STAND ON ZANZIBAR By John Brunner

Published : 1968
Pages : 648
Overall Mark : 7/10

In a future world where only those whose genes are deemed to be perfect are allowed to reproduce, and even then there's a limit on how many children people can have due to overpopulation, a doctor has made a genetic breakthrough by which any abnormalities in a foetus can be fixed, basically leading to the introduction of a possible perfect human. This discovery leads the American government to investigate the claims, taking them to the Australasian country of Yatakang where they set about trying to gain this breakthrough for themselves.

This is a very confusing book, which has various sections which intersperse with each other and provide both background information for the reader as well as a continuing narrative. This is a lengthy novel which could have been far shorter if much of the descriptive chapters had been removed, but this would have lost the novel it's distinctive feel. This novel is not for those who want a quick fix when reading, but the whole idea of the book ios fascinating and leaves a lot to be thought about, especially as the future in this novel is less than two years away.

TIMELINE By Michael Crichton

Published : 1999
Pages : 489
Overall Mark : 9/10

When a man is found wandering in the desert, a group of young scientists find themselves lead into a search for a missing professor. When they discover that he's actually missing 600 years in the past, they are sent on a dangerous mission back through time to medieval France to find him and bring him back, but the company that have discovered this means of time travel have neglected to give the scientists some important information which could mean the difference between life and death.

This is an extremely well researched novel, which manages to blend science fiction flawlessly with historical accuracy. Crichton once again proves that he is able to jump from one genre to the next without losing any of the detail or the love for the subject, and here he gives us an almost flawless example of his work. If you haven’t read Crichton’s work before, I recommend starting with either this or Disclosure, which are about as different as two books can get but are both just as enjoyable as the other.