Tag Archives: action

My Favourite Thursday Next Novel: The Well of Lost Plots by Jasper Fforde

Posted on May 1, 2022 by jenny

The Well of Lost Plots in the third installment of the speculative, absurdist Thursday Next Series by Jasper Fforde… Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure, British, Contemporary, Fantasy, Fiction, General adult audience, Novel, Speculative Fiction | Tagged absurdist, action, adventure, British, bureaucracy, classics, convoluted plot, fantasy, fiction, greed, humour, Jasper Fforde, literature, memory troubles, novel writing, publishing, quirky, rich setting, satire, shady business practices, society, Thursday Next, well written, Wordplay | Leave a comment

Would you like world-ending pink topping with that? Lost is a Good Book is a generous second helping of Thursday Next from Jasper Fforde

Posted on March 24, 2021 by jenny

Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde is the second book in the Thursday Next series. Despite a sudden celebrity for saving Jane Eyre and improving the ending, not every one is happy with what Thursday has done. A … Continue reading →

Posted in British, Contemporary, Fantasy, Fiction, General adult audience, Novel, Speculative Fiction | Tagged absurdist, action, adventure, apocalypse, British, bureaucracy, convoluted plot, fantasy, fiction, greed, humour, Jasper Fforde, legal trouble, literature, novel writing, probability, quirky, rich setting, satire, shady business practices, society, supernatural, Thursday Next, vampires, well written, Wordplay | Leave a comment

Take themes of bureaucracy and greed, add non-stop word-wit and shellfish-references, throw in the waning of magic and a very old dragon and you have The Last Dragonslayer: teen fantasy Jasper Fforde-style

Posted on June 22, 2018 by jenny

The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde is a story about magic, dragons and red tape. After reading it I concluded that my ideal pet would be a quarkbeast (no fur, funny-looking, loyal and affectionate, not exactly huggable but still better … Continue reading →

Posted in 13 years and up, Contemporary YA, Fantasy, Young Adult | Tagged 21st Century, action, adventure, British, bureaucracy, coming-of-age, convoluted plot, fantasy, fiction, humour, Jasper Fforde, magic, mixed motives, there be Dragons, young adult | Leave a comment

Adventure for kids, humour for grown-ups: Dragon Boy by Dick King-Smith

Posted on May 22, 2018 by jenny

Dragon Boy by Dick King-Smith is another classic dragon story from my childhood by one of my favourite children’s authors (he also wrote The Sheep-pig aka Babe). Orphaned John is found crying in the forest by a dragon, Montague Bunsen-Burner. … Continue reading →

Posted in 20th Century Children's, 7 years and up, Children's, Fantasy | Tagged 20th Century, 7 and up, action, adventure, animals, British, coming-of-age, courage, Dick King-Smith, drama, fantasy, fiction, food and fighting, good out loud, humour, orphaned hero, parody, there be Dragons, wolves | Leave a comment

The Dragon of Mith by Kate Walker

Posted on March 22, 2018 by jenny

The Dragon of Mith is an Australian kids book by Kate Walker. It’s the story of a vegetarian dragon, a ridiculous number of dragon-slayers, a community of hermits and a blood-thirsty butcher (amongst others). I have vague memories of the … Continue reading →

Posted in 20th Century Children's, 7 years and up, Australian, Children's, Children's Classic, Fantasy | Tagged 20th Century, 7 and up, action, adventure, Australian, courage, fantasy, fiction, friendship, good out loud, hermits, humour, there be Dragons, vegetarianism, whimsical | Leave a comment

The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White

Posted on November 28, 2017 by jenny

E.B. White is better known for Charlotte’s Web and Stuart Little, but my favourite of his books is The Trumpet of the Swan. It tells the story of Louis, a trumpeter swan who can’t trumpet, which has grave implications for … Continue reading →

Posted in 20th Century Children's, 7 years and up, Children's Classics, Fantasy | Tagged 20th Century, 7 and up, action, adventure, American, animal behaviour, animals, birds, boats, children's classic, disability, fantasy, fiction, food and fighting, good out loud, honour, humour, impressively pompous character, literacy, mild romance, music, muteness, nature, overcoming adversity, summer camp, swans, trumpet, whimsical, zookeeping | Leave a comment

The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis

Posted on August 25, 2016 by jenny

The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis is the 6th Chronicle of Narnia. As a child it was my least favourite Narnia book, despite containing a favourite character and a favourite scene. The drawbacks are that the main human characters spend … Continue reading →

Posted in 20th Century Children's, 7 years and up, Children's Classics, Fantasy | Tagged 20th Century, 7 and up, action, adventure, animals, British, C.S. Lewis, children's classic, Christianity, classic, fantasy, fiction, food and fighting, giants, good out loud, Narnia, The Inklings | Leave a comment

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Posted on June 25, 2016 by jenny

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis was my favourite Narnia book as a child – an exciting ocean journey discovering new lands in a quest to find seven missing lords of Narnia. It again features King Caspian … Continue reading →

Posted in 20th Century Children's, 7 years and up, Children's Classics, Fantasy | Tagged 20th Century, 7 and up, action, adventure, animals, boats, British, C.S. Lewis, children's classic, Christianity, fantasy, fiction, food and fighting, good out loud, grace, Narnia, The Inklings, there be Dragons | Leave a comment

Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis

Posted on February 20, 2016 by jenny

Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis is the fourth book set in Narnia. Caspian, the true king of Narnia has been usurped by his uncle, Miraz. Caspian longs for the olden days of Narnia when animals spoke, fawns danced, and two … Continue reading →

Posted in 20th Century Children's, 7 years and up, Children's Classics, Fantasy | Tagged 20th Century, 7 and up, action, adventure, animals, British, C.S. Lewis, children's classic, Christianity, classic, fantasy, fiction, food and fighting, good out loud, humour, Narnia, The Inklings | Leave a comment

The Reformed Vampire Support Group by Catherine Jinks

Posted on December 30, 2015 by jenny

The Reformed Vampire Support Group by Catherine Jinks is my favourite vampire book, spoofing the idea of the handsome, strong, good vampire. Nina and the others in the RVSG struggle with nose bleeds, unconsciousness during daylight hours, being forced to … Continue reading →

Posted in 13 years and up, Australian, Contemporary YA, Fantasy, Young Adult | Tagged 21st Century, action, adventure, Australian, fantasy, fiction, humour, parody, supernatural, vampires, young adult | Leave a comment