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.

THE DEMOLISHED MAN By Alfred Bester

Published : 1953
Pages : 250
Overall Mark : 9/10

Ben Reich is the owner of the second most powerful conglomerate in the entire solar system, but that's not enough for him. When he thinks he's been turned down by his business rival Craye D'Courtney when he asks for their two companies to merge, he decides to murder his rival, but because of the presence of peepers, mind readers who can invade the head of anyone, Reich is forced to commit the crime in such a way that no-one can ever find out about it.

There's something sneakingly clever about this novel, with the introduction of a code and the answers to all our questions almost from the get go. The character of Ben Reich is one of the saddest and most self defeating characters I think I've ever seen outside of a Shakespeare play, and the final twist almost trumps the main twist of the entire novel.

THE GOOD GUY By Dean Koontz

Published : 2006
Pages : 438
Overall Mark : 8/10

When Tim Carrier is mistaken for a hitman for hire, he decides to seek out the subject of the hit and warn her of her impending murder. When he meets the subject of the hit, Linda Paqette, she claims to have no idea who would want her dead, so Tim decides to help her set out on the run, but the hitman whose job it was to kill her has figured out the mix up and is hot on both their trails with murder on his mind.

It's nice to read a novel that looks at things from the perspective of both the good guy and the bad. Tim Carrier isn't the most interesting of characters - I think Koontz may have planned this on purpose - and he feels like too much of a goody-goody at times, but it's Krait that makes the story, with his unorthodox approach to rectifying government mess ups and his thirst for murder and revenge. Worth checking out if you enjoy James Patterson's Alex Cross stories.

MARTIAN TIME-SLIP By Philip K Dick

Published : 1975
Pages : 226
Overall Mark : 7/10

Arnie Kott is one of the wealthiest men on Mars, running the plumbing union who have vitrual control over all of the canals on the planet, but greed leads him to desire even more power of the Martian people. So when he hears a theory that connects autism weith time travel, he decides to use the aid of a young autistic boy so that he can travel back in time and buy some land that Earth's government plan to build housing on.

This is a very intricate and intriguing story. The characters become intertwined in the most unlikely ways, and the notion of time travel is approached in an original and wholly unusual way. The ending is a little to quickly wrapped up for my liking, but overall this is a fine example of Dick's expertise as one of the most accessible sci-fi writers of the recent past.

STARDUST By Neil Gaiman

Published : 1998
Pages : 194
Overall Mark : 9/10

Tristran Thorn is madly in love with Victoria Forester, who he thinks is the most beautiful girl in the village of Wall, so when they witness a shooting star falling from the sky and landing in the magical realm of Stormhold he agrees to go in search of it and bring it back to her in return for her hand in marriage. However, when he finds the star, he discovers that it has taken human form as a young woman called Yvaine, and that a coven of witches are after the star so that they can eat her heart and rejuvinate their youth.

This novel, also available as a graphic novel, is probably the best modern fairy tale I've read in a long time. The characters are rich and vibrate and the scenarios are original and come together in a brilliant medly of twists. The ending is both happy and sad, so there's something for everyone in this wonderful tale of love, betrayal, and evil.

EARTH ABIDES By George R Stewart

Published : 1949
Pages : 312
Overall Mark : 8/10

Isherwood Williams fins himself one of the few survivors of an unknown eppidemic that has wiped out most of the human race. He soon meets some other survivors, and together they prepare to rebuild the human race, but after years of bringing up a new generation without the ability to teach them or train them to do anything that could be of benefit, such as the ability to repair damaged buildings or to hunt for food, Ish questions his standing as the leader of the group.

Clearly the influence for Stephen King's The Stand, this post apocalyptic novel doesn't go down the road of giving us an unbelievable view of the future but instead gives a view that seems frightening belieavable and very probable. None of the characters have ridiculous abilities that make their lives easier, and they don't have a moral code that precludes them from exacting punishment against those they distrust. This novel is simply put a wonderful example of survivalism set against a nautral or unnatural disaster of epic proportions.

DEXTER IN THE DARK By Jeff Lindsay

Published : 2007
Pages : 376
Overall Mark : 8/10

Dexter Morgan is faced with a terrifying concept - being seperated from his Dark Passenger, the part of him that allows him to kill truly evil people without remorse. Now he may have to live the rest of his life with a conscience, making it very difficult for him to act out his murderous tendencies. What's more, there's a killer on the loose - a killer who is so deadly and evil that they even frighten Dexter himself.

The Dexter novels appear to be going from strength to strength, with Jeff Lindsay continually evolving the character into an ever more likeable and loveable rogue. Here we are shown that it isn't just Dexter's Dark Passanger that possesses a blood lust, but that Dexter himself feels incomplete without thatpart of himself. This installment is very different from the previous two, but still gives us some funny situations mixed with some truly terrifying concepts, bordering almost on the supernatural.