The Apocalypse Reader

Book Description

These are the ways the world ends.
Thirty-four new and selected Doomsday scenarios: an enthralling collection of work by canonical literary figures, contemporary masters, and a few rising stars, all of whom have looked into the future and found it missing. Across boundaries of place and time, these writers celebrate the variety and vitality of the short story as a form by writing their own conclusions to the story of the world. Obliteration has never hurt so good.
Contributors include Grace Aguilar, Steve Aylett, Robert Bradley, Dennis Cooper, Lucy Corin, Elliott David, Matthew Derby, Carol Emshwiller, Brian Evenson, Neil Gaiman, Jeff Goldberg, Theodora Goss, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Jared Hohl, Shelley Jackson, Ursula K. Le Guin, Stacey Levine, Tao Lin, Kelly Link, H.P. Lovecraft, Gary Lutz, Rick Moody, Michael Moorcock, Adam Nemett, Josip Novakovich, Joyce Carol Oates, Colette Phair, Edgar Allan Poe, Terese Svoboda, Justin Taylor, Lynne Tillman, Deb Olin, Unferth, H.G. Wells, Allison Whittenberg, and Diane Williams.

Customer Reviews:

A gorgeous book, from presentation to content........2007-09-19

"THESE ARE THE WAYS THE WORLD ENDS--THIRTY-FOUR NEW AND SELECTED DOOMSDAY SCENARIOS"

This is a gorgeous book, from presentation to content. The selections are humorous, serious, simple, complex, and much more--thirty-four stories, some short, some long, make for a wide spectrum of apocalypses. Taylor, in the foreword, expounds on his conception of an apocalypse:

"It's worth pointing out that the word Apocalypse comes from the Greek, and literally means "a revelation" or "an unveiling." It can be used to describe cataclysmic changes of any sort. Revolution, for example, or social upheaval. [...] There are micro-Apocalypses that mark moments in our lives: childhood's end, a relationship's sudden implosion, Death."

The selections do span the gamut--some were written so long ago as to be in the public domain, and some were freshly minted in the late 2000's; some focus on religious upheavals, some macro, some micro; there are personal upheavals, student rantings, surreal recountings of madmen; and of course many take the reader through more conventional "end of the world" scenarios. And even with all that diversity, perhaps guided by the introduction, the theme of the anthology runs strong.

If there were a criticism I could make of this volume, that, ironically, would be it. I consider myself a bit of an Apocalypse afficionado--I particularly enjoy reading such stories, along with dystopias--and I would have thought that I could never grow tired of reading well-wrought incarnations of such--and these stories were all well-wrought and well-edited, there is no doubt about that--but this volume overwhelmed me. I was tired, even weary, by the time I had wended my way through the collection (and that in the course of several "sittings")..

The lead story, a piece of flash fiction by H. P. Lovecraft, starts the anthology out elegantly, and slowly. It warns you, implicitly, that you're in for some heavy reading, even if you're a fan of Mr. Lovecraft's writing (and not just his mythos, which more people are familiar with, and is much easier to get into third hand). On that end of the scale, there's also a piece from Edgar Allan Poe that is ponderous but worth an examination, entitled "The Conversation of Eiros and Charmion".

Some of my favorites included:

"The Apocalypse Commentery of Bob Paisner" by Rick Moody -- This is an essay detailing the allegorical depths of the Book of Revelation with regard to Bob Paisner's life. The tone is both erudite and a bit delirious, and the piece as a whole is both informative and immersive--I found myself eagerly wondering where Moody was going to take us next, what dark or clinical humor would next be presented.

"Fraise, Menthe, et Poivre 1978" by Jared Hohl -- Another piece of meta-fiction, this follows a group of people through the more traditional trope of being the last survivors in a ruined post-apocalyptic city. What makes this piece stand out is the manic bent of the narrator and the push for the show to go on--the story weaves the primary narrative with a small handful of abbreviated stageplays that emphasize much about human nature, hope, and despair, while retaining a very human humor.

"An Accounting" by Brian Evenson -- An "honest" accounting of how one explorer fell into becoming a reborn Jesus and how he helps his flock survive. I don't want to say too much about this, but the voice is clear, the narrative is well woven and unrolls at a compelling pace, and other than, perhaps, the initial fanaticism he encounters, it is all quite believable.

"Some Approaches to the Problem of the Shortage of Time" by Ursula K. Le Guin -- This is a clever set of abstracts that are ever timely and consider a novel scenario for the end of the modern-day universe. The shortage of time is pervasive, and this story is brief to give you a maximum pleasure for what it takes.

"Think Warm Thoughts" by Allison Whittenberg -- A bite-sized slice of apocalypse that is poetically poignant; every word counts.

"When We Went to See the End of the World by Dawnie Morningside, age 11 1/4" by Neil Gaiman -- This is the end of the world, everyone and everything together, through the playful, somewhat naiive eyes of an eleven year old. It's told in the vein of "What I did over Summer vacation", and is very evocative, sweet, and strange.

"The Escape--a Tale of 1755" by Grace Aguilar -- This is an elegant tale of a woman's love for her husband, religious persecution, and a prison escape. It is written with a very modern feel despite its age (originally published in 1844).

That's not to say I disliked the other stories; and on another day I would have different favorites, though there were some pieces that didn't work for me. But I hope this selection will help give you a feel for the collection as a whole, beyond my simple regard for it. In all, it's a beautiful collection, and I recommend it strongly, with the caveat that you may want to take it in small doses.

too esoteric to feed my apocalypse-hungry soul.......2007-09-12

I was initially excited to discover the collection and didn't see how such a broad-based compilation could go wrong. I'm an avid reader of post-apocalyptic fiction, science fiction and futurism, so I'm no slouch, but this turned out to be quite different from what I was hoping for.

While a few of the pieces are good reads, so many of them are abstract, esoteric, or even reminiscent of the scribblings from slightly disturbed angst-ridden teenage diaries. There's no good "meat" here, no concrete scenarios, suspense or drama to drive fear into your heart and make your mind race. The circumstances under which "apocalypse" occurs are rarely even revealed. Even the subject matter is open to interpretation - "apocalypse" is made to mean many things, not simply the end of the world. Which it does, of course, but that's not what I was hungry for when I picked up this book. The book description should have done a better job of managing those expectations.

Perhaps if you are looking for a broad literary "treatment" of the subject, that kind of interpretation will appeal to you (or if you enjoy the just plain bizarre) then this collection is for you. It was not for me.

These Zombies Are Not A Metaphor.......2007-05-16

This is a fun collection of stories from some well known and serious talent (Gaiman, Lovecraft, Poe) and some newly minted authors. I found myself particularly amused by "These Zombies Are Not A Metaphor," the work of one of the new authors named Jeff Goldberg. I'll be keeping an eye peeled for future work from him.

Thunder Over Zion: The Life and Times of Chief Judge Willis W Ritter

Average customer rating:

Thunder Over Zion: The Life and Times of Chief Judge Willis W Ritter
Parker M Nielson , and Patricia F Cowley
Manufacturer: University of Utah Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court

ASIN: 0874808766

Chocolate Thunder: The Uncensored Life and Time of Darryl Dawkins

Average customer rating:

Solid, but lacking the 'Thunder'
AN ENTERTAINING READ
solid read
A Book That Could Use More Game
An Interesting Read

Chocolate Thunder: The Uncensored Life and Time of Darryl Dawkins
Darryl Dawkins , and Charley Rosen
Manufacturer: SportClassic
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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David Thompson: Skywalker

ASIN: 0973144327

Book Description

Darryl Dawkins revives his swashbuckling persona in this tell-all account of sex, drugs and racism in pro basketball during the 1970s and '80s, the NBA's outlaw league era.

Customer Reviews:

Solid, but lacking the 'Thunder'.......2006-01-30

If you want an entertaining look at Darryl Dawkins and basketball, this is a good choice to read. Dawkins takes the reader on a fast-paced, fun ride through the many stops on his roller-coaster career. This is not to say thet Dawkins isn't honest about the sometimes painful truth. He does admit some less-than-flattering things, but mostly he just glosses over his own weaknesses or shortcomings. Given his history and reputation, this was pretty much expected.
Dawkins does succeed in shedding some light on some interesting teams and people. He also shows some serious insight and reflection at various times of the book, just not nearly enough times.

AN ENTERTAINING READ.......2004-12-05

DAWKINS TELLS THE STORY OF HIS LIFE IN THIS EASY TO READ TALE. I FOUND HIM TO BE FUNNY, CANDID AND INTERESTING. HE USES A LOT OF WORDS AND TERMS THAT MAY NOT BE FOR ANYONE UNDER 18. DAWKINS WAS PURE POWER FOR THE 76ERS DURING HIS CAREER WITH THEM. HE COULD BREAK BACKBOARDS AND SHATTER THE GLASS AROUND THEM. HE WAS STRONG AS A BULL BUT GOT IN FOUL TROUBLE VERY OFTEN. HE CAME TO THE PROS STRAIGHT FROM HIGH SCHOOL. VERY UNUSUAL FOR THE TIMES. HIS LIFE OFF THE COURT IS MORE INTERESTING THAN ON. HIS VARIOUS ADDICTIONS TO ALCOHOL, DRUGS AND SEX HURT HIS PLAY WHICH SHOULD HAVE BEEN MUCH MORE THAN IT WAS. I LIKE THIS BOOK BUT BE AWARE OF THE LANGUAGE AND SEX TERMS.

solid read.......2004-01-02

props to "CHOCOLATE THUNDER" for telling it like it is from the Hood to the HARDWOOD. the way the League Portrays things you would believe in things Being all colorLess&whatnot.but this Book Breaks things down&Puts alot of things into Perspective.I enjoyed reading things&also it took me back.

A Book That Could Use More Game.......2003-12-14

Though Dawkins didn't have the most immortal NBA career, he does have the insights and understanding of the game to write a potentially powerhouse book. He deserves his place in history as the league's original entertainer and showman, and he did have a stone classic moment when he shattered the backboard to smithereens during a monster dunk. Dawkins is both smart enough and funny enough to understand the workings of the game while taking its dark side with a grain of salt. Thus he has great insights into the drug culture in pro sports, racial politics in the NBA of the 70's, the lowdown practices of agents and owners, and poor coaching. He also has many fascinating and illuminating things to say about the current state of the NBA, with its focus on promotion and superstardom rather than the fundamentals of solid team ball.

Darryl's great insights into these matters could have been the basis for a solid and powerful book of sports commentary. But here, the wisdom merely pops up occasionally in the midst of a funny but unremarkable bio about sex and partying, trash talking (though I did love the crack "Dennis Rodman's elevator didn't stop at the top floor"), and especially too much complaining about how referees mistreated him. Meanwhile, who knows what "professional" writer Charley Rosen was doing. We can't expect Dawkins to be a flawless writer, but having a supposed professional on board should have resulted in a book with more credibility. While Darryl's life story can be a fun read, I suggest that he write another book that sticks with commentary and criticism of modern basketball, because he knows what he's talking about. That book would be as powerful as one of his dunks. [~doomsdayer520~]

An Interesting Read.......2003-08-19

As a 14-year old I was surprised that there was as much corruption in the 70's and 80's as there is now. I was always told that all they did was play ball and do their job. Now, I know that's not true. The Darryl Dawkins Autobiography was very interesting and appalling. It seems like he exaggerated a lot but the stories of childhood and manhood were very funny even though it seemed more like fiction. Once you start reading you won't be able to put it down.I reccomend it.

Average customer rating:

Time travel AND Dinosaurs?? Talk about Formulaic FUN...
Barbarella revisited: Dinosaurs, time waves & the moon.
Thunderously Pleasing Adventure Read!!
A Thunderous Epic!!
this "thunder" is a blunder

Thunder of Time
James F. David
Manufacturer: Forge Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0765307707
Release Date: 2006-04-04

Book Description

Ten years ago, the prehistoric past collided with the present as time itself underwent a tremendous disruption, transporting huge swaths of the Cretaceous Period into the world of the twentieth century. Entire neighborhoods and cities were replaced by dense primeval jungles and modern humanity suddenly found itself sharing the earth with fierce dinosaurs. In the end, desperate measures were taken to halt the disruptions and the crisis appeared to be over. Until now. Slowly at first, but with increasing frequency, time begins to unravel once more. Whats worse, Nick Paulson, director of the newly-formed Office of Security Science, discovers that the time displacements are being manipulated by unknown parties, utilizing a mysterious new technology. Indeed, the very integrity of the space-time continuum appears to be at risk. To preserve both the future and the past, Nick and his allies must uncover the secrets hidden within a lost temple at the center of a dino-infested jungleand in an enigmatic structure on the surface of the moon. But they are not alone in their quest. A cult of ruthless fanatics is also intent on controlling the time waves, and they will stop at nothing to reshape history to their own design . . . .

Customer Reviews:

Time travel AND Dinosaurs?? Talk about Formulaic FUN..........2007-02-28

I'll be the first to admit that yes, this story relies heavily on formula...but it's a formula that WORKS...so WHO CARES?? I was first introduced to James F. David when I discovered his original 'Footprints of Thunder' quite a few years ago in a Vancouver, Washington mall. It looked JUST interesting enough to get me through my then dry-spell of lame books I had been reading while waiting for something new to read by one of my already established favorite authors. It didn't take long to discover that 'Footprints' was something different. I was hoping for something that would fill the gap until Crichton released his sequel to 'Jurassic Park'...what I GOT was a dinosaur-themed novel that was ANYTHING but a copy of anything written by anyone else.

Jump ahead a few years. I have since read EVERYTHING by this amazingly talented and VERY creative author (my favorite of which is 'Before The Cradle Falls'--you HAVE to read it) and I had heard rumors that a sequel to 'Footprints' was a possibility. I had the opportunity to interview Mr. David a few years ago and I asked him about it, and he said that while originally he never had any plans to write one, after some interesting events, an idea sparked and it just MAY happen...well here we are several years later and I finally got my wish.

Two of my very favorite subjects in ALL of fictional literature is Dinosaurs AND Time Travel. David handled the time travel aspect with absolute style in 'Before the Cradle Falls' and wondered if he could manage to pull it off here with dinorsaurs, and I gotta tell you that, YES, he does. The idea behind how the 'Quilts' from the past intersected with the present as a result of nuclear detonations is unique and creative to say the least--and whether or not the science is even remotely accurate is not even on my radar as far as I'm concerned. I just want a story to entertain me, and that is EXACTLY what this story does. Again, the story really was formula in many parts, but you know what? I discovered that I didn't care. The overall story was so dang original that whatever formula that was used to convey it was just not that important...and while this bothered some readers, I found that to me it simply did not matter. The plot moves and moves F-A-S-T for most of the novel and taking us from Central America to the moon and back so quickly takes a careful hand, and for MY money, I believe Mr. David has written JUST what I wanted to read at just the right moment. For those who are overly critical of storylines, maybe you should skip this one...however if you can sit back and enjoy a novel for what it was intended to do (namely entertain), this is a wonderful discovery. I found that once again, I am anxiously waiting for yet another story from Mr. David. Unlike James Patterson who can produce a novel almost every time he sneezes, David works a tad slower--but the end results are far more enjoyable...which is fine with me.

Barbarella revisited: Dinosaurs, time waves & the moon........2006-06-18

Thunder of Time is the sequel to Footprints of Thunder, a story in which the nuclear weapons tested in the fifties come back to haunt modern society. The early nuclear testing caused microscopic black holes to form which propagate "time waves" which, when they intersect, cause geographic areas to shift in time. In the first novel, these times waves create a "time quilt" as patches of modern earth are replaced with land from the Cretaceous period creating a checkerboard Earth, mostly as we know it, but now with the occassional big chunk of dinosaur infested areas. Portland and Atlanta disappear into the past, and dinosaurs start roaming freely through our modern time.

Thunder of Time takes up ten years after the initial time quilt. The time waves, initially thought to be stabilized, are again creating more temporal dislocations, although this time the patches of dislocated Earth are nearer and nearer to our own modern period. Most of the survivors of the first novel reappear here as they try to discover why the time quilting has started again, what the mysterious structure on the moon has to do with the new problem, and why there is a previously undiscovered Mayan temple in the Yucatan also affecting the time waves.

The novel has all the predictable tyrannosaur and velociraptor confrontations ala Jurassic Park that you would expect, but throws in time travel, space travel, and nuclear warfare too. This adventure novel kept me reading through the beginning and midparts to the point where it was difficult to put down, but I found myself losing interest near the end as the plot lines became more fantastic and unrealistic and my suspended disbelief began to fail. The time-quilting more or less follows the Hollywood version of time; first there were dinosaurs, then big scary mammals, then primitive society circa 1300 AD, not realizing how long these periods really lasted and how brief, chronologically, the period of man is. From a story-telling perspective it may be attractive to jumble all this together but from a math perspective time simply doesn't line up that nicely. I would have bought it except for the author failed to provide any rationale for the huge skips in time.

There were also some substantial characterization problems of the "show don't tell" variety. Every character, when introduced, is immediately followed by a paragraph long physical description, which is just lazy, annoying writing. Moreover the characters were ultimately not believable. There were many irritating passages wherein individuals were more interested in flirting with each other than in reacting to life and death situations. Moments before they were in perilous situations with man-eating dinosaurs, the bodies of their friends are still lying around, the wounded are dying, they have just discovered the improbable means of walking from the moon to the Earth, so now is the perfect time to put the move on the cute blonde? Yes, humans have strong sex drives, but in life and death situations and when facing paradigm shifting new science and technology we tend to give it a break for a few minutes and pay more attention to the velociraptor waiting to chew our face off or the stunning new technology that no one could imagine. But no, together with these situations we are treated to fashion descriptions of red tank tops, underwear, and overall cut-offs.

The villains in the book were also a bit hard to swallow, a bunch of greenpeace types who had little compunction about murdering people but foibles about shooting a velociraptor that is attacking them. Yes, there are people like that, but where this becomes a problem was that the book gave most of them Ph.D.'s and concentrated them in one scientific outpost. In a random sampling of twenty people you will find a nutcase, but having 15 out of twenty be nutjobs, with the same psychoses, and with advanced educations which ordinarily teaches one to question assumptions and to not ignore inconvenient facts, snapped my credulity. I could live with one or two, but not the majority of a random sampling. The most noble people in the whole book were a group of Spetsnaz commandos, which, while fun, was also fairly improbable. Nothing against the Spetsnaz, they're tough guys, but they were a little too warm and fuzzy and not nearly as ruthless as they are actually trained to be.

Overall, I found myself reading through this and enjoying the beginning of the book but I actually put it down about 40 pages from the end and can't really be bothered to finish it. Whatever it had to start with fails near the end with the improbability of the story and the characters by that point. I've never not finished a book when I have gone that far but with this one I really just didn't care. I think if you like this author's earliler works you'll like this book too though, just be prepared to push a little bit at the end to get through it. If you haven't read him before, or if you like dinosaurs and adventure stories, especially the ones where the monsters are smarter than the people, you'll like this. It's a bit like Matthew Reilly, but without the frenetic pace, not as much action, and much less intelligent characters. It's also a bit like James Rollins but without the superhuman protagonists and less research into the science. The book was decent at the beginning, if you can forgive a few problems, and I did enjoy it for the first half, especially for a scene in Alaska with an Iditarod dog crew.

Thunderously Pleasing Adventure Read!!.......2006-06-02

I read James F. David's novels - Footprints of Thunder and this sequel back-to-back - and what a huge reading treat it was.

This contains everything that needs to be read. Huge dinosaurs. Timeless places. Ancinet places and things. Tons of action and adventure. And even some awesome character driven prose, with a dash of growing and loving relationships thrown in. And Mr. David makes it all fit. fabulous.

I am a new and huge fan of James F. David. I am lookking forward to reading all of his other works. For people who love their reading edge-of-your-seat, along with their cast of characters large and in charge, then this one is for you.

This reminded me a bit of James Axler's Outlkanders series - but better written and more engrossing. More believable action sequences, along with enough mystery and suspence that will keep you up at all hours of the night. With power pyramids and time traveling adventure, along with high-powered weapons and loads of action - Deathlands and Outlanders fans will surely like this.

keep up the awesome work, Mr. David! I hope you continue writing dino books. You were born to do it. Most excellent!

I am - Eric the Red!

A Thunderous Epic!!.......2006-06-01

Man, have I been waiting a long time for this sequel.

And boy, was it worth it!!

James F. David's long anticipated sequel is fantastic in a myriad of ways. Even if you have never read Footprints of Thunder, this novel stands alone. It is better to read the first, but not necessary. This awesome epic adventure stands on its own fantastical merits.

Each and every chapter is chock-full of action, adventure, time-hopping, and character driven prose, sure to please audiences of books and movies such as Jurassic Park. But this is so much bigger and better! Lordy, if only Hollywood would produce dinosaur movies like this.

There is so much packed in this novel, I don't even know where to start. Needless to say, there's everything from major dinosaur battles to romance and mystery to time jumping - everything a bestseller should possess...and then some.

Never a dull moment, this sequel in some ways far surpasses its original novel - Footprints of Thunder. Even though its been years since i read the 1st novel, James David's awesome writing ability makes you almost feel as if it was just yesterday since you read it. Filling in just enough background of the past events and characters, that the reader doesn't feel lost.

The cast of characters is large, but James David writes with aplomb, deftly weaving all the myriad and interesting characters, both good and evil, with a flourishing touch that easily captivates and keeps the reader at the edge of their seat, eagerly awaiting to see what the next chapter will unfold.

And that is the greatness of this novel. You just don't know what will happen next. James David is a master at balancing huge amounts of interesting characters and creatures, along with building mystery and creating wondrous worlds of the distant past, inserting enough action and adventure and romance to keep the reader riveted to each page.

This is one of those novels that was so good, i actually hated for it to end. James F. David should only write thse types of genre books. He is in his element here. Bloody terrific read, this is!

With all the cool characters, my personal favorite became Ripman. It changed a couple of times throughout this fantastically written novel, changing from Carrollee Chen Pulisi, a bontonist adventurer, whose mother was more dangerous than a T-rex. (LOL!) Then my character favorite changed to Anatole (Andy) Baranov, a captain of a small Russian special forces Spetsnaz group, all lost in the mists of time. A colorful character, indeed. Then it changed to Nick Paulson, a large main character of the novel.

But then it all came down to the novels everyday man, the outcast of civilization, Robert Ripman. He was a memorable teen character in the 1st novel, and an even bigger and better dinosaur hunter in this one. But there are numerous other memorable, interesting characters in Thunder of Time, along with awesome dinosaurs and lost civilizations - including a new threat - mayan warriors! All very cool.

If this was the cataclysmic follow-up to Footprints of Thunder, then I eagerly await the next sequel to this thrill ride a minute reading experience. If you enjoy such novels and movies such as Jurrassic Park, then you will really be in for a much bigger and better treat - Thunder of Time should be placed in the annals of literature greatness of 'must reads'.

I dare you to enter the wondrous, shockingly daring world of Thunder of Time. David F. James, I and my friends and family give you thuderous applause for writing A-list material.

this "thunder" is a blunder.......2006-04-17

Thunder of Time (ToT) is a sequel to Footprints of Thunder, which was an enjoyable if uneven novel about a disaster that leaves large chunks of modern-day earth replaced by their dinosaur-era equivalents. If you haven't read it, I recommend picking up that novel and forgetting about this one, because ToT is a disaster all by itself.

First the plot: ToT is set 10 years after Footprints, when the world has more or less recovered from the events of the first novel. Time is starting to unravel again, an event that may be related to two mysterious structures on the earth and the moon. Expeditions are sent to both sites. Meanwhile, an eco-terrorist group has plans to create a human-free paradise on earth using the time distortions.

Sounds fun, right? The book should have been great popcorn entertainment, but it isn't. That's because ToT could be the textbook for Bad Writing 101. The prose is bland and riddled with grammar and punctuation errors. (Who edited the manuscript? An intern?) Dinosaurs, hidden jungle temples, mysterious moon structures -- these are great fodder for an author's creative writing skills, but David simply tosses most away with one-word descriptions. Most of the writing is just long stretches of bad dialogue. And the action itself is clunky and hard to follow with gaps in time and logic.

The characters themselves are uninteresting and over-simplistic, their motivations defined more by the author's right-wing politics (environmentalists = evil; Christians = good) than their role in the plot. And there is no suspense because David has thrown in a literal army of toss-away characters. It's obvious who will live to the end -- the extras are the dino chow.

As for the dinosaurs themselves, dino-lovers -- I count myself among them -- will be disappointed because they're simply background material here. Only a short few chapters are spent in the world they inhabit. Despite the weird, wonderful variety of dinos to choose from, David sticks mostly to T. rexes and, yes, velociraptors. If a novelist is going to write about dinosaurs, then he should put more effort into the research other than watching reruns of Jurassic Park.

It's best you skip this novel. There is plenty of fiction about dinosaurs for any armchair paleontologists out there, and most of it is better written.

Average customer rating:

Wanted this to be good..
Good book with some problems
Hollywood Take Heed!
Good book, waste of time
Thunders of Boredom

Footprints of Thunder
James F. David
Manufacturer: Forge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0312854781

Book Description

When a freak natural phenomenon dissolves the boundaries between yesterday and today, the world is transformed into a patchwork mixture of the present and the distant past. Entire cities are replaced by primeval forests. Prehistoric monsters stalk modern city streets, hunting for human prey.While ordinary men and women struggle to survive in this strange new world, the president and his advisers search for a way to undo the catastrophe. But the solution may be more devastating than the dinosaurs......

Customer Reviews:

Wanted this to be good.........2007-08-03

...but it simply wasn't. Not only did the author choose one of the least swallowable plots I've come across in the past many years, but he tried to present it in about 1/2 the number of pages it would have needed to be meaningful. Too many characters, too many shifts in perspective, too many sub-plots, and very little satisfyingly wrapped up. There were a few bright points - Granny and her pet dinosaur were cute and diverting, for instance, and some of the other characters were amusingly drawn - but these are not enough for me to recommend the book.

Good book with some problems.......2006-06-09

Unless a book is just seriously bad or encredibly long, I generally get it read in 8-24 hours. I finished this novel in about 18. James David's Footprints of Thunder has a great premise and some excellent storylines, but I must agree with some of the other reviewers - TOO MANY STORYLINES! As well, many of these storylines are completely ignored at the end of the novel and I was left wondering what happened. You don't have to agree with how a book ends, but you should at least get to KNOW how it ends.

All in all, this author had some good ideas and kept my attention the whole way through. I think he just had too many things going on in the novel and couldn't spare the time to wrap them all up and leave us with a sense of satisfaction.

Hollywood Take Heed!.......2006-06-02

Oh...my...God! That's what you'll say throughout this entire novel. A helluva read. I don't even know where to start. This has everything you need for an epic story.

Move over Jurrassic Park! Now why can't Hollywood take this and make a gigantic blockbuster out of it? It would be groundbreaking in ticket sales, no doubt about it.

If you love dinosaurs, along with character rich driven stories, loaded with tons of dino action and adventure - then don't wait - pick this up and voraciously read it.

One of the all-time best novels I've read in qute some time.

Good book, waste of time.......2006-02-03

wow..this guy put a lot of effort into this book. don't bother with this book as you wil get sucked in, enjoy it very much, and then it will end abruptly with no explanation of anything the previous 450+ pages were about.i enjoyed it very much..until the last page. the book just ends. period. no closure. the author created dozens of characters, each real and likeable, with dozens of side plots. there is no mention to any of them. the book just ends. why put so much effort into creating characters, chapters and chapters dedicated to their plights and trials/situations only to leave evything hanging, even the world itself. there is no closure to this book. the idea is sound, the way he wrote it great, but the way he ended it shows his lack of caring about his work; like he justed wanted to finish the book.

Thunders of Boredom.......2005-12-01

I hate to do this, because I know the effort that takes to write a book, but this book was BAD. Great idea but horrible execution, there are tons of characters and several plots running in parallel, and suddenly the book ends leaving half of those plotlines unfinished.

Don't waste your time.

Chocolate Thunder: The Uncensored Life and Times of Darryl Dawkins

Average customer rating:

Chocolate Thunder: The Uncensored Life and Times of Darryl Dawkins
Darryl Dawkins
Manufacturer: SportClassic Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Basketball | Biographies | Sports | Subjects | Books

General | Biographies | Sports | Subjects | Books

General | Basketball | Sports | Subjects | Books

Professional | Basketball | Sports | Subjects | Books

General | Sports | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1894963482

Book Description

Chocolate Thunder is a tell-all account of life in the NBA during the 1970s and '80s. Dawkins, the first player tog o directly from high school tot he NBA, received instant fame when he became the first player to smash a backboard. His book is full of spicy anecdotes, ribald humor and frank discussions of sex, drugs and racism.

Irish Thunder: The Hard Life and Times of Micky Ward

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Irish Thunder: The Hard Life and Times of Micky Ward
Bob Halloran
Manufacturer: The Lyons Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Boxing | Individual Sports | Sports | Subjects | Books

General | Sports | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 159921220X

Book Description

“Irish” Micky Ward was a Golden Gloves junior welterweight from Lowell, Massachusetts, always known as the underdog but with the ability to suddenly drop his opponent late in the fight. After 15 years, a string of defeats and even three years of retirement, Ward battled Arturo Gatti in 2002, and the battle was later named Fight of the Year by Ring magazine and “Fight of the Century” by boxing writers around the country. Ten rounds of brutal action ended with Ward winning by decision, and reviving enthusiasm for a sport that had been weighted down by years of showboating and corruption. ESPN and Boston television reporter Bob Halloran recounts Ward’s rise to hero status, his rivalry with his imprisoned brother, and the negotiations, betrayals and drugs that ultimately shaped a wild youth into a nationally respected boxer.

Tower of Thunder (Heimerdinger, Chris. Tennis Shoes Series, 9.)

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Like the Tower of Babel, these books are becoming simply TOO spectacular.
Another Great Tennis Shoes Book

Tower of Thunder (Heimerdinger, Chris. Tennis Shoes Series, 9.)
Chris Heimerdinger
Manufacturer: Covenant Communications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Action & Adventure | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 1591561779

Customer Reviews:

Like the Tower of Babel, these books are becoming simply TOO spectacular........2006-07-10

I'm sorry, but I have to admit it publicly: I'm starting to be disappointed with this series. Blasphemy, I know. How can I possibly remain a faithful Latter-day Saint and have such an opinion? I don't have an answer to that.

However, as to why I didn't really care for this book I DO have an answer. The book on its own is a fun ride through ancient Jewish tradition, ancient Jewish myth, and the scriptural accounts of Genesis and Mormon. The characters we've all known and loved are still there, and the pacing is tight and fast. What's not to love?

Well, for me the story is simply TOO big and TOO fast. The first book in the series presented a story told with attention to detail and archeology. To me, the most impressive idea behind both the first and second books was the author's attempt to portray the Nephite civilzation as both small and barely into the Iron Age (which would be accurate for the time periods invovled).

Over the next books, however, we've seen a continuing change between using archeological records to using cultural traditions. In the first book we see that most of the Nephites are poor agriculturalists with few urbanites. We are told about how they grind corn, how the cloth they wear is simple, and how their swords are nothing more than wood and volcanic glass. It seems the most impressive building Jim and Garth see on their journey is the Temple of Nephi, which was basically a large box of a building (no offense is meant by that, either).

Contrast this with the city of Jacobugath with it's nearly impossible architecture and the Hollywood-sized pyrotechnics of the destruction of said city. Compare this to the Tower of Babel being so high that the air at the top is thin, with a base so huge in area that it takes DAYS to walk around it. Compare this to a huge flying City of Enoch that seems to circle the Earth every few months.

In Holywood, in order for sequels to be monetarily successful they must be BIGGER, BETTER, FASTER, and just plain MORE than their predecessors. In my opinion, Mr. Heimerdinger has fallen victim to this line of thinking in his books. No longer must the past be somewhat accurate, it must be AMAZING. We're no longer dealing with what people have studied, dug up, or what we think we know about the people of the past; we're dealing with what ancient Jewish myths have said about the past. Suddenly we're no longer protecting Captain Moroni from a secret combination (something that we know could have easily happened), we're protecting the only copy of a Gospel from destruction, we're saving the Baby Abraham from destruction by his father and by the all-powerful Nimrod, who apparently rules the Entire World with an Iron Fist (and flying machines!). I'll give you that all of these situations could be *possible*, but for me I've lost the respect I used to have because they are no longer even *probable*.

Mr. Heimerdinger, if you ever read this, please don't think that each book must contain a hundred million more dollars worth of special effects than its predecessors. I read these books because I want to see how modern saints react to going into the actual past as far as modern archeology knows, not into the mind of an imaginative third-century-BC rabbi. I read them because I like the characters, not because I want to be blinded with the idea of "Wow! That idea is SO COOL!" I've been blinded so much that I'm starting to not see the point.

Another Great Tennis Shoes Book.......2003-08-03

The Tower of Thunder is another great book in the Tennis Shoes series. In this book, Mary, Joshua and Becky have ended up in the time of the tower of Babel. They wander upon a woman who is dying and leaves the baby in their care telling them to bring him to Shem.
Akish, who had dropped his sword in the previous book, wants his sword back and the sword causes trouble for the group, trying to warp the mind of whomever uses it.
Harry and Megan end up in the times of the tower, too. They arrive during a battle and get captured when a spy bird calls out their position. They get accused of being angels sent from heaven by the king who is preparing his armies to wage a war on heaven.

We hear nothing about Ryan, Megan, Apollus or the others who were sent through time in this book.

I don't want to give out too much about this book so you will just have to read it yourself. If this is your first tennis shoes book, you might want to start with number one or two. This book does require you to know some characters from the older books.

Average customer rating:
ASTOUNDING TALES OF SPACE AND TIME: Hobbyist; Late Night Final; Hindsight; Thunder and Roses; E for Effort; Protected Species; Historical Note
John W. (editor) (Eric Frank Russell; Jack Williamson; Theodore Sturgeon; T. L. Sherred; H. B. Fyfe; Murray Leinster) Campbell
Manufacturer: Berkley Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000GVWHYA

Average customer rating:
Chocolate Thunder: The Uncensored Life & Times of NBA's Original Showman
Darryl and Charley Rosen Dawkins
Manufacturer: Sport Classic Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000LC2UQE

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