Chadbourn's latest novel is a mix between Celtic fantasy and horror story. More of the latter though. A group of individually very different 'heroes' have to try and save the world as the creatures of ancient mythology return to reclaim the Earth. Chadbourn being an Englishman, the story takes place in England. Chadbourn's skill at creating intriguing characters is evident. Chadbourn uses the story to ask the question: Have we lost part of our humanity when science became our new 'religion' ?. The author has done a lot of research prior to writing this book, and the research really has payed off well. You will learn a lot about celtic mythology and english folklore by reading it. This is the first book in a trilogy, I for one eagerly await the rest of the series, the next part 'Darkest Hour' is due around july 2000. If you have a hard time finding these books they can be found at http://amazon.co.uk/
James Clavell
Shogun
In Shogun an english Pilot-Major of a dutch trader-warship off the coast of Japan is caught by a storm and forced to seek safe haven. Pilot-Major Blackthorne's ship is confiscated and he soon finds himself caught up in the complex politics of Japan.
You can tell that Clavell had a deep knowledge of japanese history and its people's mentality, even the japanese themselves think so. You will learn a lot about 17th century Japan and its dealings with Europe. The code of the samurai is explained and various japanese customs and ideas.
I would rank Shogun as one of my top ten favorite books, an engrossing adventure story.
Bernard Cornwell
The Warlord Chronicles
The Warlord Chronicles is Bernard Cornwell's finest work to date.
The series is a trilogy consisting of The Winter King, Enemy of God and
Excalibur. Cornwell retells the story of King Arthur and his men. He uses a ´realistic approach´,
attempting to try and tell King Arthur's story as it might have happened in a proper historical context. The story takes place around 600 a.d. Therefore Arthur and his followers are warlords
rather than knights, pagans mostly instead of christians.
The result is an amazingly well written series, Cornwell is a master story teller, second to none.
In fact, I would rank these books as the best I've read since Lord of the Rings.
Douglas Coupland
Microserfs
Microserfs is about a group of people between 20 and 30 who
work for Microsoft as coders. They certainly don´t have 9-5 jobs,
they code something like 15 hours a day and work late at nights. They work
hard to make Bill Gates even richer and don´t have much going besides
their work. They are Microserfs. After some time the 'gang' decides
to leave Microsoft and start their own business in Silicon Valley.
The lives of computer nerds have seldom been portrayed as funny and witty
as in this novel. This book could probably only have been written by someone who is not mainly
focused on computer work. Everyone
who works with computers is going to enjoy this book. The first 50 pages
or so are the best, Coupland really does a good job of showing what working
at Microsoft means. There are a bundle of laughs as well. Later on in the
story things get more serious but no less interesting. Coupland tries to
make the reader think, and reflect upon our lives and what we do, or don´t
do, to make them meaningful.
Neil Gaiman
Neverwhere
A Londoner helps a girl in trouble and afterwards finds that he has ceased to be a person, nobody notices him. He finds an alternative magic 'London Below' under London itself to which he apparently now belongs. This world is populated by people who have fallen through the system, outcasts. He now has to find a way to again become a 'real' person in London Above.
This is not a very original story, but it does have a lot of charm and quite a few funny characters and a good dialogue to go with it. It is very much a book about London and if you've been there then that's almost reason enough to read Neverwhere.
H.P. Lovecraft
The case of Charles Dexter Ward
A young man named Charles Dexter Ward has a peculiar interest for the past.
He discovers a relative in his family who was a mad alchemist who lived in the 18th century.
He also discovers that something terrible happened in the district while he was alive. Just what actually
did happen was quickly hushed down. Remaining a secret until now.....
Ward becomes obsessed by this story and determines to uncover the secret by all means.
Most of Lovecraft's published works were short stories, this is more of a novel.
This is a truly frightening story that is hard to put down once you start reading.
You might want to read a few of his short stories before you read it, to get to learn a little
about Lovecraft's ideas.
Lovecraft has influenced many of todays horror writers such as Stephen King and Brian Lumley.
Brian Lumley
The Necroscope Series
A mix between supernatural novel, spy story and thriller best describes Brian Lumley's popular Necroscope series. Mixing genres like Lumley does can be a risky business but he does an excellent job of it.
Harry Keogh is a Necroscope who speaks to the dead. His incredible talent is put to use in a confrontation with vampire Thibor Ferenczy and his human tool Boris Dragosani, part of a russian spy agency. The Cold War constitutes the background for the series.
Lumley's main strength as a writer is probably his plot. These books are very well written and appear to be carefully planned.
The first book in the series, Necroscope is probably the best, the second volume,
Vamphyri! is arguably the weakest. The following three books maintain a high quality and
develop the universe of Lumley's vampires greatly. There is some blood and gore, but it never
dominates the story.
I would rank this series as the ultimate vampire saga.
Highly recommended!
Anne Rice
The Vampire Chronicles
In the first book, Interview with the Vampire, a young journalist has a nocturnal rendezvous with a strange man, the vampire Louis. He tells how he in Louisiana in 1791 became a vampire and began feeding on the living. Louis must come to terms with this terrible change and adjust to his new existence as an undead vampire.
In the second volume, The Vampire Lestat, the story centers around Lestat, Lious' vampire companion from the first book. Less romantic but more intense and with more happening, it is the best book in the series in my opinion. In the third installment in the series, The Queen of the damned, Rice develops the mythology of the vampires and (here comes a small spoiler!) traces their history back to Ancient Egypt. This book is very good, but I'm not sure that I really wanted to know how the vampires originated. Somehow this takes away some of the mystique and romance from them. The fourth book, The tale of the Body Thief, was a let-down.
This series is an admirable attempt to modernize and develop vampire mythology. Apparently this series is so popular that it actually has increased the number of tourists visiting New Orleans!
Edward Rutherfurd
Russka
In this historical novel we follow the fate of four russian families, starting in the
year 180 AD. The events revolve around the small village of Russka, east of modern day Moscow.
This was an area which the slavs often lost to invaders and which they in their turn reclaimed repeatedly.
It must be difficult to write a book which is both a novel and a history lesson, but Rutherfurd pulls it off.
The end of the book is not as good as the rest, that is my only reservation.
Rutherfurd has managed to write
so you get interested in both what happens to the main characters and the events themselves. The novel is a great way to
learn about a vast and complex nation which I think remains enigmatic to a lot of people in the West. A superb book!