies. In the State of Albion, where this story's events take place, the population even speak English. However, this is most certainly not the Earth and, for all anyone knows, this place may not even be in our Universe. Possibly we are in a parallel dimension that is only an arm's length from us or perhaps we are untold billions of miles away. We don't know.
What we do know is that at least a fifth of the population have lived before, on our blue planet, and arrived on Goranas after dying prematurely. Rodwell struggles to survive, whilst doing right by both his new employer, the Loxley Police, and by his nearest and dearest. Are these responsibilities incompatible? At times it certainly seems so. This is a science fiction story, with many broad philosophical strands. The speculative framework allowed an abundance of believable and exciting drama, as well as providing plenty of tangential food for deeper thought.