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What do body-possessing aliens, mind-destroying drugs, Nazi occultism and reincarnation all have in common? They're the disparate threads of Ian Watson's visionary new novel, Mockymen, a truly bizarre tale of life, death, betrayal, and jigsaw puzzles.

It starts out innocently enough, when an aged Norwegian hires a young British couple to make some very specialized jigsaw puzzles, involving nude pictures of themselves with a certain statuary garden in Oslo. When they discover that this odd commission relates back to Nazi war crimes and a little-known occult line of defense, their lives are thrown into chaos and disarray, ending with a betrayal and an ominous look to the future.

Come the future, and aliens called Mockymen have arrived on Earth, bringing proprietary technology, and a drug which destroys the minds of some who use it, leaving them ripe for temporary possession. Interstellar teleportation has become commonplace, if agonizing to the user, but there's always someone willing to risk pain for the offered pay. Naturally, there are plenty of secrets afloat in this strange new world, and one woman, Anna Sharman, is determined to put the jigsaw pieces of the mystery together. It all ties back to a certain now-dead Norwegian, a young man who recovered from something he shouldn't have, and the true purposes of the Mockymen.

Mockymen is, by all standards, the sort of book you just don't see everyday. Multi-layered, surreal, convoluted and complex, it weaves together a series of different themes to tell a memorable, unique story. It has the same forward-thinking, no-holds-barred, barriers-shattering narrative as a good Philip K. Dick novel, and really takes the concept of consciousness to a new level. That said, it's not an easy read, nor run of the mill by any means. I wouldn't suggest trying to read this one before bed.

Michael M Jones enjoys an addiction to books, for which he's glad there is no cure. He lives with his very patient wife (who doesn't complain about books taking over the house... much), eight cats, and a large plaster penguin that once tasted blood and enjoyed it. A prophecy states that when Michael finishes reading everything on his list, he'll finally die. He aims to be immortal.