What Book Was That?

We’ve had a reader post over on the forum, looking for information on a couple of books they read many years ago. We thought we’d help them out by consulting the Hive Mind. If any readers can help with the titles and/or authors of the following books, please leave a comment:

Book One
Ok first one
Guy goes to an old estate/chateau where they are selling books at an auction. He buys a job lot and gets them shipped home. He gets home and finds this strange book, as he begins to read it strange things start to happen. People being torn apart in locked rooms, he starts developing powers . . . strange dreams and lots of other odd things. The book is a pathway to a higher state of being left behind by those that have gone before. Only problem is that this journey leaves a dark residue behind and it is not nice. Last part: the Earth is empty, Man has gone beyond, a wind is blowing as an ape/creature is doing something, climbing stone steps! or something. It reaches out and touchs the book! The end … I have an image of a very thick book with a solid light blue colour, there were two novels in it?

Book Two
Ok second one
An organism so deadly that they blockade a whole planet to contain it. Nothing is allowed to land or leave and will be destroyed no matter what to contain this creature. This creature is so deadly that it scours planets clean of life, one touch and that’s it. Creature is blob-like, anyway a ship lands, the creature gets aboard and gets away, aliens go a bit mental. This creature has scoured many systems of life.

Creature lands on Earth, underwater. Aliens finally track the ship, set down and hide, covert operation to try and locate the creature. Creature meets and touches a human … nothing happens except the human changes, becomes better … all the good is magnified. The creature has no idea of what it has done, it has lost its partner another race and has been looking for a new partner. Man is that new partner. They form a symbiotic relationship, as more and more people come in contact with it, the better things become.

Thats about the gist of it …

Can any of the wise and wonderful Gateway readers help?