On the evidence of this ambitious beginning to a new series, Robert Holdstock is attempting to underpin virtually everything he has written since the British Science Fiction Award-winning Mythago Wood, simultaneously weaving together the roots of all Western mythology.

Holdstock's Merlin is near immortal, and as the story opens has already walked the world for millennia, an alienated narrator; an archetype it is difficult to empathise with. Occasionally he does show human warmth: I looked at her face, so beautiful despite the greed of Time, her hair still like polished copper; into her eyes, so lovely, so clever; her breath like summer fruit; our fingers intertwined briefly. A beauty that had not faded; lost in time; almost untouchable. Long before Arthur, Merlin has become deeply involved with Jason, The Argonauts and the legendary cycle of betrayal and bloodshed between Jason and Medea. Spinning this saga into a surreal epic across centuries, Holdstock adds the quest of the young Celtic King Urtha to avenge his wife and children, and the epic march to the Oracle of Delphi of the greatest army the world has ever seen.

Written with all Holdstock's usual skill, Celtika is a strange, convoluted, intricately plotted book. Weaving so much mythology and history into one fabric results in a distant quality akin to Tolkien's The Silmarillion, producing fantasy of particular subtlety and intelligence. While knowledge of the author's previous books is not required, those who have read them will find extra resonance in exploring these austerely magical adventures from the archetype's point-of-view. —Gary S. Dalkin

Age 3 and over

. The Little Mole Who Knew it Was None of His Business is, quite simply, one of the funniest books you are ever likely to read (as long as you are not easily offended, that is!), with its unusual take on a natural bodily function combined with a simple tale of nature and discovery.

When the little mole of the title discovers a pile of, well, pooh, on his head, he is absolutely certain that it doesn't belong to him, but sets out on a mission to discover who exactly the culprit really is. His investigation takes him into the world of many animals, as he wanders and compares the pile on his head to the piles that animals leave behind them.

Outrageously funny, this cracking little book is an absolute delight and not only gives children the chance to talk about one of their favourite topics for discussion, but is also an intriguing way of introducing the idea of a nature trail, taking them on a trip that will leave them both laughing and learning.

Perfect for children,of course, but if you are stuck for gift ideas for the adults in your life you may need to look no further. —Susan Harrison

Before the movie, this is the novel that gave life to Hawkeye Pierce, Trapper John, Hot Lips Houlihan, Frank Burns, Radar O'Reilly, and the rest of the gang that made the 4077th MASH like no other place in Korea or on earth.

The doctors who worked in the Mobile Army Surgical Hospitals (MASH) during the Korean War were well trained but, like most soldiers sent to fight a war, too young for the job. In the words of the author, "a few flipped their lids, but most of them just raised hell, in a variety of ways and degrees."

For fans of the movie and the series alike, here is the original version of that perfectly corrupt football game, those martini-laced mornings and sexual escapades, and that unforgettable foray into assisted if incompleted suicide—all as funny and poignant now as they were before they became a part of America's culture and heart.