According to London journalist Angus Watson, in a postscript to his debut novel Age of Iron (Orbit, £8.99), “almost nothing” is known about Britain’s Iron Age.

This virtually blank canvas has allowed Watson, a fan of both historical fiction and epic fantasy, to let his well-read imagination run freely within pretty broad parameters.

The result is a southern Britain which, in 61 BC, knows that the all-conquering Romans are on their way. Many argue that resistance is futile, while others insist that a united island could see off the imperialists. Some are preparing to welcome the invaders, believing they’ll bring with them a modern, technological life of leisure and plenty.

But the mightiest of local kings has his own vision of what’s coming and what needs to be done about it, and he will deal ruthlessly with anyone who stands in the way of his self-appointed mission.

The book’s dialogue is in 21st-century vernacular, which may grate with some readers, but that at least spares us the usual cod-ancient thee-ing and thou-ing.

More distracting is the endless brutality of the story, overdone to the point where it’s in danger of becoming comical.

All the same, there’s such a freshness about the characters and their world that I’m very pleased this is volume one of a trilogy.

Set in Victorian London and on Mars, with elements reminiscent of CS Lewis and of HG Wells, The Revolutions by Felix Gilman (Corsair, £8.99) is essentially a love story.

In 1893 young journalist Arthur meets and falls for typist Josephine during a storm that half wrecks London and destroys Arthur’s workplace. She specialises in working for occultists and through her contacts he secures a well-paid but worryingly peculiar job in accountancy.

The lovers don’t know it yet, but they’re becoming dangerously entangled in a war between two groups of occult researchers.

Memorable characters and a fine eye for period detail make this entirely strange and at times slightly undisciplined novel thoroughly enjoyable.

Zenith Phase One by Grant Morrison and Steve Yeowell (Rebellion, £20) collects the early episodes of a comic strip first published in 2000 AD in 1987.

In a version of our world where German scientists developed the first “superhuman” in WWII, by the 1980s there’s only one active superhuman left — British youngster Zenith, who uses his superpowers to become a self-obsessed pop star.

How much use is he going to be, now that nazi diehards are revitalising their research programme?

Satirical, Tory-baiting fun, Zenith also takes the piss out of some of the more portentous superhero reinventions of that era.

In The Hive Construct by Alexander Maskill (Doubleday, no price given), New Cairo is a desert city built on technology, where most people use “bio-augs” to replace or supplement imperfect limbs or organs.

It’s also a deeply class-divided city and when a mysterious virus begins shutting down the bio-augs, an explosive clash between rich and poor is inevitable.

Winner of the Terry Pratchett Prize, this first novel by a young British university student shows extraordinary promise.