lyn

I enjoyed everyone's opinion of this book. I've been in two minds about buying it. the audio option looks good. thanks lyn

thanks for sharing. it sounds great.

this is just a guess but would one of the Narnia books fit that description?

+1 for The Name of the Rose by Umberto Ecco. also Temple of the Grail by Adriana Koulias is a mystery set in a monastery in the Pyrenees.

asking about 'the best authors' is very subjective. you have your opinion which you are entitled to. you can ask which authors do others prefer to read. as someone else has already pointed out - what are you basing your question on- talent? sales figures? per capita? I read mainly English and Australian authors because that's my preference. if I say they are 'the best authors' that would be my opinion otherwise I wouldn't read them. just my thoughts lyn

also check out Amanda Heminway and her pseudonym Jan Siegel. she is an English fantasy writer. I have both her trilogies (one under each name) and they are great. lyn

The Tuesday Club Murders is a collection of short stories. they are a good read. enjoy which ever book you pick. lyn

have you tried Cecilia Dart-Thornton? she has written several fantasy books. the trilogy I read was The Bitterbynde - Book 1, The Ill-Made Mute, Book 2, The Lady of the Sorrows, Book 3, The Battle of Evernight. it is a beautiful saga and beautifully written. lyn

I agree. I loved all the characters and I always love the humour in all the books. now I'm looking forward to 'I Shall Wear Midnight.' that's supposed to come out in the next few months. lyn

hi Isabel I read the Moonstone and it was just a story. then I read The Woman in White and it so haunted me for ages after I finished it that I never read any of his other books. I might try the Haunted Hotel though now that you mention it. lyn

I second Terry Pratchett. great books and you get a giggle from them. very dry sense of humour. also two authors I love are Cecelia Dart-Thornton and Juliet Marillier. their fantasy is fantastic.

I'll put in my vote for the Shardlake series as well. I enjoyed the old world settings and the great plots.

I finally bought Unseen Academicals in papaerback. I love the cover. its the UK one.

good to hear you're enjoying these books Sue. they are very well written and the author seems to have created a good feeling for that time.

Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. they are humorous fantasy.

I'm waiting for the paperback of Unseen Academicals too. I don't know if I want to see Going Postal. when you read the books you imagine how the characters are in your own mind. then when someone puts them on the screen they are quite different. it's almost always disappointing.

a recent book which has not long been out is Hyddenworld - Spring, by William Horwood. the main characters are two teenagers and it is set in the hidden world of the little people around Birmingham, England. after this one there will be three more books come out over the next few years called Summer, Autumn, Winter. not a bad read.

I read these books a few years ago. they are a good light read as you said Sue. I think they are trying to show how the world changed after the war and how women began to go into more 'male' areas of work and life and the cracks that started opening up in the class system in England.

I have read Tipping the Velvet, Fingersmith and Affinity. I would recommend all of them. Sarah Waters has such an amazing writing style. the books are atmospheric and she keeps you guessing right to the end. great reads all of them.

I agree with Chrissy on Angie Sage. a lot goes on in those books. another YA trilogy I just mentioned in another thread is Amanda Hemingway's trilogy: book 1-Greenstone Grail, book 2-Traitor's Sword, book 3-Poisoned Crown. it may be something you might like to check out.

I'm currently re-reading a great Fantasy trilogy by Jan Siegel: book 1 - Prospero's Children book 2 - Dragon Charmer book 3 - Witch's Honour. great story which moves along and incorporates several folklore and legends stories. a shame that Jan Siegel doesn't seem to have written much more. as Amanda Hemingway she wrote another trilogy: Greenstone Grail, Traitor's Sword, Poisoned Crown. that was quite good too but I like the first trilogy better.

there is a fourth book in the Tiffany Aching series coming out this year.

re: Umberto Eco: yes some of his books are very difficult to understand. The Island of the Day Before - I didn't understand at all. The Name of the Rose - I thought that was quite good. Foucault's Pendulam - I really loved this one. I thought it was a very powerful book in some way. I read it several times. Baudolino - I think this was a romp but I must read it again to really see what it was all about. these are the only books of his that I've read and on the whole I like his style of writing. of course they are the English translations so I'm assuming the translator got it right.

Chrissy - that quote from Salman Rushdie was beautiful. its been years since I read one of his books.