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09 Aug 2023 11:30:43
Hi Ed001, wonder if you could provide any insight, Do you know of any books around the inner working of major football clubs? ideally around the actual business management side of things?
It is something I am interested to learn a bit more about, particularly the senior executive roles and what they do day to day.
On another note, just started the book Snowing in Bali and would highly recommend as well as the book Hotel K. The first one is about the drug smuggling trade started by the surfing community.

{Ed001's Note - that is a really good point, I don't know of any. That is something that surely someone is missing an opportunity of writing about.}

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20 Jun 2023 11:13:42
Bit of an oldie, but just ordered the full set of the Witcher books. Really good reading so far.

{Ed001's Note - I heard they were good, I wish I had got them for myself now when I had the chance. It was only because they were ebooks and I don't really like ebooks that I didn't. I spend so much of my day reading on a screen for the sites, I much prefer to read a real physical book.}

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20 Jun 2023 13:56:58
I'm the same, I had a Kindle but didn't really enjoy it. Can't be holding a book, plus I like to pass books on as well. I received a copy of The Power of One from an old friend who had received it while travelling and basically this book had been passed along countless times. When I finished it, I did the same, was a pretty cool idea, though prob wouldn't happen post Covid now!

{Ed001's Note - I used to go to book fairs and stuff to buy second hand books. I am sure that still happens. Covid won't have affected it surely?}

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23 Jun 2023 15:01:31
Wouldn't have thought so, not in the UK, pretty much back to normal. I have to travel into London every now and then for work and didn't see a single person wearing a mask on the underground yesterday

{Ed001's Note - they still wear masks here in large numbers. No idea why as they were utterly useless anyway.

Real books are definitely better than ebooks, I mean just now I had a bug of some kind (think it was an earwig) crawling by me and I was able to just squish it. Couldn't do that with an ebook without trashing it!}

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11 Nov 2022 13:12:20
The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster

{Ed001's Note - ??}

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21 Jul 2022 09:01:23
Just picked up "Letters to a Christian Nation" by Sam Harris.
Like Harris, C.Hitchens,R.Dawkins I prefer science to fantasy, just wondering what others on this site believe?

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21 Jul 2022 14:52:49
That is just my little dig at religion being fantasy - by the way!
Not a dig at the excellent genre that is fantasy fiction .

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04 Dec 2020 20:11:10
Just finished The Traitor's Son Cycle, based on RH18's recommendation.
It's really interesting. It starts slow in The Red Knight, and there are so many characters. But Cameron is a really good writer.
The character development is really good and the political manoeuvring is realistic and logical.
It makes for a good read.

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31 Dec 2020 14:39:07
Real, glad you enjoyed it mate. Mark Lawrence is pretty good too, I've read his Broken Empire books, they are excellent. and I've read the first two of the Red Queens War, luckily the library were I am was open for a bit and I also got the third out! :)

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04 Nov 2020 21:14:59
For all those who like Sci-Fi books, Humble Bundle have a Sci-Fi ebooks bundle currently on offer. There are some well known authors in the bundle, such as Timothy Zahn, who wrote the first Grand Admiral Thrawn trilogy of Star Wars books. Also something for Trekkies as there are a bunch of books by William Shatner.

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23 Oct 2020 16:38:30
Hi Ed what was the name of Ralph Fiennes book that nearly got him killed.

{Ed001's Note - if I remember correctly it was called Where Soldiers Fear To Tread and was about the secret war in Oman that British forces were involved in. He did later write a book about it (The Feather Men) which very loosely inspired a Jason Statham/Clive Owen/Robert de Niro film (Killer Elite) which he now claims was a work of fiction. But initially it was released as factual and it was only under pressure that the book was changed to being classed as fiction, despite him having had all the people's families involved sign off on the books before publication.

I am sure he jazzed up the story a bit to make it more readable, but also that it was only changed to be classed as fiction because it revealed too much about people that don't want to be in the public eye.}

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24 Oct 2020 08:13:22
Thanks Ed.

{Ed001's Note - welcome mate.}

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24 Oct 2020 22:50:02
Ordered.

{Ed001's Note - I hope you enjoy it. I am a history buff so love those kind of thing.}

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20 Jun 2023 11:13:09
Hi Ed/AIFred, it was Ranulph Fiennes not Ralph that wrote the book. easily confused though, there are loads of them! It's a great read though

{Ed001's Note - I know that mate, but I figured out how he meant and there didn't seem much point correcting him as it could have simply been autocorrect.}

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15 Oct 2020 14:26:46
One of the greatest surprises I had in reading was picking up ready player one by Ernest Clyne on a whim in a budget bookstore. I don't even need to mention how truly terrible the movie is, apart from knowing it was a book that could never make the leap from paper to film. Ready player two is available for beta readers and I'm mad at myself for not taking the time to join his readership. I think it's out in a few weeks regardless but still, I've waited long enough dammit.

{Ed001's Note - what is it about? As you know I haven't seen the film or read the book, but the name doesn't exactly excite.

The biggest surprise I had was as a kid. Me ma was in one of those mail order book club thingys and every Xmas and birthday most of my prezzies would be books. Totally random things, as she would not have a clue what was what and just bought what was recommended. So I think, for me, my biggest surprise was always when one of them turned out to be really good. Such as Legend by David Gemmell, though I know you don't like him aoe.... ;-)

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16 Oct 2020 12:34:38
Ah that’s amazing. My dad had me reading Stephen king from 11 years old. Any books he got from the library I’d steal and run up a bill on. Always Stephen king books. They needed to be big big books. I wasn’t actually a fantasy fan at all but more a writer fan. Legend? Hmmm, must check that one out. As for ready player one. It’s built for us old fogies Ed. It’s essentially a book about a virtual reality universe that has become an escape for the entire population from a crappy earth where a poor kid is trying to follow clues to find a huge treasure within. The universe is essentially a love letter to the 80’s and every nerd reference imaginable. I’ve done the worst job of describing this thing. It’s sci fi, it’s fun, it’s an awesome read. It’s a terrible terrible movie.

{Ed001's Note - you make it sounds like a Stranger Things type book but without the monsters.

I have to be honest, I think Stephen King is awful. Me ma loves his stuff and so there were always books of his to read but I read a few and found them boring. Horror is just not my thing at all. I don't enjoy horror movies either.

She tended to get me a lot of fantasy books, as she knew I liked that and sci-fi. The annoying thing was most of them were tasters that they recommended and she would buy. Like some books by the Eddings (is it David and Leigh?) that just opened up a world and then left you wondering what had happened. They would have offers on book 1 and 2 of a trilogy, so that is what I would get. I never got to finish a series of books off very often. Only ones I did get to finish off were the ones she read too, such as the Thomas Covenant trilogy. Though I believe the author wrote more afterwards, which I have never read.}

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16 Oct 2020 23:42:00
The thing about Stephen king is he writes different to everyone else out there. He becomes the protagonist to an insane degree imo, and therefore, the reader becomes the protagonist. That said, he rambles a lot which some people can’t take but sometimes the direction he goes is unbelievably interesting. I’ll be honest, I haven’t loved some of his stuff. It’s what books you read. The stand, it, Salem’s lot and needful things are must reads. Hearts in Atlantis is not a horror, it’s a strange piece of beautiful art. I’d recommend anyone read that to get a gauge of the skill he’s capable of. The dark tower is dreadful though.

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10 Nov 2020 23:04:05
Been enjoying your posts gents. Stephen king was always my brother's favourite author alongside James Herbert, and when I told him that I'd read 22-11-63, (and enjoyed it) but that the book seemed to finish quickly, he reckoned a lot of his books tend to do so. He must have made a fortune though out of turning his books into films or series's.

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08 Oct 2020 00:19:46
Trying to get more involved in this site as opposed to just the Liverpool Rumours page! Reading a couple at the minute, first is Empire of the Summer Moon, highly recommend and the second is one I have been meaning to read for years, The Art of War. Not really a page turner, but definitely has some values that can be carried into everyday life and work.
Keen for some recommendations, not really a fiction fan.

{Ed001's Note - The Art of War I have read numerous times, really worthy of study. What types of non-fiction do you like? Biographies? History?}

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09 Oct 2020 00:22:21
I like history as well as the sort of biographical adventure books, I read Ranulph Fiennes "Scott" recently, that was a good read.

{Ed001's Note - have you read any other of Fiennes' books? One of his first books made him the target of an assassination attempt as it revealed too much about what Britain had done in the Gulf. Has to be worth a read if it is worth trying to kill someone over!}

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09 Oct 2020 08:16:28
Will give it a go, I've read another of his, "Cold", was really good. I actually met him when I was back in the UK, he was doing a talk in a local town. Great speaker and really nice guy, signed the book as well!

{Ed001's Note - he is great, mad as a March hare though, but utterly brilliant.}

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28 Sep 2020 23:22:53
For those that love fantasy/ horror (mild horror really), Brian Lumley's Necroscope series is really good.
I was going to say "absolutely fantastic", but that may be overselling it (or not) .

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18 Oct 2020 18:40:07
Sorry mate. should replied. Never read his stuff but the blurb to book one looks pretty interesting. I’m always wary of horror (apart from Stephen king) because some fav our too much gore over storytelling but always interested in good reads.

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10 Sep 2020 19:04:26
Hi all, had a ambivalent reading experience last night? Spent the evening reading a very short novel (more a novella really 165 pages)
It was science fiction and I expected a lot from it. The reason being, it was written by George Rr Martin. It was okay. It promised at big secrets and revelations. The revelation did not impress me at all.

And the shame is it was one of two books I got our from the library.

The second, although I only read two chapters erm 3:20am to 5:50am, was brilliant.

It is Forge of Darkness.

It is book one of a Steven Erikson (author of the fabulous Malazan books) trilogy. I understand book two is done but Erikson has started another trilogy before completing this one.

I will tell more as I read and I have to go right now.

Oh great place guy.

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11 Sep 2020 09:34:47
For my sins, I haven’t read anything by erikson. I know he’s a genius- I’ve read the first few pages and knew it was something special. The Mazlan series is top of my pile where it mocks me from its front row seat on the kindle. I’ve put down far too many books unfairly the last two years because I’m only able to read between projects so it’s agony. I feel like a footballer not being allowed to do social media 😂 Poor old grrm. I used to be mad at him for his pace but I can only imagine the pressure of needing to write such a series. So many authors have buckled under expectation and when they do write it’s probably inferior to their better known works imo. That said, a feast for crows was one of the great disappointments in my life.

{Ed001's Note - I have never read any of his books either. I have to admit never even heard of him. As for George RR Martin, I must be the only person in the world that thought GoT was utter dross and just mindless drivel with sex scenes thrown in regularly to keep people watching. What I read of the books, the TV show was better. But me dad loves it all (which pretty much proves my point as he wouldn't have married me ma if he had a mind!!), and has all the books. Now if you don't hear from me again, then you know one of my parents has read this....}

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15 Sep 2020 20:50:34
I have Erikson's Malazan Book of The Fallen, and Malazan Empire series, but for whatever reason, I haven't been able to start.
Joe Abercrombie's The Trouble With Peace is out today though, and Brandon Sanderson's Rythm of War is out in November. Those are the ones I have been looking forward to all year.

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24 Sep 2020 14:52:09
Real, Joe Abercromie is really good! I've nearly finished his first series, the name forgets me now, the First Law Trilogy I think? absolutely brilliant, and I can't wait for Rhythm of War. Have you by any chance read The Red Knight by Miles Cameron? He's a very good author and his stuff is in a similar style to Joe Abercrombie, very dark, deep characters etc.

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28 Sep 2020 05:01:35
RH18, yeah Joe Abercrombie is really good. And the First Law trilogy was just superb. It is better than the Shattered Sea trilogy, which is why I think he went back to The First Law World in The Age of Madness trilogy.
I have not read any of Miles Cameron, but based on your recommendation, he is next on my list once I am done with Riyria Chronicles/ Revelations.

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28 Sep 2020 17:12:28
I cannot stress how much I would love to grab a beer with Joe Abercrombie. It’s a total goal in life. The guy seems like the coolest guy in fantasy ever. Between him and rothfuss, not sure there’s a better fantasy author out there either.

{Ed001's Note - I have heard there is a fella called Rob Power who is cool, but I think it is one of those dodgy internet rumours. Probably just clickbait I reckon ;-)

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29 Sep 2020 10:10:42
Haha don’t believe the hype Ed. I hear that rob lad is a right muppet altogether. Overhyped writer too.

{Ed001's Note - I can believe that. I hear he can't even get his own name right when typing posts online....}

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10 Sep 2020 09:21:57
Greetings! I stumbled across this forum upon my nomadic strolls in the internet. I plan on reviewing books I have read here, partly to organise my thoughts on particular subjects in a coherent manner, and in part to motivate my procrastinating self to finish the numerous books that I have started only to cease half way. Thank you for spending your time reading this! Have a good day.

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10 Sep 2020 14:33:43
Fantastic mate, great to meet you.

{Ed001's Note - always good to have some more input and be interesting to see what t/s/he/y read.}

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21 Jul 2020 10:37:17
I'm one of those annoying people who reread books all the time. Just starting David gemmel's legend for the fifth time at least. Usually do when I'm in the mood for good fantasy. I dedicate this post to ed1. A clear Gemmell fan! As this is a review site. I'll give legend 5 stars.

{Ed001's Note - hahaha it is by far and away his best book, but you really should find something new to read mate! There are far too many good books around to just read the same one a hundred times.

Hopefully I will have something new for you to read soon mate, got something in the pipeline that will probably feel like fantasy, despite it being a true story.}

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21 Jul 2020 11:19:04
Ah fantastic, I’d be honoured to read anything mate. Whatever you are working on, that’s freaking awesome. Sure play your cards right and I’ll pass on a little something once it’s back from the editors. As for your piece, any details you can share?

{Ed001's Note - it is just family stories, but they are a little different from the normal. People have been telling us for years they should be written down, any time you tell anyone them they say it. Finally we have decided to do so properly and make it a proper book.}

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21 Jul 2020 11:49:09
That sounds amazing. You never know where it’ll bring you down the road mate.

{Ed001's Note - there are so many stories, it is just trying to fit them altogether as a story that is difficult.}

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21 Jul 2020 17:27:30
Sure that’s the agony of being a writer. I will be demanding constant updates. Naw I’m kidding. Nothing worse than announcing something and people asking about it. When you are ready, I can’t wait to take a read mate.

{Ed001's Note - there are worse things mate, it is when no one gives a toss about your new book you need to worry!}

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22 Jul 2020 09:43:35
One of my old mates shouted to the world about a book he was starting to write. Really nice guy and everyone wanted him to do well. His mates kept asking about it and he began to buckle. Couldn’t go to the pub without people questioning him. Weeks turned to months and eventually he came out and said he couldn’t do it. When I started writing, only the better half was aware of what I was doing. Ah sure good thing you aren’t a nice guy Ed 😂 you’ve nothing to worry about.

{Ed001's Note - that's true, I have no friends to badger me so no worries at all!}

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07 May 2020 18:49:35
All I have ever read in my life which is a shame as I absolutely loved all of them are
In the name of the rose - Umberto eco

The trial - Franz kafka

Of human bondage - W. Somerset Maugham

Fear and loathing in las vegas - Hunter S Thompson

1984 - George Orwell

Will rate them in the same order as well. Also halfway through Don Quixote by M . Cervantes and Foucault’s pendulum by Umberto Eco should be next.

{Ed001's Note - only one of them I have read is 1984. Very good book. Animal Farm by Orwell is a good read too.}

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08 May 2020 08:58:05
Loved fear and loathing the movie admittedly. As for 1984, cracking book. Animal farm is outstanding too though I feel 1984 is his best. My wife only read it a few months ago and she was amazed how apt and foreshadowing and absolutely relevant it has become in this day and age. For lack of a better term, the importance of fake news propaganda.

{Ed001's Note - 1984 is defo his best, but Animal Farm often gets overlooked as a kid's film. Most people seem to miss the message.}

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08 May 2020 09:20:11
Spot in Ed, I was one of those kids. I was shown the cartoon when I was far too young and it upset me so much. Only when I read the book years later did I see the symbolism.

{Ed001's Note - I have never seen the cartoon but I didn't read the book until I was about 11 or 12, so old enough to get it and find it really disturbing. It also put me off eating pork for a week until me ma cooked bacon and that cured me.}

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08 May 2020 19:35:57
Agree ed and aoe, 1984 is such a good read. Luckily my friend suggested a good list of classics which I should read and Animal farm is also on it.

Definitely would suggest kafka’s - The trial to both of you. Funny thing is kafka saw himself as a failure because of his father and after two of his books failed to do well he never released any of his other material. Only after his death a friend of his released the other books.

{Ed001's Note - a good classic to read is Fahrenheit 451 as well.}

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12 May 2020 05:12:07
Will add it on my list ed. Already have an idea what its about. Might make connections just like orwell, 1984 and india.

{Ed001's Note - I hope you enjoy it mate.}

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06 May 2020 08:48:34
Anybody reading anything awesome at the moment? Little spark city perhaps? My review for such an overrated title, "meh, worse ways to spend a pandemic I suppose. " Still waiting for ed1's glowing book of the year review as well 😉. I've certainly paid him enough. I'm currently reading Leigh bardugo's Shadow and bones. Think oceans 11 in a fantasy world. Fun book and going to make a fantastic Netflix show I hope. There you go, two terrible reviews. Hope this pandemic has given opportunity to budding authors to get grinding into their masterpiece. Sometimes necessity is the perfect muse. Stay safe.

{Ed001's Note - maybe we should come up with a list of worse ways to spend a pandemic? Only I think the posters are going to need proof that there are really are worse ways!

All joking aside, I have read Spark City twice now, once on ebook and then again as I got a physical copy and I much prefer reading a real book over an ebook. I have been trying to think how to describe it without giving anything away and I think the best thing to say is that it is not a typical fantasy novel. Women are actually more than just there for ornamentation and to give men a reason to fight, unlike many other fantasy novels. The problem with it is that it ends with so much left to say. Though they say the secret is to leave you wanting more.

Now I am just waiting on the sequel (the author is a lazy get though so it will probably be a long wait) to find out what happens to the characters in the end. If only the wait wasn't quite so long!

As for writing a book, if it takes as long for anyone on here to write one as it has for you to write a sequel, they will need a pandemic that lasts about 40 years!

By the way, did I mention I am waiting on a sequel? I know you love being asked about one.....}

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06 May 2020 09:19:25
18 chapters to go ed. You will get to know far more about the world. (It’s twice as long) . Some people will like that, some will crucify me for it. I didn’t start writing until I was 30+ so it’s never too late to just dig in. Start with a paragraph and then a page. Most people can’t even get beyond the desire to write but once you do, you might never stop. Are you reading anything else at the moment?

{Ed001's Note - yes mate, I tend to buy ebook bundles when they come up on Humble Bundle as part of the money goes to charity. They had a Warhammer starter bundle on there recently, so I am reading through that at the moment. Ahriman: Exile by John French is the current one. Ahriman is a long-running character from their books so it is like putting on a comfy pair of slippers and relaxing to catch up on him, so to speak. It is strange, I don't play the Warhammer tabletop games, though I do love the Total War videogames, but I love the books. It is the world (or should that be universe for the sci-fi ones?) surrounding the games that makes them interesting to me, rather than the games or models themselves.

As for writing, I remember one of the things I was told to help get into writing is to set an alarm to go off at the time you should start. Start writing and then have another alarm after a set time and that is time to stop, no matter how into the writing you are at the time. Initially start with 10 minutes and then gradually increase the time. The idea is to ensure you never suffer writer's block as your mind slips into a routine of writing, rather than mystifying it, as often writers can do. Have you tried that mate? If so does it work for you? I sort of do to a degree with writing articles. I set times and I will write in those times only and other times purely for research. But I do it to ensure I take a break as I was finding if I was reading something interesting or got lost in writing a particular article it could be 3 or 4 am and I would realise I hadn't eaten since breakfast.}

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06 May 2020 09:50:27
You mentioned the war hammer books before and they are absolutely on my list because of it. I think people wanting to write but finding themselves unable to write should try many things to get the formula down. That alarm thing is good for those with limited time in their day to train themselves. I have a comprehensive list of formulas for every stage of writing from conception to last rewrite. For ideas, I just walk miles and miles, figuring out my story and characters etc. Then I write the chapters out free hand while watching a tv show or movie that I can half concentrate too. Then comes the first draft which is the easiest for me. Sit in a comfy chair in the dark with lord of the rings on repeat and just go. I never stop, I never rewrite anything until I’m done. I let the second draft pick up the slack. That’s how I write my first book and it’s pretty much still my routine.

{Ed001's Note - that one point you made I think is the most important one, imo. Never rewrite anything until you are done. When I first started writing articles I would find it really difficult to ever actually finish anything because I would be stuck on rewriting every paragraph over and over.

Dan Abnett is the one to look for in the Warhammer novels. I love military history, it is a family passion, my uncle has written books on the subject and gives talks and tours on a couple of subjects. We would go book hunting together at book fairs etc. Abnett's books seem to bring the battles to life, it feels like he has also read a lot of military history and bases his books on it. Double Eagle, for example, has the feel of the early days of World War II and the Battle of Britain.

It is different from what you write, which is very much character-focused and about them, to being about a time period and then having characters in that period. If that makes sense? Neither is right or wrong, just a different focus and it makes a nice change to go from one to the other.

What I like about both is that the characters feel like real people, that you can care about, unlike so many other writers who write caricatures rather than characters. I know David Gemmell is a huge name in fantasy, but I find his characters weak and his books are formulaic repeats of the same story over and over again. Enjoyable enough reading, but they are like those old pulp novels that used to be churned out in the 50s (I think). They are like a soap opera rather than a quality TV show such as Peaky Blinders imo.}

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06 May 2020 10:19:58
Ha, you know I love Gemmell but I agree that there is only so much of him. He was a master of fight scenes but the characters never change too much throughout the stories. Despite that, every fantasy reader should read “legend” at least once in their lifetime. I’ve never read a book like it. It’s about a battle. Just one big battle. Pretty much the entire book is just this said battle and it’s amazing. Easy not to pay attention to character development when it takes place over such a short period of time. George rr Martin is the opposite, it’s nothing but characters. No battles whatsoever. Apart from a few painfully short chapters throughout the entire series. The tv show took quite a few liberties with the amount of fight scenes.

{Ed001's Note - see I am not convinced Gemmell is the master of fight scenes, Legend is excellent, but I think Abnett is much better at writing battles. They feel real, which is a hell of a talent in fantasy and sci-fi. I have never read George Martin's books, the only interest I have in him is that he has the same name as my grandad, but I found GoT lost me constantly. Too many characters and I couldn't keep track of it, I can't imagine the book would be any better. The fact me dad loves it is enough to know it would bore me to tears. Though it has at least stopped me dad looking down his nose at fantasy stuff, so that is something I will be grateful to him for.

I had a bunch of Gemmell books on file for years, before ereaders existed, someone must have typed them up for me on text files from the books. I made the mistake of reading them one after another. That is something I advise strongly against doing. Some writers you can just read though their books and get into them, but Gemmell just ends up feeling repetitive like that. It is not like Tolkien where you can reread them over and over either. Like I said they are a bit soap opera-ish and lack depth to give a good reread value. They are a very good intro into fantasy though.}

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06 May 2020 10:49:47
Yeah, I did the same. Read them in succession and suddenly I just had to stop. I think the mark of any good book is the desire to read it a second time. My favorite books I will read every few years. It’s almost time for ready player one again. Cracking book, terrible terrible movie. Actually, I picked up Enders game a few months back on a deal on amazon and read it through. Unbelievably good. Some of the language is a little risky these days but I loved it. I ended up buying everything in the series straight after. Another sign of a good book.

{Ed001's Note - have you read any of the Witcher books? Every tells me they are brilliant and they are one of the few where the games and TV show have stayed faithful to the books. If that is true, the books must be great as the TV show was excellent and the games have great stories.}

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06 May 2020 11:58:44
I read the sample and bought the first straight off. It now sits on my ever expanding to be read pile. Cracking Netflix show, never seen such a part so perfectly cast. I played the games a little but feared what it would do to my career if I got sucked too deeply in. I’d still be on the first chapter I would imagine. I’ve sacrificed so many games just too keep my creative juices going. That’s the only real downside to writing. I miss my marathon gaming sessions.

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17 Jun 2020 21:31:30
I have read many fantasy series recently, and by reading the above posts, I'm sure you would all enjoy! The Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson is fantastic, he's an insane writer, all his stuff is pretty good though! Patrick Rothfuss is a really good author, although hasn't released anything for awhile. James Islington is another really cracking new author. He has quite an interesting writing style. Finally two darker authors are Sam Sykes and Mark Lawrence, they write in a more visceral style.

I also second the opinions on the warhammer series! I've read loads of WH stuff over the years despite never playing the tabletop game. I really enjoyed reading the Wordbearers collection.

I have never read David Gremmel Eds! I will go to my library when it opens and look for his name.

{Ed001's Note - have you read any of the new Warhammer stuff? They have branched out into new eras and so it has some interesting concepts involved. Josh Reynolds has written some good stuff.

As for those you have suggested, I will look out for them.

As for Gemmell, start with Legend, it made his name and is probably the best of his work.}

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18 Jun 2020 11:01:10
I have not read any of the latest Warhammer stuff, I think the last WH stuff I have read is Gotrex and Felix, which was very enjoyable. I did update my book list last night with some of the newer books. I'm glad GW started moving the story forward, it had pretty much been in the same state since I started following WH about 17 years ago.

I'll look for Josh Reynolds and add them to my list!

Thanks Eds, I'll definitely go look in my library once it has opened, and scour the charity shops near me to see if they have it.

{Ed001's Note - anything Dan Abnett has written is always worth a read, he is the standout for me.

I do miss scouring charity shops for books!}

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18 Jun 2020 19:04:29
Dan Abnett is a boss, I really like his stuff, I had some audio books by him years ago and they were fantastic.

It is probably one of my most enjoyable activities!

There is a guy on Cardiff indoor market who has a huge selection, and Sedbergh has several secondhand book shops, one in particular was very good, I forget the name but if you google Sedbergh book shops it's normally the first one that comes up. Many market towns have a stall, I know my Ex-local Market, Chorley has a decent book stall. Probably the best hidden gem I ever found was inside the Weymyss Bay Ferry and Bus Terminal. If you walk in the main entrance they have a little book shop immediately to your right. Also very close is a place called Largs with a cafe called Nadini's which does amazing breakfasts, and very good ice cream as a bonus visit ;) .

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22 Mar 2020 18:08:31
Not much going on here.

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22 Mar 2020 19:35:06
early doors though.

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22 Mar 2020 23:26:22
Are you guys open?

{Ed002's Note - Absolutely - please share your story here.}

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22 Mar 2020 23:40:18
I have plenty of stories ed, looking forward to hearing everyone else’s though. I’m delighted they’ve opened this page again. I’d like to think I’ve acquired some knowledge about the publishing industry and only too happy to give what advice I can. Essentially I’ve made every mistake any budding new author has ever made. One might say spectacularly. But I’ve managed to somehow make a living out of it.

{Ed002's Note - Post what you did on the Liverpool page are - if the deal is still running - it is a great starter. I don’t read fiction myself, but I am sure many will be keen to pick up on it.}

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23 Mar 2020 00:30:53
Unfortunately, the deal ended. Some of my books are contracted to kindle unlimited (Netflix for readers- two months free if you sign up at this current time) so they’re strict on allowing free books for longer than a few days between contracts. I’m going to try get another free book up at some point because, yeah, it’s a lock down and reading is a wonderful release. For the record, and anyone wondering, my name is Robert j power, some people know me for the fantasy series “spark city” series. If anyone asks about when the sequel is out, I’ll kill them. As soon as I’ve got some free goodies, I’ll post up the link here. As I have said before, I’m delighted to give advice on the industry, from writing the first few lines, to submitting (don’t) to everything after book is written. We’re all about to be locked down for the next few months, might be the right time to have a crack at writing.

{Ed001's Note - when did you say the sequel is out?}

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25 Mar 2020 10:50:23
Cutting a fine line there ed- sounding like one of my sycophants. 100,000 words and counting. As scary as things are, I’m just doing my best to push on, like everyone really. I put up a short story on my site if anyone’s interested. I don’t have a link, I have an internet wizard guy who does all of that for me. Just google Robert j power. In a few days I’ll put up a proper post on what help I can give for aspiring authors to make a living. I don’t expect much traffic on here at the moment but hopefully between all the sites, there’ll be enough readers and authors to kick this off.

{Ed001's Note - a sycophant? That is the nicest thing anyone has ever called me.}

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30 Mar 2020 12:11:04
Anyone read the book, the damage done, by Warren Fellows? It portrays his time in the notorious Bangkwang prison, nicknamed "Big Tiger". Fellows was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1978, convicted of heroin trafficking between Bangkok,  Thailand and Australia.
I read this book years ago and was the first time I really enjoyed a book. Turned off the tv to continue reading it, read afew good books since then but this definitely my favourite.

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03 Apr 2020 15:14:00
Fitting with how we are all locked in at the moment. Closest I read was “mr nice” about an infamous English drug dealer who had quite an interesting story to tell. Would recommend. A great book beats any tv for me. Just pure escapism.

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07 Apr 2020 13:49:24
Howard marks. I was given the book years ago by my brother-in-law but I never read it tbh. I mostly read sports autobiographies now. Reading Tyson Furys atm.

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