Quercus

This is the third book in the triolgy about Conwater, the magic thief and his fiesty old friend the wizard Nevery Flinglass. and Sarah Princeas has written another exciting story, full of suspense and suprises. I especially
enjoyed the part about the fire dragon and Conwater looking for his locus magicalous on Dragon
Mountain.

This is the first Kit Salter adventure of what I hope will be many. What a wonderful way to show us a very colourful slice of Victorian life with all its cultural and social history.

I really enjoyed seeing how Kit got her gang together in trying to solve how, why and who stole the Mummy. This really is a great rollicking adventure full of mayhem, do and dare as well as plenty of laughs. Natasha Narayan has certainly done her historical research well which has made for a well rounded story that even adults will enjoy reading.

Highly recommended.

This is the first book in the trilogy called "The Perfect Fire". The Blue Flame is a symbol of the soul of the Occitinan people, but in the wrong hands the results could be disastrous.

The story is set in the town of Amouroil and is in the district of Ocitania in the French Pyrenees. K.M. Grant has written an absorbing tale about two young people living in the medieval times. A time of war and religious persecution especially the Cathars who were persecuted relentlessly by the Catholic inquisitors.

This is the second book in the trilogy "Perfect Fire" and another gripping tale of sieges, religious bigotry, love and betrayal. In this story it is the character of Laila who stands out - a street beggar who can sew like a seamstress, perform tricks like a conjurer, and is very good at healing. A fisher girl who steals from everybody will do practically anything for money. I think the author must be extremely fond of dogs, we have so many of them in the book. Ugly is the name of Laila's dog. An enjoyable story, easy to read and an exciting plot. Highly recommended.

This is the third book in the trilogy "Perfect Fire". Another nail biting story which brings together all the loose ends. I found this one the most exciting. The author packs so much into her books. Vivid descriptions of the siege of Montsegur the Cathar stronghold, and the burning of two hundred men, women and children. Very harrowing to read.

All through the book we have the love story of Raimon and Yolanok the daughter of a count and Raimon the weaver's son. A well told story, beautifully written and presented. Highly recommended.

Sarah Prineas has created a wonderful fantasy world of her own in the delightful story about a pickpocket - thief called Conwater and a crochety old wizard with the name of Nevery Flinglas.

I like the way the book is presented especially at the very end of the book where there is a detailed map showing where all the main characters live. The runic alphabet - a special way of writing, and pictures of the main characters with a few lines about each one.

This is the second book about Conwater the pickpocket thief, and the old wizard Nevery Flinglas.

At the beginning of each chapter there is a picture of the central character in the chapter - a lovely idea. Another page turning story in which Conwater is on a mission to find out why Willmet, their town is losing magic.

Plenty of ghostly happenings, magic and fighting. A good plot but the end really surprised me, but the story races along and in fact I read the whole book in nearly one go.

Peter the Penguin Pioneer by Daren King is a gloriously funny book about three penguins - Peter - the explorer, Punky - his assistant and Harold who doesn't believe in anything that Peter does. Here on in the fun starts, but also into the equation are the imposters - everything from squiggles to snowmen and all inbetween. It's just wonderful stuff and it did make me laugh quite a bit because of the very clever writing! And would I like to be a penguin and be on an adventure with Peter and friends - of course I would!

I very much recommend this book.

It's a curious aspect of life in the western world that while people's circumstances have, until recently at any rate, become more and more comfortable, readers also seem to have found themselves more and more in need of escape. The most obvious example of this - the ever rising popularity of fantasy fiction - has been well documented. But detective fiction, however gritty its details, still imposes a pattern and resolution on experience that it never really possesses. ..read more

A splendid tale - straightforward, a journey for the young heroine with eccentric, loyal companions, a magic land with an enchanted forest, plenty of ghastly ghouls, a really horrible villain and a happy ending! What more could you want in a story !

Only one criticism is that after the nail biting final rescue, the villain remains, albeit entombed, we don't know what will happen to the good baddies, and our troop are left stranded - could there be a sequel coming up ?

Addictive reading for both young and older.