Product Description
A one-of-a-kind book--full of ideas, reflections, and practical advice offering a fresh view of daily life in the home and family. Weaving songs, stories, family rituals, and verses throughout, mother and educator Shea Darian shows how to bring joy to such daily events as mealtimes, going to bed, chores, naps, and playtime. A practical, creative, and much-needed resource for child-rearing in the '90s. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

Beautiful, Inspiring
Rhythm. This is the most wonderful word, and the word that set me free from my ideas of what our daily life should be like. I've tried complete schedule anarchy, doing whatever we wanted whenever we wanted. That only led to chaos and upsetting days. I've also tried rigid, by the clock schedules where we are supposed to do everything right on time, down to each minute of the day. That didn't last very long. I have always struggled with bringing joy to the more mundane tasks of living, and now I have been inspired to breathe new life into our daily world. Now I have learned about the power of rhythm, and have already started to incorporate this idea into our lives, with positive results.

This is a most amazing book, and one that I think any parent should have if they want to bring the joy of living into every day of their and their children's lives. It has already inspired me to pay attention to the natural rhythms of our day; thinking about our periods of hunger, excitement, and need for rest. It is full of wonderful poems, songs, and stories that make some of the more normal tasks of living seem bright and new. It also contains beautiful ruminations about the rhythms of our days, and how to enjoy each phase and each task of parenting life. If these amazing resources weren't enough, this amazing volume also has wonderful lists of story books that are some of the best and most universal literature for children, and a full list of resources for parents looking to expand on the information introduced in the book.

If you want to enjoy a fuller parenting life, and help your children to grow strong and secure in a balanced home setting, this is the book for you. Embrace the power of rhythm, enjoy every moment of your day.

Excellent
Easy read, very informative, loved reading new ideas to make our day flow better and be more nuturing to the world, and our family.

Wonderful!
The stories, the poems, the songs in this book are beautiful.This book really helped my family to establish a great balance and keep it!I also really liked how the author broke down each section by categories and suggested reading.Total 5 star book!

Very pleased
I was very pleased with this book. I love the lay out, the thankfulness of it and the ideas. I find the book just a lovely addition to any home.

thank you Shea!
I have been involved with Steiner/Waldorf School for many years, and due to our current location have begun homeschooling.When you take that step on your own sometimes you require a little support and guidance.For me this book has been exactly that.I wish I had known about this book years ago.We, as a family, are enjoying Shea's perspective. ... Read more

Product Description

Durango is playing the cards he was dealt. And it’s not a good hand.

Customer Reviews (6)

Fast-Paced Adventure
Durango is an 8-year-old (16 in Earth years) living on Mars and working as a mercenary. His latest mission is to protect a group of miners from a group of cannibals called the Dræu. With help from Mimi (his former chief and the artificial intelligence that resides in his brain), Vienne his subordinate, and a ragtag team of other mercenaries, the group faces a deadly enemy. But the miners are hiding a secret and the real reason the Dræu have been attacking.

Durango acts older than his age, having been thrust into authority and orphaned as a child. The dialog between Durango and Mimi is cleverly written and always entertaining. Gill's setting on Mars is unique and inspired. Human colonists from Earth have settled on the harsh planet, making it their own. But it seems Mars has its own native life as well.

This fast-paced science fiction romp for teens is just as enjoyable for adults. It's an action-packed adventure with plenty of suspense and chills. I was thoroughly impressed with the surprising twists to the story that left me wanting more. With young adult fantasy so popular right now, it was refreshing to read such a solid science fiction novel geared towards teens. An engaging story with fantastic characters on a desolate planet - it doesn't get much better than this.

Best I've read in years!
I checked this out at my local library yesterday when I saw the words 'teen mercenary', 'Mars', and 'AI implant' on the back cover.Not since being a kid under the covers reading the Chronicles of Narnia has a book kept my ADD dyslexic self so utterly absorbed.I read it in a few hours! The dialoque is snappy.The pacing is good.The writing style is very modern, and uses only as many words as necessary.The plot is tight.The tension is high.Both teens and adults will enjoy this story.

Mercenaries on Mars
Here's another book I bought just because I liked the author's last book so much. That previous book would be Soul Enchilada, whose occasional plot glitches were completely overcome by Gill's mad writing skills and his even madder characters and YA voice.

The new book takes place on a future Mars, where governments have risen and fallen, leaving behind the shreds of civilization, including our guy Durango. This kid's backstory alone is more interesting that half the books out there, and believe me, it's not dumped on readers--you have to fit the pieces together as you go along.

There's a pop culture feel, let alone a wish-fulfillment feel, to this book in some ways: Durango is ex-military and has an Artificial Intelligence implanted in his head to help him out. He is also a good-looking guy and chicks love him. But Gill doesn't get carried away with Durango's appeal. It ends up merging into the plot and even being the source of some humor when Durango, like most teenage boys, doesn't read the signals he gets from the opposite sex very well. As for the AI and the military training, that ends up being part of this kid's painful backstory.

Gill's Mars is a brutal place, where food is scarce and Durango takes jobs for his little team of mercenaries that are all too likely to get them killed--and don't pay well, either. The new gig requires Durango and his buddies to defend a group of miners in a formally abandoned mine in the southern polar region from a group of mutant cannibals. (This feels more realistic than it sounds, trust me!)

Black Hole Sun is written in a kind of insider's shorthand, which gives it a strong sense of immediacy but does require the reader to work a little to get in sync. The effort pays off when you wind up feeling like you really are crawling along mine shafts, waiting to get your throat ripped out by the Draeu. Yes, there are hand grenades, also alien slime. But there are quieter interactions, as well, like the moments when Durango is trying to keep his cool around his lieutenant, a girl he figures he shouldn't have feelings for because he needs to be a professional and a leader. We even get some humor, most often in the form of banter between Durango and his AI, Mimi.

Gill doesn't just write terse action, he builds complex characters. The members of Durango's team are a rag-tag lot, especially self-styled swashbuckler Fuse and his large, touchy, not-so-bright sidekick, Jenkins. Then there's the rich old client who wants her kidnapped daughter rescued, but not her kidnapped son. She wants a lot more than that, as it turns out. Or we meet the vicious leader of the Draeu and discover her unexpected connections to Durango's past. The miners, too, are keeping secrets, and the story ends with an ethical cliffhanger which, even so, is still a side note compared to Durango's personal journey. At least for now. (Sequel, please!)

There's been some talk about the lack of sci-fi in kidlit lately, and a recent crop of books has appeared to fill the void. But this one is the most purely hardcore yet, merging dystopia with aliens and a hopeful-yet-hopeless hero's journey. An unabashedly boy book, Black Hole Sun reeks of dirt, bravado, ice, blood, treachery, and near misses. Gill's tale of an abandoned Mars colony of the future is noir disguised as action-adventure. Durango makes a fitting hero for our new millenium, which, quite frankly, is jam-packed with an uneasy mix of optimism and despair. A lot like this book.

Note for Worried Parents: This one is definitely for teens, probably 14 and up unless you have a serious sci-fi fan who's a year or two younger. The violence is pretty intense, though it moves at a fast clip--I did mention cannibalism, right? A few sideways references to sex, nothing major. Mature themes overall in that Black Hole Sun is quite bleak.

Excellent sci-fi
Black Hole Sun is classic shoot em up sci fi at it's best!You get an evil queen, cannibalistic bad guys, oppressed masses, corrupt politicians, and a crew of misfits and left behinds to ride in and save the day. Plunk all that down on the planet Mars, mix it up with some very interesting science and you have a great story thatwill keep you turning the pages long into the night.It took me about the first 100 pages or so to get comfortable with the setting, the characters and the back-story.That might seem like a long time, but the author does an expert job of presenting all the information in a way that keeps the reader engaged.The dialogue is excellent, the pacing is perfect and the ending is non-stop action.

The characters here are well developed and engaging.Durango is quite the hero.He struggles with moral dilemmas, knows his own fallibility and still manages to be one tough dude.Vienne is excellent as his second, and the supporting characters of miners and bad guys are all memorable.I truly hope this becomes a series.Durango and Vienne make quite a duo and I am eager to learn what kind of trouble they get into next and also where their relationship might be headed. This is a solid recommend for teens grade 8 and up.There's quite a bit of violence and death.Fans of the Hunger Games will find much to like here, although this one is a bit more hard core sci-fi.Very well written.

more, please
wow. what a crazy ride gill takes us
on with Black Hole Sun. the action is
adrenalin-rush non-stop, the dialogue
is laugh out loud funny, and durango
is one hot yet sensitive hero. i hope
there's a sequel!! would love to continue
on with durango's adventures on mars! ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (54)

Page-turning Adventure
I can't believe I never read Wilbur Smith before I stumbled on this book. After reading it, I educated myself on the author and his work. Like many prolific writers who crank out historical fiction, Wilbur Smith has created some fictional family trees, and crafted multiple stories around the generations thereof. In this novel, the Courtney and Ballentine families intersect during the siege of Khartoum. The novel takes the characters years beyond that event, and makes use of the author's extensive research on Africa, and the Sudan in particular, to provide a glimpse inside 2 distinct cultures. I suspect Wilbur Smith is a closet anthropologist...not just because of the attention he gives animals in some of his novels, but because of the human actions and interactions he depicts--usually according to type. This book has a lot to offer: adventure, romance, action, tragedy, and a couple happy mini-endings.

Another adventure set in the Sudan is my novel Hell and Gone. I also recommend Exodus by Leon Uris.

Henry Brown
Hell and Gone
Virtual Pulp: Tales of High Adventure, Low Adventure, and Misadventure

The Triumph of The Sun
Wilbur Smith is a great writer -Good adventure writer-Good detail
Good Story-keeps your interest

Triumph of the Sun a Great Read
I enjoyed this book with its plot twists and turns and its glimpse into history.The siege of Khartoum was devastating and Smith reveals what the people had to suffer.His characters allow us to experience the emotional upheaval; he maintains the suspense as the story moves forward.The ending resolves into a satisfying look at the results of fighting for survival.

Not up to scratch
I have read it at least twice now. Some might ask why.

The idea of the story is that there is a connection between the Ballantyne and Courtney families from hisother rather good other works.
The premiss is the meeting of Wait Courtney's older brother (Ryder Courtney, who we still don't really know where he comes from.) and Penrod Ballantyne (who we have know idea how he is related to the other Ballantyne characters other than through a castle somewhere)

There are a number of plot/ character holes from the beginning regarding the "main" characters.
Additionally the lack of placing the characters and events does not work out all that well. Having to research the whole affair on google to better understand the book (for a novel) is a little much.

Other issues are with the pacing of the story and the arch of the characters in such a way that one forgets who is doing what, where and why. The city of Khartoum was under siege from March 18, 1884to January 26, 1885 the relief force was 2 days late. Anticlimactic if one bothers to look up that part, thus the first several hundred pages of the book which are supposed to be character development in trying circumstances does not work out all that well.

Think generally it is a weaker read than the more established in the series. Could have been better with alternate locations I think.

The idea of the twins marrying their "protectors" is not all that odd but still kind of creepy at the same time.

I also think the epilogue was not really required as it did not really add to the experience much like the one at the end of "A Sparrow Falls".

Worthy Translation to Audiobook
I found this rendition of a favored Wilbur Smith book to be very good. This abridged version makes the length manageable but coherent.I felt the closing chapters to be condensed a bit more than I'd have preferred, but is a good trade off for the gripping action conveyed during the final siege in Khartoum.The reading is top-notch, well paced, and easy to follow. ... Read more

Product Description
The first authorized inside account of one of the most daring—and successful—military operations in recent history

From the earliest days of his dictatorship, Saddam Hussein had vowed to destroy Israel.So when France sold Iraq a top-of-the-line nuclear reactor in 1975, the Israelis were justifiably concerned—especially when they discovered that Iraqi scientists had already formulated a secret program to extract weapons-grade plutonium from the reactor, a first critical step in creating an atomic bomb.The reactor formed the heart of a huge nuclear plant situated twelve miles from Baghdad, 1,100 kilometers from Tel Aviv.By 1981, the reactor was on the verge of becoming “hot,” and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin knew he would have to confront its deadly potential.He turned to Israeli Air Force commander General David Ivry to secretly plan a daring surgical strike on the reactor—a never-before-contemplated mission that would prove to be one of the most remarkable military operations of all time.

Written with the full and exclusive cooperation of the Israeli Air Force high command, General Ivry (ret.), and all of the eight mission pilots (including Ilan Ramon, who become Israel’s first astronaut and perished tragically in the shuttle Columbia disaster), Raid on the Sun tells the extraordinary story of how Israel plotted the unthinkable: defying its U.S. and European allies to eliminate Iraq’s nuclear threat.In the tradition of Black Hawk Down, journalist Rodger Claire re-creates a gripping tale of personal sacrifice and survival, of young pilots who trained in the United States on the then-new, radically sophisticated F-16 fighter bombers, then faced a nearly insurmountable challenge: how to fly the 1,000-plus-kilometer mission to Baghdad and back on one tank of fuel.He recounts Israeli intelligence’s incredible “black ops” to sabotage construction on the French reactor and eliminate Iraqi nuclear scientists, and he gives the reader a pilot’s-eye view of the action on June 7, 1981, when the planes roared off a runway on the Sinai Peninsula for the first successful destruction of a nuclear reactor in history. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (52)

Must Read
After getting through some of the early historical backup at the beginning of the book, it moves into the details of the mission. Probably the single greatest successful military mission, it's a must read for all Israeli history and military mission buffs.

Great Adventure Book
I remember exactly where I was on June 7, 1981, when I heard that Israeli jets had bombed the Osiraq nuclear reactor in Iraq. I was in my living room, in my house, in California. My first thought was that Iraq would retaliate and start another Mideast war. Then the U.S. would have to get involved.

As it turned out, Iraq did nothing. Israel established itself as a force to be reckoned with in the region (again).

Rodger Claire's documentary provides a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the planning, execution, and aftermath of one of the most successful preemptive strikes in military history. One aspect of his book that I found to be particularly interesting was the disagreement among Israeli leaders and lawmakers as to whether to launch an attack at all.

This story is so compelling that I was riveted to this book from beginning to end. The degree of risk that the pilots and Israeli leaders were willing to take were unbelievable.

I highly recommend Raid on the Sun. It is "a guys book".

Mitch Paioff, Author, Getting Started as an Independent Computer Consultant

Getting Started as an Independent Computer Consultant

Raid on the Sun
It was a very interesting book politically, tactically and good profiling of the personalities of the pilots - not all of which were likeable. One could not help contrasting the latter as to whether that would have been allowed to exist in the USAF or the RAF - unlikely I suspect. I was only aware of two inaccuracies: in a helicopter you would not "smell diesel " but JP4 and (page 117) your don't land with "afterburners kicked on" unless you are planning to take off or go around which in this case the pilot was certainly not !

The Very First Iraq War
An exceptional book. Obviously well researched, and excitingly written. I remember the news of the raidbut did not have any idea of the preparations or the high skill and courage involved until I read this book. I was so impressed I bought two more copies to give as gifts.

Israeli top guns - The young ones.
Excellent insight to a fearless young band of Israeli top gun pilots.
Courageous, professional and accurate. A humane inside look at what Israel does best, it's military prowess bursting through the pages.
Very well written and quite stirring to read as the climax builds up to it's final conclusion.
Israel will continue to survive as long as such fine young men can be found amongst each generation. ... Read more

Product Description

Jack Prelutsky is widely acknowledged as the poet laureate of the younger generation. (And many people would happily see him crowned with no age qualification.) The New Kid on the Block and Something Big Has Been Here are household words wherever there are kids.

Here is another wondrously rich, varied, clever - and always funny - collection. Meet Miss Misinformation, Swami Gourami, and Gladiola Gloppe (and her Soup Shoppe), and delight in a backwards poem, a poem that ever ends, and scores of others that will be changed, read, and loved by readers of every age. The Prelutsky-Stevenson duo is irresistible. Whether you begin at the beginning or just open the book at random, you won't stop smiling.

Customer Reviews (23)

a must have for all children ages 2 to 102
In general I am not too fond of poetry, be it adult or children's poetry.I ordered this book along with several others by Jack Prelutsky for my 4 grandsons ranging in age from 2 to 7. As I usually do, I read every one of them before they do.Since I am not as eloquent as the author I cannot find the appropriate words as to how to describe how special these books are. Every child and adult with a sense of humor should pick up at least one of Mr. Prelutsky's books and read it. Even though they are written for kids, as an adult I found them to be more then special. He is an excellent author who does things with words that will not only entertain you and any child that is lucky enough to own his books, but after reading them I would not be surprised if this introduction to poetry will result in kids at any age being anxious to read more of Mr. Prelutsky's books. This author is exceptional when it comes to putting into verse life the way kids perceive it. His expertise in making the verses flow and rhyme so perfectly is a literary experience all children of any age should be exposed to. Any adult reading these books to a young child will not be bored and will actually look forward to the forthcoming verbal interaction that will be fulfilling for both the child and the adult. Some of his books are written for children that are reading on their own. These children will no doubt enjoy reading the books that were written for younger kids as well. Don't be surprised if they go back to these books over and over again even when childhood is just a memory. Do a child a favor and open the door to a very special reading experience that will not soon be forgotten.

The books themselves which include both hardcover and soft cover are made so that each page is thick enough to withstand being handled by children and even the soft covered books look and feel as if they are much more expensive than what I actually paid for them. When you hold it you can see how substantial and well made the book is. Like the potato chip commercial says, you can't just read one, after reading one I am sure that you will want to buy all of Mr. Prelutsky's children's books which is exactly what I did.

Love it!
Prelutsky is among the very best! His wit has great kid appeal, and I'd rank him wayyyyy up there with Shel Silverstein and Brian P. Cleary. This volume is loaded with fun poems that will make kids ask for more!

Fantastic Fun
This book is full of hilarious poems that have kept my 8 year old son asking for more.The book is on his summer reading list from school.

Pizza the size of the sun
Love, love, love this poetry book.My daughter (age 7) couldn't put it down. She recieved it Christmas Eve and finished it the same night.

I really like Jack Prelutsky
Although I returned this book for quality reasons, I have owned a copy for a long time. The book is very fun and I love how there is some advanced vocabulary. It is a great way to introduce new words in a very fun way! It's hardly like learning at all, but that's what happens. The poems are a lot of fun!

I purchased the book with the intention of giving it to a three year old. Some of the poems do include sarcasm and/or negativity that I wouldnt read to her just because she wouldnt yet understand that it was a joke. But most of them are perfectly suitable for very young children.

I highly recommend this book, and use your own judgement to decide whether each poem is appropriate for the age child you are reading it to. ... Read more

Product Description
Having colonized other worlds, humans are certain the galaxy is theirs for the taking. But they soon discover the horrifying price of their arrogance when a scientific experiment awakens the wrath of the previously unknown Hydrogues and begins a war. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (95)

Utter Crap
I hate this book so much I wish I could erase the time it took me to read it. I actually want that time back.

The author steals his ideas pretty blatantly from other authors, most notably Dan Simmons, who does space opera WAY better. A great number of characters wind up being ridiculous cartoonish stereotypes. Unbelievable to a huge degree, and the writing is just awful. Anderson, you are an utter hack.

Starts well, but....
I would like to offer an overall review of all seven books combined.Even though each book has its own sub-plots, one has to read all seven to stitch every piece together.Unless you plan to read all of them (a major time commitment) I suggest that you go find yourself some thing shorter to read.This is an epic saga.

I find the books and the story hard to classify.It is science fiction, but what kind?The story starts as if it is going to be hard science fiction.(That's why I probably consider the first book to be the best.)But then it degenerates into several parallel threads, many of which are pure fantasies.By the end of the seventh book, I felt that 90% of the threads and plot were more appropriately described as fantasy than science fiction.

Even if you prefer fantasy over hard science fiction, you will still be disappointed by the repeated "deus ex machina" saving the day.I count seven such cases, three of them occurring in the last volume.Anderson is very good in weaving a complex story to its crescendo and creating a very tense (nearly hopeless) situation for the heroes.Then he cannot get them out of there in any plausible way, and he resorts to dues ex machina time after time.Because of that, you will feel disappointed (perhaps even cheated) once you finish the story, even if you will find it entertaining most of the way.

The characters are one-dimensional.There are good sub-plots of love, hatred, betrayal, revenge... The evil is really evil, and the good-guys could do no wrong.If you don't mind that, you may enjoy the saga.

Science? what's that?
I tried to read this book and didn't make it past the first couple of chapters. You have a ship flying in the upper levels of a gas giant mining hydrogen? ok, that works.

The ship has an outside deck? ok, under a force field i assume.

Nope, it is in the open air and the crew can go out for a breath of fresh air. And there are birds that never land anywhere except on this deck. Yes you can find a level in the atmosphere where the pressure is earth sea level, but it won't be breathable air! You're mining hydrogen at that level! You think there would be oxygen in a human usable concentration? What about the gases causing all the interesting colored clouds, like hydrocholoric and sulfuric acid vapor? Not to mention mixing hydrogen and oxygen at earth pressure and temp (can you spell B O O M?)

Threw the book away, it's not even worth trying to sell to the used book store because then I would inflict this pain on someone else.

These are not the books you are looking for ...
I read the first 2 books of the series and finally quit 1/3 of the way through the third book because I couldn't respect myself if I read any more.The story is good, it's a fun space-opera, but the writing is horrible.The author would receive a C in any lit class on earth for the lack of narrative skills and it upsets me that a publisher would print these books over others that can't possibly be less deserving.There are so many great masters of Sci-Fi out there in the world, please look for them and don't waste time on this series.

Average
This series just gets worse and worse as it goes on.I would love to point out all the points where the series chooses ridiculous directions and twists but I would have to ruin the story.

Short and Sweet, if you're interested in reading something semi space opera'ish you can read this and when it starts getting annoying just put it down and know that the rest of the series just gets worse. ... Read more

Product Description
SWEETER THAN A DREAM

Charles Wycombe, the dashing--if incorrigible-- Earl of Billington, needs a bride before his upcoming thirtieth birthday if he hopes to earn his inheritance. The vicar's vivacious, determined daughter, Miss Eleanor Lyndon, needs a new home, since her father's insufferable fiancee is making her old one intolerable. Destiny has brought Charles and Ellie together--though their match at the outset appears to have been made somewhere rather hotter than heaven.

BRIGHTER THAN THE SUN

Their first meeting is less than auspicious--with a somewhat soused Charles falling from a tree and landing at Eleanor's feet. While they agree to marry for their mutual convenience, Charles is not prepared to let a woman command his household. And certainly strong-willed Ellie refuses to let a rogue run her life. Yet the rakish earl can be quite charming--and even tender--when he puts his mind to it. And there's no denying the sensuous allure of his enchanting, innocent, yet utterly stubborn wife. Even though mad mishaps and very real dangers threaten their fragile union, they must follow where passion leads--to the rapturous warmth and brilliance of love.

Customer Reviews (57)

A Monty-Python Argument....
The two main characters, Ellie and Charles, argue and bicker with all the maturity and absurdity one would expect of 12-year olds. Occasional wit made some of the dialog fun, but overall, it was an eye-roll. The book was pathetically short on plot. And what little it had encompassed the cliche elements of "someone" trying to create accidents designed to kill the Earl. Charles is forced to marry Ellie, a complete stranger, to save his inheritance per his father's will. And, oh my, how coincidental that Ellie has a soon-to-be stepmother who is forcing her out of her father's home and into marriage with anyone who will have her. I do enjoy some of Julia Quinn's books, but this one was not at all credible and was a waste of time to read.

Clumsy
I have enjoyed several other novels by Ms. Quinn but couldn't force myself to get past the first 200 pages of this one.I thought the beginning was interesting, but the vast majority of the book so far has involved the protagonists arguing with each other or falling down.A lot.Clumsy characters and clumsy writing.

Not this one either...
"Brighter Than the Sun" was as cornballish as they come. The whole book went pretty much like this "Yes you do...No you didn't...Ohhhh why I never! You want to kiss me?!" Save yourself some time, reread the last sentence but let Ellie and Charles take turns saying it and abracadabra, you've just read a novel in record time.

I'm a big fan of Quinns; 5 of her books are included in my short list of only 44; 5 Star "All-time favorite reads", but goodness the last 2 or 3 I've read by her have been snoozers with a capital S, and with only a few in my Quinn collection left to read I have to say I'm really not looking forward to them.

Instead of this one, try...

*The Viscount Who Loved Me
*The Duke And I
*Romancing Mister Bridgerton
*When He Was Wicked (My Favorite!!!)
*How to Marry a Marquis

Kind of lame
This book had a pretty good story but it was kind of lame. They didn't really seem all that compatable. There should have been more time spent on building their relationship instead of showing how well the can make each other mad. The romance was not there and neither were the love scenes. I have like other books of her, but this was a let down.

Not "so brighter" after all
It makes me truly sad to give a two star review to a book written by my favorite author, but i honestly felt discontent with this book. BRIGHTER THAN THE SUN, appears to have been written by a rookie in the genre, and not by an author who brought us wonderful stories like THE DUKE AND I, THE VISCOUNT WHO LOVED ME, AND ROMANCING MISTER BRIDGERTON. I finished the book just because it was a Julia Quinn's piece, but i have never been so disappointed with a story before. The main character, Ellie, was an annoying girl, she appeared angry through out the whole book, and Charles just never really stood out. Ellie wanted to have her way (no highway option) all the time, and Charles just wanted to have sex (plain and simple). The story line, was very dull, nothing to look forward to, also i must mention something another fellow reviewer wrote about, what is up with them getting injured in every chapter? my goodness how annoying it got.!!!!!! I love Julia's writing, i think it's superb, no wonder she is my favorite, which is why i would put this book where i may never see it again. ... Read more

Product Description
For years, the alien Klikiss robots have pretended to be humanity's friends, but their seeming "help" allowed them to plant an insidious Trojan Horse throughout the Earth Defense Forces. Now, in the aftermath of a devastating war, swarms of ancient robots built by the Klikiss continue their depredations on helpless worlds with stolen and heavily armed Earth battleships.

Among the humans, the Hansa's brutal Chairman struggles to crush any resistance even as King Peter breaks away to form his own new Confederation among the colonies who have declared their independence.

And meanwhile, the original, voracious Klikiss race, long thought to be extinct, has returned, intent on conquering their former worlds and willing to annihilate anyone in the way. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (32)

Too many instances of deus ex machina
I would like to offer an overall review of all seven books combined.Even though each book has its own sub-plots, one has to read all seven to stitch every piece together.Unless you plan to read all of them (a major time commitment) I suggest that you go find yourself something shorter to read.This is an epic saga.

I find the books and the story hard to classify.It is science fiction, but what kind?The story starts as if it is going to be hard science fiction.(That's why I probably consider the first book to be the best.)But then it degenerates into several parallel threads, many of which are pure fantasies.By the end of the seventh book, I felt that 90% of the threads and plot were more appropriately described as fantasy than science fiction.

Even if you prefer fantasy over hard science fiction, you will still be disappointed by the repeated "deus ex machina" saving the day.I count seven such cases, three of them occurring in the last volume.Anderson is very good in weaving a complex story to its crescendo and creating a very tense (nearly hopeless) situation for the heroes.Then he cannot get them out of there in any plausible way, and he resorts to dues ex machina time after time. Because of that, you will feel disappointed (perhaps even cheated) once you finish the story, even if you will find it entertaining most of the way.

The characters are one-dimensional.There are good sub-plots of love, hatred, betrayal, revenge... The evil is really evil, and the good-guys could do no wrong.If you don't mind that, you may enjoy the saga.

Exhausting but almost done
Only one more book to go.

Often during the reviews of this series I cite how timeline is a terrible distraction. The Pregnancy that has gone on forever is now finally over. How a second problem that the author thinks is a triumph is the short vignettes of everyone's story. That still plagues us.

How as a political treatise we have a meglomaniac ruling earth without a checks and balance system. Still the Chairman gets away with terrible horrors and no one stops him.

A new item has come to the surface and that is the absence of death. In a story with so many heroes, killing some of them would seem to be natural. Especially with so many chances that they should die. Some of the horrors that our heroes face are such that cheating death should not be an option. But here very few have died.

For a successful author who certainly has a great deal of royalties form his other successes, one should believe that Anderson had the time to devote to polishing the story. Sometimes it takes hours to get to a planet, and sometimes weeks. Sometimes days goes by in the threads of one hero and then another is picked up and it is a few moments since last we met.

This is a story that a map of the galaxy could not be given because the author creates devices he needs whenever he needs it. The same with the abilities of his alien adversaries. All that means to me the reader that logic is absent. Further causing the story to be ridiculous.

That it gains higher marks from me then before is that now as some of the storylines are finishing, I am happy for it, and have the tiniest bit of better perception. But I will be glad when it is all done.

Action Packed, Great Continued Development of Plots/Characters
In a nutshell, the stories, plotlines, and characters keep expanding.So, NO!!!!He is NOT milking the series!!!.There are no plots that are going sideways.All the plots and arcs are progressing FORWARD so I don't understand how anyone can say he is 'milking' the series.He is not.

He does so many things right, many authors can learn from him.

I love the action, plotlines, and pacing.Read this book in two days.\

The only 'slight' negative is that there are a couple of plotholes that sorta are annoying.He does attempt to explain them away but sometimes they don't ring true:

SPOILER ALERT ***like Jora'h going to Theroc with just one ship?***

Of course, it was vital for the whole plot, so I suspended some disbelief there, but it is a plothole nonetheless.Otherwise, if there were no plotholes, I'd easily rate this 5 stars.But since there were a couple of semi-minor ones, I give it 4 stars.

KJA, so glad I stuck with the series, can't wait to get the last book this weekend.

You've got a reader for life.

Could have been great with only 5 books
The four-star rating applies to books up through 5--books 6 and 7 only merit a 3-star rating. If the story would have been tightened up to fit into 5 books, this could have been a really great series instead of just a good series. The plot is complex with many characters, which is fine, especially because the author breaks out each character's story arc into short chapters so it's very clear when the reader switches character viewpoints. The scope of the plot is also interesting with several races and many sub-plots. However, the series is just too long. By the middle of book 6, when the author introduces yet another major sub-plot involving something that seemed to be relegated to the past (won't be more specific to avoid any spoliers). Because of the length of the series, it gets a bit repetitive by the end, especially given that the conflicts are resolved too easily in the same pattern, especially since forces outside of the main characters are the primary means to resolution. Still, if you like long series, this one is worth reading even though it runs out of gas before the books run out of pages.

Great ending for a great saga
Kevin Anderson is a great Sci Fi writer and this series is a very good story.I loved the whold story and almost hated to finish the story.Jam packed with action, complex characters and fantastic plot. ... Read more

Product Description
From the multiple award-winning author of Tigana, A Song for Arbonne, and the three-book Fionavar Tapestry that "can only be compared to Tolkien's masterpiece" (Star-Phoenix), this powerful, moving saga evokes the Celtic, Anglo-Saxon, and Norse cultures of a thousand years ago. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (66)

Beautiful historical fantasy
The Last Light of the Sun is another of Guy Gavriel Kay's brilliant historical fantasies. This one blends Norse, Celtic, and Anglo-Saxon histories with a bit of faerie mythos. We follow a few main characters from each of these societies as they interact with each other to shape their land and destinies. As usual in a Guy Gavriel Kay novel, we see the struggles from each perspective, so there's no single "hero" or "villain." We understand what motivates each of the characters and their culture and we can admire their strengths and recognize their weaknesses. In the end, we want everyone to win but, of course, that's not what happens.

I thought the cast of The Last Light of the Sun was not as accessible or compelling as that of Tigana and A Song for Arbonne (though I really loved a couple of the side characters, especially Judit and her brother Athelbert) but, as always, each is a work of art. All of GGK's characters (even the minor ones) are passionate people full of hopes, fears, dreams, and plenty of spirit. This complete characterization -- the reader's ability to be fully in the head of the point-of-view character -- is one of the things that sets this author above others. It occasionally makes the plot move slowly, because there may be a lot of history and motivation to relate, but it's usually interwoven so well that it serves to give us necessary information while moving the plot at the same time. Here's an example from the beginning of the book from the point of view of a character who we'll never meet again:

"Here in the remote, pagan north, at this wind-scoured island market of Rabady, he was anxious to begin trading his leather and cloth and spices and bladed weapons for furs and amber and salt and heavy barrels of dried cod (to sell in Ferrieres on the way home) -- and to take immediate leave of these barbarian Erlings, who stank of fish and beer and bear grease, who could kill a man in a bargaining over prices, and who burned their leaders -- savages that they were -- on ships among their belongings when they died."

Just as the people that GGK writes about are full of passion, so is his writing. Kay is so serious about his style -- obviously working hard to get it just right -- that it's a joy to read, even though occasionally it goes just slightly over the top:

"She said nothing, though he thought she was about to. Instead, she stepped nearer, rose upon her toes, and kissed him on the lips, tasting of moonlight, though it was dark where they stood, except for her. The blue moon outside, above, shining over his own lands, hers, over the seas. He brought his hands up, touched her hair. He could see the small, shining impossibility of her. A faerie in his arms."

Tasting of moonlight? I'm going to let that one pass...

There's also quite a bit of philosophizing in The Last Light of the Sun, mainly about how an individual's actions can have unexpected and life-changing effects on others. Some of this was relayed in a few vignettes in which we're quickly told the rest of the life history of very minor characters. These episodes were meant to be contemplative, but I found them intrusive since they felt rushed (decades of life summed up in a few paragraphs), broke up the plot, involved characters whom I didn't care about, and contained repetitive insights about the uncertainty of life or the tendency for seemingly small actions to have long-lasting consequences. Perhaps more pensive persons will appreciate these parts. Fortunately, they were short, so they didn't preclude my enjoyment of the novel.

I listened to The Last Light of the Sun on audio (Penguin Audiobooks). Holter Graham did an excellent reading. I hope to hear more from him in the future.

Subtle magic
When you first open the book, this is what you will think: Why the hell does he call the Vikings Erlings, and Byzantium, Sarentium?Could he not just use the real names and call it a work of historical fiction?

I don't know the answer to that question, but I do know that you should not give up on him.This is a very well-written book.Like most of its kind, it takes a few pages to heat up--that is the price of good characters.And it pays off well.We have a diverse, but not formulaic cast, and all of them are sympathetic and believable.We have a system of, well, not magic, but magical phenomena that are subtle enough for us to accept without resorting to the sort of suspension of disbelief demanded by 'sword & sorcery' tales.

The plot is unique.You really have no idea how things are going to end up, who will do what, and why they'll do it.There are stories within stories, and though the characters may find themselves against each other, you somehow want everyone to win, because you like them.

And scattered throughout this plot are some wonderfully eloquent and meaningful reflections on why the world is "as Jad made it," why people do the things they do, and how they make sense of it all.

Better than Kay's usual
It's a funny thing, unlike many reviewers, I enjoyed this book much more than Kay's other work.Aside from 'Lions' and 'Sailing' I honestly havent been able to finish his novels and I've tried them all.So I was quite surprised by this one; it's one of my recent favorites right up there with Barnitz's 'Deepest Sea' and some others you can see on my List.

Not sure what to think of this one
This book is... interesting. I've never read anything quite like it before. The story is set in an alternate 9th century Earth and ties together the English, Welsh, and Vikings. After finishing it a week or two ago, I'm still not sure what to think, so I'll just list my impressions:

The Good:

1. Historical setting feels very authentic and well-researched. Sure, medieval England and the Vikings have been done to death, but Kay gives them new life here. There's no sugar-coating (fans of GRR Martin will feel right at home). And settings are excellently drawn.
2. Excellent prose. Kay has a style all his own. If the character development was better, I'd be calling this literary fiction.
3. Unpredictable plot. Others have said they saw major events coming, but not so for me. And Kay is intelligent and subtle; he gives you something to think about rather than just a quick bit of entertainment.

The Bad:

1. Character development so-so. Some of the main characters are quite good, Aeldred especially. But Ceinion is the stereotypical wise-and-practical cleric, Alun the stereotypical boy-avenging-family, etc. Bern, who gets the largest chunk of page time, was the worst, a distant stranger to me for the entire book. My conclusion is that there are simply too many main characters for a work of this length (my copy just under 500 pages) to sustain.
2. Dialogue not what I'd have expected from such a renowed author. Long scenes where characters tease each other or fight about silly things always feel amateurish to me.
3. Random "romances" springing from nowhere at the end... neither believable nor romantic.

The Weird:

1. I've never read a fantasy book (even historical fantasy, which rarely uses the "save the world" plot) with quite so little at stake. As we're told many times, life is difficult in the northlands... but by the time identifiable villains appear, they're so unambitious and so lacking in passion for their goal that there's little threat to the main characters, beyond the constant danger inherent in living in a violent time period. Aeldred's backstory would have made a far more exciting story, but it's interesting to wonder what Kay's point may have been in writing this story instead.
2. Random asides of several pages giving the life stories of side characters who briefly intersect with the plot... or, in some cases, don't. For instance, we get the life of Jarmina, a girl living in a village near a battlefield; she neither witnesses nor affects the battle in any way. Embedding loosely related short stories into a novel is an odd way to add depth to the setting, if that's what they were meant to do.
3. Random philosophical lectures by the author. To give a brief example: "Time does not pause, for men or beasts, though it might seem to us to have stopped at some moments, or we might wish it to do so at others, to suspend a shining, call back a gesture or a blow, or someone lost." These can go on for paragraphs and to me seemed rather trite.

This is the first of Kay's books that I've read, and since I understand that it's not his best, I'm still looking forward to reading more. It's far from a bad book, and would have been truly great had the character development only been been better. Three stars is a little low for this one, but despite its strengths, for me it was something of a disappointment.

Profound
The Last Light of the Sun isn't a great book by traditional means.The characters are interesting in part, realistic too, but lack an extraordinary amount of depth.They are step above average, enough for you to relate to them and root for them, but not enough for you to truly feel for them.In a sense, the plot is the same.In parts intriguing, in others a little meh, it overall is something above par, but nothing nearly as engrossing as the plot of say George Martin's Song of Ice and Fire.Good, but not great.As for the fantasy element -- it's there, but it's never heavy, which is either a plus or minus, depending on the reader.

What sets Kay's work apart is the lyrical quality to his writing.Poetic and concise, Kay never bogs you down in details, but transports you into his world nevertheless.Some sentences are so beautifully crafted that you want to reread them.More importantly, Gavriel Kay uses his mastery of the English language to impart amazing life lessons.Kay gives profound messages about fate, life, death, and acceptance without ever preaching.Characters entirely tangential to the story receive their own few pages, often illustrating these lessons.The effect created by this is phenomenal, and you actually feel more for these side characters than the protagonists.

Overall, this book is truly profound.This quality is hard to see, and many won't.There is no page like the last page of the Great Gatsby, in which the moral of the story is told flat out.But for the patient, reflective reader, it is there. ... Read more

Product Description
The Saga of Seven Suns is a galaxy-spanning SF epic, packed with politics, war, family intrigues and star-crossed lovers.

For years, the alien Klikiss robots have pretended to be humanity's friends, but their seeming "help" has allowed them to plant an insidious Trojan Horse throughout the Earth Defense Forces. In the climactic battle, human and alien races will collide and the galaxy will be shaken to its core. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (31)

Too many instances of deus ex machina
I would like to offer an overall review of all seven books combined.Even though each book has its own sub-plots, one has to read all seven to stitch every piece together.Unless you plan to read all of them (a major time commitment) I suggest that you go find yourself something shorter to read.This is an epic saga.

I find the books and the story hard to classify.It is science fiction, but what kind?The story starts as if it is going to be hard science fiction.(That's why I probably consider the first book to be the best.)But then it degenerates into several parallel threads, many of which are pure fantasies.By the end of the seventh book, I felt that 90% of the threads and plot were more appropriately described as fantasy than science fiction.

Even if you prefer fantasy over hard science fiction, you will still be disappointed by the repeated "deus ex machina" saving the day.I count seven such cases, three of them occurring in the last volume.Anderson is very good in weaving a complex story to its crescendo and creating a very tense (nearly hopeless) situation for the heroes.Then he cannot get them out of there in any plausible way, and he resorts to dues ex machina time after time. Because of that, you will feel disappointed (perhaps even cheated) once you finish the story, even if you will find it entertaining most of the way.

The characters are one-dimensional.There are good sub-plots of love, hatred, betrayal, revenge... The evil is really evil, and the good-guys could do no wrong.If you don't mind that, you may enjoy the saga.

Needed an Editor for this series.
Still ticking. This series reminds me of the old Timex commercials. All that is bad about it has not been fixed.

The time scale, the short chapters. Now we have a few new terrible elements. The pregnancy that will not end. As we see so many things happening, as the author wanted to build to his first climax he had placed one of he numerous main characters into the situation of expectant motherhood. That was a good plot point. Except with all that has happened, the woman must be carrying the child for over two years.

It is amazing to me that such a large scale spic has not taken into account any calendar.

The second large scale problem that emerges in this book is the items to lead to victory. They have been building a little for a few books. The main enemy has seen several others show up to attack them back. Not in alliance, but willing to fight and end the war. Then also our heroes come up with various technologies that become as destructive against the enemy as they have been against our heroes. So destructive we see that they can be utterly destroyed by just one of them. (The balance of power had been that the aliens could have done that to the humans from the beginning but had been doing a slow measured campaign instead of total annihilation, but now at book 5 want to totally annihilate humanity.)

Then all at once in a battle for earth, most come together in ways that see much of the eradication of the enemy. Overwhelmingly. Five books of space opera to end in a few pages. Wouldn't our greatest war have been nice like that. Japan keep attacking the US territories and Allies, whittling away and then in a week we and all our friends can mount an attack that stops them dead in their tracks. It is us developing the nuclear bomb, but not have done any of the island hopping campaign before that.

It might have worked, but Anderson just does not sell it. He finally resolves matters between his monomaniacal leader on earth, but the man could never have run the planet and sphere of humanity without more competent leadership as a check and balance, or without more then the three aides he seems to have. By making this subplot continue for so long, it has made his hero king look like a wimp. Even when he takes action to kill someone, another comes to play and makes his hands ultimately free of taint.

A story where heroes aren't. Just now to finish it up and tell all if it can redeem itself, or continue to enumerate where it fails. The worst thing to note is how Anderson drones on in the end about his process and those who helped him. Did no one catch these items I point out? Was a sense of time totally ignored on purpose? This needed more time on the drawing board before it was released. Never read again.

Great Plot That Keeps Expanding Without 'Milking' Us...
*Spoiler Free Review*The Plot keeps expanding but not in an unsatisfactory 'milking' sort a way. Quite the contrary, I find that many plotlines come to satisfying conclusions while generating new exciting plotlines.The characters we've come to love are continuing growing in thier arcs and overall I feel this is the best book in the series thus far.I read the negative review of this book and don't know what that reviewer was smoking or if he is just trolling.This book rocks and made me excited to rush out and get the next one.I read 'Of Fire and Night' cover to cover in one day and stayed up till 6:00am finishing it off.

The best thing I can say about this series, now looking back on it with some perspective, is that I think the author has done a fabulous job with pacing.I think perhaps books 2 and 3 could have been boiled down a 'touch' more and sped along a bit, but overall, they are still decent books.As long as the plot pacing stays more or less constant, then i'm hooked in the whole way.

KJA, great job!!!But beware the Goodkind curse.His Sword of Truth series started out great but then after book 3 he just decided to start milking his readers.By book 5 he was churning out absolute dribble with a plot that went sideways and stopped going forward.So far, your books are not doing that and are going forward in a very satisfying way.As long as you are going forward, I'll be with this series till the end.

Beautifully dark book
The destruction of the Earth, and indeed humanity, seems at hand.How do we react against such darkness, as we all turn against each other?

A well-written book that continues KJA's epic space opera.

Very solid
Chances are that if you've read volumes 1-4 you will be pleased with Fire and Night.It may be the most action filled of the 5 so far and certainly contains no shortage of plot resolutions and additions.

My only minor disappointment was that the two big, new plot introductions were done at the very end of the volume with little time to rev them up in preparation for the next book.Also, at least one of these seemed like kind of a silly reach to me.Perhaps I'll be proven wrong.

I am very interested to see how the author continues the various story arcs without it becoming an instance of "just one damn thing after another". ... Read more

Product Description
The Saga of Seven Suns is a galaxy-spanning SF epic, packed with politics, war, family intrigues and star-crossed lovers.

For years, the alien Klikiss robots have pretended to be humanity's friends, but their seeming "help" has allowed them to plant an insidious Trojan Horse throughout the Earth Defense Forces. In the climactic battle, human and alien races will collide and the galaxy will be shaken to its core. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (31)

Too many instances of deus ex machina
I would like to offer an overall review of all seven books combined.Even though each book has its own sub-plots, one has to read all seven to stitch every piece together.Unless you plan to read all of them (a major time commitment) I suggest that you go find yourself something shorter to read.This is an epic saga.

I find the books and the story hard to classify.It is science fiction, but what kind?The story starts as if it is going to be hard science fiction.(That's why I probably consider the first book to be the best.)But then it degenerates into several parallel threads, many of which are pure fantasies.By the end of the seventh book, I felt that 90% of the threads and plot were more appropriately described as fantasy than science fiction.

Even if you prefer fantasy over hard science fiction, you will still be disappointed by the repeated "deus ex machina" saving the day.I count seven such cases, three of them occurring in the last volume.Anderson is very good in weaving a complex story to its crescendo and creating a very tense (nearly hopeless) situation for the heroes.Then he cannot get them out of there in any plausible way, and he resorts to dues ex machina time after time. Because of that, you will feel disappointed (perhaps even cheated) once you finish the story, even if you will find it entertaining most of the way.

The characters are one-dimensional.There are good sub-plots of love, hatred, betrayal, revenge... The evil is really evil, and the good-guys could do no wrong.If you don't mind that, you may enjoy the saga.

Needed an Editor for this series.
Still ticking. This series reminds me of the old Timex commercials. All that is bad about it has not been fixed.

The time scale, the short chapters. Now we have a few new terrible elements. The pregnancy that will not end. As we see so many things happening, as the author wanted to build to his first climax he had placed one of he numerous main characters into the situation of expectant motherhood. That was a good plot point. Except with all that has happened, the woman must be carrying the child for over two years.

It is amazing to me that such a large scale spic has not taken into account any calendar.

The second large scale problem that emerges in this book is the items to lead to victory. They have been building a little for a few books. The main enemy has seen several others show up to attack them back. Not in alliance, but willing to fight and end the war. Then also our heroes come up with various technologies that become as destructive against the enemy as they have been against our heroes. So destructive we see that they can be utterly destroyed by just one of them. (The balance of power had been that the aliens could have done that to the humans from the beginning but had been doing a slow measured campaign instead of total annihilation, but now at book 5 want to totally annihilate humanity.)

Then all at once in a battle for earth, most come together in ways that see much of the eradication of the enemy. Overwhelmingly. Five books of space opera to end in a few pages. Wouldn't our greatest war have been nice like that. Japan keep attacking the US territories and Allies, whittling away and then in a week we and all our friends can mount an attack that stops them dead in their tracks. It is us developing the nuclear bomb, but not have done any of the island hopping campaign before that.

It might have worked, but Anderson just does not sell it. He finally resolves matters between his monomaniacal leader on earth, but the man could never have run the planet and sphere of humanity without more competent leadership as a check and balance, or without more then the three aides he seems to have. By making this subplot continue for so long, it has made his hero king look like a wimp. Even when he takes action to kill someone, another comes to play and makes his hands ultimately free of taint.

A story where heroes aren't. Just now to finish it up and tell all if it can redeem itself, or continue to enumerate where it fails. The worst thing to note is how Anderson drones on in the end about his process and those who helped him. Did no one catch these items I point out? Was a sense of time totally ignored on purpose? This needed more time on the drawing board before it was released. Never read again.

Great Plot That Keeps Expanding Without 'Milking' Us...
*Spoiler Free Review*The Plot keeps expanding but not in an unsatisfactory 'milking' sort a way. Quite the contrary, I find that many plotlines come to satisfying conclusions while generating new exciting plotlines.The characters we've come to love are continuing growing in thier arcs and overall I feel this is the best book in the series thus far.I read the negative review of this book and don't know what that reviewer was smoking or if he is just trolling.This book rocks and made me excited to rush out and get the next one.I read 'Of Fire and Night' cover to cover in one day and stayed up till 6:00am finishing it off.

The best thing I can say about this series, now looking back on it with some perspective, is that I think the author has done a fabulous job with pacing.I think perhaps books 2 and 3 could have been boiled down a 'touch' more and sped along a bit, but overall, they are still decent books.As long as the plot pacing stays more or less constant, then i'm hooked in the whole way.

KJA, great job!!!But beware the Goodkind curse.His Sword of Truth series started out great but then after book 3 he just decided to start milking his readers.By book 5 he was churning out absolute dribble with a plot that went sideways and stopped going forward.So far, your books are not doing that and are going forward in a very satisfying way.As long as you are going forward, I'll be with this series till the end.

Beautifully dark book
The destruction of the Earth, and indeed humanity, seems at hand.How do we react against such darkness, as we all turn against each other?

A well-written book that continues KJA's epic space opera.

Very solid
Chances are that if you've read volumes 1-4 you will be pleased with Fire and Night.It may be the most action filled of the 5 so far and certainly contains no shortage of plot resolutions and additions.

My only minor disappointment was that the two big, new plot introductions were done at the very end of the volume with little time to rev them up in preparation for the next book.Also, at least one of these seemed like kind of a silly reach to me.Perhaps I'll be proven wrong.

I am very interested to see how the author continues the various story arcs without it becoming an instance of "just one damn thing after another". ... Read more

Product Description

Here, for the first time, in a brilliant, panoramic portrait by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Making of the Atomic Bomb, is the definitive, often shocking story of the politics and the science behind the development of the hydrogen bomb and the birth of the Cold War. Based on secret files in the United States and the former Soviet Union, this monumental work of history discloses how and why the United States decided to create the bomb that would dominate world politics for more than forty years.Amazon.com Review
An engrossing history of the scientific discoveries, politicalmaneuverings, and cold-war espionage leading to the creation of mankind's most destructive weapon.

Includes 94 archival photographs and a glossary with briefdescriptions of the hundreds of people interviewed and discussed inthe book. Author Richard Rhodes won the Pulitzer Prize, theNational Book Award, and the National Book Critics Circle Award for his previous atomic tome, The Making of the Atomic Bomb. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (55)

Dark and Sinister Heart of Darkness
It took me a long time to finish this book, as it is much less a narrative, albeit exciting, story as is Rhodes much praised Making of the Atomic Bomb, which I had read twice previously. As some commentators have said, this is in many ways a more important, and more frightening story. In addition to the scientific story, this is also a political, psychological, and diplomatic thriller. The portrayals of Edward Teller and Curtis LeMay are alone worth the cost of the book. It is perhaps not as well organized as "Making", as Rhodes is trying to tell many stories in one, and suffers from a bit too much moralising. Nevertheless, anyone interested, and concerned about the course that history has taken since 1945, and the US "military-industrial complex" should put this book on their "must read" list.

Dark Sun
The product arrived in a timely manner. It was advertised as used and obviously was used, but it was in good shape.

I have been pleased with my purchases fromAmazon.

Interesting and Scary
The book, Dark Sun - The Making Of The Hydrogen Bomb, by Richard Rhodes gives a history of the making of the first atomic weapons. The book covers a span of time from 1939, just prior to World War I, up to the late 1950's.Rhodes shows us how U.S. politics played an important role in speeding up the research of the bomb, both fission and fusion, by providing large amounts of money for equipment, materials, facilities, and scientific personnel. The science, technology, and problems encountered in the design and manufacture of atomic weapons and nuclear reactors are covered and examples are kept simple enough for the non-scientist (like me) to understand. Perhaps the most important topic of the book was the controversy surrounding the creation of such a powerful bomb, and the costly Cold War arms race that it started between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, which lasted for fifty years.
This book relies upon a variety of sources to back up its arguments. For example, the Cold War arms race actually began during WWII when Russian spies began infiltrating the United States, and other countries, in an effort to gain information to build atomic weapons. The main supporting document for this spy activity was given by the Soviet intelligence agency called the KGB, and published in a Russian journal Problems in the History of Science and Technology. Rhodes uses this journal, confessions from Russian spies (Klaus Fuch, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, and others,) FBI records, and decoded wartime cable intercepts, to fill in a timeline of espionage events. Rhodes also used a declassified diary of the commanding general of the U.S. Strategic Air Command (SAC), Curtis LeMay, another important character of the Cold War, to show us how power hungry and dangerous he was. As SAC commander, he wanted the ability to control and launch U.S. nuclear weapons and recommended we bomb Korea (during the Korean War) or Russia if need be. Atomic weapon information was obtained from declassified documents. A hydrogen bomb called Mike, tested in1952, is shown cut-in-half, on page 506 in Dark Sun, it is a simple explanation of how the H-bomb works. Also included in the book are a variety of black and white pictures of scientists, politicians, and military commanders and of the bombs themselves (before and during detonation.)
Overall, the book was scary. It's hard for me to imagine the destructive power of an atomic weapon, and harder still to imagine the heavy price that Japanese citizens paid when the U.S. dropped atomic bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima.I thought it was very wrong and also extremely sad that nations, like the U.S. and Russia, would spend so much money, time, and effort on the development of nuclear weapons. Rhodes explains that the arms race debt eventually caused the collapse of the Soviet Union and the U.S. to end up with a four trillion dollar deficit - imagine all the other things that money might have been used for! What was most terrifying to me was the story about Curtis Lemay, the commanding general of SAC, and how he used his persuasive power to get atomic bombs to Guam, and have these bombs placed under his command, so that he might use them upon Korea. The most confusing thing about the book for me, was the number of scientists, spies, and government and military officials - there were too many to keep track of and I thought it might have been helpful to have a diagram showing how people were connected to each other.
This book does a good job of explaining the history of the atomic bomb. It is interesting, and scary. I believe its main focus is to show us how dangerous and un-winnable a nuclear war is, and I think it hits the target.

First Responder
A must read. Gives insight into a period that we seem not to have remembered. Full of technical history of how to build nuclear weapons.

This book is fascinating.
I read the making of the atomic bomb by the same author and remianed fascinated for 800 pages.This book is equally marvelous.The previous book dealt with the advances in science and the people who made them, beginning in the 19th century.The hydrogen bomb was conceived duringthe epoch subsequent to the makingof the atomic bomb and its promoter, Edward Teller, was not a popular person at the time;he encountered resistence. The author describes the personalities who were working on these weapons, famous scientists, and their quirks and weaknesses.Also, all of the science that goes on.I did stop to study a bit. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (12)

Quick and perfect
A good review should be silent.Like a clean house you only notice the dirt, not the clean.A good transaction and shipment should be unremarkable.Not a single problem = perfect score.

Anything written by Wilbur Smith
If you love a compelling story, anything written by Wilbur Smith should satisfy you.He's a master at developing his characters and draws the readers in with his vivid descriptions of their lives and surroundings.

Read only if you intend to read all of his books.
Of 28 of 31 of his books that I have read this is my least favorite.A totally unbelievable tale without the typical building of characters and romance so often found in Smith novels.

Fast Paced African Adventure
This is an entertaining adventure novel by Wilbur Smith.

Although this is not one of his better ones, it is one that will keep the reader entertained. The story is about a group of mercenaries who are sent to retrieve a collection of diamonds under the guise of rescuing some people who are in danger during a revolt.

It is a story that any Wilbur Smith fan will enjoy.For anyone who has never read him before, I would recommend starting with 'Hungry as the Sea' or the Courtney series, which is fantastic.The first one in that collection is: 'When the Lion Feeds.'

Dumb Fun
For a testosterone-fuelled romp through a tragic chapter in Africa's history this fast-paced story is exciting and the pages fly by.
However, the African characters are patronising outlines at best and the "love" scenes are laughably heavy handed. The story barely challenges even the most lobotomised reader and the sad events which act as a backdrop to this fantasy rarely interrupt the author's White, macho dreams.
Fun, but very dumb. ... Read more

Product Description
Having colonized other worlds, humans are certain the galaxy is theirs for the taking. But they soon discover the horrifying price of their arrogance when a scientific experiment awakens the wrath of the previously unknown Hydrogues and begins a war. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (95)

Utter Crap
I hate this book so much I wish I could erase the time it took me to read it. I actually want that time back.

The author steals his ideas pretty blatantly from other authors, most notably Dan Simmons, who does space opera WAY better. A great number of characters wind up being ridiculous cartoonish stereotypes. Unbelievable to a huge degree, and the writing is just awful. Anderson, you are an utter hack.

Starts well, but....
I would like to offer an overall review of all seven books combined.Even though each book has its own sub-plots, one has to read all seven to stitch every piece together.Unless you plan to read all of them (a major time commitment) I suggest that you go find yourself some thing shorter to read.This is an epic saga.

I find the books and the story hard to classify.It is science fiction, but what kind?The story starts as if it is going to be hard science fiction.(That's why I probably consider the first book to be the best.)But then it degenerates into several parallel threads, many of which are pure fantasies.By the end of the seventh book, I felt that 90% of the threads and plot were more appropriately described as fantasy than science fiction.

Even if you prefer fantasy over hard science fiction, you will still be disappointed by the repeated "deus ex machina" saving the day.I count seven such cases, three of them occurring in the last volume.Anderson is very good in weaving a complex story to its crescendo and creating a very tense (nearly hopeless) situation for the heroes.Then he cannot get them out of there in any plausible way, and he resorts to dues ex machina time after time.Because of that, you will feel disappointed (perhaps even cheated) once you finish the story, even if you will find it entertaining most of the way.

The characters are one-dimensional.There are good sub-plots of love, hatred, betrayal, revenge... The evil is really evil, and the good-guys could do no wrong.If you don't mind that, you may enjoy the saga.

Science? what's that?
I tried to read this book and didn't make it past the first couple of chapters. You have a ship flying in the upper levels of a gas giant mining hydrogen? ok, that works.

The ship has an outside deck? ok, under a force field i assume.

Nope, it is in the open air and the crew can go out for a breath of fresh air. And there are birds that never land anywhere except on this deck. Yes you can find a level in the atmosphere where the pressure is earth sea level, but it won't be breathable air! You're mining hydrogen at that level! You think there would be oxygen in a human usable concentration? What about the gases causing all the interesting colored clouds, like hydrocholoric and sulfuric acid vapor? Not to mention mixing hydrogen and oxygen at earth pressure and temp (can you spell B O O M?)

Threw the book away, it's not even worth trying to sell to the used book store because then I would inflict this pain on someone else.

These are not the books you are looking for ...
I read the first 2 books of the series and finally quit 1/3 of the way through the third book because I couldn't respect myself if I read any more.The story is good, it's a fun space-opera, but the writing is horrible.The author would receive a C in any lit class on earth for the lack of narrative skills and it upsets me that a publisher would print these books over others that can't possibly be less deserving.There are so many great masters of Sci-Fi out there in the world, please look for them and don't waste time on this series.

Average
This series just gets worse and worse as it goes on.I would love to point out all the points where the series chooses ridiculous directions and twists but I would have to ruin the story.

Short and Sweet, if you're interested in reading something semi space opera'ish you can read this and when it starts getting annoying just put it down and know that the rest of the series just gets worse. ... Read more

Product Description
In South of the Border, West of the Sun, the simple arc of a man's life--with its attendant rhythms of success and disappointment--becomes the exquisite literary terrain of Haruki Murakami's most haunting work.

Born in 1951 in an affluent Tokyo suburb, Hajime--beginning in Japanese--has arrived at middle age wanting for almost nothing. The postwar years have brought him a fine marriage, two daughters, and an enviable career as the proprietor of two jazz clubs. Yet a nagging sense of inauthenticity about his success threatens Hajime's happiness. And a boyhood memory of a wise, lonely girl named Shimamoto clouds his heart.

When Shimamoto shows up one rainy night, now a breathtaking beauty with a secret from which she is unable to escape, the fault lines of doubt in Hajime's quotidian existence begin to give way. And the details of stolen moments past and present--a Nat King Cole melody, a face pressed against a window, a handful of ashes drifting downriver to the sea--threaten to undo him completely. Rich, mysterious, quietly dazzling, South of the Border, West of the Sun is Haruki Murakami's wisest and most compelling fiction.
Amazon.com Review
In South of the Border, West of the Sun, the arc of an averageman's life from childhood to middle age, with its attendant rhythms ofsuccess and disappointment, becomes the kind of exquisite literaryconundrum that is Haruki Murakami's trademark. The plot is simple:Hajime meets and falls in love with a girl in elementary school, but heloses touch with her when his family moves to another town. He driftsthrough high school, college, and his 20s, before marrying andsettling into a career as a successful bar owner. Then his childhoodsweetheart returns, weighed down with secrets:

When I went back into the bar, a glass and ashtray remained where shehad been. A couple of lightly crushed cigarette butts were lined up inthe ashtray, a faint trace of lipstick on each. I sat down and closed myeyes. Echoes of music faded away, leaving me alone. In that gentledarkness, the rain continued to fall without a sound.

Customer Reviews (123)

Amazing!And Great Translation!
I have read almost every Murakami novel and short story translated into English, and most more than once.This is a fantastic novel and ranks among his best.Though not as obviously deep and weird as his other works, there is a subtleness to this that rewards the patient and intelligent reader.

The tale of hope and loss is as old as literature and Murakami does justice to these thematic elements.I find this novel utterly amazing and rewarding even after several reads.

Murakami's Most Realistic Work Yet
I found the book to be a satisfying read even though I generally prefer Murakami's short stories over his novels. Other fans of Murakami's writings might even find the novel underwhelming as it goes very light on surrealism - style that he is really appreciated for.

In fact, the novel is firmly grounded in realism. The book's central theme is a love triangle.

We as readers follow a life of Hajime, a man that might as well be called your everyday Japanese man. His existence can be best described as quotidian. He is highly dedicated to his work and family and there are no greatly exciting events to speak of in his life.

However, his fondness for a woman called Shimamoto that he got to know in his youth becomes an obsession and eventually leads to a rapturous romantic involvement after she suddenly reappears in his life. At this point, Hajime stands to lose everything that defined his life so far and goes through a great deal of soul searching. His dilemma is typical of a person that has a leading role in a love triangle: should he abandon his family or not?

As usual, Murakami is very adept at psychoanalysis. His depiction of moral quandaries and psychological traumas that arise in a love triangle is very convincing. Yet he is such a gifted writer that the prose is still fluid and easy to read despite the presence of such sordid details.

The book is also very sexually charged compared to Murakami's other works that I had the pleasure to read. The relationship between Hajime and Shimamoto culminates in a passionate sexual intercourse that is depicted rather graphically which was really called for in order to maintain the consistency of style.

Overall, this novel is a must for any Murakami fan as it gives a nicer sense of what he's capable of. However, uninitiated readers should start acquainting with him by picking up something else first. I would recommend The Elephant Vanishes, Murakami's first major short story compilation, as a start. The stories that are in it are both very quirky and realistic and hence are a nice primer to his other works that fall all over the place on that continuum.

Enjoyable, but not Murakami's best
This is unlike other Murakami books I've previously read, but it is still enjoyable nevertheless. Unlike the bizzaro, surreal universe Murakami usually operates in, the setting for this story is very much rooted in the present day and world. There is still a dream-like, hallucinatory quality to the story, but there's not much of the supernatural or fasntastical.

I agree with other reviewers that not much happens in this book, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. Even though the bizzare is kept to a minimum, I was still excited about following the protagonist's story. This is a sort of coming-of-age story of a middle-aged, successful jazz club owner who was too "satisfied" with his life when a childhood love re-appeared in his life and rocked the boat. Murakami successfully created an ambience that transported me to the midst of the story, which I loved. Overall, this was an enjoyable read but is not as good as some of Murakami's other works.

Uh, what was this all about?
What a letdown. This is my first novel by Murakami, and the reviews had me full of anticipation. The first few chapters showed an easy flowing style that kept up a good pace, even as they carried plenty of insight.

But I agree with the other reviewers here who simply disliked the narrator and main character Hajime. He pouts half of his life, until he finally gets married. (Who would want him?) He then claims to love his wife and kids and his new job, but he has a very selfish streak that keeps him living in the past. His wife's (Yukiko) weak character development is deliberate, I'm sure, but I would have liked to see more of it...her father gets more than she does.

So then Hajime supposedly runs into the love of selfish little life, the beautiful Shimamoto. She returns to him out of nowhere, refuses to talk about her life, and he is so smitten he obeys.One thing follows another, her mystery entices him, then in the end -SPOILER ALERT! - she disappears forever. Along with other circumstances, we are left wondering if he didnt imagine the whole affair.Well, so where does that leave us poor readers, holding the bag, I guess.Did this really happen, and do we really care?

So I'll give SOTBWOTS 3 stars. Pluses for the quality of writing, minuses for the expedient, somewhat stupid climax.

Reviews from Brizmus Blogs Books
I love Murakami's writing style and the way he always manages to turn a slightly boring character that one would rarely ever think about into something fascinating and almost always strange. This book isn't any exception to that, and I loved it for everything it was, and there was nothing missing from it. It's just so hard, though, not to compare it to everything else I have ever read by him, and because of that, I just can't give it the five stars it perhaps deserves. ... Read more

Product Description
The Book of the New Sun is unanimously acclaimed as Gene Wolfe's most remarkable work, hailed as "a masterpiece of science fantasy comparable in importance to the major works of Tolkien and Lewis" by Publishers Weekly, and "one of the most ambitious works of speculative fiction in the twentieth century" by The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. Shadow & Claw brings together the first two books of the tetralogy in one volume:

The Shadow of the Torturer is the tale of young Severian, an apprentice in the Guild of Torturers on the world called Urth, exiled for committing the ultimate sin of his profession -- showing mercy toward his victim.

Ursula K. Le Guin said, "Magic stuff . . . a masterpiece . . . the best science fiction I've read in years!"

The Claw of the Conciliator continues the saga of Severian, banished from his home, as he undertakes a mythic quest to discover the awesome power of an ancient relic, and learn the truth about his hidden destiny.

"Arguably the finest piece of literature American science fiction has yet produced [is] the four-volume Book of the New Sun."--Chicago Sun-Times

"The Book of the New Sun establishes his preeminence, pure and simple. . . . The Book of the New Sun contains elements of Spenserian allegory, Swiftian satire, Dickensian social consciousness and Wagnerian mythology. Wolfe creates a truly alien social order that the reader comes to experience from within . . . once into it, there is no stopping."--The New York Times Book Review
Amazon.com Review
One of the most acclaimed "science fantasies" ever, Gene Wolfe's The Book of the New Sun is a long, magical novel in four volumes. Shadow & Claw contains the first two: The Shadow of the Torturer and The Claw of the Conciliator, which respectively won the World Fantasy and Nebula Awards.

This is the first-person narrative of Severian, a lowly apprentice torturer blessed and cursed with a photographic memory, whose travels lead him through the marvels of far-future Urth, and who--as revealed near the beginning--eventually becomes his land's sole ruler or Autarch. On the surface it's a colorful story with all the classic ingredients: growing up, adventure, sex, betrayal, murder, exile, battle, monsters, and mysteries to be solved. (Only well into book 2 do we realize what saved Severian's life in chapter 1.) For lovers of literary allusions, they are plenty here: a Dickensian cemetery scene, a torture-engine from Kafka, a wonderful library out of Borges, and familiar fables changed by eons of retelling. Wolfe evokes a chilly sense of time's vastness, with an age-old, much-restored painting of a golden-visored "knight," really an astronaut standing on the moon, and an ancient citadel of metal towers, actually grounded spacecraft. Even the sun is senile and dying, and so Urth needs a new sun.

The Book of the New Sun is almost heartbreakingly good, full of riches and subtleties that improve with each rereading. It is Gene Wolfe's masterpiece. --David Langford, Amazon.co.uk ... Read more

Customer Reviews (215)

Epic book
Great book.Difficult to read at first, but you start adapting fairly quickly.Must read Urth of the New Sun after finishing both halves.Highly recommended!

If literary grace is the defense of vague cottony writing, OK.
Literary grace is offered as the defense of the vague cottony-woolly writing and uninviting style of this fantasy series.

This is sometimes combined with an intimation that those that do not like these novels are not quite smart enough to understand what the author is doing.Not quite smart enough to understand that Severian, the main character, is an "unreliable narrarator".Not quite smart enough to understand that the author is the master of the casual revelation.

So be it.Count me stupid, but I found these books a slog to read.

Here is one example, among many... the author takes great care, and to be fair, uses great imagination, to create the setting and conflicts within the Torturer's Guild.This is then thrown away, and instead we spend an entire long, interminable, perhaps drug-inspired day wandering the larger city. This sets the pattern for the book, where the author again and again creates wonderful imagery, settings, conflicts, but then writes away from these situations, moved past these situations towards events not generated directly or indirectly from these settings... This makes the book read a bit dreamy, especially when combined with the florid language, which some love.

As you read, you begin to see Severian as the most irritating of protagonists, the arbitrarily acting protagonist.This attenuates your interest, it irritates.To overcome this feeling, one must embrace and enjoy the larger scope of the work, the style, the authorship.

I found it hard to make that leap.I expect that those who make this leap find these books grand.I find them grand failures, not compelling. You may consider me not smart enough to understand the books, but my takeaway is that these books are not for everyone, and that this is because they read a bit vague, a bit cottony, a bit dreary.

You are free to call me "too dumb to understand the author" and you are free to point out the subtle nature of the writing, that I am probably too thick to notice. For those like me, this series is a skip.

Science Fantasy by a True Master
Gene Wolfe is an amazing writer because he is able to challenge and entertain at the same time. "The Book of the New Sun" is an amazing work of fiction because it breaks down genre tropes and infuses both fantasy and science fiction staples with power and new life. Severian, for me, is one of both fantasy and science fiction's great protagonist. In my mind, he stands proudly alongside Ray Bradbury's Montag and Roger Zelazny's Sam. His humanity is so striking and utterly plausible that readers will feel quite at home in the disturbingly alien world where he lives.

If you haven't read Gene Wolfe, you should. As both a writer and a reader, he has inspired me and this book, in my opinion, is his masterpiece. Excellent, excellent stuff.

Over my head
I think this book is better than I understand...

If you are into science fiction and literature this is a great book.If you are just into science fiction you should probably pick up something easier...like I will

Beyond my sympathies ...
When J. R. R. Tolkien would come across a work of literature that he disliked or hated, he would often desribe the work as "beyond my sympathies."*Shadow & Claw* is most definitely beyond my sympathies.Indeed, I detest this book.I would not describe myself as a fantasy and sci-fi junkie, though Tolkien certainly is one of my favorite writers.Having been an English major in college, I have read my share of modern novels.My dislike of this book, therefore, cannot simply be attributed to an addiction to bad writing.But I do have my prejudices: I like good stories peopled by interesting characters.On my reading, *Shadow & Claw* fails on both counts.I found the book confusing, disjointed, and, quite frankly, boring.It feels artificial.I have no interest in the bizarre world that Wolfe has created.I will not be reading the second half of *The Book of New Sun*.

But my review should not discourage anyone from reading this book.While it may be beyond my sympathies, you may not find it so.It may well be, as others have declared it to be, an amazing and innovative imaginative work.Maybe.But quite honestly, I cannot understand all the glowing positive reviews of this book.A great work of literature?Nonsense.An innovative work?Perhaps--but also a failure.Worth reading?Perhaps ... perhaps you will find yourself among those who are enthralled by it ... but be prepared to be disappointed. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (11)

Interesting
The great new world that my new Kindle has provided is that I am choosing genres and topics I wouldn't ordinarily buy.Not a great reader of historical books, I am becoming more interested as time goes by.As such, I wanted a glimpse into the larger-than-life FDR and those around him.I found this book interesting, but have to admit that I was totally captivated by the photos.Just lovely pieces of history!I appreciate the author sharing his life; it's not easy to provide it as an open book.

Decidedly Different
I truly enjoyed this book.I've seen Curtis Roosevelt on many documentaries relating to FDR and was always interested in his "inside view" into what FDR and Eleanor were really like. To me, the key to truly enjoying history falls back on the personalities of the people: what made them "real."I learned so much about the real personalities from this book, as well as the dynamics of the Roosevelt family.Not one page was "dry" as can be the case in so many nonfiction/historical books.This is definitely one I would highly recommend!

Average...
I'd be hard pressed to find a book about Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelt that I didn't adore, but unfortunately, Too Close to the Sun: Growing Up in the Shadow of My Grandparents, Franklin and Eleanor by Curtis Roosevelt is just average.Curtis Roosevelt (formerly Curtis Roosevelt Dall) is the second grandchild and oldest grandson of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt.

The author was three years old when FDR became president.His mother Anna, (the president's only daughter) was going through a divorce at the time, and so moved into the White House with her two children.Anna Eleanor Dall (Sistie) and Curtis (Buzzie) became immediate media darlings.Although his mother remarried and they moved to the West Coast, the White House and the Big House at Hyde Park were always "home" to Curtis. The author's family recognized early on that Curtis enjoyed the attentions that were directed at FDR a little too much."The idea that I might be suffering from growing up in the orbits of my grandfather and grandmother, whose powerful auras were doubled-edged, was untenable."Being that Curtis was the second oldest grandchild, he did get to witness many events and meet many important people during his grandfather's presidency.

I enjoyed the parts about FDR, Eleanor and the White House.For instance, FDR insisted on having a live Christmas tree in the White House, lit by actual candles.The White House staff was aghast.One can only imagine real candles on a 20 foot tree in the East Room!However, I was almost embarrassed reading some facts about the author's childhood.For instance, this poor, little rich boy never slept alone, unbuttoned a button, went to the bathroom by himself, or flushed a toilet until he was 5 years old and ready for kindergarten.The Sun in this story is definitely Franklin.Curtis adored his Papa.But I got the feeling that while Curtis admired Eleanor, his love was reserved for Sara Delano Roosevelt (Franklin's mother, called Granny).He writes that his Granny was not a villain."The characterization, coupled with decades of my grandmother's polite but obviously shaded remarks about her mother-in-law, set in motion her ogress's reputation, a mantle that continues to hang around Sara Delano Roosevelt's shoulders."From the hundreds of books that I have read about the Roosevelt family, I believe this reputation is well-founded.Curtis also ends the book with FDR's death, thus reinforcing my feeling that for the author, Eleanor did not receive equal billing.While Too Close to the Sun did provide some amazing photographs, it is lacking an index that I would have found helpful.

I will add Too Close to the Sun to my Roosevelt collection.Although I feel it's just average, at least it's better than any of the books written by his uncles.

unique inside view of life with the Eleanor and Franklin
First of all this is a beautifully made book. Nice quality paper printed on, special unseen before pictures of the Roosevelt family.This nonfiction selection is very enjoyable, told by one ofFranklin Roosevelt's grandsons.He describes a special life for him and his sister who were lucky enough to spend time with their grandparents at the
White House.Interesting perspective of a 6 year old boy's memories and feelings of how they were expected to behave around their grandparents which they adored.The grandchildren enjoyed being around the White House more than living with their own parents.I feel we get to see some very personal family events which gives good insight to what Franklin and Eleanor were really like.I'm really enjoying this book!

A Charming Read
From the other reviews, you know the story: the three year old grandson of FDR finds himself living in the White House, ignored by all but his nurse, and generally coming in third in a two man race so to speak.But what is charming and fascinating about this tale is that it is so beautifully told in almost a period style with lovedly sepia toned photographs throughout.Hardly a page turner, Too Close to the Sun is almost a stream of consciousness redition of a youngster's early life.Ignored and passed over, moved from pillar to post with no thought for his wishes, this child lets us into his world and that of pre World War II upper class life. It is amazing that given his childhood that he grew up to be such a productive adult.

There is a sense that the author needed to write this memoir as therapy in his waning years to explain how he was affected by living in the FDR-ER world, and yet the book is hardly about them at all, but it makes us feel how the youngster felt about it all as he was mostly ignored by his family.One feels sorry for Buzzie, but then one thinks of other children and wonders what they are experiencing as they are dragged along by parents little interested in their children.

A quiet little book in a peculiar shape, not quite square, not quite a coffee table book with a soft yellow cover with a photo of beautiful people in the open car..... A good bedtime read. ... Read more

Product Description
A champion of Africa, legendary for his good looks, his charm, and his prowess as a soldier, lover, and hunter, Denys Finch Hatton inspired Karen Blixen to write the unforgettable Out of Africa. Now esteemed British biographer Sara Wheeler tells the truth about this extraordinarily charismatic adventurer.

Born to an old aristocratic family that had gambled away most of its fortune, Finch Hatton grew up in a world of effortless elegance and boundless power. In 1910, searching for something new, he arrived in British East Africa and fell in love–with a continent, with a landscape, with a way of life that was about to change forever. In Nairobi, Finch Hatton met Karen Blixen and embarked on one of the great love affairs of the twentieth century. Intellectual equals, Finch Hatton and Blixen were genuine pioneers in a land that was quickly being transformed by violence, greed, and bigotry. Ever restless, Finch Hatton wandered into a career as a big-game hunter and became an expert bush pilot. Mesmerized all his life by the allure of freedom and danger, Finch Hatton was, writes Wheeler, “the open road made flesh.” ... Read more

Customer Reviews (22)

Draws a Crowd
Forgive me: I haven't read the book, and as a Dinesen fan I suspect I might have my differences with it, but I couldn't resist commenting on this crowd of intelligent readers and reviewers it has drawn!People were drawn to Finch Hatton; I am drawn to any author who nucleates such a thoughtful, articulate gathering as this.Blockbuster, maybe not, but they have their own clubs; I prefer this one.So sue me, I'm placing my order now.

Great read.
Well written. A fascinating look at East Africa in the early 1900's. Finch Hatton is far more interesting than Dinsen describes. Great read.

If you loved Out of Africa...
If you loved Out of Africa-- the book or movie-- you will love this beautifully-researched and written biography of the last of the great white hunters & safari guides.More than a biography of the man, it is a biography of an entire aristocratic way of life:the non-inheriting son who must find his way in the world.In Denys' case, it led to the Happy Valley of Kenya at the pak of the Pax Britania.Denys was among the first to value and respect the indigenous people and tribes of Africa, and his premature death between the wars presaged much of the wasted promise and potential of his generation.

Not Close Enough
Having lived in Kenya, I looked forward to Sarah Wheeler's book. Her tremendous research is apparent in the loving care afforded to specific details, especially concerning the early settlers in Kenya. I very much enjoyed the historical backdrop which gave context to behaviors and attitudes. However, Ms. Wheeler's view of Finch-Hatton is almost hagiographic. When the word "selfish" is floated in connection with his seemingly aloof response to Karen Blixen, Ms. Wheeler immediately counters with its romantic counterpart "elusive." She claims that this "elusiveness" was part of Finch-Hatton's charm and his attractiveness for women. I also have to agree with another reviewer; Karen Blixen is virtually excoriated throughout a good deal of this book. Ms. Wheeler's conclusions may be the result of interviews with Blixen's and Finch-Hatton's families. However, the trashing of Ms. Blixen's fiction seems particularly uncharitable and subjective. From this book, it appears that Finch-Hatton was the result of a pampered childhood and early schooling at Eton where he never recovered from being an "adored tyrant", and felt unable to "engage" with anything or anyone despite the devotion of many friends and lovers. Ms. Wheeler appears to agree with Beryl Markham who states that Finch-Hatton "was a great man who never achieved arrogance." However, Finch-Hatton seems more reminiscent of Henry James' John Marcher in "Beast in the Jungle" who waits for some great life-defining event to take place. Unlike Marcher, Finch-Hatton may never have understood that he allowed his life to slip away from him.

Doesn't live up to the hype
I picked up this book with great anticipation. Out of Africa had intriqued me, and West with the Night was an interesting read. I found it difficult to get into Too CLose to the Sun. The author just didn't hold my interest. Lots of history, but that's ok. I'm a history buff, but history can't just be a telling of facts particularly in a biography. I realize Denys Finch Hatton left much to the imagination. There isn't a lot of material an author can draw from. There are no people left that can be interviewed, but if an author sets out to write a biography there has to be something there to hold my interest, something to get me into the story. Indeed there has to be a story, not just dull information.
This book was just not what I was looking for. ... Read more

Product Description
The culminating volume in Kevin J. Anderson's Saga of Seven Suns weaves together the myriad storylines into a spectacular grand finale.


Galactic empires clash, elemental beings devastate whole planetary systems, and the factions of humanity are pitted against each other.Heroes rise and enemies make their last stands in the climax of an epic tale seven years in the making.The Saga of Seven Suns is one of the most colorful and spectacular science fiction epics of the last decade. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (27)

Interesting, though flawed
I decided to read this book even though I had not read the rest of the series.I'm already in several long series and just couldn't picture wading all the way through another.Anderson gives such a long "what's gone before" section that I don't think it's a problem.I never really felt lost.

It took a few chapters to get into the book enough to care about the story, but once I did, I felt the story kept moving pretty well.The basic story and many of the characters are pretty interesting.The book works as a page turner.

On the other hand, there are too many "how could they be so stupid" events in the story.The villains of the story are one dimensional and, frankly, a tad stupid, but the heroes make up for it by missing opportunity after opportunity to fix problems.The story just doesn't ring true of human nature--especially given the kind of people many of the characters in the story are.That problem resulted in too many convenient plot devices to fix problems.

If you can take a "check your brains at the door and enjoy the ride" attitude to the book, you'll probably enjoy it.Otherwise, it's kind of like watching a movie like "Armageddon"

One picky nit: it's a bad idea to name the chief villain in the story Winsenslaus.I just couldn't helping thinking "Good King W" every time I heard his name.Made it hard to take him seriously.

The attention span of nematodes
This series of seven books contains at least three time the same stories as the author after cutting the storie line into 6 minutes long description of events felt he had to provide the background of previous episode (in case the reader got lost).
In that this serie probably deserve a entry as a new kind of space opera
: the soap space opera, the only thing missing are the ads every 15 minutes (wait until a TV channel produces it...)
In other words this serie was written for people with the attention span of nematodes...

Storie-wise too few good ideas and of course god lurking at one cormer just in case a galaxy was not enough.

best to avoid and save few bucks

Satisfying Conclusion to Decent Epic
This book started with book six's cliffhanger, which was a decent way to just jump right into the action.

I like the incorporation of all the elements and plot threads and thought that was fairly well done.

Some of the characters started to become a little flat/cliche-ish towards the end, Chairman Basil in particular but even still i thought that was handled okay.

Overall, I was satisfied with the book, it had a realism to it that made me feel like I was part of the story.

Everything wrapped up neatly with a nice little bow but at the same time it more or less felt 'right' which is the only thing that matters.

Thanks for the hard work KJA, I enjoyed the series and will look for some of your other books.

Conclusion...
A very good conclusion to this seven book series. I have the series in softcover but could not wait for April so I had to buy this one in hardcover.

Great end to a good series
I have read this series from the very first book and I couldn't wait to get my hands on the final one.The final one lived up to my expectations and was brilliant.I've always felt that this series reminded me of Starcraft (with the Ildirians being the Protoss and the Klikiss being the Zerg) and that feeling wasn't dispelled in the last book.

You really find yourself hating Chairman Wenceslas and hoping that someone anyone would just put him out of everyone's misery (a little like old Bob Mugabe down in Zimbabwe).

The only criticism that I have of the book is that the last thirty pages seemed to be a space filler and these were the pages that took the longest for me to finish. ... Read more

Product Description
Gene Wolfe has been called "the finest writer the science fiction world has yet produced" by The Washington Post. A former engineer, he has written numerous books and won a variety of awards for his SF writing.
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Customer Reviews (29)

Can't get enough of this!
It's worth reading, but read the first "four" books first(usually found as two "books" per volume.)

The Urth of the New Sun shines just like its predecessors
If you've read the Book of the New Sun and you're wondering whether or not to read this book, then rest assured it is well worth the read.The book seamlessly continues the story of Severian in his journey to bring the new sun in the same style as the previous novel.Wolfe brings light to certain unanswered questions from the first book, without ruining its mystique.

good, but not as compelling as others in series
Ok, I love Gene Wolfe's work, and own most of it in hardcover because my paperbacks grew tattered and dog-eared; this one (still in paper) looks brand-new.This work just doesn't feel right; not because the prose isn't interesting, or because of the abrupt end. It just isn't compelling enough to pick up again. There's a weird "vibe" that you get when you read much of his work that stays with you, and it just feels missing from this one- and the abrupt end doesn't leave you wanting more, it's just irritating.

Just buy it already.
If you've read the first 4 books of The New Sun series and enjoyed them, just buy this book right now. There's no point in reading a review, or spoilers or anything else, positive or negative. Just buy it and read it.

After you finish, you'll probably be intrigued enough at some of the hidden meanings to re-read the first 4 books in the series. In fact, the last 4 times I've re-read the series, I started with this book first as it lends itself well to being both the first and last book, because Severian's adventure is somewhat cyclical, like Finnegans Wake or what Giambattista Vico would deem a 'storia ideale eterna'.

Questions Answered, but New Ones Arise
The Urth of the New Sun: The sequel to 'The Book of the New Sun' (New Sun) isn't so much a book as a lengthy pontification on the nature of man.As compared to other beings, Severian, tells the reader his philosophies as if they are to become volumes in his gospel (which is what we are supposed to believe.)

This is told via travelogue, where we find out where Severian has gone, what he's done, but not why.He spends much of his time trying to work through the largest of all Why questions, without resolving that satisfactorily.

But, at the end of the book, Gene Wolfe stops writing.We never find out the answers to Severian's questions because it seems that the author tired of the internal socratic dialogue, realizing that others tried before and also didn't come up with definitive conclusions.

All that said, Wolfe is still a talented writer, and even with flaws the volume is worth a read.I didn't throw it in frustration, but instead I savored the words and only became perplexed after days pondering the plot and realizing that those errors came through retrospectively.

Enjoy it, and the whole series.

- CV Rick ... Read more