Gabriel's Ghost
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • Pretty dern good
  • Originally Posted on Romance Junkies in 2005
  • Intergalactic Romance done Star Wars Style (A Grade)
  • "Futuristic" social commentary
  • Give up the ghost.
Gabriel's Ghost
Linnea Sinclair
Manufacturer: Spectra
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0553587978
Release Date: 2005-10-25

Book Description

Award-winning author Linnea Sinclair brings her special sizzle to science fiction with this action-packed blend of otherworldly adventure and sexy stellar romance.…

After a decade of piloting interstellar patrol ships, former captain Chasidah Bergren, onetime pride of the Sixth Fleet, finds herself court-martialed for a crime she didn’t commit–and shipped off to a remote prison planet from which no one ever escapes. But when she kills a brutal guard in an act of self-defense, someone even more dangerous emerges from the shadows.

Gabriel Sullivan–alpha mercenary, smuggler, and rogue–is supposed to be dead. Yet now this seductive ghost from Chaz’s past is offering her a ticket to freedom–for a price. Someone in the Empire is secretly breeding jukors: vicious and uncontrollable killing machines that have long been outlawed. Gabriel needs Chaz to help him stop the practice before it decimates Imperial space. The mission means putting their lives on the line–but the tensions that heat up between them may be the riskiest part of all.

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Pretty dern good.......2007-06-07

This was a fun read that zipped along at a nice pace, heck, it never seemed to stop running at full blast. I very much liked the setting and the characters for the most part too. I think the only thing that bothered me was that Chaz gets suckered in to her place with Sully at the end. She's such a kick-butt strong woman that it just felt very out of character for her to ride off into the sunset with somone who'd drawn her into something without fully explaining the consequenses, regardless of the "noble" clause he worked in. I can say that I'm very much looking foward to the sequel and hope that the captain comes to her senses and stomps the snot out Sully for being such a jerk.

5 out of 5 stars Originally Posted on Romance Junkies in 2005.......2007-05-14

Linnea Sinclair got me hooked on romantic sci-fi with her last Bantam Dell release, Finders Keepers. Now, with GABRIEL'S GHOST, she's outdone herself once again, perfectly balancing the love story of her two main characters with her vivid descriptions of world-building that you're not soon to forget.

Pilot Chasidah Bergren was the one-time darling of the Imperial Sixth Fleet, a woman who could take the interstellar patrol ship she commanded in and out of places that no one else would ever dare. She's a strong woman with an independent nature, and her rough childhood had shown her that the only person she could truly depend on was herself. Now, though, it's going to take a lot more than luck and good piloting skills to save her from the situation she's in. Accused of a crime she didn't commit, Chas has been court-martialed, found guilty, and sent to the prison planet of Moabar to serve her sentence. Not only is she an innocent woman forced to interact with hardened criminals, the harsh climate of the planet alone is almost enough to kill her-if the guards don't do it first. And as if things weren't already bad enough, one moment of danger turns into Chas killing a guard in self-defense-and suddenly she is guilty of a crime, with nowhere to run to or hide.

Who should show up just when she needs him except for Gabriel "Sully" Sullivan, a ghost from Chas's past that she'd never thought to see again. Actually, all indications pointed to Sully being dead, but the legendary mercenary, smuggler, and all around baddie is alive and well-and intent on rescuing Chas from the dangers of Moabar. Rescue her? Sully? Sure, he'd been known to show up at the strangest times, but it's pretty darn weird for him to arrive on the prison planet just when she needs him the most-and Sully knows it. Sully, though, has his own agenda, mainly getting Chas off of Moabar and coercing her to agree to help him with his plans-without her finding out the secret he's been hiding for years.

As sparks fly, like they always have, between these two head-strong individuals, they must avoid the guards of Moabar who set chase, the Imperial Sixth Fleet officers who set Chas up for her fall from grace, and the people behind the breeding jukors, the deadly creatures that Sully is on a mission to destroy. As their feelings go from deep-seated aversion to warm-hearted attraction, Chas and Sully must stay alive long enough to clear Chas's good name and reputation, and for Sully to complete his mission.

Ms. Sinclair does a perfect job of blending sci-fi, technology, world-building, and romance in GABRIEL'S GHOST. For all lovers of science fiction romance, this book is not one to be missed. If you're like me, when you're finished you'll be eagerly anticipating her next release, An Accidental Goddess (Bantam Spectra), which is set to be released on December 27th.

4 out of 5 stars Intergalactic Romance done Star Wars Style (A Grade).......2007-04-13

Linnea Sinclair takes your old fashion boy meets girl story and brings it into outerspace with incredible results. Fans of the sci-fi genre will enjoy this fresh story with a very strong heroine and a hero who almost puts Han Solo to shame. To be honest, Sully is beyond droolworthy. (Our hero even has an incredible sidekick also!)
Chasidah or Chaz as she goes by has been framed as a traitor. She use to be a captain of her own ship but now is a prisoner on a planet that would kill a lesser woman. Chaz breaks out but is saved by Gabriel "Sully" Sullivan. These two have major history between each other. Sully is a raider,and an outcast. He needs Chaz to help him stop an interspace crime that could destory humanity.
And what other choice does Chaz has?
Sully and Chaz are more than just nemesis's. Chaz has a major attraction to Sully and in turn Sully has also had it bad for Chaz for many years. But Sully has a big secret, something that if found out could kill him and lose the woman in his life he has wanted for so long. As they are fighting for their lives and the universe, Chaz has to decide if she can take what Sully is and what he can do.
Along with a secondary cast of characters, including Sully's friend Ren and alien who can control minds and read them, you have an excellent tale dealing with love and trust between friends. There is romance that is more about passion. There are fights and the questioning of what is right and wrong.
Take this intersteller journey and hope Sinclair writes a sequel to this book that is just as good.

Katiebabs

Games of Command (Bantam Spectra Book)

5 out of 5 stars "Futuristic" social commentary.......2007-03-10

Religous zealots, weariness from a recent war, colonialism, cultivation of genetically engineered beasts. . . Captain Bergren, disillusioned and abandoned by the Fleet, finds herself in a situation where she must give up the last shards of what she grew up believing and accept an even more ugly truth about the Empire than she knew. Gabriel Sullivan, the embodiement of what she was enculturated to dispise, reappears in her life to seek her help in stopping illicit actions undertaken by a corrupt government. Both must learn to trust themselves and one another in order to destroy the monsterous jurkors bred at Marker ship yard before the Empire is brought to its knees.

"Gabriel's Ghost" was an engaging read not only for the development of the relationship between the two main characters but for rich world building that allows the reader to feel as if he or she could be a part of the narrative.

2 out of 5 stars Give up the ghost........2007-02-27

I want to like Linnea Sinclair's works, I do. And she's *almost* there, but she still can't quite follow through on her story's promises.

This booky isn't as witty as "Accidental Goddess", but it deals with much more serious matters: military and government corruption, sexual violence, ethnic cleansing, the consequences of hate propoganda. If Ms. Sinclair had stuck with that, Gabriel's Ghost would'be been an incredible book.

Ms. Sinclair's weakness seems to be her female leads. Chasidah, like her other female characters, is *supposed* to be a resourceful, skilled, and dedicated Fleet officer, from a military family. That resourcefulness, skill, and dedication appears only to prop up Sully.

Sully, we are told (repeatedly) is a handsome rogue, a poet, a scoundrel, etc. In other words, he's the sci-fi version of a romance-novel pirate. He's also a rare human psychic, in a universe where psychic of that caliber are deemed inhuman sadists who shred the minds of living people for fun and enslave them through psychic manipulation and sex.

The main storyline is supposed to be the thwarting of a plan to revive a dangerous genetics project that produced bestial death machines, and the rescue of the alien females kidnapped and force-bred to produce them. This significant story is pushed aside time and time again for the 'romance' of Chaz and Sully, and the efforts all the other characters put into making Chaz see Sully as a tragic, noble Byronic figure, though he does nothing to support that himself. He's jealous, possessive beyond permission, and a bully. We are told how he tried to rescue her when she was falsely accused and convicted, but it seemed so implausibe (they weren't a couple, they had no romantic involvement then) that I had a hard time believing anything else he did.

Religion is a big force in this novel, but the tenets are vague. The focus of the religion seems to be a deified abbot, and there's much 'blessing of the stars, blessing of the hour' spoken, but we're never told what the beliefs of this faith are--which is bad, because half the characters, including Sully are strongly connected to the temple and the religious life.

The worst part of the story was the final confrontation with Chaz and her ex-husband (who I liked, and I usually don't care for deeply conservative characters, but I found him a lot more honest and honorable than Sully) when Ms. Sinclair *completely* discards POV (first person up until now) and expresses thoughts and beliefs about Chaz from the ex-husband's perspective. It was badly done, and so cheesy and over the top, it killed the story dead.

Chaz's ex-husband implied that Sully was manipulating and controlling her--I'm with him. I perfer to think of Chaz as a brain-washed adoring puppet, because that makes all the stupid things a supposedly experienced, capable military officer does make make sense. I hate forced romance, and I hate being *told*, ad nauseum, that the 'hero' is noble. Don't tell me, don't have the other characters tell (ad nauseum). Show me, and show me in a way that's in keeping with the character created, not some stock Byronic romance model.

I'm *so* glad I bought this used.
CVO: Covert Vampiric Operations
Average customer rating: Not rated
    CVO: Covert Vampiric Operations
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    Ghosts of Slavery: A Literary Archaeology of Black Women's Lives
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      Ghosts of Slavery: A Literary Archaeology of Black Women's Lives
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      Manufacturer: University of Minnesota Press
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      In Ghosts of Slavery, Sharpe introduces a wider range of everyday practices by examining the lives of three distinctive Caribbean women: a maroon leader, a mulatto concubine, and a fugitive slave. Through them she explains how the diasporic experience of slavery enabled black women to claim an authority that they didn't possess in Africa; how concubines empowered themselves through their mimicry of white women; and how less-privileged slave women manipulated situations that they were powerless to change. Finding the highly mediated portrayal of slave women in the historical records limited and sometimes misleading, Sharpe turns to unconventional sources for investigating these women's lives. In this fascinating and historically rich account, she calls for new strategies of reading that question traditional narratives of history, and she finds alternative ways to integrate oral storytelling, slave songs, travel writing, court documents, proslavery literature, and contemporary literature into black history.

      Ultimately, this layered approach not only produces a more complex picture of the slave women's agency than conventional readings, it encourages a more nuanced understanding of the roles of slaves in the history of slavery.

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      Land of the Dead
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        Chris Ryall , and Gabriel Rodriguez
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        • Ibsen, by Rick Davis
        Ibsen: 4 Major Plays, Vol. 2: Ghosts/An Enemy of the People/The Lady from the Sea/John Gabriel Borkman (Signet Classics)
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        5 out of 5 stars Ibsen, by Rick Davis.......2000-06-01

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        The new adaptations are marvelous, and Mr. Davis' commentaries show us how Ibsen is a master crafsperson, and how his work may be best contrasted with Strindberg -- who is anything but a master editor and foundation layer.

        I think Mr. Davis shows us how important precision and planning can be to the writing process. Therefore I think this book is a must have for screenwriters, as well as fiction-writers -- not to mention playrights.
        Clive Barker's The Thief Of Always
        Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
        • The Thief of Always
        • A Light, Imaginative Thriller
        • .eraweB
        • A touching fable for the young at heart
        • The Greatest Ever
        Clive Barker's The Thief Of Always
        Kris Oprisko , and Gabriel Hernandez
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        Master of horror Clive Barker's Thief of Always is a fable appealing to horror and fantasy fans young and old. Now IDW brings you its own lavishly illustrated adaptation of the thrilling tale. Mr. Hood's Holiday House has stood for a thousand years, welcoming countless children into its embrace. It is a place of miracles, a blissful round of treats and seasons, where every childhood whim may be satisfied... for a price.

        Customer Reviews:

        5 out of 5 stars The Thief of Always.......2007-03-30

        Once again Clive Barker has taken me on an amazing journey, perfect for adults and children (10+) alike. Definate recommendation.

        4 out of 5 stars A Light, Imaginative Thriller.......2007-03-27

        Ten-year-old Harvey is bored. He is sitting in his bedroom one February afternoon, watching the rain outside, feeling as bored as he's ever felt. He feels like he might die of boredom. Then, to his surprise, a little person flies through his window. This little man promises Harvey a wonderful vacation where he'll have lots and lots of fun--as long as he doesn't ask any questions. Harvey isn't quite sure about going with the man.

        However, a week later, the man shows back up and Harvey decides that maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea to go with him just for a little while. So Harvey walks with him across town through a high wall that isn't really a wall, into a place of magic. Here, at the Holiday House, everyone gives Harvey everything he's ever wanted. Every day holds all of the seasons--in the morning it's like springtime, in the afternoon it's summer, in the early eveing it's fall and time to go trick-or-treating, and in the later evening it's winter and Christmastime. There are two other children there with Harvey--Wendell and Lulu. Lulu, though, has started to go a little bit crazy, so Harvey and Wendell don't spend much time with her.

        Harvey intends to only stay at the Holiday House for a few days, but after a couple of reassuring phone calls to his parents when they tell him they want him to stay, he begins to relax. However, he shouldn't relax too much. There are some strange things going on at the Holiday House that aren't fun and exciting. Will Harvey figure out what is going on in time to escape?

        I liked the whole idea of the Holiday House--what a perfect vacation spot for little children! I also liked the characters of Rictus, Jive, Marr and Carna. They embodied all characteristics that would be useful for keeping children there. I thought a couple of things weren't believable, though. Harvey seemed to have an undue attachment to Lulu. He barely even knew her, but he was very concerned about her, more so than most ten-year-olds would be. I also didn't buy Harvey's thievery toward the end of the story. It seemed less possible than the rest of the story.

        3 out of 5 stars .eraweB.......2006-12-27

        A ten-year-old boy named Harvey, bored with his life, falls to the wiles of a seductively welcoming being named Rictus, and becomes a guest at a seemingly wondrous place called Holiday House. At Holiday House, each fun-filled day contains four seasons: and seasons at their very best. The springtime which comes each morning ushers in blossoming flowers and explosions of greenery; the summers that fill the afternoons are always those rare perfect kind one experiences but a few times in the school-less, cloud-less summertime of youth; the autumns that ripens as evening sets in sees the trees dyed with bright colors, as the air cools and the breeze smells sweetly of the bounty of unseen fields. And then winter takes over the night, cold, crisp, perfect for sleeping-in or sitting beside a crackling fire. It's all too good to be true---which of course it is.

        Clive Barker's dark fantasy, part fairy tale and part horror story, is clearly intended as a vehicle for appreciative adults to rekindle some of the lost themes of childhood, when the world was simultaneously magical and threatening. In this the imaginative Liverpudlian nearly succeeds. The one serious flaw in The Thief of Always is the same one I've found in nearly everything Clive Barker has written, and that is...as best I can describe it...his story lacks a soul. I don't know any other way to put it. This registers in the ease with which Barker's characters can later be put out of mind, and the acceptance one experiences when something terrible happens to someone we've just spent the last however-many pages reading about. I know legions of Barker fans won't agree with me there, but I have always sensed that about Clive Barker's works, be it The Books of Blood, The Damnation Game, Weaveword, Cabal, or even here, in what was mostly a charming, dark little story.

        The Thief of Always is good, it's just not THAT good. It's like a trip through a shattered looking glass; it's flat in a few spots, it's neither character nor plot-driven, and it rushes past far too fast in places where I found myself wishing we could linger. Where Bradbury or King might have gotten the dark fantasy elements right in a tale like this and rendered The Thief of Always an everlasting classic, Barker is just not up to the task.

        5 out of 5 stars A touching fable for the young at heart.......2006-09-10

        The Great Grey Beast of February has imprisoned Harvey Swick and the young boy is bored to death. How will he ever survive that dreadfully dull period between New Year and Easter? Contemplating his misery, Harvey discovers that he is not alone in his room. Indeed a somewhat strange and scrawny figure is standing in the corner. The man makes himself known as Mr. Rictus and invites Harvey to the Holiday House. And true, Harvey does not believe his eyes: the house is filled with all the pleasures a boy can want. Delicious food, many friends, tons of toys, every day Christmas. What more do you need? Of course there is a price to be paid, but young Harvey Swick, bored with his life and beguiled by the wonders of the Holiday House, does not stop to consider the consequences. Only when he discovers that he is no longer a guest, but a prisoner does Harvey start to react. But maybe it is already too late...

        Clive Barker's first attempt at writing a book for a younger audience does not go by unnoticed. As Clive is known for his very dark and fantastic tales, he indeed uses these talents to draw a magnificent place where many children surely would love to hide. But with the same zeal he deconstructs the dream and craftily let the evil seep into the story. Of course the villains are not as dark and disturbed as in his adult novels, but still he manages to portrait a series of characters that would enjoy taking permanent residence in the dreams of the younger ones.

        One critique that might pop up is that the setting of the story is so rich that it begs for more than one episode. After reading the story, so many things are left untold that it leaves you wanting for more. Even the narrative itself is extremely concise with its twenty-six chapters counting on average not more than six pages each. It would probably not have hurt if more details were introduced in order to make the environment even more exciting and colorful. Nevertheless the story is exciting enough to get the stamp of a must-read. And please, do not worry if you think you are too old to read this book. You never are!

        5 out of 5 stars The Greatest Ever.......2006-07-28

        To find a plot that intrigues so many chilren is on thing. To get an adult to read it over and over again is another. Great book.
        Four Major Plays: Volume 2 Ghosts An Enemy People The Lady from Sea John Gabriel Borkman (Ibsen)
        Average customer rating: Not rated
          Four Major Plays: Volume 2 Ghosts An Enemy People The Lady from Sea John Gabriel Borkman (Ibsen)
          Henrik Ibsen
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          Clive Barker's The Thief Of Always Book 2 (Thief of Always)
          Average customer rating: Not rated
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            Kris Oprisko , and Gabriel Hernandez
            Manufacturer: IDW Publishing
            ProductGroup: Book
            Binding: Paperback

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            ASIN: 1932382755

            Book Description

            When Harvey Swick discovers Holiday House's secret, he escapes into a world in which time has sped by without him. Now he must plunge inside once again to regain what's been taken from him.
            Clive Barker's The Thief of Always, Book 1
            Average customer rating: Not rated
              Clive Barker's The Thief of Always, Book 1
              Kris Oprisko , and Gabriel Hernandez
              Manufacturer: IDW Publishing
              ProductGroup: Book
              Binding: Paperback

              GeneralGeneral | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books
              GeneralGeneral | Graphic Novels | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books
              HorrorHorror | Graphic Novels | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books
              ContemporaryContemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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              ASIN: 1932382690

              Book Description

              Within, Mr. Hood's Holiday House has stood for a thousand years, welcoming countless children into its embrace. It is a place of miracles, a blissful round of treats and seasons, where every childhood whim may be satisfied... for a price. In Book One, young Harvey Swick enters the house, mindless of the consequences.
              Gabriel En Espana (Gabriel in Pampiona)
              Average customer rating: Not rated
                Gabriel En Espana (Gabriel in Pampiona)
                Arlene O. Schrade
                Manufacturer: National Textbook Company
                ProductGroup: Book
                Binding: Paperback

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                Literatura y ficciónLiteratura y ficción | Libros en español | Formats | Books | Autores, A-Z | Cartas y Correspondencia | Clásicos | Cuentos Cortos | Drama | Ensayos | Ficción de La Mujer | General | Género Ficción | Historia y Crítica | Libros y Lectura | Literatura Mundial | Poesía
                ASIN: 0844272221

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                8. History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
                9. History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
                10. History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)

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