Although not quite as accessible as his first novel, The Name Of The Rose, Foucault's Pendulum is an exceptionally well-written book with a storyline that is both fascinatingly captivating and unusually challenging. Three eccentric editors working at a vanity press in Milan are inspired by a conspiracy laden manuscript concerning the Knights Templar to construct their own epic conspiracy whereby almost every incident of the odd and the occult are linked to a longstanding Templar plot to take over the world. Unfortunately for the editors, people start to believe their conspiracy theory and they are very soon all plunged into deadly danger.

Quite simply my favourite book of all time. Impossible to describe (other than urging you to read it at once), Eco's masterpiece covers everything from conspiracies, fascism and the politics of revolution to publishing, coming of age and relationships. It can be a challenging book to start but once you're immersed in it it will engross you entirely. The labyrinthine plot is relayed with Eco's signature enormous erudition, wit and keen cynicism for life, and it's aged magnificently. We seem to be living in a cursed age of boundless fake news and conspiracies, and reading this book offers both a satirical takedown of those who espouse and follow such causes as well as an impassioned defence of truth and rationality. Combine that with incredible characters (Belbo is probably my favourite of all and his arc is heartbreakingly relatable) and a bottomless well of refences to everything from Mahler to Raymond Chandler, and you're left with an irresistible literary cocktail that's equally brilliant as a pulse-pounding thriller and an intricate dismantling of the conspiracy mania and those plagued by it. I strongly believe the world would be a better place if more people read this book, or at least many more people would get to experience this absolute delight rather than just hear me constantly talk about it to anyone who'll listen.

One of the best, cleverest novels I've ever read. Brilliantly, ferociously, sparklingly clever - a genuine literary thriller cum ferocious conspiracy satire. A gleeful, hilarious, magnificent book & one of the towering literary achievements of the late twentieth century.