#62. MISSION OF GRAVITY By Hal Clement

Published : 1954
Pages : 203
Overall Mark : 7/10

Mesklin is a vast, inhospitable planet, so cold that its oceans are liquid methan, its snows frozen methane, a world where gravity can be a crushing 700 times greater than Earth's. But Mesklin holds secrets of inestimable value and only the tiny Mesklinites can help mankind discover them. And so begins an heroic and appalling journey into the terrible unknown...

HAL CLEMENT (1922-2003)
Hal Clement went to Harvard, Boston University and Simmons College, taking degrees in astronomy, chemistry and education. He gained his reputation as a writer in Astounding Science Fiction and Mission Of Gravity first appeared there in 1953. Towards the end of his life he was made a Science Fiction Grand Master.

VERDICT
This old-school sci-fi novel deals in great depth with the concept of a high gravity world and how its environment could effect the inhabitants. Although short, this novel contains some great insights into how the world of Mesklin works, and how its people react to their surroundings and the interfering presence of humankind. The imagination Clement invokes in order to produce this work is both startling in its depth and almost unapproachable in its thoroughness.

#61. THE CHILD GARDEN By Geoff Ryman

Published : 1989
Pages : 388
Overall Mark : 6/10

London's semi-tropical climate means that it is now surrounded by paddy-fields. Londoners, like plants, feed off the sun. The young, raised in Child Gardens, are educated by viruses: information, culture, law and politics are biological functions. The Consensus oversees the country, 'treating' non-conformism. But Milena is different: she is resistant to the viruses - and she is capable of changing the world.

GEOFF RYMAN (1951-)
Born in Canada in 1951, Geoff Ryman has lived in London since 1973. The Child Garden won the Arthur C. Clarke Award and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award, His other books include the Fantasy Masterwork Was, 252, The Unconquered Country, Lust and Air.

VERDICT
This look at a future where disease has been vanquished in exchange for shorter lifespans, the young are educated via an intelligent virus. The usual fantasy trope of an individual who is immune to this social control is handled reasonably well by Ryman, and the idea of one girl being able to change how the world is run through her relationship with the hive mind that rules is an interesting notion that perhaps could have been explored to a fuller extent.

#60. RINGWORLD By Larry Niven

Published : 1970
Pages : 288
Overall Mark : 8/10

The artefact is a circular ribbon of matter six hundred million miles long and ninety mile in radius. Pierson's puppeteers, the aliens who discovered it, are understandably wary of encountering the builders of such an immense structure and have assembled a team of two humans, a mad puppeteerand a kzin, a huge cat-like alien, to explore it. But a crash landing on the vast edifice forces the crew on a desperate and dangerous trek across the Ringworld...

LARRY NIVEN (1938-)
Born in California in 1938, Larry Niven published his first SF story in 1964 and made an immediate impact. He has won four Hugos for his short fiction and both the Hugo and the Nebula for Ringworld, the most important novel in his seminal future history, Tales Of Known Space. He has also collaborated with Jerry Pournelleon, among other notable novels, Oath Of Fealty.

VERDICT
Yet another SF novel that successfully takes the idea of religion and pokes fun at it in an SF environment. Niven does this in an effective way by having humans visit Ringworld and discover a primitive society that thinks they are Gods. A well observed look at how some religions view their idols, and how a simple act can result in being accused of blasphemy.

#59. DYING INSIDE By Robert Silverberg

Published : 1972
Pages : 199
Overall Mark : 8/10

David Selig's life is not impressive: he has no job and no meaningful relationship. And yet, Selig has the power of a god, for he can read other people's minds. Although it has been a mixed blessing, this extraordinary ability defines his sense of self. But now, with the onset of middle age, his capacity to probe minds is fading and Selig is struggling to come to terms with the knowledge that he is dying inside...

ROBERT SILVERBERG (1935-)
Robert Silverberg published his first novel at the age of 20. For more than forty-five years he has been one of the most prolific, popular and critically acclaimed SF writers, nominated for more awards in the field than any other writer. His many novels include Downward To The Earth, Thorns, The Book Of Skulls and Roma Eterna.

VERDICT
This novel takes the gift of telepathy and grants it unto a lazy, greedy man. The concept itself is funny, but the ways in which Silverberg shows the lead character serves his own needs is fascinating and eventually becomes quite dark. The protagonists gradual loss of his power shows how much he has come to rely on it, and displays him as a worthless individual with no skills other than those granted him at birth. A solid morality tale which is as relevant today as it was in the 70s.

#58. THE PENULTIMATE TRUTH By Philip K Dick

Published : 1964
Pages : 191
Overall Mark : 7/10

World War III is raging - or so the millions of people crammed in their underground tanks believe. For fifteen years, subterranean humanity has been fed on daily broadcasts of a never-ending nuclear destruction, sustained by a belief in the all powerful Protector. But up on Earth's surface, a different kind of reality reigns. East and West are at peace. And across the planet, an elite corps of expert hoaxers preserve the lie.

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 Minority Report are both based on his stories.

VERDICT
Definitely not the usual novel you'd expect from Dick, this is a very political tale of a conspiracy to keep those protected underground during World War III working on amassing wealth for those left above ground in the new found peace. A clever conceit, though not as fun or character driven as many of Dick's other works.

#57. THE SIMULACRA By Philip K Dick

Published : 1964
Pages : 220
Overall Mark : 7/10

A few years from now, the President of the USA will be an android and his entire government a fraud. Everyone in the country is maladjusted. Doesn't seem possible, does it? Welcome to the world of Dr Superb, the sole remaining psychotherapist. Philip K. Dick tells a story of desperate love, lethal body odour and an attempted fascistic takeover of the USA and shows that there is always another layer of conspiracy beneath the one we see.

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 Minority Report are both based on his stories.

VERDICT
Dick's view of a future America - now joined with Europe - is an interesting one, filled with espionage and secretive lies that are kept from the public. The idea of the president secretly being a robot and his consort being played by an actress are funfilled and ribald, and the usual set of characters you'd expect from Dick are mixed together in such a way that brings them all together in the end, though a more conclusive finale might have made this a more appealing read.

#56. DOWNWARD TO THE EARTH By Robert Silverberg

Published : 1977
Pages : 213
Overall Mark : 8/10

The planet Belzagor is predominantly jungle, governed by the elephant-like alien nildoror and the bi-pedal sulidoror. Gundersen was last on Belzagor when it was the colonial planet Holman's World and he was an administrator. He has returned to meet old friends, his former lover Seena and the enigmatic Kurtz. Yet Gundersen is driven by an old guilt from long ago...

ROBERT SILVERBERG (1935-)
Born in 1935, Robert Silverberg published his first novel age 20. He has for more than forty years been one of the most prolific, popular and critically acclaimed SF writers, nominated for more awards in the field than any other writer. His many novels include the Nebula Award-winning A Time Of Changes, Thorns and Roma Eterna. He lives in California.

VERDICT
This sci-fi story about colonialism is both effective and thought provoking, filled with some great visual ideas and some warnings about treating those unknown to us as second class. Silverberg expertly manages to convey his ideas in a relatively small space of time, and what he creates is intriguing and definitely worthy of debate.