#23. THE BOOK OF SKULLS By Robert Silverberg

Published : 1972
Pages : 222
Overall Mark : 7/10

Four students discover a manuscript, The Book of Skulls, which reveals the existence of a sect, now living in the Arizona desert, whose members can offer immortality to those who can complete its initiation rite. To their surprise, they discover that the sect survives, and is willing to accept them as acolytes. But for each group of four who enter the rite, two must die in order for the others to succeed.

ROBERT SILVERBERG (1935-)
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, Dying Inside and Thorns. He lives in California.

VERDICT
Although this is an intersting book, I didn't like any of the characters and didn't think any of them deserved to live forever. However, this said, their avaricious tendencies and need for immortality to achieve all of their greedy goals soon proves to be something they may never achieve, even if they do become immortal. This is well worth reading, but be warned, there isn't anything redeaming about the characters therein.

#22. BEHOLD THE MAN By Michael Moorcock

Published : 1969
Pages : 124
Overall Mark : 8/10

Meet Karl Glogauer, time traveller and unlikely Messiah. When he finds himself in Palestine in the year 29AD he is shocked to meet the man known as Jesus Christ - a drooling idiot, hiding in the shadows of the carpenter's shop in Nazareth. But if he is not capable of fulfilling his historical role, then who will take his place?

MICHAEL MOORCOCK (1939-)
Born in London in 1939, he published his first novel in 1961. As editor of the magazine New Worlds he has been a hugely influential figure in British SF. He has published more than 80 books, including The Condition Of Muzak, which won the Guardian Fiction Prize, and Mother London, which was shortlisted for the Whitbread Prize. He lives in Texas.

VERDICT
This is such a tongue in cheek idea, yet Moorcock approaches it in a deadly serious manner. I'm surprised the Church didn't get ahold of this and ban it, but I guess the innocuous title kept it below the radar, unlike the Satanic Verses. The very idea that Jesus was a jibbering idiot might offend some, but this novella, which can easily be read in one sitting, is a must read that proves that even a nobody can do something wonderful with their lives.

#21. STAR MAKER By Olaf Stapledon

Published : 1937
Pages : 254
Overall Mark : 7/10

One moment a man sits on a suburban hill, gazing curiously at the stars. The next, he is whirling through the firmament, and perhaps the most remarkable of all science fiction journeys has begun. Even Stapledon's other great work, Last And First Men, pales in ambition next to Star Maker, which is nothing less than a history of life in the universe, encompassing billions of years.

W. OLAF STAPLEDON (1886-1950)
Stapledon was educated at Oxford and Liverpool University, where he later lectured in psychology and philosophy. His wartime experiences made him a committed lifetime pacifist. According to The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, his influence on the development of SF ideas is 'probably second only to that of H. G. Wells'.

VERDICT
This is an imaginative novel, something of an expansion of Last And First Men that moves on from the planet Earth and ventures into the realms of space. Stapledon manages to use his mind to envisage whole new species of beings, yet only looks at them for a couple of pages before moving into to more of the same. This has plenty of wonderful imagination and enough thought provoking ideas to keep even the most doubtful SF fan intrigued.

#20. A SCANNER DARKLY By Philip K Dick

Published : 1977
Pages : 217
Overall Mark : 8/10

Substance D - otherwise knownas Death - is the most dangerous drug ever to find its way on to the black market. It destroys the links between the brain's two hemispheres, leading first to disorientation and then to complete and irreversible brain damage. Bob Arctor, undercover narcotics agent, is trying to find a lead to the source of supply, but to pass as an addict he must become a user...

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
This is a great novel, and the movie didn't really do it justice. There are some great ideas embedded in the plot, and the characters are lively and full of humour and imagination. Clearly this is something of an important story for Dick to tell, and this was written shortly after he discovered that he himself had done his body serious damage through drug abuse and he dedicates it to the memory of many of his dead friends. This book is a must, which although it doesn't really have an actual ending, it does end on a note that indicates that the makers of Substance D will soon meet with their comeuppance.

#19. EMPHYRIO By Jack Vance

Published : 1969
Pages : 208
Overall Mark : 6/10

Far in the future, the craftsmen of the planet Halma create goods which, unknown to them, are the wonder of the galaxy. Their society is harshly regimented - any use of machinery is punishable by death - and its religion is unforgiving. When Amiante Tarvoke os executed for processing old documents with a camera, his son Ghyl rebels, and decides to bring down the system. But first he must interpret the ancient story of the legendary hero Emphyrio.

JACK VANCE (1916-)
A long-time resident of California, Vance served in the Merchant Navy during World War II and published his first story in 1945. His first major work was The Dying Earth (1950), a fantasy sequence set in the distant future. He has won Hugo Awards for The Dragon Masters (a short novel) and The Last Castle (a novella, which also won a Nebula).

VERDICT
This is a nice idea, but the execution is a little sketchy. The first half of the book seems quite confused, but thankfully everything seems to come together at the end with some much needed explanation. Once you can see passed the confusing start, and the habit of leaping about in the anrrative, this is an enjoyable novel which could easily be used as Communist propoganda.

#18. THE SIRENS OF TITAN By Kurt Vonnegut

Published : 1959
Pages : 224
Overall Mark : 9/10

When Winston Niles Rumfoord flies his spacecraft into a chrono-synclastic infundibulum he is converted into pure energy, and only materializes when his waveforms intercept Earth or some other planet. As a result, he only gets home to Newport, Rhode Island, once every 59 days, and then only for an hour. But at least, as a consolation, he now knows everything that has ever happened or that will ever hppen.

KURT VONNEGUT (1922-2007)
Born in 1922, Vonnegut was a prisoner of war in Dresden, Germany, during the saturation bombing which devastated the city near the end of the Second World War, an experience whichformed the basis for the novel which made him a world-wide bestseller, Slaughterhouse-Five. The Sirens Of Titan, first published in 1959, was his second novel.

VERDICT
This is a great sci-fi novel by a writer who seems to have greatly inspired the writings of Douglas Adams. His characters have the strange quirk of being both sympathetic and hateful, and Vonnegut's ability to manipulate his characters in such a way that, in spite of any initial feelings of dislike you may have for any of them, we can instantly take a liking to them simply based on the terrible situations they find themselves in. This is a must for any fan of The Hitchhiker's Guide who may actually find themselves preferring this tale of Godless religion pointless destiny.

#17. THE DROWNED WORLD By J G Ballard

Published : 1962
Pages : 175
Overall Mark : 7/10

In the 21st century, fluctuations in solar radiation have caused the ice-caps to melt and the seas to rise. Global temperatures have climbed, and civilization has retreated to the Arctic and Antarctic circles. London is a city now inundated by a primeval swamp, to which an expedition travels to record the flora and fauna of this new Triassic Age.

J. G. BALLARD (1930-)
Ballard was born in 1930 in Shanghai, China. After Pearl Harbor, his family were interned i na Japanese priosn camp, an experience which inspired his most famous novel Empire Of The Sun. After coming to Britain for the first time in 1946 he studied medicine at Cambridge. The Drowned World was his first major novel.

VERDICT
This is a fascinating novel, on a par with Lord Of The Flies in it's ability to give us a terrible scenario that somehow feels right for the people involved. Although many of the characters are flat and lifeless, the character of Strangman has enough character to make up for this, and his manic egomaniacal ways soon have us thinking whether or not he is in fact in the right in his assertions.