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

[JMack]

There is a book or even series where two cousins/brothers/ enemies are competing for power and it involves one  trapped in a portrait by the other. This is all I can remember and suspect I gave up on it, but that evil twist intrigues and niggles at me. Probably published around late 80's early 90's.  Please can anyone help?

Googled a bit. The Witches by Roald Dahl?

[Idlewilder]

There is a book or even series where two cousins/brothers/ enemies are competing for power and it involves one  trapped in a portrait by the other. This is all I can remember and suspect I gave up on it, but that evil twist intrigues and niggles at me. Probably published around late 80's early 90's.  Please can anyone help?

Googled a bit. The Witches by Roald Dahl?

Definitely not The Witches.    It sounds a little bit like The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams. No portrait involved though I don't think, but one brother traps the other in a secret room accessed by a magical portal hidden in his castle.

[DrNefario]

There is a book or even series where two cousins/brothers/ enemies are competing for power and it involves one  trapped in a portrait by the other. This is all I can remember and suspect I gave up on it, but that evil twist intrigues and niggles at me. Probably published around late 80's early 90's.  Please can anyone help?

It sounds a bit like The Golden Key by Kate Elliott, Melanie Rawn and Jennifer Roberson. My memory's a bit vague, but I feel like that was one of the plot points. It certainly featured painting-based magic. And was excellent.

[Lady Ty]

Thanks for trying Jmack and Idlewilder but @DrNefario hit the jackpot.   That had been bothering me for ages and beginning to believe I imagined it. Just found the cover and recognised it straightaway. I think I enjoyed it but for some reason the portrait part was all I remember.  Would have gone for  Melanie Rawn book and that all makes sense.

[Elfy]

I was thinking of that one. I knew Melanie Rawn was involved, but couldn't remember the other 2 authors. For some reason Carol Berg kept popping into my head. I may have to see if I can track down a copy of it now.

[notoriousvic33]

Hey guys I'm trying to remember the title to a book about twins sister who where separated at birth but found each other later and one of the married a prince who was once a crow but now is half man half crow. Thanks for your help

[Pippa A S]

Please, can someone help me! I read a book ages ago, in the eighties, I got it from the library and I'm pretty sure it was the first of a series and I loved it, life intervened, I never followed it up and have long since forgotten the name of the book or the author whose surname may have begun with an A, but not too sure about that either.
The plot as I remember it involved a boy who was stolen away to become a smith's apprentice. I seem to remember something about wings and silver shackles that were put through his legs when he tried to escape. the Anvil of Ice by Michael Scott Rohan was suggested and I bought a copy off Amazon, I am now about a third of the way through it and although the story line seems fairly similar I don't think it is the same book
Why this should bother me so much all these years later I can't explain, but it's driving me mad trying to remember!

[Rostum]

Something I half read a long time ago
An empire is expanding and orders a subjugated tribe of nomadic horse herders to take ship and move to new lands, supposedly empty. It's that or fight and lose. The hero is learning magic from an empire magician but expects treachery and betrayal from the mage. The whole deal with the Emperor looks like betrayal.
The Horselords comes to mind as a title, but the blurb from the book with that title sounds very different.

[eclipse]

This book had the word druid in the title I think or maybe shield not sure

I think I read it round about 87 or 88

The main character was from modern times in England and found a gateway accidentally from Stonehenge maybe? and ends up in ancient Britain? and  becomes a berserker.


The size of the book was the same as a hardback but it was a paperback.
 

[dylanest]

Hi all - I've been searching for years for a book I loved as a kid in the 1980s.  I can't remember the title or the author, but I'm hoping that if I describe what I can remember, someone might figure it out.  If I've posted this in the wrong place, please let me know and I'll re-post elsewhere.  Here are the clues:

1) It was about a group of small people (perhaps dwarves, maybe more like halflings since I think I would have remembered the word 'dwarves') traveling down a river.  The pace and tone were very easygoing, with a lot of gentle humor and wonder...that's one reason why I remember it, it was so different from the deadly serious tone of so much fantasy, then and now.

2) At one point, a character is given a magic coin.  On each side of the coin was an etching of an ocean creature---and when you turned the coin over, a new creature would appear on the reverse side, so that you'd always have a new creature to look at. 

Does this ring a bell with anyone?  This is a mystery of my childhood that I would love to solve.

Thanks!
Dylan

[ScarletBea]

Hi Dylan, welcome to the forums!
@Elfy will know, I bet, hehe
He's in Australia, so you need to wait a few hours hehe

[Elfy]

That book description probably fits a number of books. The thing that springs to mind most readily is The Hobbit. They spend part of their journey travelling down a river, they're mostly dwarves and no they don't have a magic coin, but they do have a magic ring. It could also be one of Elizabeth Boyer's Norse mythology books. They came out in the early to mid 80's and at least one of them had a band of dwarves battling the svart alfar.

[dylanest]

Thanks Elfy, and thanks for the welcome, ScarletBea.  It wasn't the Hobbit, or one of Boyer's books, but those are great guesses.  It was one of those dime-a-dozen, brightly-colored paperbacks that are usually pretty dull, but this one just happened to be wonderful.  I remember now that it was written by a man.  I was in a state of wonder for the entire read.  Maybe I'll look at lists of fantasy novels published from 1982-1986. 

[JMack]

Thanks Elfy, and thanks for the welcome, ScarletBea.  It wasn't the Hobbit, or one of Boyer's books, but those are great guesses.  It was one of those dime-a-dozen, brightly-colored paperbacks that are usually pretty dull, but this one just happened to be wonderful.  I remember now that it was written by a man.  I was in a state of wonder for the entire read.  Maybe I'll look at lists of fantasy novels published from 1982-1986.

Holy crap: according to one site, there were 631 Fantasy novels published in 1982! 

[dylanest]

Jmack, does that site include titles or any other info?