Of all areas of interest in computer hardware and software technologies in recent years, few can have had as much attention as those that embrace the Internet. While people have become increasingly familiar with "surfing the net", now many have also discovered that it is not too difficult a task to design and build their own Web pages.

HTML Complete, published by Sybex, is a unique 1,000 page digest from 10 books by various authors about using Hypertext Markup Language, the bricks and mortar of Web page construction. Not that this book will turn you into a Master Builder overnight, but it will give you a thorough apprenticeship into the fundamentals of Web page design in an easy to read manner with lots of practical examples. The main sections of the book provide a steady-paced tutorial from the basics of HTML and site navigation through to the more advanced extensions where you can learn the first principles of Perl, DHTML, JavaScript and XML. In addition, an extensive 300 page appendix covers the syntax of using HTML tags and attributes, cascading style sheets, JavaScript, and HTML colours and character codes.

However, HTML Completeisn't just about cutting the code behind the pages, it also provides some valuable insights into good visual design, teaching you what works and what doesn't. Aimed at users of all levels, the broad brush approach of HTML Completemay leave the more experienced user wanting more. The advantage of this taster compilation is that it pulls back the curtains to give a peek into what is possible and lays some solid foundations upon which to build further. —Peter Lunn

The title The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time(or the curious incident of the dog in the night-timeas it appears within the book) is an appropriate one for Mark Haddon's ingenious novel both because of its reference to that most obsessive and fact-obsessed of detectives, Sherlock Holmes, and because its lower-case letters indicate something important about its narrator.

Christopher is an intelligent youth who lives in the functional hinterland of autism—every day is an investigation for him because of all the aspects of human life that he does not quite get. When the dog next door is killed with a garden fork, Christopher becomes quietly persistent in his desire to find out what has happened and tugs away at the world around him until a lot of secrets unravel messily.

Haddon makes an intelligent stab at how it feels to, for example, not know how to read the faces of the people around you, to be perpetually spooked by certain colours and certain levels of noise, to hate being touched to the point of violent reaction. Life is difficult for the difficult and prickly Christopher in ways that he only partly understands; this avoids most of the obvious pitfalls of novels about disability because it demands that we respect—perhaps admire—him rather than pity him. —Roz Kaveney

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fireis the long-awaited, heavily hyped fourth instalment of a phenomenally successful series that has captured the imagination of millions of readers, young and old, across the globe. For J K Rowling the pressure is certainly on to continue to come up with thrilling, pacey storylines that allow her hero to mature into a young man without detracting from the magical secret that has made Harry into a superstar. In this book, the teenage Harry has a certain gawky charm that fits well with his advancing adolescence. As the story moves on, Harry too moves on to a new level of maturity that leaves the reader wondering how he will learn from his experiences, and liking him all the more as a character.

Once returned to Hogwarts after his summer holiday with the dreadful Dursleys and an extraordinary outing to the Quidditch World Cup, the 14-year-old Harry and his fellow pupils are enraptured by the promise of the Triwizard Tournament: an ancient, ritualistic tournament that brings Hogwarts together with two other schools of wizardry—Durmstrang and Beauxbatons—in heated competition. But when Harry's name is pulled from the Goblet of Fire, and he is chosen to champion Hogwarts in the tournament, the trouble really begins. Still reeling from the effects of a terrifying nightmare that has left him shaken, and with the lightning-shaped scar on his head throbbing with pain (a sure sign that the evil Voldemort, Harry's sworn enemy, is close), Harry becomes at once the most popular boy in school. Yet, despite his fame, he is totally unprepared for the furore that follows.

This is a hefty volume: 636 pages, of which probably at least 200 could have been cut without detracting from the story. The weight and complexity of the book is perhaps a hint that Rowling now has her eye sharply focused on her adult audience, and the average child-reader (particularly one who is coming to Harry Potter for the first time) may well find its girth daunting. Rowling's ironic and pointed observations on tabloid journalism and the nature of media hype is just one of the references littered through the book that will tickle the grown-ups but may well fly over the heads of her young fans.

However, after a slow start, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Firereally starts to sparkle halfway through with Rowling's familiar magic (and yes, there is a death—sudden and tragic—and yes, Harry does start to notice girls). The crux of this story, however, is Harry's gradual coming-of-age and his handling of the increasingly determined threats to his own life.

This book is pivotal, not just for the author for whom the heat is well and truly on, but for Harry and his readers who, by the last chapter, are left in little doubt that there is much more to come. (Ages 10 to adult) —Susan Harrison

It had to come. Michael Gerber's Barry Trotter and the Shameless Parodydoes to Harry Potter what Bored of the Ringsdid to Tolkien—burying the very English original in showers of quick-fire gags, mangled character names, and Americanisms.

It stuck to the plot of The Lord of the Rings, but—probably for fear of lawsuits—Shameless Parodyrambles in all directions, poking fun at JK Rowling's characters, her fans, the worldwide Potter phenomenon and moviemakers Warner Brothers too.

The hero of Barry Trotter and the Philosopher's Scone(in America, Barry Trotter and the Magic Biscuit) is now in his 11th year at Hogwash School for Wizards, aged 22. Yes, he should have left long ago, but being famous is addictive. Now the Headmaster, Alpo Bumblemore, has a fresh task for Barry. Already beset by crowds of non-magical "Muddle" fans, the school faces terminal publicity unless our hero can halt production of the scheduled film Barry Trotter and the Inevitable Attempt to Cash In....

Can Barry, with friends Lon Measly and Ermine Cringer, defeat the latest evil schemes and transparent anagrams of Lord Valumart—even with help from author JG Rollins herself? It doesn't seem to matter much since even the "good" characters tend to be crass, stupid, unsympathetic or all three.

Gerber shrewdly builds on the Hogwarts tradition of icky sweets and should appeal to the young in brain with loving descriptions of Snot Chocolate, Dandruff Babies, Diarrhoea Creams, and the like: "Barry chuckled: for him, potty humour was one of life's most reliable sources of pleasure." Naturally there's not a Chamber but a Chamberpot of Secrets, and the toilet-haunting ghost Moaning Myrtle becomes Flatulent Fanny.

The plot, for want of a better word, is too self-referentially silly to describe. It's a toss-up: will millions of young Rowling fans giggle uncontrollably over the lavatory jokes, or lynch Gerber for blasphemy? —David Langford

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the sixth book in J.K. Rowling's bestselling series, picks up shortly after we left Harry at the end of The Order of the Phoenix. Lord Voldemort is acting out in the open, continuing his reign of terror which was temporarily stopped almost 15 years beforehand. Harry is again at the Dursleys, where the events of the previous month continue to weigh on his mind, although not as much as the impending visit from his Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. Given their last meeting, Harry is understandably confused as to why the old wizard would want to visit him at home.

Rowling opens with a chapter she had wanted to use for the first book, of The Philosopher's Stone—Lord Voldemort has been creating chaos in the Wizard and Muggle communities alike, the war is in full swing and the Wizarding community now lives in fear. The press have been questioning the events at the Ministry which led to the admission of Voldemort's return, and of course Harry's name is mentioned a number of times. Harry's got his problems, but his anxiety is nothing compared to Hermione's when the OWL results are delivered. There's a new Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher, an assortment of new characters and creatures, and startling revelations about past characters and events.

Gone is the rage-filled Harry of The Order of the Phoenix—he—he's not being kept in the dark any more, his unjustified Quidditch ban has been lifted and he has matured considerably in his short time out of school. Half-Blood Princefollows Harry into the world of late-teens, and his realisation that nobody is infallible has made his growth that much easier. Accepting his destiny, Harry continues to behave as teenagers do, enjoying his time with his friends, developing his relationships outside of his usual circle, and learning more about how he must, eventually, do what he is destined to do.

J.K. Rowling delivers another fantastic tale which will have the readers gasping for more, capturing the characters perfectly and continuing a tale which readers will enjoy over and over again. —Ziggy Morbi