The Emperor's Soul by Brandon Sanderson

Book 71, The Emperor's Soul, was so poor I couldn't even really tell you what it was about.

I think it was about a person called a forger who could craft reality but reaching back in the past and changing the way something came about. I read a similar book called The Lathe Of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin many years ago, that was vastly superior though. The Emperor's Soul scored 1 out of 10.

I think I have finished the science fiction section but Bookcase 72 is unnamed and is right next to it; it's either science fiction, teenage or a miscellaneous selection of books. In any case I picked Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, a classic which I have not read before. It definitely belongs in the science fiction/fantasy realm even if the library haven't placed it there.

I read Dracula a few year ago and was quite impressed with the original, even if it has spurned legions of dross.

Tuf Voyaging by George R.R. Martin

Book 70, Tuf Voyaging, is a set of long stories roughly grouped together in a novel. Many of them were published separately in the 1980s.

I used to read lot of science fiction around the this material was first published, but I don't remember George R.R. Martin from then. He's become better known since then I believe. Anyway this book is not bad, it's about a trader Tuf who acquires an ancient spaceship which allows him to become an ecological engineer. It's a bit far fetched because Tuf, who previously knew nothing on the subject, becomes one of the most powerful and knowledgeable ecological engineers in the galaxy and goes around solving ecological problems around the different star systems.

Even though it's set far in the future the characters in the books still seem to use 1980s technology and the book is already quite dated. It's not a bad read though, the format means you can right almost endless stories set to the basic format of Tuf going somewhere, solving a problem, and then leaving. I give the book 6 out of 10.

Next up is the final science fiction book.

The Visitors Book by Sophie Hannah

Book 69, The Visitors Book, is a fairly unchallenging set of ghost stories by Sophie Hannah.

I'd have probably thought this book was good when I was about 12 and first reading books from the adult library. The books I read in the Teenage section had more complex plots, although I suppose one has to allow for the fact that this is just a set of short stories. Whatever the case I can't see this sort of book ever likely to be on my bookcase! It gets 3 out of 10.

Next up I continue with Science Fiction, this time a book by George R.R. Martin, whose name I have seen on big blockbuster books, but know nothing about.

It's quite a long book so if I don't like it then I may ditch it and try and find something thinner just to get me through this section of the library which I am struggling with, it is fair to say.