Tolkien’s 'The Lord of the Rings' Trilogy

The Lord of the Rings trilogy is one of the best stories ever told, in my ever so humble opinion. I’ve spoken to a lot of people about it – people who have read it, those who have tried and those who have never even managed to get to page one – but there are some things that they all agree on; they’d rather watch the film. I could easily create pages after pages as to why I disagree, but why make something just to cause arguments (they’re more fun in person) when I can focus closely on why I think the story and books as a whole are fantastic?

Hence, this post. I hope you enjoy it!

How would you describe The Lord of the Rings, and the Middle-earth world created by Tolkien in general? Some might say traditional fantasy, others high fantasy while many would simply say fantasy – these would more likely be people who don’t mind a bit of the genre but don’t really understand why there is a ‘high’ fantasy at all. In theory, they’re all right but I would stick with high fantasy. It follows more rules and conventions of that sub-genre than any other.

A grand and epic world, supplemented by main characters that fill that world well and leave the reader in awe in almost every scene are just one of these conventions. The quest that spans the entire story without getting old, and continues despite every problem and obstacle and a villain, who in this story we don’t see much of directly, all combine together in a fantastic way that many other writers cannot even get close to.

We are drawn to certain characters more than others, with Strider/Aragorn being one of the most obvious. While he starts out cold and distant, he quickly becomes the champion for most readers and could easily have been the main protagonist if it wasn’t for the Ring – how easy it would have been to alter the beginning and background to focus on men rather than Hobbits, and full respect for not taking that road. I like Aragorn, but he was a bit predictable at times. That was one of his redeeming and annoying qualities.

Almost every character can be summarised this way but don’t worry, I won’t go through all nine members of the Fellowship.

A lot of people who have read the trilogy, and beyond, have told me there are elements they didn’t like – Tom Bombadil in The Fellowship of the Ring being one of the most ovious. Granted, he probably wasn’t suited to film, and as such wasn’t included, but I am glad characters and events such as his existed. It provided more depth to a world where the entire focus was on one little band of gold.

Tolkien’s writing style may also have been difficult for some readers. I don’t think it’s as hard as Shakespeare, but it can be longwinded and slow at times but the change of pace is something I welcome and enjoy. It shows the world and events move differently for everyone at different times – as it is for us in the real world. Things slow down – the quest doesn’t happen over a couple of days and running at such a high pace and level of stress and tension would destroy our heroes in a matter of days, maybe weeks. While this is a fantasy world and a fantasy story, everything that relates back to our real lives forges a stronger bond between story and reader, don’t you think?

One of the most impressive things about The Lord of the Rings trilogy and world is the scenery, settings and descriptions. There is simply no other way to describe the success Tolkien has at really drawing the reader into a scene or area of Middle-earth. If you had to pick a flaw, it’s that it does slow the flow of the story (which I normally hate) but it gives you a chance to breathe and really take in this glorious world. Without such vivid imagination and descriptions, the films could look quite different and it proves that a dark story or scene can take place in the brightest setting. There are hundreds of other examples out there, but this story is one of my favourites.

As I said, I could easily go into a lot more detail about this – and maybe one day I will! A critical and reasonably academic paper could come from me at some point, but for now, this will have to do. Hopefully, I’ve explored some things to grab your interest in these epic books or inspired you to try again, read them again or if nothing else, watching the films once more.

The ending though, well not the ending-ending, but the bit before it? Oh boy…

His Dark Materials

It’s Halloween! The number of costumes impresses me every year, even if they do turn into something else entirely unrelated to the occasion. I could do a post about it, or post something creative, or even talk about Thor 2, which I saw last night – but I’m not. I’ve had a lot of requests asking me to look at Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy and I’m only sorry it’s taken me this long to do it as I love these books!

I actually got to meet the man himself in 2012, and it was an incredible experience. I was working at the Manchester Children’s Book Festival that summer and he was one of the authors there, and he was one of the nicest people I’ve ever met – never mind one of the nicest writers! Despite it being an evening session, and a busy one at that, he made sure he didn’t leave until he had seen everyone who wanted to meet him. It must have been 10:30 or later before it was all done. We need more writers like that…and maybe even more people like that too!

One of the most obviously things for me was the lack of religion in the books. This might not seem like such a big issue, really, but I remember it being compared as a contrast to Narnia, and those books were massively heavy on religion, especially when you put each book together. This was the complete opposite – not anti-religious as such, and not pro. Rather, it just left out religion as much as possible. That didn’t make it overly science based either, as our protagonists, Lyra and Will, are children who do not understand everything being said to them. As readers, we are given a lot more information and our understanding is probably better than theirs.

Dust is a theme comes up often, and a lack of understanding, not just from our protagonists but also the adults of the world, makes it an interesting idea. It lends itself to so many things, theories and ideas that until we hear more from Pullman, it’s impossible to know the true purpose of Dust in that universe. We can speculate, and take what characters say but I’ve always felt there was more to Dust.

As a huge science-fiction and fantasy fan, I love new worlds, rules, creatures and all sorts. Having that element in the His Dark Materials books definitely played a big part in keeping me interested as a younger reader. However, they were not so “out there” that it detracted from the story. The worlds were carefully planned out with the right amount of detail that kept me interested and wanting more but still fully believing in that world and also wanting to return to safer ground at the same time. It was brilliant writing all around.

It was one of the earliest books I read that seem to stray away from the “happy ever after” mentality that a lot of children and teenage books had at that time. Things have changed since, and it’s not a sad ending as such, but it was heart wrenching. It’s one of the reasons why I want to know more about what happened later, to see how they coped with the events in their lives.

I love these books, and quite happily and often read them again and again. Each time, I notice something new or a new idea comes to me and that’s one of the best things about a good book – that no matter how often you read it, there’s always something more to gain, and in a lot of books and works I’ve seen being published over the last ten years or so, that just isn’t there. Looks like I’ve just set myself a goal!

What’s more exciting for me is that The Book of Dust is still underway – I’ve been looking forward to this ever since the rumours started. While not a direct sequel to the trilogy, it seems we will follow an older Lyra and Dust is going to play an important part, but with a name like The Book of Dust, I’d really hope so. Patience is a virtue I’m getting more of every year so I can wait, especially if the extra time will transform it from a good read to an extraordinary book (or two)!

Oryx and Crake

I’m an avid sci-fi fan. It was my favourite genre growing up, and while that has given way to fantasy as I’ve gotten older, I’m always on the lookout for good science fiction novels. During my third year of university, I studied a module looking at medical ethics within writing. It was very “sciencey” – yes, not a word, but it is the word used to describe the module to me – but the module was rooted in reality. One of the books on the reading list was Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake. I was dubious at first, but this has since become one of my favourite books out of three years at university.

Some will call it science-fiction – and there is enough in there to classify it in that genre. The best term I’ve heard is speculative fiction, as this is something that could possibly happen in the future. This can be said of any science fiction story but some hit a bit closer to home because of the technologies and research being done at the time of writing, and this where Oryx and Crake crosses that line. Genetic modifications and manipulations, a strong underlying theme throughout the book, is in the news quite often anyway. That brings a sense of realism to the story. There’s more, but that would spoil the book.

I enjoyed the flow but it is fragmented. Your protagonist, Snowman, will take you into his past to set up the world the reader is first presented with. There are a lot of questions that are answered as you go through the story, and more questions that are left to your own imagination. Once you get past the change in time frames, there is a good flow to the story. You are given the end of the story at the beginning, and throughout this era, you will go through the events leading to it. It works well, but you need to stick with it, as there are a lot of names thrown at you in short spaces of time and they all have a role to play. Atwood uses everything meticulously. If not, there’s a reason, and I’ll get to that later.

Despite the science-fiction or speculative fiction genre, there is not much in the way of technical talk. Snowman is not a scientist and this shows through with his wording and characterisation. Rather than technical talk which might be more befitting the story and genre, there are much longer and unnecessary words. It really separates Snowman from the story, situation and genre all in one without losing anything. Brilliant.

I found the world addictive; it was fantastically descriptive but left me wanting more at every time. This is why The Year of the Flood was a bit of a saving grace for me. It is set in the same world as Oryx and Crake, but from different perspectives. The changing perspectives mixed with different time frames can disrupt the flow again, but it actually works well. It gives a much fuller account and the characters, places and events all tie in. It’s fantastic, but there will be more on that in a future post.

Overall, I love this book. It’s a great “what if” story and world, which is feasible in some small way – although you hope it definitely wouldn’t happen. Combine Oryx and Crake with Year of the Flood and you get a whole new view of the same story. Excellent planning and I’d love more to come in this world. 

X-Wing: Mercy Kill

I’ve got a soft spot for the Star Wars Expanded Universe for quite a few reasons. When I was younger, these were the books that really got me back into reading by taking advantage of the geek inside me and coming up with some fantastic stories. Not only that, and more importantly now that I’m older, the huge range of writers who have contributed to this universe is incredible, and they all offer something different – a different view on Star Wars – to keep me hooked.

The X-Wing series is an excellent way into the Expanded Universe (EU) for anyone looking for an entry point. They are suitably separate from the overriding stories present in other books, and are very easy reads – you can go through each book very quickly thanks to a superb flow from both authors, Michael A. Stackpole and Aaron Allston. This series of books is probably the funniest in the whole EU – even though a lot of novels have their moments – The X-Wing books thrive off of this feature. Focusing on minor characters from the films, and new introductions all the time, this element keeps readers interested and invested in these characters, who rarely turn up elsewhere.

X-Wing: Mercy Kill is the tenth book in the series, taking place towards the end of the Fate of the Jedi series. Many of the characters are new, but the focus is on the leader of Wraith Squadron, Face, and our favourite Gamorrean, Piggy – although he prefers to go by Voort now! There are some family names too, with Wedge Antilles’ daughter carrying on her father’s work – that’s a nice touch to say Wedge is a fan favourite and X-Wing legend!

There are a lot of flashbacks throughout the novel, all focused on Piggy – I mean, Voort – and his decision to retire. Despite a thrilling, and often hilarious, adventure Piggy is battling his demons throughout and it was great to see a new side to the character, who was always one of my favourites from the Wraiths. There’s a lot for Piggy to contend with, including a Yuuzahn Vong (I know, right?!) and a second Wraith Squadron but nothing was given away too soon.

The flashbacks did annoy me a little, I admit. I think it was bordering on too many and took some of the focus away from the newer Wraiths, who all have their own stories to tell. As such, we missed out on some of that and it’s only because I’ve caught snippets of information from other stories I could put the pieces together. For the newcomer to the EU, Mercy Kill might not be the best starting point as the trips through memory lane, and the references to other Wraiths, will be lost.

This is a fantastic book, but not the entry point the other X-Wing books are. It’s much darker in nature and humour, following the path the Expanded Universe has taken since the New Jedi Order series.

If you have some knowledge of the EU, then this is definitely worth a read. If you're new to the Star Wars books, I’d read at least the older X-Wing books and the Fate of the Jedi series at the very least before tackling this one.  

Stephen King's The Dark Tower series

It took me four years to read seven books that I can honestly say are the best fantasy books I have ever read. I probably would have gotten through them much sooner but I had university and work to contend with at the same time. These books are incredible and go beyond themselves in ways I couldn’t have imagined before I opened the first one. I’m talking about Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series and the only regret I have is that it took me so long to read them all and that I waited so long before starting. For me, they go beyond Tolkien and Pratchett and that’s saying something, as they have been my biggest influences for fantasy stories to date.

There are seven books in the series, with an eighth story more recently and more short stories besides this. My next goal is to find all of these and read them to get a better understanding about the series before reading them again. The seven books in this series are: The Gunslinger, The Drawing of The Three, The Waste Lands, Wizard and Glass, Wolves of The Calla, Song of Susannah and The Dark Tower.

It’s not as simple as that, though. After finishing each book, it is easy to see that King’s other works tie in to this universe he has created for The Dark Tower series. There are names, phrases and characters in his earlier works that all make appearances or are referred to throughout the series and the consistency in which this is done is staggering. If you read his other stories first, you won’t even notice them, never mind the importance they hold for this series. After reaching them throughout the series, you can’t help but wonder at the amount of thought and planning that must have gone into these points. It links everything King has done to this one series.

The books follow Roland, the last Gunslinger, on his quest to reach the Dark Tower. He encounters many people and finds his own followers that become his family. We are told of his long journey before we join him but the passage of time is complicated in Roland’s world. It is impossible to predict and at times, seems to have no meaning to the story whatsoever. This is hard to accept as everything we do is governed by time and its logical flow.

We change worlds too. We see worlds and time periods we can recognise, regardless of our age. Thanks to the digital era we live in, it is not hard to find out about what life was like in the past and diehard fans will look into what King shows us. At no point are we ever told if the characters come into contact with our world. There are important worlds and others with little bearing on the story but the reader will take from it what they want. If they want to believe that one of these worlds is our own, it has no bearing on the course of the story.

King takes the time to give us enough history of the world and Roland’s past to make us really feel for him. He is a cold and calculating character who is capable of warm emotions but his quest has taken its toll on him. We keep our distance form him as a reader because we can’t accept such a cold hero. Even when he first starts to show some humanity, we are wary. A glimpse into his past gives us an understanding of why he is who is he, and it’s easier to accept what comes next in the story.

If you a fan of stories where everything works out and there are plenty of happy endings, this may not be for you. There is plenty of happiness in this story, but there is an equal amount of hardship. Chapters end on dark notes in a world that is uninspiring and where it seems everything is against you. In a way, it is. Reaching the end of the story is just one step to understanding what King has created.

In all honesty, I found the ending to the series devastating. It was not what I expected at all, but on reflection, is the only ending that could have worked for such an epic story. I won’t spoil it at all but I was angry, upset and I even felt a little cheated when I first finished the story. Thinking back on all the books, on everything I learned about the universe King created, there was no other way to do it that would do it justice. I feel like I should have seen it coming, but that’s what makes this story so fantastic. Just because you think something should happen doesn’t make it so. This isn’t a story that bows down to convention or the demands of the reader. It is King’s story and he has written it masterfully. There is no other way to describe it.

If you are a fan of any kind of fantasy books, then this is an epic tale that isn’t to be missed. Ever.

Kelley Armstrong

Unlike previous posts where I have looked at a specific series of books by an author, regardless of whether they have done more or not, this time I want to look at the author and the books and you'll see why as you read on. Armstrong’s main series so far is the Women of the Otherworld, with two trilogies and two more adventure novels which could expand into a series in the future.

The Women of the Otherworld series is what first alerted me to a terrific author who hadn’t seem to hit the mainstream market yet. When Bitten, the first book, was released it was put under the fantasy genre and sometimes moved into the horror genre. It wasn’t until sometime later when a new genre, Dark Fantasy, was recognised and Armstrong, along with many other authors, found a more suitable home for their tales.

One of the greatest lures about this series is that we are not constantly following one character. We are introduced to Elena first and through her we meet Paige, and then Eve and so on. Elena is probably the most popular character and makes a return as the protagonist multiple times as well as a supporting character even more. It is even possible to say that the whole series could have focused around her and her life as a werewolf but to fully comprehend this world Armstrong created, I cannot think of a better way than to move from character to character in a logical way. This is done brilliantly.

All of her stories have been done in the first person narrative, to completely immerse the reader in the story and surroundings. That all her protagonists are female is not as big a deterrent as it may seem. There is obviously some bias but not in a derogatory way, it is simply what Armstrong feels most comfortable doing. There are several short stories from the point of view of male characters that deepen the depth of this series.

They are compelling reads and once you start the series, it will be extremely difficult to stop reading. I have had to wait for each release and each time it seems to get longer between each book whereas now the whole series is available for future readers to enjoy whenever they are ready.

The world is realistic enough but much of the focus lies on the underground world of supernatural beings. It is a very dark, gritty and daunting setting that we are exposed to right from the start of the series and each novel in turn. There are some strong images and feelings but little in the way of strong language or swearing. I will point out that there are some explicit scenes in the books. I admit that it was unexpected but on reflection and further reading it seems to add another layer to the characters and tensions that run throughout each story. These could be left out but without a replacement of equal emotional value, something would be missing from the stories and it could change what genre readers would put it under.

The adventure books focus on Nadia, an ex-cop turned assassin and her relationship with her mentor, Jack. There is a distance between them and everything they do with an underlying urge to bridge that gap and explore what could happen in a more intimate and evolved setting. The conflict of their jobs and adventures prevents this and we are left rooting for something that by the characters own logic, could never happen. While the two books stand-alone right now, there is still potential for more in these series and I would greet these eagerly.

It is interesting that so much of Armstrong’s books focus on characters and relationships. With a background in Psychology, it is obvious why this would appeal to her in her writing and why the characters feel so real, even in a fantasy setting but the seamless blend of this with plot and setting is fantastic and anyone who reads her books will be left wondering why this author has not become as popular as J. K. Rowling or even Stephen King. Unfortunately, the niche genre she writers in still has a representatively small following. This is growing everyday but it will take some time to get close to science-fiction and fantasy genres.

On another note, I had the incredible pleasure of meeting Kelley Armstrong a couple of years ago and it is amazing how little ego she has! My time at university taught me that a good number of writers have massive egos, most likely to help them prepare for the huge number of rejections they face in trying to publish a book. Much like Philip Pullman, it is the opposite with Armstrong and she took so much time in talking and engaging with each fan that came to see her that is a huge inspiration for how to act despite doing something you love every day. It was a fantastic night and one of my fondest memories.

Chaos Walking Trilogy, Patrick Ness

To continue on this 'series' of my favourite books and series, I have decided on a trilogy I only discovered in the last year, and is one of the few gems I discovered through university - Patrick Ness' Chaos Walking trilogy.


I have to admit that when I first picked up this book, I was dubious. The first book of the trilogy was listed in one of my final year of university’s unit modules reading lists. The module was Writing for Children and while I was interested in a new aspect of writing, I had my doubts over most, if not all, of the books I was told I needed to read.

Some of those doubts, I can say, were valid. This one, however, was not.

The Knife of Never Letting Go is the first of the three books but the only required by my reading list. It follows the story of Todd, a young man on the verge of becoming a man in a town filled only with men. We are introduced to one of the biggest aspects of the story straight away – no one’s thoughts are their own. You can read them whenever close to someone or those thoughts are strong enough to cross great distances, usually in a heightened emotional state. This already seems to remove the ability to lie as the truth will run in your mind even if not spoken out loud and the reader will be forced to confront some questions that will surface often throughout the trilogy.

While most certainly a fantasy novel, there are some elements of science-fiction that creep in, mostly through the second protagonist, Viola. Her story unfolds slowly and in later books we are able to witness events through her eyes as her path deviates from Todd’s. There is a third narrative element, from an indigenous life form encountered by Todd that brings the severity of the issues to light again by the time we reach the third and final book.

It took me some time to get used to the language throughout the first book. It runs in a first person narrative and there is a lot of slang and errors in spelling that are all deliberate (and as an English student and writer, they drove me insane) but they give you a strong sense of who Todd is and even though he has some very ugly sides to his personality that Ness seems to emphasise, we do bond with him quickly. He is full of potential and the overwhelming desire to support and nurture that potential is drawn out of the reader at every point we might be close to deciding we really don’t like the kid.

It didn’t take me long to find and read the following two books. They are just as gripping as the first, if not more so because of the multiple narratives. In The Knife of Never Letting Go we follow the story through the eyes of Todd only but Viola’s account of things begins in The Ask and the Answer while Monsters of Men brings the third and final narrative which completes the story. In many ways, this narrative could be ignored completely and we would still have a thrilling story full of twists and shocks and arguments but the one thing that a first person narrative could be lacking is the overall view of the situation. We are limited to the views, thoughts and understandings of the character(s) we can see through. The third element is Ness’ answer to that and gives an imminent sense of doom and destruction, of morality, justice and revenge. More than that, I won’t say so that it doesn’t spoil it for you!

Overall, these are great books. Originally aimed at a teenage audience, I think there is a lot older readers can take from this, even if it simply enjoying the narrative changes and the twist of having no secrets from anyone. There are frequent uses of strong language; nowhere near to the same extent or used in the same context as in Brent Weeks’ books, but worth keeping in mind. These are large books but don’t let that put you off, they are very gripping and you’ll never want to stop reading.

I have taken extra care to hide details of the plot, as it will spoil a lot of the shocks and surprises to come, so please forgive me if parts seem vague. Unlike Weeks’ books, the suspense is different here – more to do with the original mystery on your first reading than the tense, dark and gritty situations presented to us in The Night Angel Trilogy.

The Night Angel Trilogy, Brent Weeks

So, I’m 100 pages into the last book of Stephen King’s Dark Tower series and I have realised that not only are they brilliant books, but they have probably become my favourite series of books, over Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings and Sergei Lukyanenko’s The Night Watch quadrilogy. I haven’t read A Song of Fire and Ice yet but I’m expecting great things from it. Whether it can knock King from my top spot, I’m not. Anyhow, I thought it was time to review some of the more notable books/series that I’ve come across and I haven’t touched literature much in this blog yet.

First up, is Brent Weeks’ The Night Angel Trilogy.

When I first picked up the first book of the trilogy, The Way of Shadows, I honestly wasn’t expecting much. At the time, I was looking for a book that would tide me over until what I really wanted was released. It had been reviewed at the local bookstore and it intrigued me, so I bought a copy.

I was told then that it was a fast read, and that put me off somewhat. While I didn’t want an epic, I didn’t want to finish reading it in a couple of days. I was assured then and there that if I liked the fantasy genre, especially dark, gritty and brutal fantasy, that I wouldn’t be disappointed. I definitely wasn’t.

It’s not a short novel but it gripped me from the very first page. Weeks pulls the reader straight into his world and the graphic details immerse you in that world. The descriptions are so vivid and they’re things the reader can connect to, you could almost convince yourself you were there, watching everything unfold rather than simply reading it. That is a sign of a good writer.

A few days later, I returned to the store and bought the other two books. They are also short reads but thoroughly enjoyable. There was no disappointment other than the story ending. As with any good story, you can never be satisfied and always want more. It’s an open ending, allowing you to make your own mind up about what comes next, where the characters go.

The trilogy covers a lot of growth and emotion. There’s love, betrayal, sin, greed, immortality, magic, demons, morality and ethics. Some are obvious while others require more thought and deeper reading. In a more conventional story, our heroes would be the villains. There is a gradual shift in their attitudes as the world changes and our eyes are opened the wider plan and it is clear this story was not crafted on a whim. Some hard thought has been put into this, and the small threads that connect at various stages are planned. There are clues throughout as to what could or will happen, if you have the eye to see it. So gripped I was on my first reading of it, that I caught none of it.

There is a lot of strong language, so if you are offended easily, these may not be the books for you but it none of it feels out of place. The world we are shown is dark, violent, brutal and not always a pleasant place to be. This is a refreshing change from the more civilised worlds and fantasy stories that have been so popular in the past. Things don’t always work out, there aren’t always happy endings but life goes on. That’s an important aspect of this trilogy.

Everything operates in shades of grey throughout, there is very little presented to us in the white and black, good and bad. The reader has to decide for themselves how good a character really is and there is a lot to consider. Despite the depth and the bulk, nothing is wasted.

These are very enjoyable reads and Weeks has the gritty, dark fantasy story worked out. I can read these books over and over again with no hesitation and I’d advise anyone to give them a shot. It may not be your normal reading, but it will be an experience and an eye-opener. I look forward to reading his following books!

A few branches to follow on...

It’s been a busy couple of weeks at work since The Dark Knight Rises was released. It has kept me very busy and been an exhausting time but the film itself is very good, but not quite as good as The Dark Knight, I believe. There are reasons for this but I will go into that at a later time, in a separate post.

New writing project

Well, I’ve finally decided to try and start some writing again. It wasn’t a total success but it did get me a little closer. I still haven’t found a way to inspire myself on anything I’ve been working on recently but I did go through some of the pieces I did for university and found a few things that I began to merge and expand on that I think could turn into a really nice little project.

It’s already standing out to me as something different to my favoured genres and styles. One of the pieces that I’ve selected was specifically written for a much younger audience and while that age group might change again, it doesn’t feel like a story an adult would read. This could all change, as I don’t write to a certain age or with an intended audience in mind. I write to tell a story, and as the story evolves and is put to paper, it will inevitably find its own audience. There will always be editing to be done to touch up on issues or loose ends and this project will be no different. I am quite excited and feel closer than ever to start writing again.

Birthday surprise!

My birthday is surrounded by my father’s and older sister’s birthday. IT’s an expensive time of the year for the family, having all three within twelve days. F1 is something we all enjoy but being at Silverstone has shown me I also enjoy the other races going on. My father is also a fan of the Touring Cars and as they are at Silverstone the weekend of his birthday, the three of us will be going down. I’ve never had the time to really get into it, but the small parts I have seen I’ve enjoyed and now I have a reason to make sure I get it sorted before October.

I really enjoy going to Silverstone – it’s a fantastic circuit and there’s always a great atmosphere no matter what the weather. I’ll walk around the circuit again, as I have done both times I’ve been before and I may even see if I can get some good pictures and put them up here. I’m always experimenting with things online. Photo’s in my blog, from a writer? This should be interesting!

Stephen King

Over the last few years, I’ve slowly been getting through Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series. I’ve just finished book five and have started book six, The Song of Susannah. They’re fantastically intricate reads and it can be confusing as to what is happening and where but they have kept me interested far better than any other books have recently. When I finish the last two, I think I will do a post looking at the series in its entirety. It will be interesting for me, if nothing else!

Stephen King is a fantastic writer, although I have found some of his stories can be repetitive. I suppose when you rule a genre like he does, this can be an easy trap to fall into. Each story is very well written and I hope I can branch out to other genres and stories to avoid this pitfall.

There are some other gems I have recently added to my book collection again thanks to a book voucher from MMU for receiving the Programme Leader’s Award. I spent £94 and still have £6 left, with another £10 card to spend, so a few more books are coming my way. I finally bought The Hunger Games books and the first A Song of Fire and Ice (or more commonly known as The Game of Thrones books). I have a lot of reading ahead of me!