Books I like #1 – Neil Gaiman

If you like fantasy fiction and you haven’t read Neil Gaiman then I question your devotion to the genre. In fact, scratch that. If you like a good story full stop and you haven’t read Gaiman, then you’re missing out.


He’s an English author who spends most of his time in the States and a lot of his time on Twitter. He’s most well known for The Sandman series of graphic novels as well as the prose novels American Gods, Stardust and Coraline but he’s written so much in his ever-expanding career that it really would be surprising if you haven’t touched on his work in some form. For instance, he wrote the amazing recent Doctor Who episode entitled The Doctor’s Wife.

Why do I like him? Well, I could go on for a while, but my favourite thing about Gaiman and his writing is that he clearly loves stories. He has such a wealth of knowledge about myths, legends, fantasy and just pure story that his own work is infused with a sense of magic that you don’t find from many other authors. He is not just a great fantasy writer; he is the greatest living storyteller we have today. So rather than waffle on anymore I thought I’d just pick out a few of my favourite examples of his work…

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Dublin Castle Undercroft

Just a quick note about something I got up to at the weekend. I went on a tour of Dublin Castle. And, as interesting as it was seeing the places the Queen visited only two weeks ago, what really got me going was the Medieval Undercroft. It’s essentially the foundations of the old castle, under street level. You can even get to see a bit of the River Poddle that flows under the city – (and is a main feature of Arthur Quinn’s world!) The tour is €2 for kids, €3.50 for students and €4.50 for adults and is well worth it.

Viking invasion coming to town

via The Irish Independent

The producers behind The Tudors and Camelot look set to shoot another historical fiction in Ireland called Vikings.
The TV series is expected to have a budget of about €28m. It will follow the exploits of the Viking warriors from the late 8th to mid-11th Century. Filming is likely to begin in Ireland next year.

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Book 2 Progress Report

I’m in the middle of writing Book 2 (aka Arthur Quinn and the Fenris Wolf) these days and so far it’s all going smoothly. The chapters I’m working on at the minute are quite layered, where we follow several different characters in various parts of the country on top of some pretty important pieces of exposition. Even though I know the general plot backwards, I’ve started writing the various plot points for these chapters on post-its. I stick them up over my desk and keep referring back to them as I write. The greatest feeling is pulling one down and crumpling it into the bin.

The Next Harry Potter

So what with the Harry Potter series of film adaptations drawing to an end next month – (although ‘drawing to an end’ doesn’t sound right for something that’s going to be so huge, dramatic and make hundreds of millions of dollars worldwide) – Total Film magazine had a look at 30 books that could be the next big kids fantasy series. Nice to see Irish authors featuring in the top two. Although I think they missed one by not including Lemony Snicket’s Series of Unfortunate Events. I know they made a film based on the first three books – which I loved! Which is exactly why they should continue with them.

Also, they could have at least waited until Arthur Quinn comes out to write the article ;P

Viking Settlement found in Temple Bar

From RTE NEWS
Archaeologists have uncovered a Viking settlement, on what was once an island in Dublin’s Temple Bar.
The two Viking homes were found during excavations at Meeting House Square in advance of building work at the site. It is believed the settlement was built on an island in the River Poddle in the 10th or 11th century before it was destroyed by flood waters. A number of pottery artefacts from a later date have also been discovered during the dig, which began two weeks ago.
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