This book critically engages with the visual appearance of prose fiction where it is manipulated by authors, from alterations in typography to the deconstruction of the physical form of the book. It reappraises the range of effects it is possible to create through the use of graphic devices and explores why literary criticism has dismissed such features as either unreadable experimental gimmicks or, more recently, as examples of the worst kind of postmodern decadence. Through the examination of problematical texts which utilise the graphic surface in innovative and unusual ways, including Samuel Beckett’s Watt, B. S. Johnson’s Albert Angelo, Christine Brooke-Rose’s Thru and Alasdair Gray’s Lanark, this book demonstrates that an awareness of the graphic surface can make significant contributions to interpretation.

ALIEN KILLERS! MUTATED SEA MONSTERS! HUMANITY¡¯S LAST GASP! Months after mysterious corals drew 99% of humanity into the sea, a band of survivors ekes out a hollow existence on a remote British island. When two people are cast up on the beach, completely blue, but very much alive, the island is thrown into turmoil. What caused the mass extinction event? How did these two return from the deep, when billions died? Most importantly, what is the coral, and what does it want with the Earth? The creeping, psychological horror fable that became a critical hit, the complete Surface Tension saga, finally collected!

The immediate purpose of this book is to construct a vocabulary for the literary study of graphic texteual phenomena. -- introd.

The most significant difference between a grandmaster and a club player is not simply that the grandmaster calculates more accurately, but rather that he sees more deeply. This book invites you beneath the surface, where you can learn to navigate the depths of chess. Jan Markos shows how a strong player perceives chess, which features of a position he focuses on, and how he thinks at the board. The author's philosophy is that understanding chess brings pure happiness, and he would like to share this happiness with you. "In his new book, GM Jan Markos focuses on important, yet often neglected, aspects of chess. He deals with this interesting and difficult topic excellently, making fine use of his chess and teaching abilities. The book is highly readable and belongs among the best chess books I have read in recent years. Although the book is intended to be read by amateurs, even grandmasters will find it interesting and useful. If you want to learn more about chess and don't mind thinking independently, this is the book for you." GM David Navara

This book acknowledges that the reader of a novel looks at and sees the page before they begin to read any text placed upon it. Thus, any disruptions to how a traditional page 'should look' can have a large impact on the reading process. The book critically engages with the visual appearance of graphically innovative contemporary prose fiction.

A clearly written, comprehensive critical introduction to one of the most original contemporary British writers, providing an overview of all of Sinclair’s major works and an analysis of his vision of modern London. This book places Sinclair in a range of contexts, including: the late 1960s counter-culture and the ‘British Poetry Revival’; London’s underground histories; the rise and fall of Thatcherism, and Sinclair’s writing about Britain under New Labour; Sinclair’s connection to other writers and artists, such as J.G. Ballard, Michael Moorcock and Marc Atkins. This book makes a significant contribution to the growing scholarship surrounding Sinclair’s work, offering the first critical text that covers in detail all of Sinclair’s work: his poetry, fiction, non-fiction (including his book on John Clare, Edge of the Orison), and his film work.