Book Reviews

First published 1955. Panther paperback, 1966, pp 186, c.63,000 words. Darkness is an appropriate title for this collection of stories.  Most have dark themes, if not true horror.  Surprisingly for a collection of SF stories of this date,...

First published 1958. Arrow paperback, 1979, pp 208, c.73,000 words. This is surely unique amongst golden-age science fiction in being concerned with Roman Catholic doctrine.  There was considerable interest in literary fiction in the subject at that...

First published 1974. Futura paperback, 1979, pp 212, c.65,000 words. Niven is best known these days for his Ringworld books, but he was also a prolific short-story writer in Science Fiction’s golden age.  This is a collection of seven stories...

First published 2014. Penguin paperback, 2015, pp 421, c.160,000 words. Tegmark is a very articulate physics communicator.  On television he is excellent in explaining complex phenomena in an accessible fashion, and he always seems to have a twinkle...

First published 1932. Pan paperback, 1962, pp 221, c.92,000 words. This was Shute’s third published novel, and it marks something of a transition in adventure and thriller writing between the world of John Buchan’s Thirty-Nine Steps and the more realistic...

First published 1970. Panther paperback, 1973, pp 187, c.65,000 words. This is a collection of fourteen short stories which were first published in magazines between 1965 and 1970.  It includes Super-Toys Last All Summer Long which was the inspiration...

First published 1910.  Everyman paperback, 2001, pp 235, c.75,000 words. Aside from Well’s future fiction, this is one of his best-known works.  How well does it stand up today?  Wells was rather inclined to inject his own views and prejudices...

First published 1968.  Corgi paperback, 1982, pp 157, c.50,000 words. The set up here is a familiar one: A man who is part of an immensely wealthy family is bored with his life and suddenly finds an opportunity for adventure, and eventually redemption. ...

First published 1951.  New English Library paperback, 1973, pp 127, c.52,000 words. The title of this book immediately labels it as quintessentially American.  No other culture holds weapons in such totemistic regard.  And so it is, at least to a degree,...

First published 1957-8.  Dell paperback, 1973, pp 223, c.55,000 words. This is a collection of four quite long short stories that were put together as a book some twelve years after being first published elsewhere.  Silverberg provides an introduction...