This book was funded last year with the help of Kickstarter, and is a glossy (reasonably heavy!), full colour B5 (that's slightly less than A4) printed homage to the Spectrum with 234 pages. It's split into two main sections - the games, and the memoirs. Oddly enough, the first thing I noticed about it was its very strong "new book" smell.

The "games" section is largest, with information about each game spread across two pages. A large screenshot of the game in action takes up most of the space, with a few details on the authors and publishing house in the top left and a passage describing the game (nine lines or so) top right. On the left of the opened book page you find either a reprint of the poster advertising the game or, if one did not exist, a reprint of the game's cover art.

The "memoirs" section comprises roughly 60 of the 234 pages and this (probably) holds the more intriguing information because it features a large number of articles by Spectrum games programmers.

I don't intend to give chapter and verse on all those games featured (or indeed all of those authors who have contributed to the book). That's because it would be a fairly extensive list and I honestly think that most people will decide if this book is for them simply based on whether they are interested in the Spectrum per se (rather than because it just happens to feature, say, two pages on Agent X by Mastertronic).

To be sure, the games that have been selected for inclusion are some of the Spectrum's finest but it's not actually a collection of the "best" games; more a randomised selection of memorable ones. Indeed, to discover what games are actually in it, you have to flick through its pages, as they are not numbered on the contents page.

In its favour, it's a very easy read. The majority of the memoirs can be digested in less than five minutes, the write-up on each of the games in less than half a minute. You can dip in and out of it with ease. At time of writing it was available from Fusion Retro Books for £13.00 but stock was running low so you had better be quick if you want to bag one of the last copies.