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Angel Fire East (The Word and the Void Trilogy, Book 3)

Terry Brooks

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 73 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Angel Fire East ? 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Angel Fire East isn't an appropriate name for this book. It should have been named something else because there's one small reference to the title which has nothing to do with the story. Whatever. However, it is a great book. Here we get a glimpse into the life of John Ross once more and Nest Freemark as well. They join forces to save the Gypsy Morph from the Void and it's demons. It's riveting through it all. I've read it once before and still couldn't put it down. I can't wait for the next book coming out in August. Highly, highly recommend this book as well as the rest of the series!!

Editorial Review:

As a Knight of the Word, John Ross has struggled against the dark forces of the Void and his minions for twenty-five years.  The grim future he dreams each night-- a world reduced to blood and ashes--will come true, unless he can stop them now, in the present.  

The birth of a gypsy morph, a rare and dangerous creature that could be an invaluable weapon in his fight against the Void, brings John Ross and Nest Freemark together again. Twice before, with the fate of the world hanging in the balance, the lives of Ross and Nest have intersected. Together, they have prevailed.  But now they will face an ancient evil beyond anything they have ever encountered, a demon of ruthless intelligence and feral cunning.  As a firestorm of evil erupts, threatening to consume lives and shatter dreams, they have but a single chance to solve the mystery of the Gypsy morph--and their own profound connection.

The Last Unicorn

Peter S. Beagle

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 200 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Point Taken 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Peter Beagle's THE LAST UNICORN is always a discovery for me, however often I encounter it. Only with reluctance would I name the book one of my favourites, for it employs throughout devices I routinely find annoying in modern fantasy writing. Chief among these is an awareness on the part of the characters that they ARE in a kind of faerie tale and, as such, have generally defined roles they are expected to play. I prefer to lose myself in a story rather than be reminded continually that it IS a story. The 1982 animated film adaptation, though following the plot and dialogue of the book with unusual faithfulness, had problems of its own. Too often it tended toward the melodramatic, and some of the line-delivery could only be described as 'shrill'.

Yet it was the animated version I discovered first and, whatever the imperfections, I have re-watched it many times over the years. Clearly, something in it touched me as few films ever do. And I must concede that Beagle's novel is even more affecting.

Set in a world of vaguely mediaeval elements laced with what has been called 'intentional anachronism' and populated with towns and kingdoms that never were, this is the story of a solitary unicorn who learns that all others of her kind have disappeared from the world. She therefore leaves the security of her enchanted forest in order to discover what became of them. Not unexpectedly, on this quest she encounters various individuals whose destinies will be realized by how they help or hinder her. Yet there is more melancholy than magic in this, for few are pleased with what they gain. A bitter old man is what he is precisely because he has spent his life in a relentless and uncompromising search FOR lasting happiness. A younger man becomes a hero to win the woman he loves, but instead he gains a kingdom for which he had no desire. And then there is Molly, who chased a dream in her youth, only to wind up in used and disillusioned drudgery. The most heart-breaking moment of the entire work may be when she first sees the unicorn and cries out, 'Where have you been? ... What good is it to me that you're here now? Where were you twenty years ago, ten years ago? ... How dare you come to me now, when I am this?'

There is humour in the tale as well, albeit most often wry, sardonic, or simply playful. And there is a happy ending overall, if somewhat ambivalent for the individuals themselves.

Ultimately, however, UNICORN evades the foreshadowed cynicism and achieves poignance. For me, what makes it work most is the unique 'poetry' of its prose. Beagle's metaphors and similes are particularly compelling, fashioned on unexpected images that really do work. 'One owl-less autumn evening, they ... saw the castle ... thin and twisted, bristling with thorny turrets, dark and jagged as a giant's grin.' A vast monster 'was the color of blood, not the springing blood of the heart but the blood that stirs under an old wound that never really healed.' A young girl's 'skin was the color of snow by moonlight.' Later she 'fell as irrevocably as a flower breaks ....' 'Things happened both swiftly and slowly as they do in dreams, where it is really the same thing.' The genius of such descriptions is that they often evoke a sense, rather than an image. We may not actually KNOW what colour is blood under an old wound, but we FEEL its darkness and grim persistence.

THE LAST UNICORN is a story of the bittersweet, of melancholy joy, of wonder mingled with resignation, of oppressive gloom and extraordinary beauty, of wit and of wisdom and of poetry. It does not LOOK like 'great literature', but it teaches throughout that appearances are deceiving -- and goes on to prove the point.

Editorial Review:

A unicorn, a haphazard wizard, and a spunky scullery woman journey to the dreaded kingdom of Haggaard, an evil ruler who, with the help of a bull-shaped demon, imprisons all the unicorns of the world. Reissue.

The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume Two A: The Greatest Science Fiction Novellas of All Time Chosen by the Members of The Science Fiction Writers of America (SF Hall of Fame)

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 46 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume One, honored the best of science fiction's early short stories. This volume is the definitive collection of the best science fiction novellas written between 1929 to 1964 and contains eleven great classics. There is no better anthology that captures the birth of science fiction as a literary field.

Published in 1973 to honor novellas that had come before the institution of the Nebula Awards, The Science Fiction Hall of Fame introduced tens of thousands of young readers to the wonders of science fiction and was a favorite of libraries across the country.

This volume contains the following:

Introduction by Ben Bova
"Call Me Joe" by Poul Anderson
"Who Goes There?" by John W. Campbell, Jr.
"Nerves" by Lester del Rey
"Universe" by Robert A. Heinlein
"The Marching Morons" by C. M. Kornbluth
"Vintage Season" by Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore
". . . And Then There Were None" by Eric Frank Russell
"The Ballad of Lost C'Mell" by Cordwainer Smith
"Baby Is Three" by Theodore Sturgeon
"The Time Machine" by H. G. Wells
"With Folded Hands" by Jack Williamson

Kindred (Black Women Writers Series)

Octavia E. Butler

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 173 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

First time Butler Reader 3 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I just finished Kindred and was inspired more by the character development and slave narrative than the fantastic aspect of the text. I think Butler handled the historical situation more effectively than she did the actual situation of time travel. I was expecting to be drawn more than I was into the ramifications of the protagonist's time traveling on her present-day life.

I agree that about half-way through the story became a bit too predictable, but I never lost interest, because Butler never slowed the text's pace.

I can't say that I was riveted by the book, but I read it in afternoon, so I mustn't have been bored either. I would recommend the book for high school students specifically. (I am a teacher and I think the book would be one students would be interested in.)

Editorial Review:

Dana, a modern black woman, is celebrating her twenty-sixth birthday with her new husband when she is snatched abruptly from her home in California and transported to the antebellum South. With more than 100,000 copies in print, Kindred is a classic timetravel novel by an acclaimed African-American science fictionwriter.

Firstborn

Arthur C. Clarke, Stephen Baxter

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 17 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

The Firstborn–the mysterious race of aliens who first became known to science fiction fans as the builders of the iconic black monolith in 2001: A Space Odyssey–have inhabited legendary master of science fiction Sir Arthur C. Clarke’s writing for decades. With Time’s Eye and Sunstorm, the first two books in their acclaimed Time Odyssey series, Clarke and his brilliant co-author Stephen Baxter imagined a near-future in which the Firstborn seek to stop the advance of human civilization by employing a technology indistinguishable from magic.

Their first act was the Discontinuity, in which Earth was carved into sections from different eras of history, restitched into a patchwork world, and renamed Mir. Mir’s inhabitants included such notables as Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, and United Nations peacekeeper Bisesa Dutt. For reasons unknown to her, Bisesa entered into communication with an alien artifact of inscrutable purpose and godlike power–a power that eventually returned her to Earth. There, she played an instrumental role in humanity’s race against time to stop a doomsday event: a massive solar storm triggered by the alien Firstborn designed to eradicate all life from the planet. That fate was averted at an inconceivable price. Now, twenty-seven years later, the Firstborn are back.

This time, they are pulling no punches: They have sent a “quantum bomb.” Speeding toward Earth, it is a device that human scientists can barely comprehend, that cannot be stopped or destroyed–and one that will obliterate Earth.

Bisesa’s desperate quest for answers sends her first to Mars and then to Mir, which is itself threatened with extinction. The end seems inevitable. But as shocking new insights emerge into the nature of the Firstborn and their chilling plans for mankind, an unexpected ally appears from light-years away.


From the Hardcover edition.

Sword of Shannara: Warlock Lord Bk. 1 (Sword of Shannara)

Terry Brooks

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 544 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Living in the remote hamlet of Shady Vale, the young half-elf Shea Ohmsford knows little of the outside world. And yet, in the desolate, ruined lands of the far north, a dark-hearted sorcerer is plotting his death. The ancient warlock has dispatched a band of deadly Skull Bearers to track Shea down and murder him. For Shea is the last descendant of an ancient Elvin king, and the only person living who can wield the fabled Sword of Shannara - a weapon with the power to thwart the Warlock Lord's terrifying plans. Only the druid Allanon knows where the sword is hidden and even now he rides to Shady Vale to offer his aid. But the Skull Bearers are swift and ruthless, and Shea Ohmsford's destiny may be over before it has begun! And so begins the incredible legend of The Sword of Shannara - a classic story of magic, adventure and epic conflict, from one of the world's greatest living storytellers. Part Two, THE DRUIDS' KEEP and Part Three, THE SECRET OF THE SWORD will be published in successive months.

Matter

Iain M. Banks

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 51 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

In a world renowned even within a galaxy full of wonders, a crime within a war. For one man it means a desperate flight, and a search for the one - maybe two - people who could clear his name. For his brother it means a life lived under constant threat of treachery and murder. And for their sister, even without knowing the full truth, it means returning to a place she'd thought abandoned forever.

Only the sister is not what she once was; Djan Seriy Anaplian has changed almost beyond recognition to become an agent of the Culture's Special Circumstances section, charged with high-level interference in civilizations throughout the greater galaxy.

Concealing her new identity - and her particular set of abilities - might be a dangerous strategy, however. In the world to which Anaplian returns, nothing is quite as it seems; and determining the appropriate level of interference in someone else's war is never a simple matter.

MATTER is a novel of dazzling wit and serious purpose. An extraordinary feat of storytelling and breathtaking invention on a grand scale, it is a tour de force from a writer who has turned science fiction on its head.

Raven's Shadow (The Raven Duology, Book 1)

Patricia Briggs

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 21 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Somewhat disappointed 3 out of 5 stars.
6 of 13 people found this review helpful.

Although I haven't finished reading the novel I think I can venture an opinion.
Raven's shadow was suggested to me by Amazon and since it got such good reviews I bought it. This is the first time I read a book by Patricia Briggs.

I have to say that I am a bit disappointed.
The story is rather simple. Instead of a complex weave with many layers and colours like is case for example with George RR Martin or Steven Erikson, one is presented with a rather simplistic picture in few colours, if you catch my drift :)
The story is interesting and the author is innovative and original, unquestionably an impressive storyteller. Unfortunately, that's not enough for me. I want more. I want some real craftmanship when it comes to writing, I want a gripping story with fascinating characters, I want to wonder about their destinies and care what happens to them. This is not the case with Brigg's book. I never had any difficulty in putting it down and it wouldn't bother me in the least to let it keep for a long time before picking it up again. I do want to know how the story ends but if I lost the book and couldn't find out it wouldn't be a big loss.

She has a way with creating interesting characters but I feel they could be more fully fleshed out.

Someone mentioned in another review an age group this book was appropriate for and that got me thinking. I think that's a good point; this book would perhaps fit best for younger audiences. As such, it deserves more than the 3 stars.

I'm not sure I'll read more books by Briggs, not unless the writing has changed quite a bit and grown more mature and complex.

So, all in all, Raven's Shadow is an ok read but nothing more. Nothing memorable and not a page-turner.

Editorial Review:

Seraph is a Raven mage who left behind her responsibilities for the love of the ex-soldier Tier. But when Tier disappears, Seraph must use her magic—and fulfill her ancestors’ oath to protect humanity from destruction.

The Time Machine (Signet Classics)

H.G. Wells

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 325 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Excellent!! 4 out of 5 stars.
8 of 8 people found this review helpful.

As I stated in my other reviews, I normally don't enjoy science fiction novels; this book I had to read for school. As I read what I expected to be a boring and unentertaining novel, my opinion changed, and I became more open to enjoying the story. I found that it was an enchanting novel that no one should pass up. H. G. Wells made the story come alive and he made the setting, set in the future, somewhere you feel could possibly exist as his descriptions are so vivid and his wording fanominal. Read this story and your beliefs on time travel and the way earth will turn out in the future will change. H.G. Wells gives you somthing to ponder while you enjoy the sentences that flow together like the river he describes. H.G. Wells makes an unknown world seem familiar and is an expert in his proffesion. I guaranty this book will send powerful astonishment and awe up and through your mind.

Editorial Review:

The story that launched Wells's successful career-the classic tale of the Time Traveler and the extraordinary world he discovers in the far distant future. A haunting portrayal of Darwin's evolutionary theory carried to a terrible conclusion.

First King of Shannara (Shannara Trilogy, Prequel)

Terry Brooks

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 148 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Horrified by the misuse of magic they had witnessed during the First War of the Races, the Druids at Paranor devoted themselves to the study of the old sciences, from the period before the collapse of civilization a thousand years before. Only the Bremen and a few trusted associates still studied the arcane arts. And for his persistence, Bremen found himself outcast, avoided by all but the few free-thinkers among the Druids.

But his removal from Paranor was not altogether a terrible thing, for Bremen learned that dark forces were on the move from the Northlands. That seemingly invincible armies of trolls were fast conquering all that lay to their south. That the scouts for the army--and its principal assassins--were Skull Bearers, disfigured and transformed Druids who had fallen prey to the seductions of the magic arts. And that at the heart of the evil tide was an archmage and former Druid named Brona!

Using the special skills he had acquired through his own study of Magic, Bremen was able to penetrate the huge camp of the Troll army and learn many of its secrets. And he immediately understood that if the peoples of the Four Lands were to escape eternal subjugation they would need to unite. But, even united, they would need a weapon, something so powerful that the evil magic of Brona, the Warlock Lord, would fail before its might...