WICKED The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West: A good book but for the mature reader. Okay stop now before you run out to the bookstore or library (or better yet order if from one of the links below *hint hint*). I mean as in older more thought provoking reader. Maguire brings the Wicked Witch of the West to life through a involved history that looks deep into the character of the person.

The characters are fleshed out and at the same time used as a symbol for something deeper. A lot of heavier things are discussed in Wicked than just the telling of the character of the Wicked Witch. There's alot on the book jacket about the nature of evil and all that. Which there is but it's more of a look at beliefs and shaping of character to me. I give this book a B. It's a good book, with good characters and use of language, but it can drag at times and become a little overburdened with the weightier subjects it tackles.

When Dorothy triumphed over the so-called Wicked Witch of the West in Frank Baum's tales, we heard only Dorothy's side of the story. The Wicked Witch we think we know is the predictable, green-faced villainess straight out of MGM's imagination. But there's more to the story than that. Where did the Wicked Witch come from? How exactly was she wicked? Why shouldn't she want her sister's charmed shoes? And, most important, what is the true nature of evil?

Following the traditions of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, John Gardner, and J.R.R. Tolkien, Wicked is a richly woven tale that takes us to the other, darker side of the rainbow as novelist Gregory Maguire chronicles the Witch's odyssey through the complex world of Oz - where people call you wicked if you tell the truth.

Years before Dorothy and her dog crash-land, another little girl makes her presence known in Oz. This girl, Elphaba, is born with emerald green skin - no easy burden in a land as mean and poor as Oz, where superstition and magic are not strong enough to explain or overcome the natural disasters of flood and famine. But Elphaba is smart, and by the time she enters the university in Shiz, she becomes a member of a charmed circle of Oz's most promising young citizens: her roommate Glinda, a dippy socialite with a knack for sorcery; Boq, the lovelorn Munchkin; Fiyero, a tribal prince from the primitive West of Oz; and Nessarose, Elphaba's beautiful, religiously witchy sister, who lacks nothing save two arms and a spirit of compassion.

Elphaba's Oz is no utopia. The Wizard's secret police are everywhere. Animals - those creatures with voices, souls and minds - are threatened with exile. Young Elphaba, green and wild and misunderstood, is determined to protect the Animals - even if it means combating the mysterious Wizard, even if it means risking her single chance at romance. Ever wiser in guilt and sorrows, she can find herself grateful when the world declares her a witch. And she can even make herself glad for that young girl from Kansas.

In Wicked, Gregory Maguire has taken the largely unknown world of Oz and populated it with the power of his own imagination. Fast-paced, fantastically real, and supremely entertaining, this is a novel of vision and re-vision. Oz will never be the same again.

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THE JACKAL OF NAR: A good beginning but the main character, Richius's, obsession, love is the wrong word for it, comes off at worst overblown and unbelievable and at best incredibly naive and stupid throws the middle into a bad tailspin. Luckily the story pulls out of it, by focusing on the bigger things outside of Richius and his delussional obsession, in the end. Overall a C+, even B- book.

His enemies call Prince Richius "the Jackal", yet he is only a reluctant warrior for the Emperor in the fight for the borderland of Lucel-Lor. The empire's deadly war machines are no match for the potent magic of Tharn, leader of a a fanatical sect. Richius's forces are routed and he returns home in defeat - but the Emperor will not accept the loss. Soon Richius is given one last chance to pit the empires's science against the enemy's devastating magic. But he has fallen in love with a woman of Lucel-Lor, his sworn enemy.

Now Richius finds himself torn between his kingdom, his loyalty, and his heart. No matter what he chooses, the result at best will be bloodshed and shame, at worst the deaths of everyone he holds dear. Yet as the Emperor and Tharn are about to discover, there is nothing so dangerous as one desperate man ....

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THE EYES OF GOD : This wasn't a very good book. The characters were too flat for the story. Parts of the story were too easily solved or dismissed. For example, SPOILER, if when they go to steal the eye and they see the kadar and he doesn't up and die from being seen why do they still think Cassandra will if they look at her? And the book tries to be too many stories in one. Is it a story of betrayal between brothers? Not when one brother disappears for a quarter of the book and the main character shifts from one of the brothers to someone else not involved and SPOILER one of the brothers goes mad, not from being betrayed but because he kills a man. Or is it a story of a story of a place of magic and "disabled monsters" against a mad king and his brutal general? If so then what's with the first half to two-thirds of the book. Etc. etc.

The theme was too heavy for the characters. Betrayal and jealousy enough to drive men mad require more than paper thin characters and more time and interaction between those characters than occurred. If the author had stuck with one major theme or more time developing and resolving each theme and character this could have been a good book. Or if he had taken a lighter touch and let it be a straight fantasy adventure it could have worked too. He didn't so I give this book a D.

AKEELA was the king of Liiria. Young and idealistic, he was determined to bring peace to his kingdom - a land that had been plagued by war with the neighboring kingdom of Reec for decades. Beloved by his people ad called "Akeela the Good," he revered knowledge as well as peace, and vowed to make Liiria a haven of learning the like of which the world had never known. Now, he had come to parley in Hes, capital city of Reec, with gifts from his subject to their age-old enemy, King Karis. For protection, Akeela brought his Royal Chargers, Liiria's elite fighting corps, led by the infamous Bronze Knight, a man as feared as the young king was loved.

LUKIEN was the Bronze Knight of Liiria. Not yet thirty, he was peerless with a sword, and had earned his reputation the hard way. War was his life, his true calling, and if it were up to him, he would never make peace with Reec. But he was Akeela's champion, and his loyalty knew no limits. Abandoned by his father and left an orphan by his mother's death, Lukien had lived by his wits on the streets of Koth, Liiria's capital city, stealing what he needed to survive or working for pennies in the slavelike conditions of the smithies. Then, at fourteen, he met Akeela. The young prince had slipped away from his guard and wandered into the alleys Lukien called home, only to be robbed and beaten by local roughs. Lukien saved the prince's life, and, in gratitude, was taken in by the royal family and raised by King Balak, Akeela's father. From that day, Lukien rarely left Akeela's side.

A bond of loyalty stronger than blood linked these two men - for each had saved the other. But though they loved each other as brothers, no two souls could be more different.

Akeela was a scholar, a dreamer, and an academic. Filled with a boundless enthusiasm and an almost childlike optimism, his experience of the world came from books,not real life. Sheltered and cloistered, he had never known battle, though his country had been at war since before his birth. Slight in stature, it was the size of his heart and the strength of his vision which made him a great man.

Though he was a fosterling of the king, had graduated from the Liirian War College at the top of his class, and had risen to command the Royal Chargers, Lukien had never forgotten the bitter lessons of the street. Tall, golden-haired, handsome as a god, and strong as a gladiator, nevertheless Lukien's soul was shadowed by his past. He had never forgiven his drunken father for leaving him, nor his mother for dying. It was an unfortunate foe indeed who faced the Bronze Knight's wrath.

As Akeela and Lukien entered the gates of their enemy's stronghold on a mission of peace, neither man could foresee the turmoil this historic journey would wreak on their lives. For to seal the peace, King Karis of Reec would bestow upon Akeela his most valued treasure: the hand of his charming, beautiful, and accomplished daughter Cassandra.

But unknown to anyone, Cassandra hid a terrible secret. She was experiencing the first symptoms of a disease which would threaten her life, and cause unimaginable strife for all who loved her.

And for Akeela and Lukien, the quest for Cassandra's salvation would overwhelm every bond of loyalty, every point of honor, every dream of peace. For only the magical amulets known as the Eyes of God could halt the progress of Cassandra's illness. But the Eyes would also open the way to a magical stronghold which would tear their world apart and redefine the very nature of their reality.

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A GAME OF THRONES: This book plays out much like a historic royal tragedy. I've never been a big fan of tragedy so that may explain the sense of dislike I felt with the book. It is marvelously written and the plot plays out well, if not spectacularly. That statement could cover the whole book. It plays out well, if not spectacularly. I intend on reading the other books and am actually looking forward to it, so the book isn't bad or a waste. I give it a B-.

Long ago, in a time forgotten, a prenatural event threw the seasons out of balance. In a land where summers can last decades and winters a lifetime, trouble is brewing. The cold is returning, and in the frozen wastes to the north of Winterfell, sinister forces are massing beyond the kingdom's protective Wall. To the south, the king's powers are failing: his most trusted advisor dead under mysterious circumstances and his enemies emerging from the shadows of the throne. At the center of the conflict lie the Starks of Winterkill, a family as harsh and unyielding as the frozen land they were born to. Now Lord Edward Stark is reluctantly summoned to serve as the king's new Hand, an appointment that threatens to sunder not only his family but the kingdom itself.

Sweeping from a harsh land of cold to a summertime kingdom of epicurean plenty, A Game of Thrones tells a tale of lords and ladies, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and bastards who come together in a time of grim omens. Here, an enigmatic band of warriors bear swords of no human metal, a tribe of fierce wildings carry men off into madness, a cruel young dragon prince barters his sister to win back his throne, a child is lost in the twilight between life and death, and a determined woman undertakes a treacherous journey to protect all she holds dear. Amid plots and counterplots, tragedy and betrayal, victory and terror, allies and enemies, the fate of the Starks hangs perilously in the balance, as each side endeavors to win that deadliest of conflicts: the game of thrones.

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A CLASH OF KINGS: I liked this one better than the second. There is more a focus on the characters and the plot focuses around them. The intrigue, manipulation and battles are just as prevalent in this book as they were in the first, giving it a feel like a sort of middle ages/ 17th century European history feel. The aspects of magic and fantasy are more prevalent in this book though still not in the forefront ... yet. It will be interesting to see how the series progresses. An A book.

Time is out of joint. The summer of peace and plenty, ten years long, is drawing to a close, and the harsh, shill winter approaches like an angry beast. Two great leaders - Lord Eddard Stark and Robert Baratheon - who held sway over an age of enforced peace are dead; victims of royal treachery. Now, from the ancient citadel of Dragonstone to the forbidding shores of Winterfell, chaos reigns, as pretenders to the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms prepare to stake their claims through tempest, turmoil, and war.

As a prophecy of doom cuts across the sky- a comet the color of blood and flame - six factions struggle for control of a divided land. Eddard's son Robb has declared himself King in the North. In the south, Joffrey, the heir apparent, rules in name only, victim of the scheming courtiers who teem over King's Landing. Robert's two brothers each seek their own dominion, while a disfavored house turns once more to conquest. And a continent away, an exiled queen, the Mother Of Dragons, risks everything to lead her precious brood across a hard hot desert to win back the crown that is rightfully hers.

A Clash of Kings transports us into a magnificent, forgotten land of revelry and revenge, wizardry and warfare. It is a tale in which maidens cavort with madmen, brother plots against brother, and the dead rise to walk in the night. Here a princess masquerades as an orphan boy; a knight of the mind prepares a poison for a treacherous sorceress; and wild men descend from the Mountains of the Moon to ravage the countryside.

Against a backdrop of incest and fratricide, alchemy and murder, the price of glory may be measured in blood. And the spoils of victory may just go to the men and women possessed of the coldest steel ... and the coldest hearts. For when rulers clash, all of the land feels the tremors.

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STORM OF SWORDS: Realistic, engaging but long. Like reading a history book from the dark ages where sorcery and dragons actually exists. The treachery and deceit and politics could have come from any history book. The characters with their flaws and ambitions and mistakes could be the former rulers of any land of today. Martin gets it right with this novel. Very long but worth it and necessary for all that there is to tell. An A.

In A Game of Thrones, an ancient kingdom was torn by the ambitions of ruthless men and women; in A Clash of Kings , war, sorcery, and madness swept over the kingdom like a voracious beast of prey. Now, as the brutal struggle for power nears its tumultuous climax, the battered and divided kingdom faces its most terrifying invasion - one that is being spearheaded from beyond the grave ...

Of the five contenders for power, one is dead, another in disfavor, and still the wars rage as violently as ever, as alliances are made and broken. Joffrey, of House Lannister, sits on the Iron Throne, the uneasy ruler of the land of the Seven Kingdoms. His most bitter rival, Lord Stannis, stands defeated and disgraced, the victim of the jealous sorceress who hold him in her evil thrall. But young Rob, of House Stark, still rules the North from the fortress of Riverrun. Robb plots against his despised Lannister enemies, even as they hold his sister hostage at King's Landing, the seat of the Iron Throne.

Meanwhile, making her way across a blood-drenched continent is the exiled queen, Daenerys, mistress of the only three dragons still left in the world. Filled with the stench of death and decay from the destructive dynastic war, Daenerys is gathering allies and strength for an assault on King's Landing , hoping to win back the crown she believes is rightfully hers.

But as opposing forces maneuver for the final titanic showdown, an army of barbaric wildlings bent on overwhelming the Seven Kingdoms arrives from the outermost line of civilization, In their vanguard is a horde of mythical Others - a supernatural army of the living dead whose animated corpses are unstoppable. And as the future of the land hangs in the balance, no one will rest in the quest for victory until the Seven Kingdoms have exploded in a veritable storm of swords ...

Brilliantly conceived and grand in scope, A Storm of Swords is the incredible tale of a world of harsh beauty and powerful magic, torn by treachery, ravaged by brutality, and consumed by greed and ambition. It portrays a war-torn landscape in which nobles and commoners, heroes and villains, the freeborn and the enslaved, all struggle to survive and to find their destinies ... along with the dazzling bounty and wondrous enchantment that was once their birthright in the Seven Kingdoms.

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SILVER WOLF, BLACK FALCON: Very Tolkien like. Also very slow. The build up to where any part of the action takes place takes most of the book, which is surprising seeing as the first chapter is from a part that doesn't happen till 3/4 of the book. Why McKiernan decided to do that is beyond me. He only breaks the chronology of the book for that one chapter. The book is also called by the author the sequel to all the others so that may have been why I didn't get into it as much, not having read any of the other books. I give this book a C.

Dennis McKiernan's newest epic, Silver Wolf, Black Falcon , takes us back to Mithgar in a time of great peril--as an Elf and an Impossible Child try to save this ravaged land from a doom long ago prophesied.

The progeny of an Elf and a shape-changing Baeran, Bair is cursed with a destiny that places him in mortal danger, for according to prophecy, Bair is the Hope of the World - perhaps the long-foretold Rider of the Planes himself. Unaware of the peril that surrounds him, Bair accompanies his friend Aravan on a quest to learn the whereabouts of the yellow-eyed demon Ydral. But the oracle they have traveled so far o consult tells them to prepare for the time of chaos and slaughter that will soon envelop the world - for the time of Trine draws near ...

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HUMAN :The author is a practicing doctor and lawyer; based on this book he shouldn't quit his day jobs. The medicine and law is for the most part I'm sure quite correct it's just the parts that are not correct are glaringly so. The author wants the reader to skip over some basic facts of biology and law without giving a plausible reason to do. This while providing a sense of authenticity and realism where his knowledge of these two fields comes in. It's hard to overlook basics when you are show-casing your knowledge of specifics.

It also doesn't help that the writing while not terrible is not strong. First off the beginning starts with a scene from two-thirds of the way into the book. Then it doesn't make any reference to anything that goes on in the scene until the two-thirds where the scene would have gone anyway. Also there are two meaningless affairs and subplot. And the character who is the focus of the cover and title doesn't come in until half way through and is treated like an object. Which to be fair is part of the main conflict but still .... I give this book a D-.

.... When Doctor Sean Colin, geneticist, is diagnosed with an illness that is destroying his liver, kidneys, heart - all his major organs, he knows he has just received a death sentence. But then, he and his staff at Genesearch Research come up with a brilliant idea to save his life.

All goes as planned, until something starts to seem very wrong with their ... creation. From there it's a roller coaster ride thru a fiery criminal prosecution, illness, a struggling marriage and fading hopes. Finally, it's up to the jury, and you, to decide his fate. And the fate of his creation.

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SHEEPFARMER'S DAUGHTER (Deed of Paksenarrion, Book 1): This isn't a fast paced action book, though it doesn't seem slow at any parts. It's more like a military marches ; steady, faster at some times slower at others but steady and even the whole way through. It's about Paks and her entry and first couple of years in a mercenary army. It's not a character study by any means but it is all about Paks. Paks isn't especially special at least not in a spectacular look at me way, she doesn't leap tall buildings and stop speeding bullets, she's just a bit better than most and happens to have some things happen to her. While its not your classic good vs evil story it is entertaining and it keeps you interested from start to finish. I give it a B+.

Refusing to marry a pig farmer and joining the army even if it means never seeing her family again, Paksenarrion begins an adventure that enables her to restore an overthrown ruler.

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DIVIDED ALLEGIANCE (THE DEED OF PAKSENARRION, BOOK 2): You keep waiting for something big to happen. More of a set up book to the third in the series I think. If you liked the first its a good reason to read this one also helps to set up the third. A B-.

Paksenarrion, once a sheepfarmer's daughter, now a veteran warrior, meets new challenges as she breaks up a robber gang, dispels an ancient evil possessing an elvish shrine and is accepted for training at an academy for knights. Clearly, a high destiny awaits her.

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OATH OF GOLD: Brings the whole series to an end. Ties everything up nicely and is a good story in its own right. Characters and events come together well. I give it a B+.

Running away to become a soldier rather than marry the man her family had chosen for her, Paksenarrion, a sheep farmer's daughter, becomes a legendary heroine to her people.

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ONCE A HERO: A good book and quick read. Nothing too heavy or complicated. The story contains a common theme for the author that of a young woman with untested and unknown promise is forced by circumstance to face her potential and triumph. I give it a B.

Esmay Suiza wasn't a member of a great Navy family like the Serranos. She'd had to make her way on grit alone, which meant it wasn't likely she'd ever make admiral and "hoist her own flag." Well, that was fine with her: all Esmay wanted was a secure berth where she could be part of something greater than herself and otherwise just live her life in peace.

But what we want or think we want from life and what we get are seldom the same - and one day Esmay found herself in the middle of a space battle, and the senior surviving officer in a mutiny against a traitorous captain. Suddenly she had no choice she must take command and win - and thereby become both the youngest and lowest ranking member of Fleet ever to win a major battle.

While Esmay may not want to be a hero, it looks like she just can't help it, because Once A Hero ...

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In some unknown future the animal-masked warriors of Granbretan, the Dark Empire, are conquering Europe. Standing against this unholy force is Castle Brass in the tiny province of Kamarg - and the Last Duke of Koln, Dorian Hawkmoon. At first a pawn of the Dark Empire and its evil agent Baron Meliadus, Hawkmoon quickly becomes their most potent enemy.

Hawkmoon is aided by the heroes Count Brass, Oladahn and the mysterious Warrior in Jet and Gold as he travels the face of Europe and beyond to seek the arcane sciences and ancient artifacts needed to defeat this awesome force. Only Hawkmoon's love for Count Brass' daughter Yisselda grants the Eternal Champion the strength and will to face the evils he encounters at breakneck pace, he searches for the fabled Runestaff - the sole power in the universe capable of defeating Granbretan.

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