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Review Date: 5/16/2007
Paperback Version of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass.
When Alice tumbles down, down, down a rabbit-hole one hot summer's afternoon in pursuit of a White Rabbit she finds herself in Wonderland. And there begin the fantastical adventures that will see her experiencing extraordinary changes in size, swimming in a pool of her own tears and attending the very maddest of tea parties. For Wonderland is no ordinary place and the characters that populate it are quite unlike anybody young Alice has ever met before. In this imaginary land she encounters the savagely violent Queen, the Lachrymose Mock Turtle, the laconic Cheshire Cat and the hookah-smoking Caterpillar, each as surprising and outlandish as the next. Alice's adventures have made her the stuff of legend, the child heroine par excellence, and ensured that Carroll's book is the best loved and most widely read in children's literature.
When Alice tumbles down, down, down a rabbit-hole one hot summer's afternoon in pursuit of a White Rabbit she finds herself in Wonderland. And there begin the fantastical adventures that will see her experiencing extraordinary changes in size, swimming in a pool of her own tears and attending the very maddest of tea parties. For Wonderland is no ordinary place and the characters that populate it are quite unlike anybody young Alice has ever met before. In this imaginary land she encounters the savagely violent Queen, the Lachrymose Mock Turtle, the laconic Cheshire Cat and the hookah-smoking Caterpillar, each as surprising and outlandish as the next. Alice's adventures have made her the stuff of legend, the child heroine par excellence, and ensured that Carroll's book is the best loved and most widely read in children's literature.
Review Date: 5/16/2007
FBI Special Agent Aloysius Pendergast, a wealthy, refined yet ruthless descendant of Holmes who's very much his own character. Pendergast, as well as other Preston and Child semiregulars, notably rough-hewn former NYPD cop Vincent D'Agosta, Watson to Pendergast's Sherlock, tread nearly every page of this vastly imagined, relentlessly enjoyable thriller. The body of a notorious art critic is found in his Hamptons, L.I., mansion, wholly burned, with a cloven hoofprint nearby: the devil's work? Book 1 of a Trilogy
Review Date: 5/16/2007
Helpful Score: 2
FBI Special Agent Pendergast needs the talents of Nora Kelly, an archaeologist, and William Smithback, Jr., a researcher and reporter, to track down a serial killer whom he is sure has been stalking his prey since the late-19th century. When a real-estate developer demolishes a building and finds victims of a murderer who killed by tearing out their spinal columns, the three team up to pursue the evil behind the acts. Along the way, they nearly lose their lives as they relentlessly track the killer who, indeed, is still alive at the beginning of the 21st century. Fans of Preston and Child's Relic or Reliquary will enjoy this title as well.
Review Date: 5/16/2007
Victor Frankenstein, yes, that Victor Frankenstein, is alive and well in New Orleans, where he is creating an entire race of "new men." Koontz's latest is a respectful follow-up to the original story and is performed beautifully. John Bedford Lloyd is a commanding reader with a voice that grabs the listener by the throat, metaphorically speaking. He's perfect as the voice of the evil Victor Frankenstein, his voice and demeanor that of an amoral genius. Lloyd is equally effective as Frankenstein's original creation, "the monster" brought to life by lightning and arcane science. This time around, it's clear which of them is the true monster.
Review Date: 5/16/2007
Cleopatra's Needle. He tells the story of a search for an ancient Egyptian cross, or ankh, that has incredible, mythical powers. This particular relic has been split in half somewhere in the distant past. The half that should be at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York is stolen from a curator murdered at the foot of an ancient obelisk (Cleopatra's Needle) in Central Park. The other half has been snatched, at least temporarily, from a top Syrian terrorist named Salameh by a female Israeli intelligence agent. Putting the two halves together, Salameh believes, could result in raising the spirit of the Egyptian Pharaoh Osiris--and boost Salameh's plan for world domination.
Review Date: 5/16/2007
In a follow-up to the Audie Award-winning BRIMSTONE, authors Preston and Child again team up on a story that stretches the boundaries of thriller fiction. Against the backdrop of New York's Museum of Natural History, Lieutenant Vincent D'Agosta and mysterious FBI Agent Aloysius Pendergast try to track down Pendergast's brother, who is murdering Pendergast's acquaintances, one by one. Book 2 of a Trilogy
Review Date: 6/24/2006
From the Back Cover: "A wonderfully fun romp through the supernatural world, a spellbinding bledn of sharp wit and vivid imagination." Kelley Armstrong.
Review Date: 5/16/2007
Helpful Score: 1
Jennifer Fallon really made her mark with Lion of Senet, giving us wonderful characters and a very interesting epic plot. Book two of the Second Sons Trilogy is Eye of the Labyrinth, and the question is: can she keep it up? We already have over 500 pages of it, and we're only a third of the way done. The answer is yes. Eye of the Labyrinth is even better then Lion of Senet, mainly because the action is already under way. The book is so full of people plotting against each other that they make Machiavelli look like a reasonably nice guy. Of course, that's part of the book's charm.
Review Date: 5/16/2007
Helpful Score: 2
Gloriana (1979) is Moorcock's homage to Mervyn Peake (author of the Gormenghast saga), and fittingly, is a lush tale of intrigue told in thoroughly British prose.
The tale takes place in Renaissance-era Albion, the England of another world. Queen Gloriana presides, with the assistance of her counselors, over an empire of remarkable peace and prosperity: a romantic Golden Age in stark contrast to the cynical, iron rule of her father. All is not well, however, for the queen cannot--despite a veritable circus-stable of lovers male, female, both and other--achieve sexual fulfillment. (Whereas our own Queen Elizabeth was the 'virgin queen', in name at least, Gloriana proves quite the opposite.)
The tale takes place in Renaissance-era Albion, the England of another world. Queen Gloriana presides, with the assistance of her counselors, over an empire of remarkable peace and prosperity: a romantic Golden Age in stark contrast to the cynical, iron rule of her father. All is not well, however, for the queen cannot--despite a veritable circus-stable of lovers male, female, both and other--achieve sexual fulfillment. (Whereas our own Queen Elizabeth was the 'virgin queen', in name at least, Gloriana proves quite the opposite.)
Review Date: 5/16/2007
The Great and Secret Show, the first part of a trilogy, is an ambitious fantasy/horror fusion of dazzling scope which stands alone as a complete story. Nebraska postal clerk Randolph Jaffe works in the Dead Letter Room, opening and inspecting loads of undeliverable U.S. mail. Soon, through a series of cryptic dead letters, he taps into an ethereal network of mysterious revelations which provides access to enormous power channels. The customary battle of light forces versus dark forces commences, with greedy Jaffe heading the latter, and mad yet philanthropic scientist Richard Fletcher representing the former.
Review Date: 5/16/2007
Half Magic, is about four children who encounter magical coins, time-travel herb gardens, and other unlikely devices, is a warm, funny, original adventure. Through a comical series of coincidences, they discover that the coin is magic. Well, it's not totally magic--it's only (you guessed it) half magic. That means there's a certain logic to the wishes one must make to generate a desired outcome. Imagine the results emerging from inaccurate efforts: half invisible, half rescued, half everything! Half Magic is never too cute, and with just enough emotion to complement the magic, this classic is sure to hold a special place in any child's library. If you love Half Magic, You'll love its sequels--Knight's Castle, The Time Garden, and Magic by the Lake.
Review Date: 5/16/2007
Helpful Score: 1
in the year 2427. The Terran Hanseatic League, in a heady rush of manifest destiny, turns Oncier, a huge gas planet, into a sun so its four moons can be used for colonization. In the process, the Terrans disturb the ancient but dwindling Ildirans, their uneasy allies, whose leader, the Mage-Imperator, suspects that Terrans are far too eager to take over the spiral arm. Still worse, by inadvertently destroying Oncier's hitherto unknown colonists, the powerful hydrogues, the conversion of Oncier sets off a catastrophic conflict that threatens the existence of all Terrans and Ildirans. The Earth Defense Forces of the Terran Hanseatic League, the Worldtrees and Green Priests of Theroc, the gypsy Roamers who mine ekti all must unite with the Ildirans to fight the alien menace. Book one sizzles with a fast-moving plot woven tightly with vivid characterizations: the space cowboys Jess, Ross and Tasia Tamblyn; the exotic Ildirans; the grotesque Mage-Imperator and his handsome Prime Designate son, Jora'h; Beneto Theron, his clan and the bewitching Nira Khali; the appealing and not-so-appealing humans, Raymond/Peter and Chairman Basil Wenceslas; and many others, all conspiring to make this fascinating future epic one not to be missed!
Review Date: 5/16/2007
Playing with archetype, myth and the nature of reality, Holdstock returns to the landscape of his Mythago Wood , a primeval woodland in modern England that has defended itself through the eons with mythagos, embodiments of the human need for heroes and heroic acts. Devastated by the death of his young son, Alexander, Richard Bradley meets Alexander Lytton and Helen Silverlock, who indicate that the boy is still alive in a mysterious way in nearby Ryhope Wood. As the distraught father follows researcher Arnauld Lacan into the wood, he is gradually introduced to its properties and inhabitants, which range through the deeply embedded myths of all times. Meanwhile, Lytton wants Bradley to find Alexander because the fearful boy's vivid fantasies are changing the very nature of the wood that Lytton and his crew have been studying for years. Bradley's search proves unsuccessful, however, and it's only after the father gains the aid of Sarin, the Tall Grass Lady from the time of the Tower of Babel, that his quest reaches its climax.
Review Date: 5/16/2007
Helpful Score: 1
In 1862, the Confederacy won the War of the Rebellion. The defeated North has stewed for nearly 20 years. In this alternate history, the South exercises an opportunity to purchase Sonora and Chihuahua from the bankrupt Mexican Empire, having already wrested Cuba from Spain. James G. Blaine, now president of the United States, arrogantly seizes upon this pretext and invades with the aim of reunification. Lincoln has become an outcast of the Republican Party and preaches socialism while Custer is a frustrated and embittered colonel on the frontier, Samuel Clemens a fiery newspaper editor in San Francisco, and Rosecrans the inadequate head of the Union Army. Turtledove is an accomplished professional at this sort of thing and has given us an entertainment that makes us think somewhat about why we are the way we are. Highly recommended for history, historiography, military, and popular fiction collections.
Review Date: 5/16/2007
Col. Adam "Iceberg" Friese was scheduled to pilot the next space shuttle, Atlantis, to dock with the Russian space station, Mir, until a freak accident just before the launch sidelined him. While his former girlfriend, Nicole, supervised the launch, Iceberg sneaked in a back gate and found his own front-row seat for the event. Meanwhile, Mr. Philips, a homicidal megalomaniac, and his fellow terrorists attack the launch site, holding hostage the astronauts, Nicole's launch team, and Atlantis until his demand for a fortune in precious gems is met. When Iceberg realizes that something is wrong, he goes to investigate, following the dead bodies back to the terrorists and, one by one, eliminating Mr. Philips's savage murderers while Nicole keeps the ringleader busy. Anderson and Beason have written a nail biter full of details about NASA and the Kennedy Space Center. This writing team, which admits to changing some details to preserve NASA security, has written several other high-tech action thrillers.
Review Date: 5/16/2007
We are in Oxford in the 1660s - a time, and place, of great intellectual, scientific, religious and political ferment. Robert Grove, a fellow of New College is found dead in suspicious circumstances. A young woman is accused of his murder. We hear about the events surrounding his death from four witnesses: Marco da Cola, a Venetian Catholic intent on claiming credit for the invention of blood transfusion; Jack Prescott, the son of a supposed traitor to the Royalist cause determined to vindicate his father; John Wallis, chief cryptographer to both Cromwell and Charles II, a mathematician, theologican and inveterate plotter; and Anthony Wood, the famous Oxford antiquary. Each witness tells their version of what happened. Only one reveals the extraordinary truth.
Review Date: 5/16/2007
Helpful Score: 3
Many consider Tolkien's masterpiece, The Lord of the Rings, the benchmark to which every other epic fantasy work is compared. The first book in The Second Sons Trilogy leaves the reader with the impression that this series will receive top marks in that scale. Jennifer Fallon creates a craftily depicted world with characters the reader will love or hate with passion. I became so engrossed in the story that I could not put this book down until I finished it.
Review Date: 5/16/2007
Helpful Score: 1
After submitting a manuscript to a London publisher, young Arthur Conan Doyle becomes the target of an occult group that bears a coincidental likeness to the subject of his novel. To Doyle's aid comes Jack Sparks, a mysterious and resourceful figure who ultimately serves as Doyle's inspiration for Sherlock Holmes.
Review Date: 5/16/2007
Eleven-year-old Jason, an orphan who lives with his stepparents, is all set to spend the summer at soccer camp-until the school bully slams into him and he sprains his ankle. Afraid that he will be condemned to a boring stay with his grandmother, Jason eagerly accepts an alternative offer to Camp Ravenwyng. This rather dilapidated facility turns out to have an odd assortment of campers and counselors who (surprise!) are there to develop their skills as "magickers" in an effort to defeat the forces of darkness currently lining up in conflict for the fate of the world.
Review Date: 5/16/2007
Master AND Fool
The Known Lands are teetering on the brink of war. Desperate to avert worldwide catastrophe, Jack, the baker's boy, must learn to harness the full strength of his magic to face his ultimate destiny--a final confrontation with the murderously evil Kylock.
The Known Lands are teetering on the brink of war. Desperate to avert worldwide catastrophe, Jack, the baker's boy, must learn to harness the full strength of his magic to face his ultimate destiny--a final confrontation with the murderously evil Kylock.
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