Oblomov

It is certainly a fantasy tale but very down to earth. I think that 'fairy tale' quote is a jest. The intersting thing is that Anthony Heckstall-Smith was something of a war historian and all his other works seem to be non-fiction and about various conflicts. The Consort was his one and only fiction and he wrote a romantic fantasy of all things! I don't want to reveal too much, but you will notice several unique features about the book (other than 2 dustjackets for the hardcover edition). None of the main characters (except Tia) are actually named throughout the story and are simply addressed as "The Consort", "The Empress", "The Admiral", "The Ensign", "The Equerry", "The Queen", "The Prime Minister" and so on. Also, what starts out as a light, romantic comedy gradually darkens as the story builds-up. But it is the parallel with events more recently that will come as a real surprise.

I suddenly realised that I was not a member of any Book forum, and considering that I am an avid reader with a home library, this seemed inappropriate. So I went into Google and searched for UK based forum and here I am.

Besides reading - which is obvious for members of these forums - what other interests do we have? Mine are collecting (mostly comics, view master reels etc), photography, scuba-diving, hiking and other forums (movies, cricket, diving, comics)

I just found a rare hardcover copy of this book on abebooks and ordered it. The early hardcover editions are rather collectible because of the two different dustjackets.

I agree totally. The person who fascinates me more than any other is the 13th century English mystic and early scientist Roger Bacon. Not enough is known about him for a full-fledged biography, but reseachers have gathered enough information for a few good works. These include Roger Bacon: In life & Legend by E Westacott and The First Scientist by Brian Clegg.

Whether a particular biographical book is good or otherwise depends on several factors. The actual life events of the principal character, the writing skill of the biographer and so on, but most importantly the reader's personal interest in the subject. Thus, I would find a well written biography about Roger Bacon, Francis Drake, Martin Bormann, James Stewart or JFK very interesting because those characters appeal to me. Others are bound to have their own preferences. I rather liked The Outsider, Tim Bower's biography of Robert Maxwell. There was a character very much like Maxwell named Alfred Lowenstein in the 1920s and he too died under mysterious circumstances. I am still trying to find a good biography on Lowenstein; the only account about him is an awful book by William Norris called The Man Who Fell From the Sky. It is so preposterous that I could not help posting some very disparaging comments about it.

I bought Child's Die Trying at Heathrow on my way to Singapore last year. I'm afraid I found the book very boring, pretentious and frankly illogical. The characters were very cardboard and the situations highly improbable in this day and age. Even allowing a margin for artist's licence, there has to be a modicum of common sense to a supposedly serious story and this one had none. I will not be wasting any more money on Lee Child's books.

Thanks everyone for welcoming me into the forum. I feel at home already!

Small world! These Harvey and Archie titles are among my favourite ones and I have a massive collection of those (and Dell / Gold Key comics). Somehow I never got 'into' superhero comics except The Phantom (who is not really a 'superhero').

I am terribly nostalgic about most things, but my books more than anything else. Thus, I have a virtual home library full of books right from my early childhood which I like to read sometimes to get the flavour of "how it used to be in those days". Among my favourite collections include my old comic books, Arthur Mee's Childrens' Encyclpaedia (the 10-volume coronation edition from 1953), How & Why Wonderbooks, Enid Blyton books and so on. Does anyone else here indulge in this (or are you too embarassed to tell? )

We lived in the outskirts of Birmingham fro 1987 to 1992 and I used to go at least twice a month to the massive library in the city centre. It has a huge collection and was very good to research your pet subject.

Sorry, but it is not the same. For instance, you cannot curl-up on a hammock on a sunny day with your computer and a glass of lemonade.

Wilson's Schrodinger Cat Trilogy is available from Amazon marketplace. Sounds interesting. I have always been intrigued by Erwin Schrodinger's way of interpreting Quantum theories. The best book to illustrate it that I have read is In Search of Schrodinger's Cat by John Gribbin.

I have to admit that I hate the very idea. I have reluctantly tried it once and did not enjoy it at all. Reading a book, apart from the convenience of being flexible, has a certain charm to it that cannot be matched by reading off a screen. I don't mind an e-synopsis of a forthcoming book to popularise it with the readers, but I hope that the e-book culture does not grow too much. Kids these days seem to be losing their book reading skills thanks to over-indulgence in PCs. I am sorry for sounding patronising, but I have strong views about this.

I like true crime as a subject, espcially certain specific ones like JFK's assassination, the Borden case etc. Depending on one's viewpoint, there is some truth in the adage "fact is stranger than fiction". There is a case on record where the killer shot her victim using a bullet made from pig's bone and so the police could not find the mechanical bullet that they were looking for at autopsy.

I used to use it more than I do now. Still, I want to revert to the older habit, now that I don't work on Wednesdays. The problem though, is that the local library in Wootton Bassett is rather small and limited in its stock. I suppose I can ask them to order a specific book for me but it can never be the same because it is always nice to browse and thumb through a book before borrowing.

I have a weakness for fantasy stories dealing with alternative reality involving "what if" conjecture of some major event if it did not take place as per known history. For example "what if the Germans had won the war?" or "What if JFK had not been assassinated?" and the author's imganation of how the world would have been from that point. In good hands, such conjectures can produce very good stories. 1. The best example that I have come across (and my all time favourite book) is Robert Harris' masterpiece "Fatherland". Set in 1964, it assumes that the Germans negotiated a unilateral peace treaty with the USA and won the European War. Almost all Europe is ruled by Fascists, Joseph Kennedy (JFK's father) is the US president and no one outside the occupied countries has heard of the holocaust. 2. Another great book is "The Consort" by Anthony Heckstall-Smith. Set in the early 1950s, it is a conjecture of what would have happened if the Consort of a certain newly crowned Queen of a European country had decided to quit his post and wife for a dusky South Pacific maiden that he meets on a goodwill tour. The characters and situation are very thinly veiled from you-know-who and there are some shocking parallels to real-life events that took place decades later. I would like to know if there are other good books in the genre.

I chose 'another' too because I like books that are set during wartime but off the battlefield. I also like thrillers and action books, but have a soft corner for fantasy and sci-fi anthologies.

This really sounds interesting. I wonder if it the basis of a movie (the title of which I cannot recall) in which 3 people - a surgeon, his wife and a wounded fugitive are escaping from the Nazis across Europe. There is just a hint of attraction between the woman and the wounded man during the course of their flight, but the latter develops complications without the right treatment and dies in the end. I know that the film was based on a popular book, but I am not sure if "The Night in Lisbon" was it.

M*A*S*H is undoubtedly a great book, but I do not classify it among genuine 'wartime' stories because to an extent it is the "wrong place and wrong war" and treats the whole thing as a satire. I prefer those set in the UK and Europe during WWII but away from the battlefield to get that 'special' atmosphere of claustrophobic tension that brought out hidden strengths & weaknesses in individuals.

You're right. The Magic Army by Leslie Thomas is a brilliant example to illustrate this. It is set in England during the first few months of 1944 when those "overpaid, oversexed and over-here" Americans were really 'here' in the period leading upto the Normandy Invasion. Unmissable. Catch-22 is a great read, but too much of a satire to be compared with other wartime books. The problem with War and Peace, All Quiet on the Western Front and books of that genre is that while they are undoubted classics, they are perhaps a bit too much so. I find it hard to identify myself in an "if I was there" sort of way (something necessary to really appreciate wartime stories, IMO) with such lofty tales, while still being able to appreciate their literary merit.

I find that some of the most interesting stories that I have read have been set during wartime, notably World War II. I do not simply mean for the action side of things, but for interactions among the people involved - both military and civilian. It might be because desperate situations often tend to bring out the best...and worst from people. Here is a small list of some of the best wartime stories that I have read so far. If any of you are interested in those times, I would recommend these. 1. The Night of the Generals by H H Kirst 2. The Magic Army by Leslie Thomas 3. The Bormann Brief by Clive Eagleton 4. The Wooden Wolf by John Kelly 5. KG 200 by John Gilman 6. Hammerstrike by Walter Winward

To be honest, most of my 'peers' have not really been revealing and so I did not find out. I do not cheat enough to actually reveal the full ending. But if I do find out that my favourite character was going to die, I usually put away the book for a while.....but invariably go back to it a few months down the line. I read a lot of books set during WWII and so characters dying is commonplace. Since history cannot be changed, most of the time I know what's going to happen anyway. Still, there are a lot of very well written books set during WWII that I have read & re-read several times.

I confess that I have done it a few times....very few. It is only when I want to be sure that my favourite character in the book does not die in the end . When I read Harold Robbins' The Adventurers some 35 years ago, I was very upset when gets killed in the end. After that, I have occasionally 'peered' to make sure that the same fate did not befall some other character that I had grown to like.

I am glad that you have ordered it PP. The writing style is very British, but very few people in this country seem to have actually read the book. Perhaps more will if a seasoned member like you gives it a good review. Enjoy it!