#40. BLOOD MUSIC By Greg Bear

Published : 1985
Pages : 262
Overall Mark : 7/10

Virgil Ulam is a maverick researcher working on biochips which will use DNA as a means of information processing. Ignoring guidelines for genetic research, he goes further, producing intelligent cellular matter which can outperform laboratory rats. On being found out and ordered to destroy the experiment, he injects himself with some of the culture, and walksout carrying a seed which will develop far beyond the limits of his brilliant but blinkered imagination.

GREG BEAR (1951-)
Born in 1951, Bear published his first story in 1967, and his first novel in 1979. Although his academic background is in English, he has established a reputation as one of the finest contemporary writers of scientifically rigorous SF. Blood Music won both the Hugo and Nebula awards in its first, shorter version. His other novels include Eon, The Forge Of God and Eternity.

VERDICT
This is a pretty humorous yet subtly intriguing look at how a simple virus could potentially transfom humanity into something barely recognisable. Bear brings us a vision that is both worryingly alien and scarily possible, and his slow pacing makes it a journey that feels real as each stage of the virus progresses. A fascintaing vision of a simple mistake leading to a complex change in mankind.

#39. THE CITY AND THE STARS By Arthur C Clarke

Published : 1956
Pages : 255
Overall Mark : 8/10

There had been cities before, but never such a city as Diaspar. For millenia its protective dome shut out the creeping decay and danger of the world outside. Once, it had held powers that ruled the stars; but then, the legends said, the Invaders came, driving humanity into this last refuge. This is Arthur Clarke's masterly vision of the far distant future, millions of years after our civilization has vanished into dust.

ARTHUR C. CLARKE (1917-2008)
Born in Somerset in 1917, but a long-time resident of Sri Lanka, Sir Arthur Clarke is the world's most famous living SF writer: author of the scientific paper which established the principle of communications satellites, collaborator with Stanley Kubrick on 2001, and winner of numerous awards for his novels, including Childhood's End, The City And The Stars and Rendezvous With Rama.

VERDICT
This is Clarke at his best, with a wonderful vision of the distant future where mankind is forced to remain isolated for fear of attack from an alien race. As with many sci fi novels before and since, the truth soon comes out thanks to a single unique individual and their unusual view on things. Clarke manages to create a vivid world controlled by machines that is both impressive and frightening.

#38. THE FIRST MEN IN THE MOON By H G Wells

Published : 1901
Pages : 186
Overall Mark : 7/10

Published exactly 100 years ago, this is one of Well's greatest novels, and the only one of his scientific romances to embrace space travel. Thanks to the discovery of an anti-gravity metal, Cavorite, two Victorian Englishmen travel to the Moon, where they encounter the extraordinary underground world of the Selenites, insect-like aliens living in a rigidly organised hive society.

H. G. WELLS (1866-1946)
The son of a shopkeeper, Wells began to publish fiction in the 1890s. The Time Machine, published in 1895, heralded an extraordinary period of 6 years in which he published almost all the 'scientific romances' which made his fame. An early member of the Fabian Society (from which developed the Labour Party), he was for the last four decades of his life a world-famous writer and thinker.

VERDICT
It's hard to believe that this is written almost seventy years before man actually landed on the moon. Granted, a lot of the science that Wells describes is well off, but the fun and energy he employs in his stories makes this an entertaining tale that is very enjoyable, even if you only take it as a view of what people at the turn of the century thought the moon might be like.

#37. NOVA By Samuel R Delany

Published : 1968
Pages : 224
Overall Mark : 6/10

Illyrion: the most precious energy source in the galaxy. The varied and exotic crew who sign up with Captain Lorq van Ray know the search for it is dangerous, and they soon learn that they are involved in a deadly race with the charismatic but vicious leader of an opposing space federation. But they have no idea of Lorq's secret obsession: to gather Illyrion at source by flying through the very heart of an imploding star.

SAMUEL R. DELANY (1942-)
Born and raised in Harlem, and published his first novel in 1962 at the age of 20. He won the Nebula Award for best novel in consecutive years with Babel-17 (1966) and The Einstein Intersection (1967). His other novels include Dhalgren and the Neveryon series. He teaches literature at Princeton University.

VERDICT
This is an action-packed space opera that attempts to combine futuristic ideas with mythological ones, including the use of tarot cards. The idea of a race to a goal is central in this book, and the very quest itself largely proves to be interesting in part, though the destination itself is a bit of a let down. Fans of Delany's later works might be disappointed by this, as it isn't anywhere near as experimental, but personally I prefer it as books such as Dhalgren were just too much hard work.

#36. NOW WAIT FOR LAST YEAR By Philip K Dick

Published : 1975
Pages : 225
Overall Mark : 7/10

First, Gino Molinari was assassinated by a political rival. Then he died of a heart attack. But now he is back, younger and more vigorous than ever, giving Earth new hope of survival in the war against the alien reegs. But is this really Molinari, or a robant masquerading as Earth's overlord? Whatever the truth, only he can save the Solar System - if he can stay alive long enough, or at least not stay dead for too long.

PHILIP K. DICK (1928-1982)
'One of the two or three most important figures in 20th century US SF' (The Encyclopedia Of Science Fiction). Born one of twins - his sister died in infancy - he lived most of his life in California, and wrote more than fifty books in a career of prodigious productivity and achievement. The films Blade Runner and Total Recall are both based on his stories.

VERDICT
Philip K Dick manages to take his experiences with drug use and combine it successfully with his science fiction writings, possibly for the first time in his career. This is a thought provoking tale that gives us great characters, intriguing situations, and some wonderful moral issues to ponder over.

#35. PAVANE By Keith Roberts

Published : 1966
Pages : 279
Overall Mark : 7/10

1588: Queen Elizabeth is felled by an assassin's bullet. Within the week, the Spanish Armada had set sail, and its victory changed the course of history.
1968: England is still dominated by the Church of Rome. There are no telephones, no television, no nuclear power. As Catholicism and the Inquisition tighten their grip, rebellion is growing.

KEITH ROBERTS (1935-)
An influential figure in British science fiction both as writer and illustrator, Roberts published his first stories in 1964. He was for a while editor of the SF magazine Impulse, and painted covers for it and for its companion title, New Worlds. His other novels include The Furies, The Chalk Giants and Kiteworld.

VERDICT
This is not the best alternate history novel I've read, but it has its merits. The background as to why the world is how it is is detailed, and the series of short stories add up to a pretty good view of the imagined world of the author. Unfortunately the stories aren't consistently good, and the final chapter seemed, in some sense, to spoil what had come before. This is interesting, but there are better books out there.

#34. THE FOUNTAINS OF PARADISE By Arthur C Clarke

Published : 1979
Pages : 247
Overall Mark : 8/10

In the 22nd century visionary scientist Vannevar Morgan conceives the most grandiose engineering project of all time, and one which will revolutionize the future of humankind in space: a Space Elevator, 36,000 kilometres high, anchored to an equatorial island in the Indian Ocean.

ARTHUR C. CLARKE (1917-2008)
Born in Somerset in 1917, but a long-time resident of Sri Lanka, Sir Arthur Clarke is the world's most famous living SF writer: author of the scientific paper which established the principle of communications satellites, collaborator with Stanley Kubrick on 2001, and winner of numerous awards for his novels, including Childhood's End, The City And The Stars and Rendezvous With Rama.

VERDICT
This book takes a a silly idea - an elevator that can travel into space - and makes it seem so viable that you start to believe that it could actualyl be built. Clarke once again manages to make the unbelievable believable and gives us a tale that is both interesting and exciting, riddled with peril and thought provoking insights into the potential technological advances of the future.