Mazer

A Storm of Swords by George R. R. Martin...I think. 1216 pages.

Nix didn't really have a choice: from the very beginning he simply had to write seven books or the series' whole concept wouldn't work. There was never really enough material for him to work with, though. Also, there wasn't really an ideal audience for the books: too complex and confusing for children, too whimsical and weird for adults. I, personally, would have been fine with the complexity of the House if it hadn't seemed so arbitrary; completely new ideas and concepts introduced in each book.

The drought had lasted now for ten million years, and the reign of the terrible lizards had long since ended. 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke

How Hedley Hopkins Did a Dare, robbed a grave, made a new friend who might not have really been there at all, and while he was at it committed a terrible sin which everyone was doing even though he didn't know it by Paul Jennings. I haven't read it myself, though.

2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien 4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling 8 1984 - George Orwell 9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman 13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller 16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien 22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald 25 The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams 29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll 33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis 36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis 40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne 41 Animal Farm - George Orwell - 42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown 46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery - 49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding 51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel 52 Dune - Frank Herbert 59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon 64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold 73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett 74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson 77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome 81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens 87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White 89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton - 97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas 99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl 29, and I'll hopefully be getting a few of the classics soon.

"You will not be harmed or held here, Mr. Fletcher - not if you cooperate with our inquiries - but you are being deported, let's be clear on that. Kicked out. Given what you Americans call the bum's rush." Everything's Eventual: 14 Dark Tales by Stephen King

Sorry about the unfinished post...accident, and I can't edit yet. I meant to say: The Time Machine by H. G. Wells - such a logical, plausible future it scared me. His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman - explores themes that should be openly confronted more often. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller - what we ignore about our society. The Bible - even many Christians haven't read it. 1984 by George Orwell - no explanation needed.

In no particular order: The Time Machine by H. G. Wells - such a plausible future it scared me. His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman - raises themes and Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

Sabriel is set on a divided continent - one side resembles 1900 (or so) England, while the other is ruled by dark magic. Good world, plot, ideas, etc - however, as Mia mentioned, characterisation is slightly lacking (improved in the next book, though). Recommended, along with the two sequels. The Keys to the Kingdom series is aimed for younger readers, with a slightly... wacky world, carried perhaps a bit too far and for too long. Shade's Children is good post-apocalyptic sci-fi; it's been a while since I read it, though. All good books, none fantastic though. Overall, Sabriel (and sequels) are probably the best.

The first book was good, but after there the plot (and everything else) deteriorates... The fourth book is pretty much a glorified lecture on global warming, punctuated by increasingly improbable (and unexplained) superpowers.