Science fiction, theology, puzzles and a whole lot of sex … this mammoth novel is one extended stylish flourish that threatens to lose the plot

This delirious satire about the corrosive effects of technology takes our hall-of-mirrors times very seriously indeed

A ‘found novel’ constructed out of emails, conversations and satnav instructions overloads the reader

An anaesthetist’s assistant and a plucky housemaid team up in a historical crime caper from husband-and-wife team Chris Brookmyre and Marisa Haetzman

Secret societies, ghosts and Ku Klux Klan killers … racists are the monsters in this Lovecraft homage with a conscience

But is there a story worth telling behind the 1,600 pages of asterisks, photos and text messages?

As a former judge, I sometimes joke that the only year I correctly picked the Man Booker winner was when I was on the panel – it’s too unpredictable

Following on from The Vorrh, the second instalment in the surreal cult trilogy sees the setting move from the African jungle to old Europe, and quiet comedy come to the fore

The third instalment of Beckett’s trilogy explores theological themes with wit, insight and invention – and leaves the way open for the story to continueue

The epic climax of the post-apocalyptic fantasy series that began with The Passage loses its bestseller bite

In her latest imaginative tour de force, the tale of a 19th-century guru, Barker lobs a literary hand grenade at the historical novel