Welcome to Fantastic Literature Limited.

The UK's largest and best online purveyor of out of print books, rare and used science fiction books, fantasy books, horror books, crime books, thriller books, ghost stories, weird tales and macabre fiction both in paperback, hardcover and magazine format. 19,000+ titles currently for sale. We have just launched our Ebay shop with many signed limited editions, sets and just plain quirky stuff, ideal for gifts or for the collector at special introductory prices. Latest Genre news.

Possibly the best bookseller in the world!

Our brand new booklist G08 is now on line. "Olympic" has a selection of nearly 400 hardcovers many signed, limited editions and some 300 paperbacks, for your delectation. View now! Want a hard copy? Just e-mail and ask.

Just in is Black Static 6 (TTA Press), we still have copies of An Occurence at Owl Creek and other stories by Ambrose Bierce (Tartarus Press), the incredible "Rain Dogs" by Gary McMahon (Humdruming Books) and the outrageous "The devil Chair" by Victor Rousseau from Spectre Library. For more information click here. Ian Fleming's Secret War - exclusive flat SIGNED edition - see new arrivals for more details.

New Arrivals
More information and more new arrivals »
Rare Book Display Case - a few choice treasures from the vaults
Prisoners of Power by the Strugatsky Brothers, signed by both!   Anthem by Ayn Rand (Cassell) 1938 1st ed.   The Gunslinger - Dark Tower 1 by Stephen King

The People of the Moon by Tremlett Carter. 1895, 1st ed !

Night Shift by Stephen King - Ist UK edition

A Voyage to Arcturus by David Lindsay, 1920, 1st ed.

We buy and sell the following genres:

Science Fiction (SF or Sci Fi) - stories or books about an imaginary fantastic future, especially about space travel or about other planets or a science fantasy, typically based on scientific discoveries or scientific developments, environmental changes, space travel, or life on other planets, forms part of the plot or background. Sometimes referred to as Speculative Fiction, sub genres include Alternate History and Slipstream Fiction as well as Star Trek, Star Wars, Doctor Who and other TV and film related material. Popular SF authors include Isaac Asimov, E E "Doc" Smith, Anne McCaffrey, Andre Norton, Peter F Hamilton, Robert A Heinlein, Larry Niven, Robert Silverberg, Clifford Simak, Harry Harrison, Philip K Dick and Stephen Baxter. The best selling UK science fiction magazine is Interzone.

Fantasy - stories or books of an imaginative or fantastical nature, especially one dealing with supernatural or weird and unnatural events or characters. Fantasy can take place on other planets or on various forms of Earth. Current sub genres include Contemporary Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Dark fantasy, High fantasy, Historical fantasy and Science Fantasy. Favourite authors include Robert E Howard, Robert Holdstock, George R R Martin and J R R Tolkien. Comic fantasy is a sub genre best typified by the author Terry Pratchett and Craig Shaw Gardner.

Horror - books or stories intended to scare the living daylights, unsettle, or horrify the reader. Many argue that SF was born from horror. Historically, the cause of the "horror" experience has often been the intrusion of an evil and/or, occasionally, misunderstood supernatural elements into everyday human experience, Vampires, Ghosts and Zombies would fall into this category. Popular horror writers include James Herbert, Stephen King, H P Lovecraft, Ramsey Campbell, Richard Laymon, Simon Clark and Graham Masterton

Crime - stories or books that deal with crimes, their detection, criminals, and their motives. It is usually distinguished from mainstream fiction and other genres such as science fiction or historical fiction, but boundaries can be blurred. It has several sub-genres, including detective fiction (including the whodunnit), legal thrillers, police precedural fiction, courtroom dramas, and hard boiled fiction. Notable crime authors include Jeffery Deaver, Michael Connelly and John Connolly. Arguably the finest fictional detective of all time is Sherlock Holmes.

Thrillers - books that deal with fast paced, frequent action, and resourceful heroes and heroines who must thwart the plans of more-powerful and better-equipped villains. Literary devices such as suspense, red herrings, and cliffhangers are used extensively. Dean Koontz is renowned for writing quality thrillers.

Weird Tales and Macabre - books and stories that are characterized by a grim or ghastly atmosphere. Probably the best examples of this type of fiction were published in Weird Tales which started in 1923 . In these works, there is an emphasis on the details and symbols of death. Macabre themes are often preoccupations in the Goth subculture.

Ghost stories - books or stories that includes a ghost, or simply takes as a premise the possibility of ghosts or the belief of some character(s) in them. M R James is considered by many to be the best ever writer of ghost stories.

Historical fiction- a novel or a story in which the story is set among historical events, or more generally, in which the time of the action predates the lifetime of the author. As such, the historical novel is distinguished from the alternate-history genre. The Sharpe novels and the bawdy Flashman novels fit in this category. Also the great maritime novels of Patrick O'Brien.

Pirate Books, Books about Sharks and Dinosaur Books - not sure if these are sub-genres we just think they are cool.