Recommended Beach Novels
Want a recommendation for a novel to take on holiday? Ask your fellow archaeologists. here are the recommendations I have made and received in recent years.
Stonehenge
Bernard Cornwell
This 'novel of 2000BC' is wonderfully well told stuff about the 3
brothers who built Stonehenge (its FICTION remember.) It is good to see
that Bernard Cornwell (better known for the 'Sharpe' series set in napolenoic
times) has done quite a lot of reasearch so it won't wind you up too much
with utter nonsense. Mind you, for the more pedantic students of the neolithic
it is fun to play 'spot the drivel'. Pretty much perfect holiday reading.
Classic beach fare.
The Corridors of Time
Poul Andersson
As a Sci-fi fan I am already well acquainted with Anderson who writes
exceptionally well. This could be a winner, but is sadly out of print
at present. Recommended to me on a hot afternoon digging at the bottom
of a Roman cess-pit.
Mythago
Wood
Robert Holdstock
One of my all-time favourites. A truly british strand of fantasy. He draws
a compelling historical picture of the mythic figures of british folklore
as personifications of the needs, wishes and fears of the people of the
island. A history brought to life for a family drawn into the world of
'mythago' by mysterious forces in the local woodlands. Unputdownable classic
which won both the Hugo and Nebular awards.
The Firebrand
Marion Zimmer Bradley
I realise that Bradley is acknowledged as a classic author, but I
have failed to finish her Mists of Avalon book twice now. Perhaps this
gives me the opportunity to try once more. Amazon reviewer Heather from
Manchester called it Amazing and gave it a full 5 stars. Recommended by
a German archaeologist who was visiting Wiltshire last year.
The Year the Horses Came
Mary Mackey
Amazon talk of an extraordinarily gifted storyteller who has crafted
an enthralling world, at once coherent and diverse. Sadly, the book is
currently out of print.
Celtika
Robert Holdstock
A great book written by this genius of British fantasy writing. Who else
could put the Arthurian Merlin together in a boat with Jason and the Argonauts
and get away with it?
Have you got any reccomendations? Let others know your favourites.