I should look for Sword at Sunset. I like my Arthur stories Romano-Celtic and grounded in the Dark Ages. I just can't get into the faux-medieval high chivalry versions for some reason.

Susan, Sutcliff has a series of books about a Roman family and its decendants in Britain, which is loosely linked to Sword at Sunset. They are The Eagle of the Ninth, The Silver Branch and The Lantern Bearers. The first three are, quite erroneously, I think, labeled juveniles. I tend to avoid superlatives, but they're the best historical fiction I've ever read. They all have the theme that civilization is a light that must be nurtured and fought for by individuals. They're not so tied together that you have to read them in order; they just have "aha" moments when you realize that a character in one book is a descendant of a character in a previous book.

No, I don't know anything about the tributes, Consuela.

Ah. Well, the dedication of one of Lindsey Davis' Falco books (I forget which one) is "to Rosemary Sutcliff, for all the children who know how far it is from Venta to the mountains." ::sniffle::

And if you haven't, you should read Megan Whalen Turner's The Thief, in which Aquila's flawed emerald ring makes an appearance.

The image I always remember is Aquila's lighting Rutupiae light after the legions leave.

Oh, yes, brilliant image. I love the concept of people murmuring about that for years later, that someone lit that bonfire, and the power it had for them.

like my Arthur stories Romano-Celtic and grounded in the Dark Ages.

Susan, you would love Sutcliff. She did her homework, and she started with a series of YA novels set in Roman Britain before she tackled the Arthurian stuff in The Lantern Bearers and Sword at Sunset. It's gritty and sad and powerful and very well done, and not glossied up at all.

Sutcliff is the primary reason why I cannot read Mysts of Avalon. That's my Arthur, there. Nobody else comes close.

Random thought: has anyone else read Patricia Finney? And are her Ulster Cycle novels back in print yet? Please?

I did see the Lindsey Davis one. I'll have to look up The Thief.

I love the Falco books, by the by, though I think the last few have gone downhill a bit.

What about "The Darkness Rising" series... I found it as enjoyable as an adult as when I was in elementary school, I can't remember the author.. Susan something... and they have a bit of the arthurian quality. Secret identities, mythic beings called the "old ones"... hmm, I think I need to reread them, now that I have the time. The one part that bothered me was the ending when they all forget what happened and about the existence and identities of the "old ones" although that was more bothersome when I was a kid and had more definite ideas about how stories should end.

Susan Cooper.

Thanks, Ginger... I'm not really good with names (that's probably why I keep all my books) also the sentimental value... ooh! and laziness

The Dark is Rising sequence is one of my favorite young fantasy series, and I've read most of them. The only one that compares, really, in my mind, is the Philip Pullman "His Dark Materials" series (The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass), at least as far as rather serious, high fantasy is concerned. Harry Potter, of course, is awesome, and getting more serious as it goes on, but I don't think it will ever qualify as high fantasy.

I also really like the "Young Wizards" series by Diane Duane, which begins with So You Want to Be a Wizard.

I love HP too, Nova... I always make it a point to get the books before my mom and sister and then taunt them... and they have gotten darker, I almost wanted to smack Harry most of the last book (then had to remind myself, oh yeah... 13 year old boy). All I know is before it's all over, someone else is going to go (someone we like, that is), and my bets are on Mrs. Weasley, or Percy (because he's such a weiner), or Dumbledore... ooh! just had a brain flash... does Dumbledore remind anyone else of Deth/The High One in McKillip's "Riddle Master of Hed" trilogy? Maybe subconsciously that's why I think he's gone...