Found it (paperback) at a second hand book store and read it in about 30mins. Quite good, but not up to the very lofty standard of the 'canon' material that made it into the Chronicles. SPOILER (kinda, you know the broadstrokes if you've read the Chronicles): I really liked the bit about Kevin decl...

No, not more Brew novels!! Of all his work, those "Man" novels are the weakest. It seems as part of his working style he has to get them out of his system before moving onto something else - but come on, they are not particulary well written; conintuous use of the same phrases, stereotypic...

Definitely the most engrossing sci-fi series I have read.

Also highly recommend the Otherland series by Tad Williams - virtual reality sci-fi - it's 4 books long and perhaps would have been better as a trilogy, but like his Memory, Sorrow and Thorn series once it gets going it's hard to put down.