Catch the Moon
Lisa Loeb & Elizabeth Mitchell
Book and Audio CD
Artemis Records
http://artemisrecords.com
ASIN: B0001DMVM6 $18.98
Alyice Edrich
Reviewer
I love the simplicity of both the story and the music CD. Catch the Moon is a gentle reminder of
what true friendship is all about, while the music CD engages young minds and inspires them to
dance, play, and love music. The CD reminds me of sweet, old-fashioned folk songs...when times
were simpler and all our children needed were to hear the sweet, sweet, sounds of our voices to
feel safe. This is a wonderful tool for putting both infants and toddlers down for naps, helping
them unwind after a busy day, or just help parents bond with their children.
Drip Dry
Ilsa Evans
Macmillan
ISBN: 0732911524 A$30.00 365 pp.
Ann Skea, Reviewer
http://ann.skea.com
If you read Spin Cycle and enjoyed it, as I did, then you will be glad to hear of this second
installment in the life of Camilla and her three children CJ (Christine Jain), Sam and Ben. And it's
all about another week of chaos, of family support and of family interference, just like the last one
but this time with added sex and satisfaction.
Camilla accidentally stars in an accidentally pornographic home-video, she meets an Irish (very
Irish!) odd-job-man who favours pink overalls and catchy slogans, her ex-husband returns from
overseas to live in the house next door, and her strange assortment of family and friends pop in
and out of her life as usual. It's a week of bizarre events and it's never boring.
I read Drip Dry quickly, laughed at some of the situations, and hoped for a happy ending but, for
me, the scene has lost some of its freshness and shows worrying signs of becoming a long-running
soap opera. Now soap operas are enormously popular and I wish luck to the authors who manage
to make a living out of them, but they are not my cup of tea. Nevertheless, Camilla's intelligence
and her survival tactics as a twice-divorced mother with three normal, unpredictable kids with the
normal range of parent-frustrating problems make for easy reading. For me it was a light
distraction but I think Camilla is more than able, now, to manage without my taking any further
interest in her life.
So, there you have it! Perhaps this is not so much Chick Lit. for the young career woman as Fem.
Lit. for divorced mums coping well on their own and working for a better life. And if that's your
scene, then in Drip Dry you will probably empathize with Camilla, recognize her daily horrors and
laugh with her at familiar situations. But in the end you could be left with the wry thought that
only in fiction could things work out quite so neatly.
Out of Place Out of Time
Eric D. Knapp
iUniverse
http://www.ericdknapp.com/drstowel/
ISBN: 0595302130 $17.95 272 pp.
Ben Jonjak
Reviewer
"Out of Place Out of Time" is an extremely enjoyable read that I would not hesitate to
recommend. It is not a perfect book; in fact, it breaks several of the most commonly accepted
rules of conventional literature. But I personally enjoy authors who are willing to do whatever
needs to be done to tell their story, and, at the heart of it all, "Out of Place Out of Time" has a
great story to tell.
"Place/Time" is a science-fiction novel that deals with the theme of time travel. Time travel is, of
course, one of the oldest and most well-explored plot devices of the sci-fi genre. In fact, it is so
well explored that it has almost become redundant to write about any longer. Most of the
surprising plot twists that time travel can support have already been used with such frequency as
to become clich‚. However, there are several reasons that time travel will continue to be a sci-fi
mainstay--it has great potential, and it is a fascinating subject. When an author is able to conceive
of a new wrinkle to throw into the time travel concept, the results can be just as effective as the
first time you read about Bradbury's dinosaur hunter who accidentally stepped on a butterfly and
returned to a future completely different from the one he originally came from.
Like Bradbury, Eric D. Knapp skillfully constructs a story that regards the implications of time
travel in a way that you might have never considered. The impetuous for the plot comes when Dr.
Trenton Stowel attempts to test the time machine he has constructed. The test, as Dr. Stowel
conceives it, is not especially ambitious. He has no immediate interest in going either forward or
backward in time, but merely wants to pause for a moment and watch the world continue on
around him. Imagine his surprise when, upon turning on the machine, Dr. Stowel finds himself
flung at terrifying, unrelenting speed into the cold darkness of the universe. Being a scientist, it
takes him little effort to understand that his machine had the unanticipated effect of cutting his
anchor to the tremendous velocities of the universe that are constantly in play but go mainly
unnoticed. Velocities such as: the rotation of the Earth, the revolution of the Earth around the
sun, or even the expansion of the universe. Pausing his position in time leaves Dr. Stowel stranded
in the most unforgiving environment conceivable, only to watch the rest of the universe spin away
from him at a terrifying rate. Things get worse when Stowel realizes that his time machine is not
capable of getting him back home, and is further compounded with the discovery of an alien race
that had been observing him for some time and, for some unknown reason, doesn't appear to be
very pleased with his actions.
Suffice it to say, the plot is compelling, but also of interest is the way in which the story is told.
The book is written as a transcript of an interview with Dr. Stowel, who relates his experiences in
between uncontrollable bouts of simply disappearing into time (as Vonnegut would say, Stowel
has apparently become "unstuck"). The interview structure of the book is a compelling idea and
has positive and negative points. On the one hand, it is quick and easy to get through, and the
novel moves rapidly from one episode to another. But on the other hand, sometimes I felt as if
things were a little too rushed. Knapp demonstrates at various points in the novel that he is
capable of quite poetic description. However, for the most part, the story is told at arm's length.
The reader is never fully enveloped in the work, but instead sort of watches what happens from
the outside. In truth, to do complete justice to the quality of the story, I think this novel needs to
be twice its current length with the added page count coming from more developed description of
Stowel's surroundings, emotions, and adventures.
Still, though the novel doesn't function like a conventional book, it nevertheless grips the reader
with its interesting discussions on the nature of time. Knapp doesn't waste space going over silly
imaginary discussions as to how to build a time machine (there is no sign of a flux capacitor), but
instead focuses on theoretical ideas that are based enough in science to have some sort of
relevance. In addition to this, Dr. Stowel is a fully fleshed out character with personality issues
and emotional scars that I assume would be unpleasantly recognizable to just about anybody.
"Out of Place Out of Time" is a good book that is just a hair's width away from greatness.
Although I would like to see a few more things added, the current version is very accessible and
entertaining. For people who enjoy a rapidly-paced, intelligent sci-fi story that challenges you with
its ideas without choking you on them, there really couldn't be a better choice than "Out of Place
Out of Time."
The Man in My Basement
Walter Mosley
Little, Brown and Company
ISBN 0316570826 $22.95 249 pages
Bill Toth
Reviewer
Toward the beginning of Walter Mosley's The Man in My Basement, the main character, Charles
Blakey, stops for a moment in the woods as a group of deer crosses the road. He reflects upon
people's belief that deer are cowards. He says: "I once saw a group of fifteen or more of them
swimming out to Shelter Island. Their heads just above the water, they looked frightened and
desperate out there. Cowards don't face terror."
They faced terrors. And by book's end, so will Charles Blakey.
Walter Mosley is best known for his mystery novels, especially the Easy Rawlins series. He has
also written science fiction and screenplays and has won many awards, including the
Anisfield-Wold Award, the O'Henry Award and the Black Caucus of the American Library
Association's Literary Award. In addition, he is on the board of directors of the National Book
Awards and The Poetry Society of America.
But this novel is not a gritty detective novel with sociological insights or a moving story of an old
ex-con trying to do right (as in Mosley's Socrates Fortlow series). This book is more akin to the
tradition of Nathaniel Hawthorne; it is twenty-first century Gothic merged with realistic writing
techniques.
Charles Blakey, the first person narrator, considers himself an African-American "blue-blood"
who, in his own words, is a "solitary and jobless man who hadn't accomplished one thing in his
entire life." He traces his ancestors back to 1742 when the Blakey side of the family came over,
not as slaves, but as "indentured servants who earned their freedom." The other side of his family,
the Dodds, were free from the beginning. At age 33, he is nearly pennyless, lives alone, sleeps in
his childhood bedroom, and is on the verge of losing his ancestral home and its estate--including
the ancestral graveyard.
But all of this changes when a strange white man, Anniston Bennet, comes to his front door and
asks to rent his basement. Eventually, Blakey gives in to Bennet. And thus begins Blakey's
psychological journey into self-awareness and into an awareness of the evils and powers of the
world.
The first step of the journey is to go to this lowest part of the house, where lies the old and
forgotten, and to bring these tokens of his history (paintings, dolls, diaries, mementoes, etc.) to
light. He is aided by Narciss Gully who discovers three ivory masks, passport masks, carried by
his ancestors for safe passage from Africa to America. She advises him to not sell these. Instead
she tells him to "sleep next to them and feel their presence." They represent his "family's
heart."
The other step in his journey lies in his relationship to Anniston Bennet and to the disturbing
questions asked and questions answered. Bennet is something like Joseph Heller's Milo
Minderbinder in Catch-22. Only Bennet is a lot less funny and infinitely more viscous. He is the
nightmare bones of every conspiracy theory ever dreamed up: a shadowy power and unseen evil
that creates the true reality of the world.
The novel is a grand experiment in genre, but it doesn't quite work. Mosley's admirable realistic
techniques don't always support the bizzare character of Anniston Bennet and his strange
requests. He verges on the allegorical.
This is not to say that the book is not worth reading. It is. It is thought provoking and filled with
fine lyrical passages. The symbolic, Romantic aspects of the novel have the power to keep
suggesting more and more meaning.
The Coil
Gayle Lynds
St. Martin's Press
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010
ISBN: 0312301448 $24.95 U.S./$34.95 Can. 448 pp.
Bonnie Toews
Reviewer
Rating: FIVE STARS
SPIRALLING, FINGER-BITING SUSPENSE
Gayle Lynds strikes a best seller with THE COIL, her newest espionage thriller, and moves out of
the shadow of her collaboration with Robert Ludlum to become her own star in this genre. While
Ludlum proved he was a practical visionary who used his novels to warn the public of political
corruption at the highest government levels and to portray the terrorist "raison d'etre," he was
also a master chess player more intrigued with the moves of the pawns in his plots than their
substance. Through his characters, he expounded personal rhetoric. Lynds, on the other hand,
brings more human dimension to the chess game of "what ifs" in her novels. She delves into
specific psychological and physiological conditions, which interplay with her protagonists' inner
conflicts and novels' plots, to educate her readers about real experiences that happen to real
people. In her first three novels Masquerade, Mosaic and Mesmerized she has dealt with the
effects of Asperger's syndrome, cellular memory and conversion disorder.
In THE COIL, Lynds explores the psychology of violence in the betrayal of the world's 'haves'
versus 'have nots.' Heroine Liz Sanborough is a psychology professor, who is forced out of
retirement to return to spying for the CIA to rescue the two people she loves most. At least she
believes she is working for the CIA when her look-alike cousin, journalist Sarah Walker, and her
CIA-agent husband, Asher Flores, are kidnapped in Paris. Their ransom? A disk of zipped files
Liz's father compiled. They detail targets and clients he worked for as an independent hired
assassin code-named Carnivore. Either before or after Carnivore died in an explosion, someone
pilfered his files and is blackmailing powerful figures to manipulate the globalization of trade and
multi-national mergers. The kidnappers believe Liz has them and want the files to launch their
own agenda of control over the world's economies. As the bodies fall and the suspense build
s, a maze of intrigue spirals into ever evolving deceptions that isolate Liz and force her to realize
that the CIA is not running or protecting her and her cousins. Enter another of Liz's cousins,
Simon Childs, an MI6 agent. He is also pursuing the Carnivore's files because he believes they will
lead to his step-father's murderer. Together they search for the secret group of conspirators
whose influence reaches up to their chiefs in the CIA and MI6. The closer they come to
recovering Carnivore's files, however, the more "The Coil" isolates them until it finally traps them
in its web of ultimate betrayal. Even if Liz and Simon find the files in time to save Sarah and
Asher, "The Coil" cannot let any of them live to identify the members of its diabolical inner
sanctum of world power.
Throughout the chase to find the files, Liz grapples with her longing to trust someone and her
belief that violence begets violence. She refuses to carry a gun, determined to battle her
adversaries with wit and surprise martial art moves, until her lack of firepower almost costs the
lives of her cousins when she flubs a rescue attempt. At this point, the pros and cons to physical
violence pitch Liz headlong into the realm of realistic possibilities. So, while suspense drives the
reader to stick to the story until the very last page, it is impossible to close another Lynds' book
without thinking about the underlying human condition her novel explores. After reading THE
COIL for instance, where will we stand on the issues of violence, as a person and as a nation?
How long can we afford to let the question go unanswered? THE COIL won't let us forget. And
if we're not prepared to decide, Lynds shows us the consequences of our collective apathy in the
real world. She goes beyond Ludlum's aim to entertain and makes us think, and in doing so,
makes a difference in our lives. That's what great writing is all about.
The Incomparable Captain Cadell
John Nicholson
Allen and Unwin
ISBN 1741141087 A$29.95 307 pages.
David Skea
Reviewer
Victorian Britain produced many a person who left their native shore, established outposts in the
then British Empire and then demonstrated the hard work, tenacity and moral standards that made
that age famous. Some of the names that come to mind are David Livingstone, Cecil Rhodes,
Florence Nightingale and Stamford Raffles. And at one time, perhaps, there could have been
added the name of Francis Cadell who became well known in South Australia as the person who
established a steam river boat service on the Murray.
Francis William Cadell was born in 1822 and reportedly died in 1879 at the wrong end of a loaded
revolver. He was the third of eleven children of a moderately wealthy Scottish family, many of
whom became army officers two of his brothers becoming generals, one winning a Victoria
Cross. The family had shipping and coal mining interests and epitomised the Victorian ideals of
hard work and a place in society.
At the age of 14, at his own insistence (according to Cadell's father), Cadell joined an 'East
Indiaman', the Minerva, as a midshipman. Then followed three voyages to Macau and Canton and
a promotion to fifth mate. Cadell's next trip was more exiting as the 'Opium Wars' had started and
the Minerva was pressed into service as a troop transport. So at the age of 18, Cadell was off to
his first war and for the next 3 years or so, was a spectator at many of its decisive battles. And, if
his father's reminiscences are to be believed, he was also involved in 'punishing pirates', for which
he was rewarded with an ornamental sword. It was during this time that he probably met some of
the more unsavoury characters that became his associates in his later life.
In 1844 his father bought a small trading sloop, The Royal Sovereign, and young Francis was
installed as its captain. On one trip to South America Cadell saw a major river system, the
Amazon, just waiting to be opened up with river steamers. Returning home he took time to learn
about these new paddle steamers in Robert Napier's shipyard in Glasgow (the book also mentions
Tyneside).
In 1848 Cadell, back in command of The Royal Sovereign, visited Adelaide. This first visit lasted
only 10 days but he cannot have missed the regular arrival of drays laden with copper from the
mines at Kapunda or the wheat being produced good regular cargoes. Also he would have
heard the talk about a large broad river to the east, the Murray, and talk of river boats and paddle
steamers.
His next exploit was to design and build a fast clipper ship, The Queen of Sheba, and in 1852 he
was back in Adelaide as the commander of a fine new clipper ship. He quickly found a niche in the
Adelaide society and had little trouble in obtaining passengers and cargo. He quickly set up a fast
clipper service between Adelaide and Melbourne.
Now Cadell had the ear of the South Australian Governor and monies were made available to
start a steam river boat on the River Murray, and much of this book is devoted to telling this
story. However, socialising in Adelaide and running a river steamer business profitably are two
different things, especially when you are also competing with the settlers and the store keepers
you are supplying. In the end the inevitable happened and in 1858 Cadell was declared
bankrupt.
Cadell next appeared in New Zealand as Commandant of the Waikato Steam Transport Service, a
support flotilla for the New Zealand Government forces in the Maori Wars. However, he was too
late for the major actions, the storming of Mere Mere and Rangiriri. Thereafter he fell out with
the authorities and left.
Back in South Australia in 1867, Cadell led an expedition into North Australia charged with
selecting 'a favourable site for the survey of 300,000 acres of good land within reasonable
distance of a good harbour, easy navigable and conveniently situated as a port of call, with a
healthy site for a Capital, and in close proximity to fresh water and timber'. Being a sailor he
decided to approach the land from the sea rather than trekking across Australia and hence sailed
up the east coast of Australia and through the Torres Strait. His recommendation, a site on the
Liverpool River, however, was rejected and another expedition, dispatched under
Surveyor-General Goyder, selected Darwin as the site for the city.
Whilst sailing round Australia via the Torres Strait and the Gulf of Carpentaria, Cadell must have
come across the pearl luggers then operating on the north of Australia. Most of the divers were
'blackbirds', indigenous people from Papua or the Pacific Islands. Although slavery had been
abolished in British Territories in 1834 its sanitised alter ego 'blackbirding' continued for a further
50 years and Queensland did not outlaw the practice until 1902. 'Blackbirds' were indentured
labourers who had consented to be transported to another place, employed for an agreed period in
return for food, clothing, shelter and wages, and return to their homes at the end of the
agreement. The problem was that in most cases some or all of these conditions were ignored: the
labourers were kidnapped or induced into agreements under false pretences. Many were starved,
beaten and dumped at the end of their service.
So it would seem that in 1867 Cadell saw an opportunity, and having the wherewithal, his ship,
became a supplier in this market. The New Zealand Herald reported on May 20 1870 that "the
clipper schooner Lulu, the property of Captain Cadell, arrived from a cruise among the New
Hebrides she also had on board 27 passengers ". The 27 passengers included 23 indentured
labourers from the Sandwich Islands Cadell later turned up off the north-west coast of
Australia with 50 pearl divers from the Alor and Solar islands north of Timor. At this stage he
was a newcomer to the pearling coast which within a few years he came to dominate.
And so the story goes on until 1879 when, by some accounts, Cadell was shot six times by his
Filipino steward Perman who reportedly said to onlookers "I have shot the Captain because I have
been in his service for 5 years without receiving any wages". A report from a Captain Carpenter
tells that Perman was arrested by the Dutch authorities in Ambon, brought to trial, found guilty
and hanged on a gallows outside the courthouse. However Cadell's brother demanded that the
British take action and in October 1879 Perman, still alive, was extradited to Singapore, brought
to trial there and acquitted.
The dust jacket of this book says 'The bizarre true story of the man who built a paddle steamer
fleet on the River Murray and of his spectacular fall from grace'. Well, he did build a paddle
steamer fleet and opened up the River Murray but so did another. His competitor, William
Randall, was first on the river with a steam boat, didn't have any government monies to help build
his fleet, and also outlasted Cadell.
And was he 'incomparable'? Not really. Many aspiring heroes start out along the same path and
fall by the wayside. I'm minded of that line from the Beggars Opera after Captain Macheath was
arrested by Peachum. 'Your case, Mr Macheath, is not particular neither was Cadell's, but it
makes a good story.
Split Second
David Baldacci
Warner Books
1271 Avenue of the Americas, NY, NY 10020
ISBN#: 0446530891 $16.00 322 pp.
Marty Duncan
Reviewer
"We're the first people to really look at all the angles," said Joan Dillinger, a former Secret Service
agent eight years after a Presidential candidate was gunned down during her watch. We find out
later that Dillinger was in the elevator and distracted Agent Sean King, who allowed his candidate
to be killed and then himself killed the shooter, an angry radical from a small college. Dillinger and
King's careers came to halt eight years in the past.
Fast Forward to Agent Michelle Maxwell and her candidate. She allows the stubborn man to talk
to a grieving widow behind closed doors, and her candidate is kidnapped. During this
'page-turner' we see how the agents failed to protect their candidates and we see the impact of
those failures. We see King and Maxwell and Dillinger as their lives are changed once again.
Split Second is listed as a Thriller. It is! ('Nuff said!) It reminded me of my own action-adventure
story, Gold then Iron. You can read two chapters at www.omagadh.com
The Darkest Child
Delores Phillips
Soho Press, Inc.
ISBN: 1569473455 $26.00 387 pp.
Emanuel Carpenter
Reviewer
Rozelle Quinn, the matriarch and villainess in the novel "The Darkest Child," may soon become
the most detested character in the history of fiction. She is a physically abusive mother who not
only spanks her children with a leather belt but also burns their flesh with smoldering pokers
straight from the fireplace, pours steaming hot coffee in their faces, and punches them in the face
sending teeth flying and causing eyes to swell like a world class pugilist. She encourages the
children to steal for the good of the family. She even forces her teenage daughters into a life of
domestic servitude and prostitution (a life she knows all too well) for the extra money it brings
into the household, which she always claims for herself. Psychologically, she's even worse,
ranking her children by skin tone, claiming the lighter skinned ones are more valuable than the
darker ones. When some of them make plans to leave her house for good, she either makes them
feel guilty enough to stay or finds a way to sabotage their plans.
The story is told from the perspective of Tangy Mae, Rozelle's darkest and most intelligent child.
The setting is the fictitious, rural town Pakersfield, Georgia. Tangy Mae, who is 13 when the
book commences in 1958, dreams of someday being the first in her family to finish high-school in
order to make something of her life. But there are many obstacles, including Jim Crow laws,
racism, poverty, and most of all her sadistic mother who wants her to quit school to get a job for
the purpose of helping take care of the family, which includes nine other siblings, all of them by
different men.
Though Tangy Mae is the storyteller, the lives of her brothers and sisters are given just as much
attention as she. This includes Tarabelle, Tangy's strong and brave older sister who hates her
mother for forcing her to service men in The Farmhouse, Harvey, her older brother who wants to
marry an undertaker's daughter, Martha Jean, her deaf younger sister who falls for an older man
for whom Tangy also has a crush, and Sam her brother whose dreams of equal opportunity leave
him framed for a crime he didn't commit. When Mushy, Tangy's older sister, returns to Georgia
after a four-year, self-imposed exile to Cleveland, she fills her brothers' and sisters' heads with
ideas on following in her footsteps-far away from their abusive mother. Meanwhile, Rozelle will
stop at nothing to keep her children home with her.
"The Darkest Child" is a beautifully written work of art that is hard to put down. Its descriptive
writing is reminiscent of classic works from Alice Walker, Ralph Ellison, and Ernest Hemingway.
Consider the following passage as an example: [And the sound of silence was frightening. Rain
pounded the tin roof like a thousand demons marching for their master, and the roof yielded.
Liquid curses splashed down upon our heads and into the waiting vessels. In the gray shadows of
a rainy dusk, the clock on the table ticked rhythmically, but the hands never moved. They were
stuck.] Simply beautiful.
This novel will undoubtedly cause you to cringe with its graphic depiction of violence. The
characters will make you cry and laugh. They will also leave you longing for the escape they
desire. But most of all, this book will make you fall in love with the writing of Delores Phillips, a
Cleveland resident who works as a nurse and holds a degree in English from Cleveland State
University. Not only is it the one of best debut novels available, but it is easily one of the best
novels ever written. "The Darkest Child" is a masterpiece.
The Rise of the Phoenix
Dawn Rivers Baker
Brighid's Fire Books
a division of Wahmpreneur Publishing
P.O. Box 41, Sidney, NY 13838
ISBN # 0971327815 $10.95
Garrie Keyman
Reviewer
Fine can describe a number of things. There are fine wines, fine chocolates and fine china, all
treasures characterized by elegance and refinement. Fine constitutes a work of superior quality
and skill: something free from impurities. An article of fine craftsmanship, then, is one exhibiting a
careful and delicate artistry: an end product rendered with both subtlety and precision.
Before I read Rise of the Phoenix by Dawn Rivers Baker, fine would not have been a term I
readily assigned to literature. Oh, yes, indeed to Shakespeare, to Kahlil Gibran, but never before
to a modern work of fantasy.
To my mind, rising to the level of fine requires a work of literature to be a luxury: a work so
delicious that I want to savor it alone in the quiet evening hours after the children have gone to
bed. I crave the time, the space, the privacy to leisurely float through it as though swimming in a
sea of liquid pearls ... naked. A fine work is one I could never settle for reading once. What's
more, it is one that begs to be read aloud at times, just for the sheer pleasure of tasting the
well-turned phrase as it lolls across the palate.
In this, and more, Rise of the Phoenix delivers.
But the satisfaction of Phoenix runs far deeper than its poetic constructs. It is an engaging tale of
memorable characters struggling against the ultimate dark force of their world, an evil powerful
enough to blind the mind and impel good people to heinous acts and indifference. In that, the dark
force of Baker's universe is frighteningly real.
Meet Lady Dia of Shae, a young noble of intelligence, independence, culture and subtle rebel
leanings, who embarks on her first journey to Ormaerand, seat of the Imperial Palace, in an
attempt to re-establish her mind link with her twin brother, Daerus. It would seem, since Daerus's
own departure for the Imperial Palace, the link that Dia had enjoyed with him since birth has been
inexplicably dimmed, shadowed over by something she cannot comprehend. He has called to her,
and only by seeking him out and discerning his situation can she hope to set aright whatever it is
that has come between her and her beloved twin.
It is a dangerous and vulnerable time in which Dia travels, a time between ages in a world where
ages are marked by the rise and fall of the Phoenix. He is the keeper of time and central to a
religion that has fallen from favor with most of the other Houses, save that of Shae. Until the
Phoenix rises once again, time is practically at a stand still. Days have become years. A year of
frigid darkness has ended as Dia makes her way through a new dawn toward Ormaerand. It is a
dawn that will slowly yield to months of relentless sun that will bake the earth dry.
At the Palace, Dia encounters pivotal characters in the persons of Caelon of Aerandos and his
parents, whose warm relationships and interplay are delightfully penned by Baker. But almost as
soon as she arrives, Dia is besieged by the same darkness threatening to sweep her brother from
reach. She discovers that only one grace tethers her to the ability to remain self-possessed: the
touch of Caelon's hand.
Without understanding, Dia nevertheless clings to this realization and quickly forges a courtly
arrangement with Caelon (replete with playful underpinnings) wherein he is to take her hand in
greeting whenever they should meet. His comprehension no clearer than hers, he happily obliges.
She does not immediately confide in him that, for some reason, his touch is imbued with the
power to clear her mind of the evil fog that threatens to overtake her daily, and the more
insistently so the longer she remains in the Palace.
The Rise of the Phoenix is the tale of this couple's coming to understand the roles they are playing
in a larger arena: the stage upon which good and evil do ultimate battle. It is at once an adventure,
a romance, and a work of high fantasy peopled with richly drawn characters and neatly packaged
in the flourish of Dawn Rivers Baker's riveting voice.
The Rise of the Phoenix is a rare find, a work too good to place upon a shelf. Now that I have
relished it, it remains by my desk where I sneak a tidbit whenever I hunger for something beyond
the meat-and-potato realm of most reading. After all, Hershey's chocolate bars are unstintingly
shared with the masses, but a Godiva Chocolate is a jealously guarded treat. So go ahead. Indulge
yourself. Read The Rise of the Phoenix and taste the difference.
New Moon Astrology
Jan Spiller
Bantam Books
ISBN: 0553380869 $16.95 336 Pages
Rose Glavas
Reviewer
Jan Spiller has done a great job on making astrological knowledge accessible to the everyday
person in her new book 'New Moon Astrology - Using New Moon Power Days to Change and
Revitalize Your Life'.
She has a long history of involvement in the astrological field, including contributions as a
monthly columnist for Dell Horoscope, the astrology magazine with the largest circulation in the
world! Ms Spiller teaches astrology and appears regularly as a radio and television guest. Her
previous books Spiritual Astrology (with Karen McCoy) and Astrology for the Soul have been
translated into 10 languages to date.
As the title suggests, the information found in this inspirational and down-to-earth book shows
the everyday person how to make the most of each of the 12 New Moon placements.
Each of the twelve zodiac placements are subdivided into relevant sections. For example Taurus is
subdivided in the following way. Taurus rules:
? accumulation;
? the physical senses;
? enjoyment of life on earth;
? building;
? reliability;
? self-worth;
? inflexibility; and also
? coughs, throat, chin, neck, thyroid gland voice and vocal chords (in
matters of restoring health).
Each of these subdivisions then goes into more detail and gives examples of how to word your
wishes.
There is also a chapter devoted to using the New Moon to let go of unwanted unconscious habits.
As well as this there is another technique based on your personal 11th House that I found
interesting and potentially beneficial to anyone who wanted to try it.
Everything you need, apart from your personalised birth chart, is found within New Moon
Astrology. If you don't have your own chart the book even includes an Internet address where
you will be able to draw it up for free! This is the only item you will need to utilise the methods
she suggests to make the most of the New Moon symbolism on a personal note.
To get the most out of New Moon Astrology you will need a basic understanding of astrological
principles. For example, being familiar with concepts such as houses and cusps would be good, as
well as being able to convert time zones comfortably would be handy too.
Personally I find the theories found within this book make astrological sense and I intend on
trying some of Spiller's suggestions to see what happens!
Sophie and the Rising Sun
Augusta Trobaugh
Dutton
ISBN 0525946276 $13.00
Jean Carroll
Reviewer
Augusta Trobaugh writes a beautiful love story about an unlikely couple, Sophie, a spinster, and
Mr. Oto, who is Miss Anne's gardener. Miss Anne tells much of the story, or as much as she
knows about it, and the story unfolds as gently and quietly as the times in the southern town of
Salty Creek, Georgia in 1941.
Class, family history and color are much a part of the small town, and when Mr. Oto, too ill to
travel farther, is taken from a bus at Salty Creek, Miss Anne hires him as her gardener. He is
accepted, as much as a foreigner could be accepted, as "Miss Anne's Chinese gardener."
The tale develops slowly and deliberately, as careful and uncertain as Mr. Oto himself. Answers to
questions that arise about the history of Sophie and about Mr. Oto are gradually answered as the
story unfolds.
Mr. Oto speaks to Sophie, then berates himself for acting improperly, but he is taken with the
women he finds so lovely. One day he sees, or envisions, the Great Crane of Japan in Miss Anne's
garden and equates its fable to himself and Sophie. The Great Crane-Wife is the story of a poor
woodcutter who rescues a crane and nurses it back to health. The crane then becomes a beautiful
bride to the woodcutter.
Both Mr. Oto and Sophie like to paint and do so at the riverbank. As Mr. Oto watches Sophie, he
begins to paint the Great Crane and Sophie as one.
" he gazed at her for so long that her form began to lose all logical and rational meaning to him,
and so it didn't really come as a complete surprise to him when he began envisioning white wings
behind her, wings that echoed the angle of her white arms."
Sophie's attraction to Mr. Oto is less swift. She is puzzled by the feelings she finds overcoming
her, thinking that her life's path is set and that there is no other future for her than that of a lonely
spinster. But the feelings can't be denied.
It is December of 1941. The Japanese attack Pearl Harbor. Japanese-Americans everywhere are
considered the enemy.
What will Miss Anne do? Will she protect her gardener when the town learns he is Japanese and
not Chinese? Will she send him away? Will she try to hide him?
What will Sophie do? Will she help him or run from him?
What will happen when the town gossip and trouble-maker learns Mr. Otto is Japanese?
Will class, color and family history draw the players together or will it drive them apart as it has in
the past?
The answers to these questions are in this delightful novel.
Bones in the Badlands
Jane Kerr Colhoff
PublishAmerica
http://www.publishamerica.com
ISBN: 1413703895 $21.95 268 pages
Joyce P. Hale
Reviewer
In this intriguing tale of long-ago murders, Jane Colhoff early introduces us to the characters, the
murders, and brings us up to the present day. This is a story of cold-blooded murder, heartbreak
and mis-justice. Although a mystery story, it is also an education in relations and treatment of
Indians by the white man as a government and supposed caretaker. The descriptions of the
country - North Dakota Badlands - are haunting and beautiful, along with colorful verbal pictures
of sunrises and landscapes. The writer is prolific in telling us of customs, beliefs and the language
of the Native Americans. The story starts with an Indian boy of eight years witnessing the murder
of a man, unbeknownst to the killer who has already killed one person and goes on to kill a third.
The book is about the ramifications of these killings on many people, and the grandson who
spends his life trying to clear his grandfather's name; and eventually how his wife and the young
witness, now aged, with the help of an honest FBI agent, bring about justice for all concerned.
"Swinging gently, Hattie sat quietly, drinking in the warmth of the sun, and the beauty of the
landscape that stretched before her....... It pleased her senses immensely but more importantly, it
soothed the wrinkles in her soul." I highly recommend this tale of intrigue, treachery, and triumph.
If you enjoy mystery with danger and a tinge of friendship and love mixed in, you'll love it,
too.
Jay Walker: The Case Of The Missing Action Figure
Grant R.Philips, author
Dustin Evans, illustrator
Quiet Storm Publishing
http://www.quietstormpublishing.com
ISBN 0974960845 $10.95
Liana Metal
Reviewer
JAY WALKER is a Middle Grade mystery that will attract the readers' attention from the very
beginning. There are twenty chapters through which the mystery unfolds and entertains both
young and old readers.
Jay Walker is a nine-year-old student who is keen on solving mysteries. His close friend Benny
has got a real problem and Jay is willing to help him get over it. There is a thief in their school
who also blackmails Benny. The teacher and their parents can't really help them. Jay insists on
spotting the real guilty student himself, despite his father's suggestion to help him. But what is
going to happen to him? How can he find out the suspects? Will Jay be able to solve the mystery?
Will Benny be happy again? How many persons are involved in the mystery?
This book is a real page turner. It is absolutely absorbing, funny, entertaining and has got a lot of
suspense as well. It caters for young readers but also for older ones, and adults who are young at
heart. A nice, entertaining story that will make you smile!
Grant R.Philips, the author of this book, lives in New York with his wife and three children . E
mail the author at grantrphilips@yahoo.com
Related Titles
By the same author:
King Gauthier and the Little Dragon Slayer, Port Town Publishing
Jay Walker The Case of the Impractical Prankster
Sounds of Silence, Star Bright Books
Great Books: My Adventures with Homer, Rousseau, Woolf, and Other
Indestructible Writers of the Western World.
David Denby
Simon and Schuster
ISBN 0684809753 $30.00 493 pps.
Michael Riggs
Reviewer
During the years 1961-1962, David Denby was a Columbia student in the two "Great Books"
courses at Columbia, and he returned in adult life to take these courses again. A successful film
critic, a father- why would anyone be drawn to such a life, particularly at a place as contentious as
was early 1990's Columbia? The answer is here, and this book will remind those of us who have
been tempted but who have succummed to more urgent pursuits why we have done so, and why
we should become serious about reading, either for the first time or as a matter of the greatest
possible urgency.
This book is, as Henry Lewis Gates remarks, a rarity in academia because there are not many
people there who are as gifted as Denby at wrtiting about reading. In my experience, writers who
write about reading are rare anywhere. There are some critics who are, but those who have a
separate talent, not just for appraisal, but for giving life to a work, and indeed, creating something
"classic" from the classic are not many. Henry Miller is one, as is Martin Amis, as is the best of
Edward Said- a professor who passes almost without mention in Denby's book.
Said represented, whether he liked it or not, one end of what Denby considers to be a more or less
irrelevant spectrum of opinion about the texts of the two courses. Denby does not concenrn
himself with the culture wars of Columbia at the time except inasmuch as they have effect on his
own journey through Rousseau, Plato, Machiavelli, and De Beavoir. Instead, he manages to cast
the curriculum as a struggle for meaning in a way that focuses on the teachers and the students as
they work through the Canon. This book is long, and Denby is imagistically gifted enough to
convey how irascible Kant can seem to the modern reader. Books set next to each other
chronologically might as well be onions, and Denby has a sure grip on the real material of his
experience, which is not simply a succession of readings with authority, but is instead a particular
teacher, framing these books so that they inform each other and the class.
Denby captures and explores the texts as life changing events, and as events of community,
fortunate and unfortunate, at times speaking more to blindness and silence, giving us what was
lost through history through silence. Our age is one of quick comprehension and definitive
statements, a dangerous confectionery without much meaning. Reading this book is likely to make
you pause, to be less hasty to drop the difficult for the easy, or to read for your own beliefs. I had
never thought, for example, of Jesus Christ as an exemplar of Oewit. Thanks to Denby, I
will.
For anyone contemplating returning to school, this book is better than any commercial guide, and
for any teacher who wonders whether the texts that once invoked so much passion can do so with
value now, this book is an answer. And the answer is that without the teacher, there are no great
books.
Dark Riders
Howard Hopkins
Atlantic Bridge Pubishers
http://www.atlanticbridge.net/publishing/darkriders.htm
.pdf .lit html PalmOS
1031761205 $5.00 255 pp.
Pogo
Reviewer
"The sun dipped into the horizon in a blood-colored blaze, bringing death and Dark Riders.
Scarlet fire stained the rippling ocean of buffalo grass and mesquite which spring had recently
transforrmed from miles of topaz plains to emerald graze. Scarlet faded to darkening hues of
violet and shady blue. With a glimmer all light vanished and shadows danced, concealing creatues
that slithered through blades with whispers of sound."
The words ripple seductively across the page as Howard Hopkins invites the reader into a
different world where shadows grow long anmong men.
Wordcraft is the ace of the game. Once begun, the book is difficult to put aside as the he narration
leads the reader into twists and turns along the trail leading across the Texas Panhandle when
lawless riders roamed like pirates to besiege and plunder isolated towns huddled in the twilight
zone of time. Drawing form Comanche lore and human supersition, Hopkins interweaves
historical elements to make a strong story with dynamic characters with readily indentifiable
voices that bring the reader into the center of the action.
Evil enters the panhadle with Milus Clint leading a pack of blood-thirsty outlaws, looking to
wreak revenge on Clem Durrin, owner of the 7HL ranch. Milus attacks at night with his reliable
accomplice Emmet to put the bite into the life of his honorable adversary. Well-trained, his pack
of outlaws follow orders with the exception of an upstart Billy who has an independent mind.
Fate hangs heavy with Dark Cloud and Speaks No More as they sense they cannot satiate the
hunger of the Great Cannibal Owl sweeping over the land in the night for further prey. Survivors
of the great wars with MacKenzie at Palo Duro, Apache and Comanche alike fell to the vicious
white man's spirit, called Manifest Destiny, that left braves dancing with the ghosts among the
forgotten shadows. They silently watch as evil overshadows their lives, destroying their wives and
hopes of the future. Little Waiting Woman is found mutilated in her tipi on arrival to their
campsite in the Comanche reservation. The coyotes blood curdling howls echo through the long
nights as death stalks the sweep of sagebrush and mesquite. In life, the innocent are persecuted;
the good die and the wicked rise again to ride.
Milus Clint, a man with a flint heart and iron hand to wreak vengeance for justice executed in
New Mexico territory. Presumed dead, he rides again the leader of the outlaws who attack the
unwary at night. Drifting over the country like an avenging cloud their pounding hooves drum the
knell of death wherever they go. In Bald Creek, there's no sheriff to stop them when they plunder
the town. Sheriff Tolby believes in turning the other cheek and keeping to himself whenever
dangers comes. He's busy keeping his accounts balanced in fencing cattle.
Jacob Shinn, the shady neighbor, keeps himself out of sight, but busy in his business. He lies low
and keeps a modest profile while the action circles about him.
The lines are drawn up for battle between the forces of evil and the defenders of 7HL ranch. With
cattle disappearing like shadows on grass, it looks mighty suspicious that someone is doing some
rustling. Without evidence, a confrontation is inevitable as more cattle disappear. The segundo,
Windy claims that beeves have been rebranded by a clever hand. Clem dies in unnatural
circumstances, and the burden of responsibility falls on his adopted son, Chris, who is confronted
with the trauma of his past and the horror within his ranch.
Written with dynamic dialogue that makes for past-paced reading, Hopkins pulls the reader into a
western thriller that bears the elements of horror. Combining realistic dialogue and well-crafted
desciption, the story comes to life as the scenes changes to reveal the internal voices of the
characters. We witness the carnage and the brutal terror that rides with fury into the town of Bald
Creek. We witness the church afire and the sacrificing love of women, daring their immortal souls
for their men.
Dark Riders is a book to take under the covers when you can't sleep and the shadows of the night
lengthen until the break of day. If you listen carefully, you can hear the wail of the blood-thirsty
coyotes just outside your window. The Great Cannibal Owl waits.
The Time of Our Singing: A Novel
Richard Powers
Picador USA
ISBN: 0312422180 $16.00 640 pages
Shauna Singh Baldwin
Reviewer
I'm a committed Powers reader ever since Plowing the Dark, his novel about an artist creating
computer simulations for virtual reality and a prisoner building an imaginary world, yet Powers'
magnificent new novel, The Time of Our Singing somehow slipped by me in hardcover. I didn't
miss it in paperback, though, and for that I'll be ever grateful to the gods of serendipity who guide
my reading -- this novel is a peak experience.
A German physicist meets a black singer at the Marian Anderson concert in Washington DC in
1941, they fall in love, marry and have three children. Their mixed race family's saga is told mostly
by their second son looking back from 2000, recounting with understated pathos how he was
always pulled between his older brother and sister. Histories of racism and Western music come
entwined in this sweeping complex novel of 600+ pages. Every sentence is so beautifully crafted, I
was not surprised to learn Powers was a programmer in the days when disk space and processor
time came at a premium. The Time of Our Singing is nominated for the National Book Critics
Award to be announced March 4, 2004; may Richard Powers win this award and then some.
A Sacrifice For Friendship, second edition
DS Bauden.
Limitless Dare2Dream Publishing
100 Pin Oak Court, Lexington, South Carolina, 29073
ISBN: 0974412171 $18.00
Ann Wesley
Reviewer
This rewritten edition of DS Bauden's first novel is a fun, imaginative story of time travel and
love. The second edition, with a new publisher, takes a good story and makes it better with
reworked editing and a new scene that clears up loose ends.
The story centers on Frankie Camarelli, the owner of a movie memorabilia shop who is haunted
by a women's voice calling to her for help. In a dream, Frankie is transported 20 years into the
past and meets Annie Parker, the owner of the voice and a victim of domestic abuse. Frankie is
confused by the vividness of the dream and tortured by feelings that tell her the experience is more
than a dream. Frankie's best friend Crystal, a psychic who believes in the supernatural, convinces
Frankie she may have been transported back in time. Slowly Frankie comes to believe she is
correct. When she awakens from another dream with Annie and has physical evidence of having
been transported to the past, she is convinced she is part of a strange phenomenon and also
realizes that Annie is her soul mate. Frankie, with the help of Crystal and Crystal's grandmother,
must find a way to be with the love of her life.
The theme of this book focuses more on the love story and the notion of doing anything to be
with one's soul mate, rather than overwhelming the reader with too much whiz-bang supernatural
fantasy. For that reason, it has a broad appeal to a mass audience.
A Sacrifice For Friendship includes all the elements of a true 'page-turner." There is plenty of
drama, angst, humor and an ending that is anything but predictable. I dare to say few, if any,
readers will be able to figure out the twist Bauden spins to conclude the story something that
makes the book worth staying up late to take in without interruption.
At one point in the story, Frankie says, "There are many forms of love, and I think I had
discovered quite a few of them." Anyone reading Bauden's work will be able to make the same
statement as the writer explores the love between parent and child; a rare unconditional love
between friends; that deep, soul-satisfying love between mates; and physical love. Bauden's
trademark in writing has become the realistic emotion she shows and that is clearly evident in this
second edition of A Sacrifice For Friendship. The fact that she can deviate from a standard
romance to a science-fiction story shows her range as a writer and offers promise of more
excitement to come from this talented writer.
Alisa's Bookshelf
Dead to the World
Charlaine Harris
http://www.charlaineharris.com
Ace Hardcover
http://www.penguin.com
ISBN: 0441011675 $19.95 304 pp.
Sookie Stackhouse, the buxom barmaid from Bon Temps is back again. Dead to the World begins
one week after the ending of Club Dead. To recap, Sookie is being pursed by four men: Bill, the
local vampire who is sort of an ex- but not really; Eric the Viking vampire, who is also the
Vampire Sheriff of Area 5; Alcide, a werewolf with a vicious ex- who is definitely still in the
picture; and lastly, Sam, the loyal collie, owner of Merlotte's and Sookie's boss. The vampires
need Sookie for her telepathic abilities. Alcide and Sam just want to get close, but each has
different impediments. Sookie herself is still hurt over Bill's betrayal with his maker, the vampire
Lorena.
In the past year Sookie has been thrown into some very dicey situations. Dead to the World opens
a whole new set of difficulties. Sookie is besieged from all directions and must fight for survival.
Her heart and the rest of her body are once again thrust in dangers path. At the close of Dead to
the World, Sookie gains a great deal of insight into all the men in her life. Once again Charlaine
Harris has created both a witty and entertaining adventure to snare her readers with.
Charlaine Harris is the author of three previous Sookie Stackhouse novels; Dead Until Dark,
Living Dead in Dallas, and Club Dead. She is also the author of two popular mystery novel series,
the Aurora Tegarden series and the Lily Bard "Shakespeare series. Club Dead will be released in
May, 2004.
Those of My Blood
Jacqueline Lichtenberg
http://www.simegen.com/ jl@simegen.com
BenBella Books
http://www.benbellabooks.com/ feedback@benbellabooks.com
ISBN: 1932100091 $14.95 333 pp.
Vampires on the moon? This premise provides a unique backdrop for Jacqueline Lichtenberg's
Those of My Blood.
Dr. Titus Shiddehara is a human/vampire hybrid alien from the planet Luren. Titus, an astronomer
has been sent to Project Station on the moon the stop his nemesis and vamphyric father, Dr.
Abbot Nandoha from contacting the home world of Luren.
Titus is a resident a Luren who does not drink blood from the human source. Instead, he drinks
a cloned, dried blood mixed with heated water. Abbot, on the other hand, is a Tourist. He feels
justified in not only drinking blood from humans, but also in their domination. To Abbot, humans
are just like cattle or orl. If Abbot succeeds in sending his message to Luren, humanity will be
doomed.
Abbot and Titus, as vampires have incredible telepathic powers. They are able to bend others to
their will and create believable illusions. Using these skills, Abbot does everything he can to try
contact Luren. Titus is forced to struggle to thwart Abbot and stay alive. This power struggle, set
against a conflicted Earth, creates a refreshing and fascinating world with unexpected twists and
turns. Those of My Blood will keep you guessing until the end.
Jacqueline Lichtenberg is the author of the Sime Gen series and many other sci-fi novels.
Lichtenberg's Dreamspy is also set on the same world as Those of My Blood. Currently Meisha
Merlin Publishing and BenBella Books are reprinting many of Lichtenberg's books. More
information can be found on the author's website http://www.simegen.com/
Queen of the Amazons
Judith Tarr
http://www.sff.net/people/judith-tarr/library.html
TOR
http://www.tor.com/ inquiries@tor.com
ISBN: 0765303957 $24.95 320 pp.
Queen of the Amazons is an incredible mythological journey that captures you and doesn't let go
for 320 pages. The Amazons of legend are reborn here as a tribe of women in the time of
Alexander the Great. These women live a nomadic, female dominated society. Queen Hippolyta,
the current ruler has just given birth to a child.
The story is told through the eyes of Selene, an Amazonian warrior and seer. Selene is bound to
the current Queen's daughter called Etta. Etta is a soulless child. She does not have a spark of life
in her. Her actions are instinctive and animal like. One morning, Etta slips away from the
encampment on a journey. Selene, Queen Hippolyta, and a group of Amazons follow Etta on
what they believe is a Goddess guided journey. Etta is drawn by an unseen force and eventually
leads to Alexander the Great, the King of Asia. Selene, Queen Hippolyta, and Etta are forever
changed by their exposure to Alexander and his male dominated world.
This epic story has all the lyrical elements of a classic. Love, karma, fate, and political upheaval all
come together in a climactic ending sure to be a surprise to the reader. The story transcends the
male/female clash and instead focuses on the idea that our souls are genderless.
Judith Tarr is the author of numerous historical fantasies. Lord of the Two Lands is her first book
chronicling Alexander.
Dime Store Magic
Kelley Armstrong
http://www.kelleyarmstrong.com/ kelley@kelleyarmstrong.com
Bantam
http://www.randomhouse.com/bantamdell/
ISBN: 0553587064 $6.99 448 pp.
Dime Store Magic by Kelley Armstrong is the third book in the Women of the Otherworld series.
At the conclusion of Stolen, Elena, Paige, and the rest of the supernatural interracial council
rescued Savannah and destroyed the facility that was kidnapping supernaturals. Savannah had
been kidnapped with her mother, Eve. Eve was murdered shortly after the kidnapping, leaving
Savannah alone and at the mercy of Isaac, an evil sorcerer and Leah, a half-demon Volo.
Dime Store Magic begins a year after Stolen. Paige, a coven witch, has custody of Savannah, a
13-year-old angry witch. the third book in the Women of the Otherworld series. The story begins
a year after Sto Paige has her hands full trying to guide and protect Savannah, who is
experiencing teen-angst with an unhealthy dose of rage.
Leah, the half-demon Volo has decided to join forces with a Cabal, a high ranking sorcerer who is
also CEO of a large corporation. This particular Cabal, Nast is very powerful and also Savannah's
father. The fight for custody is more then a legal matter. Nast wants Savannah for her power
and will do anything to acquire her.
Paige finds herself fighting not only Nast, but also everyone else in her life to protect Savannah.
Paige's once uncomplicated life becomes a living hell that seems to have no end in sight. To make
matters worse, Savannah at 13 is very immature and full of rage. She is angry about everything
and is prone to using her powers in a reckless manner. Consequences are something Savannah
does not understand.
Dime Store Magic is a wonderful, fun book to read. The Paige introduced in Stolen gains a great
deal more depth and is a great heroine. She deals with these betrayals and attacks with a strong
moral outrage and strength of character. She is not about to back down and shows her true feisty
nature. What makes this book work is Paige's voice. It is unique and interesting. Kelley
Armstrong did a wonderful job creating the Women of the Otherworld.
Kelley Armstrong is the author of Bitten and Stolen, the first two books in the Women of the
Otherworld series. Dime Store Magic will be available in the US April 27, 2004. Industrial Magic,
the fourth in the series will be released on November 2, 2004. Be sure to visit Kelley Armstrong's
website, http://www.kelleyarmstrong.com/ for more information on the series.
Alisa McCune
Reviewer
Betty's Bookshelf
A Name of Her Own
Jane Kirkpatrick
Waterbrook Press
2375 Telstar Drive, Suite 160, Colorado Springs, CO 80920
ISBN# 1578564999 $12.99 400 pp.
Author Jane Kirkpatrick, a Wisconsin native, left suburban life with her husband, Jerry, to make a
home in remote eastern Oregon, seven miles from the mailbox and eleven miles from paved roads.
Her historical tales about the West, told through the eyes of the women of the time, show clearly
the efforts she has made to get to know everything she can about that era (including 17 years
spent working with the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs) and her words breath life into a
period that I've always considered to be as dry as prairie dust until now. It's easy to see that I'm
not the only one, either; her books have been honored with awards such as the Wrangler Award
(National Cowboy Hall of Fame) and the Outstanding Western Novel (Western Heritage Center)
and have been nominated several times for awards from the Romantic Times and Affair de Coeur
magazines.
In A Name of Her Own, Kirkpatrick's tenth book (which Kirkpatrick terms "a true story
imagined"), the reader enters the life of an Iowa Indian woman, Marie Dorian, who is married to a
man of French-Canadian and Indian descent and who longs to be accepted (along with her son) in
the white man's world. Dorian left behind no writings of her own, but her life was chronicled in
the writings of others (Washington Irving and members of the Wilson Price Hunt Expedition,
among others) and in Kirkpatrick's own words, "... wrote her name inside her work, her actions as
a loving mother." Kirkpatrick's story about her comes from these writings and the author's own
vivid imagination.
Pushing her way into the traditionally all-male world of fur trapping and trading in order to remain
with her man and give her son a father, Dorian becomes part of the Wilson Price Hunt Expedition,
the first grand fur expedition after Lewis and Clark in 1811. Along the way, she meets and
becomes friends with Sacagawea, who understands her struggles in a way no one else can. As
Dorian tries to survive and to protect her children, she learns to overcome her fears and losses and
the identity thrust upon her by society in order to gain a new life. Madeleine L'Engle once said,
"We are named by the choices we make." Dorian's choices take her from the name her husband so
carelessly bestows upon her - "femme" (she who comes after) - to a name of her own, one that
she choose herself - Marie. Mother.
Out of the Ruins
Sally S. Wright
Multnomah Publishers
P.O. Box 1720, Sisters, OR 97759
ISBN #1590520319 $10.99 334 pp.
Too often, academic mysteries cram in so much inside information, they come across as more of a
faculty handbook than entertainment. Then there's the unbelievability of an amateur getting
involved in a murder investigation for no really good reason and then - without warning - busting
out some oddball (and all too convenient) skill. I mean, how many untrained people can fend off a
knife-wielding attacker without losing some blood? Or escape from imprisonment using only
chewing gum and a toothpick left from lunch? (OK, besides McGyver?)
Sally S. Wright's Ben Reese, a middle-aged, widowed university archivist, probably can, but
Wright tells you how from the beginning - he's more than what he seems. As a behind-the-lines
Army reconnaissance scout during World War II, he learned skills that enabled him to sneak into
German outposts, kill everyone inside, photograph all the documents left lying around, and creep
away with the information without being caught or stopped. And he was good at his job. Very
good.
Then an attack by two Tiger tanks left him with fifteen thirty-caliber bullets buried in him, an
index finger that no longer bent correctly, and physical and mental scars that he reveals only to
those close to him. He has a new life now, one of peace and quiet, contemplative thought, and
nothing more exciting than finding a rare book manuscript or going horseback riding, but he also
knows that, like it or not, his wartime skills have become second nature to him, ready to emerge
at need. So, when a tight spot comes along and he escapes using a stiff wire and a
diamond-dust-encrusted string worked free from his belt (as he did in Wright's third Reese book,
Pursuit and Persuasion), it makes sense, even before the explanation comes:
"...He'd been carrying them [in his belt] since 1943. Even though
he couldn't have explained why, except that it came from scouting
with the Nighttime Special, and watching the ones who went out
with him die. The odds got better with the string and the wire, in an
imperfect world like his. And he hadn't seen any reason to make
himself stop since."
In fact, although Reese may look like a mild-mannered, somewhat dull middle-aged man, he's
actually very dangerous, and anyone who goes after him (or one of the people he loves) is in for a
shock.
In Out of the Ruins, the death of Charlotte Hill MacKinnon, who owns most of Cumberland
Island and Whitfield Inn, puts the island in danger from developers and the government, who both
have plans for it. Reese's Aunt Amelia, the inn manager, and Hannah Willliams Hill, Charlotte's
heir, both want to save the island, but Amelia is old and Hannah is bedridden with multiple
sclerosis. They'll need help for the fight, but that's not a problem. Southern families know who to
call when the chips are down and Reese is not too surprised when his mother calls in the cavalry -
him. He may not be a lawyer or a real estate expert, but he's shrewd and skeptical and he loves
Hannah and he's already in the area on business. And he's family. What could be better?
Then, Hannah dies, too, and Reese is plunged headfirst into a morass of relationships and grudges
that date back to the island's beginning. Can he get things straightened out for Hannah's heir
before more people die? Or will he be one of the next to die?
I read Out of the Ruins straight through in one day, enjoying not only the story but also the
flashbacks of Reese's war days and his later life with his wife and son, the details of his growing
relationship with a dead comrade-in-arm's widow, and the Christian worldview he lives by, that
makes him who he is. Along the way, I also learned about euthanasia, imminent domain, and life
in a small Southern community (which I got a kick out of, being from the South myself.) In
addition, in the final chapter, "Historical Notes", I was able to read real facts about Cumberland
Island, its history, and its owners. Tip: Don't open this book unless you have a lot of time on your
hands. You may not want to do anything else until you finish it!
The Complete Idiot's Guide To Publishing Magazine Articles
Sheree Bykofsky, Jennifer Basye Sander, and Lynne Rominger.
Alpha Books/Macmillan USA, Inc.
201 W. 103rd St., Indianapolis, IN 46290
0028638352 $16.95 313 pp.
I'm a bibliophile. My husband is, too, and like most of that breed, our bookshelves groan with
books of every description: how-tos, why-tos, novels of every genre, reference books... you name
it, we probably have at least one example of it. I'm also a freelance writer and have been for nearly
a quarter-century, and if you look at my office bookshelves, I seem to have spent most of that
time buying books about writing, from the basics of the job to such specialized topics as writing
for women's magazines and doing the perfect interview. I have books everywhere!
As a result, I've become very choosy about the books I keep. I ask myself, do I want or need this
one badly enough to get rid of one I already own? (OK, I don't always get rid of a book to make
room for a new one... but I try, honest!) At any rate, since I hate both getting rid of books I
already own as well as trying to find room for yet another book about writing, a book has to be
something special nowadays to make me keep it.
When I was asked to review The Complete Idiot's Guide to Publishing Magazine Articles, I didn't
expect to add it to my collection. After all, it was not only written for rank beginners, it was
written in the short-attention-span, Sesame Street generation style for which the "Complete Idiot"
guidebooks are famous. Since I'm past the beginner stage and prefer a book to be linear, instead
of chock-full of distracting sidebars, boxed-in asides, bulleted lists, and subheadings, I figured I'd
just review it and then get rid of it.
To my surprise, I discovered that the value of the contents easily outweighed my annoyance with
the writing style. This book is a keeper! Yes, it is geared to rank beginners, so it does have a lot in
it that is old hat to an established writer, but the authors (who include a literary agent, a book
packager and author of more than 20 books, and an educator and magazine article writer) make
even old hat seem fresh and inspiring.
For new writers, this book is a treasure trove. "Part 1: Welcome to Writerland" discusses the pros
and cons of becoming a writer, what editors are looking for in new writers, and what the job of
freelancer entails. "Part 2: Learning the Basics" is an excellent overview of such topics as learning
the markets, breaking in, and interviewing and brainstorming techniques (one of the bits I'll be
re-reading), and "Part 3: Who's Gonna Buy Your Stuff?" explains the needs and differences of
newspapers, glossies, and trade magazines. Later chapters about on-line writing, writing effective
articles, and how to run the business arm of a freelance writing career have something to offer
even experienced writers.
Even the back-of-the-book stuff is good: a glossary (What does FNASR mean? Learn here...), a
list of recommended books (including several I haven't read, but intend to now), sample contracts
and writer's guidelines, and a list of web sites for writers (less helpful than it was when the book
came out in 2000... the Inkspot site, for example, is no longer active... but still interesting).
There's also a very complete index. All in all, this is one book you'll probably want to add to your
collection, no matter how long you've been writing!
The Protector
Dee Henderson
Multnomah Publishers Inc.
P.O. Box 1720, Sisters, OR 97759
ISBN# 1576738469 $11.95 322 pp.
Dee Henderson's first book, Danger in the Shadows, won a RITA when it came out. Her second
book, The Guardian, gave U.S. Marshall Marcus O'Malley his own book and along with it, a
series about his family - the O'Malleys. There are seven O'Malleys, as close as any family can be,
but they didn't start out as O'Malleys. Each of them was orphaned or abandoned as a child. When
they grew up, they formed their own family, complete with the same last name - the O'Malleys.
They all have and wrestle with strong beliefs about life and they all have interesting jobs. Kate is a
hostage negotiator (The Negotiator), Rachel is a forensic pathologist (The Truth Seeker), and by
the time Henderson finishes the series, each O'Malley will have had his or her own story told. The
Protector is Jack's story.
Firefighter Lt. Jack O'Malley is fearless in the face of fire - until the serial arsonist who is targeting
him and Company 81 goes after the firefighter he's given his heart to. Cassie's been caught in a fire
once before and Jack will do whatever it takes to make sure it never happens again. When the
arsonist catches him instead and the fire engines are too far away for a rescue, can Cassie put
aside her fears long enough to save the man she loves?
Cassie and Jack are both believable characters whose conflicts and relationship arise naturally
from who they are and whose religious differences are played out and resolved without
preachiness, a rarity in inspirational fiction. Henderson's O'Malley books keep getting better and
better and this one, filled with authentic details of life in a firehouse and Jack's journey to faith, is
the best yet. It's an edge-of-your-seat, stay-up-too-late, can't-put-it-down romantic suspense story
and once you start it, you won't want it to end!
Betty Winslow
Reviewer
Debra's Bookshelf
Author Unknown: On the Trail of Anonymous
Don Foster
Henry Holt & Company
ISBN: 0805063579 $26.00 318 pages
Don Foster is the guy who figured out who wrote Primary Colors, the anonymously published
novel that satirized Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign and for a time had all of Washington
wondering who done it. Foster fingered Joe Klein as the culprit using a method he had first
applied in his doctoral dissertation to "A Funeral Elegy," a 17th-century poem that was written by
a certain "W.S." after the death by homicide of William Peter of Exeter. Foster determined that
the W.S. in question was in fact William Shakespeare.
Foster's method of attributional detection involves examining the internal evidence of "questioned
documents"--the vocabulary, orthography, spelling, and punctuation used by the author--and
comparing his findings to the known writings of some finite number of likely suspects. Writers
leave their marks on manuscripts unconsciously, Foster explains, as surely as gloveless burglars
leave their fingerprints, their identities betrayed in their phrasing and word choice, in the body of
authors whose styles they unwittingly emulate, in their commas and ampersands.
Foster's Shakespearian bombshell landed him on the front page of the New York Times early in
1996. His celebrity resulted in this mild-mannered English professor being called upon to apply his
attributional techniques to a great many other cases, some of them headline-making, in which the
authorship of an important document was in question. In his fascinating book Author Unknown
Foster discusses six of the cases in which he has been involved, from his investigation of the
Unabomber's literary produce after Ted Kaczynski's arrest, to a study of the Talking Points
document Monica Lewinsky once handed Linda Tripp, to a debate about who really wrote "The
Night Before Christmas." You think the man responsible for jollying up Saint Nick and
transforming Christmas into a wretched holiday for the rapacious was Clement Clarke Moore,
that birchen-rod-loving Biblical scholar who hated dance and song and noise and all things fun but
wasn't above taking credit where it wasn't due? Think again.
The Songs of the Kings
Barry Unsworth
Nan A. Talese
ISBN: 0385501145 $26.00 352 pages
Barry Unsworth shines light on an early event from the annals of the Trojan War--that dark period
when the allied Greek fleet was massed at Aulis on the eastern coast of Greece, ready to set out
across the Aegean to Troy, but was prevented from sailing by adverse winds. As Unsworth tells
it, the assembled Greeks are growing increasingly contentious with the delay, and some remedy is
required. The man with a plan, naturally enough, is wily Odysseus--star of Homer's Odyssey--here
presented as a Machiavellian manipulator of words and men. Charmingly enough, he is wont to
affect being lost for a word, and he compliments whoever supplies him with one with a very
British sounding "Brilliant!"
Also on hand are those sons of Atreus, Agamemnon--the commander-in-chief of the operation,
from whom a sacrifice is allegedly demanded by Zeus if the ships are ever to get underway--and
Menelaus, wronged husband of Helen. You will remember that Helen was spirited away from her
home by the Trojan prince Paris, the offense which was the direct cause of the Trojan War (her
face launching a thousand ships and all that). Unsworth's Menelaus is a comical buffoon who can't
wrap his mind around the possibility that Helen may have run off willingly: "Must I remind you
that my Helen is currently in a Trojan dungeon, being violated on an hourly basis? And I've told
you before, she wasn't seduced, she was kidnapped." The two Ajaxes are similarly comical, Ajax
of Salamis a big dolt of a fellow who is trying to organize a series of games, and Ajax the Locrian
a foul-mouthed, wiry guy who is equipped for some reason--unrealistically, I should think--with a
more-or-less permanent erection.
As the story goes, Agamemnon sends for his daughter Iphigeneia to come to the fleet at Aulis--I
shan't tell you why. Thus we have, in the second part of the book, a glimpse of the princess's life
at Mycenae. There one evening she tells her slave Sisipyla the story of her family's proud history
of incestuous cannibalism: how her great-grandfather Pelops was mashed into a tantalizing stew
by his father Tantalus and served to the gods (he got better), and how her grandfather Atreus in
turn butchered his brother's three sons and served them up to their father. Sisipyla, hearing the
story and thinking to comfort Iphigeneia, who seems strangely affected by the telling of her
family's exploits, says, "It's always the children who suffer, isn't it?" A great line.
Unsworth's prose, as you've probably already noticed, is less stilted than one often finds in
historical novels, for which I applaud it, though it is admittedly an odd experience to hear his
loin-girded characters speak of "collateral damage," or to hear Agamemnon's scribe say of the
hero Palamades, "[H]is father was one of that band of heroes who sailed with Jason on the Argo
in the quest for the Golden Fleece. That's the sort of thing that is bound to look impressive on a
person's CV."
Readers who are already familiar with the story of Iphigeneia at Aulis will know more or less how
Unsworth's story goes. Or will they? Because there is that alternate ending in which the goddess
Artemis steps in and saves the day at the last moment....
Joe Hickey is one smart sadist. Like your more successful gamblers, he knows that walking away
from the table when you're ahead is usually the best policy. For five years he has supported
himself and his collaborators with his patiently-won earnings, the produce from his
kidnappings--only one perfectly planned abduction per year--of the young children of well-to-do
doctors. His crimes are so well thought out that Hickey knows his victims will neither attack him
nor call the police, either during the kidnapping or after their children's safe return. He is confident
enough in his planning that he uses his real name--rubbing his victims' noses in their
impotence--and is unconcerned if they happen to have access to firearms. The distraught parents
of Hickey's targeted children bend to his will--a rather unpleasant business given his
demands--because they have to.
Hickey's sixth kidnapping, of five-year-old juvenile diabetic Abby Jennings, is the subject of Greg
Iles' taut, perfectly plotted, utterly gripping 24 Hours. The Jenningses may be having the worst
day of their lives in the book, but you'll have a great one as you neglect your responsibilities, lock
yourself in your bedroom, and read Iles' novel from cover to cover.
Relaxing on the deck of his secluded, wood-bounded home after a long day at the keyboard,
successful author Andrew Thomas goes through his mail--a phone bill and a stampless envelope
which he suspects may be fan mail, delivered by hand. It isn't. The envelope contains a typewritten
letter, only one paragraph long: "There is a body buried on your property," he reads, "covered in
your blood." Thomas is directed to dig up the mouldering corpse and retrieve something from the
dead woman's pocket. If he doesn't, whoever wrote the letter will feed information to the police
that incriminates Thomas. A bad end to a productive day, but things get much worse for our hero
from here.
Desert Places starts with a bang and doesn't let up for the next hundred-odd pages, at which point
there is a section break and the reader can start breathing again, check his or her pulse, and assess
the likelihood that the closet door is ajar because a psychopath is hiding behind it with a serated
knife. (Probably not, but you never know.) The book is gruesome in parts. If you don't like the
occasional brain-splattered windshield in your reading, as well as cruelty toward men, women,
children, and animals, you may not want to pick this one up. But if you *do* open the book--if
only to get that scary-looking guy on the cover to stop staring at you--you won't be able to put it
down.
The Adversary
Emmanuel CarrŠre
Metropolitan Books
New York, NY
ISBN: 0312420609 $13.00 191 pages
Emmanuel CarrŠre's true crime story The Adversary begins with one of the most arresting first
lines I have ever read: "On the Saturday morning of January 9, 1993, while Jean-Claude Romand
was killing his wife and children, I was with mine in a parent-teacher meeting at the school
attended by Gabriel, our eldest son." What follows is the nearly unbelievable story of Romand,
who deceived his family and his closest friends for eighteen years, convincing them that he was a
prominent doctor employed in Geneva by the World Health Organization. In fact, Romand had
never finished medical school, and he spent his days reading newspapers in cafes or taking walks
in the woods. He supported himself and his family on money he swindled from friends and
relatives, trusting souls who, incredibly, rarely asked about the status of the considerable sums
Romand had allegedly invested for them.
Romand's story might be just bizarrely amusing--a French variation of the life of deceit adopted by
Leonardo DiCaprio's character in Catch Me If You Can, albeit with a less clever
protagonist--were it not for what happened next. When Romand's deceit was likely to be
uncovered--he had drained dry the well of his acquaintances' bank accounts--he murdered his wife
and his parents, his five-year-old son and his daughter, and he tried, but only half-heartedly, to kill
himself.
As the first sentence of CarrŠre's book suggests, the author periodically interjects his own
experiences and responses into his narrative. He is clearly concerned with separating himself from
the small "club" of Jean-Claude's devotees, Christian prison visitors who have come to admire the
murderer in his new role as repentant sinner, the anguished prisoner who has found God and,
condemned to life, assumes his suffering as some sort of expiation for his crimes. CarrŠre is
rightly appalled--at least to an extent--by these do-gooders, and he does manage to succeed, I
think, in distancing himself from them. The author is decidedly not an apologist for Romand.
CarrŠre's account of Romand's life and crimes, meanwhile, despite its horrific subject matter, is
riveting.
lost boy lost girl
Peter Straub
Random House
ISBN: 1400060923 $24.95 281 pages
Fifteen-year-old Mark Underhill and his friend Jimbo Monaghan are, ostensibly, the kind of kids
who are going nowhere--baggy-clothed and skateboard-appendaged, they slouch around their
run-down neighborhood and say "yo" more often than their fathers would probably like. But
beneath the attitude, the boys are surprisingly thoughtful and nobly loyal to one another, and
Mark, at least, is intelligent, capable of using "dyad" in a sentence: "'Look, there's another cop!'
Mark said. 'They come in, like, dyads.'" His intellect is a plus, since Mark has a lot to figure out in
Peter Straub's tense and exceedingly creepy--don't read it if you're alone in the house creepy--lost
boy lost girl.
After his mother's suicide (an instance of overkill, as it were, as the method she adopted was
thrice effective), Mark's attempts to understand what happened to her land him in the thick of a
family mystery and on the trail of a serial killer or two. His obsession leads Mark in particular to
investigate an abandoned property directly behind his own house, a building every bit as creepy as
Norman Bates's Victorian manse. The creepy goings-on in the house will have you almost
screaming at Mark to get the hell out of there.
Part murder mystery, part ghost story, the book is actually diminished by its spectral nonsense,
which renders the story less genuinely scary. The book's ending in particular is too unbelievable to
be satisfying. Straub's novel nonetheless is well worth the read. Just remember to have a buddy
with you when you crack it open.
A Clue for the Puzzle Lady
Parnell Hall
Bantam Books
ISBN: 0553581406 $6.50 323 pages
Sherry Carter and her photogenic aunt Cora--a.k.a. the Puzzle Lady, the eponymous mistress of a
syndicated newspaper column for puzzle lovers--are new to Bakerhaven, Connecticut, but they've
moved in just in time. The small town's police force is not accustomed to murder investigations,
and when a young woman turns up dead in the cemetery with what appears to be a crossword
clue in her pocket, the police chief naturally turns to the town's resident cruciverbalist for expert
opinion. He gets more than he bargains for, as the bibulous Cora is eager to investigate the case
herself.
Parnell Hall's A Clue for the Puzzle Lady, the first in a series of Puzzle Lady mysteries, is well
worth the read. The cozy novel offers a decent mystery that should keep readers guessing
(assuming they don't make the mistake of completing the crossword puzzle that accompanies the
text prior to reading the book!), as well as a number of likeable secondary characters and, most
importantly, an unusual and comic relationship between the book's protagonists, the "Puzzle
Lady" and her often exasperated and always linguistically adept niece.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Mark Haddon
Doubleday
ISBN: 0385512104 $22.95 226 pages
Fifteen-year-old Christopher John Francis Boone, the narrator of Mark Haddon's Holmesian-titled
*Curious Incident*, comes upon his neighbor's dog late one night lying dead in its yard, run
through with a pitchfork. After hugging the dog for precisely four minutes, and after being
accused of the animal's murder by its distraught, pajama'd owner, Christopher determines to
investigate the mystery of the canicide. What makes this task particularly challenging, however,
and what sets this book apart, is that Christopher is autistic. Though he is able to communicate
and he is unusually intelligent, Christopher's disorder renders simple activities--talking to
strangers, traveling by public transportation--often prohibitively difficult. (Christopher cannot
interpret facial expressions well, he cannot abide being touched, and his moods are governed by
the colors of the cars he sees en route to school each morning. But he excels at math and science
and can, for example, rattle off a list of prime numbers up to 7,057.)
In addition to undertaking to solve the dog's murder, Christopher writes down the story of his
investigation in the form of a novel--*The Curious Incident* itself--a book whose sparse but
highly readable prose ends up being about far more than a single dog's death. In passages
alternating between real-life events and Christopher's scientific and mathematical musings, the
curious incident of the pitchfork-pierced dog is explained, further deceptions are revealed, and the
reader is introduced to an extraordinary mind.
Debra Hamel
Reviewer
Diana's Bookshelf
Skin
Hertzan Chimera and Star Jewel Smith
Bizarre Books
BizarrEbooks.com
12 pages E-Book $1.00
*This collection is not suited for anyone underage or anyone who is offended easily.*
Ah poetry, when we think of this forum, love and warmth or bitterness and hate, come to mind.
Occasionally you may happen across some fluffy erotic drivel. I've never been a big fan of poetry
and that is no secret. All of the flowery unreal implications most often just make me want to hurl.
I am going to recommend a poetry collection. I know what you are thinking. Has Diana lost her
mind? No not at all. What readers will find are seven poems filled with a delightfully twisted
perspective on erotica. This collection is gratefully stripped of all the awful things that make
poetry unbearable. Much to my delight it is filled with things that warm this girls heart, flesh, sex,
demons, but most important a look at the nature of sexuality that will leave readers shuddering
with either delight or cold realization.
That said, Skin by Hertzan Chimera and Star Jewel Smith, is poetry that will most definitely move
you.
The Year Ahead 2004
Susan Miller
Barnes & Noble Books
122 Fifth Avenue, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10011
ISBN# 0760745307 $9.95 411 pages
Astrology has always been a fascination of mine. Of course there are hundreds of factors that
make it next to impossible to decipher for yourself what exactly astrology can tell you. The most
commonly used astrology information is the daily horoscopes which are available almost
anywhere. In fact with the Internet making things so readably accessible there are many sites to
offer this information. Problem: they are vague and don't offer much foresight. Solution: The Year
Ahead 2004 by Susan Miller.
What you will find here is a chance to plan ahead for the entire year and often beyond. Susan
Miller tells her readers the planetary cycles for each sign, which in lay terms translates to what
planet is where, when, how long it will be there and exactly what it means. Readers will also be
learn of eclipses and what affects they will have in their life. She also tells the reader when the best
days are for various aspects of life and encounters, allowing them to take full advantage of what
the stars have to offer. I was amazed by how accurate she was regarding the tone of the past year
and the events thus far this year.
Susan Miller has taken the often-confusing art of astrology and laid it out for her readers in an
enlightening and engaging manner. The information is so complete it is like receiving a personal
consultation. Her style is so warm and friendly that after reading about my year, I continued to
read the information for every sign.
This is a book that I will be referring to throughout the entire year. I suggest everyone pick up a
copy so they too can make the most of The Year Ahead 2004 by Susan Miller the creator of
astrologyzone.com~ It's already March, don't wait too long; pick up your copy today.
The Celtic Dragon Tarot
D. J. Conway, author
Lisa Hunt, illustrator
Llewellyn
P.O. Box 64383, Dept K168-6, St. Paul, MN 55164-0383
www.llewellyn.com
ISBN# 1567181821 $34.95 78 Cards 240 pgs
Dragons are powerful creatures, often depicted as both beautiful and dangerous. They have made
their way into many pages or tales throughout history. Sometimes they are presented as fact and
often they are presented as mythological folk tales. Mystics and mages of various degrees have
come to know them as astral beings. They are beings that can provide great wisdom and help with
many magical workings. Using The Celtic Dragon Tarot written by D. J. Conway, readers can
work with these spectacular creatures to help provide accurate readings for themselves and
others.
The guide that accompanies these cards introduces readers to the magic that dragons possess. It
will show them how to use the cards for both divination purposes as well as magical applications.
There are explanations of the general meaning of each card as well as a small passage about the
image you will find on the card. After you have familiarized yourself with your new deck, the
author goes on to explain a few reading layouts, and gives details on card placement indications.
The reader will also find a chapter on candle spells that have been designed to be performed with
these gorgeous cards. There is also a section with various meditations, which range from
relaxation, to meeting and working with your own special dragon. At the end of the guide are two
appendixes, one with information regarding candles and their colors, and the other regarding
stones, which makes this the only guide you will need to read to use these cards to their
fullest.
The cards themselves are absolutely stunning. The soft tones in the artwork by Lisa Hunt help to
set the mood for the relaxing and mystical experience they can provide. On the cards you will see
depictions of various dragons all shapes and sizes, colors, and temperaments, shown either with
other dragons, alone, or working with magicians. They are absolutely breathtaking and paint a
perfect setting for future meditative study.
If you find the Dragon holds a special fascination for you, or if you are just looking for a new and
beautiful deck to work with, The Celtic Dragon Tarot will be a gorgeous addition to any
collection. I recommend you pick up your own deck and allow your readings to soar with the
dragons.
The Fairy Ring Oracle
Anna Franklin, author
Paul Mason, illustrator
Llewellyn
P.O. Box 64383, Dept K168-6, St. Paul, MN 55164-0383
www.llewellyn.com
ISBN# 0738702749 $29.95 60 Cards 264 pgs
I have always loved all things Fairy. These are perhaps the most fascinating beings in either reality
or fiction. They have appeared as delicate, winged, beautiful ladies or children, feminine and
graceful males, and even dark and evil entities throughout fiction and folklore. They are the
keepers of nature. Whenever you see something grow, something alive and green or lush with
color there are fairies hard at work. The blessings we see from these beings are enumerable.
Aside from their natural blessings, in the not too distant past, wise men and magicians of varying
sorts have claimed to consult with these beings. If treated properly and given the respect due,
fairies can be a very powerful aid in magic dealings, as well as providing their friends with extra
blessings, such as a hint of fragrance in the breeze to say hello.
Anna Franklin and Paul Mason have come together to provide a lovely tool of divination, The
Fairy Ring Oracle, which in itself is a blessing.
The guidebook contains fascinating information regarding the history or folklore of these
fascinating beings. It also contains card interpretations for each card; as well as reversed
meanings were applicable. There are also special spreads designed to work with these beautiful
cards. Anna Franklin has put together not only a fascinating read, but also the only book you will
need to get started using your wonderful new tool.
The cards are divided into four seasons, spring, summer, autumn and winter, with an additional
eight cards representing the Celtic holidays. There are also extra cards that have layouts printed
on them with card placement meanings for ease of use. The cards themselves are stunning in
design and the artwork is spectacular. The meaning and creatures come to life, providing readers
with a divination experience comparable to nothing they have used before.
I have many wonderful divination tools in my sacred box and I am pleased to add The Fairy Ring,
which will make it easier to have contact, like the magicians of old, with these life enriching
beings. If, like me, you want to honor and strengthen the bond you have with fairies, or perhaps
you want to create new bonds, these cards are perfect for meditation, as the artwork draws you
into their world.
If you want to add a new tool to your collection, I highly recommend The Fairy Ring. If you want
to start practicing divination, I highly recommend The Fairy Ring. No matter your level of
understanding, it is time to strengthen or create the bond with natures most fascinating, magical
beings and to do so I highly recommend The Fairy Ring.
Candlemas
Amber K & Azrael Arynn K
Llewellyn
P.O. Box 64383, Dept K168-6, St. Paul, MN 55164-0383
www.llewellyn.com
ISBN# 0738700797 $14.95 244 pgs
After a long, cold winter filled with poor weather and shorter days than nights many people are
ready to see the springs arrival. It was no different for our ancestors in fact, it would be safe to
venture that they were even more excited by the prospect of winter coming to a close. Candlemas
also known as Imbolg, and various other names, is a time for the darkness to give way to the
light, a celebration of great hope and purification, which takes place in early February about the
1st or 2nd. To find out more about this celebration of hope, one only has to look as far as
Candlemas written by Amber K & Azrael Arynn K.
February, as readers will discover, was filled with many celebrations, which all seemed to center
around the fact that the days did seem to be growing longer and winter was indeed coming to a
close. Brigit is the goddess and saint that is most associated with this time and therefore there is
extensive information regarding her, which is as interesting as it is informative.
Readers will also find a plethora of customs, symbols, celebrations, rituals and spells that they too
can incorporate in their Imbolg celebrations, as well as divinations, which are designed to work
best with this time of year. As it has always been a celebration that has a lot to do with cleansing,
there is information on various rituals and ceremonial cleansings, as well as personal cleansing
methods. As one would expect, a close look is taken at candles, including how to make them, and
use them and their symbolism in magical dealings.
With most celebrations there are certain culinary dishes that are traditional and Candlemas is no
different. In this guide, the reader will be given delicious recipes for both modern dishes as well
more traditional ones.
As winter draws to a close for you and your love ones, why not celebrate the turning of the wheel
of life and with some help from Candlemas written by Amber K & Azrael Arynn K, your
celebration can honor the earth and her many phases as did the cultures of old.
Ostara or the Spring Equinox is a magical time when the day and night both last twelve hours. All
things seem to be in perfect balance. It is a time of life and fertility with many customs that are
still practiced today. Most readers will be surprised that they are already taking part in many of
the customs of Ostara. Ostara by Edain McCoy will help readers better understand this important
time and where many of the things associated with this time originated.
This wonderful book is filled with bits of history, traditions, crafts, recipes, divinations,
meditations, as well as magic and rites designed for this special time. Readers will learn of the
roots of the Easter Bunny, the act of coloring eggs, and the natural items that can be used to dye
the eggs and what the colors symbolize. Seeing as how this is the season of fertility, the author
tastefully presents her readers with information regarding sex and this time of year, including a
section on working sex magic. There is also information on various other animals, in addition to
the Easter Bunny that are related to spring. The information is fascinating and is also accompanied
by spells and other magic. You will also find a great deal of fascinating information on the gods,
goddesses and deities worshiped during this time.
The book is set up and written in a manner that makes it fun to read, and really helps bring out the
spirit of this celebration. This year, make your springtime festivities come to life with the richness,
tradition, and the beauty of the Earth as she springs to life. Using Ostara by Edian McCoy, as a
guide, readers can know the meaning behind some familiar customs and some that may be new to
them, to help celebrate the Spring Equinox/Ostara.
Springtime brings with it the promise of warm days to come as winter comes to a close, life and
fertility as we see nature blossom seeming instantly, and it has always been a great time of
celebrations. Many of these celebrations are pagan based. There is no better time to celebrate our
earth than when she is so full of gifts. And there is no better book to help you learn the history
and various traditions you can practice to honor the earth than Beltane by Raven Grimassi.
What is Beltane and why is it important? Beltane means bright fire, the name is attributed to the
bonfires that were a part of the ancient rites. It is also known as May Day. It is the celebration of
the rebirth of the earth. In the past, this great time of re-growth and fertility was honored with
great festivals. The maypole, which was danced around in these celebrations, was to make sure
that everyone was in touch with the renewing forces of nature. The Green Man as well as many
nature deities and beings are honored. It is also associated with fairies, which should come as no
surprise since they are hard at work nurturing the new growth. As with most pagan celebrations
there can be a variation on the day it is celebrated. Thought the traditional celebration was at the
end of April, it is now also celebrated on May 1st or May Eve.
This book will give readers insight into the ancient customs surrounding this special time, as well
as the folklore and mythology. Background on the spirits associated with and celebrated. I am
very partial to anything fearie and thus really enjoyed the sections on fearie lore as well as the
sections on flowers lore. There is also a plethora of spells that will have the best results this time
of year, rituals for both the solitary practitioner and for groups, and recipes to help you connect
with nature and the customs. And arts and crafts, which has possibly the neatest hair design I have
seen.
Everyday our earth provides us with uncountable gifts and blessings. Celebrating Beltane is one
fun and deeply meaningful way we can honor the wonder that is Mother Earth. Beltane by Raven
Grimassi is a complete guide to help you decide how you wish to do so.
Magical Celebrations of the Summer Solstice: Midsummer
Anna Franklin
Llewellyn
P.O. Box 64383, Dept K168-6, St. Paul, MN 55164-0383
www.llewellyn.com
ISBN# 0738700525 $14.95 225 pgs
Midsummer/summer solstice is my personal favorite celebration of the year. This is the day when
the fearie realm is the most opened to us. All of my readers know how special the little people are
to me. I can't begin to put into words the daily blessings we all receive from both our earth and
the fairies. There are numerous ways to honor them and our earth, celebrating this special day is
just one and in Magical Celebrations of the Summer Solstice: Midsummer by Anna Franklin,
readers will be shown why this day is so special.
In addition to being a time when the plane of the fairies is closest to ours it is also a day when
diving is highly successful, especially in regard to the future of ones love life. There is much
confusion regarding the day to actually celebrate, it ranges from June 19-25. As with any spiritual
celebration, individuals must decide for themselves what is the most comfortable, hence the
appropriate day to celebrate. Readers are given the fascinating customs and history of this special
day so that they can be armed with knowledge when deciding how they wish to honor this day of
natural celebration.
In this book you will find information on, but not limited to, history, myths and lore, customs,
magic, divination and rituals that work best when preformed during this special time, herbs
gathered and used for various reasons, and delicious recipes for culinary treats traditionally served
this time of year, which will all make your honoring of this sacred day as close to the old ways as
you desire.
Our earth gives us all the gift of life and sustains us daily with her many blessings, in addition she
provides us much beauty and inspiration. I would think a day filled with festivities and sunny good
times and a night of magical dealings with the fearie world would not only allow a good time to
be had, but would also be a great way to say thank you.
Most people love festivities, what better to celebrate than by the enjoying summer and its magical
warmth, honoring the fearie world and their gifts and blessings and doing so with the knowledge
and respect gained from reading Magical Celebrations of the Summer Solstice: Midsummer by
Anna Franklin.
Lammas Celebrating the First Fruits of the First Harvest
Anna Franklin and Paul Mason
Llewellyn
P.O. Box 64383, Dept K168-6, St. Paul, MN 55164-0383
www.llewellyn.com
ISBN# 0738700940 $17.95 276 pgs
One of my fond memories of childhood is wresting around with my brother. Pretending to be a
warrior even though he was some outer space starship type trooper I always played a warrior of
some sort. Though it is not all that the celebration is about, the warrior is honored and revered
during Lammas/Lughnasa. When deciding what you wish to do in honor of this mostly
overlooked sabbat, Lammas Celebrating the First Fruits of the First Harvest by Anna Franklin and
Paul Mason is an invaluable tool.
Lammas is a harvest festival that can be celebrated on different days depending on preference;
new style August 1st or old style August 12th. This celebration marks the autumn harvest, it is
typically a celebration filled with games and battles in honor of warriors. Although the history
long overlooked, in this book you will find ways this time of year were honored in various places,
mythology and folklore and will then be able to decide how you wish celebrate.
In addition to the festivities, it is also a wonderful time to work protection magic and the authors
will show you what types magic to work for the best results, including a section specifically
dealing with warrior magic. There is a great section describing the traditional games, recipes and
rituals. Oh, and songs, there are great songs throughout the book that will help get you in the
mood and put a smile on your face. All of theses topic will deal specifically with this special day to
help you make the most of the first harvest and bless your life in new ways.
After all of the hard work of the year, why not let go and celebrate with a day of games, food, and
many rich customs, Lammas? Lammas Celebrating the First Fruits of the First Harvest by Anna
Franklin and Paul Mason can show you how.
No matter religious background Halloween, October 31st, is the one pagan holiday that most
everyone is at least aware of, if not celebrating. It is well known that the roots of most common
holidays have been taken from old pagan custom and altered slightly. So just what is Halloween
and what are you celebrating for? Silver RavenWolf has gone to great pains to collect the vast
history of this, what has become a fun holiday, filled with costumes and candy, in her book simply
titled Halloween.
The background is not as clear as one would imagine. In fact, it seems the celebration sprung
from several places, and has been altered a tremendous amount from its original form. This book
is packed with historical goodies. However, unlike so many of its kind, it is something that my
eleven year old would actually sit down and read. As with the other works by RavenWolf that I
have read, she presents facts in a way like nothing I have read before, turning them into fun bits of
interesting information that reads almost like fiction, it is so engaging. In Halloween she does this
by exchanging her role as a narrator to that of a flight attendant, taking her readers from one place
and time to the next in her search for the truth behind the practices.
This book is so much more than just a history lesson. Once readers have taken in the history and
customs they are then told of the many superstitions that surround the day. I was, and I have no
doubt, others will be surprised by the background of several of the more well known, yet
apparently misunderstood superstitions.
Next, she teaches her readers just what can be done on this one of the most magical nights of the
year, which is also the pagan new year. There are bits on various forms of divination and many
options for working magic and how they can be used more specifically on this occasion. There are
hoards of recipes that are fun as well as delicious, to help make the celebration have meaning as
well as some unique food experiences. In the closing section RavenWolf reminds us that this is a
day to honor our loved ones recently past and shows her readers various ways they can do so.
This is the most readably complete look at my favorite Holiday that I have read to date. All the
questions I had have been answered and I have even been blessed with many new ways to
celebrate this day with meaning, understanding and fun. Make more of Halloween this year than
just throwing on a costume and handing out candy~ Let Silver RavenWolf show you how in
Halloween.
With the month of December, comes what is known as Yule time. It is a feel good time of year in
which no matter your beliefs, generally holds within it a special celebration. There are many things
we associate with this time of year. The smell of various traditional treats backing or freshly cut
pine trees. Families' join together for these celebrations and the general feeling is good. Yule or
the winter solstice is celebrated on the first day of winter, which is also the shortest day of the
year. But where did it originate? To answer that question one need look no further than Yule by
Dorothy Morrison.
In Yule, readers will discover the origin of some of our most beloved traditions and things
traditionally associated with the season, and I am certain some of them will be surprises. They will
also learn of the rich celebrations that happen in various other parts of the world. It is rather
fascinating to see the many similarities as well as differences. There is a plethora of information
regarding magic and superstitions for this time as well as trivia.
In preparation for the celebration, the reader will find various customary decorations, with a
section devoted to the Yule tree. There are also sections on gifts, recipes, party games, and loads
of delicious recipes. The daily event calendar helps readers to determine the days of various
celebrations. In the appendixes, you will find information on the various gods and goddesses
associated with Yule, greeting cards in other countries, and related websites.
No matter where you live, nor what your religious preference may be, there is no doubt that the
information in this guide will be of interest, and allow you to not only add more to your
understanding of this joyous time, but also add new practices and add more value to the ones you
already have. Grab a copy of Yule by Dorothy Morrison and add even more joy to the Yule
season this year.
Designing Your Own Tarot Spreads
Teresa Michelsen
Llewellyn
P.O. Box 64383, Dept K168-6, St. Paul, MN 55164-0383
www.llewellyn.com
ISBN# 0738702633 $12.95 156 pgs
Reading tarot is an art and as with most arts, it is also very personal. Perhaps you may have been
to more than one reader and noticed that the same cards can have different meanings, even if only
slightly. One thing that is probably the same is the way the cards are laid out. Most readers use
one of two spreads: for a short reading the three card, past present, future spread and for
something more in depth the Celtic cross spread. From a readers point of view there may be times
when you just don't seem to get results from the common spreads. Now what? Now you have
Designing Your Own Tarot Spreads by Teresa Michelsen.
In this guide the author will show readers why for certain questions the traditional spreads are not
always best. She will give options of spreads she has used, as well as telling why and how they
were designed and work. The reader will learn how the question can affect the spread, how to
clarify card meanings in relation to their landing spot in a spread, and even how many cards to
use. The most exciting thing, in my opinion, is how to modify the currently used spreads and
create your very own.
It is often said in almost every manual that the cards will be very personal to the reader. Not only
should you have your own deck, one that speaks to you, but you should also meditate and find
out what the cards mean to use specifically as an individual. Which lends to the question, then
why should we use the same spread as everyone else? Answer, don't. It is perhaps a great way for
beginners to learn and even a great staple spread that you may want to use most often. However,
when you feel it hasn't answered the question, it is time to alter it and make a spread more suited
for the reading at hand.
Get personal with your cards, get personal with specifically designed readings, get Designing
Your Own Tarot Spreads, and get better results.
Hoodoo Mysteries
Ray Malbrough
Llewellyn
P.O. Box 64383, Dept K168-6, St. Paul, MN 55164-0383
www.llewellyn.com
ISBN# 0738703508 $12.95 193 pgs
At first I thought that this was a typo, hoodoo, or even another way to say voodoo. It is not.
Though Ray Malbrough in his book Hoodoo Mysteries does say that hoodoo is like a cousin of
the traditional Haitian vodum. Hoodoo is a magical system practiced in Louisiana. The history of
how it came to be is totally fascinating, about halfway through the introduction I was completely
enthralled with what is true American folk magic, and began to wonder how I had overlooked this
for so long, thinking it nothing more than another name for voodoo.
In Hoodoo Mysteries readers are taken on a journey into the fascinating world of this system of
magical practice. The author explains the differences between this and the religion of voodoo as
well as the similarities. The differences between deities and saints are looked at. This was
especially interesting as in hoodoo the catholic saints are held sacred; the author gives attention to
this in relation to the Loa.
Hoodoo divination using shells and playing cards, either individually as well as in cooperation
with one another, is also covered. I don't have a strong background knowledge of voodoo so I
found it especially helpful that as each new subject, rituals, spells, invoking the dead and the
topics I have already mentioned, was examined the author made clear the similarities and
differences. At the close of the book readers will find appendixes with information regarding,
religions in America, planetary hours, and how to read playing cards.
There are so many misconceptions held regarding voodoo as well as hoodoo yet after reading
Hoodoo Mysteries they are all made clear. The author presents the information in a way that
makes it fascinating and easy to understand. I recommend this book to anyone who wants a
clearer understanding of Hoodoo magic and its history, as well as those who may be considering
the magical system for their own person growth.
Mapping Your Birthchart
Stephanie Jean Clement, Ph.D.
Llewellyn
P.O. Box 64383, Dept K168-6, St. Paul, MN 55164-0383
www.llewellyn.com
ISBN# 0738702021 $19.95 CD-ROM and 228 page guidebook
There are numerous books on how to figure out the layout of your birthchart. I can begin to tell
you the amount of times I attempted to draw my own wheel and the results were often not as
good as that of the art my child brought home from elementary school. Even so, once I had this
cave drawing what was I to do with the information? But another book to help determine what it
all means? Perhaps, it is definitely an option. However, there is a better option. Mapping Your
Birthchart by Stephanie Jean Clement, Ph.D.
The first thing that attracted me to this book was the accompanying CD-ROM. This program
takes the personal information you enter and creates two reports; one the hard to draw by
yourself, unless you are an artist wheel and two, a write up of your planetary locations and their
meanings. The CD alone makes this an invaluable tool for amateur and professional astrologers
alike. It removes all of the math and other details that make figuring a birthchart a daunting
task.
The guidebook goes hand in hand to further your understanding of what these reports mean. It
breaks down the houses and what they mean, the signs, planets and how these all work together in
your specific chart to help you understand more about you, and what the future may hold. It also
has fascinating charts of famous people that are used as examples in showing you how to read the
nuances in the chart. The guide gives you all the information you need to strengthen all areas of
your life and meet the potential the stars have aligned for you.
Go on and get your copy of Mapping Your Birthchart by Stephanie Jean Clement, today, look at
your birthchart, enjoy the quest of finding meaning in the stars, and when you realize just how fun
and easy astrology can be, you will delight in making and interpreting the charts of friends and
family members.
The Soul as Healer
L. Joseph Nichols
Llewellyn
P.O. Box 64383, Dept K168-6, St. Paul, MN 55164-0383
www.llewellyn.com
ISBN# 1567184871 $12.95 209 pgs
Whenever we want to say that something is done with greatness we often say it came from the
soul. It is the most powerful force within and without us, and thus our most powerful healing
tool. As we come to know and love ourselves we can begin to work from our soul, not only to
heal but also to achieve overall happiness in our lives. This is just one of the profound lessons
shared in The Soul as Healer by L. Joseph Nichols.
Our natural state is that of perfect health. Unless your soul has determined that a particular
ailment is necessary for your life path, perfect health can be achieved. Through love, of others and
ourselves, readers will be shown how to work on all four levels, physical, emotional, mental and
spiritual, along the path to health and love.
A few things covered in this wonderful guide are: energy healing, in all of its many forms, as
everything holds energy, the basic principles of self-healing as well as healing others, and chironic
healing, which through its use of the patterns of the aura will allow the body to heal itself
naturally. All of these methods are taught with the underlying message that healing is a work of
love. By studying this guide and these principles readers will be able to take their healing work to
the next level, one that will include the soul.
Once readers have taken in this guide they will realize that the most effective healing tool is
something they have had access to for their entire existence. By presenting the material in such an
easy to follow manner Nichols has provided and invaluable guidebook to anyone who wishes to
practice the art of healing, be it personal or working with others.
I invite you to pick up a copy of The Soul As Healer and get to know yourself on a deeper level,
allowing your soul energy to help you in all of your life matters.
Diana Bennett
Reviewer
Gorden's Bookshelf
The Cosmic Kalevala: Book One the Saga of Lost Earths
Emil Petaja
Renaissance E Books
P.O. Box 1432, Northampton, MA 01060
www.renebooks.com
ISBN: 1588732479 $4.00 electronic download 116 pages
Petaja follows a long tradition of mixing mythology and science fiction. Most authors use a
sprinkling of mythological names and events but a number of stories use major plots from the
original sagas. Petaja uses a balanced mix of three genres in 'Lost Earths', science fiction,
paranormal, and mythology.
The world has gone through World War III, an even more devastating war than the previous
ones. The survivors put themselves into the hands of the world's psychologists, or Psych-Head as
they are known in the book, which plan the lives of everyone. Each individual is tracked and
controlled to limit aggression and violence. The control works for all but a small handful of
malcontents such as Carl Lempi.
A rare earth metal is found in Northern Finland. Its properties are so useful that it is used in
manufacturing across the world. A series of suicides, which are tracked to the metal, spread
across the globe. To stop what is happening, the world needs someone who understands the
Finnish myths, has ESP abilities, and a mind that is different from the norm. A malcontent. A Carl
Lempi. A person who looks like and could even become the mythical hero Lemminkainen.
The 'Kalevala' has been used by English speaking authors from Longfellow to Tolkien. Petaja
adds his own twist to the story by making the myth a tale of real events. 'Lost Earths' is a fun ride
for those who have read the 'Kalevala.' For readers unfamiliar with the myth, the Finnish names
can be a problem. The story would be helped by the inclusion of a glossary. It doesn't have the
smooth read of Hamilton's science fiction treatment of Norse myths but the science holds up much
better today. 'The Saga of Lost Earths' is recommended reading for every science fiction
aficionado and for any who have heard the old Finnish myths. Problems that might occur with the
Finnish names are made up for with the satisfying tale.
Quantum: A Guide for the Perplexed
Jim Al-Khalili
Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.
387 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10016-8810
ISBN: 0297843052 $24.95 269 pages
Every scientific field has its share of perplexing and counter intuitive events but quantum
physicists revel in the multitude of perplexing ideas that make up their discipline. They make the
perplexity a badge of honor to be bandied about to others. Instead of putting people off,
Al-Khalili uses the perplexity to make quantum understandable to the average person.
Quantum physics is a set of mathematical ideas and methods that explain the seemingly
unexplainable actions of the very small. The mathematics are beautiful in how they explain the
unexplainable. The problems occur when you look beyond the math and realize what is happening
in the real world.
Al-Khalili starts with the hundred year old two slit problem. The two slit problem occurs when a
single thing of either energy or matter goes through two very small slits at the same time.
Problems, such as a single particle being in two separate locations at once, required a long Noble
listing of scientists to develop the mathematics that became quantum. It seems daunting realizing
that you are trying to understand the works of Bohr, Schrodinger, Heisenberg, and Einstein but
Al-Khalili's love of the perplexing and contradictory reality of the quantum world fills the pages of
the book. He covers all of the major events raised by quantum and looks into the near future of
the physics.
'Quantum: A Guide to the Perplexed' is one of the harder scientific lay-books to read but
Al-Khalili's enthusiasm and ability to hint at the reality behind the unexplainable make it worth the
time and trouble. 'Quantum' is highly recommend for anyone with a desire to understand science.
The only weakness is the same weakness of those who have to study any specific scientific
discipline long enough to explain it to the man-on-the-street. Al-Khalili understands the quantum
world but when he tries to relate the information to other scientific disciplines there are misses.
This is forgivable. After wading through the perplexing world of quantum, not understanding the
full implications of an equally perplexing science is to be expected.
S.A. Gorden
Reviewer
Harold's Bookshelf
Comfort for Troubled Christians
J. C. Brumfield
Moody Publishers
820 N LaSalle Blvd, Chicago, IL 60610-3284
ISBN: 0802414265 $2.99 60 pp.
"Comfort for Troubled Christians" is a small book of just sixty pages, but what it lacks in size it
makes up for in substance. Still a popular resource after over forty years in publication, it
represents a timeless work for those needing consolation. When we have trials and everything
seems to be going wrong it is a place to turn to be reminded that God cares, God comforts, God
is in control, and God works with a purpose. If you are going through a time of grief or other
difficulty you may find this book very helpful as you are reminded that God sends his Great
Comforter to help us through such times. "Comfort for Troubled Christians" is a recommended
read for anyone going through rough times and especially so for those who are so depressed they
may not have the sufficient motivation to read a larger book.
Jesus In Pictures for Little Eyes
Kenneth N. Taylor
Moody Publishers
820 N LaSalle Blvd, Chicago, IL 60610-3284
ISBN: 0802430597 $9.99 126 pp.
"Jesus in Pictures for Little Eyes" is a great book for introducing your child to the stories of Jesus.
