'Better Programming For Your Spectrum and ZX81' as the title proclaims belong to a category of books that I hold some reservations about. It is hardly likely that instructions for maintaining a Rolls Royce will be found side by side in the same volume as those for a Mini. I feel that it is no more likely that one book will serve both the ZX81 and the Spectrum. Has author Robert Peel managed to successfully marry the two tasks in this 284 page publication by Fountain Books?

To find out I flicked through the pages to find the chapter that dealt with converting ZX81 programs to Spectrum ones. It may be true that ZX81 BASIC is essentially a subset of Spectrum BASIC but there are substantial differences in the machines, differences that require lengthy discussion before any effective conversion can take place. The five pages of this section I found were too particular by far to usefully resolve the differences in the two forms of BASIC. It might be said also that of the few programs that would run in the ZX81, there were less than a handful in almost three hundred pages, they were hardly worth converting.

In sizable print, the cover claims over forty new programs are contained; a read down the contents page verifies this as true although a read through the pages that follow shows that good ones number a bit less. There are a few good games, in the main variations on the old faithfuls 'Sheepdog' and 'Knight Fight', are of this ilk. '3D Maze' is an excellent version of a current favourite; the screen displays the way ahead, and to help when you really get stuck, you can ask for a compass bearing or if lost an aerial view of the maze and your position in it is provided. Several similar games are available currently but this is by far one of the best. Equally deserving of special note is 'Hero Maker' a three part adventure game that can be run on an extended ZX81 or Spectrum.

The program Hero Maker' is developed in stages which are added to the core. The game can be run at any point after the core has been entered, a technique that many authors point to as being good programming although all too few however appear to subsequally take any notice of their own advice. Mr. Peel to his credit has, and 'Hero Maker' is a valuable example of how to write a good program as well as being an extremely good game.

I wonder if saying 'I value books that spend some time away from games to look at the educational uses of Sinclair machines' too grand a statement to make? Certainly the educational applications that are possible are extensive, and if you enjoy computing and are studying why not combine the two? I get the feeling Robert Peel might have done just that. His treatment of mainly physics and mathematical problems offer realistic solutions that are indeed valuable for their education qualities rather than their ability to make fancy things happen to the screen. The programs span such subjects as probability, wave properties, quadratic equations and simple trigonometry; the techniques used in their design and construction are explained well and even if none of these subjects are your current headache, the application of similar techniques should soon see you teaching and examining your own educational programs.

Throughout the book, small programs highlight the subjects being discussed - user-defined, high resolution graphics, colour and sound - each supported by a clear if not always detailed accompanying text. They are suited more to Spectrum than the ZX81 but the techniques are general, well-founded, and with little trouble applicable to the smaller machine. The book is not innovative, or obviously suited to a genius, but rather it is aimed at those of us who are learning doggedly by trial and error. Its strength is in that you really sense that the author has recently passed along the same road and has some real advice to offer.

Published by Fontana 'Better Programming For Your Spectrum ZX81 is written by Robert Peel, costs £2.95 and is well worth the cost and time to read it. For further details of this publication you can contact Fontana Paperbacks at 14 St James' Place, London SW1A 1PS.