#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.

#55. TIME OUT OF JOINT By Philip K Dick

Published : 1959
Pages : 212
Overall Mark : 8/10

Ragle Gumm is an ordinary man leading an ordinary suburban life, except that he makes his living by entering a newspaper contest every day - and winning, every day. But he gradually begins to suspect that his world is an illusion, constructed around him for the express purpose of keeping him docile and happy. But if he is right, what is the real world like, and what is he actually doing every day when he thinks he is guessing 'Where Will The Little Green Man Be Next?'

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
This is a well written, witty story that uses the idea of a person being the centre of their own little universe, with everyone else simply being a player in their tale; and idea that has been imitated time and again since this first saw light at the tale end of the 1950s. From 'The Continuous Katherine Mortenhoe' and to movies such as 'EDTV' and 'The Truman Show', it is clear that Dick has been something of an inspiration to writers of all forms over the years.

#54. THE SPACE MERCHANTS By Frederik Pohl and CM Kornbluth

Published : 1952
Pages : 186
Overall Mark : 7/10

It is the 22nd century, an advertisement-drenched world in which the big ad agencies dominate governments and everything else. Now Schocken Associates, on of the big players, has a new challenge for star copywriter Mitch Courtenay. Volunteers are needed to colonise Venus. It's a hellhole, and nobody who knew anything about it would dream of signing up. But by the time Mitch has finished, they will be queuing to get on board the spaceships.

FREDERIK POHL (1919-)
C. M. KORNBLUTH (1922-1958)
Frederik Pohl has been a professional SF writer and editor for 50 years. He won the Nebula Award for best novel with Man Plus and Gateway. He grew up in New York, but now lives in Chicago. C.M. Kornbluth was a leading SF writer of the 1950s, now best remembered for the novels he worte with Pohl. His wartime experiences damaged his health and he died of a heart attack aged 36.

VERDICT
This is a nice tale of how sales people could affectively take over the universe. By promoting the worst in life and downplaying the best, they could twist our views in whatever way they want, if only they had the power to do so. Pohl and Kornbluth's creation of a future where this has happened is both humorous and frightening, yet leads us down a path of redemption for at least one culprit of planetary pursuasion.