Flotsam (Caldecott Medal Book)

Book Description

A bright, science minded boy goes to the beach equipped to collect and examine flotsam--anything floating that has been washed ashore. Bottles, lost toys, small objects of every description are among his usual finds. But there's no way he could have prepared for one particular discovery: a barnacle-encrusted underwater camera, with its own secrets to share... and to keep.

Customer Reviews:

Absolutely beautiful.......2007-10-10

Beautifully done. Its too complex for my 16 month old right now but I can see her loving it as much as we do in the future. I won't be surprised if it becomes one of her favorite books to read. When that time comes we will have lots of fun making up stories to go with the pictures.

Beautiful Book.......2007-09-27

This book is a wordless story appropriate for children of many ages. The pages are full of beautiful illustrations that actually tell a story without having to use words. It also gives children the opportunity to use their imaginations to some degree because they are not strictly told what happens. In it, a boy finds a camera washed up on shore and develops the film. The pictures reveal underwater fantasies in large, brightly colored images.

Intriguing and beguiling.......2007-09-20

When my wife first saw this in the bookstore, she called out, nearly shouting, "Look at this." One look wouldn't do - couldn't do! The detail and clever storytelling in this book are amazing. This book belongs on the shelf of every illustrated book lover.

Excellent Product & Prompt Delivery.......2007-09-15

This item was exactly as described in the item description. It was in the original packaging and is in excellent condition. I am very satisfied and I highly recommend this seller and product to everyone. This is an excellent book by an excellent author!

No Words!.......2007-08-27

This is a beautiful book. Great pictures. But, no words. My child was very confused when there were no words to read. It does allow you, however, to expand and make up a story. But, I would have liked to know that this book had no words before I bought it!

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West

Average customer rating:

It Would Put the Wicked Witch Off Reading
The misunderstood witch.... UNDERSTOOD!
Wicked Wasted My Week
Enigmas, akimbo, and snares, Oh My!
Horrors! Horrors!

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
Gregory Maguire
Manufacturer: Harper Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0060987103

Book Description

When Dorothy triumphed over the Wicked Witch of the West in L. Frank Baum's classic tale, we heard only her side of the story. But what about her arch–nemesis, the mysterious witch? Where did she come from? How did she become so wicked? And what is the true nature of evil?

Gregory Maguire creates a fantasy world so rich and vivid that we will never look at Oz the same way again. Wicked is about a land where animals talk and strive to be treated like first–class citizens, Munchkinlanders seek the comfort of middle–class stability and the Tin Man becomes a victim of domestic violence. And then there is the little green–skinned girl named Elphaba, who will grow up to be the infamous Wicked Witch of the West, a smart, prickly and misunderstood creature who challenges all our preconceived notions about the nature of good and evil.

Download Description

Packed with e-book extras, including the original classic, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum, and the Reader's Group Guide. When Dorothy triumphed over the Wicked Witch of the West in L. Frank Baum's classic tale, we heard only one side of the story. Meet Elphaba -- a smart, prickly, little green-skinned girl who challenges all our preconceived notions about the nature of good and evil. When Dorothy triumphed over the Wicked Witch of the West in L. Frank Baum's classic tale, we heard only her side of the story. But what about her arch-nemesis, the mysterious witch? Where did she come from? How did she become so wicked? And what is the true nature of evil? Gregory Maguire creates a fantasy world so rich and vivid that we will never look at Oz the same way again. Wicked is about a land where animals talk and strive to be treated like first-class citizens, Munchkinlanders seek the comfort of middle-class stability and the Tin Man becomes a victim of domestic violence. And then there is the little green-skinned girl named Elphaba, who will grow up to be the infamous Wicked Witch of the West, a smart, prickly and misunderstood creature who challenges all our preconceived notions about the nature of good and evil.

Customer Reviews:

It Would Put the Wicked Witch Off Reading.......2007-10-08

I got this book after seeing Wicked the Musical. The character of Elphaba, the predestined Witch, was presented as a sympathetic character. All of the book's best setup ideas are in the musical, and ideas that should have been obvious in the book but weren't were also in the musical. I made the mistake of getting this book to read all the details the musical didn't include.

Simply put, there are no details the musical doesn't include. Possible Spoilers: The foundation of the book is clever, but never developed: Elphaba is an outcast, made more so by her care for the Animals, the ones that can speak, that are being oppressed and worse. She gets hold of a magic book the Wizard can't read, and then proceeds to do nothing with it. Her relationship with Fiyaro, explained fully in the musical, is never explained in the book! Then there are the long, rambling conversations that go nowhere and have no point.
I think the author as a child must have been subjected to long, rambling & meaningless (to him) conversations between family members at social gatherings, as this is how he perceives all such gatherings; as much talk about nothing, vague (and obtuse) reflections on the "nature" of good & evil, etc; he presents all the characters as ninnies in their incoherent discussions, except for the Witch who also participates, and inevitably is seen as a ninny too for participating in them. The author does this dozens (and I mean dozens) of times in his book. To what purpose? It's never explained. What starts as a sympathetic character eventually grates on the nerves as she is never deveoped, her motivations become flatter and flatter, explanations are never forthcoming, and she's seen as weak & ineffective throughout the whole book. If she's so helpless, why does the Wizard see her as a threat? That's never explained either. The dialogue between characters is stilted, disconnected, sometimes illogical to the point where you're shaking your head and putting the book down to spare yourself a headache, when what you want is an engrossing and uplifting read. This book is the opposite of engrossing; it's off-putting, and a continual trudge uphill to find something meaningful in it.

Ultimately, you lose patience and start thinking for yourself about the giant plot holes and contradictions. For me the most basic one became this: Here we have the Wizard, a powerless man magically but who has a lot of guards & spies. Then we have the Witch, a natural magician, in possession of a dangerous tome, as well as part of a huge underground rebellion. The Wizard simply kidnaps her lover's family, and the Witch has to beg on her knees, crying, to the Wizard to get them back, without ever using her powers or her connections to save them. Is this consistent with the character? Is this our brave & indomitable Witch? Should we care about her after this as a viable or even an effective character, since she is not the character described at the beginning of this novel? We understand she's going to be different than the Baum character, but she should at least be consistent in some way within this story. Also the "huge rebellion" is hugely meaningless, as it never succeeds in anything and simply disappears eventually, never mentioned again!

The book makes allusions to Nazi Germany in its persecution of the Animals. In this author's view, from what he has written, Hitler would never have been defeated; he would simply have gone on and on, without opposition, as any rebellion or resistence is futile. And what is the point then? The author doesn't make one; we are left then with the author's perspective that true evil once in power can never be defeated, only endured till it kills us. Whether the author intended it or not, that is the moral of this book. Is it worth slogging through hundreds of pages of disconnected characters and events to get to that charming point?

I can't call it a story, as ultimately, it isn't one -just disconnected scenes & rambling, pointless dialogue. He really should have read his own book before publishing it. I don't understand why the people he credits for "reading the book early" didn't point out these giant flaws, the fact that she never (I mean never) uses her powers, and that she never develops (nor does anyone else) after college. Nor do I understand the Publisher not pointing this out and requesting a decent rewrite. (Which frankly, I think would have been beyond his capacity as a beginning writer). What he needed was an experienced (and better) cowriter to flesh out and develop the characters, and eliminate all of the rambling that does not progress or add to the story.

If you care for this character, don't read the book; you'll get no insight as to her motivations, or anything else.
You'll actually stop sympathizing and caring about her character. See the musical instead. The person that wrote the book for the musical did a better job than the author did in writing the novel. The musical Wicked is far better than this author deserves for it to be, considering the source material.

The musical does the Witch justice; this book, I'm afraid, does just the opposite, both for the Witch, and its readers.

The misunderstood witch.... UNDERSTOOD!.......2007-10-05

What can I say about this book?
Only that it was a honorable classic. I was able to fully understand the madness of the infamous witch, her story corrected my thoughts. We were all lead to believe that Elphaba was hateful and despied poor Dorthey, but that was not the case according to Maguire's novel. As a little girl I asked myself why was she so wicked? and did she have a life before Dorthey's time? This book clearly gave me perspective in that matter. Elphaba's stormy, weird and excitable sexual relationship with Fiyero also mad me love this book, because who would think that The Wicked Witch of The West had sex? Maguire makes it loud and clear that she did and LOVED it!

Another creative part of this book was the description of Nessarose and Galinda. He allowed me to get a full review of the charaters of Oz. And as a child I was scared of Munchkinlanders and after reading this book I confired that I still am!

Filled with hidden messages and funny sexual acts Wicked turned out to be my most beloved book of this year (2007)
And I am off to Broadway to see the play...........

Wicked Wasted My Week.......2007-10-05

Wow was I disappointed in this book!!! Had heard great things about it and thought the concept would be interesting. It was the furthest thing from interesting and in fact was the worst book I've read since high school.

The plot rambles with most of the book irrelevant to the "story". Characters come and go with no direction. They pop up, seem interesting, then they go away without much explanation.

I am no author, but I think Maguire really missed out on creating a truly interesting story. Would be nice if someone else took a real crack at creating somthing intriguing.

Luckily I just borrowed the book from my sister. Don't waste your hard earned cash.

Enigmas, akimbo, and snares, Oh My!.......2007-09-28

I liked the book because of its originality.
However, the story would flow and then get stuck in its attempt to confuse and irritate the reader into skipping over big parts of the book.
The journey of the Witch is so convoluted, that I had to back track. Enjoying this book took a lot effort. I like to be entertained when I read fiction, not work myself into a dither trying to understand where the story is going. When it gets bogged down with theories and who is who and where and when,...it is rather boring. BUT.. the parts that tell you about her childhood, schooling...is entertaining.

Horrors! Horrors!.......2007-09-23

This book was painfully disappointing. The plots meanders here and there and never fully develops. The writing is mediocre, and the book left me feeling cheated. The books sums itself up with the only funny line in it - "Horrors! Horrors!" Don't waste your time!

Average customer rating:

Excellent end to the series
i think its running out of gas but its still got some go juice
Different than its predecessors
An excellent novel that stands on its own merits.
A fast read

The Last Colony
John Scalzi
Manufacturer: Tor Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0765316978
Release Date: 2007-04-17

Book Description

Retired from his fighting days, John Perry is now village ombudsman for a human colony on distant Huckleberry. With his wife, former Special Forces warrior Jane Sagan, he farms several acres, adjudicates local disputes, and enjoys watching his adopted daughter grow up.

That is, until his and Jane's past reaches out to bring them back into the game--as leaders of a new human colony, to be peopled by settlers from all the major human worlds, for a deep political purpose that will put Perry and Sagan back in the thick of interstellar politics, betrayal, and war.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent end to the series.......2007-10-05

The Last Colony is the third book in the series. If you haven't read the other two, Old Man's War and The Ghost Brigades, then I urge you to get your hands on them and read them. The Ghost Brigades was probably my favorite of the series, but really, all of the books, including the novelette, The Sagan Diaries, are good and contribute to the overall story arc.

As of this moment, I think this may be the weakest book of the three, but don't take that as a criticism. I often find it takes me a little while after reading a story to fully appreciate it. By writing this review right away I'm being unfair. I haven't had time to appreciate the subtleties.

I'm amazed by how well Scalzi was able to surprise me with the story. Yet, he somehow, comfortingly, allowed me to predict a few things. I like that combination.

The story progressed at a good pace, constantly keeping me entertained, unlike Excession, where I felt bogged down for days and weeks suffering through what seemed like mindless background to get to the good stuff. In the end Excession paid off, but I didn't have to wait until the ending twist for The Last Colony to pay off.

*** Spoilers Below ***

Even though I feel all glowy about the book, I do have a few complaints. I didn't feel much for the new characters. When Hiram Yoder is killed it should be a poignant scene, but it isn't. Yes, I feel a loss of someone important to the colony, but not to the story. Even Savitri, who is an interesting character to be sure, lacks the depth that gives me any feeling for her. Hickory and Dickory are the only new characters that I really felt a sense of attachment.

I felt much more for the characters introduced in the other two novels: John, Jane, Jared, Harry, even Szilard and Boutin.

I'm also a little disappointed that the werewolves disappeared after a critical scene. What happened between them and the colony? Was it possible to negotiate? I know it would have needlessly extended the book to go into those details, but I still wonder.

Overall though, it's an excellent end to the series. Scalzi wrapped up the plot and the series in a happy ending without making it sappy or unbelievable. In the afterward he said he wouldn't be coming back to these characters. Although I'll miss them, I'm glad. As I get older my patience for long series grows short. Even though each book he's written so far can stand alone, I don't think I could stand another 10 year series.

He hasn't left out the possibility of returning to the world again one day and I look forward to new stories from this world.

i think its running out of gas but its still got some go juice.......2007-10-02

While this novel didn't have the charm that old man's war did, it was entertaining to a point. the political motivations were a bit obscure and never felt real for me. A large build up in the colonization phase that never fulfills any depth it ends with too neat of a solution for my taste. I'm trying to not spoil any plot elements here but i think if the universe is a messy place its gonna have some messy endings, no?

Different than its predecessors.......2007-09-10

"The Lasr Colony", alas, is also the last of a trilogy that began with the brilliant "Old Man's War" and was followed by the inventive "The
Ghost Brigades". The first two volumes literally crackled with excitement, very interesting future technology and reverberated with good old-fashioned space combat.

John Perry, hero of "Old Man's War" and Jane Sagan, formerly of the Colonial Special Forces, have taken up housekeeping on the colony planet Huckleberry. With their adopted teenage daughter Zoe, they live a reasonably content, if placid life. (Without ever saying so, Scalzi does lead you to think about why anyone would want to be a colonist anywhere, any time, regardless of the technology available. In a way, Scalzi describes a simple life that would drive most urbanites out of their minds in short order.)

One day General Rybicki appears on the planet to make Perry and Sagan an offer they can't refuse: take leadership of a new colony to be established by the Colonial Union. Reluctantly Perry and Sagan accept and become the leaders of Roanoke, a new colony of Earthlings.

A rather large problem looms since an (unbelievably) secret organization of more than 400 races from around the Universe have formed the Conclave which has ordered that no new single race colonies be created. (Scalzi's Universe, by the way, is not at all a peaceful place.)

Unlike the two earlier volumes, "The Last Colony" is largely a story about interstellar politics and old-fashioned diplomatic gameplaying. Sadly it is not nearly as exciting as its predecessors. There's not a whole lot of science in this fiction.

Scalzi, in earlier works, did a bang-up job of centering the story individually on Perry and then on Sagan. This time, he tries to spread the attention over Perry, Sagan, the young Zoe and her Obin bodyguards, hostile (but humane) generals, local political opponents . . . and, frankly, too many people. Scalzi doesn't fail, but he does dilute the power of his writing.

Overall, "The Last Colony" is a good read, but probably only if you've read "Old Man's War" and "The Ghost Brigades". Scalzi tries to fill in the backstory, but really can't. Standing alone, I don't think "The Last Colony" would have made a lot of sense.

Like many, I am sorry to see the end of the John Perry and Jane Sagan characters, at least in the roles we'vd become accustomed to. By the same token, Scalzi is a very strong writer and I will be interested in seeing what next springs from his imagination. (I also recommend Scalzi's The Android's Dream).

Jerry

An excellent novel that stands on its own merits........2007-08-28

Although I did not read the first two novels in this trilogy (an oversite I intend to correct), the author has created such a wonderful novel here that I found it to stand out amongst the deluge of science fiction books that have past across my desk recently. Scalzi gives you enough background on the main characters, and weaves his intricate plotline through one of the most successful excercises in "world building" that I have seen. I found myself wrapped up in the storyline, and dreaded any interruption that took me away from this book. The author has a witty, clean style of writing that is a pleasure to read, and I highly recommend another of Scalzi's novels: "The Android's Dream" which was originally published in late 2006.

A fast read.......2007-08-23

This third book in the series was over too quick. This is not to say that it was too short -- just that I enjoyed it so much that I read it quickly.

Average customer rating:

Vatta book 4
Pure light Space Opera -- nothing earthshaking, nothing really new, but good fun.
Virtually Flawless
Command Decision (Vatta's War)
More Skulduggery in the Spaceways

Command Decision (Vatta's War, Book 4)
Elizabeth Moon
Manufacturer: Del Rey
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0345491599
Release Date: 2007-02-27

Book Description

With the Vatta’s War series, award-winning author Elizabeth Moon has claimed a place alongside such preeminent writers of military science fiction as David Weber and Lois McMaster Bujold. Now Moon is back–and so is her butt-kicking, take-no-prisoners heroine, Kylara Vatta. Once the black-sheep scion of a prosperous merchant family, Kylara now leads a motley space force dedicated to the defeat of a rapacious pirate empire led by the mysterious Gammis Turek.

After orchestrating a galaxy-wide failure of the communications network owned and maintained by the powerful ISC corporation, Turek and his marauders strike swiftly and without mercy. First they shatter Vatta Transport. Then they overrun entire star systems, growing stronger and bolder. No one is safe from the pirate fleet. But while they continue to move forward with their diabolical plan, they have made two critical mistakes.

Their first mistake was killing Kylara Vatta’s family.
Their second mistake was leaving her alive.
Now Kylara is going to make them pay.

But with a “fleet” consisting of only three ships–including her flagship, the Vanguard, a souped-up merchant cruiser–Kylara needs allies, and fast. Because even though she possesses the same coveted communication technology as the enemy, she has nowhere near their numbers or firepower.

Meanwhile, as Kylara’s cousin Stella tries to bring together the shattered pieces of the family trading empire, new treachery is unfolding at ISC headquarters, where undercover agent Rafael Dunbarger, estranged son of the corporation’s CEO, is trying to learn why the damaged network is not being repaired. What he discovers will send shock waves across the galaxy and crashing into Kylara’s newly christened Space Defense Force at the worst possible moment.

Customer Reviews:

Vatta book 4.......2007-08-16

Worth a read, if you like prior books as I did, but hope the next one is better- this was set up book in a lot of ways to widen the story line, imho.
Not worth the HC price in my view.

Pure light Space Opera -- nothing earthshaking, nothing really new, but good fun. .......2007-08-12

In a way there is little to say about the fourth novel in an ongoing sequence. Suffice it to say, perhaps, that Elizabeth Moon makes no major missteps in this book -- if you have been enjoying the Vatta's War series, you will enjoy this one. What else do we need to know?

To begin with, if you haven't been reading this series, I recommend going back and starting with book one. If you enjoy fast-moving space adventure, with involving characters and space war tactics and action and all... these books will work for you. They aren't perfect -- in common with most novels in this subgenre, the main characters are a bit implausibly skilled at the roles they are thrust into, in common with many series novels, the individual novels don't always work ideally on their own.

What of Command Decision, then? By this time essentially four main points of view have been established. Ky Vatta is the nominal protagonist of the series: a young woman unfairly forced out of the Slotter Key Space Academy, who joined her family space transport company and who thus was well-positioned to begin resistance when conspirators destroyed ansibles throughout human space and attacked several systems, including Slotter Key. Stella Vatta is Ky's beautiful cousin, who discovers in herself unsuspected talents for leading a business when most of the Vattas were killed and she was left the only candidate to try to keep the business going. Grace Vatta is Ky and Stella's supposedly dotty Aunt, who turns out to really be a spy, and as one of the few survivors of the attack on Vatta interests at Slotter Key is the natural choice to take a position in the new government. (No Moon books would be complete without a formidable Aunt -- after all, James Nicoll went so far as to dub her previous Space Opera series "Aunts in Space".) And finally Rafe Dunsbarger is a mysterious man, the disgraced son of the CEO of ISC, the company that controls ansible traffic, supposedly a remittance man (i.e. living on an allowance from his family) but actually serving as an undercover ISC agent.

Of these four Rafe's story is most central to this new novel. He has secretly returned to his home planet, Nexus, hoping to find his father and try to understand what's up with ISC and the ansibles. But his father (along with his mother and sister) has disappeared. So Rafe must try to find out what's up with his father -- and in the process figure out what's up with ISC. This forces him to reassess his troubled past life -- and also leads to fun but almost goofy scenes including a shootout in the boardroom.

Meanwhile, Aunt Grace is continuing to root out potential traitors in Slotter Key's government. Stella is pursuing further potentially lucrative business opportunities while still coming to terms with her personal history. And Ky is still trying to expand her fleet, this time with some unexpected help from a very romantic -- and very wealthy -- fellow. She also deals with a nasty system, complete with slavers, and she helps out the Mackensee mercenaries when they are in danger from the pirates. All this means she is faced with another difficult personal choice.

Basically, this is a middle book in a long series. Nothing is really resolved -- but nothing need be resolved at this point. There is plenty of cool action, several engaging good guys to root for in a struggle against some really really bad guys (as ever, Moon's villains are truly villainous). This is pure light Space Opera -- nothing earthshaking, nothing really new, but good fun.

Virtually Flawless.......2007-07-14

COMMAND DECISION (2007) is the fourth book of the VATTA'S WAR Series - following ENGAGING THE ENEMY(2006), MARQUE AND REPRISAL(2005), and TRADING IN DANGER(2004). These books follow the exploits of Kylara Vatta, a Space Trader with a military training background, who is forced to turn Space Privateer, in response to an attack by Space Pirates on the Vatta family Space Trading enterprise and the ansible inter-system communication network... the conflict begins to expand to a galactic war in ENGAGING THE ENEMY, and in this book, Ky takes charge of a small fleet at the center of conflicts in the enlarging galactic war.

Near the end of the book, 4 disparate groups of ships (pirates, mercenaries, Ky's new "Space Defense Force" and ISC's force) could meet up in a remote location... but I won't give away what happens - as it is the best scene out of the series.

As usual with this series, there are some overly-coincendental or contrived scenes (the magic "skull ansible" technology in Ky's head... why don't MORE people have it, if it works?) - but they really don't impact the exciting pace and overall quality of the book. While the book isn't perfect, it is very enjoyable, and it gets 4.5 stars - round it up to 5.

Command Decision (Vatta's War).......2007-06-13

I've read all the books in this series and I found them to be a read you can't put down. It kept me wanting to read the next book to see what happens. I looked up on the net to see when the next book is coming out and I can't believe it's not til next year, I can't wait that long, but I suppose I just have to.

More Skulduggery in the Spaceways.......2007-05-31

Command Decision (2007) is the fourth SF novel in the Vatta's War series, following Engaging the Enemy. In the previous volume, pirates jumped the privateer ships practicing maneuvers in a deserted system and destroyed several of the vessels. Kylara Vatta joined forces with two other ships as they fought their way out of the ambush.

Aunt Grace supervised the laying of the cornerstone for the new Vatta Transport building. Afterward, Master Sergeant MacRobert invited her to tea and then stated that she would be asked to serve in a high position within the government.

In this novel, Rafael Dunbarger lands at Nexus Center Port as Genson Ratanvi, a middle-aged Cascadian business man. He passes Customs and Immigration without problems and heads for the Ambisor where he has stayed before in this identity. After installing his baggage in the room, he goes out to make some calls.

Upon reaching Luce's, a cafe in his former neighborhood, Rafe tries his father's private number and gets a "no longer available" message. When he calls his home phone number, the call is answered by someone he doesn't recognize. Then the voice asks his business and reason for calling. After telling the voice that he is trying to reach Flasic's Bakery Supplies, Rafe is told that he has the wrong number. But then he is asked for his calling location and told to stay on the line.

After he is permitted to hang up, Rafe complains to the proprietor of the cafe about the rudeness of some people. He asks for directions to Flasic's and Luce walks over with him. He makes some inquiries, but finds the transportation costs are too high. Luce walks out with him, yet returns to his cafe. By that time, Rafe is being followed by someone else.

Later Rafe is awakened by a call on his implanted ansible. He doesn't answer immediately, but just waits. Eventually he hears voices and jacks up the sensitivity to listen to three voices. The conversation suggests that someone had gotten his number from his father.

Stella and Toby are doing well on Cascadia Station. Unfortunately, Toby has stacked electronic gear all over the apartment. Stella tries to get him to pick up the mess, but he keeps getting distracted. Since Toby is designing some interesting modifications to the shipboard ansibles, Stella can't just throw the stuff out. Luckily, she has a lead on office and workshop space for the rebuilding Vatta Transport organization.

Ky is having medical problems aboard the Vanguard. Several of her crew have ingested something virulent. Although they identify the substance and treat the crew in the medboxes, Ky needs a medical staff like the professional forces. In addition, she needs to tighten discipline, for the crew should have known not to bring anything unusual onboard without permission. She holds an all-crew meeting while they are in FTL.

Ky visits Gretna Main Station to restock on missiles and gains a bad impression of their ethics. Among other malpractices, the Gretnans have a form of slavery and Ky buys her medical staff as indentured laborers. Of course, she frees the individuals as soon as they come aboard, but she puts her crew on high alert after learning of some other Gretnan tricks from her new medics.

In this story, Rafe continues his masquerade as a Cascadian businessman while gaining assistance from his former classmates to find his family. Toby learns how to connect shipboard ansibles to system ansibles and Stella starts a patent search. Aunt Grace becomes a very high personage in the Slotter Key Defense Ministry.

Ky recruits three other ship captains to her System Defense Force squadron. Captain Ransome and his fellows are much too romantic -- in the swashbuckling sense -- to be trusted fully, but their ships are small, fast, armed and highly maneuverable, making good scouts. Indeed, the crews have some experience boarding pirate ships. Best yet, Ransome is very rich and actually *buys* the shipboard ansibles that he installs in his ships.

This story continues the evolution of a multisystem defense force to fight the pirates. Ky has some setbacks, but also gains much more experience and some influential friends, including stronger ties with the MacKensee Mercenaries.

Highly recommended for Moon fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of naval conflict, corporate intrigue and personal combat.

-Arthur W. Jordin

Average customer rating:

The conclusion to the great Dune Saga
Disappointed
Sandworms...a magical conclusion?
Excellent continuation of a classic story
An Editor would have been nice

Sandworms of Dune
Brian Herbert , and Kevin J. Anderson
Manufacturer: Tor Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 076531293X
Release Date: 2007-08-07

Book Description

At the end of Frank Herberts final novel, Chapterhouse: Dune, a ship carrying a crew of refugees escapes into the uncharted galaxy, fleeing from a terrifying, mysterious Enemy. The fugitives used genetic technology to revive key figures from Dunes pastincluding Paul MuadDib and Lady Jessicato use their special talents to meet the challenges thrown at them. Based directly on Frank Herberts final outline, which lay hidden in two safe-deposit boxes for a decade, Sandworms of Dune will answer the urgent questions Dune fans have been debating for two decades: the origin of the Honored Matres, the tantalizing future of the planet Arrakis, the final revelation of the Kwisatz Haderach, and the resolution to the war between Man and Machine. This breathtaking new novel in Frank Herberts Dune series has enough surprises and plot twists to please even the most demanding reader.

Customer Reviews:

The conclusion to the great Dune Saga.......2007-10-10

The book wraps up and finalizes the series started by Frank Herbert and finished by his son and Kevin Anderson. All the parts from the machine war trilogy and the dune saga are brought to close.

Disappointed.......2007-10-10

This book was horribly disappointing. I only bought it to get closure on the series.

The writers seemed to me to not understand what DUNE was all about. The story is shallow, uninspiring and very bland.
Go back and read Original DUNE, you'll feel better after reading this trash.

Sandworms...a magical conclusion?.......2007-09-30

If you've bought and read Sandworms of Dune--you must be a REAL Dune fanatic--I am. And for the most part, I've been totally on board with Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson continuing the saga. And you have to suspend a certain amount of belief with any sci-fi, but even moreso with "Sandworms." This book, more than any of their efforts seems to lose steam and even its "Dune" credibility with the "magical" wrapup at the end. If you've made it this far in this series...you HAVE to buy it; it just hasn't brought me back for "re-reads" like most of the others. But hey, genius and creativity aren't bottomless wells.

Excellent continuation of a classic story.......2007-09-27

It must be very difficult to write a continuation to a well-loved sci-fi classic even if your Father did write the original. Brian Herbert has succeeded, along with co-writer Kevin Anderson, to build on the original in an almost seamless manner. I have a few nagging doubts about certain developments but all in all this is the culmination of an excellent series of books. Brian and Kevin - well done!

An Editor would have been nice.......2007-09-27

Thank god (leto or duncan?) I'm done. In the end I was entertained, which is the purpose of reading. That being said, it was a tedious effort to get through this final, maybe?, chapter of Dune. There was a good story to be told in the end, but, it seems the authors were being paid for a word count. An editor should have reigned in the repetitiveness. How many times must they say the names of the reborn gholah's? They have a built in reader base that did not need the retelling of plot lines from five, six or nine books ago. The casual reader will not be reading this. KNOW your audience! It would have been much more compelling to have fleshed out characters (pick a ghola, any gholah..) than to keep retelling what the reader already knew by rote.

Others have posted on the many timeline/plot inconsistencies, but, the one I haven't seen is this....most "plot lines" were tied up in the epilouge save one....whatever happened to Paulo who was in a trance on the floor in synchrony? Is he still there in a trance? Did they rebuild around him? He just kinda got left there. Ooops. Indicative of the book.

I was entertained though.

The Oversoul Seven Trilogy: The Education of Oversoul Seven, the Further Education of Oversoul Seven, Oversoul Seven and the Museum of Time (Roberts, Jane)

Average customer rating:

great read
What a FUN way to explore the nature of reality!
Metaphysics on another level
Cosmic fun!
Oversoul Seven

The Oversoul Seven Trilogy: The Education of Oversoul Seven, the Further Education of Oversoul Seven, Oversoul Seven and the Museum of Time (Roberts, Jane)
Jane Roberts
Manufacturer: Amber-Allen Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1878424173

Customer Reviews:

great read.......2007-07-23

I have read this book three times - bought this copy for my daughter. It is fun, full of wisdom, and hard to put down. A great gift for the open minded and curious!

What a FUN way to explore the nature of reality!.......2007-02-07

I was so glad they re-released these books. I love the whole series. As novels they are great, but as an explanation of how the universe works they are awesome. I espeically love the old age home of the gods!

The whole idea of all time being simultaneous is so clear. Made me wonder if we aren't all just someone's oversoul!

Metaphysics on another level.......2007-02-07

For those of you who love fictional accounts that leave you on a different plane of existence, this is for you. Many may prefer books that spell things out and leave you with a set of rules to follow from some motivational speaker. This book offers your imagination an enjoyable trip that leaves you with some new perspectives and concepts with which to create your own life.

Cosmic fun!.......2006-01-06

Read this and you will never be the same again! Unlike anything else I have ever read, the Oversoul 7 trilogy stands alone, and in my top 5 books of all time. Cosmic truths presented in fictional format, but NOT cheesy or contrived like most 'New Age fiction.' You know what I mean - those books that have a story just to provide an excuse for New Age preaching. blech. It's great when it works, but it rarely works. Well this time it works! Jane Roberts pulls it off, and pulls it off quite well!

Read Oversoul and your dreams will come alive. You will look at every sunflake with new appreciation. Your sense of time and space will be forever altered. You will grasp at last the paradox of nonlinear time (ie, 'time travel'). You will meet unforgettable characters and remember them fondly many years later (the hallmark of a great book). And, you'll have fun reading it.

Oversoul Seven.......2005-03-20

I am an avid reader (although usually of non-fiction books), and I was completely taken in by this work of "fiction"! In fact, I read the entire trilogy (nearly 600 pages) in just a few days!

I highly recommend it for anyone interested in the metaphysical. Although it's fiction, I believe it shares some of the "real" views of the author - apparently obtained during her messages from Seth (I haven't yet read her "Seth" books yet, so I can't be certain about this).

Basically, this is a story about the journey & subsequent learning of a non-physical being - oversoul seven, and his many teachers along the way. It is beautifully written, and such a page turner, that I only wished there was more stories of the adventures of this quirky soul.

If you are at all interested in the "metaphysical", or enjoy this authors books re: Seth, I would highly recommend "The Oversoul Seven Trilogy" - the author presents some of the most difficult of concepts in an easy, enjoyable way. I can't speak highly enough about this book!

Average customer rating:

Hunters of Dune
it's okay
Reading time you never get back...
Would it have been better if this book hadn't been written?
Hunters of Dune

Hunters of Dune
Brian Herbert , and Kevin J. Anderson
Manufacturer: Tor Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0765312921
Release Date: 2006-08-22

Book Description

Hunters of Dune and the concluding volume, Sandworms of Dune, bring together the great story lines and beloved characters in Frank Herbert's classic Dune universe, ranging from the time of the Butlerian Jihad to the original Dune series and beyond. Based directly on Frank Herbert's final outline, which lay hidden in a safe-deposit box for a decade, these two volumes will finally answer the urgent questions Dune fans have been debating for two decades.At the end of Chapterhouse: Dune-Frank Herbert's final novel--a ship carrying the ghola of Duncan Idaho, Sheeana (a young woman who can control sandworms), and a crew of various refugees escapes into the uncharted galaxy, fleeing from the monstrous Honored Matres, dark counterparts to the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood. The nearly invincible Honored Matres have swarmed into the known universe, driven from their home by a terrifying, mysterious Enemy. As designed by the creative genius of Frank Herbert, the primary story of Hunters and Sandworms is the exotic odyssey of Duncan's no-ship as it is forced to elude the diabolical traps set by the ferocious, unknown Enemy. To strengthen their forces, the fugitives have used genetic technology from Scytale, the last Tleilaxu Master, to revive key figures from Dune's past-including Paul Muad'Dib and his beloved Chani, Lady Jessica, Stilgar, Thufir Hawat, and even Dr. Wellington Yueh. Each of these characters will use their special talents to meet the challenges thrown at them.Failure is unthinkable--not only is their survival at stake, but they hold the fate of the entire human race in their hands.

Customer Reviews:

Hunters of Dune.......2007-10-04

First, I read Battle of Corrino by curiosity, a very bad book, the feud Atreides-Corrino very weak, the war machines and humans very long, and finaly , when the ship leaves the planet with a copy of Omnius, it was clear the link to the 7th Dune Book.
It was very convenient for the authors to "find" the manuscript of Dune 7, and wait several years to increase the curiosity of Dune fans.
I waited one year to decide to read Hunters of Dune, very disappointing, a lot of violence, planetary genocide, for Honored Matres and Bene Gesserit alike.
It is absurd to kill a 100 000 Honored Matres for 20 new members to the New Sisterhood. Destroying the Matres to fought the Enemy, what is the reason?.
The Symek empire waiting for the attack of the Matres to retaliate against the humanity?. They did'nt need a reason.
The authors are using Dune 7 to introduce as many of their own
creations as possible, like Omnius and Erasmus in the new novels.
Now is the season for Paul gholas, every one can have their own. How many Pauls are going to be created simultaneously?. The gholas acting and reasoning as adults?. It is not possible
Don't lost your money and time reading this book, the next, Sandworms of Dune, or any of the Dune books of Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson.

it's okay.......2007-09-26

i haven't had time to read it completely yet,but it looks okay.
Good that the writters remind us of past stories in the previous books.
Lettertype was a bit small,but that's because it was a pocket edition.
I like the cover art well !

Reading time you never get back..........2007-09-14

Simply put, it's trash. As a long time reader of Frank Herbert's novels (not just his Dune work), I've come to expect a certain standard in the writing. As a writer, I've learned to be more cirtical in my reading of fiction. This book in no way meets the minimum standards Dune fans should expect from someone who actually puts "Herbert" on their work.

Phrases like "they collided like asteroids" are indicative of the authors limited imagination and tell us something about his discomfort with prose.

The authors inabiity to properly pace his stories, his knack for foiling epic drama in a single paragraph, and dragging out cliche and trite banter for unending pages, makes the whole experience stomach turning.

Taking the intricately woven universe of his father's books, and lacking imagination to come up with his own characters, Brian Herbert (and to an extent Kevin Anderson) employ the cheapest technique ever: Let's clone them!

Now, I could even believe, that in this far flung culture where Gholas are, if not common, at least not unheard of, that they might Ghola a Hero or two to help them out in the battle. But they actually Ghola Dr. Yueh? To give hima chance to redeem himself or to steal another one of Frank Herbert's excellent plot points? It's just not well thought out.

On top of the authors obvious lack of mastery in his craft, it's just not a very good story.

Would it have been better if this book hadn't been written?.......2007-09-14

The urge to read Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson's continuation of Frank Herbert's Dune series is a bit like the urge to purchase a lottery ticket. Buying the ticket makes sense because what you're gaining is the thrill of anticipation. What makes very little sense is checking your numbers as your chance of being disappointed is infinitely greater than your chance of actually winning. Checking your numbers is frankly a complete waste of time.

Almost.

Frank Herbert died in 1986, one year after his sixth novel in the outstanding Dune series, Chapterhouse Dune, was published. Chapterhouse ends with a cliff hanger - it's clearly not intended as the end of the series but death has a way of stuffing up good intentions. Twenty years later Herbert Jnr and Anderson's Hunters of Dune picks up where Herbert Snr left off.

In the Authors' Note to Hunters of Dune we're told that in 1997 Brian and Kevin had discussed writing the fabled Dune 7 but that with no extant notes by Frank they would need to base the work solely on their own imaginations. For a number of reasons they decided to write a three book prequel to the series - House Atreides, House Harkonnen and House Corinno. Somewhere along the way, we're told, they made the serendipitous discovery of two safe-deposit boxes containing notes by Frank Herbert for Dune 7. And thus from the master's notes we have Hunters of Dune and its companion Sandworms of Dune (due out in August 2007).

I doubt whether Tor's marketing division could come up with a better idea than the serendipitous discovery of the note books, an implausible (but not impossible) story: in an infinite universe I'm sure there are several good reasons why an author would keep the notes for what was presumably a work in progress in a safe-deposit box with not even a single copy around the house in case he had a desire to do some writing.

Hmmm.

Hunters of Dune was released in August 2006 and for several reasons it's taken me almost a year to get around to reading it. For a start I hadn't read the Dune series for more than a decade and I was keen to read the whole thing from beginning to end. And the verdict: the whole series stands up extremely well. Dune itself really does deserve its ranking as the greatest SF novel of all time.

That was one reason it took me a while to pick up Hunters of Dune.

Another is that I'd already been burned reading House Atreides, the writing duo's first offering and one that I'd read with great anticipation on its release in 1999. And the verdict: I haven't been game to read House Harkonnen and House Corinno or, until now, anything else the duo has done in the Dune universe. To be fair to Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson, it's a tough task to pick up where the master left off, particularly as there are so many devotees of the master's work. Expectations are high and perhaps unrealisable even if you do a good job.

Unfortunately they don't even do a good job. Their writing is often poor and the complexity of plot, of ideas and of character that typified Frank Herbert's work and made the reading experience so satisfying is, frankly, absent. This is not the criticism of a Dune purist or conservative fan, jealous of Frank Herbert's legacy: if the new works were good, I'd be delighted.

My hope was that after honing their skills on six prequels (the three in the Prelude to Dune series and three others in the Legends of Dune series) Brian and Kevin would have improved enough to produce a worthy conclusion to the series. And there is definite improvement but in the end there really is only one thing to recommend Hunters of Dune and its companion Sandworms of Dune. I'll get to that one thing in a moment. In Hunters of Dune the prose is often flat, frequently reading like a stilted report about the protagonists. We're not invited to get inside these characters, and in any case they'd need to have an inside first: these characters might have the same names as they had in Chapterhouse, but they've lost the immense depth that Frank Herbert had bequeathed them and there's only surface left.

Also lost is any complexity and intellectual sophistication. Take this example of a discussion between mentat Miles Teg (a human computer) and Garimi, a Bene Gesserit. They've discovered a planet formerly belonging to the Honoured Matres, devoid of life although the infrastructure of civilisation is untouched (except by time). It's known that the Honoured Matres who invaded the Old Empire were fleeing something and that they wanted knowledge from the Bene Gesserit about how to manipulate and control their immune functions. So we have a planet with no living people but no obvious signs of destruction and a people seeking to control their immune functions as the Bene Gesserit do in order to overcome any pathogen:

Garimi held up one finger. "The whores came to the Bene gesserit demanding to know how we control our bodies. They were frantic to understand how Reverend Mothers can manipulate our immune functions, cell by cell. Of course!"

"Speak clearly, Garimi. What do you mean?" Teg's voice was abrupt, the hardened battle commander.

"She tuned a sour look on him. "You are a Mentat. Make a prime projection!"

Teg did not bristle at the scolding. Instead, his eyes became glazed for just a moment, and then his expression returned. "Ahh. If the whores wanted to learn how to control immune responses, then perhaps the Enemy attacked them using a biological agent..."

Frank Herbert's Miles Teg was a genius. Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson's Miles Teg is a moron. A Sinclair ZX81 (circa 1981 with a huge 1K of memory!!) could have pulled that one out of the box.

So, the one thing to recommend these books: they are a continuation of Herbert's work, purportedly based on his notes and the loose ends will therefore be tied up. And sadly, that's sufficient reason to read them.

Although some (Leto II for instance) might argue that the uncertainty of non closure is preferable.

(This review first appeared on www.sffmedia.com)

Hunters of Dune.......2007-09-13

Very satisfying for fans of the Dune series with interesting plot twists and, of course, a cliffhanger to the next novel Sandworms of Dune

Average customer rating:

give it a go....
Hot and good!
Very Hot book for cool nights
Hot and sexy
Its Erotica, not Romance!

Marly's Choice (Men of August, Book 1)
Lora Leigh
Manufacturer: Ellora's Cave Publishing, Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1843606143

Book Description

Marly's love for Cade has spanned her teenage years, and survived strong and intact into womanhood. Her fantasies and daydreams have sustained her, but she's no longer content with merely imagining the touch of his hands, the taste of his kiss. It's time to seduce the tough, sexy cowboy. She's heard the rumors for years, the tales of his sexual preferences. She's prepared herself to accept his desires. Prepared her body for his touch. But she wasn't prepared for the choice to come... Cade's dark desires, his sexual excesses are based in the past. In a time when pain, shame, and blood stains his very soul. He carries a secret shared only with his brothers. A secret that has scarred the bond, the ability to be a brother or to accept the love of the men he was raised with. He knows the only way to prove his loyalty, his love for those brothers and Marly will be the key. She has a choice. She can surrender to Cade's needs, his soul deep desires, or she can walk away. A choice only Marly can make. A choice that will change her life forever.

Customer Reviews:

give it a go...........2007-09-05

I'm a new Lora Leigh fan and this book was recommended so many times by readers on this site that i had to give it a go. I found the book to be very engrossing as it challenged everything i believed in in romance & love. I don't understand how by sharing the woman he loves with his 2 brothers can "heal" Cade and to give him credit he did fought this with everything in him until Marly pushed him too far. The reasoning the author gave regarding the brother's twisted adultlescent years did not go down too well with me as an understandable excuse for this sharing & healing. Also outside of my expectations is the fact that Cade is very much an alpha male yet where are all these "alpha" instincts like possessiveness and jealousy and aggression that comes when sharing his woman with other males (even though they're his brothers). But that's not to say that the book wasn't a good read & it made me think quite a bit. Usually i read for entertainment only & once i've finished a book it's out of my mind but this one kept me thinking even once finished.

The other thing i found hard to swallow was that Marly was a virgin yet she was ok with this sharing of her to all 3 males in the end. And the scene where Cade almost forced her to participate i thought was NOT the action of a man who loves his woman, it was more of an alpha male intent on dominating his sexual partner by making her do what he wants. I don't regret buying this book and would recommend others to read it just for a different point of view of romance & love and of course for the great sex scenes! I like the author's other new release book of similar theme - Forbidden Pleasure much much better in term of storyline & relationship between the female & 2 male leads. The one good thing i found in this book that lived up to expectation as an erotic novel was the sex scenes, it was very very hot and steamy. As this is my first novel by this author i'm very intrigued by her theme and is in process of obtaining the other 2 books of this August Men series on Brock & Sam. Hence it's not a 4 or 5 but it's no 1 or 2 either....give it a go

Hot and good!.......2007-06-21

Not only does this excellent erotic book have great sex, it's also got a great story! I fell in love with the characters and really started to care what happended to them--esp. between te sheets!! This is my first book with this particular author, but it won't by my last, that's for sure!! I highly recommend this one, as well as recomending Erotica - My Dirty Thirties: Male/Female/Male.

Enjoy this one!! It won't disappoint!!!

Very Hot book for cool nights.......2007-05-27

Marly have been love with Cade August since the day that her mom left at the August's ranch. But Cade along with his brothers Brock and Sam share a dark secret. A secret from there childhood that if found out by Marly could drive her away. But another dark for force is the ranch, a force that might leave to Marly's death.
"Marly's Choice" was the first book that I have read by Lora Leigh and it was Hot! Cade is a pure, sexy, male who love sex in any form. And Marly is woman willing to try anything to be with the man she loves. Can't wait to read the other books in this series.

Hot and sexy .......2007-05-24

I could not put it down. A great read from beginning to the end.

Its Erotica, not Romance!.......2006-11-25

Lora Leigh is a well known writer of women's erotica, which is just a nice way of saying female porn. So if you plan on reading this book for romance or a detailed storyline -- then don't. But if you are looking for plenty of well-written, hot sex -- than buy the series!

Unlike many other 'erotica' writers, Lora Leigh's writing is actually interesting and the sex scenes are some of the best I've ever read.

As you go through the other reviews and read how some people considered the storyline 'lacking' and the reason behind the threesomes stupid, keep in mind this is not a romance -- its erotica!!!! You should be reading it for the sex and not the validity of the storyline. Who cares why they need threesomes!! I'm just glad they do!!

Average customer rating:

Hard SF Original 1st Contact & More
Must read. and then read again
Poor showing
Free SF Reader
Philosophical Science Fiction

Blindsight
Peter Watts
Manufacturer: Tor Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0765312182
Release Date: 2006-10-03

Book Description

Two months since the stars fell....Two months since sixty-five thousand alien objects clenched around the Earth like a luminous fist, screaming to the heavens as the atmosphere burned them to ash. Two months since that moment of brief, bright surveillance by agents unknown. Two months of silence, while a world holds its breath.Now some half-derelict space probe, sparking fitfully past Neptune's orbit, hears a whisper from the edge of the solar system: a faint signal sweeping the cosmos like a lighthouse beam. Whatever's out there isn't talking to us. It's talking to some distant star, perhaps. Or perhaps to something closer, something en route.So who do you send to force introductions on an intelligence with motives unknown, maybe unknowable? Who do you send to meet the alien when the alien doesn't want to meet?You send a linguist with multiple personalities, her brain surgically partitioned into separate, sentient processing cores. You send a biologist so radically interfaced with machinery that he sees x-rays and tastes ultrasound, so compromised by grafts and splices he no longer feels his own flesh. You send a pacifist warrior in the faint hope she won't be needed, and the fainter one she'll do any good if she is. You send a monster to command them all, an extinct hominid predator once called vampire, recalled from the grave with the voodoo of recombinant genetics and the blood of sociopaths. And you send a synthesistan informational topologist with half his mind gone-as an interface between here and there, a conduit through which the Dead Center might hope to understand the Bleeding Edge.You send them all to the edge of interstellar space, praying you can trust such freaks and retrofits with the fate of a world. You fear they may be more alien than the thing they've been sent to find.But you'd give anything for that to be true, if you only knew what was waiting for them....

Customer Reviews:

Hard SF Original 1st Contact & More.......2007-10-08

I've never written a book review before (which will be readily apparent starting right...about...now...), but I thought I would for this book if only to say that I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Peter Watts is/was a marine biologist. I was left with the impression that studying the aliens of the deep proved to be extraordinarily useful when imagining aliens from another world.

The science in the story is fascinating, and though I didn't understand all (nor even most) of it, Watts convinced me that he does. If you are interested in the nature of consciousness, the philosophy of mind, and the evolution of self-awareness, then you'll dig this book.

Be sure to read the appendices which provides scholarly resources defending the Watts' imagined world. I especially enjoyed the Watts' evolutionary history of the vampire--very clever!

Must read. and then read again.......2007-09-15

This is one of the best books I've ever read. The new and unusual concepts slam you in the forehead like a wet brick every couple of pages. Fair warning though - this author doesn't write down to his audience. If you're not well read or fairly bright, you'll probably get left behind.

Poor showing.......2007-09-13

Lousy, lousy book. Awkwardly written, full of technobabble, endless, incomprehensible descriptions of stuff and objects we don't care about, ultimately boring, and just sucky. Worse than Charles Stross. Don't read it. It's like a mongoloid mongrel of Arthur C. Clarke's "Rendezvous with Rama" and Elizabeth Moon's "Speed of Light" to provide the "main" storyline and of a smattering far-future science fiction settings where people live more in virtual than real reality as the excuse for its social/society background.

Don't be mislead by a comparison to these far superior works. Blindsight sucked unexcusably. I *like* hard science fiction, but this was just a mess; and not even anything new or fresh, felt like a poor rehashing of old themes, and the stuff that was new was so poorly explained that the payoff just wasn't worth it.

Free SF Reader.......2007-09-04

While Alastair Reynolds borrowed from the Muppets with his Pigs in Space, it seems that Peter Watts may have gone for Colin Wilson's Space Vampires, instead. Reynolds is someone I think you can compare Watts to in tone, although the first person type retelling style of this also brings to mind Robert Charles Wilson's Spin.

A vampire spaceship captain type. Yep, that is right. It doesn't seem dumb, either.

After some non-human contact, a ship is built to go and investigate. The crew are an odd bunch. Add a multiple personality linguist, a guy with half a brain, and a non-conventional soldier to the mix, among others.

When they find them, they struggle to understand their brand of consciousness and use of senses, which is where the title comes from.

Violence is done.

The endnotes for this book are extensive, a fair bit of work done there, and well worth a look after you have finished the book.

Almost another tweener this one, 4.25 perhaps. Rounding up is fine given the work put into the post novel text.

Philosophical Science Fiction.......2007-09-01

This is a first contact novel that's as interesting for the philosophical and literary questions it raises as it is for the narrative.

The book follows the adventures of the crew of a space ship sent to meet an alien object entering the solar system. Several of the twenty-first century crew are extraordinary: the narrator, whose autism has been partially repaired and whose job is to clarify events for the folks back home; a brilliant predator from an extinct race; and a linguist with multiple personalities. Besides the efforts to communicate with the intruder, flashbacks into the narrator's life are also included. The book also examines a future on where the human race is able to create a kind of spiritual heaven here on earth.

Readers concerned with structure will wonder at what the author is driving with this mixed bag of crewmembers and an alien with whom communication seems particularly difficult. Often events and conversations occur which lead the narrator to draw conclusions which he does not share with the reader, which may lead the reader to wonder if he is following the story as intended by the author. Moreover, the philosophical question that the author raises is not immediately apparent. Eventually it will be revealed and what has gone before will fall into place.

The literary question is whether the nature of the philosophical question should be cloaked for so long. To reveal the question early on will enable the reader to understand characters and events as they unfold. To delay confuses the reader but leads to the thrill of discovery as the puzzle is revealed. The author has chosen the latter course and so I'm not even able to reveal the main philosophical question without spoiling the tale.

If you require science fiction with plenty of action rather than character development and philosophical inquiry, this book may seem a little slow to you. Much of the action seemed to me like an H.P. Lovecraft story with a lot of talk about the feeling of horror, without ever revealing what the horror is. On the other hand, if you don't mind feeling confused as the price of considering a question about man's nature that is seldom asked, you should enjoy this novel. (By the way, some will even ask if this question is even philosophical rather than scientific.)

Average customer rating:

Not Free SF Reader
Fascinating and provocative
Haunting and horrifying
Embarrassingly bad
Great Book

The Sparrow
Mary Doria Russell
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0449912558
Release Date: 1997-09-08

Amazon.com

In 2019, humanity finally finds proof of extraterrestrial life when a listening post in Puerto Rico picks up exquisite singing from a planet which will come to be known as Rakhat. While United Nations diplomats endlessly debate a possible first contact mission, the Society of Jesus quietly organizes an eight-person scientific expedition of its own. What the Jesuits find is a world so beyond comprehension that it will lead them to question the meaning of being "human." When the lone survivor of the expedition, Emilio Sandoz, returns to Earth in 2059, he will try to explain what went wrong... Words like "provocative" and "compelling" will come to mind as you read this shocking novel about first contact with a race that creates music akin to both poetry and prayer.

Book Description

ONE OF ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY'S TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR

"A NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENT . . . Russell shows herself to be a skillful storyteller who subtly and expertly builds suspense."
--USA Today

"AN EXPERIENCE NOT TO BE MISSED . . . If you have to send a group of people to a newly discovered planet to contact a totally unknown species, whom would you choose? How about four Jesuit priests, a young astronomer, a physician, her engineer husband, and a child prostitute-turned-computer-expert? That's who Mary Doria Russell sends in her new novel, The Sparrow. This motley combination of agnostics, true believers, and misfits becomes the first to explore the Alpha Centuri world of Rakhat with both enlightening and disastrous results. . . . Vivid and engaging . . . An incredible novel."
--Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

"POWERFUL . . . Father Emilio Sandoz [is] the only survivor of a Jesuit mission to the planet Rakhat, 'a soul . . . looking for God.' We first meet him in Italy . . . sullen and bitter. . . . But he was not always this way, as we learn through flashbacks that tell the story of the ill-fated trip. . . . The Sparrow tackles a difficult subject with grace and intelligence."
--San Francisco Chronicle

"SMOOTH STORYTELLING AND GORGEOUS CHARACTERIZATION . . . Important novels leave deep cracks in our beliefs, our prejudices, and our blinders. The Sparrow is one of them."
--Entertainment Weekly

SELECTED BY THE BOOK-OF-THE-MONTH CLUB

Customer Reviews:

Not Free SF Reader.......2007-09-03

A bad book by a mundane religiously focused writer trying to be a science fiction writer, and failing, in general. Obvious, tedious, and worse than mediocre. This sort of thing has been handled many times before to considerably better effect. The religious preaching is so overt it causes you to grit your teeth and groan.

Fascinating and provocative.......2007-08-08

A fascinating and wholly original imagining of first contact with extraterrestrial life. A suspense story that builds patiently, dropping tantalizing crumbs along the way. Most profoundly, a meditation on the hard questions about God's involvement in our daily affairs, and his responsibility for evil in the universe.

I'm surprised to read so much praise for Doria Russel's characters, as they are the only aspect of the novel that keeps me from giving 'The Sparrow' a five-star rating. I found secondary characters like Voelker, Anne and Supaari to be more believable and fully imagined than the protaganist Emilio Sandoz, and his cardboard attraction Sofia. That aside, this is a powerful novel you will not soon forget.

Haunting and horrifying.......2007-08-05

My reaction to this book was much the same as "Reader's." The book is beautifully written, and the author crafted characters about whom a reader can truly care. I was mesmerized by a tale so wonderfully and deeply original, and I could not put the book down. But as the story progressed toward its ending, it changed into something sinister -- filled with shocking images and events. A bright promise and a fantastic read turned into a tale of unimaginable savagery. It was as though two different authors had written the story. Like "Reader, "I could not wait to physically separate myself from this book. My father taught me a deep respect of the written word, but this novel sickened me so much I was actually compelled to throw this book away. My apolgies to the author, but she has the talent to do better than to taint her work with graphic horror and sadism.

Embarrassingly bad.......2007-07-13

A sophomoric concept hamfistedly executed, with a cast of characters you just keep hoping will die already. Not remotely good enough to take itself as seriously as it does.

Great Book.......2007-06-28

I wouldn't hesitate to suggest this to anyone. It's themes are universal and it touches them all well.

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