Sixty years covers the careers of Terry Pratchett, Patrick O’Brian, George MacDonald Fraser and David Gemmell, all of whom will be remembered long after I am mouldering away somewhere. Raymond E. Feist’s books are also too good to ignore, beginning in the Eighties with Magician and continuing to this day. Between them, those five have given me hours of joy — and inspired me to write.

I grew up with fantasy and science fiction and I’ve always loved the sheer energy of those two genres, the endless flow of inventive, creative ideas. However, I’ve come to realise that characters are the core of all the books I love: that plot follows the people, not the other way around. That was Stephen King’s wild genius — it certainly wasn’t his plotting.

It’s almost impossible to choose just one book, but from the first moment I picked it up, I loved Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card. It was the best of those worlds — a universe of ideas and superbly drawn characters. It begins with the schoolyard troubles of a rare “third”, a child in an era of massive overpopulation whose parents are granted the right to his birth because of his potential. He is bright and under attack from the first page. It rang all my bells when I first read it and I’ve reread it half a dozen times since. No doubt it chimed with my own memories of childhood and misery in schools, but even without that personal link, this is a great tale. It’s a story of adversity and struggle — aren’t they all?— with a surprising ending. The protagonist is just a child throughout the novel, but it still resonates with me today, when my years of childhood are just distant, half-remembered pains.

Conn Iggulden will be appearing at Book it! at The Times Cheltenham Literature Festival at 4pm on Saturday October 17. For booking and further information please call 0844 576 7979; or go online www.cheltenhamfestivals.com;TV Partner Sky Arts, www.skyarts.co.uk

There are just under two weeks to go until voting for the best novel of the past 60 years closes, so why not take part? Readers have already responded in vast numbers, nominating cherished novels with passion to help to celebrate The Times Cheltenham Literature Festival’s 60th anniversary year.

To vote, visit timesonline.co.uk/ books and click on The Cheltenham Literature Festival.

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