Ancient myths and modern problems collide in Thomas D Lee’s PERILOUS TIMES ( , out now, Orbit), in which an eco-warrior accidentally unleashes a dragon by blowing up a fracking site; meanwhile, a former Knight of the Round Table is awakened from his magical slumber to answer the call to protect the realm. We said: “At once entertaining and ecologically alarming… an ambitious, imaginative debut.” Justin Cronin’s THE FERRYMAN ( , 2 May, Orion) is set on an isolated archipelago whose islands are idyllic for a pampered elite, but far less fun for everyone else… Its protagonist’s job is to shepherd people through a retirement process which involves having their memories wiped clean and their bodies renewed before being sent back to begin life afresh. We said: “Action scenes are brilliantly executed, and a sense of menace is never far from the surface… Cronin is especially adept at balancing characterisation and plot.” Finally, Nadia Attia’s debut VERGE ( , out now, Serpent’s Tail) sees a cursed 17-year-old woman travelling north through a very disunited future UK which has reverted to superstition and intolerance, accompanied by a young Egyptian farmhand who faces racism everywhere he goes. We said: “While the character arcs are a little predictable, Attia’s world is tough and well-realised… It’s an evocative setting, and the book is peppered with hints of grisly folk horror.”