> I haven't enjoyed any of the other M John Harrison books I tried

100% this.

I like the man and he's a great public speaker. I do not get on with his novels at all, from In Viriconium to a few decades later when everyone loved Light so I gave his "SF" another try.

I read a good bit of Light, I had the sense that it was probably very clever but just not for me. Too gloomy, with unlikeable characters.

I also began to suspect it was more magical realism than science fiction. Maybe incorrectly, but made me lose interest.