First published 1970. Sphere paperback, 1989, pp 383, c.145,000 words. This is one of Master’s late works and a very unusual one. It is a history of The Rock of Gibraltar told through a series of fictional stories, each of which is introduced with some short factual historical background. Masters is best known for his […]
Rock, The — John Masters Read More »
First published 1866. Penguin paperback, 1977, translated by David Magarshack, pp 559 including pp 9 introduction, c.245,000 words (main text). Dostoyevsky was brought up in a solid middle-class family in Moscow. His father was murdered. His life went through a series of wild swings. Dostoyevsky apparently wrote this when he was in desperate financial straits.
Crime and Punishment — Fydor Dostoyevsky Read More »
First published 1982. Fontana paperback, 1985, pp 347, c.120,000 words. Usually with Innes novels, there is an underlying theme that connects to a topical news issue of the day in which it was written. In this case it is the threat of oil pollution posed by large tankers in the restricted and busy water between
Black Tide, The — Hammond Innes Read More »
First published 1984. Fontana paperback, 1987, pp 314, c.100,000 words. Perhaps Bagley wanted to use the title Night of Terror, but then someone pointed out that this had been well-used for a couple of films (1933, 1972). It would have been a more appropriate title for this work. The possibility of mining manganese nodules from
Night of Error — Desmond Bagley Read More »
First published 1980. Pan paperback, 1997, pp 442, c.125,000 words. As is often the case with Innes novels, there is some underlying theme connected to a topical issue of the day. In this case it is the insurrection in the Pacific island of Bougainville and the resulting closure of one of the world’s largest copper
Solomans Seal — Hammond Innes Read More »
First published 1974. Fontana paperback, 1977, pp 256, c.95,000 words. As is often the case with Innes novels, there is some underlying theme connected to a topical issue of the day. In this case it is the discovery and exploitation of large reserves of oil in the North Sea, lying between Britain and Norway. There
North Star — Hammond Innes Read More »
First published 1993. Phoenix paperback, 1995, pp 549, c.190,000 words. The third part of this monster novel (total for all three volumes apparently 591,554 words – slightly longer than War and Peace) draws towards the inevitable conclusion of Lata’s marriage. But who will it be to? The romance in incidental to the real theme which
Suitable Boy, A, Vol 3 — Vikram Seth Read More »
First published 1966. Faber paperback, 1975, pp 252, c.85,000 words. The sixth volume of science fiction stories edited by Crispin contains work by some of the masters of the genre: names like Ray Bradbury, J. G. Ballard, Brian Aldiss, James Blish, Fredrick Pohl. There are fourteen stories here, each by a different author, and there
Best SF Six — Edmund Crispin Read More »