Raymond E. Feist - "Magician: Apprentice" (1st volume of the Riftwar Saga)

Fantasy. World with humans, elves, dwarves. Moredhil (evil elves). Main character: Pug, orphan, now Magician's apprentice (gee!) and his friend Tomas.

Men arrive, strange men on a strange ship. Only to fight. Parallel worlds. Invasion of the evil, strong men.

Ends with a strange fight: evil men attacking in the night, falling back every morning, seemingly without sense. Then suddenly they fall back..

And only then, at the very last pages, the hint of a larger story (a Game, politics, in the parallel world of which we know yet nothing) takes shape.

Not bad, but, particularly in the beginning, very very predictable. Written okayish, but I kept thinking and comparing with Robin Hobb, at not in favour of Feist.

Might read the next volumes, but only when I want something easy to read.

E.M. Forster - "A Room With A View"

A classic, and one I loved.

The introduction gave a very useful backgroundstory, the end of the Victorian era, the 10-year Eduardian era, followed by the Georgian era. How British people used to travel, their thoughts, their differences, their walled-off classes (an British acquaintance emphasized again how strong the notion of classes and their differences are imbedded in the British people's mind)

In the first part, Lucy travels through Italy (the 'classic British tourist route'), accompagnied by her elderly niece. Meets dramatic boy (and father), George, who refuses to behave "as he should".

Part 2, back at their house, betrothed to Cecile, an abominable narcistic guy, she meets George again, and of course it takes quite a time for her to realise she loves him (as the introduction states: while the reader may shout: listen to your heart!, this is not how she can behave, she struggles to loosen herself from the strict (mental) heritage)

Beautiful sentences, and often Forster seemed to violate the "show, don't tell" rule. Yet without writing down any boring paragraph, each page was a delight to turn over. Hów did he do that?? Must read "Aspects of the Novel" again (and finish it, this time)

Loved it!