George RR Martin’s fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire is loved by readers, critics and fellow authors alike. I struggled to get into the first two books: A Game of Thrones and Clash of the Kings but reasoned that the fault may lay with me rather than the books. I gave A Storm of Swords: Steel and Snow my complete and undivided attention and was richly rewarded with one of the finest fantasy reads that I had experienced in a long time. Read the full review by clicking on the following ... read more
Posted: July 23rd, 2008 by Lee | 1 Comment Filed under George RR Martin
Three signed first edition copies of books by CS Lewis have sold for a total of £30,000 at an auction in Sotheby’s. This was more than three times the price they expected to fetch. The sale in London had experts were predicting that the books would fetch around £3,000 each but bidding on the books was so enthusiastic that The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader sold for £10,625, The Horse And His Boy £10,000 and The Last Battle £9,375. The books were sold by Lewis’s former private ... read more
Posted: July 22nd, 2008 by Lee | No Comments Filed under CS Lewis
When The Golden Compass was adapted into a movie last year, English fantasy author Philip Pullman had high hopes that the other two novels in his trilogy, His Dark Materials, would follow suit. However, Philip Pullman has suggested that accusations from religious groups that The Golden Compass was anti-Catholic may have dented the film’s box office. Warner Brothers had been banking on The Golden Compass emulating the success of the Narnia Chronicles and The Lord of the Rings, but while ... read more
Posted: July 22nd, 2008 by Lee | No Comments Filed under Philip Pullman
Oxford is set to honour CS Lewis with a blue plaque at his former Oxford home where he wrote his ever popular fantasy series, The Chronicles of Narnia. Lewis lived at The Kilns in Risinghurst, also known as ‘The Gateway to Narnia’, for 33 years and it was here that the fantasy author wrote his successful children’s stories. The Narnia books have sold more than 60 million copies worldwide. The commemorative plaque will be unveiled this Saturday (26th of July 2008) and will ... read more
Posted: July 22nd, 2008 by Lee | No Comments Filed under CS Lewis, JRR Tolkien
JK Rowling has been an important figure in helping the British film industry enjoy its best year, earning a record £1.65 billion around the world. The population of the UK flocked back to the cinemas is 2007; July was the best month of cinema-going in forty years! Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix pulled in an incredible £1.65 billion worldwide showing that the fantasy genre is extremely strong. According to the statistical review, 60% of people in the UK went to the cinema at least ... read more
Posted: July 22nd, 2008 by Lee | No Comments Filed under JK Rowling
Harry Harrison, creator of The Stainless Steel Rat and author of the novel that inspired the movie Soylent Green, will be honoured as the next Damon Knight Grand Master by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America during the 2009 Nebula Awards Weekend in Los Angeles, California. The selection of Harrison was announced by SFWA President Russell Davis after consulting with the Board of Directors and former presidents. The Nebula Awards Weekend will be held between April the 24th and ... read more
Posted: July 21st, 2008 by Lee | No Comments Filed under Ursula Le Guin
The Disney-ABC adaptation of Terry Goodkind’s Wizard’s First Rule will premiere the weekend of November the 1st 2008. The series was shot in New Zealand and stars Craig Horner as woodsman Richard Cypher, who discovers that he has magical powers. Cypher is helped by mystery woman Kahlan (Bridget Regan) and a wise old wizard named Zedd as he works to stop a tyrant from unleashing an ancient evil and enslaving the world. Wizard’s First Rule is expected to be shown on weekend ... read more
Posted: July 21st, 2008 by Lee | No Comments Filed under Terry Goodkind
JK Rowling, the author of the hugely successful Harry Potter series has added her name to fellow fantasy author Philip Pullman’s campaign to check publishers’ plans to establish age guidance limits on books. Pullman, author of the His Dark Materials trilogy is at the vanguard of a group of authors and illustrators who are all angry about the guidelines. The new scheme would see children’s books stamped with age limits, in a similar way guidance ratings are given to movies. ... read more
Posted: July 21st, 2008 by Lee | No Comments Filed under JK Rowling, Philip Pullman
Children’s favourites Harry Potter and Tracey Beaker will be at the top of MPs’ reading lists this summer after suggestions put forward by youngsters. Pupils aged between nine and fifteen were asked what books they felt should be read by politicians to afford them with an insight into the central issues and concerns of children and teenagers. JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series topped the list with many young people saying they were books adults and children could enjoy ... read more
Posted: July 21st, 2008 by Lee | No Comments Filed under JK Rowling
Sir Ian McKellen, the actor who played Gandalf in Peter Jackson’s adaptations of The Lord of the Rings, said on Sunday he has received death threats due to his homosexuality and while these had fallen off in recent years, others were still being subjected to homophobia. “My own death threats have declined considerably. I think I’ve become rather boring now to the public at large on this particular issue so I’m thought to be unremarkable.” Sir Ian McKellen is a ... read more
Posted: July 14th, 2008 by Lee | No Comments Filed under JRR Tolkien
