A Clockwork Orange
by Anthony Burgess (1962)

Jailed for delinquent excesses, an ultra-violent youth is subjected to an experimental form of aversion therapy. Complications arise when his sense of humanity and love of classical music are destroyed. His confessions are told in a near-future teenage jargon. A mix of speculative fiction genres, Stanley Kubrick directed the thoroughly disturbing 1971 feature film.

If On a Winter's Night a Traveler
by Italo Calvino (1979)

Experimental literature with the Reader buying a copy of Italo Clavino's If On a Winter's Night a Traveler. Trying to read it, however, has its challenges. Thinking it is faulty, he returns it to the bookshop and finds the book is not by Calvino at all. This begins a cycle involving the Other Reader and their attempts to find and read each other. A romance like no other.

'Book of the New Sun'
by Gene Wolfe (1980)

Although the sci-fi elements are not immediately apparent, this is a far-future science fantasy set on a dying Earth - or Urth as it has become known. The first instalment of the four-part Book of the New Sun is a journey of self-discovery chronicling the rise of an apprentice Torturer who in later volumes becomes the planet's enlightened Autarch. World Fantasy Award winner.

The Bridge
by Iain Banks (1986)

Scottish writer who always manages to infuse a fair share of left-wing politics into his work. The bridge is the world of existence for the protagonist who is in a coma after a serious car accident. In this surrealistically bizarre world the man's psyche splits into three very different characters. The 'Should I stay or should I go?' syndrome could be the difference between life and death.

Ishmael
by Daniel Quinn (1992)

Ecological fantasy in which a despondent Sixties leftie responds to an ad from a teacher seeking a pupil. The teacher turns out to be a telepathic gorilla who knows more than a thing or two environmental decline and global issues. While this is certainly not conventional narrative literature, the convincing arguments and commonsense solutions put forward are thought-provokingly effective.

Perdido Street Station
by China Miéville (2000)

Bursting on the scene amidst a wave of critical acclaim, Perdido Street Station is an uncategorisable blend of the best speculative fiction on offer. A scientist and his insectoid lover run headlong into the underworld of New Crobuzon - a sprawling metropolis with architectural features reminiscent of Peake's Gormenghast.

American Gods
by Neil Gaiman (2001)

Gaiman's British origins give him an uncanny insight into his adopted American psyche - one which he uses to full advantage in American Gods. The gods of the Euro-mythos square off against those of Western technology - like credit cards, freeways and the internet. Set in many real-life American locations and reminiscent of Harlan Ellison's Deathbird Stories.

The Lies of Locke Lamora
by Scott Lynch (2006)

When orphan Locke Lamora is sold to band of thieves and con-artists he quickly rises to the leadership of the nefariously villainous Gentlemen Bastards. In genuine medieval nouveau weird style the Bastards rob from the rich using an amazing array of cleverness and tactical invention. Most will find this a real hoot, but a bit hard to follow at times and a little rough around the edges.