The Nobel Prize winning author employs his unique blend of incisive symbolism, powerful imagery, and magical realism to tell the story of an aging potter's futile struggle against the insidiously dehumanizing forces of our increasingly homogenous and "throw-away" culture. You may never encounter another writer who treats his characters so tenderly.

This series, set mostly on the enchanted continent of Westeros, is the Lord of the Rings of our time. Included in this enthralling epic are unlikely heroes, perfidious knights, all sorts of war, intrigue, romance, and magic - all in a perfect fusion of recognizable fantasy elements and creative new mythology. You will urgently devour these books.

The praise "Harry Potter for grown-ups" doesn't quite capture Clarke's ingenious grasp of the English language, which is more reminiscent of Dickens than Rowling, though you'll probably end up just as embarrassingly addicted to Jonathon Strange as your children were to Harry Potter. This is the perfect cold weather novel to enjoy while curled up with a cup of tea - eerie and engrossing, witty and thoroughly British.