Pre-numbered label used for registration.

Could I resist a book with a title like "Here be Dragons"? What do you think!

It was on the swaps table at the Unconvention, but not for long!

Oh dear. I have to confess I have given up on this book after a little over 100 pages (the whole book is 800-odd).

I like historical novels, and although the 12th century is not my period, this shouldn't stop me.

What I don't like is novels that simply re-tell events from history books. Especially when these events are European power-politics, rather than the interesting stuff that was going on at the time (for a book on the interesting stuff, I'd recommend this one.)

I also think we should move away from the cliché that a historical novel starts with the pre-teen protagonist getting beaten up by a band of teenagers because he's different in some way. In fact, he turned out not to be the protagonist. She turns up, aged 5, on page 96. Which says something about the pace of the narrative....

The book may well be a superbly detailed and accurate account of life at the end of the twelfth century. But to me it is too long, too clichéd, and deals with the wrong sort of history. I hope someone else will enjoy the book more than I - I intend to release it soon.

RELEASE NOTES:

There was an event in Coalville Park at the weekend called "Picnic in the park". The park was filled up with stalls of various sorts, and there was a large stage on which local bands sang very badly (and easily audible from my house, so I couldn't escape).

On Saturday, when they were setting up, I sneaked into the Radio Leicester tent and planted the book there. It's not likely to be still in the park by now...

I picked this up , as described below, in the BBC Radio Leicester tent on June. The 801 pages were, frankly, quite hard work - historical fiction is low on my list of favourites. However, I felt I had to read it because `Here Be Dragons' was the name of a radio programme I did on Radio Trent through the 1980's (Its cousin is now on Saga 106.6FM in the East Midlands from 10pm every Sunday night). It was a remarkable co-incidence, because I ws looking after the broadcast for Radio Leicester from the tent.

The book was left on the 11.00 train to St Pancras from Leicester, today, November 7th 2006.

CAUGHT IN COALVILLE LEICESTERSHIRE ENGLAND