Chinese Cinderella and the Secret Dragon Society

Book Description

The future belongs to you. Should anyone insult you, tell yourself this: I am a child of destiny who will unite East and West and change the world.

After enduring abuse at the hands of her cruel stepmother, Chinese Cinderella (CC) seeks refuge at a martial-arts school and joins a secret dragon society.

Under the guidance of Grandma Wu, CC is introduced to the exciting world of espionage as a part of the Chinese Resistance movement. And when CC and her new comrades take on a daring mission to rescue a crew of WWII American airmen, they prove that true bravery knows no age barrier.

Customer Reviews:

A good book.......2006-08-01

The main character in this book is Ye Xian or CC (Chinese Cinderella). This story takes place during World War II in Shanghai, China.
One day CC's stepmother, Niang tries to strangle her and she bites Niang to free herself. CC is thrown out of her house by her father and she takes refuge at a kung fu academy. There, she meets Grandma Wu and three orphan boys, David, Marat, and Sam. CC decides to stay and live at the academy and learn kung fu.
In a secret alcove above the academy, CC learns that Grandma Wu, David, Marat, and Sam are in a Chinese Resistance group called the Secret Dragon Society. Grandma Wu asks her to join their group and rescue a group of stranded American pilots from a Japanese controlled island. After they rescue the pilots, CC makes a plan to save another group of American pilots and Marat's brother from a Japanese jail called Bridge House.
CC is successful at rescuing them and she saves the pilots from a horrible death. At the end of the book CC realizes how much family means to her and she decides to write a letter to her father asking his forgiveness.

Val SAS.......2005-11-27

Chinese Cinderella and the Secret Dragon Society is about a girl named Ye Xian who is called CC (Chinese Cinderella) as an english name. One day she gets kicked out of her house by her dad after she gets in a fight with her step mother. Since her aunt has left town for a while, she has no family and no place to stay untill she remembers an acrobat she saw the day before who gave her a card and told her to go to that place if she ever needed help. She finds the lady she saw with the acrobats and tells her her whole story, then she finds out that this lady named Grandma Wu knows her aunt. Grandma Wu takes CC back to her boarding house and gives her a place to stay, along with three other boys who also live there. The boys names are David, Marat, and Sam. Just like CC they are also homeless childern, with no place to go. Soon after she moves in with them she watches David defeat one of Shanghai`s best fighters using KungFu. CC is amazed by his preformance and wants to learn how do fight like David. Living at this house with David, Marat, Sam, and Grandma Wu makes CC feel better than she ever has before and enjoys it very much. After shes been at the `KungFu Academy` for a month Grandma Wu decides she is ready to make the choice of being in their Secret Dragon Society or not. CC accepts and it isn`t long before their first secret mission starts. Thier mission is helping the American fighter pilots refuel safely after bombing Tokyo. After something goes wrong they are forced to crash land on an island, where CC, the three boys, and Grandma Wu are waiting for them. The Americans become friends with the children and are very grateful for their help in rescuing them. Since the island is in Japanese occupied territory, they have to help the injured crew get safely off the island. Many things go wrong but in the end they succeed, by getting the americans of the island in a junk boat.

The future belongs to us!.......2005-07-10

When Chinese Cinderella is thrown out of her house, she finds herself in the deadly streets of Shanghai during World War Two.She becomes a member of a small resistance, that help the American during war.Join CC, David, Sam and Marat with the help of Grandma Wu, as they fight for survival in the war.Helping innocent prisoners escape from jail and stopping the Japanese from evil.This is the sad tale of an unwanted child who has much promise.This book is all that i wanted it to be and to tell the truth i was truly satisfied.Read this book and you will learn all about life in different areas in China and the truth of religion, how no religion is better than another.But what you will always remember how these four unwanted children chanted this very sentence: The future belongs to us! and it didn't it?

A beautiful story.......2005-07-05

Adeline, you have done a wonderful job!
This is one of the most moving books I have ever read. I was crying when I got to the bit where she was thrown out of the house.
This is a very wonderfully written novel.
It had funny parts and sad parts. You have taken me into the story and I felt as if I was actully CC.
Thank you for writing this fantastic story.
I hope there will be a sequel to this book.

Chinese Cinderella.......2005-06-17

I read Chinese Cinderella 2 years ago when I was 15 and until this day, it is still my favourite book. I've read many books but Chinese Cinderella is definitely the most prominent for it's depth. Adeline Yen Mah is a superb writer whose look on life is reflected in her work. Chinese Cinderella is a fantastic cultural piece which knocks down the boundaries of the stereotypical "caucasian" Cinderella. A book definitely worth reading regardless of how old you are. It evokes so much emotion that once you are finished you want to go back and read it all over again. Fantastic!

Celluloid Heroes & Mechanical Dragons: Film as the Mythology of Electronic Society

Average customer rating:

A Treatise on Visionary Film
A Brilliant Mirror
MYTH-CONCEPTIONS
Celluloid Heroes & Mechanical Dragons

Celluloid Heroes & Mechanical Dragons: Film as the Mythology of Electronic Society
John David Ebert
Manufacturer: Cybereditions
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Movies | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1877275743

Book Description

What do Star Wars and Lord of the Rings tell us of our mythic past and our attitude to modern technology?

John David Ebert's Celluloid Heroes & Mechanical Dragons - Film as the Mythology of Electronic Society examines how movies since the late 1960s have developed a "myth of the machine" for our contemporary society. Modern technology, Ebert argues, has created a new environment which raises problems that our modern myths, in celluloid form, attempt to resolve by presenting a number of possible scenarios ranging from "demolition" of the machine, as in The Lord of the Rings, to "symbiosis," as in the Star Wars films. Ebert examines films such as Apocalypse Now, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Videodrome, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and A.I. for answers to the question how modern man can retain his humanity while living in a society which is increasingly dominated by the technology he has created.

From the author's introduction

As one who takes delight in the study of culture, I see today's new myths coming to us in the form of celluloid. Joseph Campbell, by contrast, coming out of the Modernist generation, saw the new myths of his time emerging in the literary apotheosis of the novel under the pens of James Joyce and Thomas Mann, and in the art of Paul Klee and Pablo Picasso. Film, in those days, was still a minor art, considered not one of the highbrow arts at all, but a diversion for the masses. Oswald Spengler compared it with the Roman mime shows of the days of the Empire and Campbell thought so little of it that, with the advent of the talkies — which he and his colleague at Sarah Lawrence, the art and film critic Rudolf Arnheim, dismissed as a decline into realism — he completely avoided the medium until the release of 2001: A Space Odyssey in 1968. Later, when George Lucas invited him to see his Star Wars trilogy — which, after all, had been based on The Hero with a Thousand Faces — he remarked, "I thought real art had died with Joyce and Picasso, but I guess I was wrong." .

It is my contention in this book that film, with the aid of myth, is expanding and developing the great themes of the Western canon, and that it was not until the late 1960s and 1970s, when filmmakers began to make conscious use of myth, that this process began. And by "conscious use of myth," I mean, for example, that filmmakers such as Stanley Kubrick, George Lucas and George Miller drew inspiration for their narratives from Joseph Campbell's The Hero with a Thousand Faces, while Francis Ford Coppola structured the climax of Apocalypse Now upon the model of Frazer's myth of the slain bull god-king in The Golden Bough.

From these four examples of the deliberate use of myth, five of the most successful films of all time were created — 2001: A Space Odyssey, Star Wars, Apocalypse Now, Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Road Warrior — which then spawned hordes of secondary imitators whose work did not bear the direct influence of mythic scholarship, but were mythologically inspired nonetheless by way of their being affiliated to these five films. To this secondary group belongs such films as Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T., Altered States, The Last Wave, Dune, Jacob's Ladder (inspired by The Tibetan Book of the Dead), the Star Trek movies and others.

Customer Reviews:

A Treatise on Visionary Film.......2006-04-10

John Ebert's book is essential reading for anyone even slightly interested in "visionary" film-- that genre of film that explores the imaginative and mythic possibilities of film, pioneered all the way back with George Melies, and carried on by such modern proponents as Kubrick, Coppola, Lynch, etc (where Ebert's focus predominates). He offers his keen scholarly insight into the mythic and sociological undercurrents of this still-evolving trend, which I found to be fresh and original. While one will inevitably disagree with some of his assessments ("The Matrix" as garbage?), that's actually some of the fun--and value--of works like this, since it forces one to formulate one's own views in response more clearly, and stimulate one's thinking in ways that straight consensus wouldn't.

There are a few notable omissions from his overview---horror films and experimental cinema surely deserve an seat at this visionary table--but then, a work covering every conceivable facet of this subject would have required a series of volumes rather than just one, so that may actually be a blessing in disguise. All in all, an important work on the premier art of our time--cinema.

A Brilliant Mirror.......2005-12-15

John Ebert's remarkable book, Celluloid Heroes & Mechanical Dragons, does to movies what Joseph Campbell's Hero With a Thousand Faces did to myths. This is a mouthful, I know, but Ebert delivers. Armed with vast knowledge of our cultural past and a profound understanding of our present, he ventures into the world of "celluloid myths" (that Campbell pretty much dismissed until, as pointed out in the book, George Lucas turned him on to his Star Wars trilogy) and comes back with the boon. And what an incredibly rich and enriching boon it is.
Ebert uses his vast knowledge of myths, and practically everything else, to reveal the mythic dimension of some our most popular movies. As he maintains in the book, the first conscious incorporation of myths in movies, what he calls celluloid myths, was initiated by Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, which (according to the author) was inspired by Campbell's Hero. All the films discussed in the book are heirs to Kubrick's 1968 masterpiece: "2001 was the first major presentation of a theme that would come to be reiterated in film over and over again, namely that of the battle of an individual human being against an impersonal system that is threatening to dehumanize him, whether that system is defined as the megalopolitan city, the meta-national corporation, or technology in general . . .All are reworkings of Bowman's battle with HAL."
What I really liked about the book is that it doesn't dissect the movies to death, but rather provided enough insight so that I wanted to see many of these movies again. Before finishing the book, I couldn't wait to get the DVD's of the first two covered movies, Apocalypse Now (Redux) and 2001. The "guided tour of the films of David Cronenberg" even got me to the point where I want to take a second look at his movies, which (the ones I saw) I generally find hard to watch. I guess this best describes what the book did for me. Somewhat like the shield in Perseus and the Gorgon Medusa, it functions as a mirror that allows us to see the Mechanical Dragons that have become such a prevalent part of our movies (and our lives) and how they're slain by our Celluloid Heroes. It updates many of our most popular myths as never before.

MYTH-CONCEPTIONS.......2005-11-09

With a white-hot strike to the center of the frozen, sterile and inert films that typifies modern Hollywood, John David Ebert reignites the passion, grandeur and vision that make film the most compelling, and relevant form of mass entertainment today. By distilling the great films of yesterday and today, Ebert manages in clear, distinct and entertaining prose to explain and explore why film has surpassed the novel as the preeminent purveyor of myth and wonder in our society.

His journey is precise and with an overall purpose, however, one may skip to chapters that hold special interest, for me, I found that reading the entire book was far more satisfying, even when I arrived at dissimilar conclusions than Ebert. For example, Ebert has long been an admirer of David Croenenberg, a director I find distasteful and vulgar in many respects, but in reading Ebert's exploration of Croenenberg's films, I found a new prism in which to view the director, and upon seeing his latest work A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE, watched the film with a deeper sense of what he was trying to achieve.

For me, myth has always been the cornerstone of all great art, whether it be visual art (painting), films, novels, I find that all such works are enriched by a foundation that embraces the great mysteries and universal connections which are the lynchpin of myth. Ebert's gift is the uncanny ability to take interesting films and dissect them at a historical, mythological and sociological level, deepening our understanding and appreciation of what makes certain films imprint the mind with images that recur and haunt and amaze us. What's even more interesting is that many of us watch these films with only a subconscious understanding of why they grip us in their web, which is actually the point. Myth is anything but conscious, it's wellspring is the imagination, the realm of dreams and nightmares and visions, and as such, need not be fully understood to be effective. Ebert's gift is to be able to show us all the facets that arise from the world's myths, whether rooted in Western or Eastern culture, his erudition, knowledge and ability to make them all cohesive is amazing. He's a good writer, a better thinker, a good critic, a better scholar.

One would assume that such an examination of myth and films would be dry and turgid, but just take a look at chapter 3, which is an interview Ebert did for a magazine. The discussions range from APOCALYPSE NOW to GODFATHER 3 to 2001 A SPACE ODYSSEY, and the way Ebert breaks them down is incredible. On APOCALYPSE NOW, he describes the film as a hero's descent into the underworld, mirroring some of Dante's INFERNO, and then in the same sentence, makes a segue to the Egyptian Book of the Dead, where the sun god Ra, journeys down a river through a kingdom of the dead, encountering obstacles until he reaches the Lord of the Dead, Osiris. Sounds convuluted? You're wrong. Ebert makes the transition so seamless and obvious that I actually started laughing with sheer intellectual enjoyment at what he was saying. In the same chapter, Ebert takes on the notion that many of these mythological symbols are accidental and not planned by the creative artist, and again provided brilliant analysis. For some, Ebert agrees, these symbols are certainly not always intentional, but he goes on to say that they spring for a universal source of creativity that is tied directly into the mythological wonder that occurs when the creative spirit is open to anything. So, though Kubrick certainly knew what he was doing when the ape throws the bone that becomes a spaceship, other artists arrive at the same powerful symbols through their own inward journey, which manifests itself as something that has existed for thousands of years. If you're confused by this, don't worry. Ebert breaks it down far more eloquently than I can, that's why he writes about myth and I try to tap into them in my day-job as a screenwriter.

A few nitpicky comments so as not to give the impression that I agree with EVERYTHING Ebert writes, that would make me a less-than critical thinker, which I hope I will always be. I wish he'd gone more into the Western and its mythic underpinnings, specifically films like THE WILD BUNCH, THE SEARCHERS, RED RIVER, ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST, and THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE, all of which seethe with classical mythological symbols and images (John Wayne standing in the open doorway at the end of the Searchers as civilization occurs within the house, while he's forever isolated from such comforts). Also, Ebert has a list of films he considers notable, and while "best ever" lists are always subjective, it's still a fun way to measure your tastes against others to see what you have in common and more importantly, what you don't agree on. Ebert has a top 16 of his generation, topped by 2001, and including JAWS and TITANIC. Every film on the list has been at least tangentially or substantively discussed in the book, but as with any list, there are some head-scratchers for me. I wouldn't include all 3 original STAR WARS films, I would only include EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, and leave it at that. I would drop VIDEODROME, AI, and SCHINDLER'S LIST (Ebert has a great affinity for SPIELBERG, a director I think is visually brilliant, but intellectually facile). Other than that, the list isn't bad, considering Ebert limited himself to "my generation" freeing himself from having to go back to a number of other great films. He pretty much starts his list from 1968 and moves forward, leaving the omission of WILD BUNCH (1969) as a puzzler, but subject to lively debate. That's what makes the book great, Ebert lays out the foundation of these visionary films and their directors and then invites you to do your own investigation and arrive at your own conclusions. His, he states with force and logic and conviction, no getting around that. But the whole point is for you to leave the book wanting more and going back to favorite films and having a second, third of fourth look, seeing new symbols, new connections, previously unnoticed.

The idea that visionary films have replaced great novels as the preeminent creative force of our time is one that bears more exploration. In the old days, you had great writers like MANN, JOYCE, PROUST and HESSE. Now, you have prose stylists masquerading as "serious" writers, with nothing visionary and interesting to contribute. they write mostly to impress their brethren, the audience be damned. I'm no Thomas Wolfe fan, but I agree with his manifesto years ago, that today's writers have abandoned great, realist stories in favor of fancy prose and post-modern angst that makes for empty reading. Films admittedly have their share of bad writers and bad directors, but on the other hand, there are more interesting and talented and risk-taking artists in filmmaking today than in literature. You have SPIELBERG, TYWKER, VINTERBERG, CUARON, SALLES, COPPOLA (he has one last masterpiece, trust me), SCORSCESE, JACKSON, CARO, CAMERON, et al. They represent a vital, powerful force that is driving the great films of today and tomorrow. If nothing else, Ebert's book leaves you awaiting the next, great work of these artists, knowing it will draw on symbols and touchstones that go back thousands of years, to our universal connection. And that's all we really care about when we view art. We want to be moved, touched, transported, entertained, frightened.

Awed.

Ebert knows this.

So should you

Celluloid Heroes & Mechanical Dragons.......2005-08-10

In the introduction to his "Understanding Media," McLuhan wrote that his editor "noted in dismay that `seventy-five percent of your material is new. A successful book cannot venture to be more than ten percent new.'" Ebert's "Celluloid Heroes & Mechanical Dragons" presents a lot of new material, but when the world has changed and few have noticed, there's a lot to cover.

To understand Ebert's book we have to address change, as in technology (biotech, computing, nanotech, quantum theory, etc.) is about to change us as a species. And a lot of the traditions that used to help us with change, like European intellectuals, the literary novel, and academia, are nowhere to be found.

Europe has left the scene. Today, looking at European/American culture wars, one is tempted to think of a quiet retirement community disturbed by rowdy teenagers with noisy motorcycles. The bikers can be dangerous, but we are not going to hear anything new from the retirees.

Academia has collapsed. We might have hoped that in a period of profound change academia would be on the case. Not. The contemporary PhD thesis, article, and book in cultural studies is typically written by putting poststructuralist jargon in a word randomizer and printing out the results to signal that one is a member of the tribe. (One such randomizer, Pixmaven's Instant Art Critique Phrase Generator, is available online) Which leaves it to the nonacademic "independent public intellectual" to analyze our culture. John Ebert is a leading member of this vital group.

And the literary novel has ended. Myers' "A Reader's Manifesto" looks at the state of the contemporary literary novel, the pretentious kind that wins awards and gets reviewed in literary magazines, and finds that it has degenerated into gibberish-"some of the most acclaimed contemporary prose is the product of mediocre writers availing themselves of trendy stylistic gimmicks." Ebert makes a related point at the beginning of "Celluloid Heroes" where he writes: "Surveying at a glace the current states of western literature ... compared to its state in, say the first half of the twentieth century, what strikes one is an appalling decline in overall quality."

Ebert's conclusion? A culture chooses an art form in which to invest its energy. That art form has a period of vitality and then falls into decline. The literary novel has fallen into such a decline, and has been replaced by movies.

Ebert's interest is in what he calls the "visionary movie" since 1968 (think Speilberg, Kubrick, Coppola, Lucas, Cronenberg, Tarkovsky, Scott, Cameron, etc.), and its focus on the impact of technology on our culture and ourselves as human beings. His approach is to treat movies as mythologically informed literature.

Despite the rejection of mythology in much of academia, it appears that our filmmakers have retained their mythological literacy, whether through subliminally absorbing the classics, or actually reading them. Ebert observes that in "Apocalypse Now," Coppola shows Kurtz reading Eliot's "The Hollow Men," which was inspired by Conrad's "Heart of Darkness," also the source of the plot of the movie, while the camera picks up Frazer's "Golden Bough" and Weston's "From Ritual to Romance" on Kurtz's desk.

What do we mean by mythology? We might describe a mythological position, particularly as taken by Joseph Campbell, as the notion that the structures and patterns of the energies of the cosmos that pour into the phenomenal realm are revealed in our myths, literatures, and arts.

Ortega y Gasset wrote:
"[T]he political or cultural aspects of history are... the mere surface of history; that in preference to, and deeper than these, the reality of history lies in biological power, in pure vitality, in what is in man of cosmic energy, not identical with, but related to, the energy which agitates the sea, fecundates the beast, causes the tree to flower and the star to shine."

It is this cosmic energy that Ebert identifies in the great visionary movies of our time. Thus Visionary movies are mythologically based and assume that there are archetypal patterns in the course of empires and nations, in our becoming fully human, in the human/technology interface, and in the cosmos itself. Academia today, with its poststructuralist viewpoint, takes Locke's "tabula rasa" position and is profoundly anti-essentialist, vehemently denying transcendence and archetypal patterns. Ebert's book is a refutation of this position.

From Ebert's point of view, the role of the movie critic becomes to approach movies with a background of literacy adequate to unpacking them and helping us in our readings of them. Ebert does this. Few other movie critics can.

So, should you buy this book? Here is how to decide: Write down a list of your top sixteen films. If five or more overlap with Ebert's list, order the book immediately. Here is Ebert's list.

1. 2001: A Space Odyssey
2. Apocalypse Now
3. The Star Wars movies
4. The Godfather movies
5. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
6. Alien
7. Blade Runner
8. Videodrome
9. Raiders of the Lost Ark
10. The Shining
11. The Exorcist
12. A.I,
13. Schindler's List
14. The Road Warrior
15. Titanic
16. Jaws

Another test is that if you enjoy the books of Joseph Campbell or William Irwin Thompson, you will love this book. You can see more of Ebert's work at the website, CinemaDiscourse.

Dragon and the Cross: The Rise and Fall of the Ku Klux Klan in Middle America

Average customer rating:

Even better Than I Hoped

Dragon and the Cross: The Rise and Fall of the Ku Klux Klan in Middle America
Richard K. Tucker
Manufacturer: Archon Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Revolutionary | Historical Study | History | Subjects | Books

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Customer Reviews:

Even better Than I Hoped.......2002-07-18

Although this book bears the legend `The Rise And Fall Of The KKK In Middle America' it's really the story of the rise and fall of charismatic Grand Dragon David Stephanson and the Klan of Indiana. Of course, that is not a bad thing, because the story is quite fascinating, and as the author deftly points out, still relevant today.
Stephenson, something of a near do well, finds success and almost unlimited power through the newly reborn KKK of the twenties. Although he seemed to have little use for the philosophy that drove the organization he still was able to use it to propel him to a position of prominence similar to political bosses like Tweed or like minded populists like Huey Long. He even dreamed of one day becoming President, and according to some accounts, a strong man in the style of Mussolini.
The Klan of the twenties had little relation to either its predecessors or it's ancestors of today, except for the ceremonies, the hood and the hatred. In fact, they had more in common with Christian right groups like The Moral Majority. The Klan of the twenties, modern sympathizers may want to note, was more concerned with the dangers of papists than of blacks. Indeed, the anti-catholic nature of the Klan was the probably the predominate feature of the organization, and one of the reasons they opposed Democratic President aspirant Al Smith. The other reason of course was `demon rum'. We tend to forget the importance of wets and drys in the era of prohibition, but the KKK of the 20s were as much about moral crusading and nationalism as Catholic bashing. Made up of WASPs of the fundamentalist persuasion, they attempted to impose their moral values on everyone, much like right wingers today, and much like right wing groups today, their leader failed to live up to the diktat's he wished to impose on others.
Stephenson, himself a drunk and slut, fell from grace after causing the demise of a young girl whom he desired. He kidnapped her, he raped her, he bit her viciously and did not bother to get her help when she took poison in response to his amorous attentions. Stephenson's minions mostly abandoned him at this point, except those that denied it ever took place. Indeed, despite his overt threats, even the politicians that he owned were willing to be exposed rather than defend him. One might think that moral crusaders of our own time could learn a lesson from this true-life parable, but that is perhaps asking too much.

The Dragon Society (Obsidian Chronicles)

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The Dragon Society
Good sequel
Old story new twist
Watt-Evans is no Robert Jordan - thank the stars!!
Outstanding work

The Dragon Society (Obsidian Chronicles)
Lawrence Watt-Evans
Manufacturer: Tor Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0765340542

Book Description

One Man Must Stand Against the Dragon Menace!It all began with Dragon Weather: a wave of incredible heat, oppressive humidity, dark angry clouds . . . and dragons. Dragons with no remorse, no sympathy, no use for humans; dragons who destroyed an entire village and everyone in it. Everyone, that is, except the young boy, Arlian.Orphaned and alone, Arlian was captured by looters and sold as a mining slave. Years later he escaped, fueled by years of hatred for the dragons, bandits, and slavers that took away his youth-and a personal vow to exact retribution from those who have wronged him. Arlian seeks out The Dragon Society, whose sworn purpose is to stand against the dragon menace. What he learns there is shocking: that he may well be the best hope humanity will ever have for defeating the dragons . . . permanently.

Customer Reviews:

The Dragon Society.......2005-07-28

I loved this book, it was a great ending to the three Obsidian Chronicles. I liked it so much I got my hubby to read the series. I would reccomend it to anyone who loves dragons and mystery. It comes close to being as good as Lord of the Rings!

Good sequel.......2004-10-08

While not as compelling as the first book in the series I thought this was an excellent book. It continues right where Weather left off, Arlian's quest for vengence against the Dragons that made him a Dragonheart and that killed his family and town. He also settles his debt with the surviving members of the Dragon Society that he swore vengence on, just not in the way you would think.

Several new plot twists are introduced in this book and I think they fit in nicely and keep the series flowing well. There were no slow spots in the book that I saw and found it hard to put down. My only complaint I guess, was that Arlian would keep realizing something (an idea, a different viewpoint, a sloution, etc.) after it was plain to everyone else or the reader and sometimes he would not think of a consequence of his actions for a long time and be suprised when he does think of it or is faced with it. His indecisiveness did annoy me at times but not too much. Maybe he just isn't the brightest in the world....lol

Anyways, I can't wait to read the third book. Highly recommended.

Old story new twist.......2003-09-17

Due to the Anne McCaffery books Dragons that used to been "evil" have become good. LWE brings back the old dragons that made them wonderful beasts again. When I first read Dragon Weather I loved it and I thought for sure the next won't be as good it turns out I was wrong I am deeply in love with Arlian and I love the discription getting more involved with the feelings of the main charticter which doesn't happen in many books of this stature. I also love the fact that he doesn't suger coat anything giving the charticters a more realistic feel.

Watt-Evans is no Robert Jordan - thank the stars!!.......2003-05-30

Arlian comes back from Desolation after participating in the events leading to the demise of Lords Enziet and Drisheen, pondering ways to fulfill his vow of ridding the world of the dragon plague. Immediately we are thrust back into the political machinations of the upper-crusty society of Manfort. Too much time is spent with Arlian thinking "but oh...the dragons...they are evil and must be stopped!". 90% of the novel takes place within the confines of Manfort, where the previous book gave us a more complete picture of Arlian's world.

That said, I got a real feel for the characters, Black and Toribor in particular. Arlian is a tad one-dimensional in his quest. He is MUCH too misunderstood, too martyr-like in his quest to be interesting. Thankfully, the other characters in the novel are significant enough to shoulder the weight of the narrative.

As another poster mention, this definately feels like "the middle book". While there is a definate ending to the book, its not particularly satisfying. The dragons are fleshed out a bit further as a major threat, but we don't see much of them. When one finally does make an appearance, it doesn't feel like the revelation it should be.

But I have faith in Watt-Evans. His "Book of Silence" series with Garth the Overman is my favorite fantasy series of all time and I have high hopes for his latest. I'm sure whatever he comes up with next, it will have made The Dragon Society a worthwhile read.

Outstanding work.......2003-05-10

I'm the first person to admit I'm a mark for LWE's work, but this series is outstanding. LWE is certainly not the most eloquent writer, but he doesn't have to be because he ALWAYS has a great story to tell, and this one is no different.

Book Description

They called themselves "Vampires," "Dragons," and "Egyptian Kings." They were divided by race, ethnicity, and neighborhood boundaries, but united by common styles, slang, and codes of honor. They fought--and sometimes killed--to protect and expand their territories. In postwar New York, youth gangs were a colorful and controversial part of the urban landscape, made famous by West Side Story and infamous by the media. This is the first historical study to explore fully the culture of these gangs. Eric Schneider takes us into a world of switchblades and slums, zoot suits and bebop music to explain why youth gangs emerged, how they evolved, and why young men found membership and the violence it involved so attractive.

Schneider begins by describing how postwar urban renewal, slum clearances, and ethnic migration pitted African-American, Puerto Rican, and Euro-American youths against each other in battles to dominate changing neighborhoods. But he argues that young men ultimately joined gangs less because of ethnicity than because membership and gang violence offered rare opportunities for adolescents alienated from school, work, or the family to win prestige, power, adulation from girls, and a masculine identity. In the course of the book, Schneider paints a rich and detailed portrait of everyday life in gangs, drawing on personal interviews with former members to re-create for us their language, music, clothing, and social mores. We learn what it meant to be a "down bopper" or a "jive stud," to "fish" with a beautiful "deb" to the sounds of the Jesters, and to wear gang sweaters, wildly colored zoot suits, or the "Ivy League look." He outlines the unwritten rules of gang behavior, the paths members followed to adulthood, and the effects of gang intervention programs, while also providing detailed analyses of such notorious gang-related crimes as the murders committed by the "Capeman," Salvador Agron.

Schneider focuses on the years from 1940 to 1975, but takes us up to the present in his conclusion, showing how youth gangs are no longer social organizations but economic units tied to the underground economy. Written with a profound understanding of adolescent culture and the street life of New York, this is a powerful work of history and a compelling story for a general audience.

Customer Reviews:

The dark side of the American dream as expressed by working class hoodlums.......2006-04-16

I cannot imagine anyone ever writing a more thorough examination of the environment, causes and activities of juvenile street gangs in New York than Eric Schneider. Schneider, himself of lower-middle-class Manhattan origins, presents us, not with a vague cultural angle on the phenomenon, but an entire history of the changing economic and racial landscape of post-war New York and how street gangs were, in essence, a manifestation of that changing landscape. Gangs were a reaction to their underlying social circumstances and it is with this level of depth and rigour that Schneider has approached the subject.

He does cover aspects of street gangs beyond the historical/social such as descriptions of their own arcane culture and bebop-inspired lingo, the concepts of masculinity and the importance of honor to most boppers (an honor that appears to be impossibly out of reach to most working class male youth in mainstream society, both then and now). There's also a fine conclusion in which Schneider compares today's gangs to those back then and how the older gangs were (in his view, at least) a kind of de facto rebellion against mainstream society and values. Today's gangs, by contrast, are defined more as economic entities and micro-capitalist organizations than their honor- and turf-bound ancestors.

Vampires, Dragons and Egyptian Kings is an excellent analysis of the history and culture of New York City at a particular time in it's development and this book is sure to enthrall anyone interested in youthful reprobates in general and those that inhabited New York in particular.

only in New York..........2005-09-25

This book is an excellent treatise into one of the many fascinating eras of the NY underworld. The author takes you back to a dark time when Italian gangs fought Irish and German gangs, then united to fight Puerto Rican and Black Gangs, after which even Puerto Ricans were assimilated. This was a time when gangs were vicious but had not yet discovered heroine, crack cocaine, and machine guns; very interesting reading.

This is real.......2002-07-16

My grandparents emigrated from Italy
to East Harlem, a neighborhood described in the book.
I grew up on East 112st during 50's and 60's.
Not too many books have truely taken me back
as this one has.
I see Mr Schneider's work as highly accurate
written to keep the reader's interest.
An absolute must for anyone that has grown up
in the inner city during that era.

No singing and dancing.......2000-05-16

Gang life of the 40's and 50's is so often portrayed in popular culture (West Side Story, Capeman, The Wanderers etc) that it's almost a shock to read about the reality of the phenomena. "Vampires, Dragon's etc" convincingly traces the history of the gang in postwar New York (although there have been gangs in New York since pre-revolutionary days) attributing their modern evolution to a mixture of factors including the influence of the institutions of the Second World War, and ethnic conflicts cause by migration and immigration to the New York area. Fascinating too, is the minutiae of gang life from fashion notes (the alpine hat was favored gang headware for a time) to gang philosophy.

Dragons Teeth: Literature in the English Revolution

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Dragons Teeth: Literature in the English Revolution
Michael Wilding
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Book Description

"Books," wrote Milton, "are like dragon's teeth that spring up armed men." This study looks at some of the armed men that Milton, Marvell, Browne, and Butler sent off to fight, reading a series of 17th-century literary texts against the historical and political backdrop of the English
Revolution. Confronting the formalist taboo on historical and political context, Wilding provides many challenging new readings, exploring issues of war and peace, of economic exploitation, social repression and the radical politics of the Levellers and Diggers. The issues that resulted in
revolution three centuries ago are still relevant today, as Wilding persuasively demonstrates in a collection that will interest scholars and students of English literature, history, and political science.

The Veiled Society (Dungeons & Dragons Module B6)

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Swashbuckling In The Streets

The Veiled Society (Dungeons & Dragons Module B6)

Manufacturer: TSR Hobbies
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0880380853

Product Description

"The widow insists there are demons in her house. She hears them at night in her root cellar, and now they call out to her. But she is old and nervous and her mind often plays tricks on her. * * * Two men, their heads fully sheathed in large, black hoods, dig quickly in the darkness of the cellar. The hole grows deeper as their shovels bite into the earth."This will teach those meddlers their place," laughs the tall, hefty figure. "But it's too bad this was an accident," the shorter, slim figure says haltingly. "But don't you see the advantage?" snapped the tall man. "They will fear us now. They will fear for their lives... Grunting. they heave a sailcloth bundle into the hole. As it falls, a woman's hand dangles lifelessly from the folds. Who is the woman? Why will her death trigger riots and unrest in the city of Specularum? And the assassins: Are they Torenescu, Radu, or Vorloi? Or, curse of curses, the Veiled Society? This special game adventure provides a section of paper buildings and figures to cut out and use, giving you three dimensions to your game play!"

Customer Reviews:

Swashbuckling In The Streets.......2006-07-04

"The Veiled Society" is an adventure that takes place in the D&D campaign world city of Specularum. In this urban setting the player characters find themselves mixed up in the political maneuverings of three of the city's noble families. One of these families secretly rules the "Veiled Society," a criminal/terror syndicate. This adventure features a number of preprogrammed encounters to keep the action moving.

To help the DM have a greater idea of the boundaries of this urban environment, a small scale city map is provided. Additionally, 3-dimensional cardstock cut-outs of the city streets are included and intended to be used with 25 mm miniatures.

B6 is a departure from the heretofore dungeon crawl formula: this is an adventure based around a plot. As such, these types of adventures are often limited in scope due to their plot, making them difficult to evolve smoothly into other storylines. Another difficulty is that the adventure hook is weak because it simply draws PCs into a storyline that they are not really a part of. A good DM will have to give his players a powerful motivation to become embroiled in this type of intrigue plot.

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My re-introduction to an amazing world by Mrs. Bertin...
pretty good
Great read, couldn't put it down!!
Will the wait ever be over
A fresh breeze

The Last Dragonlord
Joanne Bertin
Manufacturer: Tor Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

General | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0312864299

Amazon.com

Linden Rathan is the last of a race of weredragons--magical, nearly immortal half-humans who can transform themselves into mighty dragons. Linden is one of three dragonlord judges who will determine the next ruler of a true human kingdom. Political and sorcerous machinations and ancient hatred threaten the dragonlords' decision, and Linden must sort out the good from the evil, all the while fighting loneliness and despair. When he meets a beautiful young sea captain, Linden thinks he might have a chance at love after all. This is Joanne Bertin's first novel, and sometimes her storytelling ambitions make for a bit of confusion when new characters, history, and plot devices are introduced all at once. The Last Dragonlord is an excellent fantasy, nonetheless, with interesting, sympathetic characters and an intriguing setup. Fans of Anne McCaffrey's Pern series and other high fantasy sagas will find themselves caught up in a wonderful, romantic world.

Book Description

Sweeping readers along at a breakneck speed with breathtaking imagery and effortlessly readable prose, Ms. Bertin has created a thrilling new mythos, fresh in conception and filled with the joy of discovery, scope and enchanting to read, with characters who will instantly steal readers' hearts. The Last Dragonlord is destined to become a sensation among fantasy readers.As never before, we are present in the society of were-dragons. Linden, the eponymous hero and youngest of the Dragonlords, is an extraordinary magical creature who can shapechange from human to dragon and back again. Tragically, among the Dragonlords he is the only one of his kind never to have found his soulmate.Now the Queen of one of the Dragonlords' subject realms has drowned under suspicious circumstances, and two aspiring regents vie for control of the vacant throne. But a secret society, headed by a sinister mage, has their own dark plans, and a beautiful young sea captain who becomes romantically involved with Linden may fall victim to their fiendish plot. When Linden finds himself trapped by their deadly magic, he realizes that he might end up being the last dragonlord; ever.No simple plot summary can convey the power of this exciting debut, which evokes visions of such masters as Mercedes Lackey, Anne McCaffrey, and Melanie Rawn.

Customer Reviews:

My re-introduction to an amazing world by Mrs. Bertin..........2007-01-12

I am actually reading this fantasy as a prequel to "Dragon and Phoenix," which turned out to be one heck of a read, one with interesting characters and a colorful world. I had to find the original opening to Bertin's Dragonlord series. The "Last Dragonlord" takes the reader into the world of noble Dragonlords, creatures with both human and dragon forms marveled by truehumans. The main protagonist, Linden Rathan is on a mission to the kingdom of Cassori on a diplomatic mission to negotiate with various lords who regard dragonlords unfavorably, blah, blah... On the sidelines is an evil magician who mercilessly sacrificed a child to unleash dark magic upon the nobility for reasons I have yet to discover. I don't know the rest of the story since I've only started, but I can already tell this will page a nonstop ride that I won't put down till the end. Joanne Bertins writing style and story-building feels right at home with the likes of Anne McCaffrey's "Dragonriders of Pern" saga.

pretty good.......2006-12-24

Looking at other peoples reviews I can see why many people don't like the story. The plot itself is not that original nor is the concept of soultwins. The characters at times can be a bit sterotypical, but that didn't really stop me from enjoying the book. Yes the book should probably be in the romance section, since this is the main theme.
Sherrine is the one of the more human characters, she shows all the emotions in extremes. Rynna does cry a few times, but I don't really remember her crying every two seconds. She cries when part of her face is sliced open and when her lover tells her he can't see her again with no explanation. While this can be annoying for many people I think they are valid reasons to cry. Tarlna and Kief are not really developed well which is unfortunate because they could be the more interesting characters. I could go on about the other characters, but I think most people get the point.
Yes there are some flaws, but I personally don't think you need to read Pride and Prejudice to get some entertainment. The Last Dragonlord has its weak points. I personally don't think think the simple writing style is a weak point because the story is a simple one. The one real complaint I have though is the story jumps around with no warning just to make the story longer. I know many things I've said make the story seem bad, but it is still a fun read. Sometimes its good to get away from complex plots and sit and enjoy.
*note: I really give this story 3.5 stars but it wouldn't let me so I picked four because three is to low, in my opinion.

Great read, couldn't put it down!!.......2006-09-21

I love this style of fantasy writing. Unlike many authors, Bertin keeps a tight reign on the plot, building up the characters without losing any of the suspense. I reccomend this novel as an important addition to any fantasy collection.

Will the wait ever be over.......2005-12-03

Is there ever going to be another one or did she retire?

A fresh breeze.......2005-08-19

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, in fact I couldn't put it down, I read it from cover to cover through the night.

Yes, it's romantic... a book that anybody who loves fantasy and still believes in true love, or dreams of it, will enjoy reading. I liked the weredragon twist on the concept of soul mates.

I guess The Last Dragonlord might appeal more to women, but there are also lots of romantic and sensitive males around who, I think, would enjoy this book.

As for the language... well, it isn't high-brow, it isn't a literary masterpiece, it isn't pretentious. But it's easy to read, simple and flowing. Something that people will appreciate who believe in the KISS concept (keep it simple stupid). Personally, I get so tired of books that are just trying to impress me with un-necessary complexity...

The really nice thing about the Last Dragonlord is that it made me feel good. Too many books are so full of horror... Life has its own sorrows, and this story was, for me, a fresh breeze, making me feel that there is still beauty in the human (and dragon) heart!

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Arcana: Societies of Magic (Arcana)
Kevin Brennan , and Jason A. Engle
Manufacturer: Green Ronin Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

General | Puzzles & Games | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

General | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

Book Description

Sorcerers and wizards are not the only practitioners of the magical arts. Esoteric orders of arcane initiates push the boundaries of magic beyond the limits of tomes and blood. The Abbey of Green Steel trains monks that pack a magical punch, the Servants of Decay subvert civilization with dark rites, and The School Behind the Veil teaches warriors to use divination to best their opponents. Arcana: Societies of Magic details six different organizations that employ unique styles of magic to achieve their ends. The description of each society includes information of the group's history, goals, hierarchy, and leaders, as well as a map of its headquarters. New skills, feats, spells and prestige classes make it a complete package. Like Green Ronin's award-winning Freeport series, Arcana: Societies of Magic can be used in any fantasy campaign.

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Dragon Fare
Women's Corona Society Hong Kong
Manufacturer: Government Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000LL2NQM

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