A cultish piece of 1990s British science fiction in which the near future involves genetically engineered “Dolls” to provide a disposable labour force, psychoactive viruses can alter loyalty and desire, artificial-life systems evolve inside computers (oh no), and Europe has split into zones according to tech.

At the centre is Alex Sharkey, a biohacker whose encounter with the brilliant, unnerving Milena leads to the creation of something new. He 'makes' a type of genetically altered being, then beings, who begin to occupy the imaginative territory once reserved for fairies. McAuley’s trick is that the title is not whimsical in the slightest, instead it makes a point about accidents in this kind of fast-evolving world, folding cyberpunk, artificial life, genetic engineering and political fracture to flesh it all out. The novel won the Arthur C. Clarke Award and remains one of McAuley’s defining books. 

This is the very handsome 2007 Gollancz Future Classics reissue, with the cracked-iridescent silver cover design — a substantially nicer object than the standard later paperback, frankly.

Gollancz, London, 2007. Future Classics edition; reissue of the novel first published in 1995. Paperback with metallic/iridescent wrappers. Light shelf wear and minor handling marks to covers and edges. Internally clean and unmarked; binding firm. Very good condition.