Strong on art but medium on story

This book is full of excellent abstract creepy artwork. Every page could be on a canvas in a museum. The form, colors and atmosphere is perfect.<br /><br />The story however is confusing at points and will take more than two or three reads to get it completely(I'm still not completely sure what's going on). The best part of the story I'd have to say is the flashbacks to Professor Arkham during his days as a psychologist. The dialogue during those segments is very thrilling and in some parts, quite inspiring.<br /><br />All in all, its a good buy. Not a great story but its not completely eye candy either. I recommend it.

a nice little extra

As a huge fan of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, I am quite prepared to read anything else from that universe he is kind enough to write for us. Once Upon A Time In The North is no exception - of course I'd have liked it to be longer, but then I could read these characters forever and never be bored. It's quite obvious when you see the book that it's short, and it doesn't get longer simply because you're enjoying it! I often think, however, that short stories are more difficult to write than novels, and I appreciate the hard work and talent that has gone into producing such a lovely little book.<br /><br />The hard cover, the beautiful illustrations, the wonderful boardgame tucked away inside the back cover... this all enhances the work, and also it's the way more books should be produced, with obvious care and attention. It's a book you could keep forever and pass down to children, grandchildren, and they would enjoy it as much as you did.<br /><br />This is because Pullman's tales are timeless. They are full of adventure, fun, loyalty, friendship, intelligence - qualities that just don't date. The story here is no exception. It tells of the first meeting between Lee Scoresby, the Texan aeronaut (and one of my favourite trilogy characters!) and Iorek Byrnison, the armoured bear. Pullman's gently descriptive writing coupled with the reader's imagination brings these two allies to life in ways films can't. I loved the Wild West theme and all of the motifs that go with it: the pretty girl, the gun-slinging showdown, and Hester (Lee's daemon) provides an excellent witty companion. <br /><br />Yes, the story is short, but it's action-packed and interesting, and I would recommend it to anyone who has previously enjoyed the trilogy. If you're new to Philip Pullman, I'd read those novels first, but this stands alone in its own right as a great example of first-class writing.

The bell tolls for Erikson

I'm an enormous Erikson fan, and read all seven of his previous novels with relish. I was eagerly awaiting the release of 'Toll the Hounds.'<br />Sadly, this novel is a significant fall for Erikson from the ranks of the fantasy mighty.<br /><br />The novel is largely set in Dariujistan, where the entire cast of characters ultimately converge, including Cutter, Iskaral Pust and the beligerant Karsa Orlong. The city is also the setting for such notables as Anomander Rake and the broken remnants of the Bridgeburners.<br /><br />Darujistan itself is cloaked in a darkness, and Anomander Rake broods within; in short, his usual enigmatic self. <br /><br />Effectively, the plot builds upon the basis that a Tyrant is prophesised to conquer Darujistan. As the characters and plot slowly converge upon this single thread, Erikson uses the opportunity to explore the characters motivations and personalities in depth. This is where the novel fundamentally differs from those previous, in that this is what dominates the novel - motivations and character development and frankly random dialogue and theorisation on the part of the characters, that ultimately leads nowhere. Unusually for Erikson novels, there is very little that actually happens in this book in terms of plot. The characters thoughts and even dialogue therefore seem like so much padding. <br /><br />There is also a truly huge cast of characters covering perhaps eight broad groups of people. Erikson has a frustrating tendancy to write just a couple of pages on each group and then flit to the next group. This technique pevades the whole book and gives the whole plot a sense of randomness and lack of co-ordination that I've not seen in his novels before. Erikson also fails to join up many of the diverse plotlines, and it is unclear, even at the end of the novel what value or contribution they really made.<br /><br />The novel is truly epic in size (though for Erikson quite normal) at 900+ pages. The real action only begins after some 600 pages though, and only there does it start to make any sense. So, it takes considerable patience to get that far. The final 300 pages, without spoiling it, are not as dramatic or even original as we are used to from Erikson.<br /><br />In summary, 'Toll the Hounds' falls well short of the standard that we have come to expect from the genius that is Erikson. It's probably a novel for his most devout fans, others can happily (and sadly) pass it by.

Another great story from Gena Showalter

As soon as I started reading this story I loved it. Maddox and Ashlyn are great strong minded characters.<br /><br />I will not bother going into the details as this has already been done but if you enjoy other Gena Showalter stories then you will like this one.<br /><br />

"Lords of the Underworld" series book 3

Part of the group of immortal warriors responsible for unwittingly releasing the evil contained in dimOuniak (Pandora's box) into the mortal realm, Reyes's punishment was to be eternally bound to the demon of Pain; left able to only find pleasure or even relief from the demon inside him by training himself to inflict injuries solely upon himself rather than hurt others. Nothing brings him greater joy than the draw of a knife upon his skin or a plummet to a rocky ground which breaks numerous bones and splatters various organs. <br /><br />Reyes has met (and saved) Danika Ford several times in the two previous books of this series; hopelessly drawn to this human woman marked for death by Cronus, the King of the Titans. Yet he finds he is willing to put Danika's welfare before that of the other Lords of the Underworld, specifically Aeron (Wrath) the Lord ordered to kill Danika and her family or sink fully into an all consuming bloodlust.<br /><br />Danika has been separated from her family and on the run since Reyes saved her from Aeron; learning self defence and killer instincts in the hopes these skills will protect her. Yet not only do the Lords hunt her, but also their enemies. Members of the Hunter organisation hope to sway Danika into acting as Bait to infiltrate the Lords of the Underworld and locate Pandora's box; enabling them to kill the Lords and recapture their demons. But Danika finds she is equally drawn to Reyes, torn between her growing feelings for a man deemed a monster or seeing him and his brethren destroyed to ensure the safety of her family.<br /><br />In this book GS reveals why Cronus wants the Ford women killed, who the leader of the Hunters is and the location of the second legendary artefact required to locate Pandora's Box; the"All Seeing Eye". She also introduces a demon character who befriends Aeron, a creature of Hell able to appease his bloodlust somewhat, Paris (Promiscuity) has to make a heartbreaking choice and Danika learns she is far more special than she realised. <br /><br />Although"The Darkest Pleasure" certainly lacks the humorous undertones found in its predecessor"The Darkest Kiss" it is an absolutely cracking read as GS fully explores the budding relationship between a man able to respond only to pain, yet determined to contain his demon rather than risk tainting the woman he loves with his unusual sexual tastes. This book absolutely rocks; as always the adventure pretty much explodes from the pages whilst the love scenes positively scorch them. Lastly some good news for fans; the fourth book initially scheduled for release November 09 (what!!) has been brought forward;"The Darkest Whisper" (Sabin's story the Keeper of Doubt) will now be released in May next year. Although this is still a long wait at least a further release in this author's"Atlantis" series prior to this will (hopefully) keep me going. <br /><br /><br />

I wouldn't mind making mischief with this demon possessed warrior!,

Long ago a band of immortal warriors stole and unleashed the evil within Pandora's box. In the melee, the box was lost. As their punishment for the deed, the gods forced each warrior to 'contain' one of the demons within themselves. So the Lords of the Underworld were born. The warrior who opened the box (Lucien, former Captain of the Guard) was 'gifted' with the demon of Death forever escorting souls to heaven or hell whenever the call came.<br /><br />At present, some of these possessed immortals live a sheltered life high on a hill in Budapest. They struggle daily with their demons eventually succumbing to the demons desires. As well as warding off attacks by the radical humans called Hunters who want to see them and their demons dead.<br /><br />The most serious and somber of the warriors is about to be the victim of a little mischief. For the minor goddess of Anarchy has her sights set on the sexy scarred warrior called Death. Lucien can't believe that any woman would be interested in him due to his harrowing looks, let alone a beautiful goddess. But Anya is. She's a stunning immortal who brings light into his dark soul and entrances his demon. Too bad he's been ordered to kill her.............<br /><br />Woo Hoo! Another scarred hero book! I just love those! Lucien (Death) really didn't see the train called Anarchy coming until it plowed right into him. I thought Anya was hilarious. She flipped him upside down and inside out, teasing poor serious Lucien and keeping him totally off balance. I didn't know which way their fighting was going to go -would he actually try to kill her or kiss her (don't think you know what the answer is cause you don't!). They just made a great couple. I loved their bantering. I think Anya called Lucien *Flower's* (well he does smell like roses cause he's death ya know!) just to mess with his head and get him to lighten up -cause Death really needs to take a chill pill every once in a while. Anya is Anarchy after all, so she might make you crazy but thats the point. So that didn't bother me all. Lucien needs this kind of chaos or his soul will succumb completely to the dark demon inside. And for my favorite part -there's tons of sexual tension. Showalter didn't skimp on their love scenes either (more woo hoo!).<br /><br />Along with the romance there were some major plot developments in DK as well. The Lords are still searching for Pandora's box, racing against the Hunter's to find it first. They gather new information which leads them on treasure hunts in separate parts of the world. Showalter also explains some more Greek myths/legends.<br /><br />I thought that The Darkest Kiss was even better than its prequel The Darkest Night (Lords of the Underworld, Book 1). And it can be read as a stand alone since Showalter gives plenty of background information on the Lords.<br /><br />Next up is The Darkest Pleasure (Lords of the Underworld, Book 3)which is Reyes (possessed by the demon of Pain) book. And then perhaps? Paris's book in Nov 09' -Ack! Over a year!<br />

Well done Mr Delaney you have me in your grip

I have just finished this latest instalment of The Wardstone Chronicles, and I like some others rate this as the best so far, even though I did kind of guess what was going to happen/be explained, and let me admit I don't feel at all guilty about reading 'kids' books - and I'm 36, (might feel abit guilty about ignoring the family while reading though).<br />I stumbled upon the series late last year and eagerly read one after the other, now I'm in the position I was in a few years ago when I had to wait for the next Potter book.<br /><br />

Was and will make me ill...I take a gramme and just am

The ultimate dystopian fantasy, made even more eerie by it's remarkable prescience. The masses are kept enslaved by their own hedonistic impulses and the ubiquitous feel good drug soma. Huxley has seen the future and it's ghastly: a society of graded test tube people kept entertained by a virtual reality world i.e 'the feelies'(a kind of interactive movie), an intrusive and prurient media and Christianity forgotten 'because people wouldn't understand it'. Huxley sets his novel 600 years into the future but it's happening to us right now!

More, please

Very enjoyable book that left me wanting more - like others who commented, space opera does it for me. A quick google reveals this is the first of 3 books -"Stealing Light","Stealing Fire" and"Stealing Time" - in what may well be called"The Shoal Sequence".

A timeless classic

Tom is sent away to stay with his uncle and aunt in their small flat when his brother gets the measles. He misses his brother and their garden but one magical night, the grandfather clock in the hall strikes thirteen and Tom discovers a secret garden outside. Over the next few weeks, he spends time in the garden and befriends Hatty, a lonely orphan girl. But time obeys different rules in the"midnight garden" and gradually Hatty grows up and away from Tom...<br />This is a breathtakingly beautiful book. Not only are the descriptions of the garden and the frozen river lovely and evocative but the book raises all sorts of interesting questions about the nature of time, about ghosts, about dreams, about growing up and about the power of the imagination. It is quite similar in theme and feeling to"The Children of Green Knowe" - another book about a lonely boy who meets children from the past in a big garden - but is none the worse for that.<br />I read this book to my son, aged 7. He's probably still a little young for it but loved it all the same and I hope he'll read it for himself when he's older.

Essential reading,

A beautiful and tradtional story of magic, freindship & growing up. Adored by my children, loved by me.<br />Every school shelf should be stocked with this classic and every home shelf too. <br />When the trend for books is to 'gross out' young readers, this story reminds us that there is and always will be space for beautifully written well told enchanting stories.

A Doll's House is a masterpiece

I read this book not knowing what to expect (my partner is studying Enlish Lit' with the Open University and it is on her reading list).

I think it is a masterpiece, so much drama and suspense trapped inside such a small play, it is very clever and also leaves you feeling that you are a better person for having read it.

My partner paid £0.99 for this book, I would say this price does the book an injustice. A classic to rival 'The Medea'

A prince among men.

Machiavelli's realisation of the true nature of men as"...fickle,lying,cowards..." leads him in his brilliantly astute work to illuminate the realities of government and life in general.
Disregarding all political theorie's and ideaoligies machiavelli refreshingly deals with how things are and not how they should.
While on first glance machiavellis work would seem almost evil in its implications as it has been labeled countless times, a deeper look would show it to be more humane and considerate of human wellbeing then any half baked political ideology (communism, Republicanism,democracy etc). His assertion that the ends justifies the means is a good demonstration of this as Machiavelli demonstrates through historical analogies the truth of life in general: for people to prosper others have to suffer. In truthfully explaining this and insisting it be done quickly and totaly for it to be over and done with machiavelli shows a level of compasion far greater than any bleeding hearted liberal vegaterian (the most likely to be opposed to his assertions)
His work while being what many would labels as deeply cinical is niether cinical nor idealogical but an honest assesment of life in general as well as politics, which cannot help but uplift those of the same frame of mind with the comfort of nowing that the realisation that the world is a very unhappy place is not theres alone.
But if you truly believe in the hollywood view of the world in which love is blind and happy endings happen for every one than don't read this book (ignorance is bliss).

Something Missing

Having read and loved all the books in this series up until now, I was left a little disappointed by this one. It is written to the same high standard as the previous instalments, but I felt there were some serious flaws in the plot which stopped me enjoying the story. <br />(Spoilers!) The main problem with the story is that the relationship between the two main characters - the focal point of all these books - seemed hollow and forced here. This is principally because for the first 9/10ths of the book the plot relies on the fact that Cadeon fully intends to hand over Holly to an evil sorcerer who wants to impregnate her and use the child for evil, in exchange for a magical sword which can kill his brother's enemy. Despite the fact that he changes his mind at the very last minute, the fact that he was willing to hand over Holly for most of the book, despite supposedly loving her, makes him seem extremely callous and selfish. The reasoning behind his plan always seemed somewhat flimsy, vague and insubstantial, relying on the justification that he simply had 'no choice' - a fact which was plainly untrue.<br /> In light of this, both Cadeon and his brother Rydstrom come across as being rather unworthy heroes, and I found myself actively disliking them. Finally, the book comes to an unsatisfying conclusion, with Holly hastily - and unbelievably - forgiving Cadeon for handing her over to an evil sorcerer to be his slave. Though he feels guilty for doing it, I thought his intentions soured the relationship from the beginning. Unlike Cole's other books which I have wholeheartedly enjoyed, this one left a bad taste in my mouth, and feeling a bit let down. I would recommend every book in the series but this one, and I hope the next one in the series is back to Cole's high standard.<br />

Meh...

(Contains spoilers)<br />Unfortunately, a rather disappointing final novel in a series I had been really enjoying. After the first novel I was completely sold on this new, gritty fantasy lark. No poetry, maps or simple working-class orphans who find that they're actually a king....just three-dimensional characters with real contradictions and real concerns. Plus lots of violence, sex and sewaring. Obviously. It was towards the end of the second book that I started getting worried. I mean, an entire novel about a journey to the end of the world just to find out the thing they're after isn't there and they should just bugger-off back home? Unexpected, yes. Un-clichéd, yes. Lazy, irrelevant writing just to cover a few character personality changes...well let's just see how the third novel ties everything together first.<br /><br />As some people have mentioned, Last Argument of Kings feels annoyingly contrived. After spending so long trying to introduce a bit of realism into his fantasy world, the author then spends the whole of this book throwing in a series of random and coincidental events which almost undo all of his previous work. Well before the end I'd lost grasp of the world and found myself very aware that I was reading a work of fiction. I don't want to critise too much as, on the whole, I enjoyed reading the series - especially the first book. I just would have liked a bit of consistency in the writing and a lessening of the 'life is rubbish, bad things happen to good people' theme which runs through the story like a river. I got it from the start thanks. Yes, bad things do happen to good people. Bad people DO prosper for no reason other than luck. But all the time? In every outcome of every scene and story thread? Really??<br />

bigears

This is a special book from a good serie. In many respects the author has borrow heavily from many places but has created a vibrant and exsiting universe all of his own.<br /><br />If you like this try 'Starship troopers' or 'forever war' you will really enjoy them.

An enjoyable read nontheless

The soldioers boy trilogy had a lot to live up to, coming hot on the footsteps of one of the best epic fantasy series (Assasin/Liveship/Fool trilogies). The author obviously wanted to write something completely different, and in that she succeeded. No, it is not as good as the afore mentioned epic fantasy books. But read on its own, this series is still compelling enough.<br />I did enjoy this, it had some interesting twists to the usual magical ingredients found in fantasy books. However I think one of the major let downs in this series is the characterisation of the main players, especially Nevarre. He is not particularely likeable, and ultimately that is what lets this trilogy down a bit.<br /><br />A classic it is not, but read it anyway and enjoy it for what it is.

A joyous new journey.

Having read about Terry Pratchett in the press a lot recently, I decided I'd give his Discworld series a bash and am I glad I did. In this first book in the series we meet the characters Rincewind and Twoflower in the city of Ankh-Morpork and follow them through a series of bizarre quests and adventures that take them to the very edge!<br />A few hours into the book I was calling my wife who was out shopping at the time and begging her to pick up the next installment as I feared I would finish this one and have nothing to help me continue my own Discworld foray.<br />Terry Pratchett has given me a momentous escape; another place to where I can escape for a while and live vicariously the fantasy within the books.<br />Dive in and smell the magic. Though that might be the aroma of the River Ankh. You'll soon recognise it.

Not this author's best

I recently ordered three books from Amazon: this was the one I was looking forward to the most and, ultimately, enjoyed the least. Maybe my expectations were too high? I'm a huge fan of Patricia Briggs' Mercy Thomson series of books (Moon Called, Blood Bound, Iron Kissed), and couldn't wait to start what seems to be a new series set in the same world. Unfortunately I was disappointed. I won't recap the plot, as that has already been done very efficiently by another reviewer, but for me it had a number of weak points. Anna is a very meek heroine, and for those more used to the feisty Mercy the danger is that her timidity will rapidly pall. Charles, who has always seemed to be an intriguing character, was reduced to little more than a Mills & Boon style hero, and the novel as a whole reminded me strongly of the Lori Handeland werewolf novels - fun enough is you're in the mood for romance with claws but unsatisfying if you were hoping for something meatier. Moreover, we join Anna and Charles in the middle of their story, and what's gone before, which we only get in bits and pieces, sounds a lot more interesting than where we come in. If, like me, you haven't read 'On the Prowl' this is very irritating!<br /><br />It says a lot that I enjoyed the sneak preview of Bone Crossed we get at the back of the book more than the main feature. For fans of Briggs' Mercy Thomson series this book is worth reading if you would like to know more about some of that series' secondary characters, or as something to fill in the time until Bone Crossed is published. For newbies, I would suggest starting with Moon Called to give you a real example of what this author can do.