I've been reading books since I was 4. My friends would hide their books if they knew I was coming because if I found a book in their house I'd sit and read it instead of playing with them. It was so much more fun for me to read in someone else's house because they always had books that I didn't :-p or at least hadn't read as often.
Diana Wynne Jones' books are the kind that can be read again and again.
Recently I reread the Dalemark Quartet which is about a mythological world and tells the story of the people of legend and myth and how they became so, as well as those who years later believe in them and whose lives are influenced by their beliefs. It's an absolutely amazing and imaginative creation of a world that sucks you in and keeps you hooked. After reading all four books I wish there was more!
The four books are:
The Spellcoats (Dalemark Quartet)
Cart And Cwidder (Dalemark Quartet)
Drowned Ammet (Dalemark Quartet)
The Crown Of Dalemark (Dalemark Quartet)
They are all available on amazon.co.uk at a good price. Just click on the book name for more.
There's nothing I can say that can do justice to the genius that is the Dalemark Quartet, if you're interested in fantasy then do give the books a go and find out for yourself. Meanwhile, below is some info about each book so you get a sort of idea of what it's all about. As usual, it's really hard for me to write a review/summary-type thing without giving too much away so it's a little vague :-p. The links above will help though probably because they have a sort of blurb on amazon about each book. But do not read the reviews on amazon! Some of the idiots reviewing end up telling the whole damn story! They don't seem to understand the purpose of a review. No one wants to read a book when they know the whole story already.
The Spellcoats is about a family of siblings who are driven out of their village when they are blamed for a natural disaster. The adventures that follow are intriguing and magical. Not sure it would appeal to the younger kids. It's written as a 1st person narrative by one of the sisters who weaves the words into a coat.
Cart and Cwidder is about a family of singer performers who travel Dalemark, a place which has been split up and ruled by Earls ever since an heir for the last King could not be found. The main character is a young boy called Moril who finds himself responsible for a sacred cwidder from legend. That's just a thread of the story, so many other things go on. There is conflict between the North and South and Moril and his family get caught up in it all. You really get a feel for the characters and the world and I'm sure once you've read either of this or Spellcoats you'll be eager to read the rest.
Drowned Ammet is probably my favourite because I love the main character, Mitt. He's such a flawed and yet good hearted boy. The story shows you how he goes from a sweet happy little boy to a cynical paranoid one who goes through a lot as he figures out the truth of the world. I love that he's not perfect and that he's so believable. You can understand his thought processes completely and feel for him and you're always hoping things somehow work out for him.
The Crown of Dalemark is about the quest to finally put someone on the throne of Dalemark. I usually do not like books where someone from real time goes back into the olden days into the middle of some legendary story. I haven't seen it work except in this book. And this is the book where a lot of the characters meet each other and the daydreaming boy from Cart and Cwidder meets Mitt from Drowned Ammet. Watching them interact is just so fun and interesting. Also, as it takes place some time after Drowned Ammet you get to see where the characters end up.
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