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If you're looking for a comic book that falls outside of the usual superhero fare, Y: The Last Man is one of the top choices around. A creation of Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerrera, it's a post-apocalyptic story in which a mysterious virus has wiped out every male on Earth, except a young man named Yorick and his monkey, Ampersand. In the eighth trade paperback, Kimono Dragons (issues 43-46), Yorick, Agent 355, Allison, and Rose are in Japan on the trail of the abducted Ampersand. Yorick and 355 find themselves mixed up with the Japanese mafia led by a former Canadian pop star named Epiphany, while Allison and Rose hope to find some answers in Allison's mother's lab. The remaining two issues (47-48) are standalone stories, "The Tin Man" and "Gehenna" (Goran Sudzuka takes over the pencils from Guerrera, with Jose Marzan Jr. still doing the inking), which explore the histories of Allison and Israeli solder Alter. Y: The Last Man is part of DC's Vertigo line and has some mature content, including nudity and graphic violence. --David Horiuchi
Book Description
If you're looking for a comic book that falls outside of the usual superhero fare, Y: The Last Man is one of the top choices around.A creation of Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerrera, it's a post-apocalyptic story in which a mysterious virus has wiped out every male on Earth, except a young man named Yorick and his monkey, Ampersand.In the eighth trade paperback, Kimono Dragons (issues 43-46), Yorick, Agent 355, Allison, and Rose are in Japan on the trail of the abducted Ampersand.Yorick and 355 find themselves mixed up with the Japanese mafia led by a former Canadian pop star named Epiphany, while Allison and Rose hope to find some answers in Allison's mother's lab.The remaining two issues (47-48) are standalone stories, "The Tin Man" and "Gehenna" (Goran Sudzuka takes over the pencils from Guerrera, with Jose Marzan Jr. still doing the inking), which explore the histories of Allison and Israeli solder Alter.Y: The Last Man is part of DC's Vertigo line and has some mature content, including nudity and graphic violence.--David Horiuchi
Customer Reviews:
Graphic SF Reader.......2007-09-03
Yorick and his crew have finally arrived in Japan, and have tracked down the ill doctor's mother.
Elsewhere, the woman Yorick impregnated has given birth, and has taken the baby to the established hot zone to be safe. Not for long though, as the Israeli military show up, and they are not going to want to leave empty handed.
Brian Vaughan takes on the world of Trevor Brown........2007-05-12
Brian K. Vaughan, Y: The Last Man: Kimono Dragons (Vertigo, 2006)
(Note: the following review contains spoilers for previous books in the series.)
Yorick and friends have made it to Japan and are on the trail of Ampersand. The news of Yorick's existence is out, though there's no telling how many people believe it, since the story showed up in the Last Man world's version of the Weekly World News. That's on the background, though; this installment in Vaughan's excellent series is all about finding the monkey. Of course, to do that, they have to get through all the wonderful weirdness that is Japanese culture; no one said Japan was going to sober up once all the men were gone...
If you're already involved in the series, you already know what's in store for you. If not, you shouldn't be reading this, 'cause I've just revealed some big plot points, but I'm still going to tell you to get your [...] out there and start picking up Y: The Last Man. This is good, good stuff. ****
BKV at his best.......2007-02-22
Great work of Brian, it's a pity that Y is coming closer to its end. It will be surely missed.
Another excellent volume in the saga of the last man on Earth.......2007-01-12
Brian K. Vaughan's submersive and addictive Y: The Last Man never ceases to amaze, and this eighth collected volume is no exception. Kimono Dragons finds Yorick, Agent 355, Dr. Mann, and Mann's lover Rose in Japan in search of Yorick's kidnapped monkey Ampersand, who may very well be the key to the fate of mankind. However, also on the trail of Ampersand is the skilled ninja Toyota, who drops her own bombshell as a missing link to what caused the plague is revealed, all while Yorick and 355 deal with a schizo pop-star who has her own plans for the poor monkey as well. As the volume comes to a close, we get a glimpse of Dr. Mann's past, including her tumultuous relationship with her parents, as well as a look at the past of Israeli soldier Alter, and a shattering conclusion that will leave you salivating to see what happens next. Vaughan's storytelling is still excellent, and he manages to reveal just a little bit at a time without going overboard with the suspense. Pia Guerra's artwork does the job as well, which is what veteran readers would come to expect. All in all, Y: The Last Man still manages to be the most addictive Vertigo series since Preacher, and you'll be left begging to see how it all ends.
Everything Starts Coming Together.......2006-11-26
Brian K. Vaughan never fails to amaze. Whether it be with his political superhero book Ex Machina, his subversive teen book Runaways, his original graphic novel Pride of Baghdad, or his original hit, Y: The Last Man, he sure knows how to tell a great story. Though the previous arc, Paper Dolls, wasn't as strong as some of the other Y stories, it still had its good points, and as we learn in Kimono Dragons, Yorick's decision at the end is having some repurcussions. This story, as well as the two stand-alone backstory issues that accompany it, are amazing, and may be the best Y since the Safeword arc. That isn't to say that the stuff in between wasn't good, it was, but Kimono Dragons and Safeword are just that good.
Yorick Brown, the last man on Earth, Agent 355, his bodyguard, Dr. Allison Mann, a geneticist, and her lover, Rose Copen, have finally arrived in Japan. They have been journeying here ever since Yorick's pet monkey Ampersand was stolen by a ninja named Toyota. This was mere moments after learning that Ampersand was the key to returning men to the planet after the plague. Upon their arrival, Yorick and 355 go to search for Ampersand while Dr. Mann and Rose track down Mann's mother. Allison believes that it is no coincidence that the port city that Ampersand was delivered to was the same city that she grew up in with her parents.
Yorick and 355 have to deal with some Yakuza members on their way to getting Ampersand back, with some pretty humorous results (let's just say that the new leader of the Yakuza is a pretty funny look at a certain aspect of pop culture). We also see Yorick and 355 begin to show feelings for each other, which could complicate things between Yorick and Beth, his girlfriend/fiancee who is waiting for him in Paris.
Speaking of people named Beth, Hero, Yorick's sister, has successfully brought Beth II and Beth, Jr. (Beth II had a one-night stand with Yorick about a year prior to the events of Kimono Dragons) back to the "Hot Suite" where the first male born after the plague is being held until he can become innoculated against the plague. Their victory is short-lived due to the arrival of a character who has caused numerous problems for our heroes in the past. Elsewhere, the encounter between Allison, her mother, and Rose leads to some interesting revelations about Allison and the plague itself.
Following Kimono Dragons are two one-shot issues that show some of the history of Allison and Alter Tse'elon, an Israeli militarist who believes that it is her duty to bring Yorick back to Israel so that the Jews may be repopulated while the Muslims die out. The two stories are very interesting and show us some of the characters' motivations for doing what they have done throughout the course of the series.
As I said, Vaughan never fails to impress, and knowing that the wait for the next trade will be about six months is excrutiating. There were some good cliffhangers in these stories, and from what has been said about the following arc, not only is it very good, but we are finally treated to some revelations that have been nearly 5 years in the making.
Book Description
The Shaman's Handbook, by Dragon Magazine regular and Shadowrun novelist Steve Kenson, is the first volume of Green Ronin's Master Class series. Each book in the series introduces a new core class for the d20 System and provides everything you need to fully integrate that class into your campaign. The shaman is a master of the Spirit World and a powerful addition to any adventuring party. The Shaman's Handbook provides not only the class itself, but new prestige classes, spells, skills, feats, and magic items (including such new types as charms and fetishes). The book also provides useful information on the Spirit World and real world shamanic traditions, a bestiary of spirits and ghosts, and several new monster templates. Perfect for players and game masters alike, the Shaman's Handbook opens up a whole new world for your d20 campaign.
Customer Reviews:
A wonderful addition to the d20 family.......2002-10-08
This isn't a power class, although a shaman can be quite powerful.
This isn't a class that simply begs, borrows and steals from other classes to make an amalgam. This is a new, unique and interesting class, one that was definitely missing from the spiritual worldview of the d20 universe.
Well-written, intelligent and obviously well-researched, I recommend this book to any players interested in playing a spiritist character and to any DMs looking to add some dimension to their "primitive" or indigeneous cultures.
Book Description
"A first-rate piece of crime writing."-The Washington Post Book World
"A straightforward police story with a terrific plot, nuanced characters and solid procedures, served up on refreshing new turf."-Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review
"A police procedural of a very different kind. . . . A 'down under' atmosphere that most American readers will find unique."-The Plain Dealer
"Colorful. . . . Disher has literary talent and imagination." -Chicago Tribune
"Disher makes his characters as interesting as his plot." -Portsmouth Herald
"The American debut for Australian crime writer extraordinaire Disher is as complex and dark as anything by Ian Rankin or Michael Connelly."-Las Vegas Mercury
A serial killer is on the loose in a small coastal town near Melbourne. Detective Inspector Hal Challis and his team must apprehend him before he strikes again. But first, Challis has to contend with the editor of a local newspaper who undermines his investigation at every turn, and with his wife, who attempts to resurrect their marriage through long-distance phone calls from a sanitarium, where she has been imprisoned for the past eight years for attempted murder-his.
Garry Disher is the author of over 40 books for adults and children. His crime fiction includes numerous anthologized stories and the Wyatt novels, including Kickback, winner of the 2000 German Critics Prize for Crime Fiction. The first in his Detective Inspector Challis murder mystery series, The Dragon Man won the German Critics Prize for Crime Fiction in 2001.
Customer Reviews:
Down-under on top.......2006-07-31
Garry Disher has brought a colorful, atmospherically dense, thriller
to the bustling world of books of that genre.
The description of police procedures, everyday life in Victoria, combined with the haunting presence of a serial killer who seems to be breathing down everybodys' necks, distills down to a gripping read.
My first Australian thriller, my first Disher, and, on both counts, certainly not my last.
Great book !
Rich and complex, but no whodunit.......2005-06-14
The beachside town of Waterloo, Australia (just outside Melbourne) is in fear due to a rash of abductions and murders. Inspector Hall Challis and his band of stalwart, or rather somewhat self-seeking and leaning toward the corrupt, coppers must try to find the killer. Meanwhile, a rash of fires and burglaries complicate matters. This is not so much a police procedural as an ensemble piece, with rich, fully realized characters and strings of interconnecting plots and subplots. Each character, criminal and cop, has his or her own motivations and musings, and Disher creates a community that draws the reader in. As I said, it's not so much a whodunit - if Disher thinks the killer's identity, "revealed" abruptly in a two-page chapter, is meant to be a surprise, he's a bit off. But my pleasure in reading this book was not abetted one whit by the easy and early deduction of who the killer was; the real strength of this complex, captivating crime novel is its setting and sympathetic characters.
Good sense of Australia, but too much coincidence.......2004-11-12
When a woman is abducted from the side of the road, Detective Inspector Hal Challis is called in. Another woman, a hitchhiker on the same highway, had recently been found murdered and Challis suspects a serial killer may be on the prowl. But the man is being careful, using gloves, condoms, and being careful to use no physical evidence behind him. Challis has little to go on, and a police force that seems filled with problems.
Although the murder(s) occupy much of Challis's time, everyday police work continues. A pair of firebugs who also burglarize homes becomes part of the plot as does a convicted sex offender who just might be the man they're looking for.
Author Garry Disher does a fine job setting the scene--in the Peninsula area of Australia, near Melbourne. Girls talk back to their mothers, female cops take surfing lessons and lust after their teenaged surfing instructor, a police Sergeant's marriage crumbles under the pressure of the police job, and a couple of cops decide to become more aggressive, looking at everyone as a criminal who just needs to be pushed to find the crime. His writing is smooth and manages just enough of the Australian dialect to have an exotic appeal to the non-Australian reader without being overwhelming.
The mystery, however, was a bit disjointed. The eventual resolution came about through multiple incredible coincidences rather than through police work, which weakened the story for me. Real-world policing does rely on luck and coincidence, but Disher carried things too far. Oddly, Hal Challis, the primary protagonist, was the least interesting of the major characters. Perhaps Disher would do better having surfer Pam Murphy as the protagonist of his next novel.
What a Find!.......2004-10-17
This is an excellent police procedural written by an Australian author of whom I'd never heard. His main character, Challis, is the classic haunted, somewhat melancholy, yet very-advanced-in-rank-for-his-age detective. In spite of loneliness, a barren, dry summer, and a milktoast superior, he treats his fellow officers, witnesses, and suspects with respect and understanding.
The setting is different from the NYC- or London-based crime thrillers--and the change in atmosphere is refreshing and adds to the atmosphere as both the summer heat and the townspeople's anxiety over a serial killer in their midst intensifies. The characters are carefully drawn and unique, ignoring the temptation to toss us the usual typecasts in a novel of this kind. Those who enjoy this genre will be happy to discover a great veteran author to explore.
Dreary..........2004-09-29
This book should have been good. There are several separate story lines interwoven around the main one which I expected would add depth, complexity and interest. Disher has the potential to paint a vivid picture of small town Australia. But somehow - for me, at least - it just never picked up any momentum. Many of the characters were under-developed and one- dimensional and some of the situations described were just implausible to me. It was obvious from quite early in the story who the serial killer was (there was no other convincing suspect!)and there was a total lack of suspense or tension for much of the narrative. The action did pick up a litle towards the end, but that didn't compensate for the dreary plod through the rest of the book.
Book Description
Aldis, the Kingdom of the Blue Rase, shines as a new light following the dark age of the Sorcerer Kings. Now, envoys of the Sovereign's Finest strive to protect Aldis from threats like the Lich Kingdom of Kern and the fanatical Theocracy of Jarzon, as well as monsters and dark magic left over from the Shadow Wars of the Sorcerer Kings. Aided by the rhydan - their psychic animal companions - the champions of the Blue Rose guard the Light against the power of the Shadow. Blue Rose, the Roleplaying Game of Romantic Fantasy, allows you to adventure in the fantastic world of Aldea. Based on the world's most popular roleplaying system, Blue Rose gives you everything you need to play. In it, you will find: A streamlined game system, requiring only a single twenty-sided die to reslove any action you heroes may take. Fast and dramatic action resolution, with systems for everything from fighting to social repartee. Complete and flexible rules for hero creation, with options to play rhydan (intelligent psychic animals) as well as humans, sea-folk, the night people, or the mystical vata. A complete system of arcane and psychic powers, from empathy to the darkest depths of sorcery. A system for defining your hero's light and shadow natures, and using the strength of your hero's conviction to influence the flow of the game. Narrator advice, and the introductory adventure THE CURSE OF HARMONY, everything you need to begin telling your own stories in the magical world of Blue Rose. The word has gone out, the land of Aldis needs heroes! Will you answer the call? Join the sovereign's Finest and the Knights of the Blue Rose in safeguarding the kingdom and its people. Swear your allegiance to the Light and to the rightful Sovereign... For Aldis, and the Queen!
Customer Reviews:
A really great RPG.......2007-07-28
This is an excellent product line for those interested in RPGs in the romantic fantasy (RF) genre. It's also purposely limited to the three core books so it's not a never ending avenue of expenditure. Which, IMO, is a great thing. (It does have some freebies, extras, and a forum at the greenronin site.)
I agree with earlier reviews but wanted to add a sort of meta-review (of this, the Companion, & Worldbook) and hopeful "idea pot" inspired on suggestions in the Worldbook.
The system itself is heroically based with powers being a more balanced, and therefore sometimes limited. (If you're not into/knowledgeable about RF, think of a fantasy version of Star Wars and "The Force" -including all the negatives for doing evil stuff- and you're 90% there.)
Because of this, if you have a mixed group (like us - some RF fans, others just casual D&Ders), and some GM's styles aren't strictly RF, the BR system & setting is still really ideal if you switch off GMs.
For example, the way the warrior role/paths (paths are suggestions and ideas for roles [D&D classes]) progress in BR it gains in virtual toughness, which means that you can have some really fun swashbuckling type adventures which still doesn't have to "break it" for the RF fans.
The World, and especially Worldbook, seems to have instinctively felt this would be a good merger since there's lots of coastline and a very good description of a island nation which just begs to be expanded upon. (There's also a swashbuckler in the Companion.)
Mix that with a more "Pirates of the Caribbean" type Freeport (another Green Ronin product line) with the currently free True20 intro adventure and you've go a lot to run with. (True 20 & BR are very compatible - sort of like D&D 3.0 & 3.5.) Take it to Mindshadows (a sort of fantastical Indian subcontinent inspired setting), 7th Sea inspired (fantastical Europe), or Al-Qadim/Tales of the Caliphate Nights (1001 nights inspired) and the possibilities are endless.
Make sure the PCs have a ship in good order and a good Wind Shaper (someone who controls winds) and the party can be back in time for the RF GM to take over during GM switch week. :)
On the bad side, doing this sort of mixed adventure will take some work. And strictly speaking there aren't any sailor/pirate paths listed. But there is a small section in the Worldbook with a sample pirate leader.
And if you just MUST be dark about it all, BR really allows for that too. Just take inspiration from Midnight (a game line inspired by the idea of a Sauron-type being winning the war of middle earth) and make the evil nation of Kern much more powerful, Jarzon (a nation of extremists) much more rampant, and the plains of Rezea besieged, alienated, and unwilling to ask for help from treacherous outsiders and it could be enough to make an anti-hero such as Elric smile in evil joy.
Having said all that, here's a quick lowdown system-wise: BR is offshoot of the d20 (D&D) explosion but has some differences. These include abilities being -5 to +5 which is both the stat & the modifier, which is nice. Characters don't have hit points, they have a static damage track. This makes if have much more in common with games such as BRP (RQ, Stormbringer, etc) then d20 since combat can be pretty dangerous. To offset that danger, there's "Conviction" which more or less acts like "Fate Points" in other games. Plus for certain characters toughness goes up which helps stave off such damage.
BR exclusively uses a d20, which makes things easy.
As stated earlier, there is a pagelist worth of magic powers (arcana) that cover a good degree of the standards of fantasy games. There are extra powers in the Companion, and they are all divided into different types (such as psychic, shaping, and animism, to name a few) that help players and GMs follow certain character types. (Ultimately, however, you can mix and match at will.) Arcana use is limited by the user ultimately suffering physical exhaustion. If you use powers that are "anti-social" (dominating people, etc) characters can suffer from corruption which could finalize in NPC-ville.
Feats are there, and skills, a bestiary, and a d20 conversion section (But that will take some kibitzing). Background, GM suggestions, and a bestiary round out the book.
As an aside, wealth is handled by a wealth rating vs actual money, which stops accounting, but can be weird getting used to.
The Companion is nice because it includes a nice expansion of paths, which really helps give the GM a framework for characters in the game, skills, arcana, a bestiary, and general concerns in the game.
The Worldbook expands on the background given in the main rulebook nicely. Without offering spoilers, it adds several juicy bits and location descriptions for adventure & campaign ideas. There's also maps, an adventure, and adventure seeds.
As stated elsewhere, if you're looking for more there's always True20 material that can be kibitzed.
Rated a 5. for how great it is & 4 for micro-world GMs like me since they really should have more sailer/pirate rules/paths.
Not bad, but outdated.......2006-07-29
Having picked up the True20 corebook, and finding out that this book was its predecessor, I could not help but purchase it. Like the others said, it is a cleaned-up version of d20 meant more for telling stories than hack and slashing. However, unless you are strictly into fantasy RPGing, you will find this a one-trick-pony. If you already have True20, you don't really need to pick up this book, as it offers very little more.
One note about this book; it is rather "feminine". I don't really mean that as an insult. It's just that the art has a feel to it that most men won't like. But if you are trying to convert a girlfriend or wife to fantasy roleplaying, then you should definitely use this book instead of d20 or True20.
Don't Fear the Romance, this is a GREAT system!.......2005-05-06
Even though the book is billed as a game of "Romantic Fantasy," guys don't fear the romance. Essentially, the romance angle is just a marketing point and a style of role play that the GM can stress, or not.
What Blue Rose really is, is a clean d20 system that stresses role playing and story over game mechanics. It is great for beginners and (not to be sexist)I can see encouraging wives and girlfriends to get involved in RPGing with Blue Rose a lot faster then with any other game.
I would have probably never even picked it up if I didn't play the game Mutants and Masterminds (a super hero RPG). I love M&M because it dose stress story over mechanics, and is a heck of a lot of fun. I wanted to be able to apply that same simple smoothness of play to the fantasy realm (like my D&D game), and then I heard about Blue Rose. Many of the adaptations that M&M incorporated into it's mechanics (from the core d20 system) are applied to Blue Rose making it a great game. But there is quite a few things that make Blue Rose unique. Personally, both the M&M and Blue Rose system remind me a lot of the "F.U.D.G.E." gaming system. I would not be surprised if it had some influence in that adaptation made in these games.
The book is really well organized, and beautifully laid out (what you have come to expect from Green Ronin) and contains all the rules you will need to play the game in one book (IE: Campaign setting info, Player info, GM info, and creatures)so it's a great buy. The art work is all black and white, but excellent quality, and very dreamlike.
In any event, if you want to streamline you fantasy games, and put back more story and stop fussing over rules, this is the system for you. You will not be disappointed or suffer from buyer's remorse.
The wait is over.......2005-03-02
The pre-release material for "Blue Rose" suggested that it would take fantasy gaming in new directions. When it was finally released in PDF format (the release date of the paperback version being unclear as of this writing) I snapped it up. The following is my review of the PDF version, which may or may not reflect the paperback version when it is (eventually) released.
"Blue Rose" takes place in a unique fantasy world. There are no elves, dwarves or other Tolkienesque trappings. Neither is it a fantastic version of Earth's middle ages. In this world nobles are chosen by an examination, the ruler is chosen by a divine messenger, and discrimination of race, gender or sexual orientation is unheard of. Indeed, the almost Utopian nature of the kingdom of "Blue Rose" has more in common with the land of Oz than Middle Earth or the Hyborian kingdoms. While some players may snear at such "anachronistic" ideas (if such a term can be applied to a fantasy world), I for one, liked it. Saving the kingdom is a popular theme in fantasy games, well here's a kingdom that I for one think is worth saving.
At this point, it is worth mentioning that "Blue Rose" is not intended to be played with a "hack-and-slash" mentality. The book encourages exploring charcter development, personal motivations and non-violent solutions for problems. This isn't to say that there can't be conflict, or even combat, simply that it shouldn't take center stage in "Blue Rose."
The rules present five cultures of humans for one to play. You can also choose between two non-human races (the magical Vata or the sea-folk) or an intelligent animal. Again I liked that. I am tired of elves, and every gaming group has a player who wants to be an animal.
The system is similar to the d20 system, but the antiquated elements have been shed. The 3-18 scores for abilities have been dropped. In "Blue Rose" all you have are the modifiers (i.e. +1, +2 etc.). Hit points have been dropped (applause!) in favor a damage roll/health level system like that in "Mutants and Masterminds." Finally, experience points are gone. The DM determines when you have advance in levels.
The magic system has been revamped as well. Gone are the endless lists of spells. Instead, there are specific schools of magic, each with a list of uses that can be learned as skills. Thus you have the animalism school, with abilities like beast-speech and beast-summoning, or the shaping school, which lets you shape fire or shape earth. Some players might feel this approach is furstratingly limited, but to me it has a much better feel than the traditional D&D magic system.
My complaints about "Blue Rose" are few. First, as the rules are written, all your character's skill levels go up every time you gain a level, and if you acquire new skills at higher levels you are automatically an expert in them. The designers say they sacrificed realism for playability with this approach, but this is a cop-out. It took me five minute to revise the skill system to provide both.
My second complaint is that the book provides relatively little information on the non-human races. This was most likely a space issue which will be amended in future supplements. It begs the question though; why include the non-human races if they could be fully developed? As a referee I will need to develop these non-human cultures, only to see my work become outdated when said supplements are published.
Despite these complaints, I was very impressed with "Blue Rose." It dispenses with the outdated elements of the d20 system, which I heartily applaud. More than that though, it inspires players to take their playing in a new direction, and in a hobby that is bogged down with endless repitions of a small pool of cliches this approach is truly noteworthy.
Customer Reviews:
My favorite by McKinney.......2006-07-01
Five years ago Wall Street attorney Claire Green's twin sister Zoe was murdered in New Orleans, in a crime that had all the hallmarks of a serial killing but was never tied to any other murders. Zoe's killer is still free. Claire is haunted by the death of her sister. She works herself to the bone and avoids her parents, who see her dead twin whenever they look at her. Before her sister's murder, Claire had a normal love life, but now she finds it difficult to trust men.
To cope with the pain of losing her twin, Claire started a victim's support group named after her dead twin. Now the group's other members have pooled together their resoruces ande started a "lottery" in which they can "win" the opportunity to have those who victimized them killed. By the time Claire learns of this conspiracy, it is too late to stop it, and the latest lottery winner is Claire, whose dead sister the group plans to avenge.
FBI agent Liam Jameson, investigating this plot, follows Claire to New Orleans. Like Claire, Liam is driven by the murder of someone he cared about long ago, and despite the fact that they are at odds, the two work together to catch the man who murdered Claire's sister, and a powerful attraction flares between them.
On one level A Man to Slay Dragons is a story of opposites attracting. Claire is a Jewish Manhattanite who hails from New Orleans; Liam is a self-described redneck who grew up in an Oklahoma trailer park. But Claire and Liam are both more complicated than they seem at first glance. Claire is an attorney who considers breaking the law in order to catch her sister's killer, as well as a complex combination of fear and courage, unwillingness to trust and a powerful need to do so. Liam seems casual and tough at first glance, but he knows that he understands the impulses that drive the killers he tracks a little better than is healthy, and at the same time he still remembers all too well what it is like to be vulnerable and scared.
The push-pull between Claire's attraction to Liam and her fear of the violence men are capable of, and between Liam's attraction to Claire and the knowledge that he should not get involved with a suspect he is investigating combine with Liam and Claire's awareness of each other's contradictory feelings to create some wonderful sexual and romantic tension. Fear and desire intermingle here, as McKinney captures the resistance that accompanies attraction to a stranger perfectly.
I was impressed with several aspects of the book, including the vivid depiction of New Orleans, McKinney's rendering of the work of an FBI agent, and the questions that the book asks of its readers. Questions like: What is the nature of heroism? What is it that makes someone a hero, and what is it that makes someone a monster? Are Liam and Claire heroes or anti-heroes? Are women safe with men? And do women need men to "slay dragons" for them?
Instead of providing simple or superficial answers, McKinney shows that the world is not always a place where men are the heroic protectors and women are the princesses they rescue in the nick of time. There are more shades of gray than that here, more complexity. Sometimes the very things that bring Liam and Claire together turn into stumbling blocks in their emotional intimacy. As in real life, love makes these people vulnerable and building trust requires taking chances and making difficult choices.
It is rare to find a book that is as thought provoking and layered as it is romantic and sexy. For me, this is McKinney's best, and very possibly my favorite romantic suspense novel period.
Decent story line, but not done as well as possible.......2005-08-31
Wanted: A man to slay dragons is how the article reads in the mercenary magazine. A vigilante group of women all suffering from abused crimes form ZOE. They want revenge against those men who have caused them or their loved ones harm. The way the system works is that one name is pulled out each time and the mercenary is paid to take out that person. However, these are not men who have been found guilty and the revenge these women seek may just execute the wrong suspect. The police know the group is involved and the victim's sister wants nothing to do with Zoe's actions.
The killer is revealed too soon and the romance is weak. Frankly, it is not much more than an okay book checked out from the library. Not worth the money to buy only to forget the characters and their story soon after.
Not satisfying.......2002-04-23
Wow, I guess I'm the only reviewer who was not pleased with this novel. When I first stated reading 'A Man to Slay Dragons', I was very impressed and had a hard time putting it down. I thought the idea of a vigilante victim's group using a twisted version of Shirley Jackson's 'The Lottery' to accomplish their goals was original, fresh, and intriguing. The characters of Liam and Claire started off normal for romance-novel fare and all in all I was happy, assured that this would be a delicious read.
This ended up falling into disappointment as I continued into further chapters. After a while, Claire's fear and nagging insecurities about Liam became increasingly irritating. A lot of times I felt like shaking the character and saying 'would you hurry up and trust him?' Not to mention that her relentless feministic dogma was making me almost want the character to disappear. I mean, I'm a woman and I'm all for woman power but I mean, come on! Liam, however, was no better either. Half the time I had no idea what he was talking about nor what point he was trying to make. Not to mention his ending up as being a rather chauvinistic jerk.
I also felt the resolution was way too quick and clean cut. In the end I had the feeling that these characters would never remain together. They also seemed to change their opinions and characteristics on a dime. By the end I could not help but feel like these were not the same characters I had started reading about in the beginning. Not even to start in on the unresolved questions, such as whether Claire kept her job, if Phyllis was ever caught and punished (which, from what I read, it seemed that she was not and I found this solution to be wrong), and what, all in all, truly happened to Zoe's sister.
Overall I found this novel to be sadly disappointing.
Fairy-Tale Quality.......2000-03-02
Claire is a high powered New York attorney in self-imposed exile from her family in New Orleans, unable to come to grips with the murder of her sister and its impact on her family. She becomes entangled with a secret society which uses a lottery to offer the victims of crime their opportunity for revenge. Her life intersects with that of Liam, an FBI agent assigned to investigate the revenge ring, and a sadistic serial killer who collects souveniers from his victims. Against the backdrop of carnival New Orleans, the reader is treated to a memorable tale of good and evil, love and hate, romance and homicidal sexual obsession.
This is my favorite of Ms. McKinney's books; different from her earlier works, it's not at all historical in the classical romance sense, but down to earth and populated with characters with the strengths and flaws of real people in contemporary times. As a result, it moves faster and with freshness. Good and evil; black, white, and shades of gray; love, lust, ugliness - it has it all, crafted a little like a modern day fairy tale. I recommend it highly!
Not disappointed.......1998-07-10
When I first received this book I was disappointed because I wanted a historical novel. Ms. McKinney writes wonderful historical novels, and I wanted more of the same. I was not disappointed after reading. This book was a page turner! The hero in the story was a little cliche, but I overlooked that. Otherwise it would have been a 6 star!
Book Description
"Peking Man," a cave man once thought a great hunter who had first tamed fire, actually was a composite of the gnawed remains of some fifty women, children, and men unfortunate enough to have been the prey of the giant cave hyena. Researching the famous fossil site of Dragon Bone Hill in China, scientists Noel T. Boaz and Russell L. Ciochon retell the story of the cave's unique species of early human, Homo erectus. Boaz and Ciochon take readers on a gripping scientific odyssey. New evidence shows that Homo erectus was an opportunist who rode a tide of environmental change out Africa and into Eurasia, puddle-jumping from one gene pool to the next. Armed with a shaky hold on fire and some sharp rocks, Homo erectus incredibly survived for over 1.5 million years, much longer than our own species Homo sapiens has been on Earth. Tell-tale marks on fossil bones show that the lives of these early humans were brutal, ruled by hunger and who could strike the hardest blow, yet there are fleeting glimpses of human compassion as well. The small brain of Homo erectus and its strangely unchanging culture indicate that the species could not talk. Part of that primitive culture included ritualized aggression, to which the extremely thick skulls of Homo erectus bear mute witness. Both a vivid recreation of the unimagined way of life of a prehistoric species, so similar yet so unlike us, and a fascinating exposition of how modern multidisciplinary research can test hypotheses in human evolution, Dragon Bone Hill is science writing at its best.
Customer Reviews:
Reads like a mystery novel.......2004-02-21
This overview of old history regarding the worlds' most extensive fossil hominid site is great. The sequence of discovery, the loss of the fossils in WWII confusion, and the telling of the modern rethinking of the site and its significance is really very well done.
Book Description
A renowned historian captures a critical moment in Chinese history
Zhang Dai is recognized as one of the finest historians and essayists of China's Ming dynasty. When he was born into a wealthy family in 1597, the Ming dynasty had been in place for 229 years. Zhang's early life was marked by the expansive sense of progress that permeated Ming culture: the flourishing of reformist schools of Buddhism; wide-scale philanthropy; the education of women; a celebration of the visual arts, writing, and music; intellectual pursuit of medicine and science—this was truly a time of cultural creativity and renaissance in China.
When the Ming dynasty was overthrown in the Manchu invasion of 1644, Zhang Dai's family lost their fortune and their way of life. Zhang Dai fled to the countryside, where, as a writer of tremendous skill, acuity, and passion, he spent his final forty years recounting his previous life as a way of leaving a legacy to his children and rebuilding a spirit shattered by the violent upheaval he had witnessed.
Celebrated China scholar Jonathan Spence has pored over Zhang Dai's extraordinary documents and vividly brings to life seventeenth-century China. This absorbing book illuminates a culture's transformation and reveals how China's history affects its place in the world today.
Customer Reviews:
persistence.......2007-09-30
Zhang Dai, the figure at the center of Jonathan Spence's latest book sits at the margins of his milieu and observes and comments upon family members, bureaucrats, art traders, poets and emperors. A member of the Ming elite, Zhang Dai inherits the fortune to come into his own just as the world that has given him his livelihood collapses. Spence chronicles the life of Zhang Dai and his period up to the collapse of the Ming dynasty in 1644. At that point Zhang Dai goes into hiding in different monasteries and his day to day traces disappear. His writings, however, remain. For the next thirty years Zhang Dai continues to write a history of the Ming dynasty as well as biographies and popular reminiscences. Spence's biography of successes, failures, family and forbearance in an age of competitive civil examinations, Yangzi River pirates, lantern parties, parsimony and excess gave me real pleasure. The narrative flows replete with appealing detail, patience, and admiration for the life its subject who took nearly all eighty of his years to discover his contribution to a tumultuous world. As a window into this changing world of imperial China and into the life of a figure possessing flair and fire, I recommend this book wholeheartedly.
Average customer rating:
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Dragon
Kwok Man-Ho
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall Canada
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0133055175 |
Average customer rating:
- This Book Should Be In Print Again...
- Looking into the cosmic mirror
- THE PORTABLE DRAGON
- The Dragonýs No Drag On
- pick it up, read it, throw it away!
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The Portable Dragon: The Western Man's Guide to the I Ching
R. G. H. Siu
Manufacturer: The MIT Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 General
| Philosophy
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Other Eastern Religions
| Religion & Spirituality
| Subjects
| Books
Similar Items:
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The I Ching or Book of Changes
ASIN: 0262690306 |
Book Description
(Originally published in cloth under the title The Man of Many Qualities: A Legacy of the I Ching).
Customer Reviews:
This Book Should Be In Print Again..........2006-10-13
The I Ching (pronounced "yi jing"; it means "Book of Changes") is an ancient Chinese divinatory oracle, as well as a classic account of the philosophy of ancient China. The text contains 64 different "situations", each represented by a figure of six lines (called "hexagrams"). The trigrams making up the hexagram can be either Heaven, Lake, Fire, Thunder, Wind, Water, Mountain, or Earth. A question can be directed to the I Ching by the consultant, and an appropriate hexagram is derived either from the method described in this book (flipping coins) or through the traditional method of casting yarrow stalks. The hexagram is considered to be appropriate to your current situtation and suggests advice on the course of action that you should take. On its own, the I Ching is interesting, though somewhat archaic and obscure if you are trying to really gain a deeper insight into its meanings. Many other commentaries on the I Ching are also available (I recommend Carol K. Anthony's "A Guide to the I Ching", as well), but I find R. G. H. Siu's book particularly enjoyable.
Unlike many other I Ching commentaries, "The Portable Dragon" can either be used for further explanation for using the I Ching as an oracle or read (with great interest) from beginning to end. The full, translated text of each portion of the I Ching hexagrams are given, along with passages from literature relating to the concept involved. Poetry and prose from all around the world is included to better illustrate the examples of each situation. A variety of authors, from well-known to fairly unknown, are represented nicely in this collection. In "The Portable Dragon", even someone who isn't planning to use the I Ching as an oracle can gain a lot of insight on philosophy and simply enjoy good literature.
Looking into the cosmic mirror.......2002-06-11
This book deserves all the praise it has received elsewhere. While the basic pattern or cycles involved are based on the format of the classical Yi Ching, it was a stroke of genius to 'flesh out' the various archetypal situations depicted in the line-texts, with quotations drawn from the world's literature (most reviewers have stressed 'Western' literature, but in fact,
many quotations are drawn from 'ethnic' sources (e.g. Chinese, African, Eskimoo etc. - in English translation).
Initially, I was disappointed with this book - after acquiring the Ist ed. years ago. A review had led me to believe that it was an anthology of Yi-Ching studies/commentaries, leaving me shocked to discover otherwise - a plethora of quotations - drawn from sources spanning many cultures, many centuries. As befits all oracles (usum ad delphi)the original Chinese text mostly rules out once-and-for-all, black and white definitions. The few exceptions being where and when a single 'yes' or 'no' type answer suffices. But by and large, the terseness of the Chinese text survives translation - leaving an open-ended spread of semantic possibilities - without which the intuition cannot come into play. Still, short of writing in a stilted 'pidgin' Chinglish, translating the Chinese glyphs into English (or any other Western language) necessarily involves making a choice of syntax, with tenses not there in the original. The Chinese text has a compression rather like newspaper headlines, or even an encrypted code. So, from that point of view, reducing any given line text to a black and white definition, has its price.
Be that as it may, R.G. Siu is a wonderful soul. He searched the very heart of humanity - in all its richness, triumph and tragedy - and 'just-so-ness' - when selecting his quotations, obviously a labour of love. Many, many times, I have found myself deeply moved - by the appropriateness of the quotations he has 'matched' with the Chinese line texts, resonating in real life situations - the very diversity of the sources increasing my sense of being a man among mankind, reminding me that others have known the same joys and woes, painful decisions, or even the fact that the only thing to do. . .is to wait, and let life itself produce the 'answer' to seemingly intractable situations. In fact, many of those quotations have embedded themselves in my unconscious mind, and - rather like seeds, they have re-activated themselves, speaking to me - without consulting the 'Yi' at all, which is most remarkable.
Nobody has written (or should we say 'composed') another book like it, and nobody ever will. It was a 'one-off' - a flash of inspiration, something about the 'New World' - what happens when a Chinese-American scientist with Taoist feeling and imagination finds himself looking at the Yi Ching in a 'melting pot' culture. Ten thousand people could have endeavoured to do the same thing - without the same success. The outcome could have been a hope-lessly disjointed project, but Ralph Liu's genius fused it with life - and feeling. There is something about the Chinese text and its glyphs, which has a beauty of its own. But in many cases, the nuance of some lines is not clear, minus insight into the Chinese background. Liu's text transposes these archetypal situations to a truly universal context and amplifies them in unexpected ways.A most remarkable book, by a remarkable author.
THE PORTABLE DRAGON.......2002-01-16
EXCELLENT BOOK, WORTHWHILE READING. PICK AND CHOOSE SECTIONSTO READ AND REMEMBER. I RECOMMEND VERY HIGHLY.
The Dragonýs No Drag On.......2001-02-13
This extremely well read editor has substituted mostly Western literature for the exegesis of the lines. Like in the original, these new texts are provided as mirror on which to reflect your question and search yourself for an answer, but with Western content in a Western context. This is a very avant-garde take on the I Ching. I have used it with other commentaries of the I Ching and have found there to be insight in the literature chosen to represent the line's meaning.
It is also a fine collection of literary snippets from a variety of authors you couldn't hope to read in this lifetime, except in this format. They are truly pithy sayings, in the truest sense of that word. It is very similar in content to The Practical Cogitator, but The Dragon is much more playful. Great for reading on the can, almost as good as those little space fillers in the old New Yorker.
pick it up, read it, throw it away!.......1999-07-25
An enlightening look into eastern philosophy, through the eyes and voices of the most famous western philosophers, politicains, rebels, poets, bards, playwrites, martyrs, & fools. A journey all should take. Every page reveals words an philosophies to live by, some obvious, some a tangled maze of stories and morals. Learn from it , and then throw it away and LIVE!
Average customer rating:
- One of the best Stony books ever...
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Dragon Fire (Stony Man #49) (Stonyman, 49)
Pendleton
Manufacturer: Gold Eagle
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Contemporary
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Men's Adventure
| Genre Fiction
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Action & Adventure
| Genre Fiction
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0373619332 |
Customer Reviews:
One of the best Stony books ever..........2005-09-19
I don't give five starts easily, but this book deserves it. The characterizations are spot-on and the action wall to wall. Highly recommended. And if you like Stony Man, check out the multicast audios from Cutting Audio, they are hard to beat.
Books:
- A Midsummer Night's Dream (No Fear Shakespeare)
- A Practical Companion to the Constitution: How the Supreme Court Has Ruled on Issues from Abortion to Zoning, Updated and Expanded Edition of The Evolving Constitution
- A Share in Death (Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James Novels)
- Annapolis Autumn: Life, Death, and Literature at the U.S. Naval Academy
- At Home in Mitford/A Light in the Window/These High, Green Hills/Out to Canaan/A New Song/A Common Life (The Mitford Years 1-6)
- Before I Wake (Before I Wake Series #1)
- Bold Spirit: Helga Estby's Forgotten Walk Across Victorian America
- Brian Jones Straight From The Heart: The Rolling Stones Murder
- CISSP All-in-One Exam Guide, Third Edition (All-in-One)
- Dark Horse
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