101 Cataclysms: For the Love of Cats

101 Cataclysms: For the Love of Cats
Average customer rating:

Wonderful book

A Must Have for cat lovers

Beautiful photography

Great book for cat lovers

The female version of Hans Silvester
101 Cataclysms: For the Love of Cats
Rachael Hale
Manufacturer: Bulfinch
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Nature & Wildlife | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
General | Cats | Animal Care & Pets | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
General | Animal Care & Pets | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Bad Cat: 244 Not-So-Pretty Kitties And Cats Gone Bad

Smitten: A Kitten's Guide to Happiness

Hiss and Tell: True Stories from the Files of a Cat Shrink

Cats 24/7: Extraordinary Photographs Of Wonderful Cats

It's a Zoo Out There

ASIN: 0821261819

Book Description

Following in the paw prints of 101 Salivations, Rachael Hales 101 CATACLYSMS is a charming and playful tribute to the worlds most popular pet.Celebrated animal portraitist Rachael Hale brings us the next installment in her adorable pet book repertoire with 101 CATACLYSMS: FOR THE LOVE OF CATS. This collection features 101 images of magnificent felines. Hales special rapport with animals has allowed her to capture the essence of her subjects. You will see it in the bald-faced cheekiness of Hilander, the sphynx; in the sassiness of Puffy, the Persian ball of fluff; and in the playfulness of Yabba Dabba Doo, the British shorthair.

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful book.......2007-03-27

This book is filled with beautiful pictures that any one would enjoy. I bought it for myself, but my mother ended up with it. The photographs are amazing.

A Must Have for cat lovers.......2006-03-10

If you love cats as much as I, you will NOT be disappointed. This book is full of wonderful photos of cats and kittens. Rachael Hale has a real gift. This makes a great coffee table book that you'll page through again and again.
Enjoy! Kathi Brunelle

Beautiful photography .......2006-01-30

Beautiful photography of gorgeous cats and kittens. In the back of the book it tells a little about each cat and how picture was taken.

Great book for cat lovers.......2006-01-17

I bought this book and 101 Salivations for my mom for Christmas. She loves both of them and looks through them regularly.

The female version of Hans Silvester.......2005-08-04

When you run out of books from Hans Silvester to feast your eyes on, turn to Rachel Hale (or vice versa). Both photographers displayed astonishing patience & skills in shooting the felines in their natural surrounding. This is a beautiful book that every cat lover should see.

Cataclysm: The First World War As Political Tragedy

Average customer rating:

excellent
Riveting
Stunning Work
The war to end all wars
Best single volume history of the war

Cataclysm: The First World War As Political Tragedy
David Stevenson
Manufacturer: Basic Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Military | History | Subjects | Books

World War I | Military | History | Subjects | Books

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

The First World War
Europe's Last Summer: Who Started the Great War in 1914?
Paris 1919: Six Months That Changed the World
Pyrrhic Victory: French Strategy and Operations in the Great War
The Origins of the First World War (3rd Edition) (Origins Of Modern Wars)

ASIN: 0465081843
Release Date: 2004-05-25

Book Description

A major new history that changes our understanding of World War I, incorporating the latest in military, political, and economic research, destined to become the definitive account for years to come.

The standard account of World War I says that the war happened because politicians lost control of events, and that once the war began, it quickly became an unstoppable machine. But in this major new work, historian David Stevenson shows that politicians deliberately took risks that led to war in July 1914, and that battle by bloody battle, their decision remained to continue the fighting. Cataclysm presents the disturbing reality that the course of the war was the result of conscious choices--including the continued acceptance of astronomical casualties.

Rather than the standard Germany-vs.-England account, Cataclysm is a truly international history, drawing on previously undisclosed records from the Italian, Russian, Japanese, and Ottoman governments. From the complex network of secret treaties and alliances that eventually drew all of Europe into the war, to the way that World War I reconfigured how societies mourn and memorialize wartime dead, Cataclysm is a major revision of World War I history.

Customer Reviews:

excellent.......2006-03-30

Cataclysm is a very professional and scholarly one volume history of WWI that covers all aspects of the war from the battlefield to the home front, including the economics and internal politics of the combatants. Even though the writing is dry it is quite readable and its separation into chapters devoted to topics rather than a time linear narrative make it an excellent source of reference.
Personally, I am more of a dilettante than a scholar and am more concerned with generalities than facts and figures. Therefore I found this book a little turgid with numbers and details that I could have done without, however if you want a very comprehensive, fact-filled general history of WWI this is most definitely the book for you.

Riveting.......2006-03-06

I stumbled on this excellent book via a review in the Atlantic Monthly, and bookmarked it as a curiosity. Receiving it as a gift by surprise, I immediately put it in line behind other books on my shelf. For some reason though, the mood struck me to open it, I barely put Cataclysm down until I finished.

Stevenson interjects no sentimental pining for the time before the 20th Century's wars, and leaves no room for romanticized notions of warfare. He could be accused of cold rationality. But his objective and unsparing view allows for a great massing of facts and analysis in a compact but thorough history. The reader can sense the depth of understanding lying behind Stevenson's words, without having to wade through an historian's primary sources and two-handed waffling.

Having spent many an hour considering the Second World War and the Cold War, I now understand how "cataclysmic" the Great War was in its day. It was perhaps an even more important event in world history, in terms of the turn the world took from the past, than either of the later world wars. Further, I have new appreciation for how the First sowed the political, economic, diplomatic, military, and cultural seeds for the rest of the 20th century and beyond.

Stevenson has given us an important gift for understanding this critical event in world history. Don't miss it.

Stunning Work.......2005-11-22

While my other esteemed reviewers rightly highlight the impressive scholarship into virtually all social, political, military and diplomatic aspects of the Great War, I think the real treat of this tome is the final chapters on the Versailles Treaty, rememberance of the war and its impact on later European developments. The author impressively argues that the Peace was not in fact a Diktat in practice, but largely the outcome of precedence and geo-political and social necessity. Likewise, the author rightly in my mind faults the Allies for abandoning France in terms of the enforcement of the peace, debunking the notion that Gallic torpidity and passivity caused French leadership to crumble at the onslaught of Facism. As insightful as the discussion of the war, its causes and the social aspect of the conflict, I think that his final chapters on peace and aftermath are truly revealing.

The war to end all wars.......2005-09-04

It has been a while since I've really gushed about a book, but I won't be able to help myself with this one. Cataclysm: The First World War as Political Tragedy, has to be one of the best books I have ever read on World War I, and one of the most compact yet comprehensive history books I've seen. It is less than 500 pages, but it covers every aspect of the war, from the strategy involved to the politics of starting, running, and, most importantly, ending the war. It goes beyond even that, though, by discussing the impact the war had on the post-war years, analyzing the years between the two world wars and even how memories of the war affected how the second one was fought. As a final thought, the conclusion discusses how the war has been looked at over time, how perceptions have changed, not only of who started the war, but also how it was fought.

All of this in under 500 pages? The coverage must be fairly superficial then, right? Not at all. Not only is Cataclysm thorough, but it's incredibly dense. This is not a book that you will read quickly. I am a fairly fast reader, and it took me nearly two weeks to finish the book, because it is extremely packed. Long paragraphs (sometimes almost a page long) abound, with the richness of the detail flowing off the page. Some books take this long to read because they are excessively dry, trying to stuff everything into the book but not integrating it very well. This book doesn't do that. Everything is related, and Stevenson draws the reader in with a lot of interesting information about whatever he is talking about.

The flow of the book is logical, but it is not completely chronological. The first section discusses the outbreak of the war, giving extensive detail about what led to the war. He even gives a few details about the minor wars that happened in the years leading up to World War I, such as the Balkan Wars of 1912-13, and discusses what the world was like before the outbreak of the war. He uses all of this information to give insight into the thought processes and events that led to the almost inevitable conflagration that turned into one of the most horrific wars of our time. After this section, he discusses the widening of the war, the battles of 1915-1917, and then jumps back to cover other aspects of the war. This includes the home front, the political maneuverings in all of the belligerent governments, naval warfare, tactics, economics, and war aims, just to name some. He then moves on to the outcome of the war, how it ended, the politics of the ceasefire, and the collapse of the German army. Finally, he discusses the aftermath, and he doesn't just stop at the peace treaty. He goes all the way up to the end of World War II and beyond.

This is what I loved about Cataclysm. Stevenson doesn't just give us what happened. He discusses the purpose (or at least what the purpose was at the time, even if it doesn't seem to make any sense in modern times) of what happened, what the politicians were thinking, and what they were trying to accomplish. He delves into how the politicians managed to keep the civilians engaged in the fighting, and how limited any anti-war movements were until the war seemed to be an intractable stalemate. Stevenson even gives great detail about lesser-known campaigns, such as that in the Middle East which has produced much of the modern-day strife. He covers Austria-Hungary and their battles against both Russia and Italy, as well as the war with Serbia, most of which have been given short shrift in World War I books I have read.

The writing, as I have said, is quite dense, but it's not his prose which makes it a slow read. I did not see any superfluous text in the book at all, and almost all of it was interesting. I kept stumbling upon things that I didn't know, or I knew little about, and Stevenson covers it all in a depth that is surprising in a book under 500 pages. I did have to laugh at his introduction, where he says that he has deliberately kept the end notes to a minimum in each chapter. Then I discovered that there are many chapters with notes that run into the three digits. I think this is a good thing, as I love notated history books, but I did find it funny that he would say that. Cataclysm is thoroughly researched, and the number of notes reflects this. The bibliography is quite extensive too. All of the maps are at the front of the book, and there are definitely many.

The only minor fault was the use (or non-use) of commas, and this could just be a legitimate way of doing it that I have never heard of before. A number of times, I would read a sentence and have to go back and re-read it because a comma appeared to be missing, completely jarring my understanding of the sentence, or at least the flow of it. However, if that is the worst thing I can say about the book, it must mean the book is wonderful. And it is. This could be considered the definitive book on World War I and all its aspects. I do know that you won't find anything like this in as small a package as Cataclysm is. If you have any interest in the war, or just military history in general, you should pick this one up.

David Roy

Best single volume history of the war .......2005-03-30

This book is written by an economist rather than a professional historian and as a result the narrative structure is different. Rather than looking at the details of individual battles the book looks at the result of offensive periods and the phases of the war.

The continuing impression of the war is one of a long pointless stalemate in which incompetent commanders used young men as cannon fodder in pointless attacks against well-entrenched infantry. Something which caused so much disillusionment that the regimes responsible for the war, those of Germany and Austria collapsed as did other such as the Russian autocracy who fought the war so incompetently.

Much of that image of the war can now be seen as having some partial truth but in reality being wrong. The highest casualty rates occurred early in the war when massed armies met each other in the open field. The development of the trench system led to far lower casualty rates for most of the war. The trenches providing protection against artillery and machine gun fire. Over time both sides developed offensive skills which allowed for attacks to be more successful. The Germans developed storm trooper units who were heavily armed with machine guns, trench mortars and flame throwers and used infiltration techniques. The allies used tanks extensively and also developed the use of light machine guns, hand grenades, trench mortars and air support. Both sides developed the use of artillery so that it became more accurate and barrages were aimed at fire suppression rather than elimination of the enemy.

Despite the fact of German revolution and the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy the next few years saw most of the belligerents keen for war again. Italy and Germany were taken over by nationalistic movements and the Axis did not consist of those countries alone. Hungary, Roumania, Bulgaria and Slovakia were part of the deal. In reality the war pushed most countries somewhat to the right.

During the war both sides faced different problems and that was the reason for the long period of the conflict. Germany was somewhat better at warfare and throughout the conflict inflicted more casualties on their opponents. They were however outnumbered and had to not only to fight both France and Britain but also Russia. Their one real ally was the Austro-Hungarian Empire which had a poorly equipped army and whose leaders were incompetent. The balance kept subtly shifting through the war. The casualties suffered by France were offset by the development of a large conscript army by Britain and the entry into the war of Italy and Romania. The defeat of the Russians by the entry into the war of the Americans.

The book re-affirms the reality of German war guilt. Previous historians had seen the interlocking system of alliances combined with both sides mobilisation plans as something which lessened the ability of individual politicians to make decisions about whether there would be war or not. In reality this was not the case and the German monarchy could have resisted but saw war as inevitable at some point.

This book is probably the best single volume history of the war so far printed but it is not for those who are keen on a narrative history.

Cataclysms on the Columbia (Scenic Trips to the)

Average customer rating:

One of earth's more interesting chapters
Great Book! What a Find!
When I say Cata, you say Clysm...Cata,clysm. Cata,clysm
A very good tour book
good book

Cataclysms on the Columbia (Scenic Trips to the)
John Logan Allen , Marjorie Burns , and Sam Sargent
Manufacturer: Timber Press, Incorporated
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Rivers | Earth Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

Glacial Lake Missoula and Its Humongous Floods
Fire, Faults, & Floods: A Road & Trail Guide Exploring the Origins of the Columbia River Basin (Northwest Naturalist Book)
On the Trail of the Ice Age Floods: A Geological Field Guide to the Mid-Columbia Basin
The Restless Northwest: A Geological Story
Geology of the North Cascades: A Mountain Mosaic

ASIN: 0881922153

Book Description

The formation of the Grand Coulee remained a mystery for many years, until J Harlen Bretz proved that the Columbia River basin was the site of huge floods 15,000 years ago that created the landscape we see today.

Customer Reviews:

One of earth's more interesting chapters.......2006-07-11

This is the story of the largest floods ever described by modern science (they happened about 40 times, between 15,000 and 12,800 years ago) originating from an ice-impounded lake in Montana that formed when a glacial lobe blocked the west end of the Clark Fork River. The lake covered thousands of square miles and impounded about 500 cubic miles of water. As the water in the lake rose, it eventually got high enough to float the ice dam, breaking it and unleashing hundreds of cubic miles of water that rushed out through eastern Washington creating what we call the channeled scablands.

The flow was enormous. It left giant ripple marks that are clearly visible from the air, but hard to discern from the ground. It left gravel beds sloping upstream in tributary rivers on the Columbia. It tore out chucks of rock and stripped away loess. It carved interlinking channels, waterfalls, and deep canyons - all of which can be seen today, and which are particularly striking when viewed from the air, or space.

The book is filled with photographs and maps showing the evidence for the flood, but older folk (like me) may need a magnifying glass to make them out.

The book's written in several parts. Parts 1 and II, written by Marjorie Burns, consist of introductory material with historical background about Bretz, his early field work, and his effort to construct a complete and coherent theory of the Ice Age floods. Part III was written mostly by John Allen, who presents some of the scientific detail that describes and supports the Bretz Flood theory. Part IV, also by Allen, follows a typical flood from the point of failure in the ice dam until it emptied into the Pacific Ocean.

Allen's sections are my favorites. I also enjoyed much of what Burns wrote, except for her frequent personal attacks against early skeptics who rejected Bretz's initial hypothesis. Burns leaves the reader with the impression that skepticism is bad, and that early scientists should have rushed to embrace Bretz's hypothesis before all the evidence, especially the source of the flood, had been discovered

For example, on page 52 Burns quotes Meinzer, who said (in 1927)

"Before a theory that requires a seemingly impossible quantity of water is fully accepted, every effort should be made to account for the existing features without employing so violent an assumption."

This seems like a perfectly reasonable thing to say, particularly since Bretz, in spite of the evidence for a massive flood, had been unable to identify the source of the water. Burns, though, calls Meinzer's comment a "splendidly revealing passage," and "remarkably close to overt hostility."

When Bretz presented his hypothesis in 1927 he didn't know the source of the flood, and without being able to point to a clear source, he knew his hypothesis was lacking. W.C. Alden responded to Bretz' hypothesis by suggesting the need for more research; again, this seems like a perfectly reasonable response. But Burns taunts Alden's position by mentioning other geologists who said "Cautious" was Alden's middle name. And, with dripping sarcasm, she quotes Alden as having used phrases like "it would seem," "perhaps," and "not yet well enough understood."

Burns lambastes skeptical and/or cautious scientists who disagreed with Bretz. She describes them as closed minded, unwilling to accept new ideas, and stuck in their ways. She describes Bretz's hypothesis as an "unthinkable heresy," while twisting legitimate scientific caution into claims of "overt hostility." Yet, when Bretz exhibited similar caution she lauds it as a high "standard." Consider this quote from page 58:

"By 1932 Bretz was again saying `the cause of the flood is not yet known.' He had, at this point, virtually finished his field research on the Channeled Scablands, and in his final studies he mostly ignored the Lake Missoula possibility. It was an intriguing hypothesis but too questionable to meet Bretz's standards."

Burns seems to have a genuine grudge against skeptics in the scientific community. For example, on page 72 she complains that Wegener's "theory" leading to "plate tectonics" was "maligned." The problem is that Wegner didn't have a theory; he had a hypothesis based on incomplete data, with an incorrectly proposed mechanism for how the continents moved. In retrospect, his larger hypothesis (like Bretz's) proved correct, but it wasn't a scientific theory until it was completed with a verifiable mechanism for continental drift - something that's part of the theory of plate tectonics. The fact that hypotheses such as Wegner's are/were debated is a necessary and healthy part of the way science works, and yet Burns castigates those critics who later turned out to be wrong - as if they should have been "believers' without all the evidence.

Bretz should be highly regarded for correctly hypothesizing (on the basis of a huge amount of original field work, I might add) that the scablands were created by a great flood. But in spite of the many evidences he presented, he couldn't explain where the water came from, and how it was unleashed. Without that key bit of evidence he didn't have a scientific theory; he had a scientific hypothesis that was still under intense investigation. The scientific community did pretty much what it should have done; they went out and found the source of the flood.

It was Pardee, who did it with his description of humungous ripple marks in Lake Missoula in 1942. With the source of the flood identified, Bretz's hypothesis was quickly accepted. While Burns sees the episode as a sham, I see it as one of the best examples of why and how science works so well.

Once you get through Burns' personal attacks on Bretz's critics, the book becomes a pleasure to read. It is one of the best scientific descriptions of the Bretz floods and has some very helpful references. In spite of Parts 1 and II, the rest of the book makes it definitely worth reading.

Great Book! What a Find!.......2004-03-20

Picked up this book in a book store because I though it looked good. It was. I have to admit that I was already in the thrall of the scablands of eastern Washington but this book really brought it together. There is an interesting biographical drama as a separate story. The basin by basin description of the columbia valley that follows can be skipped over, used as a tour guide, or cherry picked. Or, like me, you can read every page. First go see the dry falls and the excellent interpretive center there with its satellite photographs and topographic maps. Then read this book and marvel at what Harlan Bretz was able see from eye level. You will never look at Eastern Washinton the same way again. A steal at ten bucks!

When I say Cata, you say Clysm...Cata,clysm. Cata,clysm.......2003-03-20

Ever driven down Highway 84 and been amazed by the scenery of the Columbia River?
Ever curious about how the Columbia became the Columbia?
Ever seen a giant bolder in the Willamette Valley and wondered how it got there.
Can you imagine the sea level four hundred feet above Portland?
You think you know, but you have no idea.
Until you read this book! (Or hear about it from a friend.)

A very good tour book.......2002-03-10

This book excellently explains why the eastern half of the State of Washington and the lower Columbia valley are so curiously carved. It also shows how a truly observant scientist works, even though his vindication may be slow in coming. While some persons might wish for more color photographs, I believe the black and white format, particularly in the Grand Coulee region, better shows the power and scope of the floods that carved these otherworldly channels from bare lava rock. The drawing of a typical Bretz flood has to be seen firsthand to be believed. Another exemplary book on the geology of the West. Don't see Grand Coulee or the Columbia Gorge without reading this book.

good book.......2001-12-08

I've lived in the Walla Walla River Basin for a little over a year. After reading this book, the surrounding area became more alive. This book tells of fascinating events that took place several thousand years ago that created many of the local landmarks. It makes my travels more interesting and personal as I recognize features described in this book. If your a highly educated geologists searching for some real meat, this book is not for you. For the rest of us, this book is written in easy to understand terms. If you live in the Northwest, it's a must read.

Average customer rating:

Of Geryl's three books this is the one you can skip!!
Time is Short
the world cataclysm in 2012
on drugs
This book will make a rational....

The World Cataclysm in 2012
Patrick Geryl
Manufacturer: Adventures Unlimited Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

General | New Age | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

The Orion Prophecy: Will the World Be Destroyed in 2012
How To Survive 2012
2012 - Year of the Apocalypse: The Destruction and Resurrection of Earth
Galactic Alignment: The Transformation of Consciousness According to Mayan, Egyptian, and Vedic Traditions
Pole Shift: Predictions and Prophecies of the Ultimate Disaster

ASIN: 1931882460

Book Description

The end of the Mayan calendar is fast approaching. Learn what you need to know to survive the great cataclysm of 2012! In his previous book, The Orion Prophecy, author Geryl theorizes that the lost civilization of Atlantis was destroyed by a huge cataclysm engendered by changes in sunspot activity affecting Earth's magnetic poles and atmosphere. All of this was predicted by the Mayan Calendar, translated in hindsight.

Here he continues his discussion of the Mayan calendar and the fairly well-known fact that it is generally interpreted to end in 2012. He believes that the knowledge that can save the world from the cataclysm of 2012 can be excavated from The Labyrinth of ancient Egypt, a storehouse of Atlantean knowledge which is linked in prophecy to the Mayan predictions. The mathematics and astronomy of the ancient Egyptians and Mayans are related and have similar predictive power and should be taken very seriously.

Customer Reviews:

Of Geryl's three books this is the one you can skip!!.......2007-06-08

I read Geryl's first book "Orion Prophecy" in 2003 and thought it was excellent and that he is on to something. I next read his latest book "How to survive 2012" and that was excellent although a little discouraging in terms of survival places to be when 2012 hits. This book "The World Cataclysm in 2012" completes what Geryl wants to say but it is the one to skip of the three he has out. This book is big on math. And though I think he is on to something, as I believe this knowledge came from Mu and Atlantis (ie E.T.'s), he also comes off as sort of a cook to someone who is light on math and not their forte. For this reason mostly, I feel this book is the one to skip of the three Geryl has out there. If your big on 2012 as I am, then you will want to pick up a copy of this book because it completes what Geryl has to say about this subject. Geryl believes every 11,500-12,000 years the sun cycle causes the sun to reverse its poles which causes huge CME's which reach the earth and cause the earth's poles to flip making the earth to start revolving in the opposite direction thereby causing great destruction on all of civilization. This science is right on as I have checked it out, which makes me a big Geryl fan.

Time is Short.......2007-04-25

World Cataclysm in 2012 is the second in the series of three books by
Patrick Geryl about his discoveries using cartography, astronomy, and
mathematics to decipher the codes left by the ancient Egyptians and
Mayans. His findings: the Altanteans, Egyptians, and Mayans were all
trying to warn us of a coming world cataclysm of devastating proportions,
a crustal pole shift that would destroy civilization.

This book documents Patrick Geryl's research in which he shows:
1)An interpretation of the Isis-Osiris legend to be the story of the
previous pole shift in 9792 B.C.,
2)Why the pyramids of Gizeh were placed, and the relationship between the
pyramids, Orion's belt, and the next pole shift, and why the Sphinx was
built,
3)How the Atlantean, Egyptian, and Mayan civilizations were linked and
why they were all saying the same thing,
4)The incredibly precise number system of the Egyptians and Mayans and
the number codes contained in ancient writings and hieroglyphs that can
only just now be deciphered and what they tell,
5)The real meaning of 666, the number of Apocalypse, and where it came
from,
6)The Sun and the relationship between sunspot activity and magnetism,
and how the ancients developed number systems that precisely calculated
the cycles of pole shift,
7)Why there are no records of previous civilizations that existed before
the last pole shift,
8)Why polarities in magma show sudden changes in the location of the
magnetic North Pole,
9)Why the Zodiacal procession was disrupted and did not follow in
sequence in ancient times.

Patrick includes his breaking of the numerical codes and extensive
calculations to show how the Egyptians and Mayans used incredibly precise
number systems that we are just now reaching the point of being able to
decipher, and why these numbers that were written in stone in the sacred
temples were left behind: to warn future generations of the time of the coming pole shift.

If the author is correct, then this series of books
contains one of the most important messages for the planet and for
humanity's future. If you are interested in what happened to Atlantis,
the mystery of the pyramids, pre-history, Meso-America, survivalism,
Earth changes, prediction and prophesy, and what will happen in 2012,
this book fills in many of the missing pieces of the big puzzle.

the world cataclysm in 2012.......2007-03-09

WOW!!!!!! This was a book I could not put down and it is most informitive and really make you think all of this out. This was my 1st incounter with the works of Geryl. I was so impressed that I have purchased the advance copy of survival in/after 2012.

on drugs.......2007-03-01

this guy is way out here, these books of his are informational to a point. he collects his "data" from other people. he does not really do anything himself and creates a vivid story . kinda like dan brown does.

This book will make a rational...........2006-11-10

person feel apprehensive about what may possibly await all of us in the year 2012. Even though one feels they should be more skeptical, the figures and the convincing conviction of the authour make one feel uncomfortable with the possibility of the utter annihilation of us all.
Though the constant reiteration of the compellingly recurrent numbers could sometimes be a bit tedious, they made one feel increasingly uneasy. After reading the book, I was left with the haunting feeling that the authour might be correct in his assumptions. Read this, and pray that the premise is wrong.

Cataclysm!: Compelling Evidence of a Cosmic Catastrophe in 9500 B.C.

Average customer rating:

CATACTYSM: COMPELLING EVIDENCE OF A COSMIC CATASTROPHE IN 9500 B.C.
He who laughs last, laughs best!
A fascinating read
Exposing establishment lies
An Important Book

Cataclysm!: Compelling Evidence of a Cosmic Catastrophe in 9500 B.C.
D. S. Allan , and J. B. Delair
Manufacturer: Bear & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

General | New Age | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

UFOs | Occult | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Astronomy | Astronomy | Science | Subjects | Books

UFOs | Astronomy | Science | Subjects | Books

Maps of the Ancient Sea Kings: Evidence of Advanced Civilization in the Ice Age
Forbidden History: Prehistoric Technologies, Extraterrestrial Intervention, and the Suppressed Origins of Civilization
Technology of the Gods: The Incredible Sciences of the Ancients
Before the Pharaohs: Egypt's Mysterious Prehistory
Lost Star of Myth And Time

ASIN: 1879181428
Release Date: 1997-09-01

Book Description

A breakthrough of enormous proportions, this multidisciplinary study examines evidence of a great catastrophe that occurred 11,500 years ago.

Customer Reviews:

CATACTYSM: COMPELLING EVIDENCE OF A COSMIC CATASTROPHE IN 9500 B.C........2007-09-09

This is an amazing book of scientific fact. I have read, over the years, various accounts of advanced civilizations, from Egypt to the Americas, and other accounts of the so-called "Noa's Ark" that all resulted from unknown calamities that went unexplained. This book pulls it all together and offers a clear explanation as to what probably took place 11,500 years ago!

John McCauley

He who laughs last, laughs best!.......2007-06-24

Some comments about this book:

1.) A book with an odd or even incorrect theory can be of enormous utility if it illustrates, documents and footnotes a large number of scientific anomalies. Aside from the many books of William Corliss, this book must be near the top of the heap in that category. You can enjoy this book and even cherish it without accepting the specific theory that the book proposes as an explanation of all the anomalies it reports.

2.) The book proposes a cosmic cataclysm about 11,500 BC. In order to get a wonderful primer on how these authors may indeed have the "best and last laugh" even regarding the essential correctness of their theory..., use Google to find a set of videos on YouTube with these search terms: Comet Catastrophe 12,500 BP (before present). There are seven video segments with almost an hour of material from a recent, (May 2007) meeting of professional geologists (the American Geophysical Union meeting). Watch these video segments, and then buy a copy of Cataclysm! Then also buy the Book by Richard Firestone. If you buy and read both of these books, I think you will agree that some of the reviewers who have slammed Cataclysm may find themselves changing their minds. Yes there were ice ages, but there were also sudden extreme events - such as the one that brought on the so-called Younger Dryas, a 1200 year cold spell before the end of the last ice age.

3.) In the 4th segment of YouTube video: Comet Catastrophe, note that one of the scientists answers a question from the audience about whether there were any North American Indian legends that might contain recollections of the event. His answer is yes. And if you buy Cataclysm!, you will be able to read alot of excerpts of such stories. And if those excerpts intrigue you (as they did me), the copious footnotes will help you find the original source materials.

What other books should you buy if you find that you like this one? Buy all the books by Irish Dendrochronologist Mike Baillie and his co-authors. These books will introduce you to how long tree-ring chronologies are telling us about several abrupt, global climate disasters in the past 5000 years that may have been caused by impacts or interactions with comets. Buy a used, hardcover copy of Ragnarok by Ignatius Donnelly, wherein you can read a wonderful summary of evidences from human mythologies that led Donnelly to opine (in 1880 !!!) that Earth has been hit by a comet at least once during the tenure and written memory of mankind. (Donnelly was so far ahead of his time, that he is still ahead of ours...) And then familiarize yourself with the wonderful body of work on the K/T boundary through a tome like GSA Special Publication 356 or something like it. The reason for the latter is because Firestone and his colleagues are going to precipitate the same type of revolution in paleontology that Alvarez and his co-workers wrought in the 1980's by hypothesizing and then proving that Earth was struck by a speeding asteroid. Alot of the evidence for the Younger Dryas event is similar, and some of the same investigators who found critical chemical clues in the K/T boundary layers are doing so again in the end-Clovis "black mat." Also, I recommend all the books by Clube, Napier and Bailey - most especially Cosmic Winter, Cosmic Serpent and the Origin of Comets.

Lastly, keep your eyes open for a Discovery Channel special with a similar title: Comet Catastrophe. This special, which has apparently already aired in Canada, will feature Dr. Dallas Abbott and a colleague Dee Breger in program that will discuss powerful evidence of an Indian Ocean impact about 5000 years ago that left an 18 mile crater under 2.5 miles of water, and a 1/4 mile thick tsunami deposit 45 kilometers across on the southern shores of Madagascar.

So what does all this mean? It means that the surface of the Earth is a more dangerous place than most astronomers (especially on this side of the Atlantic) think. It means that there have been significant impact events at least once and perhaps dozens of times during the written memory of men on the Earth. It means that it would be really smart for us to pay attention to all these scientific developments and to respond in thoughtful ways to the warning being delivered by living voices, and also the warnings delivered to us in many myths and legends.

A fascinating read.......2007-01-09

The authors make a most compelling presentation of this very unorthodox interpretation of recent geology. The story is so good that it makes you wish it were literally true, perhaps it is. I can only hope that other scientists will take it seriously and subject it to the ultimate scientific test, falsifiability.

Exposing establishment lies.......2006-05-07

The establishment must pan a work of this nature. It threatens their very being, their status, their intelligence, even their ability to procreate with high quality members of the opposite sex.
It's easy for the establishment to find problems in this kind of work as it covers in a few pages what could be done in a million.
Almost everything that is today written about pre-history must go through the biases of the establishment. That means that disorder is ordered (the facts are bent) to satisfy these biases. A quick look at the book, "Forbidden Archaeology," reveals the wholesale bending of the truth by the establishment and its destruction of anything and anyone that disagrees with the current paradigm.
I for one am tired of these establishment lies and thrilled at a chance to see what human pre-history may really have been like.

An Important Book.......2005-10-30

The publisher and authors of Cataclysm are to be congratulated for not dumbing down the prodigious amount of scientific material indicating a cataclysm occurring aobut 11,000 years ago. Finally, we now have all the references and sources that are just passingly referred to in other catastrophe books. This is an important book; one that bases surprising conclusions on the scientific evidence and not speculation or wishful thinking.

Batman: Cataclysm (Prelude to No Man's Land)

Average customer rating:

Shake it baby....
prelude to No Man's Land
Well put together
bring down Gotham
Interesting comic book, with a few flaws.

Batman: Cataclysm (Prelude to No Man's Land)
Chuck Dixon
Manufacturer: DC Comics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Drawing | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

General | Graphic Novels | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

Superheroes | Graphic Novels | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

Batman | Characters | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

DC Comics | Publishers | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Batman | Media | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

General | Foreign Languages | Reference | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Batman: No Man's Land, Vol. 1
Batman: Contagion
Batman: Knightfall, Part Two: Who Rules the Night
Batman: Knightfall, Part Three: KnightsEnd
Batman: Bruce Wayne - Fugitive, Vol. 1

ASIN: 1563895277

Customer Reviews:

Shake it baby...........2007-07-09

This volume has just about anything you could possibly ask for and almost every Bat character in the Bat universe. Nobody escapes the disaster, the book ends on a high note...at least higher than one might expect, but as soon as you pick up No Man's Land you see that things only get worse.... Moving story and well worth the read, it does stand on its own but you must buy all of the NML volumes if you want some sense of closure.

prelude to No Man's Land.......2007-05-21

I was collecting comics at the time this story arc came through, and enjoyed it throughly. It shows you just how hard the caped crusader had to work to try his hardest to save his city. I reccomend the whole No Man's Land collection for anyone who hasn't read it yet.

Well put together.......2006-07-07

Batman can handle criminals. But how can he fight a Earthquake? How can he fight the natural destruction of a city?

A lot of crossovers nowadays are pathetically poorly coordinated. But Batman: Cataclysm is very well coordinated and flows pretty well. If you don't read the writing credits you wouldn't be able to tell how many different writers were involved. The main story following Batman, Oracle, Nightwing and Robin are intersepersed with vignettes starring Two-Face, Ra's al Ghul and others. One of the few week points is a vignette starring Robin is put in out of order. In it Robin, while rescuing trapped victims, says in the narrative that he hasn't found his family, but about five pages before he was reunited with his family. But most of the story flows well, and it's believable. Batman and Alfred are trapped in the Batcave well below ground. How do they get out? The Batmobile exit is blocked, the stairs up to the mansion is blocked, the access to Robin's house is blocked. So how do they get out? It's handled very clearly and as realistically as any comic book can get.

The real strong point of this story though is the artwork. Almost every comics artist can draw a decent figure but there are a sad number of artists who don't or can't draw backgrounds. But the Batman creative crew is occupied by artists who can draw buildings and scenery. As Gotham city is an essential part of the Batman mythos this probably isn't a coincidence. As such the scenes of the destroyed city are amazing and horrific. The falling skyscrapers, Wayne Manor split down the middle, rubble two stories high are all handled well, and you really feel how intense it is for these people to lose their city, their home.

I was really impressed with this work. The story continues in the No Man's Land story arc, and after reading this I definately want to go read those.

bring down Gotham.......2004-03-16

What we have here is a major earthquake that pretty much destroys Gotham. You get to see what Batman and company would do in the face of a major natural disaster. On a scale that we've never seen (after all, they do close it off). It's a great story with really good art. It helps keep Batman from becoming stale.

Interesting comic book, with a few flaws........2002-07-11

The greatest entity about Batman: Cataclysm is that it had excellent artistry; most of the pictures/scenes made sense, and are clear. For the most part, this book contains well-thought writing, which makes it better to understand . Although, there are a couple cons in this book that I must share with you. There are about four grammar errors, and some of them may keep you mind-boggled for the rest of day/night thinking about what they were trying to express. Once you get to meet Ra Al' Ghul, he can make the story confusing because of his wording. Overall, this book will get very exciting with its art, and knowing if you're a Batman fan, you'll love this book.

Homeworld Cataclysm (Prima's Official Strategy Guide)

Average customer rating:

A very good sequel worthy of the original
Stunning enhancement upon a stunning original
Good for help with single player, but nothing more.

Homeworld Cataclysm (Prima's Official Strategy Guide)
Greg Kramer
Manufacturer: Prima Games
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Video Games | Games & Strategy Guides | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Puzzles & Games | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Video & Electronic Games | Puzzles & Games | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Homeworld Cataclysm
Homeworld: Prima's Official Strategy Guide
Homeworld 2
Homeworld: Game of the Year Edition
Homeworld

ASIN: 0761525920
Release Date: 2000-08-30

Book Description

Defeat the beast . . . or face annihilation.

Homeworld Cataclysm is the follow-up to the hottest PC title of 1999. This 3-D game takes place in the far reaches of the universe. Players must build and manage a self-sustaining society and protect it from peril. With Homeworld Cataclysm: Prima's Official Strategy Guide, you'll have everything you need to build a thriving society. Inside, you'll find extensive combat tactics, tips on resource management, fleet building and control, and more, including:

• Complete walkthroughs for all new missions
• Stellar tactics for every ship in the Homeworld fleet
• Tips on building balanced and invincible battle groups
• Strategies for multiplayer battle
• Tactics for research and spaceship upgrades

Customer Reviews:

A very good sequel worthy of the original.......2001-11-01

Rather than follow the same formula as the original, the developers have struck out in a tangent while keeping the same basic graphics engine and look and feel of the earlier universe. This time you command a single underdog spacecraft, but with a serious amount of ongoing customization to the ship possible through continued research. The individual missions are more challenging than before as well, since the underdog status forces you to employ the "right" strategy or else. You can't just slug it out toe to toe using a superior force in most of the missions. It can be a bit frustrating from this standpoint if you get stuck for a solution. Hints would have been nice as an option for those times.

Stunning enhancement upon a stunning original.......2001-06-20

Frankly, a sequel to a fantastic game tends to completely screw up the concepts of the original in the search for a quick buck.

The design team of Homeworld: Cataclysm, however, earned every last buck that anyone has spent on this game.

Stunning graphics (my non-gamer fiancee even likes to watch)! Outstanding sound! Even better gameplay!

Everything the original has, Cataclysm has more of. The only thing that annoyed me was the voice acting of the female voice aboard the command ship; it was a bit wooden. Otherwise, it was feature film quality. I bought it a long while ago, and sometimes I like to play through it again, just for kicks.

Good for help with single player, but nothing more........2000-12-05

I bought this guide because I felt that it would help hone my skills for playing against others online. It arrived at my doorstep, and I eagerly opened it and read through it. I must say I was very dissapointed. It's really just an extension of the manual. Everything you will read in this book, you either already know, or is irrelevant. I had already beaten the single player of HW: Cataclysm, so that section wasn't much use to me. I did; however, skim through that section, and saw that it was very well writtne and offered good advice.

So, buy this guide if your having trouble with the single player campaign, but if you feel that you can make it through without help, this book will be worthless to you.

The Crooked Letter: Books of the Cataclysm: One
Average customer rating:

Australian SF Reader

The Divine Comedy Revisited

A compelling beginning

deep fantasy

An epic as sinuous and intoxicating as a double helix cocktail
The Crooked Letter: Books of the Cataclysm: One
Sean Williams
Manufacturer: Pyr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
General | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

The Blood Debt: Books of the Cataclysm: Two

The Hanging Mountains: Books of the Cataclysm No. 3

The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicle, Day 1)

The Lies of Locke Lamora

Acacia: Book One: The War With the Mein (Acacia)

ASIN: 1591024382

Book Description

When mirror twins Seth and Hadrian Castillo travel to Europe on holidays, they don't expect the end of the world to follow them. Seth's murder, however, puts exactly that into motion.

From opposite sides of death, the Castillo twins grapple with a reality neither of them suspected, although it has been encoded in myths and legends for millennia. The Earth we know is just one of many "realms", three of which are inhabited by humans during various stages of their lives. And their afterlives...

In the tradition of Philip Pullman and Ursula K. Le Guin and inspired by numerous arcane sources, the Books of the Cataclysm begin in the present world but soon propel the reader to a landscape that is simultaneously familiar and fantastic.

Customer Reviews:

Australian SF Reader.......2007-08-01

I had no idea that this was what he had in mind when I started reading The Stone Mage and the Sea. One of those fantasies that is really science fiction, as you learn and go further on.

Ancient god types, questors with horrible things to do. He really should have a few beers with Mark Chadbourn, perhaps. I really liked this book, now I have to find one, and read any others.

In later books, it appears, the pre and post events are explicitly linked by way of characters, I presume this was not made clear in the marketing of this first book to prevent spoiling of the story? Anyway, very good, different fantasy with an Australian setting which is very, very refreshing. These are a bit more adult than The Stone Mage series, as the characters are grown up.

The Divine Comedy Revisited.......2007-07-01

The Crooked Letter (2006) is the first fantasy novel in the Books of the Cataclysm duology. This novel is the prequel to the Books of the Change series. The second novel in this duology, The Blood Debt, will be the sequel to the Change series.

Hadrian Castillo is the mirror twin of Seth Castillo. Although they look identical, Hade has his organs on the opposite side than Seth's body. They are in Europe on holiday, leaving Australia to see the old countries.

Ellis Quick is also Australian -- a student from Melbourne -- and is slightly older than the twins. She meets the twins in Vienna and the three soon pool their resources to acquire better facilities. Ellis is the first to notice the Swede following them.

In this novel, Seth and Hade have a falling out in Stockholm and Hade is chasing through the streets to overtake Seth. Ellis catches up with Hade in the park and tries to talk him out of his anger, but Hade pushes her aside and, bleeding profusely, follows Seth. Ellis leads him down to the underground station and the three finally connect on the train.

Unfortunately, the Swede and his henchmen catch up with them there. The men grab Hade and Seth and the Swede pulls a knife. At first he threatens Hade, but Seth mouths off again and the Swede stabs him in the chest. The Swede carries off Ellis, but leaves Hade and Seth lying in a cul-de-sac.

When they are found, the paramedics treat Hade for his wounds, but Seth is pronounced DOA. Hade wakes up in a hospital and soon meets Bechard the orderly and Detective Volker Lascowicz. He hears people in the beds around him, but the curtains are drawn around him and he can't see the others. He describes his experiences to Lascowicz and learns that the power network is down.

In this story, Hade sleeps and awakens to a strangely quiet ward. A changed Lascowicz speaks to him out of the dark and says weird things. When Lascowicz leaves, Hade gets up and wanders around the ward. Everybody else is gone.

When Lascowicz comes back with Bechard, Hade avoids them and runs down the hallway. Something with claws pursues him, but he evades it and hides. Then Pukje -- a small monkey-like creature -- finds him and sends him off after his brother's body, which has been partially cremated in the hospital furnace. Hade saves a finger bone and then finds his way out of the building.

Although Pukje tries to tell him that a Cataclysm has been initiated by his brother's death, Hade refuses to believe anything so fanciful. Then he starts discovering signs of disaster in his travels through the city. Before long, he encounters Kybele, the goddess of the city.

Meanwhile, Seth finds himself falling through the Bardo into the underworld. He is chased by daevas and helped by a dimane named Xolotl, a former human with a transformed body. Under these conditions, Seth has little argument with Xol's assertion that he is dead.

Seth wanders through much of the Second Realm following Xol and others. He learns of the alien god Yod, a black ziggurat from Outside, and his efforts to slake his hunger in the First Realm. He also discovers that Xol is the mirror twin of Quetzalcoatl.

This story is an aggregation of various elements from folktales around the world. While it is heavily influenced by Germanic and Greek folklore, there are also aspects of Celtic, South American, Jewish and Arabic tales. Initially, Hade only encounters supernatural aspects of Scandinavia -- including Pukje -- but Kybele was originally a Phrygian goddess.

The structure of the world in this novel is three-fold, with the First Realm being our normal universe of matter and energy. The Second Realm is governed by Will, which is expressed as magic. The Third Realm is ruled by Choice, which is expressed by diverging worldlines similar to the Many Worlds Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics.

These Realms are ruled by dei, both major and minor. They each have inhabitants, some of whom are human. There are places within the Second Realm, but they defy common sense. It is difficult to say whether the Third Realm has places as such.

Since the Books of Change have not yet been published in the US, few people -- not including this reviewer -- outside Australia have read those stories. The Australian editions are available through Amazon in only limited quantities. Hopefully, an US publisher will reprint these books sometime soon.

Without the Books of Change to compare with this volume, it is hard to determine the degree of commonality. Obviously this volume has little in common with any other single fantasy tale, but maybe there are bits of mutual backstory across a wide spectrum of such tales. As the author admits in the appendices, he has been gathering material from various sources over the years. Now he has attempted a coherent presentation of these concepts. Nonetheless, the reader had better be prepared to suspend all disbelief in reading this book.

This book is fascinating, but difficult to understand at first. By the end of the book, one gains some comprehension of the overall situation, but so much is still unexplained. Don't expect the sequel to tie up all the dangling ideas, but maybe it will come to an acceptable conclusion. If you have read any other works by the author, such inexplicable and unexplained concepts should be familiar usages.

This reviewer is somehow reminded of Dante's Divine Comedy by this work. Although very different in style and details, this novel does feature (two separate) journeys through exotic realms. Maybe it is the quest format or the guided tours or the strange creatures or the divine aspects. Yet Dante could never have written this novel.

Highly recommended for Williams fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of convoluted fantasy, initial confusion and gradual -- but not complete -- comprehension, and many very strange creatures.

-Arthur W. Jordin

A compelling beginning.......2006-05-17

The Crooked Letter is both the first in a new series and the first in the continuation of a well loved series (to those of us who have loved it), The Books of the Change. The journey into the underworld of twins Seth and Hadrian does more than press the boundaries of contemporary fantasy fiction. It also puts pressure, in the most compelling and page-turning way, on the things our culture values most closely: the concept of the freely determined self, the idea of 'natural justice', and most importantly, the line between body and spirit. Forming a segue between the Books of the Change and the Books of the Cataclysm, this is some of the most intelligent and gripping fantasy writing available. Start at the beginning, and don't stop.

deep fantasy .......2006-04-29

Mirror twins Hadrian and Seth Castillo hate the fact that in some unexplainable way they are linked to one another; each wants to be an independent soul, but that psychic connection they share never allows that to be as together the polar opposites are whole.

That changes when someone kills Seth while Hadrian sees the stabbing occur. Yet though he remains in the realm of the living, Hadrian feels the psychic connection to Seth stronger than ever. Seth's spirit exists in the Second Realm, a containment area filled with monsters wanting to breach the "wall" and enter the First Realm where Hadrian exists. Yod notices that the chasm between the realms is diminishing; he realizes why and plans to use the brothers to enable him to conquer the First Realm. If the twins, even with guides to help them, fail to come together, Yod will breach the barrier and bring hell on earth. While Seth struggles to live, Hadrian considers death as a possibility to reunite with the sibling he never wanted to be near.

Set in the same realms as the Books of the Change series, the first Books of the Cataclysm, THE CROOKED LETTER, is a deep fantasy mindful of Dante with the numerous realms, though predominantly only two are vividly described through the twin poles. The story line is filled with plenty of action, but as is the case with most opening novels in a series, the background needs explanation whether it is delightfully descriptive especially that of the Second Realm or the challenges confronting the twins require "guidance". The cast makes the tale as the siblings and their connection seem real, which in turn makes the rings of realms feel genuine. Fans of a strong fantasy thriller will appreciate Sean Williams' superb opening tale.

Harriet Klausner

An epic as sinuous and intoxicating as a double helix cocktail.......2006-04-26

Few writers can mix magic, spiritual philosophy and contemporary fantasy as well as Sean Williams. The Crooked Letter intertwines death, rebirth, mythic gods and ordinary teenagers in a spiraling story that tells the end and beginning of a world. The author doesn't shy away from the passion of new love, the shock of betrayal, the pain of separation and the path of redemption. It's an epic as sinuous and intoxicating as a double helix cocktail (if there was one). Like Julian May's Intervention, The Crooked Letter is an extraordinary watershed between the Books of the Change and the Books of the Cataclysm. I could not put it down.

The Blood Debt: Books of the Cataclysm: Two

Average customer rating:

Australian SF Reader
fabulous fantasy
Awesome

The Blood Debt: Books of the Cataclysm: Two
Sean Williams
Manufacturer: Pyr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

General | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

The Crooked Letter: Books of the Cataclysm: One
The Hanging Mountains: Books of the Cataclysm No. 3
The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicle, Day 1)
Shadowplay (Shadowmarch, Vol. 2)
Acacia: Book One: The War With the Mein (Acacia)

ASIN: 1591024935

Book Description

In a remote city on the edge of two worlds, where blood has power and water is more precious than freedom, three far-flung friends unite on a quest to save their families. Sal Hrvati's estranged father has brought more into the world than the woman he loved. Instead of saving her from the Void Beneath, he has summoned an unknown creature—a creature with a mission of its own and a past that stretches back to the beginning of the world. The quest to find both of them entangles Sal and his companions in a hunt for magical treasure on the floor of the Divide, a mighty crack in the earth inhabited by creatures that are not remotely human. Desert landscapes and dirigibles feature in a fast-paced fantasy that combines romance, adventure, and humor with an original take on magic.

The Books of the Cataclysm take inspiration from many arcane and mythological sources. In positing that this world is just one of many "realms," three of which are inhabited by humans during various stages of their lives, it begins in the present world but soon propels the reader to a landscape that is simultaneously familiar and fantastic.

Customer Reviews:

Australian SF Reader.......2007-08-01

Having read The Crooked Letter a while ago, somewhat of a surprise to find this jumping into a story with older verions of the characters from The Books of the Change. A pleasant surprise nonetheless. As the characters have aged this series is again more adult in tone and content, not deliberately designed to be young reader friendly like The
Stone Mage and the Sea, et. al.

It is still very good, and revolves around Skender's lost mother, and Sal's father, creating a homunculus, that it turns out, unsurprisingly, is carrying the minds of both Seth and Hadrian from the first book.

The setting is a desert city called Laure, where people used
charmed hang-gliders to retrieve articles from the divide for sale, and there are Change practitioners who use blood as a source. No need to blood bank ads, here!

fabulous fantasy.......2006-10-29

In the distant future Earth is a vastly strange different place in which magic is the energy source of choice in isolated enclaves. With this energy source comes unwelcome byproducts; living humans uneasily share the area with ghosts, golems, and other paranormal creatures that run the gamut of myths including living statues.

Separately friends Sal and Skender become concerned over their respective missing parents who apparently vanished due to some unexplained esoteric disorder. Each without consulting with the other decides on a quest to find and if need be rescue their parents from whatever void that traps them. However, neither is quite ready to learn about a dangerous homunculus pseudo human that apparently Sal's dad brought back from the Void Beneath which may lead to death and destruction of more than just their parents: a world is at risk.

This tale somewhat suffers from the middle book syndrome even though plenty of action occurs, but for practical purposes nothing is resolved. As testimony to the spellbinding writing skills of Sean Williams, fantasy readers will still enjoy the latest Book of the Cataclysm as the lead duo Sal and Skender return (see THE CROOKED LETTER) to embark on a new quest. Readers will root for the pair whose adventures are exciting, dangerous, and fun to follow as they anchor the exhilarating story line of THE BLOOD DEBT.

Harriet Klausner

Awesome.......2006-09-24

The Blood Debt is awesome! Williams' books just keep getting better. Although this could be read easily as a stand alone, do yourself a favour and go and read The Crooked Letter and then read this! Then just try and stop yourself reading the third book! Fantastic characterisation and pageturning prose set in a mystical and unpredictable world. Five stars!!!

Average customer rating:

This Booked Was Rather Wrecked By The Cataclysm
Well....
I LOVED THIS!!!
excellent
very cool

The Cataclysm (Dragonlance: Tales)

Manufacturer: Wizards of the Coast
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

Anthologies | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

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

All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

The Reign of Istar (Dragonlance: Tales)
The War of the Lance (Dragonlance: Tales)
Love and War: Tales, Volume Three (Dragonlance: Tales)
Kender, Gully Dwarves, and Gnomes: Tales, Volume Two (Dragonlance: Tales)
The Magic of Krynn: Tales, Volume One (Dragonlance: Tales)

ASIN: 0786937750
Release Date: 2005-09-29

Book Description

A recover of The New York Times best-selling Tales series.

This collection of tales is edited by the creators of the Dragonlance mythology. The Cataclysm contains a number of short stories by popular Dragonlance authors as well as a novella by Weis and Hickman.

Customer Reviews:

This Booked Was Rather Wrecked By The Cataclysm.......2006-06-29

Expecting a moderate to good book, I was stunned by the low level of the literature. this may have been better not written, except for three serious and good tales and one funny ang good tale.
Beginning with traditional poetry in "The Word And The Silence" is not what i like. i usually dislike these poems, but this one was appaling. It made no sense and you couldnt understand one bit of it, even whtever it was trying to tell you. The continuation "Mark Of The Flame, Mark Of The Word", was slightly better, but still bad with no point. "The Bargain Driver", was OK but rather boring and, yet again, had no real connection to the cataclysm and no point. "Seekers" was very good but ruined by its pessmistic atitdude. Though the boy believed in Paladine at the end, the man didn't, and we never found out what happened to his quest. "No Gods, No Heroes", was just a funny tale that wasn't even well written. The only good point was Tarli from "Kender Stew" showing up. "Into Shadow Into Light", was almost the best, carrying in it a very deep moral. "Ogre Unaware" was funny but, again, boring. "The Cobblers Son" was very good and funny, one of the only good stories. "The Voyage Of The Sunchaser", was boring and not even funny, only very dull. "The High Priest Of Halycon", was very good, if a trifle dull. Last and best "True Knight" continues "The Silken Threads" from "The Reign Of Istar" in a beautiful manner, with many hidden messages which they did not understand but we did. The ending is beautiful and fitting.

Well...........2001-10-26

I have to give all the short story novels 3 stars. There are some stories you won't like but they'll 2-4 really great ones that will make the books worth the price.

I LOVED THIS!!!.......2001-03-05

when i first atsrted reading dragonlance, i kept hearing about the cataclysm, but i feel that noone bothered to add any substantal backround to the event until this book.

this book provided had it all. if you are looking for the same as i did( again alot of insight to what happened before during and shortly after the cataclysym) then this is your book.

excellent.......2000-04-06

it was excellent well rounded book.

my personal favorite was the one of the ghost being restored.

very cool.......2000-04-05

i like the whole book. my favorite story however was the one about the ghost being restored. again very good book; i cant say enough about it.

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books