Wilbur Smith tops bestseller list
2002-06-13 12:15
London - Prolific adventure writer Wilbur Smith has topped the UK bestseller list for the second straight week with his tale of war, betrayal and magic in ancient Egypt.
Warlock, the sequel to Smith's bestselling River God, has spent 11 weeks on the list, according to figures released on Wednesday by chart compiler Whitaker BookTrack.
Atonement, Ian McEwan's Booker Prize-nominated story set in upper-middle class Britain between the world wars, climbed three places to number two.
There was little movement elsewhere in the top five as Tony Parsons' One for My Baby, a tale of a 30-something man learning to love, held steady at number three.
Also a non-mover was London writer Nick Hornby's How to Be Good, which held the fourth spot after 17 weeks on the chart.
Hornby's other bestseller About a Boy held steady at number seven, continuing to bask in the success of the eponymous film starring Hugh Grant.
Soaring to number five in its first full week on the chart was children's book Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident, starring Eoin Colfer's bestselling arch-criminal.
The sequel to Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incidentich was shortlisted for the Whitbread Children's Book of the Year, sees a slightly mellowed Artemis in a daring underworld search for his long-lost father aided by modern fairies.
The top 10's biggest fall was seen by thriller writer Martina Cole's Faceless, which dropped four places to number six after nine weeks on the list.
Down two places to number eight was James Herbert's chilling adult fairytale Once, while Nicholas Evans's tale of love and firefighting The Smoke Jumper fell one spot to number nine.
Rounding out the top 10 was non-mover Babyville, Jane Green's wry tale about women facing the agonising decision of whether or not to become mothers.
BookTrack compiles a weekly top 100 bestseller list using sales figures from more than 6 000 shops. The full list is at www.booktrack.co.uk.