Principles of Angels is a debut novel by British writer, Jaine Fenn. (One of Jo Fletcher’s discoveries, I believe.) I don’t think it is one of those debuts that is going to have everyone talking about the New Best Thing, but it is a solid start and shows a lot of promise. It is not hard SF – it has a hero called Taro and a species of alien called Sidhe – and it probably has girl cooties on the grounds that macho guys will be uncomfortable with a book whose hero is a rent boy, but it tells a good story and doesn’t shirk from uncomfortable stuff where necessary. Most of all, however, I am delighted to see another woman writing SF. So many women these days are going into fantasy, YA and paranormal romance because these are seen as “women’s areas”. Many congratulations to Jaine and Jo for bucking the trend.