h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I don't know about "becoming" The Xeelee stuff wasn't overly optimistic either.
Ah well, if people are still hanging around here I heartily recommend Philip Pullmans His Dark Matters Trilogy {The Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife, The Amber Spyglass}. I read the first two in about six days, and I intend to go out and buy the last one, in hardback, at the weekend. Its a childrens series about a girl who gets caught up with kidnappers and journeys to the North to try and stop some terrible experiments. It is set in a world similar to ours, but with an all powerful church, talking bears, witches and other groovy stuff. Go on, you know you want to.

Souhnds good I read an interview/article about the Author and the books in the last issue of Interzone (which I've just started subscribing to again). Are they anything like Harry Potter, which I've yet to read at all, aslo what do peeps think of Harry Potter?

Not read Harry Potter (guess I aught to borrow them from my neice ). A few people who used to hang round these parts have recommeded Pullman before. It'd be interesting to see what it's all about.
Currently I'm reading Star Beast by Heinlein. Quite enjoying it as well as it's not one of the one which get bogged down with self referential stuff throughout.
Next will be Moorcock's Count Brass trilogy. Picked up a s/h copy of the large format paperback from the eternal champion series with the three books in the other day.

It gets compared to Potter, due to them both being good childrend books that adults can read. However, a big flap was had over Potter 4 as a character died, while people die all over the shop in His Dark Matters. I reckon it is pitched at a slightly older audience, possibly the same audience that Harry Potter is growing in to. Still both are worth a read.

hey bookworms

I personally have only read the first potter book, it was okay, but I guess I'm at that awkward age where you've lost your childhood, but don't particularly want to relive it . Gimme ten years and I'll be hooked

I haven't trawled through the forum, so I don't know if this has been brought up already, but I would highly recommend Bernard Cornwell to anyone. I'm reading The Winter King (I have been for quite a while, but I'm an impatient reader... I'm always half way through at least two books at any given time). I never thought historical fiction could be half as interesting as fantasy, but he proved me wrong. Top book

[HP}=~~

Isn't Cornwell the author of the Sharpe novels?

Correct. Give that boy a chocolate watch.
Never actually got round to reading his stuff however. If you want historical, my vote (which I'm sure I have said before) goes to George MacDonald Fraser, who writes the Flashman series. Great fun, you learn a lot of history, and your mind continuously boggles at the stupidity of the military.

I read his "Sharpe's Rifles" but wasn't impressed - the TV series was much more impressive.
As my Dad said "too much romance, and too little dead French..."

<BB<

Well, his Warlord Trilogy is all about the Arthurian tales and he puts a wonderful, almost magical spin on them. I haven't read any Sharpe novels, I'm not really into that period much. However, I do agree that there are never enough dead French

[HP}=~~

Quite about the French.... Obviously BSE is a fiendish plot by the British govt to kill of the rest of Europe....

Need help with a Xmas idea, My Dad has read all of the Sharpe Novels, loves them, so I want to get him something else - would he like the Winter King (is that something to do with Stone Henge?), or is Flashman more similar??

Thanks

Flashman is similar, in that it is all about a Victorian War Hero. Only, he is a Cad (in the true sense) and a coward. So, you get lots of good history about various Victorian campaigns (normally how they went wrong) and lots of laughs as Flashman tries to escape from his various troubles, while still pretending to be a hero. I think they are brilliant, but they are certainly not as heroic as the Sharpe stuff.