Hmm, I'd never noticed there was a Brookmyre dichotomy. That's what I get for sitting at the back of the class and paying no attention.
I did finish Blue Remembered Earth and forgot to do my book report. It wasn't bad, but expect to feel short changed that you've read effectively a 500 word prologue. It also read awkwardly, since the protagonists were African, but probably could have equally come from Haverfordwest. Every now and then you're told that the announcements are in Swahili, just in case the reader forgets they're African. A bit of a conceit which brought nothing to the to story. Also the lead character had a sudden turn from whiny doofus to dynamic go-getter mid-book, that you felt had more to do with an editor saying 'you know, he's a bit annoying' than plot. A small flurry of decent ideas but the pacing was glacial, and you could almost feel the author treading water until the next volume.
Now sampling John Dies at the End which, on the basis that I never like things that people tell me I'll like, I didn't expect to like. But the first couple of pages have been quite amusing. Apparently, already a movie, so again I'm not paying attention at the back.