Radio Times

The Ultimate Guide To Sci-fi

(BBC Worldwide, £18.99)

THIS exciting new guide to science fiction movies, television and radio covers the best of the genre in one volume.

The guide features an A-Z covering more than 1,500 films from the silent era to the 21st Century and more than 300 television series, serials and dramas since the 1940s. It also lists the highlights from eight decades of radio broadcasting.

Each entry has a review from Radio Times' team of science fiction experts plus cast, characters and selected production credits. And there's more for the guide also has complete indices of actors, directors and writers, as well as alternative titles and the biographies on the top movers and shakers in the world of sci-fi.

This volume will be of invaluable help to the converted and also for those who have yet to be won over. Definitely one for your bookshelf.

John Phillpott

Dark Terrors 5 edited by David Sutton and Stephen Jones (Victor Gollancz, £6.99)

FIRST of all, choose a blustery night in January that's neither fit for man nor bat. Make sure that the family's gone away for the weekend, turn off the lights, and settle down to read this collection of stories with the room illuminated only by a single candle... if you dare.

After all, there's nothing like preparation. For if maximum chill is your thrill, then this anthology of 100 per cent-proof horror has to be your tipple of spine-tickling terror. Make no mistake these tales plumb depths that make Edgar Allan Poe's works look like bedtime reading for those of a nervous disposition.

It's difficult to single out one yarn that exceeds the rest for sheer gut-wrenching fright, but you would be hard-pressed to find anything that beats My Present Wife by Dennis Etchison.

But, then, we're really spoiled for choice here. So if you fancy being scared out of your wits no kidding this is about as bad as it gets. Help.

John Phillpott

Celtic Magic by James Lynn Page (Foulsham £5.99)

THIS is one of four titles just released by Foulsham, each one concerned with the world of alternative healing and thought.

Celtic Magic by James Lynn Page takes another peep into the distant past, explaining the rituals and ceremonies that are linked to the seasons, Wicca, Celtic gods and heroes. The book is a complete but comprehensive introduction to Celtic magic, so, if you know nothing about the subject, this is the perfect place to start.

Native American Magic, by the same author, takes the reader on a spiritual journey through the central beliefs of a gentle, inclusive philosophy, whereas Crystal Healing by Cassandra Eason brings the magic and wisdom of the ancients into the New World for practical everyday use.

Finally, Smudging & Incense Burning, also by Eason, is a "recipe" book of smoke rituals for the expert and novice. It is a complete step-by-step guide to herbs and incenses, where to find them and how to use them.

Patience Mansell-Read