#52. THE THREE STIGMATA OF PALMER ELDRITCH By Philip K Dick

Published : 1964
Pages : 230
Overall Mark : 7/10

In the overcrowded world and cramped space colonies of the late 21st century, tedium can be endured through the use of the drug Can-D, which enables the users to inhabit a shared illusory world. When industrialist Palmer Eldritch returns from an interstellar trip, he brings with him a new, alien drug Chew-Z, which is far more potent than Can-D, but threatens to plunge the world into a permanent state of drugged illusion controlled by the mysterious Eldritch.

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 creates a world of hallucinatory drugs and precognitive powers that is slowly falling apart due to the creation of another drug which produces images of the future that are frighteningly real and over which the user has no control. The loss of control that takes over many of the characters is something quite prevalent in Dick's later novels, and this - rather irronically - gives us a nice glimpse of what his future novels will become.

#51. THE SHRINKING MAN By Richard Matheson

Published : 1956
Pages : 200
Overall Mark : 8/10

Scott Carey has been exposed to a cloud of radioactive spray. Now he can no longer deny the extraordinary truth. Not only is he losing weight, he is also shorter. Scott Carey has begun to shrink. At first Carey tries to continue some kind of normal life. Later, having left human contact behind, he must survive in a world where insects and spiders are giant enemies. And even that is only a stage on his ultimate journey into the unknown.

RICHARD MATHESON (1926-)
The Shrinking Man, first published in 1956, stands alongside I Am Legend (also published as an SF Masterworks) as Richard Metheson's most important contribution to the genre, and was filmed as The Incredible Shrinking Man. Matheson is the author of many film and TV scripts.

VERDICT
This is such a great book that really looks at the human condition and how something that sounds so simple as being smaller can change the attitudes of people towards you. Matheson starts the book off with the view that the shorter someone is the less respect they have, something of a social commentary really, but then delves into true sci-fi realms as Carey shrinks down to 7 inches and eventually shrinks so much he disappears from the world we know altogether. A fantastic fantasy that feels just as fresh today as the day it was first published.

#50. EON By Greg Bear

Published : 1985
Pages : 504
Overall Mark : 7/10

The Stone is a vast artifact - a hollowed-out asteroid - which has entered the Solar System from somewhere. Inside are a series of chambers to be explored. But the Stone contains more mysteries than can easily be understood. Within it, space and time are distorted, to a degree which only becomes apparent when scientists unlock the seventh chamber. The asteroid is longer on the inside than on the outside. The seventh chamber goes on forever.

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 simple enough premise, with a hollowed out asteroid from the future entering Earth's orbit, andt he nations of the world fighting over who owns it rather than where it has come from. The science behind the asteroid sounds like something our od Doctor Who, but the overall size of the book itself (not to mention the sequels) makes the wonders that are described a little diluted for my liking.

#49. A FALL OF MOONDUST By Arthur C Clarke

Published : 1961
Pages : 224
Overall Mark : 8/10

Time is running out for the passengers and crew of the tourist-cruiser Selene, incarcerated in a sea of choking lunar dust while, on the surface, her rescuers find their resources stretched to the limit by the mercilessly unpredictable conditions of a totally alien environment. A brilliantly imagined story of human ingenuity and survival, A Fall Of Moondust is a tour-de-force of psychological suspense and sustained dramatic tension.

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 novel manages to keep the tension rising right up until the last page, and proves to be one of Clarke's most suspenseful books. Packed with enough action to make a Hollywood blockbuster jealous, this short yet detailed take is a must read for any SF or Clarke fan, and will not disappoint, though the epilogue did feel a little unnecessary.

#48. GRASS By Sheri S Tepper

Published : 1989
Pages : 540
Overall Mark : 7/10

Generations ago, humans fled to the cosmic anomaly known as Grass. But before humanity arrived, another species had already claimed Grass for its own. It too had developed a culture... Now a deadly plague is spreading across the stars, leaving no planet untouched, save for Grass. But the secret of the planet's immunity hides a truth so shattering it could mean the end of life itself.

SHERI S. TEPPER (1929-)
'One of SF's premier world builders' (The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction), Sheri Tepper is a prolific American writer of science fiction, fantasy, horror, mystery, crime and poetry. Her first SF novel, The Awakeners, was originally published in two volumes in 1987, Beauty (1991), winner of the Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel, is a Fantasy Masterwork.

VERDICT
Tepper is a capable writer, and this is a decent book, it just isn't very memorable. I struggled to remember anything about the characters in this book, and though I can recall the overarching premise of the story it is difficult to determine what parts were most impressive and which were weak and in need of work.

#47. THE INVISIBLE MAN By H G Wells

Published : 1897
Pages : 138
Overall Mark : 8/10

Wells's great novel describes a man cast out of society by his own terrifying discovery. Griffin is a brilliant and obsessed scientist diedicated to achieving invisibility. Taking whatever action is necessary to keep his discovery safe, he terrorises the local village where he has sought refuge. Wells skillfully weaves together the elements of the story as the invisible Griffin gradually loses his sanity and, ultimately, his humanity.

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
For those who have seen the many horror versions of this classic sci-fi novel, you might be surprised to read this, as it is more of a flat drama than anything else. Granted, Griffin’s obsession with invisibility does have elements of horror, but the main draw of this book is the psychosis that affects him, rather than the attacks on those who might discover his secret.

#46. FLOW MY TEARS, THE POLICEMAN SAID By Philip K Dick

Published : 1974
Pages : 204
Overall Mark : 7/10

Jason Taverner is a Six, the product of top secret government experiments forty years earlier which produced a handful of unnaturally bright and beautiful people. He is also a TV star, the prime idol of millions... until, inexplicably, all record of him disappears from the data banks. Now he is a man with no identity, in a police state where everybody's records are monitored. Can he ever be rich and famous again... if, indeed, those memories are not illusions.

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
Although not one of his most memorable efforts, this riches to rags dystopian tale benefits from Dick's ability to create a world rich with plausablity and characters that are believable. Even when his concepts are far-fetched, which is most of the time, you can really feel yourself being drawn in to the tale and the trials that the characters are forced to face.