Ron Perlman Books

Williams is best known for sprawling multi-volume SF and Fantasy sagas, but here has written a very brief work of only 200 pages that is quite successful. (It's amusing that even at this brief length, Williams still feels a bit wordy. This very short book has a few passages that could have been cut with no real loss.) Caliban has, many years later, finally found his way off the island where Prospero left him and, cheated of revenge by Prospero's death, has instead sought out Miranda to tell his story to, after which he intends to kill her.

From this device, Williams gives another perspective on the events of 'The Tempest', as well as the earlier story of Caliban and Sycorax arriving on the island, Caliban's life alone after the death of Sycorax, and Caliban's early encounters with Prospero and Miranda. The story is nicely told, with language that feels appropriate to the character. This is a Caliban who does indeed know how to curse, but also how to explain why his curses are justified by what he sees as betrayal from both Prospero and Miranda.

The ending is a bit weak, with a clever, but not really persuasive, device used to prevent the promised final and fatal confrontation. The book is still, overall, a genuine pleasure to read.

The audio version of Tad William's book as narrated by Ron Perlman (of television's "Beauty and the Beast") is absolutely wonderful. The tale is told, for the most part, in Cailban's "voice." Ron Perlman gives Caliban the same sort of realism and pathos that he gave to his television role. William's Caliban, however, is no "Vincent." He has his own agenda to fulfill with Prospero's daughter 20 years after she has left the island. Mr. Perlman's voice is mezmerizing and he gives Caliban the perfect voice with which to tell his tale.

This is my first Tad Williams novel, and I have to say that I'm pretty impressed. When my friend thrust this slim volume into my hands, I confess, I had my doubts. Not another entry in the "two-sides-to-every-story" genre. I have to admit that there are some very good novels that fall into this category -- Rys's Wide Sargasso Sea and Maguire's Wicked, to name two -- but there are some very bad novels that fall into this category as well. Caliban's Hour, I'm happy to say, falls into the former category.

Particularly impressive is the way Williams managed to catch the cadences of Shakespeare's Caliban. I had recently finished teaching Shakespeare's The Tempest in a World Literature class prior to picking up this novel, so Shakespeare's Caliban was fresh in my mind. While Williams has a decidedly different approach to the character of Caliban (and, indeed, Ariel), he captures the rhythm and poetry of Shakespeare's character.

At the beginning of Williams's tale, Caliban is a character bent on revenge, and the object of his vengeance is Miranda. It soon becomes clear, however, that what Caliban really wants is a chance to tell his side of the story, to make Miranda understand him. Over the course of one night, he unfolds the story of his life on the island, beginning with his life with Sycorax, his mother, and culminating in the irrevocable changing of his life with the coming of Prospero and Miranda.

True to Caliban's promise that his story will only take one evening, this novel can, indeed, be read in one evening. It's short -- 201 pages -- and the story is compelling enough to keep you turning pages until the story is complete. It does, however, take more than one hour to read!

Caliban's Hour is a well-written, moving, and ultimately magical re-writing of _The Tempest_ (in the same basic genre as R+G Are Dead and Grendal). Like many of us (or at least like me), Williams read Shakespeare's play and found himself most attracted to Caliban, the "savage" native who's love for Miranda is brutally refused and who is generally mistreated by Prospero et al. So he decided to re-tell the story from Caliban's point of view, adding in some key background (like scenes with Cicatrix, C's mom) and, of course, the present-day "sequel" elements which make up the book's action. And it works! William's Caliban, like Gardner's Grendal, is an epic, tragic, wonderful character whose story cannot help but enthrall and move. The prose is top-notch (no suprise for anyone familiar with Williams' other works). The debt to Shakespeare, while obvious and intentional, is not over-played, as Williams clearly stakes out his own ground apart from the master. And the ending is both surprising and awesome! All in all, this is one of the better, most underread and -rated books of the last ten years. For anyone who loved Tailchaster, MS&T, or Otherland, anyone who loves Shakespeare, and anyone who appreciates classic literature that reinterprets classic literature, Caliban's Hour is a must read.

Fast shipping and delivery. It's not what i was expecting, but was pleasantly suprised anyway. Thanx.

I could never understand why this film flopped. I saw it opening weekend in the theater and it was packed. Everyone there was really into it. I went back twice more while it was in the theater, and while it was never as full, most of the seats were occupied. And people were just as enthusiastic. It is still great at home, although not as fun. The music expresses what simple words couldn't, it sets the mood. I wouldn't sit around and listen to it away from the movie, but it works. It's really too bad that fox animation went under. I hate the way that Disney "disnifies" every film they get their hands on, and it would have been nice for them to have some competition.

I saw this movie in theater, obviously it's cool.
But wondering, the story in the video seem like... it had a little bit different over the movie in theater although when I search in deleted scene, that missing scene had never found.

My sons and I love this movie, so do the neighbor kids.
It's got a great story, wonderful characters, and impressive
graphics. It'll be in our Sci-Fi movie collection for years
to come.

I've seen where people put this movie down a lot but let me tell you I really enjoyed it. If your one of those people who likes to sit back and pick apart a plot, then any movie is hard pressed to make you happy. If you let yourself be immersed in the universe this movie takes place in, you'll really enjoy it. I am a big fan of the post apocalypse genre and this movie is a refreshing new take on it. I'm not going to give you a synopsis of the movie but it is a good epic space opera worth seeing.

I happened across this book by chance. I had no idea that Stine had done an adult book. I had been a huge fan of his book since I was 12 and had read most of them. I of course had to read this one. It was pretty good although the plot was predictable. There were some suprises though. I highly reccomend this book to any Stine fan.

Maybe I opened this book with too high of expectations. I love the Fear Street series, have since I was a kid. I may have a BA in English, bu I still love to read these during TV comerials and smoke breaks. Anyways, to make a too long story short, I HATED this book. I didn't connect with any of the characters, and the plot left too many gaping holes. Also, while trying to please "adults" Stine left all of his charm on the cutting room floor. I only spent .50 on this at a garage sale, yet I still feel I was ripped off. The only reason I gave this terrible book 2 stars is beacause the idea was original, and I still love the Fear St. books.

When I first read this book I thought it was awesome. I loved the Fear Street series and jumped to the chance to read an "adult novel" by R.L. Stine. But I was also 10 years old at the time and a little above my age level. I'm now 23 and just bought it again, for less that $1, to see hoe it really is for a grown-up.

This book is typical R. L. Stine but with a little more gore and sex because it was written for an adult audience. The plot was too predictable, and you would have to be pretty dense to not pick up who the murderer was. The reason said murdered was committing these crimes is pretty ridiculous, but I will give Stine props for the last chapter's cliffhanger. That scene was well done.

Stine has written a few more recent adult books that were great ("The Babysitter" and "Eye Candy"), but this book was really a mess. I think for hardcore Stine fans, this book will probably be alright, but anyone else will see this book as a cheap knockoff of Dean Koontz or Stephen King. My best advice: Go in with low expectations.

This is an outstanding book. This is a horror/
slasher/mystery type book. Definitely very gripping.


This book is about the lives of Professor
Liam O' Conner and one of his students Sara.
They fall in love and get married. But Liam's
obsession with superstitions are driving Sara crazy.
But when she starts getting phone calls warning
her about Liam she ignores them. But when the
murders start up and Liam knows all the victims,
Sara starts to worry.


This is definitely not for younger readers
it was written for adults but I being a seventh grader
still liked it.

I've read a lot of suspense novels over the years. They tend to fall into three categories for me. On the one hand, you have those books you can't put down, well-written, entertaining, and intelligent. Second, you have those that are for one reason or another forgettable: ham-handed politics, poor plotting, lousy writing, etc. Then there are the ones in the middle: not particularly bad, but on the other hand nothing really to recommend them either. The Fourth Perimeter definitely fits into that category.

Kurt Ford is a former Secret Service agent. He left the agency, and founded a hi-tech security firm, and has made a few billion dollars running it. Now his son, following in his footsteps, has become a Secret Service agent too, and as the book opens the author shows you how a woman and her accomplices fake the suicide of Kurt's son, murdering him. You're unsure why.

Kurt, of course, is certain that his son didn't commit suicide, the way many parents are: he had no reason, he was cheerful, etc. He goes on a quest, first to figure out why someone would want his son dead, and then for vengeance once he begins to figure things out. It's a bit more complicated than this, but once you get started with the book it will all be fairly obvious.

I didn't hate this book. I also didn't like it much. There's a dead spot in the middle where Kurt "works" in his office all day, and yells at his fiance if she interrupts him. Neither the plot or the dialog is particularly interesting or intelligent. It's an alright book, but there have been many better.

What flashes through your mind when you hear the term "Secret Service?" I'm sure you don't think of the unobtrusive way that the waiter refills your water glass at your favorite upper-crust restaurant. No, the Secret Service handles a lot of different things, but the biggie is the protection of the President of the United States. The immediate image that pops up is a bunch of big guys in nice suits and serious sunglasses, all of them flanking POTUS and looking grimly in different directions. It's not an act; no one wants another Dallas on their watch. The agents clustered around POTUS constitute the Fourth Perimeter; there is no fifth. Four is as close as it gets and no one is supposed to breach that. So what happens when a former Secret Service agent, someone who has been there and knows all the precautions and all the preparations, decides to kill the President? One answer is provided in THE FOURTH PERIMETER, the latest novel by Tim Green.

Kurt Ford is the ex-Secret Service agent who is driven to breach the Fourth Perimeter. His motivation is nothing less than heated, single-minded revenge. Ford, a retired agent turned successful technology entrepreneur, rules a perfect world with more money than he could ever reasonably spend, an intelligent and beautiful wife-to-be who is successful in her own right and an adult son who is building his own successful career in the Secret Service. Ford's perfect world is shattered, however, when his son is found dead in bed, a victim of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. The official explanation is that young Ford committed suicide, but his father refuses to believe that and begins a relentless hunt for justice for his son. When he is told by an unimpeachable source that his son was murdered at the behest of the President, Ford's only focus is on bringing the most powerful man in the world to rough and personal justice.

He begins to meticulously plan his revenge, with his biggest problem being how to breach the Fourth Perimeter. He finally hits upon a brilliant scheme: rather than invading it, Ford will build it around himself. Ford slowly and carefully constructs every detail of his plan --- meeting the President, executing his plan and the man, as well as his escape. It seems as if the plan cannot fail. But a number of pitfalls and surprises await Ford as he rushes headlong to his fateful, carefully planned meeting with the President.

Green continues to hone his craft well, bringing together elements of suspense and thorough research to create readable and enjoyable novels with tales that are grounded in the real world. He will continue to bear watching --- and reading.

Sounded like it would be good but dragged on forever and had little action..........Not hard to figure the bad guy early.........This was my first read of this author and I'll give him another chance........This one just didn't bring much to the table though..........

The copy of this book I read was printed on nice paper. The paper has far more substance than any of the characters in this book (they scarcely merit the name `characters'; shadows, silhouettes, paper cutouts). They just don't come across as real people. The author cavorts with their personalities as if he were yanking marionettes to be pulled in any which way. The lead character, Kurt Ford, had a gift `with people. He could read them.' Then we are told that Ford also did not feel comfortable chatting with people. Sorry, doesn't work that way. Jill is a totally unbelievable mass of wet clay who flows into whatever shape the author's whim requires. Jeremiah may weigh three hundred pounds, but he is entirely unsubstantial.

The dialogue is wooden and contrived. Here is a genuine quote from page 3, I swear I did not make this up: "My God, I love you so much," he said with quiet urgency.... "Oh, I love you too," she said fervently. "Kurt, I love you so much." The author must have toiled for hours on that exchange, tightening up the sentences and twiddling with the rhythms.

After that turgid passage, I kept reading mainly to see how badly the author could write. I was not disappointed. The plot has even less depth than the characters or the dialogue. An internet tax? There is no reasonable explanation for the bad guy's murdering the other two Secret Service agents, other than a feeble attempt to build suspense. Is the Secret Service so dense that nobody would remark on the death of three agents?

I was originally going to give this two stars for effort, but demoted him to one when the bad guy convinces two nasties to assassinate the President on the grounds that the President was preparing to sell military and intelligence secrets to the Chinese. Those nasties may have watermelons instead of brains, but if that's the best Green can do, he had really better keep his daytime job.

This is a good book, not a great one. The author greatfully acknowledges the help of former Secret Service agent Larry Newman (of "The Dark Side Of Camelot" fame).
Vince Palamara-JFK/ Secret Service expert (History Channel, author of two books, in over 30 other author's books, etc.)
Pittsburgh, PA

BEST JFK ASSASSINATION BOOK: ULTIMATE SACRIFICE
BEST JFK SECRET SERVICE BOOK: SURVIVOR'S GUILT BY YOURS TRULY :)