Dreams of Leaving by Rupert Thompson.
A man, a contemporary Candide, living in a small English village discovers no one from there has ever left. But he does and goes to a slightly skewed London that is vaguely familiar and thoroughly magical. But like all good Candides, he chooses to go home again and that's where the trouble begins.

Mister Touch by Malcolm Bosse.
After the world ends (with a bang), some of the survivors walk out of a broken New York in search of whatever promised land is left, led by Mister Touch himself. Reminiscent of The Stand but different enough to be intriguing and very satisfying.

The Watcher by Charles Maclean.
One of the few books I've ever read that genuinely scared me. The first fifty pages alone are enough to make it worthy of being turned into a film.

The Easter House by David Rhodes.
Combine Psycho with In Cold Blood and the Addams Family and you have this story. Rhodes wrote three wonderful books and then disappeared. Both his work and the work of Edward Whittemore should immediately be reissued. Whittemore died a few years ago, forgotten, and I'm just hoping Rhodes is still around, even if his pen is silent.

Sinai Tapestry by Edward Whittemore.
Everything Tom Robbins is not. Funny, profound, visionary, learned. This is the story of who really wrote the Bible and everything you ever heard about god but were too afraid to ask.

Von Bek by Michael Moorcock.
A man who willingly makes a deal with the devil and, amidst swords and sorcery and the Holy Grail (to mention a few), shows us how the grand scale should really he done. Why hasn't Hollywood tuned into Moorcock's channel yet?

Let's Put the Future Behind Us by Jack Womack.
No one knows what's going on in Russia these days except Womack, clearly. This book in the right hands could be turned into A Clockwork Orange.

The Child Garden by Geoff Ryman.
Because everything is there for a great fantasy film. Don't change a letter.

© Jonathan Carroll - published in Fantasy & Science Fiction July 1998