The fastest most efficient way to handle a novel will still boil down to your purpose. If it is largely for pleasure reading then photoread skip superread and dip go straight to a rapid read. You'll find that you finish the book a lot faster yet still have the pleasure of enjoying it like a good movie.
If you need to go through a novel for a book review or required reading then superreading and dipping method of activation can help you focus on searching out the required parts of the book. For this you need to ask questions during activation relating to plot, characters etc.
I had written a 4 page article for activating novels and books without heading. Drop me an email if you would like a copy.
Alex