A Game of Thrones - George R R Martin

The first book in the "Song of Ice and Fire" epic and on a short list of my favourite fantasy books. George R R Martin is a genius. He is one of the few writers that has prompted me to seek out previous work and consistently delivers diverse, unpredictable and complex stories that seem to have an unlimited weight and substance behind them.

A Game of Thrones was overwhelming, the first time I read it. The massive host of characters that are introduced give the initial and misguided impression that, for there to be so many, each character must be pigeon holed, good, evil, inconsequential. This initial reaction slowly faded as the story unwound, as I realised that each character is not a placeholder for the storyline, but an active participant. This realization was reinforced when assumptions made about a character are shattered as their very human personalities lead to events that all my conditioning to "fantasy storylines" could never have predicted.

Fellow readers can identify with the range of emotional responses evoked by the narrative twists and turns in this masterpiece.

Re-reading this description of this book, I can imagine how it might sound a little fanatical to the uninitiated, but I think if my reaction to this book was anything other than that, it would be an understatement.

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Stalingrad - Antony Beevor

The siege of Stalingrad, the encirclement of Paulus's 6th army and their eventual surrender to Soviet forces. This book gives a detailed account of events and offers a unique insight into the military, historical and personal impact of this, the high water mark for the Wermarch in WW2.

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Berlin 1945 The downfall - Anthony Beevor

Excellent historical source covering the final collapse of German forces on the Eastern front in 1945. This is actually the sequel to the Stalingrad book, I should have read that one first, but this is a great book in it's own right.

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Fortress of Grey Ice - JV Jones

The sequel to Cavern of Black Ice. This series started well with interesting, gritty characters and a complex world, but I am not quiet sure where the author is taking these books, and will reserve judgement untill the last book in the triology comes out.

These books ocupy the same world as the authors' "Bakers Boy" trilogy, which were excellent books, with a consistant background and a unique and clever approach to magic. It is refreshing to come across a book provides a framework for magic use in a world occupied by non-magic users without making magic users inconsistant.

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