Golden Anvil

Well, this evening I finished reading Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. This is a fascinating book that talks about the return of magic to England. It is set approximately during the Napoleon era, and is presented as a semi-historical account (complete which explanatory and referential footnotes). The writing style captures a nice flavor of old English without becoming awkward to read.

All in all, it is amazing that this book was the author's first publishing. Despite having a light plot (most of the first two thirds of the book is somewhat rambling in style), the reader is still very strongly engaged with the story.

I highly recommend this book. Really. If you have any interest in fantasy at all you definitely want to read this book. Even if you're ambivalent about fantasy, this is a well written story with a strong historical (though fantastic) feel.