This is Michael Moorcock's second novel in his highly readable Jerry Cornelius tetralogy. As in the other volumes, he uses the stuff of the popular thriller and science fiction to produce what has been called "a kind of literary cubism". Elliptical, ironic, funny, and yet full of fierce satire, the book is wholly serious in intention, encompassing a wide variety of themes and original observation concerning, in particular, the nature of time and identity. The style is "reminiscent of a mixture of Ronald Firbank and Raymond Chandler" (Daily Mail), very concentrated and extremely original.This book fully justifies Michael Moorcock's reputation as a leading literary innovator, while it remains continuously entertaining.