The Evolutionary Void, by Peter F Hamilton (Macmillan, £18.99)

The third volume in this massive trilogy spins a large enough cast of disparate characters and sufficient plotlines to keep many an SF writer busy for a lifetime. The Void is a vast hole in the universe, within which exists a second, virtual universe. Members of the Living Dream cult are heading for the Void aboard vast starships in the hope of a better life, and the novel follows the politicians and secret agents pitched against them  for the Void is expanding and threatening the very stability of the universe. Hamilton handles massive ideas with enviable ease, manipulates plots and characters to spring constant surprises, and brings the trilogy to a climax with a cannonade of fire-cracker finales.

Tales from the Fragrant Harbour, by Gary Kilworth (PS Publishing, £20)

Kilworth's work spans the genres from mainstream to historical, supernatural to science fiction. His forte is the short story and this collection, showcasing stories set in the Far East, is an excellent introduction to his talents. He describes Hong Kong as an "energetic sub-world where things strange and wonderful occur on a daily basis and small happenings blossom into myths". The best pieces in this collection take such small happenings and transform them into cleverly crafted, impeccably observed human stories. "Blood Orange" is a tragedy about friendship, loyalty and cowardice in Changi jail under the Japanese; "The Hungry Ghosts" a moving and affecting story featuring bereaved parents and the ghosts of their children. The highpoint is "Memories of the Flying Ball Bike Shop", about an expat reporter in Hong Kong who undergoes a ritual to "know his enemy"  a vindictive boss  and finds that to know one's foe is to empathise. Marvellous.

The Quantum Thief, by Hannu Rajaniemi (Gollancz, £12.99)

The story, probably apocryphal, is that this novel sold on the strength of its first line. Jean le Flambeur, trickster and thief, is in a "dilemma prison", confronting virtual representations of himself in order, so his jailers hope, to effect "cooperative behaviour". He's sprung by a girl called Mieli, but to keep his freedom he must agree to take part in a daring heist, and they journey to Mars where a detective, forewarned, waits to solve the crime . . . No précis does real justice to Rajaniemi's unique, post-singularity vision. Nothing is as it is now, and the author makes no concessions to the lazy reader with info-dumps or convenient explanations. Patience is required and rewarded: the author knows his future and reveals it piecemeal with staggering intellectual legerdemain. And that first line? "As always, before the warmind and I shoot each other, I try to make small talk." A brilliant debut.

Guardians of Paradise, by JN Fenn (Gollancz, £12.99)

One problem facing SF authors is how to balance the effective presentation of a future universe with the smaller-scale depiction of its dramatis personae: the former sometimes overwhelms the latter. Happily, that's not the case in Fenn's third novel. The Sidhe is a galaxy-spanning organisation which illegally "grows" the minds of young men to facilitate starship travel. When Nual, once a Sidhe, discovers this, she takes flight with the organisation on her heels. She's accompanied by Taro, an assassin from a primitive culture, and Jarek, a star trader, as they try to bring down the might of the Sidhe. While sections of the novel lack colour  one of the worlds visited is a vapid facsimile of a South Pacific island  the jealousies between characters, and their perilous quest, keep the reader gripped.

Eric Brown's Engineman is published by Solaris.