Books...and a new puzzle

I did promise a blog about books, and so here it is.  The recent book I've read was called 'Tintin in the New World'.  It's not a comic, and it wasn't written by Herge but by Frederic Tuten.  It was a very interesting book, not a huge amount in the way of plot but more about growing up.  Some of it I have to say was a little over my head, but for anyone who was a fan of the original stories it is a must read, after all, don't you sometimes wonder what happened to your childhood heroes after the last story?
Some of you may have seen the new TV series 'Thorne' which aired recently...I haven't.  But I have recently read one of the books about the detective and really enjoyed it.  It is really well written and has great observational touches as you would expect from former stand-up Mark Billingham.  What really led me to it was the fact that Thorne himself lives in Kentish Town and all the places mentioned were immediately recognisable to me.  I have another of his to read now.
A classic now and 'Catcher in the Rye' by JD Salinger.  It's one of those books which often gets compared to and mentioned in various circumstances but I had yet to read it.  I have to say I enjoyed it.  The protaganist wasn't exactly a character I could like (I'm probably too old to really identify now) but I had to agree with a lot of his observations about people and the world.  What staggered me was that the majority of them were still true today in terms to the way people act and behave.  A thoroughly recommendable book.
I'll finish off by mentioning Iain Banks, one of my favourite authors and I've read several of his non-genre books but until now none of his sci-fi books.  Recently I did read 'The Player of Games' and am currently reading 'Consider Phlebas', and they are both great.  I used to read a lot of sci-fi but found that they tended to have a very bleak philosophical look on the future, but his books don't have this quite forced down your throat.  They are simply stories set in a different world to this one in which the same basics are the same.  That's why they work.  They are also infused with a great deal of wit and humour as you would expect from Banks.  Once more, well worth a read.

So now to a puzzle.  This is a straight/quick crossword which is actually 4 very small ones within one to make it a little trickier.  A cryptic puzzle is on its way.

Across

5. Sum
6. Thin Metal
7. Image
8. Kingdom
11. Applies crudely
13. Off by heart
15. Sun
16. Nauseating smell

Down

1. Crucifix
2. Flees
3. Adhesive
4. Strong rope
9. 'Inferno' author
10. Cowshed
12. Packing box
14. Very small