Hidden gems from star authors

Fevre Dream by George RR Martin

Before he hit the fantasy big league with Game Of Thrones, Martin was building offbeat sci-fi and horror narratives. In this spooky vampire novel, a struggling river boat captain stationed at the Mississippi is caught in a daylight-dodging merchant's sinister plans. The drama unfolds gradually here, a departure from Martin’s ruthless plot twists in the GoT universe.  

Chronicle Of A Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez     

Marquez employs a non-linear, journalistic narrative for this hard-hitting novella, which is inspired by true events. On the night of his wedding, Bayardo San Roman realises his young bride is not a virgin and banishes her from his home, only to be murdered by her brothers soon after. 

The Long Walk by Stephen King

In a dystopian future, one hundred boys are picked from a random lottery to participate in a televised race where the winner’s every wish is granted for as long as he lives. Those who drop pace to less than four miles per hour are given three warnings, and then shot dead. The chilling thriller, published under King’s early pseudonym Richard Bachman, was written when he was just 18.   

Northanger Abbey  by Jane Austen

Seventeen-year-old Catherine Morland is invited to the sprawling estate of Henry Tilney, a family friend who gradually wins her romantic attention. In this classic Jane Austen setting – large families, grand dances and damaging gossip –  romance takes a backseat when Catherine’s obsession with Gothic novels draws her to lurking mysteries.