I hugely enjoyed Europe in Autumn, which we shortlisted for the Arthur C. Clarke Award last year and which also got onto the BSFA shortlist. Here Dave Hutchinson returns to his future world of a fragmented Europe, but from a very different angle: rather than exploring the new frontiers that have been erected in our world, his spy hero finds himself exploring also parallel maps to societies which are liminally linked to us, there and yet not there. It's a book with One Big Idea, explored at leisure and in a way that made me care very much about the outcome of the main characters' investigations. Given the current febrile state of relations between the UK and the rest of Europe, it's a timely reminder that things could be very different. I loved it.

Since I wrote this (my bookblogging is running a few days behind at the moment) it was announced that Europe at Midnight is one of the shortlisted books for this year's BSFA Award. Congrats to Dave; it will be a tough choice.