Our pick of the paperbacks is historical fantasy ORDINARY MONSTERS (★★★★★ , 22 June, Bloomsbury); written by JM Miro (real name Steven Price), it’s the first entry in his series The Talents. Spanning Victorian London, Edinburgh, the American South and Japan, it revolves around an institute where children with unusual abilities (from healing and invisibility to a boy who’s accompanied by a golem made of decaying flesh) have been collected. We said: “Miro’s storytelling exudes confidence and assurance… a thrilling blend of fantasy and horror, richly imagined and masterfully executed.” Stephen Baxter’s latest,