Hi all
Great to see this website & hear the views of like minded WS fans. I am 34 & live in Nottingham. I started reading Birds Of Prey in about 1999 & at the time didn't know much about WS. I must admit I couldn't have chosen a better book to get started on, & although I took a few chapters to get into the book, once the action started (and dare I say it, the naughtier scenes), I was hooked until the end, and left numb by the experience I had. I've read loads of good books before, but none had such a powerful hook on me, that left me wanting to read more. I then read Monsoon, and couldn't believe this story was even better! Monsoon is definitely my favourite (at the moment!). It has everything. Also read Blue Horizon & When The Lion Feeds. Strange order I know, but I didn't know much about the order the Courtney's should be read in back then. At least I got the Birds of Prey to Blue Horizon series in the right order. Haven't read any other Courtney novels & no Ballyntine yet, but plan to with renewed optimism & will read in chronological order (after following debates on this site). Read & loved The Seventh Scroll a few years ago, and have had River God & Warlock, plus a few standalone novels in my cupboard, but never got round to reading. WHAT!! I hear you cry. Never read River God!! I must admit again, I didn't really know about the Egyptian series. I read Seventh Scroll on it's own, & am currently reading Warlock. About three quarters through Warlock, and loving it, and it is through reading this & looking on internet that I found WS's official site & the link to this site. I now wish I had read River God first, as it is 1st in series & has such good reviews, but I will finish Warlock now. My next plan is, read all the Egyptian novels in order, from River God to The Quest, then all Courtney novels, then all Ballyntine & standalone novels. Might take quite awhile & hopefully WS may have done a new book by then - I'm hoping the next one will be continuation from Blue Horizon. Will keep you all posted in future. Although I love films, there is nothing to compare with using your own imagination to create the storyline, and the time spent in reading these epics gives such a big reward at the end, that no film could ever create. I secretly hope that my favourites such as Monsoon & Birds of Prey are never filmed, as no film of 2 or 3 hours could ever recreate the detail of these epics. I do find it amazing, that when I am reading about Hal, Nefer, Taita or whoever, that although I have a general picture of them, I can never quite pin a specific face on them. It's difficult to explain - does anyone else feel the same? I am also amazed when I lool at a book from the outside with all its pages and words, how something so mundane can come alive when you dig into it. Anyway, enough philosophy! A big thank you for all the hard work from those of you who founded this site. You have helped me understand what order to read the books, and it is interesting to hear other peoples views on the same things I have read. WS's site is also a good site, especially his personal biography, list of books published & suggested reading order, and family trees (although these do not appear to reflect the very latest books). Happy reading to you all.
Regards Jonathan