This two-part novel begins with Sunless, travelling to and from the Pharmalak hospital, participating in trials for new pills, for every kind of anxiety disorder. In the second half of the book we meet Salt, whose life-course is altered irrevocably by the aftermath of a family tragedy in his early childhood, shedding new light on the world of Sunless.

Sunless' narrative, despite its moments of paranoid humour, has the bleakness of the mad – his own madness combined with the madness of the Pharmalak world he inhabits, with its pills for everything from Expanded Depersonalization Syndrome to Acute Envy Dysfunction to Sudden Irritability Syndrome (yes, drugs attempting to cure, or at least 'stabilise' what are essentially everyday emotions). Entertaining at first, I became bored with Sunless' narrative before too long, whilst I (im)patiently waited for the outcome of his meetings with the doctor, Mr Fargoon.

When the narrative switches in the second half of the book, Salt's voice is a relief, and the family tragedies – although tragic – at least provide the possibility of emotional response to the story. But this is soon numbed by Pharmalak prescriptions, and it is obvious where their story splices with that of Sunless. Sadly, the emotional distance enforced by the drugs on the characters provides a similar barrier between the readers and the characters. As a moral fable and/or indictment of society's ills, 'Doctor Salt' is a clever and perceptive read, but Salt's tale descends too swiftly into that of Sunless for him to garner quite the empathy necessary, even though I was quite willing – and waiting – to be drawn in. There were moments where I really did enjoy Donovan’s prose; but overall, I was grateful that this was not a long book.

Available for trade (UK only).