While lockdown may have affected our ability to travel and work, it hasn't slowed the pace of must-read new books. Whether we can or can't indulge the habitual pleasures of escapist reading on the beach, here's an eclectic and electric quartet of fiction (including one for the kids) to satiate and surpass all literary leanings.

[Photo provided to China Daily]

Waste tide

Chen Qiufan's cutting-edge, near-future sci-fi novel is about as prescient as writing gets. It's a story based on a real-world Chinese town that recycled the world's electronic waste. In the novel, the waste dump is called Silicon Isle, and it becomes the lifeblood of desperate workers from around China who – despite the toxic hazards, environmentalists' attacks, long hours and pitiful wages – all want to work their way out of poverty. Meanwhile, relationships are formed between friends and exploiters (and there's a fine line between the two) against the troubling and accelerating backdrop of biological warfare, artificial intelligence and virtual reality. Simply stunning.