Science Fiction Books > 20 GBP to 24 GBP Science Fiction Books

This is no Hot Potato!

Advantages: Easy to read, makes me laugh
Disadvantages: Its the last one!

...I saw this sitting on the 40p shelf in a local charity shop I snatched it up! Having grown up with Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy (H2G2) in both TV and book format (missed out on the radio show) and generally being impressed with Adams in general… I mean this man worked on Dr Who, invented the best name in the universe ever for a character (Slartibartfast) and was generally a normal bloke with a wicked sense of humour…. I knew I was in for a treat. ...
...it down. This is the second (and sadly final) Dirk Gently novel, although he was working on a third before he passed away, part of which can be read in Salmon of a Doubt. Having not read the first I was a bit worried that I wouldn’t get into this as many tales seem to be lacking if you don’t have the ground work laid down in first novels, but this was not the case…. Maybe a few bits would have been hilarious rather than just funny if I had read ...

SarahP 10.11.2003 · Read full review
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Review of The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul - Douglas Adams

The Time Machine - A Book to Read before you Die.

Advantages: CLASSIC PAGE TURNER
Disadvantages: NOTHING

The Time Machine. = Author - H.G.Wells. (1866 - 1946) Dismiss the original 1960s film from your mind because there are notable differences in the book. In fact ignore completely the 2002 film which was so removed from the spirit of the book that Wells must have been turning in his grave. It begins with the nameless 'Time Traveller' conversing with his fellow academics about the theory of a 4th dimension, Time. He demonstrates ...
...He travels forward to the year 802,701 A.D. where the people are only 4ft tall. Disease has been eradicated over the millennia, the higher mammals have died out, in fact, and as man has ceased to strive so has he ceased to care. The human spirit needing to fight no more has instead become indulgent and with it his intelligence has declined. The story of the time machine is a haunted tale and you can see why the ending was changed for the silver ...

Maximus-Qualitus 18.04.2009 · Read full review
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Review of The Time Machine - H.G. Wells

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

From Dead to Worse

Advantages: Good read
Disadvantages: Lots of threads, can be confusing

...A failed attempt of takeover from werewolves in another area results in Alcide becoming the new packleader. This, however, comes with a price which is the death of a few weres in the community including the previous packmaster Patrick, Maria-Star, Alcide’s girlfriend. As for the vampires, the explosion in the vampire summit results in the loss of various main personnel in Queen Sophie’s court and the King of Nevada, Felipe, grabs the opportunity. ...
...Louisiana apart from Eric and his gang. Eric surrenders to the new regime and manages to keep his area. And with Sookie saving the King from the attack of the Sophie’s last surviving child, Eric is slowly gaining the trust of the new King. And as for our heroine Sookie, a surprise meeting with her great-grandfather Niall reveals her heritage of being part-fairy. This completes Andre’s discovery of Sookie having fairy blood. And also explains the ...

medgenie 21.11.2009 · Read full review
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Review of From Dead to Worse - Charlaine Harris