Michael Marshall Smith exploded from the unknown when his first novel, Only Forward, became a cult sensation. His following novels have suffered from comparison - although they were good they could never be as brilliant as Only Forward.

"What You Make It" strikes new ground for Smith, being his first collection of short stories. Most have been previously published in various magazines and anthologies. Is it any good? Too bloody right - it's right up there with Only Forward as a "must buy".

It's difficult to try to place this collection in to any specific genre. There are a lot of SF tropes yet the stories are far removed from hardcore SF. There are also chunks of horror and dark fantasy; these are not pleasant stories. Yet all are sufficiently close to reality that mainstream readers who would rather die than read "skiffy" would probably enjoy them. If pushed I'd probably describe the stories as "horrific science fiction".

This is above all a book of weirdness. Things that are almost but not quite normal. Whilst trying hard not to give too much away, let me give some examples: An older man's obsession with a teenager; an unusual perspective on eternal youth; a man who decides to build a time machine because it's easier than dieting (one I can relate to!); a - literally - corrupt life; the downside of being able to talk to the dead.

Smith is a masterful story teller. He has the ability to pull you in and lull you into a feeling of calm normality. You know that something is wrong, and that something even worse is going to happen, you just can't see what. Then the denouement leaps from the shadows, mugs you and leaves you cursing yourself for not having seen it coming. Smith doesn't cheat, all his stories have a total internal consistency, it's just that the last few paragraphs often force you to rethink what went on before. With hindsight the unexpected was inevitable.

There are some very nasty stories here. Not (usually) physically nasty - Smith isn’t a gore merchant - but emotionally unpleasant.

Judging by this collection, Smith is more consistent with his short stories than his novels. Seventeen stories of which I'd only class one (The Man Who Drew Cats) as a failure.

More please!