Science Fiction Books > 15 GBP to 19 GBP Science Fiction Books > a

A Web of Intrigue

Advantages: Ghosts, sinister goings on
Disadvantages: None

...THAT THIS IS NOT about the Keanu Reeves’ science fiction blockbuster. This is about the little known book written by Jonathan Aycliffe. We all have those authors whose books we try to seek out in second hand bookshops and Internet sites. Books that are either out of print or rare. Whenever I frequent a bookshop I always look out for books by Jonathan Aycliffe. Anyway, we were talking about the Matrix, weren’t we… In the Matrix, ...
...book of deception and horror. The plot slowly turns like a vice and you are engrossed as each twist and turn takes you deeper into the story line. Andrew Macleod, the lead character has recently been widowed. Unable to come to terms with his wife's death, he seeks solace in his research into the works of black magic and the occult. Taken under the wing of the devious Duncan Mylne, Andrew is drawn unwittingly into the world of the arcane and the ...

Borg 03.09.2002 · Read full review
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Review of The Matrix - Jonathan Aycliffe

Lovecraft in Catherine Cookson Country

Advantages: Superb Lovecraft / Cookson Hybrid
Disadvantages: None , for those who love this genre

Before I continue I've never read any Catherine Cookson books, but have seen the various TV adaptations. I know people who read Catherine Cookson and this book draws on her influence in the era and location of its settings, and the injustices perpetrated upon it's heroine. It mainly consists of the testament of Caroline Metcalfe , given to her doctor as an explanation of her state of mind and health. This is bookended by correspondence between Reverend ...
...I'll say no more of these two as they are involved as means to tell the story and to enhance it on true Lovecraftian fashion at the end of the book. Caroline was born into a well to do Newcastle family and had a happy childhood, with her younger brother Arthur. However when her died the family had huge debts and despite pleas to their nearest relations for help, end up in the workhouse where family is split up. Within six months Charlotte's mother ...

mikeydred 17.04.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Whispers in the Dark - Jonathan Aycliffe

Survival of the fittest in space

Advantages: Great story of survival
Disadvantages: Some of the characters & concepts are a tad outdated now

Written in 1955 way before the space race started this is one of Robert Heinleins visions of a possible future that we now know didn't happen but its still a great book and makes for very enjoyable reading. Our main protagonist is Rod Walker, a senior at Patrick Henry High School who is about to take his Advanced Survival Course which according to the notice he reads can take place on "ANY planet, ANY climate, ANY terrain", has "no rules" and allows ...
...Duration is not less than 48 hours , not more than 10 days" and Rod tells us he can graduate college without taking this course but he really wants to as it gives him a better chance in his chosen future career - what he calls the "Outlands professions" which are further explained later in the book. We are introduced to his fellow students also taking the course and Rod explains how space travel was conquered by the use of the "Ramsbotham gate", ...

atytyut2434 20.02.2009 · Read full review
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Review of Tunnel in the Sky - Robert A. Heinlein

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

It is not just about football!

Advantages: It's very funny, and oh so true!
Disadvantages: None

The Disc, for those who don't know, continues to float in space, supported by the elephants who ride the back of the great swimming turtle A'tuin. The Hub about which the planet spins is a centre of great magic, and best avoided if you want to live a happy and contented life. At the outer perimeter is the great circle sea which unendingly streams over the rim into the void, which is best avoided if you want to continue to live at all. Most Discians ...
...Smeems, for instance, is the Candle Nave at the Unseen University. He has to worry about keeping the candles not just alight, but properly melted, artistically, gothicly, dribbled, as it were. Of course, there's Trevor to help. And there's Nutt. With two t's. Trevor Likely has a tendency to skive off work whenever possible, and to kick a tin can around. His dad was a legend. Nutt is… well, no-one's quite sure what Nutt is, even him. Goblin isn't ...

hiker 07.12.2009 · Read full review
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Review of The Unseen Academicals - Terry Pratchett