Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish, and is now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. It’s all about books, lists and sharing the love we have of both with our bookish friends. Today we’re having a laugh with book titles that would make great band names.

Hats off to Michelle for this week’s prompt – it’s great fun. Turns out that most science fiction and fantasy books (that don’t conform to that favourite formula of The X or Y) make brilliant band names… and some of them even suggest a certain sound**.

**opinions may vary. You can tell me I’m wrong in the comments.

For example: I’m pretty sure Children of Time are a prog rock outfit. The entire Godblind trilogy (Godblind / Darksoul / Bloodchild) are metal as fuck (and as for This Thing of Darkness…). Ninefox Gambit carved out a sound at the evolutionary end of electronic rock, so where they get shelved depends on your record store owner’s paradigm bias.

I lean towards thinking The Resurrectionists have been rock stalwarts since the 70s, but they don’t take themselves particularly seriously – their unexpected bluegrass album was a delight. Playing us out gently, we’ve got Oryx and Crake are all about acoustic guitars and melodic vocals, so let’s go with folk rock; see also: Bellman & Black (yep, they definitely use the ampersand). 

Across the virtual music-bookshop, Signal to Noise don’t like to be pigeon-holed but that trip hop album was a killer (although OMG the collaboration with industrial legends Liquid Crystal Nightingale). Switching up the mood, Cloud Atlas‘s ambient beats are the end of the evening chill-out vibes you need.

You’ll find William Gibson on almost every shelf, by the way – Neuromancer is industrial metal; Mona Lisa Overdrive is essential 90s pop rock; All Tomorrow’s Parties is – of course – a great dance outfit. Keep looking – you’ll find the rest scattered around the musical genres.

Got any suggestions for book titles as band names (with musical genre)?