Bulletin Board

I just finished reading The Starbuck Chronicles. If you ever have an opportunity please visit the memorials and graveyards at Vicksburg Mississippi. I grew up there and still get chill bumps every time I visit.

Kenneth Jones

Dear Mr. Cornwell,

I am an avid reader of all of your books and found the most recent of these "The Flame Bearer" to be as gripping as any of your works, there is  however an inaccuracy which I feel I must bring to your attention. I note on pages 4  it is stated, "The tide was rising, which meant that the current was running strongly northwards and the ships were battling their way south," On page 222 it is stated, "We left on the slack water of low tide, but the flood began as we headed towards the sea. For the moment the current was against us, but once past the headlands we would turn north and the tide would help us."

In the North Sea the flooding tide moves from north to south and the ebb tide south to north, this apparent reversal is a result of the very constricting affect of the Straights of Dover relative to the very open nature of the passage of water around the north of Scotland, thus the much greater part of the water moving from the Atlantic to the North Sea flows around this northern route causing this north to south flow on the flooding tide.

Yours most sincerely,

Harry Clark.

Dear Mr. Cornwell,

I'm writing to thank you for all of the many past hours of pleasure and those future ones that I excitedly anticipate from your books.  A dear family friend gave me The Winter King on Christmas Eve when I was about 17, and I read and enjoyed it, which spurred me on to find, read, and enjoy the next two in the series.  I'd never read anything really like them.  Quite wonderful.  I reciprocated by buying him Stonehenge.  Through a very, very difficult end of 2004, I coped by reading the Grail Quest series.  On another Christmas Eve (I think I was 30) our friend gave me Sharpe's Triumph, and at 38 I've finally found the time to start the series, and so am halfway through Sharpe's Tiger.  It's spellbinding.

A couple of years ago, I couldn't find my copy of The Winter King, and last summer, it was returned to me by the same friend, after I'd forgotten I'd lent it to him.  Unfortunately, he was returning books he'd been lent and hadn't had the time to read because he'd been diagnosed with inoperable pancreatic cancer.  I'm sad to say that he died last year, six months after his diagnosis, and exactly one month before he turned 60. However, I'm glad that part of our long friendship was fastened by the wonderful Bernard Cornwell books he gave me.  In fact, in my second-last email to him, when we all knew that he didn't have more than a few days to live, I made reference to a few things I liked about your books because they were so memorable and special.  He really liked the Sharpe series, and was hoping that I would too.

So thanks, for us both, my friend Bill Petrie (1955-2015), of Winnipeg, Canada, and myself,

John Stevens

Read all Sharpe books.Just finished last Starbuck. You perfectly captured the very different atmosphere between European and Civil War armies and soldiers. Sharpe is a far greater warrior than Starbuck. The Redcoats are professionals; the rebels are semi-guerrillas.I mentioned to my wife how you were able to create such different environments in two war epics. I found them similar  only in that they are about soldiers at war. So,please have Starbuck march again.

Jim Greene

Just a line to congratulate you and to thank you. I have read a good many books about Waterloo over the last 40 years (an ancestor was on Wellington's staff), and yours is by far the best. You have managed to combine interesting insights )'A battle about roads' sites the scene very well, as does 'rock, paper, scissors') with a very real picture of  what it must have been like to be there on that terrible, glorious day — how frightening, and what a close-run thing it was. The mystery remains, though, about what had happened to Napoleon that he made so many bad appointments and allowed them to make so many mistakes.

Thank you for a wonderful book.

Regards,

Charles Marrin

I love the Sharpe series, currently rereading the books for the 4th time. Of all the books I have only ONE complaint. Poor little Antonia and her fate after Sharpe moves on from Spain. Considering his own history it would seem he would have some interest in the fate of his own daughter. (If there is something in the books about her later life and I missed it, forgive the memory loss of an old man and thanks for the adventures.)

Walter Wild

It is with great sadness that I must inform reading circles the death of author Joe Dever, following a ten-year illness he kept secret from all but his close family to whom I offer my most sincere condolences in their hour of need. He was at first a qualified musician working with a professional group abroad, but later turned his attention to roleplaying games and, during a student exchange in Los Angeles, won the Dungeons and Dragons Championship in 1982. His hobby soon became a fully fledged vocation when he expanded on his Magnamund universe and thus created the legendary Lone Wolf gamebook fantasy series which spans 29 titles to date and has sold millions of copies in many countries. Although Joe was most famous for the Lone Wolf adventures, he also devoted time for other ideas such as the offshoot World of Lone Wolf series,  the post-apocalypse Freeway Warrior titles, and the uniquely innovative Combat Heroes where choices were entirely of illustrations (a sort of pre-dated idea of video game within a book). Since the advent and increasing popularity of computer games in 1996 onwards, the gamebook genre was regarded as old-fashioned by those publishers involved. Although gamebooks enjoyed a brief revival during the 2000's, however, despite Joe's best efforts all attempts to complete the Lone Wolf series fell through. Shortly before his death, he'd resolved to self-publish the remaining few titles - and revamped editions of previous ones - under Holmgard Press. Book 29 'The Storms of Chai' was actually first released in Italy by Vincent Books. The fate of titles 30-32 remain uncertain but they have been left with Joe Dever's family estate. Project Aon is a website dedicated to his works including contain a VAST wealth of information regarding Maganamund. In 2000 Joe decided to make Lone Wolf books 1-28, besides his other publications, completely free and accessible as a download, intended as a Millennium gift to those fans who at the time were unable to purchase out-of-print titles. This philanthropic move was made during the 'gamebook slump' but helped cement Joe's integrity as an author who cared for and often conversed with his fans in a friendly manner. An outgoing and warm, well-humoured personality, he also attended numerous gaming conventions, took an active part in competitions, and supported computerised versions of Lone Wolf adventures. One of his final projects focused on a Lone Wolf RPG group kit where he insisted on bringing the price down to a more affordable level for younger fans. Joe faced his battle with kidney cancer with a brave dignity and resolution that is reminiscent of his creation Lone Wolf's heroism. Tragically, a complicated procedure proved too strong an opponent even for him. Highly regarded by fellow fantasy authors and gamers alike, Joe Dever leaves behind a legacy that has brought so much educational pleasure that has helped, and continues to help, gamers worldwide. Future fans in turn will ensure that the Grandmaster's flame will burn brightly for many years to come. May he Rest in Peace.

 

There is also a podcast on Youtube for those wishing a more detailed story of Joe Dever's rise to fame as a prominent gamebook author.

Robert Douglas

 

My suggestion is that you write whatever you want.  I've read everything of yours I could find in the library, and I love it all.  Sorry, I know that reading library books doesn't put any money in your pocket, but my pockets are pretty empty.  I just wanted to let you know you've given a lot of pleasure to a lot of people.  Please don't stop creating your extremely interesting, entertaining, and informative historical literature...

Leif Andresen

Hello

 

I really like the advice you give on your website. Thanks for sharing

Petra

Dear Mr Bernard

 

I have written to you in  January 16, 2007 when I had first started reading the Last Kingdom and went on to the next and the next... currently in the middle of Warriors of the Storm. I just want to thank you for keeping my imagination alive. I am in love with Uhtred and Finans' characters. I just wanted to compliment you on a job well done!

 

Wyrd biõ ful ãræd.

 

Take care. Your fan from South Africa.

Joeline Govender