Author League - Part 2

Part 2: Crime Genre

There are a lot of books that I read that fall into the category of, “crime/thriller.” When looking at the 10 regular authors I read in this area, they can be divided into two areas: Crime – general and crime detective. Crime detectives (part 3), deals with the type of books that focuses on Private Detectives. The protagonist is not necessarily part of the police and therefore does things there own way.

In this section I will talk about all the books that fall into the crime genre. First up is:

Mark Billingham (U): B

Total books read: 7

Total books written: 12

Mark released his first crime book, “Sleepyhead” in 2001. I can’t recall what made me pick up the book but I was pleased I did. Up until that point the books that I had read in the genre were far removed from my every day life. The stories may have been realistic but ultimately they took place in the U.S and so were like stepping into another world and experiencing some escapism.

Mark’s DI Thorne books changed that. His books took place in London. The names and place were all familiar, if Thorne entered a café, I might know it. When he talked about how his favourite football team was getting on, I could readily identify.

The books just added that extra link to my every day life and made them appear that bit more real to me. Also, they were bloody good.

Mark writes an intriguing story. The killers are always interesting but more importantly Thorne is compelling. He is a grumpy sod who experiences every day issues such as feeling guilty about not caring for his father more. He is supported by a fantastic cast of colleagues, who evolve with him as the series progresses. Mark’s background was in stand-up comedy and this comes through in his novels. He strikes the perfect balance between escalating tension and providing more light hearted moments.

It is easy with this genre to think that all of the books are much of a muchness, but each time I read Mark, I am pleasantly surprised. Reading his books are like putting on an old comfortable pair of slippers. You forget how good it feels until you do it.

In 2007, Mark took a break from the series and wrote a standalone book. I haven’t read it yet but it was well received. His books consistently score well on Amazon and his website contains a hardcore group of fans that are very welcoming. Mark also chimes in quite a lot and is always accessible.

In the last year his books were adapted into a TV series staring David Morrissey and the excellent Aidan Gillen. Again I haven’t seen it but the fans were happy. With a consistent roll out of books and the TV series Mark Billingham’s career is definitely on the rise. The 11^th entry in the Thorne series, “The Demands” is due out next year.

SJ Bolton (u): A -

Total books read: 4

Total books written: 4

SJ Bolton is vast becoming one of my favourite authors. Her first book, “Sacrifice” debuted in 2008. I stumbled across it when I was looking for a book that was a crime novel with a hint of the supernatural. The blurb on the back of this book immediately grabbed me and fitted what I was after perfectly. It is set in the Shetland Islands and begins when a woman’s mutilated body is found with runic symbols carved into skin and the uterus removed. As the book progresses, links to an ancient myth becomes more and more evident. Could trolls possibly exist?

There is always the fear that when you read a book like Sacrifice the book can becomes far too implausible and plain silly. SJ Bolton’s novels are anything but. The first three novels all deal with solving a grizzly series of murders where the supernatural or other forces are hinted at but not necessarily brought to the fore.

The fourth novel, “Now you see me” seems to mark the start of a new series staring the same characters. I was anxious when I read this, as SJ Bolton’s opening novels had been so good as standalones. “Now you see me” is the best so far (check out my review).

SJ Bolton’s books are released in April in the UK and make a welcome birthday present each year. The next one is entitled, “Dead scared,” and is one of my most anticipated novels of 2012.

Tess Gerritsen (u): A –

Total books read: 8

Total books written: 24

Tess is best known for her Rizzoli and Isles series. This series works for a number of reasons but the first and foremost is that Tess has allowed herself to explore the crime genre from two different perspectives. Where as most authors focus on just one character Tess uses two. Jane Rizzoli is a detective and Maura Isles is a medical examiner. By exploring both of their lives, Tess allows the reader to witness two distinctive methods of approaching a crime scene and solving the mystery of the killers.

This is effective as not only does it keep things fresh, it also makes the books more believable. Quite often when a series is on it’s 10^th book although I may be enjoying it, part of me is thinking, would one person really solve this many high profile crimes (hey Alex Cross)?

Tess also introduced the characters in an effective way. For the first two books she concentrated on only one of these characters, the third focussed on another. Over time they both have either taken equal prominence or one takes centre stage. Again this keeps things fresh.

Another strong point in the series is the relationship between the Rizzoli and Isles. They don’t always see eye to eye. Although mutual respect exists between them, that gradually gives way to friendship; the two are not in each others pockets. They have their own lives that they keep private. In short the dynamic between the two is very good. The supporting cast is good although not as strong as other series and each new book always focus on an interesting subject rather than just your standard thriller.

The series has been adapted for TV. I’ve seen the first 3 episodes and although the relationship between Rizzoli and Isles is very different to the books (as is the overall feel of the show), I am enjoying it a lot.

The Rizzoli and Isles series only makes up a third of the books that Tess has written. The others are all standalones and I have not read them, although I intend to. Where as the Rizzoli and Isles books receive universal high praise the standalones vary wildly in the reviews. Some are loved and others are despised. The subject matter of the books seems also to vary in content, one I believe even occurs in space! I raise my hat to Tess for exploring different genres but as I said cannot comment on the quality of the books.

With the consistency of material and the success of the TV series so far, Tess is on the up. The 9^th book in the Rizzoli and Isles series was released in July. I will be reviewing it shortly.

James Patterson (d): C +

Total books read: 39

Total books written: 78 (I think. Who knows? Another 20 will be released next year probably).

I wrote quite a long blog on James Patterson late last year (included below) which pretty much still sums up my feelings on Mr. Patterson. At the end I will talk a bit more about him:

I was around 18 and at University. I had taken a summer job to subsidize my drinking during the term time at my uncle’s air conditioning firm. It was also a time when I didn’t really read. A girl I was fooling around with recommended a book called, “Along came a spider.” As a young lad and eager to impress I duly obliged.

I was delighted I gave it a go. In Alex Cross I had found a cool detective that I didn’t know existed in literature (I have subsequently realised there are far better ones out there). In Gary Soneji there was the type of villain I loved. In short the book was fast paced with a good story. I was hooked. The short chapters gave way to the very definition of the term page turners.

As the months progressed, I devoured the next couple of books. I will never forget that summer doing air conditioning. It was a time where internet was not common place and so when I was strolling through Covent Garden on the way to a job in the Lyceum theatre and saw a board in a bookshop that read, “Roses are Red by James Patterson” coming soon, I punched the air in delight. God I miss those days when you didn’t know when a book was coming out – you only get that with George R R Martin these days!

A weekend job in WHSmiths had me looking forward to the book catalogue to see when the next book was coming out. Patterson led me to other authors: Mo Hayder, Mark Billingham, Harlan Coben, Karin Slaughter, Tess Gerritsen etc. All of which I now regularly read. (John Connolly I discovered in a unique way, which I will talk about some time).

Thrillers were my thing way before Fantasy. Usually it is the other way round but I’ve always been a geek at heart. As the amount of books I read increased so did my knowledge of the authors. Suddenly James Patterson had two books out a year, and then three and then four. His name was always on the cover but other names joined him. I still bought every book but the stories were hit and miss. The woman’s murder club started off fantastic and then by the time I read the “5th Horseman,” I half enjoyed it and I was half disgusted with how lazy the writing was.

I was actually half way through the “Lifeguard” before I realised I had already read it. I was appalled at how frequently the books were coming out and how hit and miss they were. At least he was still writing the Alex Cross series by himself I reconciled. However, even these were starting to take a dip. “London Bridges” was woeful in comparison to the others.

I was torn between ditching him all together and remaining loyal. After all he was the author that kick-started my reading interests again. In the end I decided to just read his Alex Cross books which were written solely by him and released once a year. This worked well, when I read them it was like meeting an old friend. The weak writing didn’t matter so much and instead I remembered why I liked him in the first place.

Following this I have read three James Patterson’s books. Two have been in the Alex Cross series. “Cross Fire” was good and “Kill Alex Cross” (released last month) was better. The other one, “Beach House,” I read in the summer and I can’t remember a thing about which says it all really.

On the back of his books James Patterson has seen two films made with Morgan Freeman playing Alex Cross – perfect casting and not bad films. A third film is due to come out and Idres Elba was attached to the role of Alex Cross. Again good casting but not as good as Morgan. However, I believe Idres as left the project and so my interest has waned already.

 The Women Detective series was also made into a TV show. This has only aired in the US and so I have not seen it. I believe it is no longer on air but don’t quote me on that.

With the TV series and the unfaltering popularity of the juggernaut that is the brand James Patterson I really should be saying he is on the up. Personally, for me he is heading in the opposite direction. Maybe, it is nostalgia. Maybe if I reread, “Along came a spider” I will appreciate that he should never been put on the pedestal on placed him on. I don’t think so though. His first books were quality.

I think James Patterson needs to change something in the series and I deplore the increasing number of writers in his stable. Some like Andrew Gross have gone on to be successful so I can’t argue that system is not beneficial. Still if you are buying a book with an author’s name on it, you want to read that author’s work and not his ideas and editing whilst someone imitates his style. Between now and July next year, James Patterson and his ilk are set to release 8 books. It is simply ludicrous.

 Karin Slaughter (-): A

Total books read: 9

Total books written: 11

My write up with Karin is fairly similar to Tess Gerritsen, where as Tess has focused her series on two protagonists, Karin has done a similar thing but in a different way. So all the positives apply as above but Karin approach is slightly better. Her initial series concentrated on Grant Country and Sara Linton which was excellent.

The series began with Blindsighted in 2001 and told the story of Sara, a paediatrician and medical examiner. Like Tess Gerritsen, Karin Slaughter uses the effective method of telling the story from another perspective as well. We get point of view chapters from Police Chief Jeffrey Tolliver who also happens to be Sara’s estranged husband.

The two protagonists struggle with their own lives, Sara with her family and Jeffrey with his junior member of staff Lena Adams. The interactions between Sara and Jeffrey are always interesting. There is hatred there, but it is one sided. There is also a mutual respect. This makes for a fascinating character study at the two are forced to work together to solve the various grizzly murders in the books. Karin also chops and changes the dynamic. One book for example focuses a lot on Lena Adams and her history. She is a great creation and a fan favourite. Karin is also not afraid to mix things up either. The sort of thing I have been crying out for James Patterson to do with his Alex Cross series, Karin does effortlessly.

With these characters Karin has created a series that could have easily sustained for a number of books. However, not content with this. In 2006, Karin wrote a seemingly standalone book about special agent Will Trent who operates in the Atlanta area. Triptych was a nice and tantalising break from the Grant County series. It was a surprise then, when Karin returned to Will Trent after visiting the Grant County series for only one book.

The character of Will was fleshed out and so were the supporting cast. Karin then merged the two series and so what we now have is the familiar and new all at the same time. It is what Karin does, to keep her at the top and she pulls it off with ease.

As things stand, I have two books left to read until I am up to date. Look out for a review shortly for the first of them.

Karin has recently written and offered a couple of short stories on the Kindle. The first of these, “the unremarkable heart” was very reasonably priced and marked a change of style to a more brutal tale. I loved it and Karin continues to be a must buy for me.

Book Review - A Cavern of black ice

A Cavern of Black Ice - J V Jones:



JV Jones is an author who cropped up whenever I googled books like the Song of ice and fire series. Many people agree it is good; some even go as far as to say it is better. If I was to sum up the book I would say it is more of a cross between Robin Hobb and Conn Iggulden. For those of you who have seen my other reviews, you will know that is a good thing.


The story follows the paths of two main protagonists: Raif Severance and Ash.

Raif is a member of a clan and this is where the story has a similar feel to Conn Iggulden’s Genghis series. He feels a strong loyalty to family, to the clan but at the same time holds true to his own beliefs. When a tragic incident occurs and the clan starts to move in a direction away from what he feels is its true course, he chooses to commit the ultimate sacrilege and desert the clan and his family. It is the inner conflict that follows between holding true to himself whilst still trying to remain loyal to the clan that deserts him which makes up the majority of the book and makes for compelling reading. This is coupled with the truth the Raif shows signs of exhibiting the “old magic” something which is shunned by the clans

Ash on the other hand, is more of a mystery. When we first meet her she is held a captive of sorts in Spire Vanis by Iss ,Iss regards Ash as his “Almost daughter” as he found her abandoned at one of his gates. From the onset it is clear that something is amiss with the situation and JV Jones does a wonderful job of unravelling the mystery. When the reveal happens it occurs naturally and is very satisfying.

Sprinkled amongst these two points of views are a host of other secondary characters who have their own chapters. Raif’s sister is probably the pick of these, but the Dog Lord, a leader from a rival clan is also intriguing. Then there are other characters such as the Listener who are clearly introduced to feature later on in the series.

As I mentioned earlier, the story has a Hobb feel to it. Things are revealed in a gradual sense. Characters slowly reveal deeper layers to their personality and the mystery thickens. The Sull are extremely interesting as is the network of various clans with their own ways.

The few negative reviews that this book does get mainly focus on the violence. This is surprising. There is nothing in here that you wouldn’t find in most fantasy novels but JV Jones is ruthless in her treatment of characters like George R R Martin. The world is well realised but not especially so. It is not always clear where the various cities are located and so the map comes in handy. What is excellently portrayed is the atmosphere. The world is frozen and JV Jones makes sure you feel it. I would go as far as to say I have never encountered a world where the atmosphere is so well portrayed. Throughout the novel you really get the sense that the cold is always a threat to the characters.

Magic is hinted at but has its limitations. I like that. It means that there is not one uber powerful character that is superior to everyone. The idea behind the heart kill is fantastic and is certainly unique to me.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed, “a cavern of black ice.” It is the start of what I hope will be an excellent series. My rating: 8.8

Book Review - Gates of Fire

Gates of Fire - Steven Pressfield:



This is one of those books that has received unanimous praise. Look on Amazon.co.uk and out of 117 reviews it gets an average of 5 stars. So you could imagine my level of expectation before I started reading the book, especially considering it is based on a period of Ancient history I studied at university and loved.


It is fair to say then that I was initially disappointed. The opening couple of pages left me wondering what I had started reading. It felt like I was reading Herodotus all over again - whilst not a bad thing, it is not something I read for leisure.

As the book progressed though, the story settled into a rhythm. It focuses on the captured Xeo the sole surviving member of the Spartans. Xeo is forced to recount the tale of the battle of Thermopylae for the Persian king Xerxes.

Xeo starts his tale with his childhood and flashes to different key points in his life. Sometimes this happens chronologically and other times it shifts to the present battle. This can be confusing as Pressfield recounts the history as he goes along and it easy to get lost for a few paragraphs if you are not familiar with it.

I also wonder how someone who is not familiar with the Greek names would get on with the story as some of them are quite similar, but I guess the 5 star reviews suggest this is not a problem.

If I am honest, for the first two thirds of this novel although I was enjoying the story I struggled to see where all the 5 star reviews were coming from. The book although far more historically accurate did not set itself apart from anything I had read like Conn Iggulden’s Genghis Khan’s series. However, something happened over the final third of the book where my opinion towards the story changed from merely enjoying to the book to loving it.

I can’t quite put my finger on why this was, especially as the final third consists almost entirely of the battle itself. Personally I do not like big battle scenes and much prefer character based novels. However, Pressfield really captures the imagination. The deeds of the Spartan’s although glorified are not shown off to make each warrior look good. Instead Pressfield concentrates on the other side of war. The fact that the Spartan’s were crawling about from exhaustion at the end of the first skirmish of the first day really brought home to me how gruelling an ordeal the battle was.

Without realising it, I had come to care for the characters. Dienekes in particular stands out. Despite his renown in battle, the battle commander shows a greater philosophical side, particularly in his pursuit to the answer, “what is the opposite of fear?”

Other stand outs are the conflicted Rooster and the coming of ages of heroes like Alexandros. Pressfield also does justice to the other allies who fought at the battle, in particular the Thespians whose deeds are often overlooked when this story is told.

Everyone of King Leonides speeches hits the spot and the indifference of Xerxes towards his conscripted army makes you route for the Spartans even more.

Away from the battle other characters are well developed. Unusually for ancient history the women are given high prominence and their importance is really highlighted by Pressfield.

This novel is faultlessly researched and does justice to the monumental struggle that occurred back in 480 BC. Despite the “good rather than great start,” Gates of Fire is a tale of heroes, of love, of courage and the will to survive. One that is thoroughly recommended. My Rating: 8.9

Robert McCammon comes to the UK Kindle

Finally Robert McCammon's books have been released on the UK edition of the Kindle. This is fabulous news. Not all of them are available (it is all of his collection pre the Matthew Corbett series) but this is fantastic news for fans and not yet fans.

So far if I wanted to read a book by Mr McCammon, I have had to resort to purchasing a used copy on ebay. This has bothered me, one because I want to support this great author and want to give my money to him and two all of the copies that I have received second hand have been so used they are barely bound together.

Now however, all of his books are on the Kindle.



They are quite pricey at £9.19, but are worth a look. Hopefully they will come down to a more reasonable price so I can snap them all up. Swan Song (arguably his most famous book) is priced at an astounding £2.27. This was my favourite book of last year and one of my favourite of all time. If you like post apocalyptic drama then please, please, please snap this book up and give it a try. You won't regret it I promise.

Book Review: The Hanging Shed

The Hanging Shed - Gordon Ferris

It is impossible to own a Kindle and not have heard of the Hanging Shed by Gordon Ferris. The book has been lingering the top 10 lists for ever. It is still one of the cheapest books you can get and receives copious amounts of praise.

Sucked in by the hype it was one of my first purchases but it is only now that I got round to reading it. The Hanging Shed is a plain old good book. That is not meant to be an insult, I really enjoyed it but it did not set my world on fire.

The story focuses on Douglas Brodie, an ex cop who is now back from the horrors of WWII and struggling to cope. Douglas receives a call from an estranged childhood friend who is on death row for the murder of a young boy – a crime he swears he did not commit.

The setting takes place largely in Scotland and whilst I admit I am completely ignorant to the geographical goings on in Scotland, Gordon seems to have captured the atmosphere perfectly. He really creates a bleak picture and at times uses authentic dialogue. This makes for some difficult reading as I struggled to understand what was being said, although I could always work it out in the end don’t ya Ken?

Douglas Brodie is a good protagonist but not great. It seems that Gordon Ferris could not decide what he wanted him to be. On one hand he is the tragic war veteran, trying to make sense of the nightmare he has just endured and on the other he is delivering quick one liners in a devil may care attitude reminiscent of Coben’s Myron Bolitar or Crais’ Elvis Cole. Whilst this is not a problem, I found that the two traits did not mesh together as well as they could have.

The rest of the cast are solid, although sometimes it is hard to believe that everyone is as hard and nasty as they are.

The plot itself, it well thought out and complex enough to intrigue the reader. All in all, this is a good book and one that I would recommend. My Rating: 8.5

Update - Writing

It’s been a while since I have commented on my writing, (thank you Catherine for badgering me!) There has been progress but not in a tangible way - let me explain.

Back in April I was at the stage where I had finished the book and had sent it out to two agents – disappointingly, neither have even acknowledged that they have received the submission. Which leads to a lot of second guessing in itself: Did they not get it? Did they get it and think it was too crap to reply? Are they still considering it?

Whatever the answer, I realise that 2 agents is far too few a number to have sent the book out too. I therefore convinced myself to set aside a day where I would identify the agents, tailor a submission to them and then approach them. Due to the arrival of our second child, going through the process of redundancy at work and a host of other issues, this day has never occurred.

I then decided to get started on book two. This was both a joy and a chore. You see, I wrote the first book on Y:Writer, a fantastic tool for keeping track of all your characters, locations and notes – That is until you lose your USB. No problem, as I had backed them up on my laptop – until it crashed.

Suddenly, I found myself in a situation where I was writing book two but having to use the search function on word to refresh my memory on who certain characters were and what they looked like. This was impractical and left me rather despondent. I knew the only answer was to go through the first book and make notes on each and every character.

Until recently, I have been putting this off and have been on hiatus. I needed a break before taking on such an undertaking.

Which brings us to the present day, as things stand, I have almost completed my character index. I have about 4 chapters left to take notes on but I don’t think I introduced any new characters in these chapters and so the process should be relatively painless.

I will then send the book out and begin again on book 2. So there you have it. The important thing to report is that I have the writing bug back now and all the tools in which to carry on.

Author League

I love spreadsheets and I love lists. I think most men do, they don’t? Oh well I still love them. I follow a few other blogs and one blogger (John Canton if you must know) recently did a post on the state of wrestling and how he thought individual wrestlers were performing and progressing. Needless to say I thought it was excellent and wanted to do something similar with my blog.

Now considering this site is primarily about writing (less so on mine lately - but that is changing) in order for me to do something similar I would have had to read every author in a particular genre. In short I am not qualified to do that.

What I could do though is look at the authors I have read and talk about how I think their work is going. There are some self imposed rules that I have set myself:

1)    I had to have read 3 or more books by the author.

2)    I have to still be interested in reading the author – I may have read all of the Enchanted wood and Wishing Chair series by Enid Blyton when I was young, but I am not interested in checking out an more of her books.

3)    The author has to still be writing – sadly I do not get to talk about David Gemmell here.

With that being said there are currently 20 active authors who I read on a regular basis. A nice number I am sure you will agree and one that can be divided equally by 5 to give you 4 different blog posts:

Part 1: Fantasy and Historical Fiction

Part 2: Crime - General

Part 3: Crime – Private detectives

Part 4: Horror and Action

When looking at each author I will list the books I have read, discuss what I like about them. Look at their recent books and look at their forthcoming work. I will also assign a ranking to the author of how I currently regard them.

Shamelessly stolen from John Canton’s blog as well I will state whether or not I think the author’s work is on the up (u) or declining (d) or staying the same (-).

So without further a do I introduce part 1: Fantasy and Historical Fiction.

Joe Abercrombie (U): A

Total books read: 4 (The First Law Trilogy and Best Served Cold)

Total books written: 5

Joe Abercrombie exploded onto the scene in 2006 with, “the Blade Itself.” The book received highly favourable reviews and Joe was lauded as one of a few new wave exciting authors. Since then he has written a book a year with the exception of 2010 (Heroes was released at the start of 2011). His books are described as, “dark and gritty,” whatever that means, but the moniker fits perfectly.

Joe does the basics right and that is what I love about his writing. I love an author that tells a good story with excellent characters. I do not need to be bogged down in endless world building, or trying to work out what is happening (Hey Erikson, nice of you to pop in). Mystery is good, in fact there is nothing better than trying to second guess people’s actions but not when the mystery is, “what the hell is going on?”

Joe also comes across as a nice guy. His blog posts are good and he is quite active and witty on the forums. Whilst that is not a requirement for a good author, it certainly helps.

With each new book, Joe seems to be improving. Best Served Cold was his finest work so far that I have read. I can’t wait to read the Heroes but am restraining myself until his next book has a release date. From the sound of it (a fantasy book with a western feel) it seems Joe is going to keep on getting better.

Raymond E Feist (-): B –

Total books read: 6 (The Serpentwar saga and the first two in the Conclave of shadows trilogy)

Total books written: 28 (according to Fantasticfiction.com)

I know, I know, how can I possibly talk about this guy having never read “the Magician?” A book that makes most people’s top 10 fantasy lists. What can I say? It’s my list, so there!

In truth, I am a little ashamed. On a whim many moons ago (see my affiliation with comics post), I decided to start reading a fantasy series. After some rushed research, Raymond E Feist was a name that occurred over and over again as a safe bet for a good story. The though of starting from the beginning was too daunting at the time and so I read the Serpentwar was as good a place as any to start.

I loved the series immediately. It was everything I was looking for in fantasy (at least at the time). Your typical “farm boy come good” story opening out into a sprawling epic encounter with evil. There was enough of a hint of intrigue to keep me interested. What I liked most about the series (although not at the time) was that each book concentrated on a different point of view. In the first book Erik was the main character and in the second, another character took centre stage (I won’t say who as I like to avoid even the must inane spoilers).

The Conclave of shadows series, has continued with much of the same quality. The books are a little shorter but no less enjoyable. In fact as I type this I am wondering why I have only read 6 of Raymond’s books!

Raymond E Feist has released a book a year for getting on nearly 25 years with only a few exceptions. He is still hugely popular and his books are still well received, with only the odd book receiving less than favourable reviews. His next book, “The Crown Imperilled” is book 2 in the Chaos War saga and is due for a 2012 release.

Robin Hobb (-): A-

Total books read: 3 (The Farseer Trilogy)

Total books written: 15

Robin Hobb is an author I will definitely be reading a lot more of. I loved the Farseer Trilogy although I was disappointed with the ending and overall pacing of the third. It appeared far too rushed and left an unsatisfactory feeling to the series. Hence the A-  grade.

Overall though Robin gets characters like only a few other authors do. In Fitz she has created a complex but believable hero. Some say her books are too slow paced. With the exception of the aforementioned Assassin’s quest, I disagree. If ever there was a case to demonstrate the classic, “show don’t tell” adage then Hobb’s books should be the example. Book one, “Assassin’s apprentice” does an excellent job of building the tension and laying on the mysteries. Who is the Fool? Why is he helping Fitz? Is he helping Fitz. What has gone on in Chade’s past. So many questions are dangled before the reader but Hobb expertly reveals answers slowly and when you at least expect them.

I have also read the odd short story by Hobb. They have stood out in the collection as being one of the better stories.

A good friend has read the Liveship Traders and rated them even higher than the first trilogy so I can’t wait to get reading. The general feeling on the forums is that the first 3 trilogies are excellent and then the quality takes a dip, reviews on Amazon suggest this is not the case. Since I have not read them I have Robin’s progress as level for now.

Her next book is due out in April 2012 and will be the third in the Rainwild chronicles.

George R R Martin (U): A+

Total books read: 7 (5 = A Song of Ice and Fire, Fevre Dream and RRestrospective)

Total books written: 10

 

There is only one other author I rate as highly as George at the moment and that is Robert McCammon. In a Song of Ice and Fire George has created a world and characters that cannot be surpassed in my opinion. Before I started reading the books if someone had asked me what would be the ideal fantasy story this would be it. It has everything: Great characters (and I mean great). Every one of the hundreds on display in Westeros feels real. George has the ability to turn a character you hate in one book into an understanding and sympathetic character you end up routing for in the next. The world he has built up is both believable yet removed from anything we know. The magic is hinted at but is far from dominant and the mystery and subtlety is second to none.

In addition to this series he has also written 3 novellas called the Dunk and Egg series. These easily match the quality of ASOIAF and add more depth to an already involved world.

However George was famous way before the ASOIAF series. As the founder of Wild cards and as a TV writer he had already acquired a modest recognition. Whilst I have not been inclined to get into the wildcard universe the few stories I have read by George in this area have been good. His RRetrospective book is a fantastic collection of stories that any author would be proud of. Most notably, the Skin Trade and Sandkings (which was an absolute favourite episode as a kid when I saw it on the twilight zone).

In Fevre Dream, George has managed to write the only vampire novel that I can say is truly excellent. A story that made me fall in love with the protagonists passion for steam boats as much as the threat of the vampires.

Much has been written about the amount of time it has taken George to write the last two books in the ASOIAF series, and with two more books (at least) still to come, the wait is agonising. Many have said he has lost his passion for the series or had writer’s block etc. However, when book 5, A Dance with Dragons was released earlier this year, personally, all that talk was kicked to the curb. Maybe the plot did not move forward as much as I would have liked, but the book was excellent.

When considering the success of the TV series as well (an excellent adaptation) then I can only award George an A + . The Winds of Winter is his next release. When who knows? But I can’t wait.

Bernard Cornwell (-): A

Total books read: 6 (The Warlord Chronicles, Sharpe’s Tiger, Sharpe’s Triumph and Sharpe’s Fortress)

Total books written: 50

As you can see, I have a long way to go to read all of Cornwell’s books. This is the author that got me into historical fiction. Before I had a strong prejudice against the genre, believing that if I wanted to know about the time period, I would just read the relevant history books. However, once I was tempted to read the Arthur books I never looked back. The Warlord Chronicles, for me, are the perfect trilogy of books. It is the best completed series I have read – David Gemmell’s Troy series is a close second. When you already have such a richness of characters to work with such as Arthur and Merlin it would be tempting to just write about them. However, Cornwell chooses to put his own stamp on the series. In Derfel Cornwell manages to create a character that stands strongly beside the well established characters in stature, whilst having fun playing with the popular perception of said characters traits. In short he takes the characters and the retelling of a well known story in his own unique direction.

Again, magic is hinted at but only that. This seems to be a key ingredient for the books I like. The ending of the trilogy is wrapped up neatly and not necessarily nicely. Cornwell has said himself this was his favourite series he has written and I can see why.

The Sharpe books are equally as entertaining. This is the series that started Cornwell on the way to superstardom. Although not as in depth as the Warlord Chronicles, these books are short, swift reads that do not disappoint. In Richard Sharpe Cornwell has created a figure that all the women love and all the men want to be. The series is so far 21 books long and fans are clamouring for more.

The latest series Cornwell is working on is the Saxon chronicles. They look at the life of Alfred the Great and are told from another character’s point of view as well. Fans agree that these books are almost on a par with the Warlord chronicles. The sixth book “Death of Kings” came out days ago and sees Cornwell consolidate his position as one of the planet’s top writers.

I mentioned how Joe Abercrombie is interactive with the fans. Cornwell is more so. If you visit his homepage and go the questions section, you will see Cornwell tirelessly answer fans questions. Even if the question has been asked for the hundredth time, Cornwell will answer it as if it was a fresh enquiry. That is the measure of the man.