Leigh Brackett's The Ginger Star is a 1974 sword-and-planet adventure. Brackett was at her best describing decaying doomed civilisations and the planet Skaith qualifies as that. It's also a first contact story. Well-written, fast-moving, action-packed, atmospheric. Excellent.

Here's my review.


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Berkeley Livingston’s novel Queen of the Panther World dates from 1948. A man, a woman have a telepathic link with a panther. They end up on a strange planet with giant lizard-like creatures with human riders. Some fine ideas poorly developed.

Here's my review.


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Jack Williamson’s off-the-wall sci-fi novella Hocus-Pocus Universe dates from 1953. A super rocket drive may have disastrous consequences. A wild ride with a mix of scientific and pre-scientific big ideas and hints of cultism. Crazy but fascinating.

Here's my review.


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Poul Anderson’s 1952 novella Sargasso of Lost Starships is superior-grade complex space opera. With three interstellar civilisations in conflict and no clear-cut good guys and bad guys. High adventure and action plus a twisted love story.

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The Lunar Lichen is a 1960 sci-fi novella by Hal Clement. A geologist claims to have discovered lichens on the Moon, but did he really? Did he discover something else? This is fairly hard SF but with fine suspense.

Here's my review.


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Henry Kuttner’s novel The Time Trap was published in 1938. An archaeologist is transported back in time, to an incredibly advanced civilisation that has technology from the distant future. A wild romp through time with plenty of exciting adventure.

Here's my review.


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Adolphe Alhaiza's Cybele is an 1891 French scientific romance. A time travel story with hypnotism and lots of eccentric ideas. A utopian novel that displays an extraordinary lack of understanding of people. But interesting.

Here's my review.


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Frederick Pohl’s scifi novel A Plague of Pythons dates from 1962. A man is about to be executed but he has a defence - he was possessed at the time. But it’s not demons doing the possessing. Lots of paranoia and despair. Good book.

Here's my review.


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The Bees of Death by Robert Moore Williams is a 1949 pulp sci-fi novel. It starts with a phoney psychic, charlatan and con-man gaining possession of a cannonball with strange powers. There are bee-like monsters. It's a diverting  alien invasion tale.

Here's my review.


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In Joseph E. Kelleam’s 1960 scifi novel Hunters Out of Time a doctor goes to an underground fairy kingdom. Plus there's the Atlantis legend, folk tales of little people, sea serpents, dinosaurs, giant spaceships, Norse myths and high tech. Fun.

Here's my review.


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