Cubs

I want to buy either the BB books or the Welch books...really torn on which to start with. Both look beautiful production wise and I think Welch would be a better place to start, but can’t find many good reviews. Any feedback on how much people enjoyed the content of the Welch book? Expensive, but considering taking the plunge and getting both sets...

I have the BB books, but have only read The Little Grey Men and that was about 35 years ago. The Little Grey Men is a story of a quest, that provides the narrative, but what stayed with me was the descriptions of the English countryside at the time of writing, or probably slightly earlier. Of course I mean to read the three books I now have, but others in the TBR pile take my attention more.

If you get the Welch, do let us know what you think, as I have also been tempted to acquire, but at the moment would prefer to spend my reading time on more detailed history books. I really enjoyed reading Puck of Pook’s Hill as an adult, having stopped studying history at 13 to be able to study German, as I always knew I could easily come back to history. I imagine the Welch books to be something like the two Kipling books, but novels, rather than short stories.

Physically the cubs are larger than regular SF editions, which makes the font size easier, but they don’t feel as neat as regular editions, and the binding is a rougher cloth. The BB books are also have the original black and white illustrations by BB, which lifts them above the normally unillustrated regular SF books.

Thanks for getting me to take them off my shelves!

I have recently read two of Welch's novels, Bowman of Crécy and For the King. I liked the first one I read enough to get a second one and I will probably get a third but have no intention of collecting the whole set.

The thing that sets them apart from other adventure novels is the research, which is supposedly very good. Of course, being novels primarily aimed at children/teenagers, the goriest details are avoided but otherwise there appears to be a careful attention to detail. Exactly how far this attention go I can't judge as I'm not very familiar with UK history myself but I suspect that a history interest would make them more rather than less enjoyable.

Compared to other adventure novels which usually have excellent adventures but shallow characters (e.g. Biggles) I would say that these had somewhat slower but more realistic adventures and somewhat better written, but still rather shallow, characters. They are well-written for the genre and I have enjoyed them, but they are probably more interesting if you have a bit of an interest in UK history. The quality is of course up to SF's normal high standards but I agree with >2 CarltonC: that their larger size makes them feel less neat and I don't like the flat spines. Illustrations and larger font sizes are bonuses though. They are written as individual novels, although centred around the same family, so based on the two novels I have read, there is no real need to have the full set to enjoy them.

Thanks! I really want to get some SF books but unsure where to start and worried stuff will sell out if I wait (also live in Canada so any order would take a while). I thought about buying only three Welch books but one of the ones I want is sold out for individual orders...that being said all I want would cost almost £400. My library is being built up for me and my family (two kids and a husband who will likely eventually become a reader), but realistically I want it to have books that will get multiple reads and that I myself will enjoy. But shallow characters is definitely a deterrent. Thanks to both of you for the insight!

>4 RRCBS: Perhaps order one of them to try for yourself? If you love them you can order the whole set and gift the extra one, if not you have saved the money for the rest of the set. I did it that way and decided that I enjoyed them but not enough for the full set, so now I just buy the ones I'm most interested in and don't worry about the ones that are sold out.

So I ended up ordering the set. Kind of nice to have a set with all the same limitation number and I couldn’t get some of the ones I really wanted otherwise.

I haven’t had time to read any yet, but in terms of aesthetics, I’m very pleased. Love the covers and the way the books fall open. Nice paper and fonts. Would prefer rounded spines but it gives them some uniqueness. Very happy with my purchase so far and excited to start reading!

>6 RRCBS:
How have you enjoyed the Welch books?
I have been thinking about buying them too.

I ended up ordering a set. They’re very nicely made and I look forward to reading them. Due to a large TBR pile and having two little ones who keep getting sick, I haven’t had much reading time! But I plan to start on my first once I finish my current book and I’ll let you know.

>8 RRCBS:
No rush but I would like to hear about them when you have a chance to read them. I do understand the problems with TBR piles, as mine is out of control! I hope that your little ones are well soon too.

>6 RRCBS:
Have you had a chance to read the Welch books? I was still thinking about buying them but just needed to hear someone's thoughts on them first.

>10 emgcat: I hadn’t gotten to them yet, but was just about to start a new book when I saw this, I decided to start Sun of York. I’ll let you know how it was in a few days!

So I’ve read The Sun of York and The Knight Crusader. Enjoyed them both very much. As some reviews have said, the pace is fast and while there is some introspection, this is not literature with a capital L. However, I like variety and I love the way he blends history with fiction. I devoured these two and expect to do the same with the remaining books.

For design, the books have a handmade feel. They are quite beautiful, but I find SF books tend to have small flaws like slight spine lean or bowed boards. I think I only notice this because I have been spoiled by FS books recently. Actually, there’s something nice about the handmade quality that makes these books stand out from, day, Everyman’s Library volumes that are all identical and perfect. I don’t care about limitations, but it’s kind of nice that all of the books in my set have the same limitation. The illustrations are ok, again, spoiled by FS. But they do add a little extra and suit the content and packaging to my mind.

Overall, both packaging and content were a pleasure!

>12 RRCBS:
Thank you so much for your detailed response. They sound like I would enjoy them very much. I have been reading heaps of FS children's books at the moment amongst other things. I will now get onto the SF website, which could be dangerous!

Are all of the slightly Foxed books with slipcovers?

>14 Frank_Zwolinski: no, just the bare book