What other author are you reading at the moment?

Which other authors do you enjoy? Discuss them here.
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floragord
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Re: What other author are you reading at the moment?

Post by floragord »

Still trolling through THE SEVENTH SCROLL, I've reached the point where the group are camping in a cave behind a waterfall on the Abbay river in Ethiopia, a distinct bell is chiming somewhere that an Adventure story had LucyAnne, Dinah, Jack & Philip do something similar but which book its in hasn't donged yet...
"Its a magic wood!" said Fanny suddenly.
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Re: What other author are you reading at the moment?

Post by Courtenay »

The cave behind the waterfall is in The Valley of Adventure. :D
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Re: What other author are you reading at the moment?

Post by Chrissie777 »

There's also a cave behind a waterfall in "Last of the Mohicans" by James Fenimore Cooper and in the first Sara Donati volume, "Into The Wilderness" which is partially based on "Last of the Mohicans" (and one of the best love stories I've read in decades).

https://www.amazon.com/Into-Wilderness- ... ess+series" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Re: What other author are you reading at the moment?

Post by timv »

The concept of a cave behind a waterfall crops up in a lot of books, and it's possible that the one in 'The Last of the Mohicans' inspired some of them - though equally some may have been thought up independently. Two spring to mind:
JRR Tolkien - the cave behind the waterfall at 'Henneth Annun' in Ithilien, the hidden refuge of warriors of Gondor operating as guerillas in that border region between Gondor and Mordor. Faramir, son of the ruling Steward of Gondor, takes Frodo and Sam after he runs into them in 'The Two Towers'. The idea of it as a secret refuge for soldiers in enemy territory suggests that Tolkien got this from Fenimore Cooper, as its use there is similar. The Peter Jackson film (part 2 of the trilogy) skirted over this episode in favour of yet more battles, which I found one of its many disappointments.
Malcolm Saville - in 'The Secret of Buzzard Scar', set in Swaledale in NW Yorkshire, where the characters from the 'Nettleford' series (Sally, Paul, Elizabeth and Jimmy) are on holiday exploring near real-life 'Crackpot Hall' (a ruin stuck halfway up a remote hillside W of Richmond) and find a cave behind a waterfall. Seventeenth century religious dissidents ('Dissenters') held secret meetings in the open nearby, and hid behind the waterfall from government spies sent to catch them for missing official church services and holding illegal ones. The waterfall and meetings are real; the cave and its tunnel to the (real life) mine under Crackpot Hall is invented.

On 'Moonfleet', I did see the film of it as a teenager but can't remember much about it. The book's location was the real life village of West Fleet, close to the naval base at Portland Harbour which Enid seems to have used as her 'Secret Harbour' in Rubadub. The fairly recent TV adaptation didn't use any actual Dorset sites that were unspoilt and available - the hair-raising escape up a cliff path from the Customs men's ambush at 'Hoar Head' is the real life path at White Nothe cliffs by Ringstead Bay, East of Weymouth. Instead they used a generic 'Cornish cove' that could have been anywhere. At least 'Poldark' (1970s and present versions) was actually filmed on site, more or less.
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Re: What other author are you reading at the moment?

Post by Chrissie777 »

timv wrote:JRR Tolkien - the cave behind the waterfall at 'Henneth Annun' in Ithilien, the hidden refuge of warriors of Gondor operating as guerillas in that border region between Gondor and Mordor. Faramir, son of the ruling Steward of Gondor, takes Frodo and Sam after he runs into them in 'The Two Towers'. The idea of it as a secret refuge for soldiers in enemy territory suggests that Tolkien got this from Fenimore Cooper, as its use there is similar. The Peter Jackson film (part 2 of the trilogy) skirted over this episode in favour of yet more battles, which I found one of its many disappointments.
I'm not much of a Tolkien fan, I never read the books, but watched all the movies. Recently we watched the 3 "Hobbit" movies which I enjoyed, except for me it contains too many battles. :roll:
I usually read during the battles, then again followed the plot once the battle was over :).
Did Tolkien have as many battles in his books or is Peter Jackson such a big fan of battles?
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Re: What other author are you reading at the moment?

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

I feel the same about many of the battles in films, Chrissie! I don't start reading a book instead of watching but I find myself thinking about other things and don't give my full concentration to the film until the sound of fighting stops.
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Re: What other author are you reading at the moment?

Post by KEVP »

Yes, Tolkien did have a fair number of battles in his books. But he didn't often go to as much detail as they put in the movies.

I think of the most recent cinematic adaptation of "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" by Tolkien's friend C.S. Lewis. A battle which Lewis describes in a few sentences takes up TONS of time on the screen!
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Re: What other author are you reading at the moment?

Post by Chrissie777 »

Anita Bensoussane wrote:I feel the same about many of the battles in films, Chrissie! I don't start reading a book instead of watching but I find myself thinking about other things and don't give my full concentration to the film until the sound of fighting stops.
André doesn't take it personal :). He knows that I don't care for historical battle scenes much in general.
Now after having watched all 3 Hobbit movies, we are watching the many bonus discs. I'm very impressed how much love for detail Peter Jackson put into the LOTR and Hobbit movies. My husband read the Tolkien books many many times, so he can confirm that Jackson didn't change much.
The interviews with all the actors are fun to watch, too. 8)
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Re: What other author are you reading at the moment?

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

Often, battle scenes are a bit like descriptions of sports matches in Enid Blyton's school books - something to be got through quickly so you can get back to the more interesting stuff!
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Re: What other author are you reading at the moment?

Post by Daisy »

Oh I do so agree Anita! I don't think I have ever waded through any fictitious hockey/lacrosse/tennis match more than once, no matter how often I have read the rest of the book! l
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Re: What other author are you reading at the moment?

Post by Lucky Star »

Agreed here too. Nothing is more tedious that reading a blow by blow account of a game you cannot see or hear.
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Re: What other author are you reading at the moment?

Post by floragord »

On to WARLOCK, the third in Wilbur Smith's four volume EGYPT series, at a chunky 700+ pages to each book its not a fast and furious read :?
"Its a magic wood!" said Fanny suddenly.
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Re: What other author are you reading at the moment?

Post by Lucky Star »

It's a great series though. I read it years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it.
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Re: What other author are you reading at the moment?

Post by Chrissie777 »

I'm almost finished with reading "Tippi: A Memoir" by Tippi Hedren who starred in the two Hitchcock movies "Marnie" and "The Birds". Wonderfully written.
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Re: What other author are you reading at the moment?

Post by KEVP »

Just finished "The Druid of Royal Oak" by my brother Neil!!!
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