Q

In the 1980s Luther Blissett played centre forward for Watford, Milan and England. As far as we know, during that time he wasn't suppressing a nascent literary talent for fear of ridicule, nor was he secretly sketching out short stories during half time intervals. No, Luther Blissett was just a footballer - a pretty ordinary one at that. And he didn't write Q.
But for some reason, his name was informally adopted and shared by hundreds of artists and social activists all over Europe and South America between about 1994 and 2007. One of Luther Blissett's most enduring creations is the 1999 novel Q written by a collective of four Italian authors - Roberto Bui, Giovanni Cattabriga, Federico Guglielmi and Luca Di Meo - who became for five years The Luther Blissett Project. If this all sounds confusing enough, it's as nothing compared with the mysteries contained in Q.

On one level Q is a straightforward historical thriller set against the violent and confusing backdrop of the northern Reformation. On that level alone it can stand as one of the best stories of recent times - rich in detail, brilliantly paced and laced with intrigue. When you probe deeper though, and really think about that intrigue as something other than just a plot, you find undercurrents of far greater significance, and Q starts to reappear as a thorough dissection of the use of religion as a tool of power and of oppression. And, as you'd expect from a collective of Italian social activists. they're not only asking you to think about politics and power in the 16th century. Hint hint.