DOUGLAS ADAMS'S STARSHIP TITANIC by Terry Jones: This is no Douglas Adams book and it shows. The characters are weak and one dimensional, the dialogue misses that Adams' zaniness as does the plot. You feel as though Adams gave this to some friend and said here's an idea for a book, but I'm too busy to write it. Whip something together for me. (It's beside the point that this is exactly what he did. ;) This book gets a C-. I finished it for Adams and Adams fans, and that's the only reason.

At the center of the galaxy, a vast, unknown civilization is preparing for an event of epic proportions: the launching of the greatest, most gorgeous, most technologically advanced Starship ever built - the Starship Titanic.

An earthling would see it as a mixture of the Chrysler Building, the tomb of Tutankhamen, and Venice. But less provincial onlookers would recognize it as the design of Leovinus, the galaxy's most renowned architect. He is an old man now, and the creation of the Starship Titanic is the pinnacle achievement of his twenty-year career.

The night before the launch, Leovinus is prowling around the ship having a last little look. With mounting alarm he begins to find things are not right: unfinished workmanship, cybersystems not working correctly, robots colliding with doors. How could this have happened? And how could this have happened without his knowing?

Something somewhere is terribly wrong.

On the following day, in an artificial event staged for the media, the Starship Titanic will leave its construction dock under autopilot and, a few days later, make its way to the terminal to pick up passengers for its maiden voyage. Although the ship will be deserted during its very first flight, it is nevertheless a major event, watched by all the galaxy's media.

Hugely, magnificently, the fabulous ship eases its way forward from the construction dock, picks up speed, sways a bit, veers wildly, and just before it can do massive damage to everything around it, appears to undergo SMEF (Spontaneous Massive Existence Failure).

In just ten seconds, the whole, stupendous enterprise is over. And our story has just begun.

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NEW SPRING: A new look at some well known characters. I got the feeling Jordan enjoyed writing this one more than he has the last few Wheel of Time books. The story includes a lot of background for the original short story from the Legends collection. A good book though I question the timing. I'm sure most of Robert Jordan's fans would have preferred the next book in the series rather than a prequel to a series that isn't even done yet. Much less a prequel featuring one character that is "dead" and others that have been minor characters. Overall I give it a B.

For three days battle has raged in the snow around the great city of Tar Valon. In the city, a Foretelling of the future is uttered. On the slopes of Dragonmount, the immense mountain that looms over the city, is born an infant prophesied to change the world. That child must be found before the forces of the Shadow have an opportunity to kill him. Moiraine Damodred, a young Accepted soon to be raised to Aes Sedai, and Lan Mandragoran, a soldier fighting in the battle, are set on paths that will bind their lives together. But those paths are filled with complications and dangers, for Moiraine, of the Royal House of Cairhien, whose king has just died, and Lan, considered the uncrowned king of a nation long dead, find their lives threatened by the plots of those seeking power. "New Spring" related some of these events, in compressed form; New Spring: The Novel tells the whole story. (A Wheel of Time Prequel Novel)

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EYE OF THE WORLD:

GREAT HUNT: The second story is as good as the first. It can be read by itself and looses little of what makes it good. Complex plot arrangements and character conflicts make this book more than interesting. You won't want to put it down except to pick up the next book in the series. A definite A+

"For centuries traveling gleemen have told the tales of The Great Hunt of the Horn. So many tales about each of the Hunters, and so many Hunters to tell of...

"Now the Horn itself is found: the Horn of Valere long thought only legend, the the horn which will raise the dead heroes of the ages.

And it is stolen.

Rand al'Thor, the farmboy who is thought to be the Dragon Reborn - the leader long prophesied who will save the world, but in the saving destroy it; the saviour who will run mad and kill all those dearest to him - refuses to accept his fate. Even facing the dreaded Amyrlin, the leader of the Aes Sedai who may intend to "gentle" him, Rand fiercely denies his Power. He will have none of it - no matter what Myddraal and Trollocs, Aes Sedai and dreams stand in his way.

a dagger from the terrible ruins of Shadar Logoth. Unless the dagger is recovered, Mat Cauthon's life will end. And Mat is Rand's oldest friend. Unwillingly, distrusting everyone, Rand is drawn into the Hunt.

As Egwene, the innkeeper's lovely daughter, and Nynaeve, the young village Wisdom, set out for Tar Valon's White Tower, seat of the Aes Sedai, Rand and the ogier Loial, accompanied by Perrin Aybara, the Wolfbrother who was once a blacksmith, track the Horn and dagger through Shienar - and enter a world stranger than time itself. But Rand cannot escape his Power. The Dark One is stirring in Shayol Ghul. The Dark One wants the Horn. The Dark One wants Rand.

At once a continuation of The Eye of the World and a novel complete in itself, The Great Hunt is written with all the warmth, excitement, and epic strength that distinguished the first volume of The Wheel of Time."

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DRAGON REBORN: The third book in the series. This one focuses more on the other Ta'vern other than Rand. More plot twists are added as are some important characters. Another A.

"The Dragon Reborn - the leader long prophesied who will save the world, but in the saving destroy it; the saviour who will run mad and kill all those dearest to him - is on the run from his destiny.

Able to touch the One power, but unable to control it, and with no one to teach him how - for no man has done it in three thousand years - Rand al'Thor knows only that he must face the Dark One. But how?

Winter has stopped the war -almost- yet men are dying, calling out for the Dragon. But where is he?

Perrin Aybara is in pursuit with Moiraine Sedai, her Warder Lan, and Loil the Ogier. Bedeviled by dreams, Perrin is grappling with another deadly problem - how is he to escape the loss of his own humanity?

Egwene, Elayne and Nynaeve are approaching Tar Valon, where Mat will be Healed - if he lives until they arrive. But who will tell the Amyrlin their news - that the Black Ajah, long thought only a hideous rumor is all too real? They cannot know that in Tar Valon far worse awaits ...

Ahead, for all of them, in the Heart of the Stone, lies the next great test of the Dragon Reborn ..."

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SHADOW RISING: The third book in the series. Same high quality writing as the others.

"The seals of Shayol Ghul are weak now, and the Dark One reaches out. The shadow is rising to cover humankind.

In Tar Valon, Min sees portents of hideous doom. Will the White Tower itself be broken?

In the Two Rivers, the Whitecloaks ride in pursuit of a man with golden eyes, and in pursuit of the Dragon Reborn.

In Cantorin, among the Sea folk, High Lady Suroth plots the return of the Seanchan armies to the mainland.

In the Stone of Tear, the Lord Dragon considers his next move. It will be something no one expects, not the Black Ajah, not Tairen nobles, not Aes Sedai, not Egwene or Elayne or Nynaeve.

Against the Shadow rising stand the Dragon Reborn... "

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THE FIRES OF HEAVEN: The fourth in the series.

In this sequel to the phenomenal New York Times bestseller The Shadow Rising, Robert Jordan again plunges us into his extraordinarily rich, totally unforgettable world:

...Into the forbidden city of Rhuidean, where Rand al'Thor, now the Dragon Reborn, must conceal his present endeavor from all about him, even Egwene and Moiraine.

...Into Andor, where Siuan Sanche and her companions, including the false Dragon Logain, have been arrested for barn burning.

...Into the luxurious hidden chamber where the Forsaken Rahvin is meeting with three of his fellows to ensure their ultimate victory over the Dragon.

...Into the Queen's court in Caemlyn, where Morgase is curiously in thrall to the handsome Lord Gaebril.

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LORD OF CHAOS: The sixth book in the series. Same excellent writing. Same excellent story.

On the slopes of Shayol Ghul, the Myddrall swords are forged,, and the sky is not the sky of this world;

In Salidar the White Tower in exile prepares an embassy to Caemlyn, where Rand Al'Thor, the Dragon Reborn, holds the throne - and where an unexpected visitor may change the world....

In Emond's Field, Perrin Goldeneyes, Lord of the Two Rivers, feels the pull of ta'veren to ta'veren and prepares to march .... Morase of Caemlyn finds a most unexpected, and quite unwelcome, ally ... And south lies Illian, where Sammael holds sway...

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THE PATH OF DAGGERS: The seventh book in the series. This one was a little less than the others. Still an A+ though. It is more of a transition book than an answer book. Just wets your appetite for the next one.

The Seanchan invasion force is in possession of Ebou Dar. Nyanaeve, Elayne, and Aviendha head for Caemlyn and Elayne's rightful throne, but on the way they discover an enemy much worse than the Seanchan.

In Illian, Rand vows to throw the Seanchan back as he did once before. But signs of madness are appearing among the Asha'man.

In Ghealdan, Perrin faces the intrigues of Whitecloaks, Seanchan invaders, the scattered Shaido Aiel, and the Prophet himself. Perrins' beloved wife, Faile, may pay with her life, and Perrin himself may have to destroy his soul to save her.

Meanwhile the rebel Aes Sedai under the young Amyrlin, Egwene al'Vere, face an army that intends to keep them away from the White Tower. But Egwene is determined to unseat the usurper Elaida and reunite the Aes Sedai. She does not yet understand the price that others - and she herself - will pay.

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WINTER'S HEART: The ninth book in the series is an A+. As usual the writing is excellent the plots complex and interwoven and the surprises interesting and enjoyable.

Rand is on the run with Min, and in Cairhien, Cadsuane is trying to figure out where he is headed. Rand's destination is, in fact, one she has never considered.

Mazrim Taim, leader of the Black Tower, is revealed to be a liar. But what is he up to?

Faile, with the Aiel Maidens, Bain and Chiad, and her other companions, Queen Alliandre and Morgase, is prisoner of Sevanna's sept.

Perrin is hunting desperately for Faile. With Elyas Machera, Berelain, the Prophet, and a very mixed "army" of disparate forces, he is moving through country rife with bandits and roving Seanchan. The Forsaken are ever more present, and united and the man called Slayer stalks Tel'aran'rhiod and the wolfdream.

In Ebou Dar, the Seanchan princess known as Daughter of the Nine Moons arrives - and Mat, who has been recuperating in the Tarasin Palace, is introduced to her. Will the marriage that has been foretold come about?

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CROSSROADS AT TWIGHLIGHT: I would have liked a bit more aaction but other than that it was good. This is the 10th book in the series; nothing is that different from the previous 9 so if you're this ifar why stop now? I give it a B+.

In the tenth book of The Wheel of Time from the New York Times #1 bestselling author Robert Jordan, the world and the characters stand at a crossroads, and the world approaches twilight, when the power of the Shadow grows stronger.

Fleeing from Ebou Dar with the kidnapped Daughter of the Nine Moons, whom he is fated to marry, Mat Cauthon learns that he can neither keep her nor let her go, not in safety for either of them, for both the Shadow and the might of the Seanchan Empire are in deadly pursuit.

Perrin Aybara seeks to free his wife, Faile, a captive of the Shaido, but his only hope may be an alliance with the enemy. Can he remain true to his friend Rand and to himself? For his love of Faile, Perrin is willing to sell his soul.

At Tar Valon, Egwene al'Vere, the young Amyrlin of the rebel Aes Sedai, lays siege to the heart of Aes Sedai power, but she must win quickly, with as little bloodshed as possible, for unless the Aes Sedai are reunited, only the male Asha'man will remain to defend the world against the Dark One, and nothing can hold the Asha'man themselves back from total power except the Aes Sedai and a unified White Tower.

In Andor, Elayne Trakland fights for the Lion Throne that is hers by right, but enemies and Darkfriends surround her, plotting her destruction. If she fails, Andor may fall to the Shadow, and the Dragon Reborn with it.

Rand al'Thor, the Dragon Reborn himself, has cleansed the Dark One's taint from the male half of the True Source, and everything has changed. Yet nothing has, for only men who can channel believe that saidin is clean again, and a man who can channel is still hated and feared-even one prophesied to save the world. Now, Rand must gamble again, with himself at stake, and he cannot be sure which of his allies are really enemies.

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THE SUMMER TREE (The Fionavar Tapestry, Book 1): Very Tolkienish. And a bit dark. I didn't really start to enjoy it until near the end. The concept of people from Earth being taken into another mystical world where they are part of a prophesy, while not completely original is interesting but plays little in the book. The fact that they come from Toronto is of local novelty (being I'm near Toronto). Overall I give the book a C. The writing is stiff especially in the beginning. And the characters are not as believable or likable as I would like.

It all began with a lecture that introduced five university students to a man who would change their lives, a wizard who could take them from Earth to the heart of the first of all worlds--Fionavar. And take them Loren Silvercloak did, for his need--the need of Fionavar and all the worlds--was great indeed.

And in a marvelous land of men and dwarves, of wizards and gods--and of the Unraveller and his minions of Darkness--Kimberly, Dave, Jennifer, Kevin, and Paul discovered who they were truly meant to be. For the five were a long-awaited part of the pattern known as the Fionavar Tapestry, and only if they accepted their destiny would the armies of the Light stand any chance of surviving when the Unraveller unleashed his wrath upon the world.

In The Summer Tree, five young adventurers cross mysteriously into the mystical land of Fionavar. Led by Silvercloak the Wizard, the five are caught up in the onset of a devastating war. They must find their way among the lios alfar, called the Children of Light, and the svart alfar, who serve the Dark, and battle powers of sorcery beyond mortal knowledge ...

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TIGANA: An A+ book. Excellent characters and the plot moves along very well. The plots were interwoven and complex yet easy enough to follow and it all takes place in one book as opposed to a series. It works well and the ending surprised me (I wasn't sure he'd be able to pull off a good ending and pull everything together but he did). Highly recommended.

Drawing on the most powerful mythic archetypes, this masterful epic of magic, politics war- and the power of love and hate - mines the rich veins of literature from Arthurian legends to Shakespearean tragedy to the decadent, dazzling intrigues of Renaissance courts.

Set in a long-vanquished land, Tigana is the deeply moving story of a beleaguered land caught in a web of tyranny, struggling to be free. It is the tale of a people so cursed by the dark sorceries of the tyrant King Brandin that even the very name of their once beautiful land cannot be spoken or remembered. But years after their homeland's devastation, a handful of men and women, following a leader whose identity is the most closely guarded secret of their day, set in motion a dangerous crusade - to overthrow their conquerors and bring back to the world the lost brightness of an obliterated name: Tigana.

Against the magnificently realized background of a world both sensuous and brutal, Guy Gavriel Kay weaves an epic of passion and fire and the pursuit of a dream. Musicians, merchants, courtesans, farmers from the hinterlands, renegade magicians, noble lords and ladies in high-walled castles - all come together to play a part in shaping the final pattern of seduction, intrigue, and betrayal. In their quest for vengeance and renewal, the heirs of a broken land learn that they must also contend with the deepest, most unpredictable enigma of all - love.

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A SONG FOR ARBONNE:Interesting characters. Kay builds the main character Blaise nicely, letting more and more of his personality and background come through as the book moves along. The surrounding plot it not strong but is sufficient and interesting enough to keep you interested and to bring out the characters. I give it an A.

Until the sun dies and the moons fall, Gorhaut and Arbonne shall not lie easily beside each other ...

Arbonne. Warm and sun-blessed in the south, a country of olive trees and vineyards, of troubadours and courts of love, of the sensuous, flamboyant women and men who worship the mother goddess. A land of intense and enduring passions where two powerful dukes feud over the love and death of a woman and the disappearance of her child.

Gorhaut. Land of hard, dour northern men, pious in their worship of the god Corannos and rapacious in war. Ruled by an ambitious, debauched young king under the subtle, manipulative guidance of Galbert, High Elder of the god, the warriors of Gorhaut look south and see a land riper for the taking, ruled by a woman and blasphemously worshiping a goddess.

Moving through these tow very different worlds is Blaise, a sardonic, bitter northern mercenary who serves amidst the cultured decadence of Arbonne. In a time of testing and great peril, the men and women of both countries find their lives - and their ideas of what life should be - placed squarely in the balance. And Blaise is forced to confront the darkest secrets of his past and the sharply branching pathways of the future.

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THE LIONS OF AL-RASSAN: The three main characters lock you up in the forcefulness of character. The plot moves with and because of the characteristics of the characters and the steps they take. You end up rooting for everyone even when their agendas or destinies are at cross purposes. An A book.

Home to three very different cultures, Al-Rassan is a land of seductive beauty and violent history. Peace among the Jaddites, Asharies and Kindath is a precarious, elusive thing; war is the ever-present shadow the divides the peoples but draws extraordinary individuals together. Ammar ibn Khairan - poet, diplomat, soldier; Rodrigo Belmonte - accomplished military leader, and Jehane bet Ishak - beautiful, brilliant physician; these three find their lives interwoven by a series of remarkable events that seem sure to lead Al-Rassan into a holy war.

Hauntingly evocative of medieval Spain, The Lions of Al-Rassan is a deeply moving and exhilarating story of love, divided loyalties, and what happens to men and women when passionate beliefs conspire to remake - or destroy - a world.

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SAILING TO SARANTIUM : Rich characters, good plot and realistic representation. Kay's research into Byzantium shows and pays off in this book. I enjoyed the intrigues f the court and th brashness and the fortune of the hero Crispin. The characters are believable enough to make you care about them and smile at their quirks. I give it an A to A+.

Sarantium is the golden city; holy to the faithful, exalted by its poets, jewel of the world and heart of an empire. But the Empire of Valerius II of Sarantium is built on the crumbled ruins of an older order far to the west, and his exquisite city rules a world of intrigue and ganger. Valerius and his brilliant Empress must contend with pagan rivals to the east, barbarian tribes to the west and north and plots within their own bejeweled court. The Emperor, subtle and ambitious, seeks to recapture the lost homelands. He also intends to build the largest, most sumptuous holy sanctuary the world has ever known, a monument to his reign and to the glory of the one god - although his soldiers would rather he paid them. Meanwhile, in scarcely subdued provinces of the Empire policed by these same restive soldiers, savage rites - illegal and heretically - continue to be practiced in the dark forests.

Onto this stage steps Caius Crispus, known as Crispin, a master mosaicist from the west, making the long, perilous journey through wilderness to the vast triple walls of Sarantium, city of cities. It is an open question in his own mind whether the greater dangers lie on the journey or at his destination. For Crispin carries a secret message, and travels under a false name, answering an Imperial summons intended for his mentor. Men have died for less. And before Crispin can even reach Sarantium, with its taverns and boathouses, chariot racing and palaces, he must pass through the heartland of pagan rituals one bleak morning on the Day of the Dead.

Sailing to Sarantium weaves an utterly compelling story of colour and magic, of memorable characters, who come to life as vividly as any historical figure, and of the magnificent city that serves as the magnet for so many lives. This first volume of the two books that make up THE SARANTINE MOSAIC marks a new level in fantasy literature and in storytelling.

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LORD OF EMPERORS: A magnificent conclusion to the first volume. It takes the story of Crispin and the people around him and bring them full circle. Conclusions are both surprising and fitting. The plot moves well though makes you wonder sometimes and the characters are real and robust. An A+.

Crispin, the mosaicist, having finally arrived in gabled Sarantium, wants nothing more than to confront the demands of his art high upon the dome of Emperor Valerious's magnificent sanctuary. But beneath him, the city swirls with rumors of war and gathering intrigue while mysterious fires flicker and disappear in the streets at night.

Valerius is looking west to Crispin's homeland, and how he decides to address the question of his fractured empire may have dire effects on Crispin's family and friends in Varena. What is more, whether he likes it or not, Crispin has ties with both the Emperor and Empress Alixana, and also with his own monarch,, exiled in Sarantium - the youthful Queen Guise. And there are others, friends and enemies - from soldiers and dancers to chariot-racers and one very dangerous aristocrat - how further complicate all his attempts to set himself apart. In Sarantium, it seems no man may easily withdraw from the turmoil of court and city, or forget that the presence of the half-world is always close by.

To the Imperial City there also comes another voyager, this time from the east. Rustem of Kerakek, a physician, learns that saving the life of Bassania's King of Kings is not enough to ensure a man's fortune. his trip to Sarantium is less reward than a mission, but from the moment Rustem sets foot on the streets of the city, his destiny seems to slip from his hands. Struggling to find his place, to determine loyalties and balance the demands of healing and death, he too, is drawn into the intricate webs of Sarantium.

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WYSARD : I recommend picking this one up. Kephart takes us into the journey of Ryel as he seeks to save those he loves and in the process may save himself. The characters are well written and you come to care for the main character and his journey of discovery. Things move along well once they get going and keep going from there. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series. A B+.

Ryel Mirai, The Lord of Markul, embarks on a mystical journey filled with danger and witchcraft as he battles to fee his kinsman's spirit from the terrifying abyss known as the Void. To free Edris, Ryel must somehow reverse the powerful curse cast by the malignant sorcerer, Dagar. Ryel soon realizes that he must not only wage war against the formidable Dagar for Edris' soul, he must also prevent the wicked sorcerer from ruling Markul.

"Markul the Best and Highest rose in sharptoothed towers eternally enmeshed in mist .."

For a dozen years - almost half his existence - Ryel Mirai has dwelt in the fogbound citadel of Markul, learning the Art from his kinsman Edris. His life has been one of rigorous self-denial and discipline, and his studies have been hard, perilous, and seemingly to no purpose. But Edris' mysterious death forces Ryel to comprehend not only the real truth of his own origins, but the part he is Foretold to play in the World outside Markul's grim walls. Very soon he learns that a great and evil power in the Art, Dagar, dwells in the wraithworld of the Void, seeking to return and wreak unfathomable evil on the World that loathed and feared him when he lived centuries before. Dagar has enlisted the aid of Ryel's unruly rival in the Art, Lord Michael Essern, to find the long-lost spell that will free him from the Void. But to escape the Void's shadow-realm, Dagar requires a human form in which to embody his spiritual essence - his rai - and the form he lusts for is non other than Ryel's.

Lured by Dagar's wiles, Ryel leaves Markul and returns to the World, embroiling himself in all its dangers, joys, and temptations. Very soon he realizes that he has the chance to discover the Spell of Joining first, thereby forever thwarting Dagar's machinations. During his quest Ryel learns that the same spell will bring Edris, also imprisoned in the Void, back to life again. Great as the young wysard's hopes are, however, the dangers are greater still, for Dagar's minions are powerful and many. But Ryel discovers that he too has strong allies to help him in his cause, and that he may well gain all that he wishes ... although perhaps not as he wished it.

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LORD BROTHER :Same excellent writing in this a continuation of Wysard. The plot gets a bit more complex and there are more characters. It's relatively short but complex and compelling. Alot goes on without getting dragged out. I give it a B+.

Ryel Mirai, Lord Adept of the great wysard-citadel Markul, continues his search for the lost spell capable of rejoining body and soul, thus bringing hi beloved instructor, Edris, back to life. But someone seeks to thwart his quest: Lord Michael Essern, a dedicated student of the Arts of Death. Lord Michael ha sworn allegiance to the daimon Dagar, who seeks to return to the World re-embodied in Ryel's form

Ryel began his quest by freeing the Sovrena Diara from Dagar's tormenting spells. In Lord Brother, Dagar draws the young wysard deeper into danger, ever closer to the fulfillment of the demon's plans to plunge the World into unending torment. When Ryel becomes involved with the shadowy cult of the Sword Brotherhood he unwittingly jeopardizes his plan to rescue Edris. Meanwhile, his teacher's body awaits the life-essence that can be re-instilled into him only by the joining-spell ... if Ryel can find it. Even if he does, can the spell be made to succeed? Or will victory go to Michael, Ryel's nemesis .. and Lord Brother?

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THE WATERBORN: A nice book about a boy making his passage into manhood. And taking responsibitlity, some would say too much responsibility, for his actions. The same could be said for many of the main characters. An interesting story. A C+. Worth the read if you're waiting for a new book to come out from one of your favorite authors or if you've got some time to read away.

The River flowed through all the land, deep and unstoppable, a god in his own right. His head was in the mountains; his arms embraced the outlands; his body lay at the core of all the civilized realms; his legs stretched on to the distant sea. Dark and sluggish, he rolled unchallenged, dreaming his own invincible might and glory into stark reality.

Everywhere he touched, the River God held dominion. And in Nhol, the fabled city at the heart of the world, an emperor ruled as the living aspect of the god, presiding over the splendors and intrigues of a prosperous land and a glittering court.

Hezhi was an imperial princess; her blood carried the seeds of the River's power. When her favorite cousin disappeared, Hezhi searched throughout the sumptuous palace with its ghosts and priests, giants and courtiers, and frightening creatures of wizardry. And the magic within her began to grow; soon it must attract dangerous attention. Hezhi's anxious quest ripened into a desperate fight for her own life - a battle she could not hope to win alone. Small wonder that the priestess wished for a hero.

And far away, a hero's journey began ...

Perkar was a chieftain's son from the distant highlands. Because he had loved unwisely, he had sworn to slay the dreadful River God. Because he was a man of honor, he set off to fulfill his rash vow, even at the cost of his life.

But Perkar's mission had scarcely begun when unrelenting forces propelled him into terrible dangers among dangerous friends and deadlier foes. Even if he should survive, fate would lure him on, to a distant realm, an exotic princess, and a destiny of blood ...

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THE BLACKGOD: The second book in the series. A bit better than the first. More action and a tad more character development. You become comfortable with the characters and the conflict is clearer here. Another B book.

The River flowed from the mountains into the distant sea, and everywhere he touched, he ruled. Powerful and hungry, he had scoured every rival godling from the land. But the world beyond the River's reach was a riot of gods and ghosts and other daemons, large and small. Strange spirits jostled and contended with each other and with the humans who shared their range.

Into this rich and dangerously open land came a surprising refugee: Hezhi, The River's own daughter.

When the magic that was her heritage awakened in her, back in the glittering palace of imperial Nhol, Hezhi fled for her life, With Perkar, a youth in search of honor, and loyal Tsem, her half-Giant bodyguard, she sought refuge among the barbarian Mang. She had hoped for the freedom to build a life of her own, but in these demon-haunted hinterlands, every bubbling spring crevasse, and hillock boasted some spirit. Until she learned to wield the powers of her birthright,, she would be vulnerable to arcane attack. Hezhi's sanity - and her very soul - would be at risk.

Meanwhile, grisly danger followed her from the world she thought she had escaped. The River bent all his might and slumbrous cunning to the task of finding his wayward child. From the depth of his yearning, the River plotted to take Hezhi alive.

For Perkar, her champion, he had no such benign end in view...

Only the Blackgod saw a way for Hezhi and Perkar to defeat the River, once and for all. But he was a creature of guile and limitless duplicity; to trust him might be the most perilous move they could make. Perkar knew that better than anyone else - at least anyone still alive ...

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An interesting idea and well written it would have worked better without the historical figures. The story is not an alternative history, though it may act that way, it is an entirely different world with different laws and context. If these had been made up characters I could have gotten more into it. The historic setting doesn't add enough to justify setting it in "real" world history. Interesting but disappointing and a bit confusing. I give it a C.

1681: Sir Isaac Newton turns his restless mind to the ancient art of alchemy. He achieves an unprecedented breakthrough, unleashing Philosopher's Mercury, a primal source of matter and a key to manipulating the four elements of Earth, Air, Fire and Water. Now, Louis XIV of France and George I of England battle for its control. As English armies push nearer to Paris, Louis calls for a new weapon - a mysterious device known only as Newton's Cannon.

Amidst the decadence of Versailles, courtiers and poseurs plot and scheme. And Adrienne de Montchevreuil, an impecunious noblewoman of great beauty and unsuspected talents, labors to unlock the mystery of Newton's Cannon before it is too late - for her King, for her country ... for herself.

In Boston a half a world away, a young apprentice by the name of Benjamin Franklin stumbles across a dangerous secret. Pursued by a powerful and deadly enemy - half scientist, half-sorcerer - Ben makes his fugitive way to England. Only Newton himself can help him now. But who will help Sir Isaac? For Newton was not the first to unleash the Philosopher's Mercury. Others were there before him. Creatures as scornful of science as they are of mankind. And burning to be rid of both ...

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The story itself follows quite a bit like the first book. More information about the creatures that influence the "science" of this world. More about the characters. And the story moved along. If you liked the first book you should enjoy the second one. I give it a C+.

1722: A second Dark Age looms after the devastating impact of an asteroid unnaturally drawn to Earth by dire creatures who plot against the world of men. yet this destruction is just the opening salvo in a war of annihilation.

Sir Issac Newton and his young apprentice, Benjamin Franklin, have taken refuge in ancient Prague, seeking the secrets of the aetheric being whose vast powers and new sciences have so nearly destroyed humanity ... yet who may probe to be its last, great hope.

But their safety is tenuous, as Peter the Great march his unstoppable forces across Europe. And half a world away, Cotton Mather and Blackbeard the pirate lead a party of colonial luminaries back across the Atlantic to discover what has befallen the Old World. With them sails Red Shoes, a Choctaw shaman whose mysterious connections to the invisible world warn him that they are all moving toward a confrontation as violent as it is decisive ...

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EMPIRE OF UNREASON : The third book in the series was the best so far. The characters are well established and the plot moves along well. This I imagine is the climax of the series. I actually looked forward to seeing what was going to happen next and could even care what happened to the characters. The plot is so far removed from actual history by this book that the historical figures and time no longer become a distraction (a complaint I had of the earlier books). I'd give this one a B+.

When Sir Isaac Newton uncovered the secrets of alchemy, he could never have imagined the incredible and tragic results. Dark sorcery rules: Europe is lost and the American colonists have been driven south by advancing ice. In an age of unreason, Benjamin Franklin and his secret society, the Junto, manage a precarious existence founded on the mutual trust and cooperation of Native Americans, whites, and freed blacks. But the demonic creatures known as the Malekim won't tolerate even a flicker of hope. For any who oppose them--Franklin, Voltaire, even the mysterious daughters of Lilith--will be swept away . . .

Though Tsar Peter the Great of Russia has mysteriously vanished, his vast armies and dark magics remain. They strike where they are least expected, unleashing cyclopean forces unseen on Earth since before the fall of mighty Babylon. And even this is but a prelude to he who follows the living storm.

As armies and alchemy clash in the southern colonies, the Choctaw shaman Red Shoes is drawn west by a vision of an ancient, implacable evil, and of a young boy who shines as brightly as an angel . . . the fallen, avaricious kind.

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BOOK FOUR: THE SHADOWS OF GOD: Better than the last book. Things come to a conclusion, which is good because its the last book. Things are also more fully explained for example the nature of the Malakim and the boy king. The very end is a bit disappointing in the way he decides to bring about a "happy ending" and bring everything to a resolution. Though to be fair I couldn't see that there was much he could of done different other than destoying the world, which doesn't happen. I give it a B-.

As the armies of the Malakim advance, led by a child of bright and burning power, Benjamin Franklin must summon all his ingenuity for the desperate attempt to preserve, not just the freedom of his country, but its very existence. For behind the wars of humanity there are other wars, fought by aetheric beings of immense strength and conviction.

The Malakim may be angels . . . or demons. All that’s certain is that when the war in heaven is over, there won’t be much–if anything–left of Earth.

As the ruthless forces of Russia lay waste to the New World, English troops make landfall in the east, determined to reconquer the colonies. Trapped in between lies a motley collection of Native Americans, ex-slaves, and refugees of the European catastrophe, led by Franklin and the Choctaw shaman Red Shoes. In that struggle, Red Shoes may prove his most potent ally . . . and his most dangerous threat.

In this stunning conclusion to The Age of Unreason trilogy, the balance of power lies with Adrienne de Montchevreuil, whose grasp of science is the equal of Franklin’s, and whose magic may be stronger even than that of the Choctaw. Only with her help can they hope to defeat the Sun Boy and his Malakim masters. But Adrienne has a shocking secret of her own, calling into question where her true allegiances may lie . . .

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In the kingdom of Crotheny, two young girls play in the tangled gardens of the sacred city of the dead. Fleeing an imaginary attacker, the girls-one of whom is the reckless young daughter of the king-discover the unknown crypt of the legendary, ancestral queen, Virgenya Dare.

In the wilds of the forest, while investigating the slaughter of an innocent family, king's holter Aspar White weaves his way through a maze of ancient willows-and comes face-to-face with a monstrous beast found only in folk tales and nightmares. Meanwhile, traveling the same road, a scholarly young priest begins an education in the nature of evil, found festering just beneath the surface of the seemingly peaceful land.

The royal family itself comes under siege, facing betrayal that only sorcery could accomplish. Now-for three beautiful sisters, for a young man made suddenly into a knight, and for a woman in love with a roguish adventurer-a rising darkness appears, shattering what was once certain, familiar, and good. These destinies and more will be linked when malevolent forces walk the land. For Crotheny, the most powerful nation in the world, is shaken at its core. And the Briar King, harbinger of death, has awakened from his slumber.

Imbuing his tale with richness, pathos, action, and passion, Greg Keyes begins an amazing new epic that takes fantasy fiction to a new level. At the heart of the story, Keyes has placed a remarkable young woman, Anne Dare, the youngest daughter of a royal family . . . and the one person upon whom the fate of this world may depend.

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BEGGARS IN SPAIN: A compelling look at genetic modification and the consequences that they could bring. Kress involves the reader in a struggle of both the majority , who fell justifiably threatened as being obsolete, and the minority, who fell justifiable threatened by being alone and dispised. Highly recommended.

A powerful and thought-provoking newly expanded version of the Nebula Award winning novella, Beggars in Spain is a milestone in the already formidable writing career of Nancy Kress - whom Analog magazine has praised for possessing " a depth of imagination unusual even among SF writers." ....

In the year 2008, thanks to a stunning scientific breakthrough, Chicago millionaire Roger Camden and his wife Elizabeth produce the perfect child - a genetically modified daughter, Leisha, who is beautiful, extraordinarily intelligent ... and who will never require sleep. She is one of the first twenty so-called "Sleepless" in a world that will initially treat them as interesting anomalies .. and, later, as objects of envy and scorn.

As the decades pass, the Sleepless population increases and prospers- and Leisha grows to become one of the ablest legal minds in America. But the heightened abilities and a shattering revelation about the near-immortality of "her kind" has inflamed the wrath of the nation's Sleeper majority- spawning political repression and shocking mob violence that drives the Sleepless en masse from a society that rejects them .. and, ultimately, from Earth itself.

But Leisha Camden remains behind- outcast from both worlds, yet unwilling to forfeit her rightful place in the community of man. Meanwhile, aboard an orbiting colony called Sanctuary, a new generation of genetically engineered super-children is born - the foundation of a brilliant and bitter Sleepless leader's devastating conspiracy of freedom .. and revenge.

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In Beggars and Choosers, Kress returns to the same future world created in her earlier work, an America strangely altered by genetic modifications. Millions of ordinary people are supported by the efforts of the handsome and intellectually superior gene-modified, who are in turn running scared in the face of the astonishing, nearly superhuman powers of the Sleepless, who have their own agenda for humanity. The Sleepless, radically altered humans, have withdrawn from the rest of the race to an island retreat, from which they periodically release dazzling scientific advances.

Most of the world is on the verge of collapse, overburdened by a population of jobless drones and racked by the results of irresponsible genetic research and nanotechnology. Will the world be saved? And for Whom?

Beggars and Choosers is a rich, morally complex novel ofa future world eerily like our own tomorrow. It is a major work of hard SF.

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Now the trilogy is completed in Beggars Ride, a compelling novel of science fiction that raises one of the most ambitious and large-scale works of the decade to the status of finished masterpiece. Kress, a writer who has been appropriately compared to H. G. Wells and Aldous Huxley, deals with evolutionary forces, genetic engineering, technological progress, and social and class conflict, confronting enduring issues that face human society in this century and the next.

The Sleepless and the SuperSleepless, two generations of genetically modified superhumans, are now in conflict with each other, and with the spectrum of normal humanity, whose radical division into the rich and poor has made a parody of democracy in the twenty-second century. Human civilization has been transformed. Now it may be destroyed. And if it falls, what kind of world is left, what kind of humanity?

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FBI agent Robert Cavanaugh thinks he's on to something. The showgirl lover of a dead New York mafioso is murdered in Las Vegas. Her last words are difficult to understand but included the name of Verico, which might refer to a bio-research company in New Jersey. An Ivy League scientist is found dead in a Boston parking lot after a job interview at Verico. And the Mafia has secretly invested in this firm doing cutting-edge work with recombinant DNA. Cavanaugh knows it's all tied together, but not how, and he doesn't have enough hard evidence to convince his boss there's a case anywhere. People keep dying, but nothing makes sense, and Cavanaugh gets more desperate to find the key.

Kress keeps both Cavanaugh and the reader guessing until the very last minute, until a revelation of something so horrifying and yet so plausible...

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Now, in Brain Rose, Nancy Kress surpasses the high standard set by her earlier work with a novel of character set in the near future. It is a book that will please her fans and convert many new readers.

Caroline Bohentin, Joe McLaren, and Robbie Brekke meet at a fashionable private hospital where each has signed up for a new - expensive and exclusive - procedure: Previous Life Access Surgery. This procedure removes barriers in the human brain and allows patients to recall memories from all of their previous incarnations throughout human history But the memories are not under conscious and willful control. After the operation, each patient must begin his or her journey into the past with moments of discovery and surprise, whose meaning and significance are often unclear.

Meanwhile, in the outside world, which is ravaged by plagues that destroy the body's immune defenses, a crisis is building, both medically and politically. The mutated plague virus is destroying people's memories at an ever-increasing rate. And only those who have had the surgery seem to be immune.

As Caroline, Joe, and Robbie begin to remember flashes of previous lives, it becomes more and more evident tat they are somehow connected to each other and that their connection has fateful implications for he entire future of the human race.

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CHRISTMAS TAILS: A children's book about Christmas and Santa's dog. A oft told story of Santa being in jeopardy of not being able to deliver toys for Christmas. This time it is his trusty dog, Snuggles who answers the call. Some of the words and ideas may be a little advanced for younger children but they should enjoy the rhyming. The whole story is one long poem. I give it a B-.

It would be hard to imagine a year without Christmas - but it did almost happen.

In the charming verses and illustrations of this book the author proclaims the virtues of loyal friendship; our responsibilities to the world we share and to the animals who share this planet with us.

There are no villains or violence in this story only a tale of love and compassion.

It is the story of an old man and his dog. It is the story of Santa Clause and his mongrel dog, Snuggles.

What would happen if Santa's reindeer became ill one year and Santa had no one to pull his sleigh?

In this tale, Snuggles, his old dog, offers to try and Santa derides him for his frailties. Even worse, when a group of pure bred dogs volunteer to help Santa, he refuses to let his own hound join the others.

"His color's a rainbow,
His ears reach the ground.
He lacks the fine points
of the registered hound.
With a nose too far forward -
And a tail too far behind-
He just wouldn't fit in
With the registered kind."

Santa is reminded that he was not judged by the volunteering dogs and in the end he apologizes with a stirring tribute to our four legged friends and in conclusion reminds all of us:

"Why, it isn't the color
of the hair or the eyes
It's the things
That you don't see.
It's the greatness inside!"

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THE NINJA: This is an interesting story and look at the Far East. Lustbader creates a good plot and characters. Be warned there are a quite a few racy scenes in the book. A good book for those who would enjoy a more serious book about martial arts and ninjas than a Saturday morning cartoon or Kung-Fu flick. I also would recommend it to those who like stories that revolve around the Far East and look at coomparisons betweeen Eastern and Western cultures.

They were the darker side of the Samurai, merciless assassins bound by the blackest codes of honor and skilled in the deadliest martial arts, as lethal in the ways of love as in the rites of death.

The story of Nicholas Linnear, half Caucasian, half Oriental, a man caught between East and West, between the sexual passions of a woman he can't forget and one he can't control, between a past he can't escape and a destiny he can't avoid.

A sprawling erotic thriller that swings from postwar Japan to present day New York in a relentless saga of violence and terror elaborately desinged for the most savage vengence of all.

The incredible saga that began with Eric Van Lustbader's The Ninja-the blockbuster bestseller that set a new stnadard for exotic intrigue- now continues with the Miko.
A revered sensei is brutally murdered by his favorite studen- the only female student in this ancient dojo in the mountaintops of Japan. The murderess is a Miko, a sorceress- indescribably beautiful, overpoweringly sensual, possessing incomprehensible powers. The murder of the beloved sensei is only the beginning of a deadly mission: she plans to use her poweres to destroy Nicholas Linnear.

Half Caucasian, Half Oriental, Nicholas Linnear - the Ninja - has returned to Japan, the land of his spiritual heart. It is here where Nicholas usually finds serenity and beauty, that he watches his life careen out of control. His relationship with his wife, Justine, has become increasingly distant, a situation as inexplicable as it is painful. His closest friend, Tanzan Nangi, remains out of touch as he rends off the demands of Nami, Japan's powerful business coalition. And Nicholas' dazzling new computer technology has become the target of a heated political battle raging in Washington, D.C.

Worst of all, Nicholas finds himself shiro ninja, white ninja. He can no longer summon the discipline that enables him to live a life of honor and truth amidst greed and corruption. A shadow has fallen across the Moonlit Path, an enemy has seeped into his soul. Beset by doubts and fears he has never known before Nicholas must grapple with a harrowing crisis of self.

And through it all, a perverse madman stalks the seamy streets and bureaucratic mazes of Tokyo, destroying anyone who stand in his way with deadly precision and otherworldly cunning. The one man who can stop him: Nicholas Linnear, White Ninja.

In a small village in the South of France, an American has been brutally murdered... In a Connecticut church, a priest has been sacrificed.... In the jungles of Indochina, the opium warlords clash.... All are part of a desperate search that will unleash mystic forces, madness, and violence on all who join it.

When colonial France reached out to enslave Indochina she calmed the native population with the addictive, subjugating kiss of opium. Now the ruthless drug lords of the region search for a trio of weapons - the Prey Dauw - that are so awesome, so imbued with mythic power, that whoever possesses them can dominate Indochina and control its most precious commodity.

Two men have already been murdered for the Prey Dauw. Their brothers, New York lawyer Chris Haye and NYPD detective Seve Guarda, are relentlessly drawn into the intrigue. Both men will put the women in their lives in peril. Both will face the sins of the past and risk their future salvation. And both will be stalked every step of the way by a savage madman whose only pleasure is inflicting pain...

With The Ninja, Black Heart, and The Miko Eric Van Lustbader proved his immense gifts as one of the most powerful story tellers writing today. Jian, his most ambitious novel yet, again plumbs the mysterious heart of the Far East and lifts the reader into hitherto unexplored realms of exoticism, violent combat, vivid sensuality, and political intrigue.

The Jian is the Champion, the Man Who Excels. His arts are martial and philosophic, terrifyingly physical, cruelly cerebral. He is a master strategist, the ultimate manipulator who holds the fate of all China in his hands.<\P>

Who is the Jian? Is he Jake Maroc - half American, half-Chinese, the top Hong Kong agent for the secretive government agency the Quarry - a man haunted by his past, threatened by his present, careless about his future, intent on vengeance? Is it Nichiren, Jake's sworn enemy, a cold killer with a deadly secret? Or is it Shi Zilin, the venerable Communist Chinese government minister, confidant to a succession of Chinese rulers? Is it Antony Beridien, head of the Washington based Quarry or Three Oaths Tsun, a powerful and wealthy Hong Kong businessman? There are many who wish to become master, but only one can emerge the true Jian.

Four ancient pieces of jade hold the answer; like stones in wie qi, the Chinese game of strategy, they are the key to unlocking the grand scheme of the Jian. And the prize in this real-life game is Hong Kong, that fabulous glittering jewel, where East and West meet as nowhere else on earth. Aligned against the Jian for control of Hong Kong and ultimately, China, are the KGB, the Communist Chinese, and the American - all bent on wrestling control of all Asia for their own ends.

As the history of modern China unfolds the secret origins of the Jian's design are revealed. While Jake Maroc and his childhood sweetheart, Bliss, must run for their lives, pursued by enemies and traitors seeking to destroy them, it is left to the Jian to bring together East and West, past, present, and future, fierce love and burning hate.

A debt of honor has come due, and Nicholas Linnear - the Ninja- has vowed to pay it in full. Years ago he mad a promise to his father: If a man named Mikio Okami ever sought his help, he would respond without question, no matter the cost. Now the time has come to fulfill his pledge .. and meet his destiny.

Mikio Okami is the Kaisho - the boss of bosses of the Yakuza, the Japanese underworld. In his Venice headquarters, he realizes that he has been marked for death. But the identity of the assassin, and the inexorable compulsion that drives him, are shrouded in mysticism and madness. Honor-bound to protect Okami, Linnear is prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice: a descent into a chasm of knowledge so potent, of dangers so unfathomable, that even if he survives he will emerge changed forever.

At the same time, in America, one of Linnear's oldest friends, ex-NYPD detective Lew Croaker, has been lured out of retirement to investigate the brutal, ritualistic slaying of Mafia godfather Dominic Goldoni. But his search for Goldoni's assassin leads Croaker to the Don's sister instead ... a woman capable of anything, a mafia princess on the verge of embracing a forbidden power. Magarite has looked into the eyes of her brother's killer - into the eye's of the devil - and tasted a passion as hot as the inner circle of hell.

The truth about Goldoni's murder stretches far beyond the mystery of Margarite. Croaker has uncovered evidence of a vast alliance, a terrifying conspiracy reaching into the highest levels of the Mafia and the Japanese Yakuza. One last thread in the web remains to be spun - the execution of the Kaisho.

From the back streets of Paris to the back rooms of Washington, from the twisting canals of Venice to the glass and steel towers of Tokyo, Linnear and Croaker are the lone warriors in a titanic struggle against an incomprehensible evil. They stand on the opposite edges of an abyss, their lives and their souls at risk, facing an enemy willing to go to any extreme, commit any sin to achieve its ultimate end. Drawn into a war as old as the temptation to power, they enter a world of seduction and betrayal, of primeval fears and primitive desires... the world of THE KAISHO.

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THE RING OF FIVE DRAGONS: Your standard fare for a fantasy epic book. This may be a good genre for Lustbader to move to since some of his latest action thriller books have gotten into the realm of weird fantasy type stuff. Nothing really stands out in this book, though the ending is a bit anti-climatic, so it's not really great but also not really bad. I give it a B.

Eric Van Lustbader launches a towering epic of fantasy, The Pearl, with The Ring of Five Dragons. This astonishing first volume opens as the Kundalan people have suffered for a century under the viciously oppressive, technologically superior V'ornn invaders. In the resulting crisis of faith--why hasn't their goddess Miina saved them?--Kundalan religion has fallen under the control of evil forces from within who forbid the teaching of traditional sorcery, pretending to have no magic of their own. The V'ornn's mysterious leaders, the Gyrgon, know better and search for the lost Ring of Five Dragons, the key to the door of the fabled Kundalan Storehouse, and perhaps to Kundalan sorcery as well.

But misused, the Ring is the trigger of seemingly inexorable annihilation for V'ornn and Kundalan alike. Now from among the oppressed must arise the hero of prophecy, the Dar Sala-at, who alone can wield the sorcerous power to save the world.

Thus begins a huge epic rooted in the conflict between spiritual and technological cultures. The twisting plot raises difficult and provocative moral questions in the course of a constantly surprising, sometimes shocking, fantastic adventure that will transport fantasy readers to new heights of enthusiasm, and make them ask for more.

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THE VEIL OF A THOUSAND TEARS (The Pearl Saga, Book 2): Better than the first book. The cast of characters are expanded and fleshed out a little more. We see more development of Rian and the guy that used to be Annon's best friend and some minor characters from the first book step up. Also the scope of the story expands to include more than finding an artifact and saving the planet from doom. I give it a B.

Having staked his claim as a master of epic fantasy with The Ring of Five Dragons, Eric Van Lustbader now returns to his world of Kundala to unearth new riches of wonder and excitement in this second volume of The Pearl saga.

With the help of her friends, Riane, the prophesied redeemer known as the Dar Sala-at, saved Kundala from annihilation, preserving natives and V'ornn invaders alike. Together, the companions avenged terrible crimes and secured the Ring of Five Dragons, but their struggles have only just begun.

The Ring averted doomsday, yet it did not open the magical Storehouse Door as expected. That sorcerous treasury remains sealed because of the spell cast by Giyan and her sister. A spell to migrate Annon Ashera's male V'ornn psyche into Riane's dying Kundalan female body. By combining them into a single being, it saved them both and fulfilled the prophecy that the Dar Sala-at would be "born at both ends of the cosmos." But the spell also breached the Abyss, releasing daemons who could wreak havoc on Kundala. The daemons were imprisoned there aeons ago by the Goddess Miina. Now the fiends must be vanquished, not only so the quest for the Pearl can continue, but to save Giyan, who has been possessed by the archdaemon Horolaggia. Their only hope is the fabled Veil of A Thousand Tears.

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ART KILLS : This novella is short and to the point, as any novella is likely to be. If you've ever read any of Lustbader's other mystery/adventure novels, then you've got the gist of Art Kills. And if you strip away the sub-plots, exotic locales and Eastern themes of his other novels you've got Art Kills exactly. It's like taking a movie and telling the main story in an one hour tv show instead. You don't loose much with this novella. You've got intrigue, tension, violence and a love story all packed together nicely in here. As a quick read it was pretty good. I give it a B.

Art is having a wild affair with murder in this breathtaking, inventive tale from the best-selling author of the exotic White Ninja and chilling Second Skin. Racing from the marbled precincts of New York's uptown museum scene to the fashionable galleries and lofts of Soho to a gated Mafia mansion on the platinum coast of Long Island, at top speed this Lustbader novella takes appraiser Tess Chase, a no-nonsense woman with a taste for martial as well as fine arts, in pursuit of a long-lost painting by the Renaissance master Raphael. It also entangles her in a case of deadly sibling rivalry between the heirs to the empire of the East Coast crime boss Rocco Bravanno as it divides Tess's loyalties between the handsome, charismatic Anthony and his stunning sister, Jackie, both of whom come by their lust for art and palate for murder naturally. Uncovering a web of conspiracy and shifting alliances, Tess strives both to rescue the painting from its abductors and to save the passionately unhappy Jackie from a miserable marriage to a man with betrayal in his blood. More than a Raphael is at stake in this murderous tale of envy and revenge. Only Tess has yet to learn who the real traitor is. And ignorance is not bliss.

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WATCHTOWER: An A. I greatly enjoyed this story. Good characters and the use of magic is not overt or as weapon but just as a force of what might be out there. Sort of real life like. All the main characters are well developed and used well and the story and plot comes to a good conclusion at the end though it is not the end of the story.

Tornor Keep is the legendary tower that guards the winter end of a summer land. But when Tornor is overrun by raiders, a young prince is the tower's last hope - in an enchanting story of a time far removed from ours and of a land alive with warriors, lovers, war and honor.

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THE DANCERS OF ARUN: This is not your usual fantasy book. Both the subject and relationships in this book are unique for the genre. You don't see very many fantasy books that deal with gay relationships or incest, much less the way they are handled here. Nor do you get very many fantasy books where the subject of fighting and war are handled the way they are here. I give the book a B.

An ancient promise is redeemed, a dream rides up on a bay horse, a boy becomes something finer than a man. The young scribe of Tornor is taken by the chearis, the dancing warriors, to the warmlands where he learns what it means to be a witch. Complete in itself, this novel is the second in a major new fantasy trilogy ...

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NORTHERN GIRL: This was both the best and worst book of the series. It was good in that there is more of a story in this one. It is the worst in that it leaves the main character and the conclusion of the story sort of undone. As in the first two books the writing and social setting is superb. Also as in the first two books the story is more of the characters journey at one point in their life than anything else. This time though there is an action subplot that brings some spark into the book. Overall I give it a B-. This, the story of Sorren, bondgirl and Fartraveller who returns to Tornor Keep where she has never been. At a time when the use of weapons has been forgotten, and the dancing cheari warriors of Arun are only a myth, a magical land knows peace. Then a young servant girl called Sorren is haunted in her dreams by Tornor Keep- the legendary tower that was created to protect the realm from its enemies. To discover the meaning of these visions, she will undergo a quest to the watchtower; and a humble girl will become part of revolution in which the common people find the courage to stand up to tyranny ....

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