Fantasy Books - Page 3

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Harry Potter)

J. K. Rowling

List Price: $5.99 By: Listening Library Amazon Marketplace: 1 new & used starting at $27.99

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5429 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Nothing Spectacular to Merit the Hype About this "Anniversary Edition" 3 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

Belatedly I found out that this is not worth buying. Yes, I bought the book because I thought that being touted as the 10th Anniversary Edition, it would be SPECIAL. Like there would be at least a Reflection page by Scholastic or JKR since the book (and the obscure author) has been a huge success. However, the contents are basically the same. The only additional is the sketch of Snape by JKR with a small note regarding the sketch plus the colored frontis of Hagrid on the boat...yes, the dust jacket has a new art and the boards are red with golden stars...but that's about it.

If you collect the books though, as in because you want every copy of the HP book series, then what I just said won't matter. But if you're buying it because you think it offers something new, then I would say it is not worth it.

Editorial Review:

Amazon.com

Here is a very special edition of the book that started it all: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Shortly after publication, J.K. Rowling's debut became a runaway bestselling award winner, and each new title in the sequence has all but created riots in the streets, as delirious fans chomp at the bit for the latest escapades of Harry Potter and his cohorts. For the true devotee of the series, this collector's edition is a must. Gold foil stamping on an embossed leather cover marks the book as a bona fide treasure. Most exciting of all is a previously unpublished sketch of Harry by Rowling herself! Don't miss this opportunity to collect a beautiful version of a modern classic. (Ages 9 and older) --Emilie Coulter

Fahrenheit 451

Amazon Price: $25.95 List Price: $25.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Caedmon Amazon Marketplace: 21 new & used starting at $4.75

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1267 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Had To Read For School 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful.

And I highly enjoyed reading this book. The storyline may be a bit complicated but if you stick with it, you will eventually understand Guy Montag's world. I reccomend this book for High School kids and up.

A must experience 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

A must read for people of all ages, Fahrenheit 451 is an enthralling novel written by Ray Bradbury. It is set in a futuristic society where books are illegal and the totalitarian government controls almost every aspect of people's lives. The story centers around Guy Montag, a fireman who doesnt put fires out, but starts them. Guy enjoys his job but a seventeen-year-old girl's recanting of the past and Guy's conscience gets the better of him and send him on a perilious journey filled with tough decisions and challenges that will forever change his life, and his world. Fahrenheit 451 is a fascinating look at a society gone wrong. It is frightening how in many ways Bradbury's world parallel's our own. Fahrenheit 451 is definately an eye opening book that everyone should experience

Editorial Review:

Guy Montag was a fireman whose job it was to start fires...

The system was simple. Everyone understood it. Books were for burning...along with the houses in which they were hidden.

Guy Montag enjoyed his job. He had been a fireman for ten years, and he had never questioned the pleasure of the midnight runs nor the joy of watching pages consumed by flames...never questioned anything until he met a seventeen-year-old girl who told him of a past when people were not afraid.

Then he met a professor who told him of a future in which people could think...and Guy Montag suddenly realized what he had to do!

Batman : The Dark Knight Returns

Frank Miller

List Price: $13.95 By: Warner Books> C/o Little Br Amazon Marketplace: 32 new & used starting at $4.86

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 330 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

If any comic has a claim to have truly reinvigorated the genre, then The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller--known also for his excellent Sin City series and his superb rendering of the blind superhero Daredevil--is probably the top contender. Batman represented all that was wrong in comics and Miller set himself a tough task taking on the camp crusader and turning this laughable, innocuous children's cartoon character into a hero for our times. The great Alan Moore (V for Vendetta, Swamp Thing, the arguably peerless Watchmen) argued that only someone of Miller's stature could have done this. Batman is a character known well beyond the confines of the comic world (as are his retinue) and so reinventing him, while keeping his limiting core essentials intact, was a huge task.Miller went far beyond the call of duty. The Dark Knight is a success on every level. Firstly it does keep the core elements of the Batman myth intact, with Robin, Alfred the butler, Commissioner Gordon, and the old roster of villains, present yet brilliantly subverted. Secondly the artwork is fantastic--detailed, sometimes claustrophobic, psychotic. Lastly it's a great story: Gotham City is a hell on earth, street gangs roam but there are no heroes. Decay is ubiquitous. Where is a hero to save Gotham? It is 10 years since the last recorded sighting of the Batman. And things have got worse than ever. Bruce Wayne is close to being a broken man but something is keeping him sane: the need to see change and the belief that he can orchestrate some of that change. Batman is back. The Dark Knight has returned. Awesome. --Mark Thwaite

Dark Curse (Dark) (Dark)

Christine Feehan

Amazon Price: $29.83 List Price: $39.25 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Brilliance Audio on MP3-CD Lib Ed Amazon Marketplace: 14 new & used starting at $24.56

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 60 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

ONLY THE ENDING STUNK 3 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I liked the book/story until I came to the last line in the story and turned the page expecting the next chapter to start. But....... it just ended! When I turned the page, I entered CF's long Appendix's, which were interesting the first 5 times I read thru all of them. But now I wanted more of the story, or at least for the story to end at a place that felt like an ending. Absolutely no sense of completion. I realize that CF wants to do more sequels, but she's never just "ended" a story line in the middle of an action scene!
I genuinely liked the story up till that point. Lots of answers are starting to be revealed about several previous plot lines, she's introduced new characters that I know we'll see again, and I had no problem with Lara and her issues as some of the reviewers did. Nor the way Nicolas responded and reacted to her. Everything was believable for me.
I just hope that CF reads all these reviews and doesn't leave her readers/fans in such a state of "What's Happening?" again!

Editorial Review:

Lara Calladine is haunted by childhood memories of being held prisoner in an ice cave and kept sane by the whispered stories told to her by her imprisoned aunts. They instilled mage and Carpathian magic deep within her and then helped her escape. She has spent years searching for the cave in hopes of finding the answers to the riddle of her past as well as finding her aunts who may have given their lives saving her.

Nicolas De La Cruz has returned to the Carpathian Mountains--his homeland--on orders from his eldest brother, Zacarias, to bring news of a conspiracy to the prince of their people. He is weary of his long existence and plans to end it away from his brothers where they will be unable to stop him once he has fulfilled his duty.
Lara and Nicolas' paths collide in an explosive adventure that rocks the Carpathian world.

Batman: The Killing Joke

Alan Moore

List Price: $5.95 By: DC Comics Amazon Marketplace: 29 new & used starting at $12.38

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

This one really did nothing for me 1 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Batman makes yet another visit to Arkham Asylum, this time he simply wants to talk with the Joker, and see if they cannot somehow come to an understanding. But, the joke's on Batman when he finds that the Joker has escaped again. It seems that while Batman would like to end their long-running feud, Joker wants to take it to a whole new level. Grabbing Commissioner Gordon, he sets out to teach him, and Batman, a lesson in madness.

I am a huge comic book/graphic novel fan, but this one really did nothing for me. The author set out to give the story a "morally ambiguous theme," but that is not all he left ambiguous. Batman acts strangely out of character, less a dark knight, and more...well, nothing really, he's just less Batman. The Joker is well done, truly the crown prince of evil, but why add yet another Joker origin story? It seems to have nothing to do with the rest of the story. The ending is totally non-existent - I suppose that the author wanted an ambiguous ending, so he just left his board and went out for a Whopper and Coca-Cola. "Move along please, there's nothing to see here."

I thought that this was a terribly weak addition to the genre - filled with potential, but none of it totally realized. I highly recommend AGAINST this book. [If you want to read a good Batman story, with a similar theme, then read Batman: Jekyll & Hyde by Paul Jenkins.]

Editorial Review:

One of the most famous Batman stories of all time is offered for the first time in hardcover in this special twentieth-anniversary edition.

This is the unforgettable that forever changed Batman's world, adding a new element of darkness with its unflinching portrayal of The Joker's twisted psyche.

Writer Alan Moore, acclaimed author of WATCHMEN and V FOR VENDETTA, offers his take on the disturbing relationship between The Dark Knight and his greatest foe. The Clown Prince of Crime has never been more ruthless than in this brutal tale.

This special new edition also includes a story written and exquisitely illustrated by Brian Bolland.

Paul of Dune

Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson

Amazon Price: $32.97 List Price: $49.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Macmillan Audio Amazon Marketplace: 31 new & used starting at $24.99

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 42 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Frank Herbert's Dune ended with Paul Muad’Dib in control of the planet Dune. Herbert’s next Dune book, Dune Messiah, picked up the story several years later after Paul’s armies had conquered the galaxy. But what happened between Dune and Dune Messiah? How did Paul create his empire and become the Messiah? Following in the footsteps of Frank Herbert, New York Times bestselling authors Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson are answering these questions in Paul of Dune.

The Muad’Dib’s jihad is in full swing. His warrior legions march from victory to victory. But beneath the joy of victory there are dangerous undercurrents. Paul, like nearly every great conqueror, has enemies--those who would betray him to steal the awesome power he commands. . . .

And Paul himself begins to have doubts: Is the jihad getting out of his control? Has he created anarchy? Has he been betrayed by those he loves and trusts the most? And most of all, he wonders: Am I going mad?

Paul of Dune is a novel everyone will want to read and no one will be able to forget.

George Orwell's 1984 (Bloom's Guides)

Amazon Price: $24.80 List Price: $30.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Chelsea House Publications Amazon Marketplace: 10 new & used starting at $24.80

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1384 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Still Relevant 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

1984 has come and gone but this still is one of the most important books you could read about why it's important to protect our Freedom. Orwell wrote it to condemn Stalin and the Bolshevists but power for the sake of Power happens everywhere the government gets too strong and controls your life. Keep this in mind this coming November. Especially if your going to vote for a long lanky mackdaddy Chicago politician.

The Greatest Love Story of Our Time. 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

1984 is a social commentary on history and the appalling state of public policy and society generally told through a love story that resonates with a deep familiarity for all modern readers.

Editorial Review:

George Orwell's 1984, part of Chelsea House Publishers' Bloom's Guides collection, presents concise critical excerpts from 1984 to provide a scholarly overview of the work. This comprehensive study guide also features "The Story Behind the Story," which details the conditions under which 1984 was written. This title also includes a short biography on 1984 and a descriptive list of characters.

Cry Wolf (Alpha and Omega, Book 1)

Patricia Briggs

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 88 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Couldn't get through first chapter, disappointed 1 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I have to say I was really excited at first, I was browsing the shelves at the book store as usual and found this book "Cry Wolf" that looked very interesting. The lady at the check out even said she really enjoyed this book which made me feel even better about my purchase at the time.

I get home and start reading. I get to the first chapter where its talking about Anna. I started to sense something was wrong. The book kept talking about the past in such a way that is similar to when you have a series of books. Where each book rehashes what happened in the previous book to catch the reader up.

I had to stop reading after the point where a cell phone rings and Anna is listening to the conversation. I thought to myself somethings missing, why am I hearing this all second hand? I want to read the actual action of these events for myself! There has to be a book before this one and I missed it as I looked around at the book store.

I go online and start looking on amazon.com only to find out there was indeed a story before this book and it was a short story part of an anthology. I go read up on the anthology and find out 3 of the stories of the 4 aren't worth my time. So I'd have to spend another 7.99 to find out the pre-story to "Cry Wolf"

I read on to find that the short story had originally been meant to stand alone. But once it was realized a continuation of the story would be made they should have either A) put that short story at the beginning of "Cry Wolf" to avoid all this horrible confusion. B) say that you can find the short story on the website of the author (which I dont think it is but I haven't looked yet). or C) At the very least on the cover put a note saying the continued story of Anna and Charles see anthology for more information.

I feel a little cheated and while I hope to someday enjoy the rest of this book with its beautiful cover, I can't bring myself to do that until I have read the short story. And I can't bring myself to purchase an anthology for 1 story that I will like out of four (i already can tell i wont care much for the other 3 stories because of the reviews)

So until the day I can happily read this book I will at least enjoy the pretty artistic cover on the front. Very beautiful.

Editorial Review:

Now Briggs begins an extraordinary new series set in Mercy Thompson’s world—but with rules of its own.

INTRODUCING THE ALPHA AND OMEGA NOVELS...

Anna never knew werewolves existed until the night she survived a violent attack…and became one herself. After three years at the bottom of the pack, she’d learned to keep her head down and never, ever trust dominant males. But Anna is that rarest kind of werewolf: an Omega. And one of the most powerful werewolves in the country will recognize her value as a pack member—and as his mate.

Confessor (Sword of Truth)

Terry Goodkind

Amazon Price: $9.99 List Price: $9.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Tor Fantasy Amazon Marketplace: 29 new & used starting at $5.62

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 236 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

What a Waste 1 out of 5 stars.
3 of 4 people found this review helpful.

Let me just say that anyone who gave this (or the last few books in the series) anything higher than 2 stars is crazy. The series started out very good, but throughout the course of his writing Mr. Goodkind apparently forgot he was writing a fantasy series. Many of the coolest characters and extras, like Gratch the Gar and Scarlet the dragon are completely forgotten until brief cameos in Confessor. Goodkind repeats himself so much in these final books that I actually felt my intelligence insulted. He would literally have paragraphs that were the same sentence paraphrased 4 different ways. The imperial order is by far the most uninspired, unbelievable, simplistic enemy I have ever heard of. Not to mention the seemingly racist undertones of the evil dark-skinned brutes from the "Old World" attacking the nice white folks of the "New World". Anything worth reading in the series has long since been left in the dust. However, if you are like me you have to finish a series once started, just make sure to get it from the library.

Editorial Review:

Descending into darkness, about to be overwhelmed by evil, those people still free are powerless to stop the coming dawn of a savage new world, while Richard faces the guilt of knowing that he must let it happen. Alone, he must bear the weight of a sin he dare not confess to the one person he loves…and has lost.
 
Join Richard and Kahlan in the concluding novel of one of the most remarkable and memorable journeys ever written. It started with one rule, and will end with the rule of all rules, the rule unwritten, the rule unspoken since the dawn of history.

When next the sun rises, the world will be forever changed.

The City of Ember

Jeanne DuPrau

List Price: $10.35 By: Corgi Yearling Books Amazon Marketplace: 10 new & used starting at $5.94

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 408 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A Great Start To A Fantastic Series 5 out of 5 stars.
13 of 14 people found this review helpful.

This is the type of book that gets you hooked. You start reading and are enjoying it, but then the more you read the better it gets, the more you like it, you feel involved in the drama and action and want to help the characters, help them solve the mysteries and problems. I highly reccommend this book. It has an air of mystery and intrigue about it that fills you with curiosity for what will happen next. The author can perfectly relate to you the characters thoughts and feelings and not one emotion is out of place. The novel is not highly predictable so you don't feel like it's a waste of time to finish. This book has light humor in it and would be good for kids aged 8-12. It will even satisfy fantasy and sci-fi lovers alike. Not at all confusing, expertly written and worthy of five stars.

Editorial Review:

The city of Ember was built as a last refuge for the human race. Two hundred years later, the great lamps that light the city are beginning to flicker. When Lina finds part of an ancient message, she’s sure it holds a secret that will save the city. She and her friend Doon must decipher the message before the lights go out on Ember forever! This stunning debut novel offers refreshingly clear writing and fascinating, original characters.