![]() | Behold The Man (S.F. Masterworks) by Michael Moorcock
Buy new: £4.99 / Used from: £2.19 It's difficult to know what to make of this. Moorcock obviously has an agenda, and doesn't pull any punches as to his views of Christianity and the type of people it attracts.
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![]() | More Than Human (S.F. Masterworks) by Theodore Sturgeon
Buy new: £4.49 / Used from: £1.34 Human evolution mentally rather than physically. Written in a beautiful style, and thought provoking with regards to issues raised. If only Sturgeon had written a better ending.
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![]() | Red Dragon by Thomas Harris
Buy new: £5.97 / Used from: £0.01 Harris creates a se7en-esque atmosphere using very few words. Surpasses many of Grisham's works. Spends a little too much time getting into what drives a serial killer and the ending seems cliche.
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![]() | Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Buy new: £5.40 / Used from: £0.01 By its very nature, this book means different things to different people. The opening contains a long discussion on philosophy, though the middle grabs you and doesn't let go. The payoff's great.
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![]() | The Uplift War by David Brin
Buy used from: £0.01 Not as good as Startide Rising. There are gripping moments, but it's overlong, outstaying its welcome. Part 5 where the plot threads converge doesn't live up to the promise of the strong opening.
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![]() | Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
Buy new: £4.72 / Used from: £0.01 'The day I met so and so was the best and the worst day of my life'. Both beautiful and repulsive at the same time. A truly immersive experience, though it can be said it wraps up too quickly.
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![]() | Against a Dark Background by Iain M. Banks
Buy new: £6.85 / Used from: £0.01 I gave up a quarter of the way through this book as it failed to engage. Bank's stories are all different, which can be a two edged sword. You really don't know what the next one'll be like.
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![]() | The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (Penguin Popular Classics) by Robert Louis Stevenson
Buy new: £2.17 / Used from: £0.01 Popular culture has spoiled this book somewhat, but it's still quite an interesting read with some quality writing that exudes atmosphere.
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![]() | And Then There Were None (Agatha Christie Collection) by Agatha Christie
Buy new: £4.98 / Used from: £1.90 Agatha Christie presents us with her version of the 'unsolvable mystery.' Possible though improbable, it's an interesting, well-plotted read and one of Christie's best.
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![]() | The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth
Buy new: £5.47 / Used from: £0.01 Forsyth's thillers have inspired so many of today's writers that looking back on his work, it seems old hat. Still good, apart from needing an edit to the 1st half (too much detail slows the pace)
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![]() | A Civil Campaign (A Miles Vorkosigan Adventure) by Lois McMaster Bujold
Buy used from: £3.15 Bujold turns her hand to the romantic comedy. Not much 'science' to this fiction, but it is a good light read and a fitting addition to an already diverse series.
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![]() | Imajica by Clive Barker
Buy used from: £0.01 Drags a little in places, but Mr Barker does write moments of spine tingling tension
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![]() | Ender's Game (The Ender saga) by Orson Scott Card
Buy new: £4.49 / Used from: £1.00 On the reread, it's not as good as when I first encountered the book. It still has a certain appeal with fast pacing and a strong emphasis on characterisation.
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![]() | The Handmaid's Tale (Contemporary classics) by Margaret Atwood
Buy new: £4.98 / Used from: £0.32 I seriously don't see what the fuss was about. Yes it encomasses many themes, but it's been done better IMHO.
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![]() | Band of Brothers by Stephen E. Ambrose
Buy new: £5.48 / Used from: £0.01 I found this one to be a dry read. The author cuts and pastes a lot from the experiences of the survivors without adding much insight of his own. There are better books about brotherhood in war.
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![]() | Stalingrad by Antony Beevor
Buy used from: £1.39 A well researched, very readable piece of military history.
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![]() | Gates of Fire: An Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae by Steven Pressfield
Buy new: £4.99 / Used from: £0.47 This version of the legendary last stand doesn't quite live up to its hype. It opens with some generic plotting that seems like filler. That said, Pressfield writes inspirational battle sequences
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![]() | The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris
Buy used from: £0.01 Not as powerful as Red Dragon IMHO. Still a gripping read
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![]() | The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber
Buy new: £6.97 / Used from: £0.01 The unique use of language in the narrative really draws you in from the outset. Faber writes brilliantly, but his sense of plot and pace leaves a lot to be desired
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![]() | Frankenstein: or, the Modern Prometheus (Penguin Popular Classics) by Mary Shelley
Buy new: £2.17 / Used from: £0.01 Not one of those books in which you can predict everything that's going to happen after a few chapters. The language takes time to get used to, but immerses you in the tragedy that unfolds.
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![]() | Rubicon: The Triumph and Tragedy of the Roman Republic by Tom Holland
Buy new: £7.67 / Used from: £0.45 Many aspects of the republic are represented in this narrative history. Tyrants and conquerors are more interesting to read about than poets and great thinkers. This book contains the lot
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![]() | Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
Buy new: £5.97 / Used from: £0.01 Wonderfully written first half performing a Forrest Gumpification of the American immigration experience. The 2nd half where Cal talks about herself isn't quite so well done, but a good read anyway
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![]() | The World According to Garp (Black Swan) by John Irving
Buy new: £5.97 / Used from: £0.01 Very offbeat black comedy but it's strangely addictive, particularly when the plotlines come together. I get the feeling that the author's playing mind games with the reader in places.
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![]() | The Moon is a Harsh Mistress (New English Library science fiction) by Robert A. Heinlein
Buy used from: £2.87 So you want a revolution? Good story, with plenty of issues discussed. It seems to be a bit 'cold' to me, but worth checking out.
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![]() | Richard III (3rd) by William Shakespeare
Buy used from: £0.01 |
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