First published 1959. Sphere, paperback, 1984, pp 330, c.135,000 words. This is a clash-of-cultures book, which is Masters usual territory, but this is a clash between Americans and Spaniards in the 1950s and not the British and Indians during the colonial period. Masters again conveys a love and admiration for both sides, but this does […]
Fandango Rock — John Masters Read More »
First published 1973. Picador, paperback, 2022, translated by Howard Curtis, 2021, pp 165 (+13pp afterword by André Aciman), c.55,000 words (main text). Set largely in Rome, this book is, as much as anything, a love letter to that city in all seasons. It conveys the feeling of a place full of life and yet in
Last Summer in the City — Gianfranco Calligarich Read More »
First published 2000. Faber, paperback, 2000, pp 368, c.120,000 words. This is Ishiguro’s fifth novel, appearing eighteen years after his first. That slow pace is reflected in the quality of the writing and is both an advantage and a disadvantage. Each sentence is beautifully polished, but somehow the overall result is rather dry. This is
When We Were Orphans — Kazuo Ishiguro Read More »
First published 2021. Penguin, paperback, 2022, pp 478, c.120,000 words. Warning: this review contains some minor plot spoilers, and as many have said, this excellent book is best first read completely cold. Don’t even read the blurb on the back. Weir has almost single-handedly revived hard science fiction, a genre that had almost disappeared under
Project Hail Mary — Andy Weir Read More »
First published 1977. Fontana, paperback, 1988, pp 338, c.110,000 words. Unusually for Innes this book has no sea voyages, with only one very brief scene involving a raft on a lake. It is a book set in the heart of East Africa – big game country. While the main characters are white, the winds of
Big Footprints, The — Hammond Innes Read More »
First published 2021. Penguin, paperback, 2022, pp 310 (including 80 pages of notes and index), c.83,000 words (main text). Kate Darling studied economics and law before teaching and researching the legal and ethical implications of technology. This book distills her thoughts on how robots should be considered in these terms. Her big idea is that
New Breed, The — Kate Darling Read More »
First published 1959. Hodder and Stoughton, paperback, 2005, pp 223, c.83,000 words. This book opened the field of military science fiction. It may not have been the first, but it was the first to be highly successful. The story opens with a brutal battle, human soldiers are launched from a spaceship with the intent of
Starship Troopers — Robert A. Heinlein Read More »
First published 1943. Penguin, paperback, 1979, translated by Richard and Clara Winston, 1960, pp 519, c.190,000 words. I first read this long ago, and it made a big impression on me, so I was greatly looking forward to rereading it. The back cover says ‘This is Hermann Hesse’s great novel.’ The book is written as
Glass Bead Game, The — Hermann Hesse Read More »
First published 1977. Panther, paperback, 1979, pp 316, c.105,000 words. Classified as Science Fiction in 1979, the book has a cover showing a spaceship glowing as it dashes across a starry background. Today it would be on the Fantasy shelves, as that genre now has eclipsed Science Fiction and Martin is one of its leading
Dying of the Light — George R R Martin Read More »
First published 1946. Unwin, paperback, 1981, pp 842 (including index of pp 51), c.390,000 words (main text). This is a heavyweight book, and not just its length but also in terms of scope and the concentration required to follow what is being said – at least for the non-philosopher. Russell is attempting to place the
History of Western Philosophy — Bertrand Russell Read More »