Time to spare — try these five great new reads
A quick review of five great new books
The Hydrogen Sonata
Iain. M Banks
The much anticipated latest novel in Iain M. Banks epic space opera series. As with all of Banks’ work, you can expect this to be an intelligent and highly engaging read. All the Culture novels are standalone so this is a great oppertunity to get into the series.
N-W
Zadie Smith
Orange prize winner Zadie Smith returns to writing with another highly acclaimed novel. NW tells the powerful story of four people from an impoverished North West London housing block development. A must read that deserves all of its accolades.
Great North Road
Peter. F. Hamilton
Despite Hamilton being best known for his trilogies and long series, his latest offering is a standalone novel. This is the perfect opportunity get acquainted with this brilliant author before he visits the College for the Picocon SF convention in February.
Redshirts
John Scalzi
Scalzi’s latest novel parodies the tendency in Star Trek of redshirted security officers dying with alarming regularity while main characters remain unscathed. While not yet published in the UK, you can get a US import from Forbidden Planet.
The Casual Vacancy
J.K Rowling
While Rowling’s first novel for adults has received mixed reviews, it’s still worth a look. While certainly not a highbrow masterpiece, much of the flair that made Harry Potter such a phenomenon is still on show. A good if unchallenging novel.
