Books in brief: The House of Wolf, Everything We Do Is Music and Season

The House of Wolf by Tony Robinson (Sphere, £25)

As the much-loved Tony Robinson explains, his first novel for adults is the “culmination of a lifetime’s interest in the Anglo Saxons, quite a bit of dedicated research… and maybe a few flights of fancy”. It’s an apt description of this hugely enjoyable series opener set among the family of King Alfred, and flitting between Wessex and Rome as alliances, betrayals and familial machinations steadily ramp up. With plenty of wit and entertainment amid the epic history, it’s best thought of as George RR Martin meets Terry Pratchett; no bad thing.

Everything We Do Is Music: How 20th-Century Classical Music Shaped Pop by Elizabeth Alker (Faber & Faber, £20)

One of the most fascinating and inquisitive music shows is BBC Radio 3’s Unclassified. Presenter Elizabeth Alker is brilliant at finding the commonalities between classical music and folk, electronica and ambient, jazz and drone – all of which underpins this intriguing book. Alker’s passions and personal history really shine through as she delves down rabbit holes and finds links between, say, the Bavarian State Opera and Donna Summer’s I Feel Love, speaking to Steve Reich, Paul McCartney and Jonny Greenwood along the way. A worthy successor to Alex Ross’s The Rest Is Noise.

Season by George Harrison (Lightning, £9.99)

Given there’s enough drama in the real-life sport, novels set around football are difficult to pull off. But George Harrison attempts something interesting: rather than following the action on pitch, he focuses on the fan experience, and the communities and relationships that build wherever people go to watch their favourite team. A heartfelt, platonic love story develops between two  characters – known as the Young Man and the Old Man – as they navigate their complicated lives and find a connection. This is an intelligent exploration of masculinity in the 21st century.

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