#102. SYNNERS By Pat Cadigan

Published : 1991
Pages : 375
Overall Mark : 8/10

In Synners, the line between humanity and technology is hopelessly slim. The human mind and the external landscape have fused to the point where nay encounter with 'reality' is incidental. Now you can change yourself to suit the machines - and all it will cost you is your freedom. And your humanity.

PAT CADIGAN (1953-)
Pat Cadigan was born on Schenectady, New York and grew up in Massachusetts. Her short fiction has been nominated for the Hugo and Nebula Awards and she has twice won the Arthur C. Clarke Award. She has lived in London since 1996.

VERDICT
This is one of the most forward thinking cyberpunk novels you can get. Many of the predictions regarding technology have actually come to pass in one form or another, though it is obvious that the idea of implanting advertising into our dreams is a few years away yet. The clever writing combined with the thriller like elements make this a novel or many facets, ranging from outright sci-fi to plain old detective literature. Even people who think they don't like sci-fi will find something to enjoy in this clever piece of work.

#101. THE WAR OF THE WORLDS By H G Wells

Published : 1898
Pages : 175
Overall Mark : 7/10

"No one would have believed in the lastyears of the nineteenth century that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligence greater than man's... intellects vast and cool and unsympathetic, regarded this earth with envious eyes, and slowly and surely drew their plans against it."

H. G. Wells' masterpiece, The War of the Worlds, is an essential work of SF : the first and gretest alien invasion novel.

H. G. WELLS (1866-1946)
Born in Bromley, Kent, Herbert George Wells was apprenticed to a draper before becoming a teacher-pupil at Midhurst Grammar School and winning a scholarship to study under T.H. Huxley. Through his trail-blazing works of science fiction, his prophetic imagination and his championing of socialism, science and women's rights he became a hugely influential figure of international renown.

VERDICT
In spite of being well ahead of its time, and paving the way for all science fiction literature in the years following, this story isn't that impressively written and can at times get a little repetitive and boring. Despite this weakness Wells does still manage to drag out what could otherwise be a few pages of scenery into an entire novella and comes up with some ingenious visuals.

#100. THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY By Douglas Adams

Published : 1979
Pages : 178
Overall Mark : 9/10

When the Earth is demolished to make way for a new hyperspace bypass, Arthur Dent finds himself hitching a ride on a spaceship full of grumpy bureaucrats, accompanied by his now-revealed-as-an-alien best friend, while still in his pyjamas and dressing gown. Frankly, it's all a bit much before lunchtime. Thank goodness for the most remarkable book ever to come out of the great publishing corporations of Ursa Minor : The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which carries a very helpful message on its cover : Don't Panic.

DOUGLAS ADAMS (1952-2001)
Born in Cambridge, Douglas Adams is best known for the 1970s BBC Radio series (and later novel, TV series and feature film) The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. He also wrote three Doctor Who serials.

VERDICT
This is such a great little book, the first of five penned by the late Douglas Adams, which has such unique and interesting ideas that it can't help but feel original. Granted, its never translated well to the screen, but by using your imagination whilst reading the book you can easily be whisked away to a world that is only as wild as your imagination.

#99. THE FALL OF HYPERION By Dan Simmons

Published : 1990
Pages : 535
Overall Mark : 8/10

The universe is reaching a crisis point. The mysterious Time Tombs are opening and the Shrike that has risen from them may well control the fate of all humanity. The Als we created have turned against us to build the Ultimate Intelligence - God. The God of Machines.

His genesis could mean the annihilation of the entire human race.

DAN SIMMONS (1948-)
Born in Illinois, Dan Simmons won the World Fantasy Award for his first novel, Song Of Kali. In 1990 Hyperion, the first book in the famous Hyperion Cantos series, won the Hugo Award for Best Novel.

VERDICT
Unlike the first book in this series, The Fall Of Hyperion doesn't feature individual tales from the pilgrims but instead progresses their tales and shows the events that follow their arrival at Hyperion. The realisation that what awaits them may not necessarily be death is broached and Simmons manages to turn this into an allegory about religion and how it can be used to improve life, destroy life and subsequently control our lives. An interesting tale that continues to impress.

#98. ODD JOHN By Olaf Stapledon

Published : 1935
Pages : 208
Overall Mark : 8/10

John Wainwright is a freak, a human mutation with an extraordinary intelligence which is both awesome and frightening to behold. Ordinary humans are mere playthings to him. Their feelings, and sometimes even their lives, are expendable. And Odd John has a plan - to create a new order on Earth, a new supernormal species. But the world is not ready for such a change...

OLAF STAPLEDON (1886-1950)
Educated at Balliol College, Oxford, and Liverpool University, Olaf Stapledon worked for a shipping office in Liverpool and Port Said before returning to lecture at Liverpool University. His books included the SF classics Last and First Men and Star Maker.

VERDICT
Although this is probably Stapledon's least adventurous novel, I think it is the most interesting. John is an interesting character that goes from being a relative nobody who is looked down on by society as he is so freakish to a megalomaniacal, power-hungry leader of men who manages to create his own powerful society that the rest of the world feels threatened by. A great little read, and a great moral tale.

#97. DANGEROUS VISIONS Edited By Harlan Ellison

Published : 1967
Pages : 598
Overall Mark : 8/10

Dangerous Visions helped define the New Wave movement and almost single-handedly changed the way readers thought about science fiction.

Included in this collection of 33 stories are 7 winners and 13 nominees for the prestigious Hugo and Nebula Awards, including Robert Silverberg, Frederik Pohl, Brian W, Aldiss, Philip K. Dick, Larry Niven, Fritz Leiber, Poul Anderson, Theodore Sturgeon, J. G. Ballard, Samuel R. Delany and Ellison himself.

HARLAN ELLISON (1934-)
Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Harlan Ellison has written and edited more than 75 books in a career spanning over forty years. He is seen as one of the defining authors of the New Wave SF writing movement in the 1960s and wrote scripts for TV shows such as The Outer Limits and Star Trek, including the renowned episode ‘The City on the Edge of Forever’.

VERDICT
There are some great short stories in this enlightening collection, but the first few are pretty week. My advice would be to skip through the first few stories and start with the Robert Bloch story which was pretty good. Sci-fi fans will love some of the gems, written by some of the greats of the 60s, and it's also nice to see what kind of stories were frowned upon by society back then - they'd probably be perfectly acceptable in this day and age.

#96. ROGUE MOON By Algis Budrys

Published : 1960
Pages : 175
Overall Mark : 7/10

All his life Al Barker has toyed with death. So when the US lunar programme nedds a volunteer to penetrate a murderous labyrinth, alien to all human comprehension, Barker is the man to do it. But what is required of Barker is that he withstand the trauma of dying, not just once, but time and time again.

A disquieting and original psychological study, Rogue Moon is the story of monstrous scientific ambition matched by human obsession.

ALGIS BUDRYS(1931-2008)
Born in East Prussia (now Russia), Algis Budrys emigrated to the USA as a child. With the publication of his first SF story in 1952, he rapidly gained a reputation as a leader of the 1950s generation of SF writers, together with Robert Sheckley and Philip K. Dick. Rogue Moon (1960) prefigured in many ways the 'New Wave' of the late 1960s.

VERDICT
This is quite a morbid book, in which people are duplicated and continually brought back to life in a vain attempt to traverse an impossible maze of death. This simple concept is expertly handled by Budrys who manages to keep the story interesting yet incredibly well paced, with the continual deaths of those involved showing the reader just what kind of people they really are.