Books

This page is a space for me to talk about books I have read and authors I like. Hopefyllu you will find something that takes your interest. I was brought up in a reading household so books have always been my first love. My main genres for fiction are fantasy (like Pratchett and Holdstock) but I also read classic literature (Austin and Shakespeare) and history. I love Egyptian mythology and am reading about the Books of the Afterlife currently for my dissertation.

I have been writing poetry for as long as I can remember and produced a book of my work in 2001. It was a very limited run and there are still a few copies left. If you would like a look at my poetry then click here.

Below are details and a short review type thing on books I like, and links to Amazon if you want to buy something you have seen.

Please click the button below to help fund books for needy children. It is sponsored by the US company Verizon and is a great way to get young children reading. "Access to books is essential to reading development" and "The Literacy Site gives you a way to share the magic of books and promote the love of reading among children who might otherwise never discover the joy of their first book." Click the button and then the same one on their site to make the magic happen! (It works best if you click every day.)

Fantasy Fiction:

Ian Irvine:
Ian Irvine has written extensively. His ninth novel has just come out - each one so far has been about 700 pages long. The first eight are in two series set in the same place but many years apart. The ninth continues the epic, again after a lapse of a few years/ The first series - View From The Mirror - establishes the situation of how the events in the second series - Well of Echoes - arise. There are four species who are all fighting for survival. Magic opens the rift and it is this rift, which opens onto the Void, that allows the lyrnx to enter Santhenar (the world where all the action takes place) in the second series. It is a tale of survival. Colonisation and industrial revolution. The plots are complex and the multitude of characters enable the reader to see everything from so many different viewpoints.

JK Rowling's Harry Potter series:
The first six books of this amazing series have proved international bestsellers and you must have been in the north pole to not have heard of the school boy wizard. The best thing about these books is that they got so many children reading - which is always good. They are erudite, imaginative and draw on mnay sources such as classical mythology. A great introduction to literature. The seventh book - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - finishes the series. There has been much speculation on what will happen but we shall just have to wait and see.

Sean Russell's Swans' War Trilogy :
This trilogy is absolutely fantastic. It is set in a land with a magic river that transports you to unchartered places. There are lords and ladies, soldiers, archers, knights and magicians. Russell's imagery and wordplay enliven this kingsom and bring to life the sorrow and heartache of being so far from home and involved in circumstances that are not your own. A wonderfyl travel tale and discovery of new lands. He has also written several other books dealing with similar magical issues but this series is by far my favourite.

Robert Holdstock and The Merlin Codex:
The long-awaited third book in this series - "The Broken Kings" - has only just come out so I have not read it yet. However, if it anything like the first two then it will be brilliant. His style is easy going but at the same time dense and draws you in completely. The story details what Merlin did before he met Arthur. In book two - "The Iron Grail" - Merlin was aboard the Argo with Jason and searching for Golden Fleece. It is wonderfully creative and brilliant the way Holdstock imagines this ancient sorcerer's life pre the well-known Arthur mythologies. Holdstock also wrote the hugely popular "Mythago Wood" series.

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