R. K. Narayan's novels are like a box of Indian sweets: a highly-coloured container conceals a range of delectable treats, all different in a subtle way, but each one clearly from the same place. There are fourteen novels in the oeuvre-enough to create a world. Enthusiasts of his work will read them all and return to them time and again. The busy, or the less committed, may open the box and take out one at random-it does not really matter which order one reads them in. But be warned: the consumption of one leads to a strong craving for more

Gemmell has every right to take his place amongst the SF and fantasy greats

One of the genre's foremost entertainers

A wilful, hypnotic novel... Destiny gleams with insights into the trade-off between the personal and the political... a stylish, ambitious novel of a life in freefall

He can write, at will, like a modern Henry James, proceeding with composure through the labyrinth... Indeed, this is a novel that seems to exist on the brink, on the edge of insanity

Only Ben Elton could combine uncomfortable questions about gender politics with a gripping, page-turning narrative and jokes that make you laugh out loud

A very funny book about a sensitive subject ... Ben Elton the writer might even be funniter than Ben Elton the comic

The selections from the greats are generous and well chosen