( M ) Books - Page 23

The Ship Who Searched (The Ship Series)

Anne McCaffrey, Mercedes Lackey

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 28 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Quest For the Aliens 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

The Ship Who Searched (1992) is the third SF novel in the Brainships series, following PartnerShip. In the previous volume, Nancia was closely involved in the investigation and arrest of the Nyota Five. After the trial and disposition, Forister praised her for her judgment in the recorded statements she made for the trial.

In this novel, Hypatia Cade is the daughter of an archaeological team. Doctors Pota Andropolous-Cade and Braddon Maartens-Cade are conducting an Evaluation dig at a Salomon-Kildare site. The three of them are alone on the planet except during the supply ship visits.

Tia is alone in the camp during the day, except at mealtimes. She spends most of the day doing homework, watching holos and monitoring communications. Shortly after her seventh birthday, Moira -- TM-370 -- is an unexpected visitor. Moira has diverted a routine run to bring their supplies and a birthday present for Tia.

Moira and her Brawn Tomas are very welcome visitors. Tia has known Moira for some time and they get along very well. And then there is the birthday present, a blue teddy bear. Tia is extremely pleased with the gift.

Tia is not particularly lonely on the remote site. After all, she spends more time with her parents than most children. She even gets to help at the main dig when her parents aren't doing very sensitive activities. Since the planet has little atmosphere, she has to wear a vacuum suit at the site.

On days when her parents are too busy for her to visit, her parents let Tia don her vacuum suit and go play in her own dig. She carefully excavates pretend artifacts from the trenches. Then she digs up something that is a very real artifact.

She carefully seals it in a plastic container and brings it into the habitat to show her parents. Unfortunately, the container leaks and she gets a face full of dust. However, her parents are excited over the find and spend the next couple of weeks excavating the alien waste dump.

Tia catches some kind of disease from her first find and feels tingling in her feet and hands. Eventually, she loses sensation in all her extremities and is paralyzed from the neck down. Even her face is partially paralyzed.

In this story, Tia becomes a shellperson. She is the oldest person ever admitted into the program. She does very well and eventually is installed in her brainship.

Hypatia -- XH-1033 -- is now working for the Institute, delivering supplies to various archaeological sites. First she has to select a Brawn. None of the first six are suitable and the second six are not much better. Her supervisor is perturbed and wants her off the tarmac as soon as possible.

Alexander Joli-Chanteu is one of the last set. Tia spends more time with him than the others, but finally decides that he is not quite the right person to be her Brawn. But then he comes back after dark and has a more candid conversation with Tia. Although she still sees some flaws in his character, Alex does have the right sort of attitude and an interest in archaeology. Tia decides to choose him as her Brawn.

Tia and Alex become specialists in dealing with plagues and other sorts of diseases. While they are not doctors, they have run into more than their share of ailments and have learned to counter their effects until the medical personnel arrive. So MedCen preempts their services to hunt for smugglers who are bringing diseases into the Central Worlds.

This tale has Tia searching for the source of her paralytic disease. Since it came from the middens of a Salomon-Kildare camp, she reckons that the source of the disease was the homeworld of those aliens. She carefully follows the archaeological papers on the search for the eskay origins.

The story concerns a very precocious girl with a horrible disease. Yet she is so courageous that she impresses everyone who meets her. Enjoy!

Highly recommended for McCaffrey & Lackey fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of archaeological explorations, undercover investigations, and a very exceptional woman.

-Arthur W. Jordin

Editorial Review:

Accompanying her exo-archaeologist parents on an EsKay dig, seven-year-old Tia becomes afflicted with a strange neural disorder that leaves her totally dependent on a mechanical life support system.

Freedom's Choice

Anne McCaffrey

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 34 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Punish yourself, read this book! 1 out of 5 stars.
1 of 3 people found this review helpful.

After reading the first book of this series, I don't know why I felt inclined to read the second. Probably because I liked the story line, even though it was horribly executed. Whatever pathetic reason I had for reading this, take my advice and avoid at all costs. Reread one of her excellent Pern books.

To summarize: the colonists overcome all challenges with minimal effort, no setbacks, all the while managing to joke around with each other the entire time. However, most of the book is simply spent reading about one boring meeting after another. Which makes sense of course; if you were ripped from your home planet, family, and friends, watched your species get slaughtered and turned into slaves, then get dumped on an empty planet, that's what you would do, right, have a meeting? I hate meetings I have to attend, reading about other people in meetings is simply tedious, especially when the dialog is as banal as it is in this book.

It is obvious that Anne was trying to liven up the book with humor. She can not write humor. The characters are always laughing or grinning or winking or elbow nudging each other to let the reader know that Anne was trying to write a joke. It is basically a book with a laugh track. All the characters are CONSTANTLY winking at each other while making jokes. Anne, if you need to tell the writer you have written a joke, then it was not very funny.

Editorial Review:

In Freedom's Landing, bestselling author Anne McCaffrey created a new world that human slaves were forced to colonize. In time, this new world became more thatn a home--it became something to fight for.

But now Kris Bjornsen and her comrades have found evidence of another race on thier planet. Are they ancients, long dead and gone? Or could they still exist...to join their fight?

Batman Cover to Cover: The Greatest Comic Book Covers of the Dark Knight

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

Beautiful Book!! A Tribute To The Dark Knight!!! 4 out of 5 stars.
5 of 6 people found this review helpful.

I just recently received this book,and I can tell you it is well worth having. True, there are definitely some covers that are missing (in my opinion all of Jim Lee's covers should have been here from the Hush series. OUTSTANDING!!!) A beautifully done book to add to your Batman collection. This book does not cover all of Batman's many comic book covers, but this was not to be expected. Instead they point out some of his most daring and bold covers. Batman has had the benefit of being drawn by some of the greatest comic book artist ever. I beleive you will find it truly amazing how each one has their own distinctive style on creating the Dark Knight. So make sure you own this one. You won't be sorry. Hey, maybe they'll make a volume 2.

Editorial Review:

Over 250 of the greatest Batman comic covers of all time, showcasing the worlds most recognizable character. See how he has been interpreted by the greatest creators in all comic-book history. Watch him on his own, paired with Robin the Boy Wonder, pitted against the Joker, Catwoman and his other enemies and caught in one perilous death trap after another. Special features include a look at how covers are created, the evolution of the Batman logo and Batman covers from around the world. A must-have for all pop culture, graphic design, comic-book and Batman fans, BATMAN: COVER TO COVER is the definitive guide to the most memorable comic covers of all time. Picking their favorites are Batman Begins director Christopher Nolan, televisions first Batman Adam West, and the voice of the animated Joker, Star Wars Mark Hamill.

Lost in Transmission

Wil Mccarthy

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 11 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

In a novel that challenges our expectations at every turn, acclaimed author Wil McCarthy sweeps us into the future as only he can imagine it. Here is a thrilling odyssey of discovery and adventure aboard a ship of exiled rebels coming of age in an eternity that may be a lot shorter than anyone ever guessed.Brash and idealistic, they were rebels without a cause in a world governed by science, reason...and immortality. Banished for their troubles to the starship Newhope, they now face a bold future: to settle the worlds of Barnard’s Star. Now King Bascal Edward de Towaji Lutui, former prince of the Queendom of Sol, together with Captain Xiomara “Xmary” Li Weng and her lover, first mate Conrad Mursk, face a perilous voyage with thousands of their fellow exiles. The journey will last a century, but with Queendom technology it’s no problem to step into a fax machine and “print” a fresh, youthful version of yourself. But what this crew of rebels will find is far from the paradise they seek. Before long, their optimistic young colony has started to show signs of strain. And worst of all, death itself has returned with a vengeance.

Freaks!: How to Draw Fantastic Fantasy Creatures (Fantastic Fantasy Comics)

Steve Miller

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Total reviews: 10 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Devoted to the serious depictions of anthropomorphic characters, Freaks! covers the entire range of animal people and explores all its possibilities. Hundreds of illustrations depict subjects that include basic human and animal anatomies, cat people, dog people, wolf people, feathered freaks, bat people, reptilian creatures, predators of the deep, primates, insect people, elephant man, rhino man, hippo lady, and much more. This drawing guide demonstrates the wide range of this popular genre of illustrative art and the techniques needed to create these fantastic fantasy creatures. Artists will find inspiration for creating such characters as creatures from Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, A. A. Milne's Winnie the Pooh, C. S. Lewis' Narnia Chronicles, or the characters from Planet of the Apes and Creature from the Black Lagoon.

Contributors Include
Brett Booth (Spider-Man, X-Men, and Fantastic Four),
Mitch Byrd (Green Lantern), and
Todd Nauck (Teen Titans and Spider-Man)

The launch of a new series on drawing fantastic characters and creatures
The influx of animal/human characters into popular culture is at an all-time high
From the lead designer of Microsoft's X-Box game Monster Truck Mash

Rules of Engagement

Elizabeth Moon

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 23 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

The War of Brunhilde's Abduction 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Rules of Engagement (1998) is the fifth naval SF novel in the Familias Regnant series, following Once a Hero. In the previous volume, Esmay Suiza had again shown her ability to command in combat during the battle against Bloodhorde ships. Then she accepted treatment for her prior traumas and applied for transfer to the command track.

In this novel, Esmay is attending school at the Copper Mountain Base. She is making up the command courses that she missed in the Academy and simultaneously taking the Junior Officer course. While she has been excused from some courses through examination, Esmay is still very busy.

Charlotte Brunhilde Meager is also at Copper Mountain. Brun is taking a few courses to see if she might be interested in an RSS career. Besides, some of the courses -- such as Escape and Evasion -- may be become important to her personally since someone is trying to kill her.

Barin Serrano comes to Copper Mountain for the Junior Officer course. With his time on the Koskiusko and his recovery from injuries inflicted by the Bloodhorde commandos, Barin is behind his peers in his duty assignments. He needs to finish his training and go on to a real ship assignment.

Lord Thornbuckle is the chief executive of the Familias Regnant state. He is also Brun's father. She is the youngest and brightest of his children. Unfortunately, he and his wife have thoroughly spoiled her.

Hazel Takeris is an apprentice onboard the Elias Madero, a heavy trader that takes a shortcut and is ambushed by the New Texas Godfearing Militia. The raiders kill all the men and women on the ship because of their perversion ands abominations. Only Hazel and the little ones -- two boys and two girls -- are left alive.

In this story, Brun and Esmay have a confrontation at Copper Mountain and exchange some heated words. Unfortunately, the whole conversation was recorded on internal scan. Brun leaves the facility in a huff and Esmay is called on the carpet by the commander of the training base.

Then Brun is captured by the NuTex barbarians. She chews them out and threatens them with major force, so they cut her vocal cords to silence her. The surgery is competently performed since it is a common practice on their planet to mute vociferous women.

By the time they reach Our Texas, Brun is definitely pregnant. She even has trouble walking through the corridors and climbing over the airlock fittings. She is immediately taken to a sluthouse, where she has to stay until the baby is born.

Hazel and the toddlers are incorporated in the household of Ranger Bowie. The girls and boys are not allowed to play with each other's toys. Then the boys are allowed to run around the house and the girls are kept within the women's quarters, where they are taught sewing.

Ranger Bowie sends a package to Lord Thornbuckle with pictures of the capture and treatment of Brun. Bunny is horrified at the way his little girl is treated and quickly passes the package on to the Grand Admiral. He insists that something be done, but the admiral tells him that the RSS has too little information to take any meaningful action at this time.

This tale has a very distraught Lord Thornbuckle making scapegoats of Esmay and the Serranos. Luckily, Marta Saenz has been called in to advise and liaise for the Council. She finally sets Bunny straight before he ruins the efforts to get his daughter back.

Meanwhile, Esmay and Barin are having a lover's spat and neither know what to do about it. Esmay is taught a few rules by her cousin Luci and Marta gives her another push in the right direction. Esmay and Barin soon return to their besotted condition. Enjoy!

Highly recommended for Moon fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of naval operations, political practices, reactionary societies, and true love.

-Arthur W. Jordin

Editorial Review:

Esmay Suiza and Brun Meager should be friends -- they're both bright, brave, likeable and adventurous. But true friendship doesn't run any smoother than true love. Brun thinks Esmay's a stuck-up prig, and Esmay thinks Brun's a spoiled rich brat who's making a play for Barin Serrano, Esmay's first love. So when Brun fails into the hands of a repressive religious militia movement, Esmay finds herself in disgrace, suspected of conniving at the capture. Even Barin has turned against her, and Brun's powerful family doesn't want Esmay anywhere near the rescue attempt. Meanwhile, Brun has to figure out how to survive on a planet where female captives are surgically muted to keep them from contaminating others. Her luck may have run out, but her courage hasn't -- she's determined to free not only herself, but other, younger captives. This burst of initiative imperils her own rescue, and it will take double her own luck to save her.

Acorna's Triumph

Anne Mccaffrey, Elizabeth A. Scarborough

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Happy Ending but so many Plot Holes 2 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Like many others I have enjoyed the Acorna series for years. I started when I was a kid and have looked forwarding avidly to each new book being released. I'm afraid all my waiting was a bit of a let down this time.

While the book was an enjoyable read, it didn't really have the same viseral appeal of the other few books. It was very much like eating a large amount of cotton candy, you may like it at the time but you beginning to doubt how wise a chioce it all was towards the end. While not something I was hoping for it wasn't something I take major points away for, even I love a happy ending.

What truly got to me was the rules set down about time travel in the previous books were basically ignored and tossed aside. It seemed to me that two books back, "Acorna's Search" if I remember correctly, it was basically established that even though you didn't know you were going to effect the past you already had. As established by the rock paintings already being there about what Acorna had done in the past. Here in "Triumph" that is ignored with people and objects suddenly appearing where they should have easily already been discovered.

Also I am confused as to why people bother to appear later on in the time stream from when they left. Why didn't Grimalkin just appear right after Aari left Acorna the first time? Why wait all those many months? Though I must thank him because I enjoyed "Acorna's Rebels". They explained this away with the double helix which only makes a moderate amount of sense considering all the other time sliding they did. The concept of time being a double helix, while interesting, seems to need more thought to it.

All in all I enjoyed this book and the entire series. It became a bit heavy in the story book ending feel but was still enjoyable, I just wish a few more of the concepts were either explained or atleast stuck to in their original forms. It does seem to me with so many unanswered questions that we might see further works in this world maybe centered around a second generation? That I think I shall enjoy reading. But even if not it was a fun, if sweet, ride while it lasted.

Editorial Review:

Aari has returned! Now he and his lifemate, the brave and beautiful Acorna, can finish rebuilding their once-decimated homeworld. Yet Aari's travels through time have left him oddly changed, and he barely remembers Acorna or their love. And as Aari's actions turn more sinister, Acorna must shift her attention to stopping the destruction of innocents by a vicious criminal. It is precisely the sort of weakness and confusion the dreaded Khleevi have been hoping for, as the brutal insectile oppressors set in motion their final invasion and the total destruction of the Linyaari and the conquest of their world. Though Acorna's heart is wounded, her courage and determination must remain strong in this dark time -- for only then will she be able to rescue the Aari she knows and adores, and halt the bloodthirsty alien menace for good and for all.

The Book of Atrix Wolfe

Patricia A. McKillip

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 30 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

An Uncommon Fantasy 4 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

As other reviewers provide summaries, I will not repeat them. Ms. McKillip doesn't write as many authors of this genre do. Instead of a more plot-driven story, her writing focuses more on developing imagery through colorful descriptions. Additionally she doesn't provide a "paint-by-number" story telling. The plot, while usually fascinating and original, is almost secondary to the world she reveals in her books.
That said, when I first read this book 4 years ago, I was used to the more plot-intensive fantasy stories with or without magic and sword-wielding hero(ine)s. While I quickly fell under the spell of Ms. McKillip's story-telling, I had many questions at the end of the book. I felt some dissatisfaction because I wanted fuller descriptions/explanations about some of the characters' motivations. In fact, not much happens after the initial spell-making.
I recently picked up this book again and, this time, found it more meaningful. It was like experiencing a vivid dream while awake. I felt as if I had somehow stumbled into a slightly more sophisticated version of a fairy tale. As long as you don't expect a typical fantasy read, I strongly recommend this book to experience something different in this genre.

Editorial Review:

Twenty years ago, the powerful mage Atrix Wolfe unleashed an uncontrollable force that killed his beloved king. Now, the Queen of the Wood has offered him one last chance for redemption. She asks him to find her daughter, who vanished into the human world during the massacre he caused. No one has seen the princess-but deep in the kitchens of the Castle of Pelucir, there is a scullery maid who appeared out of nowhere one night long ago. She cannot speak and her eyes are full of sadness. But there are those who call her beautiful.

To Weave a Web of Magic

Claire Delacroix, Lynn Kurland, Patricia A. McKillip, Sharon Shinn

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 17 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

average-not up to fantasy OR romance standards... 3 out of 5 stars.
4 of 5 people found this review helpful.

my breakdown of the book:

McKillip's story-OK, average story-but I could have skipped it.

Kurland-I enjoyed this story-not her best but better, in my opinion than the other three.

Shinn-could not finish-the heroine was too flighty and too much of a girl looking to rebel by going after the "bad boy".

Delacroix-ick-hated it-a "love story" based on one characters blackmail of another is not my kind of love story.

Sadly this book is not fantastical enough for fantasy readers or romantic enough for the romance fan. By trying to catch both fans the book appeases neither.

My advice-skip it, buy used or get from the library. Definately not worth forking $14 out new.

3 stars for the Kurland story.

Editorial Review:

A romantic fantasy anthology with four novellas from renowned authors of romance and fantasy...

USA Today best-selling author Claire Delacroix gives readers a revisionist version of the medieval legend of Melusine. USA Today best-selling author Lynn Kurland's trademark style shines in this tale of the magic and medieval romance between two lovers.

World Fantasy Award-winner Patricia A. McKillip tells of an artist's model and the transforming power of beauty and inspiration.

National best-selling author Sharon Shinn offers a compelling romance set in a strange new off-world of angels and revolving around the pursuit of love.

The very thrill of love comes dazzlingly to life when these four shining stars or romance and fantasy weave their own web of magic for their legions of fans.

Moon Flights

Elizabeth Moon

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Some are repeats 4 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

As always, Moon excells at short fiction, however, buyers should be aware that two or three of the stories in this volume are repeated from an earlier compilation of short stories titles Phases.

Moon Flights 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I am always buying short story collections by mistake. I buy the author and title without reading about the book and expecting a novel, and am generally disappointed. Even the really great authors have trouble pleasing me in this format. This book is the exception. Each story has what it takes to stand on its own. Many have relatives in emoon,s novels, and some, I would love to see novel versions of. A great combination of sensitive character development and humor. Plenty of action to keep you turning pages. She's on my list of "I read anything with her name on it" authors.

Editorial Review:

Elizabeth Moon is known best for her Vatta Series, a fast paced, intricate novels of interstellar mercantilism. Moon Flight is a collection of over 100,000 words of fiction and features an original Vatta story. It also collects the best of work from the breadth of her 15+ year career. Her fiction spans the gamut from military science fiction to cutting edge stories biotechnology, to heartfelt examinations of politics and social issues.