Solaris has announced a new edition of Helix by the late Eric Brown, with a redesigned cover and a new introduction by Stephen Baxter.

A classic first-contact novel from a preeminent voice in British science fiction, Helix is a pacy sci-fi adventure following the plight of four humans who crash-land on what they think is a desolate planet. Dealing with climate change in a way that is even more pertinent now than it was upon its original release in 2007, Helix is a tale of survival that Solaris has said that they are “enormously proud to be bringing to a new generation of readers”.

“Eric had a vivid, creative imagination and the worlds he created come to life through his fiction,” said Finn, Eric’s wife, on the reissue. “An essential aspect of this is Eric’s engagement with his characters. He predominantly wrote science fiction, but not from a scientific or technological perspective (he never even had a mobile phone).

“Instead, it is the lives and loves of his characters that predominate, a focus that reflects the importance of friendship, love and compassion in Eric’s own life. He will be greatly missed.”

Eric Brown was the award-winning author of a huge number of SF novels, children’s books, radio plays, articles and reviews, including Helix, Helix Wars, the Bengal Station trilogy, the New York trilogy, Kethani, Engineman, Guardians of the Phoenix, Kings of Eternity, The Serene Invasion, two Weird Space novels and The Fall of Tartarus. Eric passed away in 2023.

“When I heard the news that Eric Brown had left us, I was honestly devastated,” added Editor Amanda Rutter. “I had read a couple of his novels and always felt that Eric had a deft and compassionate view of humanity – and the publishing team at Solaris believed that the best way to celebrate Eric’s life and to honour him was to bring his writing to those who perhaps hadn’t had the opportunity to enjoy his stories in the past.

“Therefore, I asked Stephen Baxter to provide an introduction for the novel we felt reflected Eric the most clearly, and am incredibly pleased to announce that we are re-releasing Helix in October with a beautiful new cover.

“We hope that you enjoy the novel and will join us in commemorating the astonishing SF career of Eric Brown.”

Helix will be re-released in October 2023.