Books that I have read

Here are some short reviews of books that I have read in recent times. I will endeavour to include mainly science fiction in this list (in the spirit of Area 51 :-), but if I decide to put in one or two that aren't, well, that's the web for you. My life isn't entirely based around flying saucers and bug-eyed monsters, you know!

I should probably add that some of the reviews here can also be found in the reviews section of that fine Web-based magazine Sci-Fi Connection. You could do worse than click on that link and take a look at the magazine.

This list is based on a somewhat longer list of books that I maintain on my company's intranet. The longer list records every book I read, rather than just those that may be of interest to people browsing Area 51.

Please note that I make no claims as to my ability as a reviewer. You may also find that a lot of these links are dead ends, at least in the early days of this site. Very often it's a while before I get around to writing a review of something that I've read.

Why do I review (or at least make a list of!) the books I read? Well, I think it is a shame that once you have read a book, your recollection of it is rooted solely in your memory. Of course, to a certain extent this is a good thing; books are, after all, a very personal experience. However, I also think that it's worth keeping a longer-lasting record, after you have dedicated such a lot of time to reading the thing. Six months or a year after reading a book, I may have forgotten what I thought of it, and I prefer to remember.

These reviews are very subjective. Often, they are quite rushed as well (although I try not to let this be the case). My opinion of a book is very often based upon my general mood when I read the book, and this often shows. I make no apologies for this.

What I am saying, in a roundabout way, is that these reviews are primarily for my own purposes. If you like them too, then I'm glad.