What's the name of that book? - Lost and Found for novels

[Yuan François]

There was a book I had as a child. It was published by scholastic. I remember there being an orphanage for supernatural children. The main character felt undesirable, because his only ability was to bring life to pictures. He could look at a picture and see what happened that day, at that place, with whom...

Anyone knows it?

[Yuan François]

Oh, btw, there were marbles. Magic marbles. :O

[AzWingsFan]

Is there a website where you can look through book covers? Categorized by year? I'd be able to find my long lost book if I could rummage through covers

[thiefofcamorr]

Not really, because most books have different covers in different countries, and come out in different years in different countries, sometimes.

Goodreads is pretty good though, if you can find a listopia that may have it. https://www.goodreads.com/list

[lampbreaker]

I had read this fantasy book some time ago that I had liked. But now I don't remember the character's names or anything else about it. What I do remember is that the lead character had a roommate who only speaks three words. But in the end it turns out that he is programmed to attack the hero whenever he speaks certain words or something.

Can someone remember this and suggest the name of the book/series?

[DBASKLS]

Might be worth posting on the General "Fantsay book discussion" board as we have a thread dedicated to this sort of thing

[xiagan]

I had read this fantasy book some time ago that I had liked. But now I don't remember the character's names or anything else about it. What I do remember is that the lead character had a roommate who only speaks three words. But in the end it turns out that he is programmed to attack the hero whenever he speaks certain words or something.

Can someone remember this and suggest the name of the book/series?

Sorry, no idea - but I just merged your topic into the one we already have.

[lampbreaker]

I had read this fantasy book some time ago that I had liked. But now I don't remember the character's names or anything else about it. What I do remember is that the lead character had a roommate who only speaks three words. But in the end it turns out that he is programmed to attack the hero whenever he speaks certain words or something.

Can someone remember this and suggest the name of the book/series?

It is Spellwright by Blake Charlton.

[wildfrank]

I've been trying to find a series I read a while back, The first volume starts with sorcerer waking in his tomb in the body of a female tomb robber, he stays in the female body for the rest of the series (I think there are at least six books) exploring many subjects, such as the dead city of sorcerers that the sorcerer came from many years ago, giants, the end of the world (possibly)

[b4u2bweird]

There was a book I had as a child. It was published by scholastic. I remember there being an orphanage for supernatural children. The main character felt undesirable, because his only ability was to bring life to pictures. He could look at a picture and see what happened that day, at that place, with whom...

Anyone knows it?

Charlie Bone has that power too... >.<

[Lightningfall]

OK.  Back in the late 80s/early 90s I read a great book with the following plot line: 

Race of short people (not exactly hobbits, more like short elves or something) were living in peace in their little village.  Their village was surrounded by a wall made of thorns.  One night a bunch of evil wolves attack the village, the little folks man the walls and fight off the wolves.  The main character is a really good archer.  One thing leads to another and the main character and his friends in up in a castle,  because evil is sweeping over the land and that is where the forces of good make their stand.  Anyway the castle is overrun, the main character and some sort of human princess type and maybe a few others escape. The next  book seems like it covers the escapees adventures.  Ring any bells?

It was on the shelves of book stores (remember those???) around the same time that the dragonlance books were coming out.  I started the 1st book and never got a chance to read the other 2 in the trilogy, but I always wanted to.   Thanks in advance for your help.

If I'm not mistaken, that sounds like the Iron Tower series by Dennis L. McKiernan: The Dark Tide, Shadows of Doom, and The Darkest Day.

[Charlemagne]

There was a book I had as a child. It was published by scholastic. I remember there being an orphanage for supernatural children. The main character felt undesirable, because his only ability was to bring life to pictures. He could look at a picture and see what happened that day, at that place, with whom...

Anyone knows it?

Charlie Bone has that power too... >.<

I'm 99% sure that's because it is Charlie Bone... Those are the exact descriptions of his powers, and I do remember marbles being integral to the plot of either the second or the third book, though I can't remember which. If it's not Charlie Bone, than my life is a lie because one of my most beloved childhood stories was in fact a copy of some other book.

Hope this helps!

[TigerBright]

OK so there was one book, possibly a point horror one? But there was a boy and a lot of background about how a little girl went missing years before...  Eventually he discovers that the girl was turned into a bird by a magician and he turns into a peregrine falcon to rescue her?


Another I don't remember much at all about but it was another kids book, and the main character was called Barnaby ? I think it was quite a mysterious book,  there might have been a ghost? Lots to go on there. 

And there was an R L Stine one (I think) about some girls finding a book that told them all the stuff that was going to happen to them? They got it from a weird old shop (one of them got it as a birthday present for the other?) and when they went back there I think the people in the shop chased them, they escaped through a sewer?

[AzWingsFan]

Fantasy setting. Book one of series. Different kingdoms. Many different creatures. Source of power was an ancient tree. Different kingdoms fought over the tree. Really want to find it.

[Richard Bendall]

This thread reminded me of something that I wanted to share, apologies that it's slightly off topic.

I was at a friends house about 8 years ago and she had a book lying around on the sofa. I picked it up, read the blurb and it appealed to me. She'd only just started it but said I could borrow it after she'd finished. Before she could finish this book, we fell out and didn't speak for several years. I always wanted to give the book a go, but didn't know the title, author or even any details of the plot to ask anyone about it. However, I knew that if I ever saw it again, I'd know and always scoured second hand shops and fantasy sections in the hope I'd catch it with the same cover art.

And I did, last year. I found it in a second hand book shop and knew it on sight. Reading the blurb again triggered my memory and confirmed it.

For the record, it was The Magician's Guild by Trudi Canavan and it was worth the wait. The rest of the trilogy had it's weak points, but overall, it was a nice change from the fantasy I'd been reading.