THE SIRENS OF TITAN By Kurt Vonnegut

Published : 1959
Pages : 224
Overall Mark : 9/10

Winston Niles Rumfoord is the victim of a bizarre accident which has transformed him into pure energy that can exist atmany different points in both time and space. He is only able to travel home for one hour every 59 days, and during once of these visists he tells a man named Malachi Constant what his future holds. Soon, Malachi finds his whole world turned around as he is manipulated into various situations just so that Rumfoord's predictions can be fulfilled.

This is a great sci-fi novel by a writer who seems to have greatly inspired the writings of Douglas Adams. His characters have the strange quirk of being both sympathetic and hateful, and Vonnegut's ability to manipulate his characters in such a way that, in spite of any initial feelings of dislike you may have for any of them, we can instantly take a liking to them simply based on the terrible situations they find themselves in. This is a must for any fan of The Hitchhiker's Guide who may actually find themselves preferring this tale of Godless religion pointless destiny.

THE DROWNED WORLD By J G Ballard

Published : 1962
Pages : 175
Overall Mark : 7/10

Kerans has spent most if not all of his life living on a version of the planet Earth where ecological disaster has lead to the tides rising, and the majority of the world's continents are now under water. A solution to this problem would be ideal, but when a possible solution arises in the form of a man named Strangman, Kerans starts to wonder if he wants his world to change or if he's happy with the way things are.

This is a fascinating novel, on a par with Lord Of The Flies in its ability to give us a terrible scenario that somehow feels right for the people involved. Although many of the characters are flat and lifeless, the character of Strangman has enough character to make up for this, and his manic egomaniacal ways soon have us thinking whether or not he is in fact in the right in his assertions.

FAT By Rob Grant

Published : 2006
Pages : 318
Overall Mark : 8/10

When Jeremy Slank is called to see the Prime Minister, he soon discovers that he is wanted to work on a government project that intends to help overweight people to lose weight. The setting for the camp is like something out of Aushwitz, and Jeremy is expected to try to market this project to the general public, members of the public like celebrity chef Grenville Roberts, who has recently lost his job due to getting arrested for dangerous driving, and Hayleigh, a young school girl who can't so much as look in a mirror without being disgusted by what she sees.

This is a great little page turner from one of the co-creators of Red Dwarf, filled with colourful characters that the reader will soon grow to love. In spite of all their faults, the characters are appealing and make us as readers want to find out what will happen to them as we become ebgaged by their life stories. Hopefully Rob Grant will have another novel out soon, they are a little few and far between.

THE DISPOSSESSED By Ursula Le Guin

Published : 1974
Pages : 319
Overall Mark : 5/10

Shevek is a scientist from the planet of Anarres, a planet without a government or any real leadership, who believes he has discovered the secret to instantaneous communication and space flight. His colleagues on his home world are trying to block Shevek from publishing his work as they believe they directly contradict their planets anarchistic beliefs, so he travels to the nearby planet of Urras, an orderly world of rules and regulations, in the hope of finding the freedom to continue his work.

This is a very confusing novel, which goes back and forth through time without really explaining what's happening and leaving it to the reader to figure out for themselves. Once this is figured out, the book does improve, andhas some interesting theories about communism and dictatorism, but the overall confusing tone does tend to get in the way of any potential enjoyment.