More Books...

Hello everyone! Thank you so much to those coming back to read my blogs, I've had quite a lot of traffic lately all thanks to you guys :) and a huge shout out to Michael Porter for his amazing reviews. I would have replied to your comments directly however my iPad decided that I wasn't allowed to. Once again, thank you. It's great that you've been so successful and I wish you all the best for your exams.
Today I thought I'd delight you all by going through a couple more of my book recommendations. Now this is directed at a younger audience or those with Newley teenaged children. Recently I was asked to recommend a couple of books for a twelve year old boy. He was really into adventure novels however was reading books that were a bit too bloodthirsty for his age group. This is what I came up with:

Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke
This book is quite young and I haven't read it in years however it is still brilliant. This is the same woman who wrote the Inkheart series (which I'm currently re-reading). It follows the story of a dragon, a young boy and a brownie looking for a safe haven for dragons outside of the human world. All the while being followed by a man made dragon built to kill dragons for alchemy work. It explores the idea of our ever changing world and the position of myths and legends in our 'scientific' world. Another reason I loved this book is that it contains a lovely map in the centre. I've always loved books with maps in them. I suppose it because they make those other world that little bit more physical. Although this book is set on our earth the map is still magnificent.

The Dragonkeeper Series by Carole Wilkinson
This follows the adventures of a young slave girl, Ping, as she tries to free herself and her dragons from the empire. The series forms an amazing story of friendship, freedom and letting go.

The Inheritance Series by Christopher Paolini
Very well documented series so I will assume that I don't need to give a short description. However I will say to all The Lord of the Rings fans out there, read this series and you will find many similarities however I do think this is consistent with most of the fantasy fiction written after Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. Despite this the series is still absolutely brilliant and I was incredibly satisfied with the ending however I do think it may have been a bit short in comparison with the impact that it had to the future of the world Paolini created.

The Rangers Apprentice Series by John Flanagan
Set in medieval times this series documents the adventures of Will, a nameless, undersized boy in his early teens. Will dreamed of being a knight (what he believed his father was before he died) but after being told once again he was too small he became apprenticed to a mysterious ranger. Not exactly a fate he ever imagined. However he soon finds his own worth in the world. A series I'd highly recommend, especially to young teenage boys. It is quite long, taking place over 11 novels but is still very good and seldom repetitive. John Flanagan also is in the midst of writing another series named Brotherband. I have recently read the first book in the series and found it to be exceptionally good. The writing was slightly superior to that of The Rangers Apprentice and it was set after Will's story. However in reading the first book I did notice some issues in the continuity between stories. Some events were not placed correctly in the second series and some attitudes of the characters towards others did not match up. But still excellent.

They Came On Viking Ships by Jackie French
Jackie French is a very talented writer so it goes without saying that I recommend any of her books but this is one of my favourites. Hekja's town in Denmark is raided by Vikings who capture her for her exceptional running skills. She is forced to work on a farm as a slave and also eventually made a messenger for her captures. Her sheer will and determination capture the Vikings attention and eventual respect. A fantastic story of a girls journey from free woman, to slave, to free woman again.

And now I come to the end of my meager list, many books have been left out in order to stop this blog from becoming a novel in itself. Any one who has read these books please leave comments with your own opinions in order to provide a better picture for these novels than I have. Once again I do ask for feedback, what I'm doing well, what I need to improve. I do love feedback so please don't leave anything unsaid. Well that's my contribution for this week, hope you enjoyed it. Good readings :)