Book Description
I am now a condemned traitor . . . I am to die when I have hardly begun to live.
Historical expertise marries page-turning fiction in Alison Weir’s enthralling debut novel, breathing new life into one of the most significant and tumultuous periods of the English monarchy. It is the story of Lady Jane Grey–“the Nine Days’ Queen”–a fifteen-year-old girl who unwittingly finds herself at the center of the religious and civil unrest that nearly toppled the fabled House of Tudor during the sixteenth century.
The child of a scheming father and a ruthless mother, for whom she is merely a pawn in a dynastic game with the highest stakes, Jane Grey was born during the harrowingly turbulent period between Anne Boleyn’s beheading and the demise of Jane’s infamous great-uncle, King Henry VIII. With the premature passing of Jane’s adolescent cousin, and Henry’s successor, King Edward VI, comes a struggle for supremacy fueled by political machinations and lethal religious fervor.
Unabashedly honest and exceptionally intelligent, Jane possesses a sound strength of character beyond her years that equips her to weather the vicious storm. And though she has no ambitions to rule, preferring to immerse herself in books and religious studies, she is forced to accept the crown, and by so doing sets off a firestorm of intrigue, betrayal, and tragedy.
Alison Weir uses her unmatched skills as a historian to enliven the many dynamic characters of this majestic drama. Along with Lady Jane Grey, Weir vividly renders her devious parents; her much-loved nanny; the benevolent Queen Katherine Parr; Jane’s ambitious cousins; the Catholic “Bloody” Mary, who will stop at nothing to seize the throne; and the protestant and future queen Elizabeth. Readers venture inside royal drawing rooms and bedchambers to witness the power-grabbing that swirls around Lady Jane Grey from the day of her birth to her unbearably poignant death. Innocent Traitor paints a complete and compelling portrait of this captivating young woman, a faithful servant of God whose short reign and brief life would make her a legend.
“An impressive debut. Weir shows skill at plotting and maintaining tension, and she is clearly going to be a major player in the . . . historical fiction game.”
–The Independent
“Alison Weir is one of our greatest popular historians. In her first work of fiction . . . Weir manages her heroine’s voice brilliantly, respecting the past’s distance while conjuring a dignified and fiercely modern spirit.”
–London Daily Mail
Customer Reviews:
A Compelling Tale of Grandeur, Betrayal, and Innocence.......2007-10-04
The story of Lady Jane Grey, the tragic Nine Days Queen, is well known to most people familiar with the Tudor period. Nevertheless, she exerts a powerful attraction because she was kin to Henry VIII's children and became a pawn through no fault of her own, coming to the fore during a crisis in the Tudor succession following the death of Edward VI.
"Innocent Traitor" - acclaimed historian Alison Weir's entry into the historical fiction arena - brings Jane Grey to life in a unique and vibrant way. Through a medley of voices, including Jane's own, that of her mother Eleanor of Suffolk, her devoted nursemaid, and even Jane's royal cousin Mary Tudor, we experience the maneuverings and intrigues of life at court through various perspectives and opinions. We also come to know Jane as an emotionally abused child of gifted intelligence; as a young woman of staunch faith and honor; and as a reluctant queen whose pure reformist vision cannot overcome the depredations of her father-in-law and his ruthless associates. Helpless to stem the forces moving against her, Jane records her fate with stoic dignity and a keen eye.
It's to be expected that any book by Ms. Weir will be full of intimate details about life in the era; nevertheless, she does not overwhelm the narrative but rather expertly seasons it with facts that display her painstaking commitment to authenticity. In addition, she imbues even such unpleasant characters as Jane's parents with foibles and vulnerabilities of their own, giving them flesh-and-blood dimension. Jane's mother in particular dominates with her leonine pride in her royal blood, her rapacious ambition and her lusty marriage to a man who is her intellectual inferior. A true survivor of her time, she does not concede defeat, bending to obstacles when she cannot mold them to her will.
Readers of historical fiction should not miss this compelling debut by one of England's foremost authorities on the Tudors - a tale of grandeur, betrayal and innocence, framed by one woman's journey from throne to scaffold.
Queen Jane 'the Nine Days Queen': a pawn in the hands of others,.......2007-09-19
Alison Weir writes a wonderful novel about Lady Jane Grey.
While the novel is sympathetic to Jane Grey, it is not sentimental about her fate. As the pawn of ambitious parents and those who held power while Edward VI reigned, her uncrowned reign was both opportunistic and, I believe, unlawful.
This was not her doing, though, and it is hard to not to feel considerable sympathy for an intelligent young woman who was only 17 when she was beheaded.
Mary I really had no choice, but it is difficult to see that she took any great joy in executing her 'misguided' cousin. The 'real' villains are Lady Jane's parents and the Duke of Northumberland.
Highly recommended to those who would like some insight into the tragically short life of Lady Jane.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Unlucky Lady.......2007-09-19
"A beautiful daughter, my lady," announces the midwife uncertainly. "Healthy and vigorous." I should be joyful, thanking God for the safe arrival of a lusty child. Instead, my spirits plummet. All this-for nothing.
So begins the story of Lady Jane Grey. Historian and gifted author Alison Weir, in her first foray into the realm of fiction, has brought the world of Tudor England vividly alive in her version of the events that took place after the death of Henry VIII. Through first person narratives by Jane herself and a number of the other central characters, Jane's brief, tragic life unfolds. Known today as the Nine Days Queen, this maltreated girl was the innocent, unwilling pawn of her parents' political ambitions and victim of the vicious religious conflict that tore England apart during the 16th century. All the pageantry, plotting, and maneuvering of the royal court swirls around Jane as she grows, until the age of 15 when she is horrified to find that she has been declared Queen of England in place of the rightful heir, the Catholic (soon to be "Bloody") Mary. Vibrant characters, a plot that's hard to believe but true, and accurate period detail make this first novel an enthralling page-turner.
If Jane had been the hoped-for son , would her fate have been different? Would her brother's? Somehow, with the the Marquess and Marchioness of Dorset as parents, that's doubtful. The dearth of male heirs was a plague on the house of Tudor.
Weir should stick to nonfiction.......2007-09-13
Innocent Traitor: A Novel of Lady Jane Gray, is the story of Lady Jane Gray. Raised alternately by her overbearing and ambitious parents, who wanted her to marry King Edward VI, and by Katherine Parr and Thomas Seymour, she became Queen of England after her cousin's death, only to be executed nine days later. The narrative is told through the eyes of Jane, her mother, Katherine Parr (Henry VIII's sixth wife), John Dudley, and others.
I read her book on Mary, Queen of Scots and thought that that book was well done--great research and writing. But sadly, even though Innocent Traitor is well-researched, it felt as though I was reading nonfiction as told through a first-person narrator--it was simply a recitation of dry facts. I had a problem with the narrative being told in the present tense, and I also thought it was a good idea that the reader was reminded constantly of how old Jane was, otherwise I would have thought that the story was being told by an adult. For example, I found it hard to believe that a ten-year-old Jane would fully grasp the significance of the political and sexual intrigue of the time, her intelligence notwithstanding. Also, I was glad of the headings that told us who was talking, otherwise I would have thought that the story was all told by one and the same person.
I agree with the previous reviewer, who said that historical fiction of this caliber is best left to writers such as Philippa Gregory--at least Gregory brings her characters to life in ways that Weir wasn't able to in this novel.
Disappointed.......2007-09-07
Let me begin by saying that I love Alison Weir. I've read most of her non-fiction historial works and found them to be well-written, engrossing, and instructive. However, I think that in order to tell Lady Jane Grey's story, she should have stuck to her forte--dealing in facts.
It was a good idea to indicate which character was speaking at the beginning of their respective narratives, because there were no defining characteristics between each of the players. Each one had the same voice, the same level of self-awareness, and the same manner of speaking. Perhaps the novel would have been stronger if narrated by a third person.
Ms. Weir is a great historian, but the historical novels are best left to Philippa Gregory or Sharon Kay Penman.
Average customer rating:
- 2 1/2 Star Summer read
- slow moving
- Great fun but the plot has one twist too many
- The Traitor
- His characters are people, not caricatures
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The Traitor: A Tommy Carmellini Novel
Stephen Coonts
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Paperbacks
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ASIN: 0312994478
Release Date: 2007-03-06 |
Book Description
When he is assigned to Paris, CIA officer Tommy Carmellini joins his old boss Jake Grafton on a bold mission: To locate a French intelligence agent who has secret investments in the Bank of Palestine. Together they work to unravel a tangle of espionage, deception, and murder…and develop an elaborate strategy to infiltrate the highest levels of Al Queda.
Meanwhile, the leaders of the G-8 industrialized nations will soon meet in Paris—an event that would make a tempting terrorist target. Throw into the mix the beautiful, clever daughter of the French ambassador to Washington and an Israeli spy or two, and the stage is set for a tour de force of deception and drama.
Soon Carmellini and Grafton unearth a horrifying plan to shake the West as never before. But can they stop the conspiracy without compromising the intelligence source that could bring down Al Queda once and for all?
Customer Reviews:
2 1/2 Star Summer read.......2007-08-10
Typical cookie cutter international thriller. The author places the hero in the Special Collection Service, a little known but important element of the intel community. However he then gives Tommy duties that have nothing to do with the SCS. Nice try. Late in the book after doing a brief search the hero and his boss find multiple explosive devices at a G8 meeting site that the entire French security establishment had missed. I bow to no one in my low esteem for the frogs but that is a bit much even for me. Two main characters and one secondary character are jailbirds. Think about it, if you wanted people who are reliable, able to think through the consequences of their actions and who can keep a secret would you go to a jail to find them? Don't think so. Anyway this is barely, barely a book you might want to buy for a vacation or business trip. I started it in Tunis on a business trip and got 3/4 of the way through before I came home. It has taken me almost two weeks to finish the other 1/4. That about sums up the book.
slow moving.......2007-06-25
Amazed by the positive reviews and I suppose I am asking to be shot down here, but......
I have really enjoyed much of the author's works, but of late the standard has slipped., perhaps because he is hanging onto characters past their sell by date. This balanced with a rather average story does not a great thriller make, this had little pace and tension and nothing to make me keep turning the pages.
Sorry, but I thought it was a very weak effort.
Great fun but the plot has one twist too many.......2007-04-30
I love Coonts and particularly enjoy his Tommy Carmellini novels, since the cat burglar Carmellini is much more fun as a character than Coonts' other main character, the everyman regular-guy Admiral Jake Grafton. I enjoyed this one but had some problems with it; the plotting takes some implausible twists and turns at the end, and certain characters' fates are left unresolved (making me suspect Coonts has sequel plans for them.) Grafton and Carmellini are assigned to foil a terrorist plot suspected to be in planning for an upcoming G-8 summit conference in Paris, a plot they think the head of French counterintelligence knows more about than he's telling, courtesy of a closely held spy he has successfully planted in the terrorist world. Lovely computer criminal Sarah Houston is thrown into the effort as well. Carmellini's tradecraft is half the fun, as he finds ingenious low-tech methods (plus the occasional high-tech toy) to break into key locales to plant bugs, hack computers or what have you. I think Coonts might have given this plot one twist too many, however.
The Traitor.......2007-02-18
An exellent read. Had everything I was looking for, mystery, action, humor and character development.
His characters are people, not caricatures.......2007-01-09
Granted, some of the technical elements are stretched. But his characters are almost real. Coonts's writing style is excellent without much of the over-technicalization that is typical of many adventure writers. Yes, the ending is slightly over the top, but not impossible. Think about 9/11.
Between Jake, Tommy, and Sarah there is good rapport. I felt as though I was watching the action, not merely reading. Their travels around Paris make me want to go there.
Book Description
In fourteenth-century England, young Eleanor de Clare, favorite niece of King Edward II, is delighted with her marriage to Hugh le Despenser and her appointment to Queen Isabella's household as a lady-in-waiting. It soon becomes apparent, however, that Eleanor's beloved uncle is not the king the nobles of the land—or his queen—expected. Hugh's unbridled ambition and his intimate relationship with Edward arouse widespread resentment, even as Eleanor remains fiercely loyal to her husband and to her king. But loyalty has its price… Moving from royal palaces to prison cells, from the battlefield to the bedroom, between hope and despair, treachery and fidelity, hatred and abiding love, The Traitor's Wife is a tale of an extraordinary woman living in extraordinary times.
A noblewoman pays the price for her loyalty to an unpopular king and her unfaithful husband...conveys emotions and relationships quite poignantly...ultimately, entertaining historical fiction.
-Kirkus Discoveries
Download Description
In fourteenth-century England, young Eleanor de Clare, favorite niece of King Edward II, is delighted with her marriage to Hugh le Despenser and her appointment to Queen Isabella's household as a lady-in-waiting. It soon becomes apparent, however, that Eleanor's beloved uncle is not the king the nobles of the land-or his queen-expected. Hugh's unbridled ambition and his intimate relationship with Edward arouse widespread resentment, even as Eleanor remains fiercely loyal to her husband and to her king. But loyalty has its price. Moving from royal palaces to prison cells, from the battlefield to the bedroom, between hope and despair, treachery and fidelity, hatred and abiding love, The Traitor's Wife is a tale of an extraordinary woman living in extraordinary times.
Customer Reviews:
An Anglophile's Must-Read.......2007-10-09
Susan Higginbotham has created an intricate and substantial tapestry of English life in the fourteenth century. The Traitor's Wife recounts the history of the reign of Edward II and the beginning years of his son's reign. The story revolves around Edward, the likeable king who was nevertheless not strong enough to hold the loyalty of his people, and Isabella, his beautiful but icy young Queen. However, the central character is a relatively unknown person from history: Eleanor de Clare, granddaughter of Edward I and, when the story opens, thirteen year old bride to an up-and-coming young commoner, Hugh le Despenser.
Ms. Higginbotham writes in a clear and precise style, and her subject has been painstakingly researched. The author's clarity is particularly helpful considering the legions of characters who all bear the same names. There are scads of Edwards, Eleanors, Isabels, Joans, and Hughs. In addition, half the cast bears a title as well as a given name, and their habit of intermarrying means that everyone is related to everyone else. Thankfully, Ms. Higginbotham skillfully guides the reader through the complexities of these relationships until we know the people well enough to tell them apart. It wasn't until I realized that I had grown to know all the characters that I truly appreciated the author's skill.
The Traitor's Wife is the story of a king who loves intemperately and unwisely, showering his lovers with gifts and favors which bring doom upon their heads. It is the story of a queen who exacts psychological and physical revenge for the humiliation of being loved second-best. It is a story of men who stop at nothing to obtain and hold onto power, selling out their integrity, their friends, and even their bodies. And it is the story of how one woman's loyalty - to her husband, her king, and her family - is tested by fire.
I have given The Traitor's Wife 5 stars with this caveat: it is not a quick or light read. However, for Anglophiles and those with a particular interest in English history, it is a must-read. Once engaged, you will find yourself compelled to learn more about this tumultuous time of British history and wondering how, with leaders like these, the country of England ever survived the middle ages!
A Solid First Outing for Higginbotham.......2007-09-13
This is a fascinating tale of treachery and intrigue, focusing on the life of Eleanor De Clare who married Hugh le Despenser. Hugh's ambitions embroil him in the life of Edward II of England and eventually lead to his downfall. As several reviewers have already summed up the story, I need not recap it again.
This is a complicated tale, with many characters with the same names so you do have to pay close attention, although the author does provide a list of characters at the front of the book. This is not a period of English history I have read before and I thoroughly enjoyed immersing myself in Eleanor's tale. Side note, having recently read Nigel Tranter's The Bruce Trilogy it was an extra treat seeing that part of the story from the English perspective.
Although I found Eleanor to be an engaging topic, I like other reviewers found her to be a tad bit too perfect -- I mean really she should have known what Hugh was up to! Or maybe not, we'll never know. All in all a very enjoyable read and one I would recommend for any lover of historical fiction or those interested in this time period.
for the history buffs.......2007-09-03
I'm a huge fan of historical fiction, so I was pretty excited to read this book. As far as historical fiction goes this book had a lot of pluses...but I guess I wanted something different from it, because I wasn't enthralled the way I had hoped to be. The writing is very accurate and thorough, and the characters have personality...you're able to become immersed in the story and become involved with the characters. I just found my mind wandering fairly often. I'm pretty sure that much of my problem with the story was my own bias and disinterest in that particular portion of history. I can't keep all the King Edwards straight, I can't keep the dates straight...and as a result, I never fully became engrossed with the story.
As I mentioned, the writing itself is superb--the author has definitely done her research (then again, the facts could be all wrong and I'd never realize the difference..) and her characters are well developed and likable. I just found the story a little too long and drawn out for my liking. But that's me. I don't want you to read this and think I'm giving it a negative review, because I'm not. Not even close. It just wasn't my cup of tea. However, as a piece of literature its incredible...so long as its something that you're interested in.
If you enjoy historical fiction -- especially in relation to King Edward and his reign, this is definitely a book you should check out. I'd highly recommend it to the history buffs.
The Traitor's Wife.......2007-07-14
The Traitor's Wife is a fictional tale based upon the real life, genealogical records, and whispered gossip of Edward II of England. This tale gets right into the hearsay of Edward and Piers Gaveston's special relationship right at the opening of the action. The book even has the two discussing the need to produce heirs and determining an appropriate match for Piers. Infighting, schemes, and scandals continue throughout the rest of the entire story. This book definitely shows a more private, hidden face of Edward and his peers than most works written about this time period.
As I first started reading this book, I was really glad that the author had included crib notes describing who each person was and their relationship to others in the story. After a while though, I found it much easier to figure out who was who. This was particularly true of those main characters that always seem to be at the thick of the latest melodrama.
Very Enjoyable.......2007-05-09
I kept this book with me for quite a while. I loved the depth of the characters. This was a very enjoyable historical novel!
Amazon.com
Some historians and journalists are starting to regard the cold-war-era American Communist Party as nothing more than a quaint club of polite if misguided ideologues. In The Venona Secrets, Herbert Romerstein and Eric Breindel intend to create a new impression of treacherous Americans "who willfully gave their primary allegiance to a foreign power, the USSR.... For Communists, true patriotism meant helping to make the world a better place by advancing the interests of the Soviet Union in any way possible." By using the now-celebrated Venona documents--top-secret Soviet cables sent between Moscow and Washington, D.C., in the 1940s--Romerstein and Breindel tell a frightening story of how deeply spies penetrated the U.S. government. There was the famous case of Alger Hiss, whose guilt as a Soviet spy is now beyond doubt thanks to Venona. Less well known, but still important, were the roles of Harry Hopkins in Franklin Delano Roosevelt's White House and Harry Dexter White in the Treasury Department.
Romerstein, a veteran cold warrior, and Breindel, the former editorial-page editor of The New York Post (he died before the book's publication, at the age of 42), are not the first to discuss the Venona papers in depth--readers of The Haunted Wood, by Allen Weinstein and Alexander Vassiliev, and Whittaker Chambers, by Sam Tanenhaus, will know much of the story. Yet this may its most aggressive telling. Romerstein and Breindel include necessary chapters on the Hiss-Chambers dispute, the Elizabeth Bentley spy ring, and the charges against Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. They are particularly forceful in arguing that journalist I.F. Stone and atomic scientist Robert Oppenheimer were Soviet spies. Another target--and a provocative one--is Albert Einstein, whom they describe as "tainted" by his indirect ties to Soviet intelligence. The Venona Secrets will make heads turn, and it will show that the debates over the cold war and its meaning can be as hot now as they were then. --John J. Miller
Book Description
The Venona Files are several intercepted communiques between the Soviet Union and American Communists following WWII.
Customer Reviews:
Shocking Details.......2007-07-03
Much in the way revelations about the cracking of the German Enigma code have forever altered the history of the Second World War, the Venona Secrets should change the history of Soviet espionage in the United States.
This book reveals details about the extensive Soviet penetration of the Communist Party of the United States, unions, the government, industry, the Democratic Party and the media. No account of the era of McCarthyism can be viewed as complete without including some evidence of how extensive was the decades-long Soviet infiltration of the U.S. government at the highest levels -- including Harry Hopkins, a close advisor to President Franklin Roosevelt -- and of the atomic program. Soviet spying, which led to the Russian atomic bomb only four years after our own, reached the highest levels of the Manhattan Project, including J. Robert Oppenheimer; Soviet spies even targeted Albert Einstein for anti-Western propaganda efforts.
One result of the successful Soviet atomic spying was that Stalin, who knew about the atomic bomb, felt secure in giving the green light for the North Korean invasion of the south in 1950, causing hundreds of thousands of casualties.
My only, relatively minor, criticism of the book is that it is almost too detailed for a casual student of history. As someone who hasn't studied Soviet history for twenty years, some of the names had faded from my memory.
A Biased Account.......2007-02-22
The Venona Secrets is a deceptive book. It tries to pass itself off as an objective portrait of Soviet spying in the US, but by the time the reader is a third of the way in it becomes apparent that the authors are more interested in smearing "Liberals" than in painting a true portrait of their subject. Although the information the authors provide is interesting, the biased and heavy-handed way it's presented negates whatever scientific value it might have. For example, the authors insist that J. Robert Oppenheimer was working for the Soviets (they call this a "fact") yet they present absolutely no proof that Oppenheimer was anything more than an idealistic, naive man who couldn't keep his mouth shut and whose only contribution to the advancement of Communism in America was money to the CPUSA. The book is full of these so-called "facts" with little to nothing to back them up. The authors praise Joe McCarthy and claim in the last chapter of the book that he was barely a factor in the anti-Communist hysteria of the 1940's and 1950's, ignoring the fact that MCCarthy capitalized on fears of Communism obscenely and was wrong far more than he was right about who was and was not loyal. McCarthy's methods of terrorism and hypocrisy in running hearings that could have been chaired by Stalin are completely overlooked, as are the innocent lives he destroyed in his smear campaign. The authors also praise Senator Henry Jackson as some sort of all-American crusader against Communism, not even mentioning that all of Jackson's anti-Communist attacks were motivated by his virulent anti-Semistism and hatred of blacks. Overall this book is nothing more than an indictment of Liberal ideology -- one can simply hear the disdain for Liberals dripping from the authors' prose -- and should not be given much credence by scholars not interested in right-wing propaganda who want an objective account of Venona. The authors have sacrificed their credibility for their Conservative agenda; they deserve not to be taken seriously.
An Important Book on USSR espionage.......2006-08-13
If you went to school before the Soviet archives & Venona papers were opened up/released (1991-1995), you must read this book. If you don't know what the Venona Project's papers say, then your knowledge on immediate pre and post WWII Soviet espionage is incomplete and, most importantly, probably not accurate. The truth is uncomfortable to some- Alger Hiss was definitely a spy, as were the Rosenbergs, and penetration into New Deal personnel was very deep. Plenty of material for the anti-FDR types, and the "McCarthy was right" folks. I personally feel very uncomfortable with the fact that about 2 our of every 3 names that pop up here as spies were Jewish. Most humiliating. The authors, no anti-semites they, make the irony of Jews spying for the virulent Jew-hater Uncle Joe very clear. Like many peoples, though perhaps more so, Jews have an unfortunate tendency towards self-delusion. The book is a bit of a bumpy read, sometimes flowing smoothly, sometimes reading like its out of Reader's Digest (a bit...lowbrow??), which accounts for the 4 stars, rather than 5. It has photos of many of the spies, but overall the photographs could be much stronger.
The Facts Laid Bare.......2006-07-17
This book is the most complete "who's who" of the entire Soviet Communist movement from the early 1900s on. It effectively destroys the old notions that there was no connection between the Communist Party U.S.A. and Moscow. It demonstrates beyond question that Moscow's two-fold plan in the United States - influencing government policy and spying - were carried out for years by the people identified in the government hearings. The Venona decrypts, together with the examination of Soviet and American Communist archives, bring together the entire despicable story. A must-read book for those who want to sort fact from fiction concerning the history of the Soviet Union.
Organized More as a Reference Book than Straight Read.......2005-12-31
Traitors, of course, imply treason and that is exactly the charge Romerstein and Breindel substantiate in this book. Specifically, that the American Communist Party was a knowing tool for Soviet espionage; that the alleged anti-fascism of American Communists was a facade unsupported by their behavior during the German-Russian Non-Aggression Pact; that American Communists probably supplied Nazi Germany with military secrets during that period; that the U.S. government of the 1940s was riddled with Soviet agents including Alger Hiss and Harry Hopkins, personal friend and advisor to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and that J. Robert Oppenheimer was among the Soviet spies on the Manhatten Project.
The decoding of Soviet messages from 1940-1948, coupled with documents from the Communist governments of the former Warsaw Pact, provides the evidence for these charges.
Romerstein and Breindel write in a clear prose, and this book can be read fairly easily cover to cover in a few sittings. However, its organization seems more that of a reference book for scholars of Soviet espionage and U.S. political history rather than a straightforward narrative. The individual chapters cover the most famous spy rings operating in the U. S. during the years of the Venona message, espionage directed toward stealing nuclear secrets, anti-Trotskyite activities, and co-opting journalists for propaganda purposes. The index is comprehensive and includes listing for the many code names used by the NKVD and GRU.
There is some interesting material on the struggle to root Communists out of American unions. The question of Jewish involvement in Soviet espionage is briefly and unsatisfyingly touched on. The authors acknowledge that Jews had a heavy and disproportionately involvement in the early Soviet intelligence services. But it is also true that Jews later became a target of those same organizations and Jews were purged out of them. What was the initial attraction to begin with?
However, there is a repetition of details about individual agents from chapter to chapter and no attempt to give a chronology of their activities. I suspect the authors organized the book around the idea that their fellow scholars would simply pick individual chapters to read depending on their interests rather than completely read the book.
This is not a biographical look at spies. For instance, we get almost no idea why Elizabeth Bentley went from NKVD agent to double agent for the FBI. It was perhaps because her NKVD lover/controller Jacob Golos had died, and she was miffed at the NKVD's lack of confidence in her ability to continue to run agents. Likewise, we are presented with no explanation for Jack Childs remark "What took you so long?" to the FBI when they confronted him about decades of spying for the USSR.
While the book offers a brief explanation on the interception and decoding of the Venona messages, there are certainly better accounts of it elsewhere.
The book does have a nice appendix where we are presented with several photocopies of the decoded Venona messages so you get a feel of the raw data the authors worked with and what the NSA and its predecessor, the U.S. Army Signal Intelligence Service, produced in a job that lasted until 1980.
Book Description
The Traitor's Manual is the first supplement for Paranoia, perhaps the most unique roleplaying game ever produced. Filled with the same black and ironic humour, The Traitor's Manual will reveal a host of new secret societies, guiding players on how to subvert the power of the computer. It will also teach players how to turn in their friends and fellow players, making it the ultimate guide to getting ahead in the weird world that is Paranoia. Acclaimed publisher Mongoose has brought Paranoia back for a new generation, focussing on a surreal, twisted vision of the future where players are positively encouraged to betray each other merely to survive. There has never been a roleplaying game like it! With a full supporting programme of future products already in development, Paranoia is destined to once more provide roleplayers with the sort of frantic gaming experience that proved so popular at the game's inception.
Customer Reviews:
Best supplement out to date for Paranoia XP..........2006-06-01
And the kicker of being the most treasonous as well.
Simply put, this book outlines every secret society for Paranoia XP, each one is given 3-5 pages.
Besides those pearls, there's a complete adventure in the back and a section on why and how the Secret Societies exist. Now that the corebooks have gone through the entire color spectrum once, I can safely say that if you have the core book and don't have any supplements yet, your best bet is to get either this for explanation on Secret Societies, or Flashbacks for some great adventures in all their hardbound glory.
Book Description
Dame Frevisse of St. Frideswide's nunnery is in London to assist her cousin Alice, the widowed Duchess of Suffolk, in burying her husband-but the late Duke was so hated that even being in the presence of his corpse is unsafe.
Wandering player Simon Joliffe is also in London, on a mission with vital information for the exiled Duke of York: a list naming the English noblemen who purportedly betrayed their King by conspiring with the French, including some of Suffolk's men, whom Joliffe has been seeking-and now found dead.
Joining the player on his search for the men on the list, Frevisse starts to wonder whether or not the list is real-or part of an even greater conspiracy against the crown.
Average customer rating:
- Wonderful, beautiful, enchanting
- When is Book 4 coming
- The series really starts to get interesting.
- flawed
- Not the best of her work
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Traitor's Moon (Nightrunner, Vol. 3)
Lynn Flewelling
Manufacturer: Spectra
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Flewelling, Lynn
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Similar Items:
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Stalking Darkness (Nightrunner, Vol. 2)
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Luck in the Shadows (Nightrunner, Vol. 1)
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Hidden Warrior (Tamir Trilogy, Book 2)
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The Bone Doll's Twin (Tamir Trilogy, Book 1)
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The Oracle's Queen (Tamir Trilogy, Book 3)
ASIN: 0553577255
Release Date: 1999-07-06 |
Customer Reviews:
Wonderful, beautiful, enchanting.......2006-08-08
I admit that I first picked up this series because I knew there was a love story, and I can't resist a fantasy novel with a good love story. The first book, Luck in the Shadows, was good, filled with a story that took me by surprise, and had me buying the second book almost before I'd finished the first. Stalking Darkness was another hidden gem, and at the end, I thought nothing could beat the wonderful, touching story that filled it. Still, I wanted to continue on with the characters' stories, so I picked up Traitor's Moon.
I was a bit wary of the book; I've heard of it being the lesser of Ms. Flewelling's works. But just a few chapters in, I knew it was the best.
Yes, the story is mostly political intrigue, but that line has been building since the first chapter of the first book. Yes, Ms. Flewelling's writing style has changed, but, I think it has made a turn for the better. Her prose takes on an almost poetic tone as Alec and Seregil venture into the heart of Aurenen. My favorite line? 'Like the moon, I'll hang close to you through the night, reflecting your brilliance by virtue of my own dark surface.' Who can resist someone who writes as beautifully as that? The scenes she describes are equally as breathtaking, and most of them are just enchanting. I find myself smiling as I read through her descriptions of Sarikali, Akhendi, and all the other delightful places her creative imagination has come up with. The exchanges between her characters are as passionate and full of life as ever, if not more.
As our beloved character continue on their journey, a new language begins to develop, and things might become a bit more confusing. But compared to the other books, where whole sentences were spoken in unknown tongues and went untranslated, the new words here are easy enough to follow, and each is carefully explained. The long names are not difficult, either, if you're willing to take a few extra seconds to puzzle them out. The similarities between Aurenen names can become confusing sometimes, I admit, but I must say I've read far worse.
All in all, I would say that the flaws in this book are minor things, mostly changes in style, and any true, avid fantasy reader will appreciate the world and culture that Ms. Flewelling has brought to life for us. This is a jewel to be discovered, the best book of them all. Of course, I strongly recommend that you read the Luck in the Shadows and Stalking Darkness first; knowing the characters makes you love and appreciate them all the more. But when you've finished with them, don't hesitate to pick this book up. You will be missing out on something lovely if you don't.
When is Book 4 coming.......2005-05-16
Traitor's Moon was a very exciting book. It was the 3rd book of the Nightrunner Series. I'm looking forward to book 4 and more adventures with Seregil and Alec.
The series really starts to get interesting........2005-05-01
I will offer a view contrary to several of the other Amazon reviewers who seemed to like this book less than the first two in the Nightrunner Series. I thought that it was at least on par, and in some respects I actually liked it much better.
I enjoyed Luck In the Shadows and Stalking Darkness. At least, I enjoyed them enough to go ahead and pick up the third. My issue with them was that they were a little too focused on the individual characters. There was a whole lot of Destiny and Magical Quests going on. While Flewelling is a fresh writer, parts of the plots felt like stale retreads of similar books in the genre.
Traitor's Moon goes a lot farther down the road of politics. The Aurenfaie became a lot more interesting to me as parties quarreling about trade routes than they were as mystic Tolkeinish semi-elves. The plot line with Korathan and Poria was much more interesting and complex this time around. I was genuinely surprised by some of the character shifts, and that takes some doing.
I was a little bit disappointed to see that Flewelling has not written with these characters since Traitor's Moon. I think that I will wander back over and take another look at the Bone Doll's Twin. I had read it before I read these three books, and I believe that I am now inclined to give it another chance.
The Nightrunner series is recommended for Swords & Sorcery fantasy fans. While it has some adult situations, it should be fine for teenage readers. Begin at the beginning with Luck in the Shadows, and not here with Traitor's Moon.
flawed.......2005-02-11
(I am not a native speaker, please overlook my style)
With the third book of the series Ms Flewelling shows us that even a most accomplished writer's inspiration may fall short.
To create a world, a whole culture, is a terrifying task: it took ages to Tolkien to create one and he failed (in a masterly way, but he failed); Ms Flewelling is a good writer, but not as good as Tolkien and she tries in this third episode of creating a second world in the same series...
The Aurenen are not believable nor lovable: un unmeshable mixture of millenarian wisdom and unexplainable barbarity.
Ms Flewelling has tried to avoid the elf commonplaces only to be punished by having created a world no one would ever care to go back to, least of all someone as clever, witty, unconventional as our hero.
This third episode being based exclusively on this homecoming it results in a failure too: it is often boring, nothing of what takes place makes any sense.
And still...
characters are still finely pictured: even the formerly unsufferable Beka becomes nearly believable and enjoyable. The love story of Seregil and Alec is now established, lacking therefore the thrill of the first two books, but it is outlined with lovely subtlety.
Ms Flewelling has made a heavily wrong choice; everyone should honestly admid though that it takes a very good writer to write a good book out of such a deficient background.
The book may still be worth reading and enjoys the assets deriving from the previous ones, therefore the four stars.
Not the best of her work.......2004-11-11
This was my last read of all the Flewelling books. I actually started with the later series first and made my way back. I love her books, I love her writing, I love her characters...........just not in this book. I had to keep reminding myself that these were the same characters from the first two books in the series, so far removed were they from their original surroundings. This book is all about politics and names and words you probably can't pronounce. This in itself usually doesn't bother me, but overall the story fell flat. I think the problem lies in that, as Flewelling states, this isn't meant to be a trilogy. As a standalone novel though, the book falls short too though, although that's how you feel when you read it. If you've read the first two books in this "series" I would suggest just leaving this one alone.
Amazon.com
Like many white South Africans of his generation, Rian Malan fled his country to dodge the draft. He felt incredibly guilty for this act, but would have felt equally guilty for not doing it: "I ran because I wouldn't carry a gun for apartheid, and because I wouldn't carry a gun against it." Malan, the product of a well-known Afrikaner family, returned to South Africa and produced My Traitor's Heart, which explores the literal and figurative brutalities of apartheid. Death is a constant presence on these pages, and the narrative is driven by Malan's criminal reportage. This acclaimed book intends to illuminate South Africa's poisonous race relations under apartheid, and few books do it this well.
Book Description
A classic of literary nonfiction, My Traitor's Heart has been acclaimed as a masterpiece by readers around the world. Rian Malan is an Afrikaner, scion of a centuries-old clan and relative of the architect of apartheid, who fled South Africa after coming face-to-face with the atrocities and terrors of an undeclared civil war between the races. This book is the searing account of his return after eight years of uneasy exile. Armed with new insight and clarity, Malan explores apartheid's legacy of hatred and suffering, bearing witness to the extensive physical and emotional damage it has caused to generations of South Africans on both sides of the color line. Plumbing the darkest recesses of the white and black South African psyches, Malan ultimately finds his way toward the light of redemption and healing. My Traitor's Heart is an astonishing book -- beautiful, horrifying, profound, and impossible to put down.
Customer Reviews:
An insight into the tortured soul of a typical liberal wooftah.........2007-02-28
White liberal draft-dodger hard at work. He's a good writer and the book's a painful look into the heart of a white liberal. My admiration goes rather to those who fought to defend their country.... but it's an insight into the tortured soul of a typical liberal wooftah. Why people put themselves thru all this inner torment I have no idea - have a beer and get over it, bloke! If you'd just done your time in the armed forces like pretty much every other south african had to do instead of taking the chicken run, you wouldn;t be going thru all this turmoil.
memoirs of an Africaaner-1970-1990.......2006-02-24
Before a recent visit to S. Africa, this book was recommended as an introduction to the political climate in S. Africa, especially after Apartheid. This very personal account told by Rian Malan, whose ancestors were directly responsible for the formation of the Apartheid society, traces his teenage rebellion against Apartheid, his career as a liberal newspaper reporter and his ultimate rejection of the violence that the new government has spawned. Be prepared for graphic descriptions of violence committed by both whites and blacks.
A good introduction to the complicated history of S. Africa and leaves the reader with questions regarding the future of that sad country.
A Rare Look into the Afrikaner Mind..........2006-01-27
I really enjoyed this book, although I do have some problems with it. First and foremost I will recommend it because I think it offers amazing insight into the psychology of Afrikaners and should be read-by any serious student of South African History. It is a valid historical document in that sense, because it is an honest and well-written, and sometimes deeply moving, biographical account of a "liberal" Afrikaner who has to struggle with his progressive ideals and his residual prejudices.
Rian Malan is a fascinating individual who fully accepts the humanity of all his fellow men and loves people of all colors-but in a way he has also rather unapologetically bought into the idea of some deep and maybe unsurpassable "cultural differences" between "us and them". This involves repeating a traditional refrain about how outsiders "don't understand" how "they" really are. While I agree that outside observers tended to see things in only one dimension, I also think that Malan is somewhat won over to the colonial discourse of "Darkest Africa", that place where savagery reigns.
What about white savagery? Although Malan talks about some white atrocities and even explicitly says they are savage-e.g., a white man forces a black man to castrate himself at gunpoint and then flicks the testicles away with a stick-and although he suggests the Afrikaner is also "savage", he never seems to make this part of "white" South African character. It is always that the whites are acting from fear, because they are "swamped". But clearly the countless cases of white human rights atrocities cannot be attributed to fear. Somehow the violence of "natives" becomes assimilated to their "culture" in his mind-some ancient "African" culture outside observers can't understand, but white inhumanity, no matter how many instances of it there are, and there are countless, is not portrayed the same way, as an offshoot of "culture" that is somehow independent of environment. Whites are always granted a context for their actions; Zulus are simply doing things the way Zulus "always have".
Still, I do think it's a beautiful book in a number of ways, despite these serious flaws, and if you want to know how some Afrikaners think, I think this is a book to look at. I recently talked to a white South African and found his discourse to be similar to Malan's-talk of fear, talk of "strange cultural rites", talk of profound differences that are unbridgeable, upsetting things I generally disagree with, but this discourse is part of the white South African self-understanding. And although poverty and crime are very real in South Africa, I still believe that white South Africans often have a self-justifying ideology that simply refuses to look at what they've done to bring about the problems of modern South Africa and prefers to look at the problems they are faced with, as if they emerged from a vacuum. (Obviously, I'm not excusing anyone's violence of any kind here, just making a point).
This is only human that people prefer to avoid examining their own consciences, and Malan has more humanity, kindness, compassion and insight than most people do anywhere, but you will see what I mean about his essentializing of difference if you read the book, and you should. He loves these "native" men and women, he jokes with them, he finds some brilliant, and at the end of the book he accepts that he has to let go of his fear if he wants to move forward. But he has somewhat convinced me prior to these last pages that he isn't really ready to make that leap, and that his faith in building a new nation could be easily shattered, as of course it will be, if you think in terms of black and white.
Magnificent, brooding work.......2004-12-24
This book came out when I was working in South Africa. It explores in an uncompromising way two rival phenomena: the hopes of 'white liberalism' and some harsh realities of South Africa's 'African-ness' which many urban liberals at that point seemed to pretend either were not there or were somehow only a function of apartheid.
The passages on Creina Alcock, a 'white' South African who stepped far away from her background to live as a Zulu are are especially poignant, even stunning. I visited Creina in her remote hut on the strength of this book and was astonished by her courage and wisdom. Rian captures this extraordinary story in a moving if (for the average reader?) pessimistic way
This book has universalist insights for anyone interested in whether Civilisations really do Clash. Rian Malan was on to something very profound in this book. It is vivid and appalling in places, and not always easy reading. So what? These issues are as difficult as anything we face. Read it, lots of times.
Disturbing.......2004-02-29
This book is an investigation into the attitudes of a liberal who was raised in South Africa. In the book, Malan tells us that his original charge was to write the history of his racist ancestors, who were among the first Boer settlers in the region. But when Malan began his project, he found he needed to first explore and develop his own perspective on race in South Africa before he could begin. And once he began doing this, he never really got around to the history project.
The book is divided into 3 sections. In the first, Malan describes his own childhood and adolescence, leading up to his forced flight from South Africa, with a major focus on his youthful love for Blacks (especially in the abstract). The second part of the book details a number of violent murders that Malan investigated upon his return to South Africa in 1986 to write this book. In this section, Malan describes the intense violence that was occurring in South Africa at the time, and how all Whites, even doctors providing humanitarian services in the townships, became targets for Black rage. He also explores violence between rival Black political groups. In the closing section, Malan visits a White woman named Creina Alcock, who lived on the border of Msanga, a tribal homeland, where she and her husband had struggled to build a sustainable rural development project with the local Blacks. The woman was widowed after her husband was killed while trying to negotiate peace talks during a tribal disturbance in Msanga.
The book doesn't have a strong narrative thread- -instead it seems that Malan was trying to communicate some of his own confusion and ambivalence about racial questions by presenting so many stories and sides of the picture, and flipping rapidly from one to the next. The loose organization is effective to some degree; the reader slowly comes to understand the enormity and complexity of South Africa's problems. Yes, many Whites provoked anger from Blacks by their abominable behavior and laws. Blacks in turn responded with violence that was so overwhelming that even those Whites who tried as hard as they could to do the right thing were in mortal danger. And the worst and most senseless violence seemed to occur in Black communities that had no White involvement at all. The entire society was so focused on violence that as one White living on a farm in a rural area told Malan "The guy with the bigger stick wins." In closing with Creina Alcock's story, Malan tries to leave us with a little hope. He argues that Alcock's and her late husband's love for their community has made a marginal difference in the social structure, despite the ongoing attacks on them and thefts of their property by children they had adopted and raised as their own, and even the murder of Alcock's husband. With the infinitesimally small improvements that the Alcocks managed to make in their community by giving their entire lives over to the project, how many millions more Alcocks would it take to turn such a country around, and where might they come from?
Book Description
From the depths of catastrophe, a glimmer of hope
After the capture of Coruscant, the mighty heart of the New Republic, a stunned galaxy fears that nothing can stop the Yuuzhan Vong. Still, that crushing defeat produces one small miracle: Jacen Solo is alive. Yet he can scarcely imagine himself in stranger circumstances.
The young Jedi Knight is in the care of Vergere, a fascinating creature of mystery and power, her intentions hard to fathom, her cruelties rarely concealed. But this master of inscrutable arts has much to teach the young Jedi . . . for she holds the key to a new way to experience the Force, to take it to another level—dangerous, dazzling, perhaps deadly.
In the wrong hands, the tremendous energies of the Force can be devastating. And there are others watching Jacen’s process closely, waiting patiently for the moment when he will be ready for their own dire purposes. Now, all is in shadows. Yet whatever happens, whether Jacen’s newfound mastery unleashes light or darkness, he will never be the same Jedi again. . . .
Customer Reviews:
Only Redeeming Novel after Star by Star.......2007-06-03
This book was enjoyable and insightful unlike a few other NJO books following "Star by Star".
In this book, Jacen is found alive (of course) by the mysterious and powerful Vergere who saved his life. Vergere "kills" Jacen by taking the force away from him, how that happened I couldn't really figure it out, but, then she begins to give him a new perspective on how to view the force: not in light or dark.
Stover also helps to make Jacen into a new person, more of a hero through the trials Vergere creates. She molds Jacen into the ideal Jedi who embraces his fears, pains and his past experiences rather than just moping. A more appealing idea than the others.
Although it was good, I still don't agree with changing Jacen into a new character, it ruins all the work the other authors have done in creating Jacen and his sister, Jaina. I liked it as a well written novel and it was detailed and well characterized but the choices in terms of changing characters in NJO are still lacking finesse.
The Greatest Star Wars Book Every Written.......2007-04-06
Let me make something very clear, my title is the truth. This book is absolutely amazing. It is the kind of Star Wars book you start and don't stop until you have read the very last page. With this book Stover has emerged as at least the second best Star Wars writer, if not the best, with only Timothy Zahn being possibly ahead of him. Traitor takes what had been before a fairly standard and boring Jedi named Jacen Solo, and turns him basically into a Jedi-God, and at one point this is literally so in the book.
Traitor is the story of Jacen Solo's captivity by the Yuuzghan Vong, his teaching under the uniquely deceptive, yet genius Vergere, and his subsequent final showdown on Coruscant with the World Brain and Nom Anor. This book is shocking at times, with Jacen getting tortured for weeks on end to Jacen attacking Vergere with Force Lightning, while action packed and even philosophical. The exchanges between Vergere and Jacen over the force, life, the war, good vs. evil are really very informative and interesting. You could actually learn alot about life at times from some of the things Vergere says.
The action in this book is unlike any other in the New Jedi Order series. Jacen never uses a lightsaber in the action scenes in this book. He uses Yuuzghan Vong weapons throughout. He is able to influence Yuuzghan Vong animals to do his bidding. The amount his power grows in this novel is extraordinary. By the end of this book you think Jacen can defeat the Yuuzghan Vong single handidly if given the chance.
And of course Ganner Rhysode. Rarely has a Star Wars character fought so well, so honorably, and so impressively as Ganner did in the Well of the World Brain. "None Shall Pass." Classic line right there.
My hat goes off to Stover for writing the greatest Star Wars novel in EU history. He deserves an award for his work.
somebody shoot me........2007-01-19
in my opinion the only reason to read this book is so that you dont miss any thing in this series, it takes about 250 pages for this book to get exciting. another problem i have with this book is the fack that stover alway made made ganner look like a blubering fool. in the previous books he was only an insecure man.
JASON SOLO FREE FROM THE VONG AT LAST.......2006-12-15
I had mixed feelings about this book. This story is about Jason Solo's escape from the Yuuzhan Vong. The whole story and details of his escape are uneventful and unmemorable, minus the role played by the character Ganner Rhysode. Here Jason solo has been captive through 3 Star Wars Novels and thought dead by his family and members of Jedi Council. More time and effort needed to be applied towards this portion of the story.
In this book you get a great insight into the mind of Jacen Solo and a better understand of the Yuuzhan Vong race. The change and maturity of Jacen Solo from his imprisonment is well documented in this book. Jacen Solo is changed forever due to these events in his life.
If you are a true Star Wars fan, you will enjoy this book. If you have not been reading the New Jedi Order, put this book back on the shelf and begin reading "Vector Prime" from R.A. Salvatore. Otherwise, you will be totally lost.
Way overrated.......2006-11-15
I don't get the people who review stuff on Amazaon. After Allston's 2 superior novels, Traitor was much ado about nothing. Yeah, Jacen stops overthinking long enough to actually DO something. And yeah, finding out Vergere's a Jedi Of The Old Republic who knew Anakin Skywalker was cool - if it had led to something like a history lesson for Luke on the old Jedi down the road (which it doesn't).
There wasn't any breakthrough revelations about the Force so don't go in thinking there will be. The idea that there is no dark side & the Jedi himself is ultimately the one with the darkness in him is sort of true & sort of not. Yes, overrated this book is. Destiny's Way however....
Average customer rating:
- Vampires and Dhampirs
- Yet another gem from the Hendee's
- Traitor to the Blood - Review
- Disappointed in the wanting more profits
- Loved it!!!!!!
|
Traitor to the Blood (The Noble Dead)
Barb Hendee , and
J.C. Hendee
Manufacturer: Roc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Sister of the Dead (The Noble Dead)
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Blood Bound (Mercy Thompson Series, Book 2)
ASIN: 0451460901 |
Book Description
The adventures of Magiere and Leesil continue as they journey into Leesil's savage homeland seeking the family-and secret burden-he abandoned long ago.
Customer Reviews:
Vampires and Dhampirs.......2007-04-11
This a fantastic book in a series of fantastic books by Barb Hendee. I cannot wait for the next one to to come out so I can read it. I hope this series continues on and on for awhile.
Yet another gem from the Hendee's.......2007-01-15
Traitor to the Blood is the fourth book in the Noble Dead series by Barb and J.C. Hendee. The first book is Dhamphir, the second is Thief of Lives and the third if Sister of the Dead. If you are considering reading this book, I strongly urge you read the other three first. While you may get the general idea of this story, by reading the other three the story will be much more satisfying and enjoyable for you.
The plot in this book seems to be much more involved that the first three books. In the first three, the plot seemed rather linear and there weren't many subplots. They were still very good books, don't get me wrong. In this book however, it seems the Hendee's made a conscience effort to really have a solid foundation in which to throw their characters. There are several subplots in this book that only add to the mystery of the situation and even within the last one-hundred pages yet another subplot is thrown in for good measure. With all this talk of multiple subplots, you might be thinking this book is confusing. It's really not. The plot, and subplots, are laid out in such a way (and explained) that there is really no confusion. They are merely added elements to the overall story and help explain different characters motivation and feelings.
For the most part the characters in this book as carryovers from the previous three books. Of course, being that the heroes are in a different place now, there are some new additions, but the main cast largely remains the same. This is a good thing though, because it allows the Hendee's to delve deeper into who the characters really are instead of having to explain about new characters all the time. There is a lot of character development in this book for a number of characters. However, there is no secret, this book largely focuses on Leesil and his mission to find his parents. These characters, from the heroes to the villains are very well written and this only adds to the fantastic story of the book, and series. These are not your two dimensional, cliché ridden characters from some other fantasy books that are being published now.
I do have one minor criticism about this book. In the previous books there has always been some levity and humor sprinkled in. That's fine, in fact I enjoy that. However, there was one scene in this book that seemed to be written strictly for the humorous aspect, and it just didn't seem to fit with the part of the story it was placed in. It kind of threw me off a little bit. Again, not a huge deal, but one worth mentioning.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and this series. The Noble Dead series is one of the most underrated fantasy series going on today. There is not much, if any, publicity surrounding the series. In fact, I heard about Dhamphir from another author when I asked about good vampire fantasy books. Sometimes, word of mouth is the best advertising one can get. So, I will close with this. If you like vampire novels and you like fantasy novels don't hesitate at all to jump into this series. You won't be disappointed. They truly are diamonds in the rough and make for some very enjoyable reading.
Traitor to the Blood - Review.......2007-01-13
Traitor To The Blood is the 4th installment in the Noble Dead series and did not disappoint. The focus shifted from Magiere the Dhampir to Leesil the assissain. "Traitor" reveals Leesil's heritage and leads the reader into world of the elves while also expanding the scope and understanding of the world the Hendee's have created. More clues to Magerie's ultimate purpose are provided to peak the reader's curiousity. Additionally, Chap's role and influence are further expalined.
The Hendee's writing is vastly underrated. Each character has been given depth and purpose that continues to expand throughout each additional novel.
Disappointed in the wanting more profits.......2006-12-28
I started reading the series when it was only the paperback. Then with this book they started doing it in hardback. WHY? Why is it whenever there is a good series they start to try and milk more money from the readers. I enjoy the series and the great writing. But I really do feel wrong that my dollars that helped make their series a success will not see any more money for their books until they are in garage sales or on paperbook swap.
Loved it!!!!!!.......2006-11-20
The authors have created a fantastic world and great characters that really draw a reader into their lives. I have read all the previous books and they never fail to keep me hooked. I'm sorry to hear that there are only going to be two more books after this one, but I am pulling for Wynn and Chane to be in series 2.
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- Lenore: Noogies
- Like Hidden Fire: The Plot to Bring Down the British Empire
- Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die
- Meeting the Ethical Challenges of Leadership: Casting Light or Shadow
- Midlife Mamas on the Moon: Celebrate Great Health, Friendships, Sex, and Money and Launch Your Second Life
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