Science Fiction Books > 10 GBP to 14 GBP Science Fiction Books

It's the closest thing to having Russell T Davies in your house.

Advantages: Really honest and insightful
Disadvantages: None

Originally posted on dooyoo. Before buying this I read the write ups and they all said something like "Any aspiring writer should read this book" or "Any Who fan should read this book" And yes, they should, but The Writers Tale is just as relevent for anyone who has ever wondered what goes on in TV, or is simply interested in the way other people think. This is one of those all too rare books where you get true insight into not just a person but ...
...I have ever read being as it is just a collection of emails sent between Ben Cook and Russell T Davies. Davies pulls no punches when talking about the processes of writing, admitting that there is no right way to write, and expressing his dislike of those who say that there is. It is fascinating to see TV royalty struggle with the same doubts that we all have, and wrestle with his perpetual procrastination, and google himself to be met with spirit-sapping ...

rhiannonalwen 05.10.2009 · Read full review
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Review of Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale - Russell T. Davies & Benjamin Cook

Classic Stuff

Advantages: Very readable, enthralling
Disadvantages: Too heavy to read in the bath

...started reading adult science fiction, the Amber chronicles were an introduction to what serious fantasy writing should be. Some 20 odd years later I was pleased to see that the first ten books had been gathered together in one volume and bought it thinking I'd dip in and indulge in a bit of nostalgia. A week later my sleep deficit is way up but I've been thrilled by the richness and depth of imagination shown in this book. The writing style feels ...
...of twenty years or so. The book describes the machiavellian plots within an extraordinary family. As they fight each other for rule of the city of Amber they must also work together to prevent the destruction of their world by a dark force. It would have been easy for Zelazny to sink into the usual sword and sorcery cliches but instead he gives a more scientific slant to the powers used by our protagonists. All in all I'd recommend it to anyone who ...

CrunchyFrog 13.07.2000 · Read full review
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Review of The Great Book Of Amber - Roger Zelazny

A living, breathing, highly decorated storybook

Advantages: Imaginative, rich and colourful short stories
Disadvantages: A few stories are outdated and implausible

Out of the plethora of science-fiction / fantasy writers, there is one author whose name immediately springs to mind. Ray Bradbury! Renowned for his works such as Fahrenheit 451, the Martian Chronicles and the Ray Bradbury Theatre, Bradbury has over five hundred published works to his name easily adapting his innovative style to the differing genres of short stories, novels, plays, screenplays, television scripts, and poetry. Bradbury though has ...
...his trademark framing device. The Illustrated Man is a perfect example of he achieves this effect. The frame is the illustrated man himself - tattooed from his neck to his waist - a vibrant living storybook. Each of the little tattoo illustrations is a "little story". Eighteen illustrations, eighteen stories just waiting to be told! And that's what happens if you watch them long enough. The illustrations come alive as each of the stories are acted ...

MAFARRIMOND 15.02.2007 · Read full review
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Review of The Illustrated Man - Ray Bradbury

Where dusks and twilights linger.

Advantages: Captivating short stories
Disadvantages: A couple of duds

...and progresses a story keeping the reader well and truly gripped. Then often with a twist, he brings the story to an end leaving the reader open-mouthed in awe. Over an illustrious career, Bradbury gained enormous respect and popularity for his science fiction writing. He is perhaps less known for his horror writing. The October Country is Bradbury’s first short story collection published initially in 1956 and advertised as “A grotesque world of ...
...since this: the latest in 1999 by Sagebrush. Copies of the book are widely available both new and secondhand. My copy is the fourth to be issued in 1963 and cost me the princely sum of 5 pence. A new copy is available for as little as £4.61. The book contains nineteen deliciously dark tales that Bradbury wrote between 1943 -1953. The stories are not shockingly horrific or even really frightening but evoke more a chilling sensation of quiet horror. ...

MAFARRIMOND 15.01.2005 · Read full review
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Review of The October Country - Ray Bradbury

Closer to Heaven

Advantages: Great character building
Disadvantages: A little slow paced for my taste

Fantasy and science fiction are genres that mesh well together. Some authors have written successfully across both genres, but not usually in the same story. Jaine Fenn has managed to combine both in one book and it's an interesting read. One night, a stranger is found lying unconscious in a bog just outside the village of Dangwern. He appears to have come from nowhere and, apart from a strange piece of cloth lying near his naked body, there is nothing ...
...Unfortunately, this includes the stranger himself, as he is suffering from amnesia and has no idea even where he is, much less how he came to be there. Fortunately for Sais, as he is nicknamed, the boy who finds him is "sky touched". This means he is soon to travel to the City of Lights to be tested to see if he is worthy of being a consort of the goddesses. The village elders permit Sais and the boy's mother Kerin to accompany him to see if anyone ...

Soho_Black 19.12.2009 · Read full review
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Review of Consorts of Heaven - Jaine Fenn