Marina Sirtis Books

Surreal romance, Philately, amazingly beautiful postcards and a page turner. This is a beautiful gift for your self or someone else. I have all books and the post-cards. Sorry the series ended

Griffin and Sabine are located on opposite ends of the earth -- Griffin is a lonely artist in England, while Sabine is a mysterious native of the elusive Sicmon Island chain in the South Pacific. Somehow, these two unique souls manage to find one another via a postal correspondence, and it is this correspondence back and forth which comprises the Griffin and Sabine books. Griffin and Sabine come to realize very quickly that their lives are inextricably bound up with one another, and that their coming together, face to face, is of utmost importance, not only for their own sanity, but possibly for the fate of the very world. Unfortunately, meeting face to face is more difficult than each of them could ever have imagined, and their quest to reach out to one another in a world of smoke and mirrors forms the backbone of these books.

I have loved these books since I first read them several years ago, and I keep coming back to them and rereading them over and over. They are truly able to transport you from Sabines sun-drenched paradaisical island home, to Griffin's rain-soaked isolation, and into other realms that are far less easy to describe. Excellently wrought and wonderfully creative, I encourage anyone with an imagination to read this trilogy: "Griffin and Sabine," "Sabine's Notebook," and finally, "The Golden Mean."

Words can not describe what Nick Bantcock has combined with pictures and postcards. He actually pulls you in as you must open envelopes to read the ongoing correspondence. Buy a bottle of wine, build a fire and join your significant other for a journey that will not leave you disapointed.

Reading this book is an exciting experience to read correspondence between two people who seem to touch ones life. Reading this truly does make one want to revifve the lost are of the letter. I can't wait toread the next one in the series.

SABINE'S NOTEBOOK is the second volume of Nick Bantock's trilogy that begins with GRIFFIN AND SABINE and ends with THE GOLDEN MEAN. It continues the correspondence between London artist Griffin Moss and South Seas incubus Sabine Strohem. It's a visually tantalizing book, containing actual envelopes glued to the pages with actual letters inside that can be taken out and read.

By the beginning of SABINE'S NOTEBOOK it has become clear that Sabine is merely a creation of Griffin's imagination. Griffin has received Sabine's notice that she is coming to London (on a card with no stamps...) but afraid of meeting his own hallucination he flees to Ireland, beginning a trip that will take him around the world. The notebook of the title is Sabine's record of Griffin's correspondence as she waits in his house in London awaiting his return. The connection of the story to W.B. Yeat's poem "The Second Coming" becomes much more tangible and a direct quote from the poem brings this volume of the trilogy to a finish.

Like the first book, SABINE'S NOTEBOOK is second-rate literature. Nonetheless, it is still an interesting novelty that is worth reading even though it's really Bantock's amazing images that matter. Considering that one can read the entire trilogy in about half an hour, these books aren't an undue demand on one's time. I tend to believe a young-adult audience would appreciate this books best, as I read the trilogy when I was a teenager and found them much more captivating then I did on a recent rereading.

Lieutenant Nancy Coy serves the Amalgamation, a league of planets threatened by the Consortium. When the planet Quatro Cinco is attacked, Lieutenant Coy is assigned to Kurk Manly, a once famous starship pilot who has become a hopeless drunk. It's up to Lieutenant Coy and Kurk Manly to somehow overcome sinister plots, deadly space battles, and even their own military hierarchy to save the planet and preserve the Amalgamation. Marina Sirtis and the members of the Radio Repertory cast perform wonderfully to provide a thrilling, very highly recommended, science fiction adventure that is heavily laced throughout with humor, action, music and sound effects.

"This audio has it all---Large Multi-cast with a couple of big name stars, Humor, Action, Adventure, and a fast pace SF script" Bennet Pomerantz,AUDIOWORLD

An awesome experience in audio. You can see the entire story unfold before you... with your eyes closed! The originality of the whole thing from the characters to the sound is wonderful. The original score by Angelo Panetta is a treat for your ears. Don't miss it!!!

Awesome! This book is hilarious! From the wars of Quattro Quattro to captain Kirk Manly, this is a never ending laugh adventure! The robbery scene is hilarious. To hear Marina Sirtis (troy from star trek) is rather neat also.

i found these books to be great. very descriptive and worth reading agin. anne mccaffery is wonderful writer that deserves praise. works of art.

I have all three of these books and can only hope that there will be more. Once again we are taken into yet another realm of fantasy by one of the genre's most skilled & talented authors.

I'm a great fan of McCaffery, and I like this series second behind the Dragonriders. Marina Sirtis reads it well, a bit hypnotically in spots. I can't tell if its abridged or not. These tapes are great in the car. They keep the kids quiet even on short runs.

This book is one where you must first suspend a little of your reality disbelief before you read it. It is a purported postal correspondence between two entities, the male Griffin and the female Sabine. The correspondence is initiated via a simple postcard to Griffin in England from Sabine in the South Pacific. The initial message puzzles Griffin, as Sabine knows things that no one should know and Griffin has no memory of her.
Sabine responds with a message that she has been watching his art for years, giving some vague explanation of a phenomenon that allows her to see him. The correspondence continues and is more extensive, the book contains envelopes with detailed letters in them. Griffin eventually ends the correspondence, claiming that it has become too intense and he believes that Sabine was just a mental invention of his because he so longed for a friend.
The artwork in combination with an original story creates an unusual book that strains the imagination while simultaneously stretching it.

The other reviewers have done a fine job discussing the content so I won't regurgitate that. But, this interesting book and its subsequent volumes are the bread and butter of any voyeur who likes to watch and think about the actions that are unfolding while staying a safe distance away. The details of the story are fleshed out nicely in little bits and pieces that you ascertain while reading the letters and postcards and as one reads it you discover just how sophisticated the characters truly are.

Being a scholar of film, I admit that the voyeur comes with the territory but these books take that to an entirely new level and as an owner of the entire series, whenever I find myself feeling worn out by the insipid storytelling that seems so typical of current literature (both written and televisual), I turn to these texts and feel mentally, and even somewhat spiritually refreshed.

I discovered this book years ago and often give it as a gift; now I've discovered that it teaches well too. This mythic love story combines romance, mystery, fantasy, and art while making voyeurs of us all. My reluctant readers -- at-risk high school students -- find the story compelling, the art intriguing, and the open envelopes tantalizing. There's lots to discuss and write about, and the artwork just makes the classroom experience that much richer. The students remained involved from beginning to end, and once we finished the first book, they demanded to read the next two. Griffin and Sabine gets them reading and seeing the world in different ways.

To pick up and open this book is to immerse yourself in a private world of communications between two people who have never met each other. Communications? Yes. There is the written communication and visual communication which we can read and see, and also a level of apparent telepathic communication which seems to increase during the course of the book.

The book itself must have been a challenge for the printer. It involves a mixture of postcards and letters. The letters are enveloped so that the experience of taking the letter from the envelope, reading it and replacing it makes the reader very much a participant in the experience.

There isn't much written story, but there doesn't need to be. Postcards and short letters are essentially point in time observations or one way communications. What makes this little book so enjoyable is its presentation and its involvement of the adult reader in an essentially tactile experience.

This review is dedicated to my friend Linda, who by drawing this book to my attention, reminded me that books are not just about the written word.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

Sometimes it seems true that "there is no new thing under the sun," but once in a while something truly original comes our way. Griffin & Sabine. An Extraordinary Correspondence is one of those books that restores your faith in creativity.

Their souls are joined by a mysterious connection -- Sabine, a stamp designer raised on a South Pacific island and carrying on her father's exploration of the natural world; Griffin, a lonely London post card artist struggling to find relief for his ailing soul. How does Sabine find him, how does she SEE his work as if with her very own eyes? What can come of their love story? Is their correspondence enough?

Author-illustrator Nick Bantock reveals the story in letters and postcards. Griffin's drawings are angular "realism with a twist" while Sabine takes elements of nature and embellishes them. The envelopes are fixed to the page with typed or lettered pages tucked inside, giving the reader a sense of participation in unfolding the letters to read them. The art and design concept are the real story here, though the small amount of text carries complex, well-expressed feelings.

If you have shelf space for wonderful artwork and an evocative little love story, then this book is for you; I'll be getting my hands on the sequels to read more of the story. Five stars for beauty and originality.

Linda Bulger, 2008

WOW what a story! Brian Smith could sell this as a short story by itself it is so good IMO. I just wish they sold a hard copy of these writings--not just audio! I have been reading Sci Fi for a long time. This guy is great! Reminds me of 2001, a space odyssey a bit. Worth the price just for this one folks! I noticed there are no other books by Brian Smith for sale on Amazon. What's up with that? He needs to write books, and Amazon needs to sell them--geez, do I make myself clear?

This tape is well done. The sound effects create an atmosphere that draws in the listener. The actors are dramatic, but not overly so. The short stories themselves are well written, delivering edge-of-the-chair suspense (or knee-slapping comedy, as the case may be).

As most net surfers are aware the Sci-Fi Channel's web site has included a section devoted to science fiction radio drama...Seeing Ear Theatre. One aspect of which includes originally produced productions cerated especially for the site and which has featured performances by many well-known SF actors as Micheal O'Hare,Mark Hamill,Marina Sirtis,and others. With a few exceptions, a lot of the dramas are based on recent short stories by SF writers such as Terry Bisson, Allen Steele, John Kessel and Gergory Benford. With the release of this audiobook editon(which includes introductions by SF's resident angry young{sic}man Harlan Ellison)now one can listen to these stories anytime you want. The best stories(IMO)are the Three Odd Comedies and The Death of Captain Future (which despite the pulpish-sounding title is a darkly humorous tale set in the future history of Steele's previous works such as Orbital Decay and Clarke County,Space). If you like audio drama-- especially newly produced audio drama...you'll love this collection and you may also want to check out Vol. 2 which should be on sale soon(I know I can't wait).

I have been a fan of Anne McCaffery for a lot of years, she never disappoints. She has left me hanging on the edge of my seat wondering what was next!

I liked this book, which was quite surprising since i never really liked science fiction before. im eager to read the next 2 books.

I have to hope that this book is mostly the work of Ms Scarborough, it would be sad to think that Anne McCaffrey's writing has descended to this level of shallow 'fantsay for teenagers'. The characters are poorly defined, and the whole book overlaid with a thick layer of fake Irishness. I half expected leprechauns to pop up on a toadstool somewhere, offering to lead people to pots of gold.

Considering the very believable and skillfully planned books that Anne McCaffrey is capable of (the early Pern books for example) this one looks like it was thrown together out at $0.0x per word. A pity.

The idea is beyond wonderful, I REALLY want to live on this planet McCaffrey and Scarborough have created. That being said I've worried about McCaffrey for some time as her books in recent years have... well... Let's just say she may feel in a hurry or something. Elizabeth has written other books alone, that I have found enjoyable, and own, so this can't be all or even mostly her fault. I do read this trilogy over and over, but a good bit of that time is spent with the book face down and me daydreaming. And oddly enough only those darn cats, the planet itself, and the large beaming medicine woman from the novels feature at all in my daydreams...

Alas, Ms. McCaffrey strikes again. Throughout her writing, she is plagued by....bad writing. Her ideas are wonderful, and if only properly executed, could make up wonderful books. Too bad that she, and this book in particular (the early Pern books were not so bad) is predictable, inconsistant and sloppy. She might care to try reading her books and noticing the number of things that change from page to page. This is particularly infuriating, as it should not be so difficult to avoid. Unfortunately, she appears not to have made this one small effort. In this book, there was a) no character development worth speaking of, b) no surprises or involving moments, and c) much that rang false and superficial. Not worth reading, except on a desert island.