British Summertime

by Paul Cornell

Book Overview

The lives of five people collide: a woman who can read anything, from body language to the shape of a city; a pilot from the future; a spy; a killer; and a head without a body. The end of the world is... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0575073691
• ISBN13: 9780575073692
• Release Date: January 2002
• Publisher: Gollancz
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 1.19 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.3" x 1.2" x 6.1"

Customer Reviews

Excellent Read

If you like Tim Powers, Theodore Sturgeon, Neil Gaiman, PKD, and Jon Courtenay Grimwood, you'll like this time-tripping read. This is not really young adult fiction, be prepared to think about weighty issues such as Christianity, capitalism, sex, and drugs.

American Summertime

Paul Cornell wrote the single best episode of Doctor Who in the entire decades-long history of the program with the two-part episode "Human Nature / the Family of Blood." He's also one of the best of the writers to emerge from the Virgin Books line of Doctor Who novels, and is proving to be an accomplished comic book writer with his recent work for Marvel. British Summertime is one of his two "mainstream" science fiction novels, and it's an absolutely brilliant work. I'm glad to see it making it's US debut now and I hope that US readers are about to discover what a fantastic writer Paul is.

A Favorite

I came across this book by chance at a used bookstore. I read the description on the back--time travel, angels, religion...it seemed interesting, if a bit scattered. I paid maybe $4 for it, and had it for a year before I actually read it. Once I got past the first few chapters, I was hooked--this book is complicated, and fast-paced. The characters are strong but the story is stronger. I am a fan of modern fantasy and sci-fi that doesn't resemble star trek. Neil Gaiman is one of my favorite authors. If you like his imagination and complex storylines, like American Gods or Anansi Boys, you will be blown away by this book. It is even more imaginative, even more complex. This isn't a light read, it takes some getting used to in the beginning, but it all comes together later on. Lots of powerful images, and a touching/tragic love story woven into it as well. I would recommend this to anyone who likes an expansive, surprising story. It does not dissapoint.