Have you ever thought about what might happen if James Bond started his career as a teenager? That idea inspired Anthony Horowitz to write the Alex Rider books, a fast-paced series about a regular London schoolboy who gets drawn into the risky world of international spying. Alex is just 14 when he learns his uncle…

Detective John Rebus stands out as one of the most fully developed fictional detectives. He is stubborn, clever, and very human. For nearly forty years, readers have followed him as he solves Edinburgh’s toughest crimes, faces his own mistakes, and adapts to changes in the police force and Scotland. ​Ian Rankin, a well-known Scottish crime…

​Terry Pratchett’s Discworld has 41 novels, lots of recurring characters, and a world carried by four elephants standing on a giant turtle. It can seem overwhelming at first. Where should you begin? Do you need to read every book? Is it okay to skip around or start later in the series? ​Despite its size, Discworld…