Manhattan in Reverse - Peter F. Hamilton

This is a collection of short stories from the excellent science fiction author Peter F. Hamilton. There are 7 stories in this collection, 4 of which are stand alone stories with 3 set within the the Commonwealth Universe created by Hamilton in his previous books Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained, and revisited in the excellent Void Trilogy.

The collection revisits many of the themes he explored in his previous works, one of which is how humanity copes and adapts to changing technology. The first story in the collection, Watching Trees Grow, is a detective story spanning several centuries of rapid technological progress in an alternative timeline to our own. Each chapter in the story jumps forward several decades yet still manages to give you a sense of how things have moved on and how society is adapting (in some cases better than others) while still telling an interesting story.

The last 2 stories in the collection (The Demon Trap and Manhattan in Reverse) are set in the Commonwealth Universe and feature one of the best characters from his previous works, Paula Myo. She is a detective with a genetically engineered obsession with seeing justice done. The character is so well developed in his previous works that its a welcome return for her.

While you do not need to be familiar with his previous works for the first 4 stories, unfortunately I believe that unfamiliarity with the Commonwealth Universe may leave readers confused over some of the references within the stories set there. This is a book that any fan of Hamilton's work should read but I'm not sure I can recommend it to anyone unfamiliar with his previous books.

Animal Farm - George Orwell

I first read this when I was at school. It was one of the books that was studied during my GCSE's. At the time I didn't really enjoy reading it as most of the time was spent picking apart and explaining the allegory within the book. Reading it again years later I found I appreciated and enjoyed it much more.

As is well known, the story is really an allegory about the communist revolution in Russia and the subsequent perversion of its ideals. The book is written almost as a children's story and it is thanks to Orwell's genius as a writer that it works so well. This book is a classic which I think everyone should make an effort to read at some point.

The Plot Against America - Phillip Roth

There's a sometimes fascinating branch of historical fiction which deals with alternate history. It asks a basic question - what if things had turned out differently? What would the world be like? The first novel I read that does this was Fatherland by Robert Harris. That looked at what life in Germany would have been like had they won World War 2. In The Plot Against America, the question asked is what would life in the United States have been like had Roosevelt lost the 1940 presidential election to a candidate sympathetic to Nazi Germany.

The story is told from the point of view of a young Jewish child whose peaceful family and neighbourhood is ripped apart by the rising tide of anti-semitism and hysteria that gradually builds. The book does a good job of describing this and you get a real sense of a change in atmosphere during the book. However, where I believe the book did fall short was in its conclusion.

Unfortunately, this may spoil the ending of the book for anyone who hasn't read it yet so don't read on if you don't want to read spoilers.

The ending essentially involves getting the historical timeline back on track to the true history we all know. This makes this novel more a historical detour instead of a true alternative history. The events in the novel should have had repercussions that rumbled on for years. These are not mentioned and the ending is too neat for my liking. For this reason I felt this was a good read with an unsatisfactory conclusion.

The Memory of Whiteness - Kim Stanley Robinson

This book surprised me when I first read it because it is an excellent example of what good books can do. It asks a very big question while telling the story. That question is - does free will exist?

On the surface this is a fairly standard science fiction story. The basic plot is about a musical genius embarking on a tour of the Solar System in the 33rd century. He's surrounded by mysterious groups who interfere with the tour for their own ends. But that's not what the book is about. Its an exploration of free will as a concept and asks both if the laws of physics allow it to exist, and if it does exist, how free is it? How much is it the product of the influences of those around us.

For anyone who likes books that make them think, as well as entertain them, I'd recommend this book.

Bad Pharma - Ben Goldacre

While reading this book I had a nagging doubt - I shouldn't be reading this. Not because it isn't an excellent book, but because of two other reasons. Firstly I shouldn't need to read it, and secondly because the people who need to read this does not include myself. The book is an extensive critique of the shortcomings and problems with the pharmaceutical industry. These problems shouldn't exist and the people who need to read this book are those who can fix it, that is the people who work in and around the pharmaceutical industry.

Having said that, this book is essential reading because it demonstrates convincingly that problems do exist within the pharmaceutical industry and they are not being fixed despite claims to the contrary.

The book can be split into two parts. The first part deals with issues with the evidence which is used for any decision relating to the drugs produced by the pharmaceutical industry, and the second part with the marketing activities of the pharmaceutical companies. The overall theme of the book is Goldacre's case that the system allows these issues to distort the decision making of doctors when prescribing drugs to the benefit of the pharmaceutical industry and detriment of patient care.

The second part of the book about marketing struck me as the less scandalous of the two. Why? Because I got the impression that the pharmaceutical companies are doing very similar things to what happens in other industries. To give an example, I work in IT, developing software primarily for IBM based systems. IBM run developer forums, have customer groups, sponsor conferences and run education courses for developers (amongst many things). This is very similar to the activities that the big pharmaceutical companies are accused of using to influence doctors which is why I struggled to be shocked by this activity.

However, where there is a big difference is how much these activities benefit everyone. Within IT there is the possibility that it leads to a virtuous circle where everyone benefits (it doesn't always work that way, but it often does). That is, IBM run an educational course I go on, I develop better software, which benefits the customers who use the software. Even though the information I get from IBM will be biased it doesn't really matter in this case as all have a vested interest in the outcome. In medicine though, biased information may not be in the interests of one party in the circle, the patients.

Where I was most shocked by this book was in the first section. Goldacre builds a powerful case that the information base for modern medicine is both incomplete and systematically biased, with the result that the decision making of doctors is seriously impaired. And both of these issues need not be there. This to me is a shocking state of affairs and makes this one of the most important books I've read. There are real life and death decisions being made every day and there is evidence in this book that these are being made without the knowledge needed. Hopefully this book can lead to change and if it does, lives may be saved by this book.

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea - Jules Verne

Great science fiction often has at its heart a simple question, "What if.....?" and then the story follows the consequences of this. This simplicity will usually be disguised by the complex future worlds constructed as a setting, but its often there. Jules Verne was one of the first to ask this sort of question. In "Journey to the Centre of the Earth" it was what if there were tunnels leading many miles underground, what would an explorer find there. In this novel its what if someone constructed a submarine and lived his life exploring the oceans. What would he find?

The story itself is fairly straightforward. A strange and terrifying creature is causing problems in the sea's. Professor Aronnax joins a crew hunting the creature but discovers it is actually a submarine captained by the mysterious Captain Nemo. He holds him (and his companions) captive and takes him on a series of adventures around the depths of the worlds oceans.

The setting for this story is very Victorian. In fact, the day to day life on board the submarine feels like it could be a Victorian gentleman's house, with everything from servants behind the scenes running things, to a drawing room and library to relax in. Of course, much of this feels dated today just as many of Jules Verne's idea's for what would be found in the oceans have proved incorrect (such as his idea that a submarine could find its way to the South Pole). But this should not detract from what is a classic work as many of today's science fiction stories will one day feel the same.

This is definitely a classic early science fiction work which is well worth a read.

Englischer Fussball - Rapheal Honigstein

Having lived and worked in the UK for many years, the German journalist Rapheal Honigstein is in an ideal place to bring an outsider's perspective on the world of English football. This book is his attempt to do this, to try and explain and bring some understanding to the sometimes strange world of English football.

The book largely succeeds, at least in giving this reader a new perspective on our national game. He makes connections between the culture of the game in this country and the wider society, both historically and in the present day. For example, the fast pace to the game, its sometimes brutal physicality and the ideals of fair play built in are all explored. He manages to connect the attitude that you must 'get stuck in' to aspects of England such as the Victorian stiff upper lip, and the modern day attitude that you must be able to 'take your drink'. For Honigstein, these are all a part of a character trait within our society.

The media culture around the game is explored, using contrasts with his native Germany to illustrate several points. For example. the short deadlines in the British press compared to Germany (due to German working practice restrictions making the deadlines too early for midweek match reports) means match reports are instant rushes to judgement in Britain, but become thoughtful reflections when they appear in Germany a day or so later. In another example he shows how the intensively competitive British tabloid papers paradoxically leads to less diversity in the stories as reporters collaborate on what their 'story' will be after matches.

Overall I'd recommend this to anyone with an interest in the culture of football in England. An interesting perspective of our national game.