Science Fiction Fantasy Books

It's been mentioned before, but the quality of the printing for this book is pretty poor. Honestly, I wouldn't have even minded the poor paper quality if the book side had simply been increased by about 2 inches on either side, but as is, things are pretty cramped and a lot of the detail is lost. So if you're picky, be warned.

If you've seen the movie, then you know what to expect here. There are some small changes, but for the most part, the book and the movie are pretty much parallel. I'm sure you've heard that Moore whined about the movie, and I was expecting to see a lot more differences, but no. The tone is really the same, the plot is the same, Moore was being silly.

I'd say this is take or leave if you've seen the movie. But if you liked the movie and want to get a slightly different take on the V story, or you haven't seen the film at all, check this one out.

Blood and Rain
Blood for the Masses

Originally published in SavageNight Ezine.

V For Vendetta
by
Alan Moore & David Lloyde

Reviewed by
B.L.Morgan

4 Stars

The first time I saw the cover of V For Vendetta I picked it up, flipped through a few pages and put it back down. At first glance the graphic novel looked ignorant as hell to me. I was guilty of judging a book by its cover.

After I practically exhausted the supply of graphic novels at my local library I took V For Vendetta home and was treated to an incredibly intelligent grim story.

V For Vendetta takes place in a world very similar to Orwell's 1984. In the England of this future a powerful dictatorship holds citizens in an iron-fisted grip. V is a terrorist; A man or woman experimented on by the government, who is planting bombs and propaganda to topple the all powerful state.

The story is told primarily through the eyes of a sixteen year old girl who is rescued by V from government thugs who were going to rape and kill her. She was just about to sell her body for the first time to get money for food when her first customer turned out to be a cop from a unit named The Finger.

The art in V For Vendetta is dark and gritty. It matches the subject matter perfect. The top officials in the government of V's England are all twisted power-hungry, corrupt, evil, leaches. All they live for is to subjugate the masses. All that V lives for is to wake up the masses and set them free.

V For Vendetta is a powerful graphic novel. Moore and Lloyde crafted a disturbing vision of a world where the vast majority of people are sheep to be herded around by the few in control. The thing that most disturbed me about V For Vendetta was how much their England of the future resembles the America of today.

I highly recommend V For Vendetta and whether or not you choose to read this graphic novel always be aware of one thing. The technology that is easily available today in America can either be used to help keep us free or enslave us all.

Yet another perfectly crafted authoritarian horror story, reminiscent of Brave New World or 1984. Plotting, pacing, artwork, all top notch. A must read for everyone.

If you encountered the movie first and are merely following up on the book, keep one thing in mind. This is how the story was originally intended.

Initially, when I read that Alan Moore was not happy about how the movie turned out, I was puzzled. However, after going back and reading this original Graphic Novel, I now understand why. The movie (while providing for it's intended effect) leaves a multitude of things out.

The story is much more complicated and the characters are provided much more depth herein. In fact, anarchy aside, I would say that this graphic novel is a completely different story. It's a must grab.

Is the warning of this classic tale all that far off from the big brother induced haze some of the west is seeping into currently? A must read.

After all the buzz, I finally decided to give this series a try. It is shallow, linear, simplistic and boring. Don't buy this book if you are looking for something along the lines of Tolkien, LeGuin, or even Rowling. You will be sadly disappointed.

I gave this book three stars because, I did enjoy the story at some points, but many times I felt like the story was going to slow. The characters in Eldest were very flat and one-dimensional. Also, Eragon the character was just unreasonably fake in this story for a number of reasons. He learned like a billion things that would take normal people years to learn such as learning languages, magic, etc...
What made this book worth reading was that the author actually split the story into two perspectives which were Eragon and his cousin Roran. It just made you look forward to reading the parts about the minor characters for some reason.
One thing that I noticed while I was reading the second book was that Eldest seemed to me almost identical to the story lines of Lord of the Rings, Pern, and Star Wars. This was a major put down and you could easily guess what was going to happen next in the story. You could easily relate every single character in Eldest to a character in LOTR, or Star Wars.

When reading the other reviews on this site for this book, I was overwhelmed by the negative response.

It's not that bad.

That being said, there are many ways Paolini could have made this better. It just dragged on for way too long at parts. And worst of all, the ending was clearly forseeable.

Eldest provest to be a less linear, slightly more abstract sequel to Eragon, a very good debut for such a young rider.
Now, on to Brisingr,

Like the first in the series 'Eragon', I found Eldest to be very engaging and interesting. The plot was predictable, but it was predictable in good ways. I find this series very interesting and easy to read.

Looking forward to the third.

Eldest (Inheritance)

Over all, I really liked The Inheritance trilogy and Eragon was a great book. The problem is that after Eragon, most of Eldest was a let down and I really hope that the series comes back together in the 3rd book, Brisngr, if not, I bet Paolini will get much worse reviews on Amazon.com.
A lot of the writing could have been cut off though, like most of Eragon's lessons, and many of the long, unnecessary descriptions of random events. The part I hated most about the book, which is also the part that should have been totally scrapped, is the part when Eragon gets magically healed by a dragon tattoo. From then on, other than most of the Roran chapters, the whole book started getting very bad, ESPECIALLY THE PART THAT MAKES THE WHOLE INHERITANCE TRILOGY SEEM LIKE IT IS A TOTAL TAKE-OFF OF STAR WARS!!! I mean, Murtag randomly shows up in the middle of a war, fights Eragon, beats him, and decides to spare his life to tell him the Evil kings most faithful helper is his father, pretty much like the all famous scene in Star Wars:
Darth Vader: "Luke, I am your father!"
Luke: *screams:* "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" *then starts crying like a baby"
This Eldest scene resembled Star Wars WAY TOO MUCH!!!
Paolini should just scrap all of Eragon's chapters from before the blood-oath ceremony to the end, and rewrite them, and after that, edit the book again and take out all of the boring unnecessary parts of the book including the descriptions.
I'm done explaining the bad stuff, and for the good things which is mostly just the overall story, well, all I have to say is I loved the Inheritance series so far, but I think Eragon was a much better book.
I REALLY REALLY hope that Brisingr is much better then Eldest, and proves all the negative Paolini reviews (sort of like most of my review) to a review dump somewhere on the Amazon website.

This book makes you see how the war against the living dead was seen on several fronts. Highly recommended, a must have.

WWZ is the first piece of zombie anything that actually scared me! It's not just the horrifying way the Zeds are described, but the collapse of society that sends a realistically chilling shudder through you. A must have for any fan of horror!

THIS IS A GREAT BOOK. IT STARTS OFF A LITTLE SLOW BUT PICKS UP QUICKLY. ITS IS COMPRISED OF SHORT STORIES THAT TIE TOGETHER. THE AUTHOR IS A TRUE ZOMBIE FAN SO THE BOOK IS VERY WELL THOUGHT OUT. MAX BROOKS HAS SET THE BAR VERY HIGH WITH TRADITIONAL ZOMBIES.

It's finally happened. The zombie apocalypse has come and devastated civilisation...but in the end, civilisation rallied and won. Using tactics pioneered in South Africa and bankrolled by Cuba, the largest nation to remain infection-free, the world's armies successfully defeated the undead menace, but only at a staggering cost in lives and resources. Ten years after victory was declared, a journalist travels the world, listening to the stories of the survivors, from those who were there when the outbreak began to those who listened in the corridors of power as key decisions were taken to the stories of everyday men and women thrust into circumstances beyond their control. From Hawaii to China, even to the isolated crew of the International Space Station, this is the story of that war.

World War Z is that most beloved of Hollywood ideas, 'high concept'. One of those ideas that makes other writers go away smacking themselves in the head thinking, "Why didn't I think of that?" Zombies are very much 'in' these days, but after several years of zombie movies and computer games the appeal was waning, until Brooks' interesting take on the concept revitalised interest. Most zombie fiction is somewhat nihilistic, ending with the world overrun by the undead hordes or humanity reduced to tiny enclaves battling the mindless hordes, so the fact that World War Z features a victory is interesting enough. The stories of what sacrifices were necessary to achieve that victory makes up the book, which is essentially a 'mosaic' novel rather than a standard work of fiction. The book shifts between the different interviewees, some of whom appear only once but most of them reappear periodically throughout the book, as we find out how they survived the decade of the war and what happened to them along the way.

It's an excellent device and Brooks employs it skillfully. Some of the stories border on the silly - the blind Japanese gardener taking on the zombie hordes with a sword in a park full of traps stretches credulity - but elsewhere Brooks nails the feeling of total horror, with the computer nerd trying to flee his infested Japanese apartment block or the soldiers fighting to clear the catacombs under Paris. Elsewhere Brooks takes the capabilities of the zombie menace to their logical conclusion, with heavily-armoured divers fighting off zombie forces underwater, or the US army making full use of dogs (who are driven wild by the presence of zombies) in fighting the hordes and the fates of both the animals and their handlers during and after the war.

This is a widescreen story, with a truly global perspective, told economically and well. There are some good laughs (the new US zombie-dispatching firearm is nicknamed a 'Meg', as it resembles a Megatron toy from Transformers; during one battle a nun and REM lead singer Michael Stipe help fight off the zombie hordes), but Brooks takes his subject mostly seriously and sounds some cautionary notes along the way. To some extent the story isn't really about the zombies, but about people and what they are capable of when their backs are against the wall.

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War (*****) is a gripping, page-turning, memorable read which throws some fresh impetus on an old idea, and makes it work brilliantly. The book is available in the UK from Duckworth and in the USA from Three Rivers Press. A movie version is in development, with a script being written by Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski.

I bought this book as a gift for my son,
He loved it. He is all in the Zombie thing.

Great book, poorly made. We bought this book new and the pages have all popped out from the binding. If you're buying this for a gift I suggest looking for a hardcover.

I was extremely disappointed when I received this and found I had several of the stories already. The Clive Barker story is 20 years old, the King story is from way back as well.

Granted,exceptional authors and a great anthology, but nothing new here, just a collection of previously published work.

Yes, some of the stories that are in the book have been published before in other compilations, the editor even states this in the beginning, however, 'The Living Dead' is an absolute must-have for anyone who is a fan of zombies. You can not go wrong here.

I would have paid this price if only for Dan Simmons short: 'This Years Class Picture'. I cried...Is that even possible in a zombie short? I can't believe that Dan Simmons name isn't on the cover, after all, A Winter Haunting is like one of the best ghost stories ever.

There are numerous shorts that can be found here:

This Years Class Picture -- Dan Simmons
Some Zombie Contigency Plans -- Kelly Link
Death and Sufferage -- Dale Bailey
Ghost Dance -- Sherman Alexie
Blossom -- David J Schow
The Third Dead Body -- Nina Kiriki Hoffman
The Dead -- Michael Swanwick
The Dead Kid -- Darrell Schweitzer
Malthusians Zombie -- Jeffrey Ford
Beautiful Stuff -- Susan Palwick
Sex, Death and Starshine -- Clive Barker
Stockholm Syndrome -- David Tallerman
Bobby Conroy Comes Back from the Dead -- Joe Hill
Those Who Seek Forgiveness -- Laurell K Hamilton
In Beauty, Like the Night -- Norman Partridge
Prarie -- Brian Evenson
Everything is Better with Zombies -- Hannah Wolf Bowers
Home Delivery -- Stephen King
Less Than Zombie -- Douglas E Winter
Sparks Fly Upward -- Lisa Morton
Meathouse Man -- George R R Martin
Deadman's Road -- Joe R Lansdale
The Skull-Faced Boy -- David Barr Kirtley
The Age of Sorrow -- Nancy Kilpatrick
Bitter Grounds -- Neil Gaiman
She's Taking her T[..]s to the Grave -- Catherine Check
Dead Like Me -- Adam-Troy Castro
Zora and the Zombie -- Andy Duncan
Calcutta, Lord of Nerves -- Poppy Z Brite
Followed -- Will McIntosh
The Song the Zombie Sang -- Harlan Ellison and Robert Silverbag
Passion Play -- Nancy Holder
Almost the Last Story by Almost the Last Man -- Scott Edelman
How the Day Runs Down -- John Langan

Whenever another of the Elantra books comes out, I'm there. I wish I never had to leave. I wish I could see all the cases that Kaylin and Severn investigate and all the politics of the Castes and the Court. If you are a fan, this book didn't disappoint. It got back to the idea of investigation, with the usual interesting spotlight on how cultural differences can muck things up. You can see Kaylin's growth through the series as well as the development of important and real relationships, not just an obvious romance. All my favorite characters are back, with different emphases this round. I hope there are going to be 20 more!

i think this was a great addition to the series. I really loved this book. I love this series so i have not been dissapointed with any of the books. I do wish there was a little bit of romance in the book. I really would have liked Kaylin to talk about some romance that she may have had in her life or if she likes any one now. I hope she gets with Serven i just like him. I dont care for Nightshade that much. Anyhow even with no romance in this book it was really good. It keeps you hooked to the point that you dont want to put it down.

The other thing i liked was the fact that each book seems to talk about a different race. This one is about the cats, cant remember their name.

Michelle Sagara does not disappoint. I detest middle books, as a general rule. Sure, they're necessary, and usually a great place for character development. But until you can see them in context with the rest of the story they are painful. I hate finishing a middle book knowing that I'll have a long wait before I can fit their importance into the larger picture. But, I didn't hate this book. Sagara is successful in avoiding the downfalls of the middle-book by ensuring that there is plenty of development - emotional, intellectual, plot depth and complexity. Plenty of face time with some of my favorite characters. And of course, a story line that is self contained while still adding to the overall arc.

I would definitely not recommend this as a good starting point for the series. The plot is developed, relationships explored, and the intricacies of the world Sagara has created are examined in more depth than in previous books, but I found myself thinking that I needed to reread the previous books at several points.

Kaylin is a compelling heroin because she is flawed, and fully aware of it. Everyone she encounters is aware of her flaws. Too often in recent works a characters flaws are over done as a means of making the character 'endearing' (a la Meyer's Bella), but Sagara manages to make Kaylin compelling without being obnoxious. Kaylin knows she is unreasonable, but she is young and compelled by loyalties she doesn't even fully understand, she gets in over her head and does her best with what she's got. More importantly, though, she's willing to deal with the consequences of her actions.

Bravo to Sagara for making this middle book a totally worthwhile, compelling and enjoyable read.

This book is about the Leontines, their culture, history, how they fit into Kaylin's life and how she interacts with them -- and of course the usual end-of-the-world scenario where Kaylin typically saves the day. That's it. There's no plot resolution of any kind. No character development, no budding romance, pretty much nothing of interest except the Leontines. To be honest, I was bitterly disappointed by this. Yes, Ms. Sagara's expansion on her world building was great, her take on the Leontines was original and interesting...but that's it? That's all??? This is the fourth book in the series!! I guess I was just expecting there to be MORE.

Problems with this book:

1.) Kaylin, as a character, does not seem to grow in any discernable way.
a.) Yes, she (shockingly) manages to keep her mouth shut a few times so as not to be summarily ejected from the Hawks, but ONLY a few times. She still opens her mouth at inopportune moments and lets slip important info because she can't keep her mouth shut. She still has no brain-to-mouth filter and still believes tact and diplomacy don't apply to HER, but are things that OTHER people do.

b.) She still remains ignorant and is content to exist that way and does not bestir herself to remedy her ignorance unless her life, or another's, is in immediate peril. You would think from the previous novels where her lack of knowledge has almost caused her to die, and others with her, that she would be motivated to learn more about her world. Kaylin has practically been raised by Marcus Kassan's wives, has been adopted into his Pridelea, and yet never once in all that time did she think to ask anything about Leontine history? Cultural practices???? Leontine Laws?? Honestly, this is getting a little tiring. She didn't think to ask about the Barrani, the Tha'alani, and now the Leontines...it just makes me want to slap her upside the head and yell "pick up a book already!! do some research for once and just maybe you wouldn't find yourself in these dicey situations!!"

2.) Ms. Sagara has a tendency to ignore her wonderful secondary characters. Tain and Teela make almost no appearance in this book. Neither does the Lord of the High Court, or the Lord of the West Marches. Nightshade only has two small (but admittedly important) scenes that don't occur until the last quarter of the book. Andellen and the Hawklord make a nominal appearance. I understand that this book is meant to deal with the Leontines, but I don't think that excuses excluding other great characters that we've seen.

3.) There is no romance of any kind. Admittedly I would prefer to see Kaylin end up with Nightshade (not Severn because he's too bland and definitely too much like a brother), but really any love interest would be good at this point since its the fourth novel and there's no romantic tension. Also, we still have no idea about her mysterious "erenne" status with Nightshade, what it means and what it entails.

4.) We still don't know much about Kaylin and her magic. In this novel she "sees" Words as they are being spoken, but that's not a big revelation since she "saw" the word hanging around the dead dragon's neck in the last novel. I get it. Its all about the ancient Words. She has them written on her body, she sees them when no one else does, she can even speak them. She "tells" people their story as part of her magic. But how and why remains an unanswered mystery. Incidentally, I found it beyond incredible that Kaylin mid-way through the plot suddenly realizes that she knows the True Name of the Outcaste Dragon, has in fact known all this time, and then does nothing with this knowledge.


This is not a bad book, don't get me wrong, it just does not really advance the series plotwise. In fact there seems to be no end in sight. The heroine remains essentially the same (possessing no tact, ignorant of things it seems EVERYONE else knows, and generally is obnoxious). It appears, at least in my opinion, that the series is stagnating, focusing too much on each individual race and not enough on the characters themselves. Its becoming just a little too formulaic. Its always about one race, their history and culture, and how Kaylin thinks/interacts with them. There's always a doomsday scenario. There's always a child's life in danger that Kaylin desperately tries to save..etc...If the formula holds true then the next book will be about the Aerians with another endangered child and another everyone-is-going-to-die-horribly situation. I sincerely hope this is not the case. That there will be some deviations from this formula in the next book, hopefully, a conclusion that will wrap up all the loose ends. I will buy the next book simply because, having read all four books, I must know how this series ends. I just hope the plot moves along a little bit faster.

I did enjoy this book and thought it was a very interesting read. However, there were some very important elements that I felt were lacking.

PROS:

1) The story was very interesting and I enjoyed learning more about the culture and origins of the Leontine race. I love the world this series is set in and always enjoy learning more about it.

2) Kaylin displays more maturity than previous novels. This impression may exist only because for once her childhood was barely, if ever, mentioned. It helps a lot. The fact that she had to be polite (and was able to be) for only short periods of time also helped.

3) Most of my favorite characters had at least some part in the story. It may have been a very very small part, but at least bringing them out gave me happy feelings as I remembered back to previous books when they appeared.

CONS:

1) This book doesn't have any of the internal conflict that the previous three had. I felt this was what made those books great and this one really lacked that. Kaylin was in the middle of a crisis again, but this crisis required her to fight against all external forces. She basically had to get others to go along with what she already wanted instead of having to come to terms with any of her past or own faults.

The first three books challenged the characters and this one just seemed like another save the world day. It didn't have the emotional tug as others (even though kids were once again involved). Without these internal conflicts & challenges the book just doesn't stand out as much as the others.

2) Not only did Kaylin not have any internal conflicts to resolve, but there didn't seem to be a single character who grew or developed. We learned a little bit more about some, but only easily found out facts such as their family or a little history.

It was nothing like we had with the Barrani or the Tha'alani in previous novels. In the previous novels the Castelords of both of these races were well developed and I got attached to both of them. There were also quite a few other Barrani I liked and felt were developed very well. In this latest book there wasn't anyone who stood out. The wives almost did but not nearly enough for me.

3) More Lord Nightshade please!! Ever since the first book Lord Nightshade has been my favorite character. Sadly it seems each book he gets more and more phased out. I keep expecting and hoping the mysteries and loose ends with him will be addressed at the very least. His only appearance here is a couple of lines of foreshadowing and helping out for a brief time. At the very end it almost seems like he's going to come back into importance but it didn't happen.

The only element of romance I really feel in this novel is with Lord Nightshade (Severn is too brotherly for me to feel romance). I don't need tons of romance, but I would like some. Even if it's not involving Lord Nightshade, though I'm sure he'd try to interfere, any romance would be welcome here. I think after four books Kaylin needs to reach the point where she's ready for romance.

In summary, I thought this book did a good job on building the world and culture for the series but did little for the characters. If someone skipped this book entirely I don't think it would be noticeable in the next novel. That hasn't been true in previous novels since there was so much character development before. It was still enjoyable, though, so there's no reason to skip it.

For a long time I had anticipated the release of Lucasarts' new game, "The Force Unleashed." Ironically enough, I have yet to play any more than the demo, but ran out and purchased this novel and the companion graphic novel as well. Although the events laid out in literary form are indeed pivotal to the rest of the saga, they are related in a bland and distanced narrative. The characters themselves have promise, but their motives and choices are somewhat confusing and unbelievable. The 'tell it like it is' style of writing here is perhaps on par with a junior novel adaptation of a film, made all the worse by the fact that it covers the events of a video game. One can clearly pick out the "boss fights" as they would exist in the game and each chapter seems to cover a "level," as Starkiller hops from world to world. It's a format that's uninspired and sometimes downright frustrating.

For hardcore fans (like myself) you'll probably read it anyway, but for someone new to the Star Wars literary universe, pass it over and go for something along the lines of one of the Timothy Zahn novels (i.e. Heir to the Empire).

I liked the story a great deal. The book like the game is a bit short, I completed reading it in around three days of causal reading. It held my attention for sure. The pace of the book is very fast, I liked the fact that Williams didn't let it distort story or maybe the action was the story. Overall I'd give it a 4.5 stars but it didn't see an option for it.

My husband really liked this book. He said it was a good book to read and was well put together.

This book had huge potential but was completely ruined by the lack of accurate information. Maybe I'm just too much of a fan, but there are some serious contradictions to the already established Expanded Universe storyline. I feel like the creators of this story either didn't do any research or didn't care about the story thus far. I don't recommend this book to any of the bigger fans of Star Wars. I think the author made a decent attempt at writing a novel based off such a over the top video game, but the misinformation was too much for me.

If you haven't read the book and you want to, the rest of this review might spoil a little bit of the story so look away!

I won't go into much, but here are a few things I had problems with. Jedi Master Shaak Ti was killed in Episode III in every form of it. The deleted scene in the movie, the novel, even LEGO Star Wars. I did hear somewhere that the game creators just wanted to use her so they decided to overlook that small detail. Vader's helmet has red lenses. The book mentions how they are black. I know that this is a very small detail, and maybe I'm wrong about the Episode III Vader. But he I know he has red lenses in the original trilogy. At one point his helmet gets knocked off during a fight. He can't breathe without his helmet and In Shadows of the Empire he just gets to the point where he can breathe without it for 2 minutes of meditation. Meditation... Not during a lightsaber fight. The rebel leaders get rounded up and put on the Death Star and escape. The Radio Drama and the Han Solo trilogy by A.C. Crispin have already told us a little about how the rebellion was formed and how it found out about the Death Star. This was not it. Completely different. Plus, if Vader and the Emperor already knew who the rebellion leaders were, then why did they let them live after the events of this book?

I know this sounds a little picky of me, and some of my examples weren't very well written out or they weren't that important. But the contradictions just kept adding up and getting bigger and bigger until this video game based book became unbearable. So maybe this book is just better for the casual fan, and not the big Star Wars fan like me.

As much as I love Star Wars, I can't recommend this book. First, the main character, Starkiller seems too powerful. I don't believe at any time he even broke a sweat going against any non force user. I mean I know the Jedi/Sith are very strong, but come on! He performed stunts I don't think even Yoda could do on a good day!

Also, the books are supposed to harmonize. From my understanding, the Rebellion had its initial beginnings long before the time this book seems to make it (in the old Han Solo triliogy, the Rebels already had a small number of ships, and were trying to come together into an alliance.) In this book, it seems as if Starkiller did a few things that spanked the empire, and Bail Organa said, "that's cool-maybe we can rebel too!" It just seemed very unbelievable to me.

Another gripe I have with this book is that it seems to have no real idea how to make characters. I mean take the second Jedi that Starkiller went after. If you are in hiding from a galactic government that is eager to kill all Jedi, would you build a mock Jedi temple on a planet filled with scavenging scum who would sell information condemning their own mother for 2 credits? And, yes, he was obviously...unhinged, but I don't believe that explanation holds water for someone who has had the mental disciplines to be a Jedi anyway.

The only redemptive qualities of the book in my opinion are the droid Proxy (the idea of the holograms was cool!) and the Jedi Rahm Kota. His personality and fleshed-out characterization was interesting.

Another thing, why would Starkiller need a pilot? Darth Maul traveled alone, Vader can pilot a starfighter, and so it seems can any trained person. Wouldn't having another person knowing of a secret apprentice be a bad thing?

I'm sorry, but to me there are just too many plot holes for me to put this as part of Star Wars canon in my mind (like how if Bail Organa was already known as a rebel, why did Leia try to bluff her way with Vader at the beginning of a New Hope-the list goes on and on)

Brought to the muggle world for the first time, these two school books bring the reader one step closer to the world of Hogwarts and provide additional information not found in the beloved series. "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" is a replica of Harry Potter's own school book and includes his scribbles in the margins as well as those of Ron and Hermione. This book reads a little like an encyclopedia with entries for many of the magical creatures met during the series as well as some that are not included. "Quidditch Through the Ages" is taken straight from the Hogwarts library and includes a list at the beginning of those who have checked it out over the years. This book provides a history of the sport, how it began and evolved. If you ever wondered where the golden snitch came from, this slim book provides all of the answers.

Both books are quick and easy reads that provide a great supplement for the avid Harry Potter fan. Rich with information, they are relatively inexpensive; binding is cardboard, but some effort is made to make them appear more authentic. Introductions by Professor Dumbledore, fantastic sketched by JK Rowling, and commentary from the trio make these books a treasure. If you needed any further inspiration to purchase these books, proceeds benefit Comic Relief, an organization that helps disadvantaged children throughout the world.

I purchased this set to satisfy my curiosity and am not disappointed. The books are easy to read and add to my Potter collection nicely. They provide a little of the backstory I was looking for.

This set would be a great gift for any Potter fan.

Ordered this as a birthday present for my sister. Didn't realize how quick it would come. She got her present almost a week early and was thrilled.

These are wonderful little books that are excellent fillers for your Harry Potter fix while contributing to a great cause. These will fill in some gaps concerning magical creatures and quiddich. I love the introductions by Dumbledore and the comments made by Ron, Harry, and Hermione in the magical creatures book. The quiddich book even has a list of names from previous students who checked it out, many of which are familiar. I was once again amazed by the limitless imagination of J.K. Rowling and her magical world. If you like the Harry Potter books you cannot go wrong with these!

Just what I needed to complete my collection!
Beautiful binding. The box could use a little more work, but the books are just great.

I very much enjoyed this book. I am 29 but these books give me my Disney fix. Maybe for the next book EPCOT?

This is a great series for Disney fanatics young and old. Disney at Dawn is a fun read, and it is exciting to see the references to rides, shows, and even a hotel at Walt Disney World. It brings back happy memmories of Disney vacations with my family. Most of the action in Disney at Dawn takes place in the Animal Kingdom instead of the Magic Kingdom.

Enjoyed the book. With the way this one ends, sounds like more books could be in the works. I know it's called Kingdom Keepers, but I would like Epcot and Hollywood Studios to have their own books too. Hey, even a book about Downtown Disney could be fun.

This book only added to the wonderful story of the Orginal Kingdom Keepers. I read it cover to cover in one day and loved ever minute of it!!!

A must read!!!

Having been a Disney cast member for many years, I read Kingdom Keepers: Disney After Dark, and now it's sequel Kingdom Keepers II: Disney at Dawn with great interest. Both offer a fun read for kids and adults alike. With "Disney at Dawn," author Ridley Pearson has continued his story of the Kingdom Keepers, a group of school children who originally modeled for the fictional holographic Interactive Host Program at Disney's Magic Kingdom but who now find themselves the unofficial protectors of Disney. In the original story, the kids are magically transported into the Magic Kingdom at night while they're asleep. Their mission - to find out who is behind the mysterious goings on in the park after dark. Animatronic figures are roaming the parks and Disney characters have come alive, including the villians. Now, in the sequel, the kids again find themselves in the park; this time in Disney's Animal Kingdom. They must delve deeper into the mystery of the Overtakers, to find out which super villian is really in charge and what horrible scheme the villians have in mind. Fans of Disney, especially cast members past and present, will enjoy the refereneces to familiar locations and settings. Sure, there are some glaring errors (Ridley, it's Fantasmic, not the fantasmics) and some lesser errors that only cast members will appreciate (there are some interesting assumptions concerning ride operation and cast member IDs for example) but it is a work of fiction, so those mistakes offer an additional element of interest for those of us who work in the industry. I strongly recommend this series as a wonderful read for all ages. With page-turning actions, humorous dialogue, and engaging characters, it's a fun addition to any library!

Woo another awesome instalment of the Change Series. If you love Alternative History and Action and Great World Building visit the Changeverse!

SINCE IT IS AN ADVENTURE SCIENCE FICTION BOOK, THE HEROES WILL ALWAYS PERSEVERE AGAINST GREAT ODDS AND AT THE END WILL REACH THEIR GOALS. WHAT MORE CAN A READER WANT ?. MR. STIRLING IS AN EXCELLENT WRITER IN THIS ESCAPIST GENRE.

I am a great fan of S M Stirling but he has fallen into the same trap as George R R Martin and Robert Jordan. The Nantucket series ran to three books and was not a page too long. This series is on its FIFTH book and the hero has reached Indiana on his cross country trek. In Martin's case it has become so ridiculous that I have stopped reading him. Stirling is still worth reading, barely, but needs a good editor to rein in some of his purple prose and get the series moving.

I've read all of Stirling's Nantucket and Portland story cycle. After Nantucket came to a (temporary?) ending, I was glad to see what happened to the rest of us.

I was kinda wondering where the Portland series was headed, and now it's clear that the story has to embrace the mystic. We have yet to discover what malign influence is driving the Cutters, but it's 'way more than a cult.

Stirling is painting a very plausible picture of de-civilization of North America, and has done well so far, balancing the SF with the spiritual. His characters are well constructed, and they're constantly surprising the reader with new facets.

I can hardly wait for the next, oh, four or five books that should round out the series...

From chapter nine:
"Long tables were set out buffet-style, with chefs in white hats waiting to carve the roasts and hams; whole yearling steers and pigs and lamb roasted over firepits behind them, the attendants slathering them with fiery sauce wielding their long-handled brushes like the forks of devils in the Christian hell."

The writing is flowery, with long, complex sentences hiding much ado about little, as our heroes, who call themselves such, make their way, mostly on horseback, across a vast continent once peopled by a homogeneous citizenry, but now inhabited by cannibals, remnants calling themselves the United States government, local dictators, religious fanatics, devils and gods.

That's enough of that. This series started, years ago in real time, as science fiction. It is now irretrievably fantasy. Or if it's not, the author has me completely fooled. The protagonists are on their way to Nantucket Island (remember that original series?) and, at the rate they are going based on the map in the front of the book, there are at least one or two more travelogs masquerading as novels to go before they get there. And then they have to find their way back.

Sterling's imagination is almost without living peer, I'll give him that, but things used to happen in his novels.