The Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S. Lewis, is one of the very few sets of books that should be read three times: in childhood, early adulthood, and late in life. In brief, four children travel repeatedly to a world in which they are far more than mere children and everything is far more than it seems. Richly told, populated with fascinating character...more
While in Paris on business, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon receives an urgent late-night phone call: the elderly curator of the Louvre has been murdered inside the museum. Near the body, police have found a baffling cipher. While working to solve the enigmatic riddle, Langdon is stunned to discover it leads to a trail of clues hidden in the wor...more
A teenager named Em Gold falls in love with the son of family friends, and her resulting pregnancy turns her happiness to despair. She persuades her boyfriend to shoot her, and he is, predictably, accused of murder. The two families' histories are explored in flashbacks, and the novel ends with a stirring courtroom scene.
There's always room for another fantasy quest trilogy--as long as it has distinction, originality and a cracking plot. Eragon has. This is the first book in Christopher Paolini's Inheritance Trilogy, which he began writing when aged only 15, is an amazing debut that demonstrates a written maturity beyond its creator's years. Any rough edges borne t...more
The long-awaited, eagerly anticipated, arguably over-hyped Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince has arrived, and the question on the minds of kids, adults, fans, and skeptics alike is, "Is it worth the hype?" The answer, luckily, is simple: yep. A magnificent spectacle more than worth the price of admission, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince...more
Bilbo Baggins, a respectable, well-to-do hobbit, lives comfortably in his hobbit-hole until the day the wandering wizard Gandalf chooses him to take part in an adventure from which he may never return.
Fifteen-year-old Eragon believes that he is merely a poor farm boy. Soon, he discovers that nothing is further from the truth. When his destiny as a Dragon Rider is revealed, Eragon must flee the tyrannical king Galbatorix.
There’s a keenness in the storytelling, and an excitement for pure adventure and magic, that will ensure fans of Paolini’s Eragon will find its much-anticipated sequel every bit as readable and captivating. This young author, who wrote that debut (very long) novel aged fifteen, has shed some his earlier less convincing turns of phrase and tenda...more
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is the long-awaited, heavily hyped fourth instalment of a phenomenally successful series that has captured the imagination of millions of readers, young and old, across the globe. For J K Rowling the pressure is certainly on to continue to come up with thrilling, pacey storylines that allow her hero to mature int...more