The Druid of Shannara by Terry Brooks

Why oh why do I do this to myself. Terry brooks recycles the cliches from his previous Shannara outing. I rarely abandon a book. I should have made an exception in this case.

The Ladies of Grace Adieu: And Other Stories by Susanna Clarke

The King's English by Kingsley Amis

The Mission Song by John Le Carre

The Court of the Air by Stephen Hunt

This novel has a little of everything, steampunk, voodoo, Aztec like cultures, cthulhu style gods, robots, bizarre species, Dickensian pastiche. It's long on world building and exposition but a little sort on character development or plot.

I enjoyed the first half but then felt the author had become too enamoured of his own creation and wished to show us every nook and cranny of his fertile imagination.

Tighter editing (a number of scenes are entirely unnecessary) and a more focused plot would have made for a more enjoyable read. The final part feel interminable. I hope his next novel The Kingdom Beyond the Waves addresses some of these issues. I'll certainly give it a read but won't be rushing out to buy it.

Matter by Iain M. Banks

Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R Tolkein

I watched the three LOTR films over the last few weeks and they prompted me to dig out my old copy (23 years old and more that a little the worse for wear) of the book. So far I have only reread the Fellowship of the Ring but I was reminded of how much I loved the novel when I first read it over a Christmas holiday.

I really enjoy the leisurely pace of the storytelling which is so distinct from the kinetic, overly dramatic nature of the motion picture.

The fellowship has always been my favourite part of the trilogy and it's still a joy to read.