Scholar's Blog

This used to be a blog for an English independent scholar of fantasy fiction - but then "Doctor Who" stole my brain, my heart, my soul and my life - so these days it's more a Blog about my on-going utter obsession with "Doctor Who" - with occasional non-DW book reviews and discussions.

Sunday, April 30, 2006

"The Keys to the Kingdom" considered

If you've not read the first four books of Garth Nix's "Keys to Kingdom" series, you may want to avoid the rest of this po...

Saturday, April 29, 2006

Epic Heroes and Tales

Philip Pullman, writing for The Times this week, discussed the first action heroes - the heroes of the ancient epics. Pullman notes that e...

Friday, April 28, 2006

Poetry Friday 2

It's time for another Poetry Friday. This time I've gone for the Spring theme as it's actually been sunny and fairly warm in Oxf...

Thursday, April 27, 2006

Emil and the Detectives - Erich Kastner

I borrowed Erich Kastner's Emil and the Detectives from the library after it was mentioned by Guus Kuijer in The Book of Everything . W...

Tuesday, April 25, 2006

The Mouse and His Child - Russell Hoban

I cannot recall, now, where I saw a reference to Russell Hoban's The Mouse and His Child a few weeks ago that prompted me to go hunting...

Sunday, April 23, 2006

For Librarians and Book Lovers Everywhere

I didn't see it myself, but last night's Doctor Who episode ("Tooth and Claw" written by Russell T Davies) contained the f...

Saturday, April 22, 2006

Book to Film Adaptations

Here are a couple of news items that have appeared in The Guardian this week. Following on from my piece about the short story in Britain ...

Thursday, April 20, 2006

The Book of Everything - Guus Kuijer

The Book of Everything by Guus Kuijer is a brief yet intensely moving book about a nine year old boy named Thomas whose strictly religious...

The Edge of the Forest - April issue

The April issue of The Edge of the Forest is up, thanks to the stirling efforts of Kelly of Big A, little a . There's an interview wit...

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

The Assassin's Edge - Juliet E McKenna

Warning: Don't read this review if you don't want spoilers for the preceding four books in the series ! I've done my best to avo...

Monday, April 17, 2006

The Warrior's Bond - Juliet E McKenna

Juliet E McKenna's The Warrior's Bond is the fourth of the "Tales of Einarinn" and switches the PoV back to Ryshad, with ...

Sunday, April 16, 2006

The Gambler's Fortune - Juliet E McKenna

Juliet E McKenna's The Gambler's Fortune is the third novel in the "Tales of Einarinn" series and switches the PoV back t...

Friday, April 14, 2006

The Swordsman's Oath - Juliet E McKenna

The second of the "Tales of Einarinn", The Swordsman's Oath , picks up some two and a half months after the events of The Thie...

Thursday, April 13, 2006

The Thief's Gamble - Juliet E McKenna

Juliet E McKenna's The Thief's Gamble is her debut novel and the first in a series of five novels collectively called "The Tal...

Wednesday, April 12, 2006

Winnie the Pooh gets a Hollywood Star

The BBC reports that A A Milne's Winnie the Pooh is the first ever fictional character to earn a star on the famous Hollywood Walk of F...

Monday, April 10, 2006

Sir Thursday - Garth Nix

Regular readers will know that I'm a big fan of both Garth Nix's The Old Kingdom series, and "The Keys to the Kingdom" se...

Sunday, April 09, 2006

Is Harry Potter really Lord Voldemort ?

This suggestion is not mine. I'm currently reading Christopher Wrigley's The Return of the Hero , which I mentioned back in February...

Saturday, April 08, 2006

Geraldine McCaughrean

Geraldine McCaughrean's Stop the Train! is set in the 19th century, in the state of Oklahoma which has just been opened up to settlers....

Friday, April 07, 2006

Poetry Friday

Since I haven't quite finished reading the book I want to review next on my Blog, I'm going to give you a couple more of my favourit...

Wednesday, April 05, 2006

Horcrux Facts and Some Speculations

Of the Horcrux, wickedest of magical inventions, we shall not speak nor give direction - from the introduction of Magick Moste Evile ( Har...

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About Me

Michele: Oxford, United Kingdom; I write and read every day - sometimes I read an entire book a day, sometimes I don't. I did a degree in English and History in the late 90s as a mature student, but I've loved these subjects since my school days. I concentrated on studying First World War literature and history for most of my degree, until I wrote a paper on Harry Potter in my final semester. I've been writing about fantasy fiction (for children and for adults) ever since (although I haven't lost my interest in the First World War.) In January 2007, inspired by David Tennant's performances as the Tenth Doctor, I took up writing "Doctor Who" fan-fiction (and no, I don't intend to try to publish it anywhere except on my Blog. I'm just writing it for fun.) I'm also about to start writing non-fanfiction as well. I have a 'day job' which isn't very well paid, but does keep me in Oxford, the city I love, and is flexible enough to give me time to write. I am a participant in the Amazon Europe S.à r.l. Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk.

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