David Staniforth

Here's a man who writes great fantasy and excellent thrillers - and in this book, combines the two.

The Book of Maker

Amazon.com link

My review -

Clarissa Bell buys a book in a second-hand shop. It’s blank – a rather posh notebook, it appears. She discovers that it’s possible to communicate with characters in a book. It’s also possible that you’re a character in someone else’s book. What possibilities this idea opens for a fertile mind like David Staniforth’s.

A story about a girl who hangs around bookshops – a girl who discovers the power of the written word? What’s not to like? But, as always, it’s the way he tells them. David’s got a great prose style. His ways of describing things are entirely his own and add so much to my enjoyment of his work – right from the first book of his that I read. The two realities are so believably created and the two sets of characters so sympathetic, that you’re standing behind them both and cheering them on. There are heart-stopping moments in this story and plenty of action and excitement. There’s also some dredged-up past to deal with and accept, and it all comes together to make a fantastic read. The book is probably going to be labelled as YA Fantasy because of the age of the major protagonists but there’s something in here for readers of any age. Never let a label put you off a great story!

David Staniforth

This is the long-awaited second book in the Labyrinth series and I really enjoyed it.

Eye of Dominion

Amazon.com

My review - 

I know that all lovers of the first book in this fantasy series, Alloria, will leap on this with delight. It’s been a while coming. However, all the great characters are there. David Staniforth can create the most evil baddies, the most delightful children – while not making them emetic – and the most trustworthy friends and colleagues. Once again we meet Alloria and her brother, who is under the influence of the most repulsive villain of all time, Glebester. I felt sorry for her brother, Yrion, who was tempted by power before he realised the price he would pay. Alloria and Nat become a little closer as they grow up together. And Bane is just big, irrepressible Bane. Got to love him! They travel the Labyrinth and are instrumental in bringing justice where Yrion and Gleberster have wrought evil. Ymarid, her father, at times seems like a feeble old man but we witness his power and above all, his love.

The author is particularly skilled at drawing a fantasy world the reader can almost see, smell and touch. He’s a gifted descriptive writer but doesn’t use it to pad out a floppy plot. The writing lifts and carries a complex stories with all the traditional themes you’d expect in a book of fantasy. A new world, new creatures but above all, compassion and friendship. I love it!