A CELEBRATED Gourock science fiction writer has carved out a space for the Greenock Telegraph in his latest book.

Popular author Ken MacLeod recently unveiled Beyond the Reach of Earth, the second chapter in his Lightspeed trilogy.

Following on from the first book, Beyond the Hallowed Sky, the novel continues to muse upon faster-than-light travel and the discovery of new worlds.

In this book, readers meet mysterious beings called The Fermi and learn more about building a starship on the Clyde.

As some of the tome is set in Inverclyde, Ken thought it was only right to give a nod to the Tele.

Ken, 68, added: "I'm very happy to say that the Telegraph features in the book.

"A lot of the book is set in Greenock, Port Glasgow and Gourock, so it makes sense that the paper appears.

"There's a bit of local interest and colour in there.

"The trilogy is very much inspired by living in Inverclyde and looking out onto the Firth of Clyde every day."

Greenock Telegraph:

Ken says his new title is 'unashamedly space opera' and is built around the theme of faster-than-light travel becoming a very real possibility in the near future.

Scottish and international characters found in the first book continue their journey in this volume.

The book has had a great reception so far, with more than 100 online reads and 4.5 stars on Amazon.

Ken is currently writing the third and final book in the trilogy and says he's thoroughly enjoying the process.

He added: "The idea of building a starship on the Clyde had been on my mind for a long time so I thought it was about time that I started writing about it and had some fun with it.

"The books are a bit of fun if you like sci-fi, and there are serious discussions in there too.

"The second book begins on the same day as the last book and expands and complicates the story.

"The main characters go through adventures and experience surprises along the way."

Ken was born in Stornoway in 1954 and moved with his family to Greenock when he was 10.

He was a great friend of the late author Iain Banks and is thrilled to be involved in two forthcoming publications based on Iain's notes and drawings which will be released later this year and next.

Ken said his approach to writing is different from that of his much-missed friend.

He added: "Iain used to lay out the book in great detail before he started writing.

"I tried to emulate that but things don't work the same for every writer.

"My writing evolves as I go.

"I go through a lot of different possibilities, and twists and turns develop."

Ken appeared at the Cymera science fiction festival in Edinburgh and at the Orkney science festival, and will be guest of honour at Worldcon 2024 in Glasgow next year.

He will also be running an online science fiction writing course in September through creative writing centre, Moniack Mhor.

Ken said he appreciates writing can take many forms and said it's something everyone should try.

He added: "Writing can take many different processes.

"I would encourage everyone to write a book."

*Beyond the Reach of Earth is available from the usual online outlets. Signed copies are available from Transreal Fiction in Edinburgh.