I read this article a few years ago, and it put me off reading Cloud Atlas for quite a while; I didn't know which version to read, and didn't want to read both.

I read this article a few years ago, and it put me off reading Cloud Atlas for quite a while; I didn't know which version to read, and didn't want to read both. But last year I decided to just go for it and read the American version. It was a thoroughly rewarding read. Cloud Atlas has an interesting interleaved timeline structure, which I'm particularly fond of when well done. The Licanius trilogy by James Islington has some similar devices. And Use of Weapons by Iain M Banks, which is one of my favorite books ever, does something even more involved: forward and backward story lines meet in the middle.