Arthur Upfield

Advantages: lots of info about australia, good stories
Disadvantages: a bit dated at times

...I first learnt about the Australian Outback as a pupil when I came across ‘Death of a Lake’ by Arthur W. Upfield. That was in the early 1960s, Upfield was still alive then and popular in Australia where his books are set, in GB, France, Germany, Poland and the USA, all in all his books have been translated into some 30 languages. For many readers his books have been the approach to Australia and the life of the Aborigines. Arthur William Upfield was born in Gosport, Hampshire, in 1888. He left school at the age of sixteen, when he didn’t succeed as an apprentice to a firm of estate agents, his father sent him to Australia so he would be less likely to bring disgrace to the family. Home doesn’t have to be the place where someone is born, Upfield found his spiritual home in Australia, he was fascinated by the wildness and the freedom... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: lots of info about australia, good stories
Disadvantages: a bit dated at times

...I first learnt about the Australian Outback as a pupil when I came across ‘Death of a Lake’ by Arthur W. Upfield. That was in the early 1960s, Upfield was still alive then and popular in Australia where his books are set, in GB, France, Germany, Poland and the USA, all in all his books have been translated into some 30 languages. For many readers his books have been the approach to Australia and the life of the Aborigines. Arthur William Upfield was born in Gosport, Hampshire, in 1888. He left school at the age of sixteen, when he didn’t succeed as an apprentice to a firm of estate agents, his father sent him to Australia so he would be less likely to bring disgrace to the family. Home doesn’t have to be the place where someone is born, Upfield found his spiritual home in Australia, he was fascinated by the wildness and the freedom... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Readable, well researched
Disadvantages: None.

..."The Winter King" is the first volume in Bernard Cornwell's Warlord Chronicles trilogy, the story is narrated by Derfel Cadarn, one of Arthur's warriors. The novel (as would be expected in a telling of Arthurian legend) cover romance, battles and sorcery: But in a unique way. The battles are gory (as is usual with Bernard Cornwell), the characters are ofter cruel and unfeeling, and the magic is never obvious but can always be explained. In summary, the series is the most readable and certainly the most realistic telling of the legend of Arthur and "The Winter King" is a powerful mixture of intrigue, magic and warfare.... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: Easy to read informative book
Disadvantages: Little infomation in some chapters

...Arthur The seeing stone is the first book in the Arthur trilogy. Trying I will try to explain the book as best I can but the plot is fairly complicated basically Merlin gives Arthur, a teenage boy who lived 800 years ago a seeing stone which shows him the life and key moments of King Arthur, the on from the stories and legends we all know and how he becomes king of England and the problems he faces. Arthur (the teenage boy) can also see King Arthur’s Knights of the Round Table and Guinevere, his Queen. Kevin Crossely-Holland has cleverly written the book in diary form. This allows us to read what the teenage Arthur is thinking and how he feels about certain events. The book is exactly 100 chapters long with each chapter being quite short at only three or four pages long, this make for easy reading in spare time or when reading in larger... Read review

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