Science Fiction and Fantasy Books

My daughter got a copy for her birthday and wasn't that intrigued, maybe because of the cover picture. But the story was absolutely wonderful and
having been to NYC made it even more special. We just bought a copy to give
a younger friend because we loved it so much. It is a wonderful tribute to the imagination and wonder in the simplest of lives. Very special for adults and children alike!

That's because I was given this book 64 years ago when I was six years old! (It was originally published in 1942.)I just looked it up on Amazon.com thinking I might find another used copy in better condition than mine and I find that Twig still lives on in the lives of a new generation of children!

The story is charming but it is the illustrations that make the story come alive. No credit is listed for an illustrator so perhaps the author did them herself? The drawings are mostly in black and white but a few are touched with color.

The story is that of Twig, a little girl who meets a tiny boy in her backyard. Through magic she shrinks down to size of the boy named Elf. Elf is actually a Brownie who has flown in on the back of a sparrow. Twig and Elf set up housekeeping in an upturned tomato can and furnish it with a table (a thimble and a bottle top,) a mirror (a shiny gum wrapper) and a broom (a feather). I have to say that not a lot happens in this book. No violence or bloodshed, and not even any enemies for Twig and Elf to fight. This is a gentle story and yet an enduring one.

Every household with children should have a copy of this book!

I read this book over 40 yeras ago and have never forgotten it. It drew me into a world of wonderment. I just obtained a new copy for myself as a grandma. I will read it again and again with my grandchildren. This author was magical!

This story was recommended to me by a Kindergarten teacher. A little girl's backyard comes to life with talking animals and fairies. The story is a pleasant look into our childhood imagination! Highly recommended for all!

My six year old daughter who loves all things magical but nothing scary, just loved this book. Her little face had an ear-to-ear grin when Twig became small and especially when the fairy queen appeared. The story works on many levels and led to a rather philosophical discussion about whether or not it was really a dream that Twig had. I highly recommend this book. It's a sweet story with basic, old-fashioned, comfortable characters.

This immediately became my daughter's favorite book. We read it everyday if not more than once a day. She love's it! Beautiful illustrations with a reassuring story for little ones.

I thought these were strange at first, but after more readings I love them. Some days it is fun to think that we can take a trip to the Bunny Planet! Their small size is fun for kids too. Even my 6 1/2 year old likes them -- in fact, they are best for kids 3 and up, I think.

I ordered this set of books for my girls, ages 4 and 5, last month. We had checked them out of our local library many times, so I knew they would like them. They absolutely love them! My 5 year old knows the words to "First Tomato" by heart, and I just love watching her "read" it. At first I was a little disappointed by the size, but actually the girls like them sized down so they can hold them better. The stories are absolutely beautiful, and they're the only books in poem form that my kids really enjoy. I think these stories teach kids that even when you're having a bad day where everything goes wrong, you can get through it by imagining yourself at a better place and time--a lesson that's good for adults as well!

I agree with the positive reviews above. I just want to add a note on genre. At the start of each book, when everything is going wrong for a young bunny, the story is in regular prose. For the second half of each book, when the bunny is transported to a land of peace and perfection, Wells converts to beautiful rhymed verse. While the content of the books might be best for 4-8 year olds, the poetry is so nice that any adult would find it a good read. The transition poem in the middle of each book uses a weak rhyme with "Janet," but beyond that, the latter halves of these three books belong in the children's lit Hall of Fame!

My daughter (3) and I love this book. We turn to it whenever our spirits need a lift. In fact, the other day she told her father that HE needed a trip to the Bunny Planet after he had reprimanded her. I am purchasing a set for my daughter's preschool library so that her schoolmates will also have the chance to go to the Bunny Planet and see "the day that should have been". Get the book and start a tradition.

Book is Awesome! The entire L.A. Banks series of the vampire huntress is awesome! I really recommend any of her books.

I have read all of LA Banks books in the VHL series and have loved each and every one of them, but this book was off the hook. I got goosebumps reading this book when she started talking about scenes in Revelation. Just AWESOME. A very good read.

As usual, L.A. Banks does not let me down with The Wicked. I've read all 7 VHL books. She hits all the high marks in this one. It's explosive, otherworldly, dark, and filled with words and geographic regions that will send you running to your BIG dictionary searching for meanings. Never mind, read on and you'll understand. Gripped by this book, it was a constant companion to my purse--I couldn't leave home without it. Her cast of interracial characters is typical L.A. Banks writing style. And the war scenes will--to borrow her phase--knock your head back. I'm obsessed and ready for the next one, Ms. Banks. This book deserves 5-plus stars.
Minnie E Miller
Author

Okay so I am definitely a huge fan of L.A. Banks and this book is no exception. In this selection she brings Cain into the mix and it makes for an interesting plot twist. He is in love with Damali and from the first page of the book you see just how twisted his love for her can be. But Damali and Carlos are finally getting their honeymoon but inevitably something happens that brings their mood down and the book begins. That is all I am going to delve into but trust me I am a faithful reader of the series and this is a book,series that you want to get into. So for first time readers you will be lost if you start up now but for faithful readers get ready for a great sit down read.

I love this series and this book was on hit! L.A. Banks is doing it with each novel she comes out with in the Vampire Huntress series. I sssooo would love to see this as a series or a mini-series. The philosophies and theologies are so complex, I don't know how they'd be able to do the series justice in a screenplay. I look forward to each installment in the series, but I so dread the day it all ends.

I read this book back when I was in third grade or so, and absolutely loved it. This series quickly became the far-and-away favorite of my group of friends. Even ten years later, we still have fond recollections of this book and the rest of its series. I definitely recommend this book to any young reader - it is enthralling. If you want your kids to get into fantasy, give them this book!

this is the first diadem book iv'e read its a little like a modern lord of the rings (iv'e read all three of those) my sayso is buy it!(by the way if you like this i recomend deltora quest)

this is the first diadem book iv'e read its a little like a modern lord of the rings (iv'e read all three of those) my sayso is buy it!(by the way if you like this i recomend deltora quest)

this is the first diadem book iv'e read its a little like a modern lord of the rings (iv'e read all three of those) my sayso is buy it!(by the way if you like this i recomend deltora quest)

I have personally only read the first book of this series (the book of names). My older brother bought it from a bookfair, and has only read it once. During a black-out I read it, and instantly fell in love. It kept me on the edge of my seat all the way through-out the book. I re-read it for about the billionth time today, and I have just ordered 2-6 of the series I love it so much. I encourage other people to read it as well, it is an excellent book.

This is the "Base" novel to the series. Introductions are made as well as history. The next book to read is "The Captains"

This new series is the answer to my prayer. Griffin is one of a handfull of authors who really KNOW war, whats involved and what actually happens. He dosen't just describle battles or campaigns, but tells you about the REAL people who do the fighting to make our country safe and strong. Alot has been said about the details of military life and how it affects the combatants and thier families both during war and peace times,but Griffin lets you actually see it. When Tom Clancey said Griffin was a great writer, it said alot about both mens abilities

First off, this book is a novel and the genre is drama, not war. It is not about war but about the culture and relationships, history and traditions of men who prepare for and fight wars.

This book and its series is set against a wide variety of military challenges and most of them do not fighting another country. A series of careers overlap through through these challenges and the cast of characters grow to respect, loathe or just get along as they push through competing agendas and common projects. Some characters spend long periods of time in career lulls, others seem to have the right blend of traits to push past the rest only to succeed or fail under circumstances they have little influence in shaping. The fortunes of war effect soldiers in peactime as well.

The most interesting aspect of these novels is that the author lets readers get into the consiousness of almost every sort of solider. The reader meets the various characters as they meet one another and sees and thinks what they do from their various perspectives. They tell their own stories, ambitions and worries so you know whats going on in their minds. At times, the reader gets to walk in the shoes of the young private thrust into new situations, then the reader is in the head of a more experienced soldier who meets private. There are the career elisted men, the younger and older officers, the career trouble makers and cilivians who have put on uniforms, there are men whose sons are fighting beside them or wives who worry about them both. There are men who advance quickly and men who the war exposes as being out of their league.

Generally, the men must form quick impressions of their comrades. Then the impressions change or deepen. Men of oddly different backgrounds form deep friendships or intense animosities. Men find one another personally challenging, useful, an obstacle or whatever. The reason this is all important is because their lives and the future of the country hangs on every decision they make and this is what makes for such interesting and compelling reading.

There are countless tomes about battles and campaigns but very little exploration, of how comrades of the same uniform interact with one another, bond or form relationships. How can the shakey events of a single hour one afternoon effect two mens' careers and create an unalterable bond that no other influence can break. How can a lifelong relationship be broken in the same amount off time.

While this novel is unlikely to fill in your knowledge of any particular battle, it may inform your understanding of every other historical book you read by letting you get into the heads of men at every level of the fighting.

This series is much more broad that The Marines series in its time span and focus. I actually only involves so much actual fighting as to give the basis for forming judgements of mens characters in peace time. The Marines Series focuses more on military operations even if it involves very little fighting.

Awesome stuff.

If you want to understand the "culture" of the military, read this book. Then, if you liked it, read the whole "Brotherhood of War" series, of which it is the first book. I spent four years in the Navy (one in Vietnam), but I never really understood the positive side of the military until I read "The Lieutenants." It's easy to find novels that are critical of military values, and it's easy to find patriotic "action" novels that just accept those values without exploring their origin or purpose. The strength of "The Lieutenants" is that it gets inside the heads of a wide variety of soldiers, not just the five main characters. There are good guys, bad guys, and then there are "the warriors." The focus of this book is to explore the values of the small cadre of professional combat soldiers that exists within the Army, thriving in wartime and and struggling against the bureaucracy in peacetime. Yes, this novel has many flaws. The author has his odd obessions and I'm sure most readers will find at least one thing to dislike. But after re-reading this novel for sixth or seventh time over a 20-year period, I have become more tolerant of these weaknesses. W.E.B. Griffin has a unique grasp military culture and is a strong advocate of its often harsh codes of conduct. His writing caused me to re-consider my own experiences in the military and has had an effect on my political values. There are not many books that I can say that about. So, in my opinion, if you can get past the flaws, there is much of value here for anyone who wants to examine their own attitudes towards war and warriors, and perhaps even their own "warrior nature."

W.E.B. Griffin's "Brotherhood of War" follows a couple of career Army officers from the end of WWII until Vietnam. "The Lieutenants" is the first in the series, and shows the two main men, Felter and Lowell, at the beginning of their career. Felter is a Jew who is commisioned because he knows languges desperatly needed in Eastern Europe. Lowell is promoted from private to second lieutenant because a general needed a polo player. The two misfits are regarded with scorn until a tour in Greece as advisors, where they end up seeing more action than they did in the war America was 'officially' involved with. I loved how need of a polo played out weighted the needs of the Army; that is what I saw a lot of when I was in the Army. Lowell's wife's fruelin Elsa Berg's story was one I have seen several times while I was in Germany. Well, not exactly; the girls I saw were not displaced because of any wars. But they were gold diggers. I really felt bad for Lowell, because he was promoted way past his ability, and then stuck with it in a nearly immpossible situation (an inexperienced officer as an advisor in Greece). But that made it even better when he kept getting the upper hand over his superiors later on. There was not a plot that strung the book together, it is more character drivin than anything else. One thing I was disappointed with was that there was little combat scenes. Only two or three that I could count. It had more to do with the decisions involved n the outcome of battles than it was the actual fighting. But it is still interesting for anyone interested in the military, and should be a must read for any one actually in the service.

I remember reading this entire series back in the day. Although some were not as good as others, they were still very much enjoyable.

Now I'm excitied to read the all-new novel in this series - The Musashi Flex!

Good stuff this.

A good one man against the galaxy book, but it never becomes unbelievable unlike a lot of other in the genre. If anything it gets more believable as it goes. It's partly Frank Russell's Wasp where one man can create a larger effect than you might think and part John Brunner's Shockwave Rider where a man is searching for a fulcrum on which to move the world. Both parts are told in separate threads and meet up nicely at the end.

Fantastic.

The Man Who Never Missed is the first novel written in the Matador series. However, it is the second novel in the series by internal chronological sequence, following The 97th Step.

In this novel, Emile Antoon Khadaji is an former Confed veteran with six years combat experience when he finds himself in a bloodbath on Maro, where three-quarters of a million religious fanatic ran, walked and crept into the Confed fire zones and died. This traumatic event breaks his social conditioning and gives him an epiphany about violence. He runs into the oncoming mob, discarding his equipment as he goes, and later finds himself in a nearby town, where he meets Pen (see The 97th Step).

He realizes that the amount of violence used by the Confed is wrong and looks for a way to eliminate the strong-arm tactics. Pen teaches him how to control himself and Juete teaches him to see others as they are. On Bocca, he learns the nature of politics and military force as well as many other subjects. He wallows in learning for a while, but then moves on to gaining money as a power base.

On Greaves, he buys a bar and specializes in providing a good time to the troops. At night and in his spare time, he shoots select troopers with darts carrying Spasm, a convulsant that leaves the victims totally incapable of speech and movement for six months, but leaves the mind clear and undamaged. During these six months, he shoots 2388 of the 10,000 Confed troops, including the commanding officer.

When the Confed finally catches up to him, he is on record as being the one and only member of the Shamba Freedom Forces. This spooks the System Marshall and every single trooper that learns the tale. His fame and example spreads throughout the Confed.

This novel is a SF psyops story, focusing on the use of minimum force to achieve political objectives. Underlying this is a martial arts philosophy which teaches much the same lesson. When a political system degenerates into a self-perpetuating organization that preys on its own citizens, it only takes a small event to crystallize opposition to its existence. Witness the fall of the Soviet Union from the inside.

This story is much like Eric Frank Russell's Wasp, but with a more military approach and a different objective. In Wasp, the goal was to reduce the will to resist of the planetary population, but in this novel, the goal is to increase the will to resist of the planetary populations by breaking the reputation of Confed forces.

Recommended for all Perry fans and anyone who enjoys psyops stories in a SF setting.

The Man Who Never Missed is, hands down, one of the finest,entertaining and most original Science Fiction novels to come out of the Eighties. The plot is both action, military and spiritual all in one as the unique journey of the Hero unfolds and we bear witness to his growth and development from a shattered, spiritualy stricken soldier to a freedom fighter capable of challenging an empire. This story remains a benchmark for all military or martial fiction in the Science fiction genre. This is the first of 3 novels in the Matador Trilogy, The Man Who Never Missed is followed by Matadora and The Machiavelli Interface. Collect them. Read them. Enjoy them and may the Spirit of Adventure never leave you.

The Man Who Never Missed is an exciting and engrossing space adventure about a soldier who has an epiphany one day during battle, and as a result decides to take on an empire. He encounters various characters along the way who teach him valuable lessons, both physical and spiritual, preparing him for the day when he will take his fight to the forces of tyranny in the known galaxy.

This is a great novel for what it is - a mythic tale of a hero, how he was formed, and the beginnings of his battle against an unassailable (and of course evil) foe. If you're looking for characters who are "ordinary mortals" or for some philosophy deeper than "good must triumph over evil", you won't find it here. But the thoroughly enjoyable tale that Perry weaves made me look past these points.

Sure, TMWNM isn't a great piece of literature, but it's a helluva fun story. And in the end, don't you want to be entertained as much as enlightened?

I forgot how much I enjoyed Butler's work. I found this book for sale at the used bookstore and snapped it up. W/O being cliche, I found she wrote the inner talk of the characters' well.

This book had me thinking about the storyline. And, I enjoyed the way she commented on race and class issues without wagging her finger at the reader. She is by far one of the best sci-fi writers. I don't know why I took a hiatus from her work, but I'll definitely read some of her newer stuff and go back and re-read the others.

Mind of My Mind is the second published novel in Octavia Butler's Patternist series, and chronologically it is the second, but the first published is actually fifth in the chronology and the fourth published is first. Confused? Don't be. Stick with publication order and everything will be just fine.

In Patternmaster we are introduced to a future Earth where humanity is divided into Patternists (telepaths), the Mutes (normal humans), and Clayarks (disease altered humans living no better than beasts). The telepaths are linked through something called "The Pattern", hence Patternists.

Mind of My Mind jumps back to a time not far off the present day and none of the future Pattern exists. We are introduced to Doro, a once human who has lived for thousands of years by jumping from one body to the next. He has been selectively breeding families of humans for millenia for telepathic ability and now he has several humans who may have sufficient power and control to take the next step.

Up until Mary, most of Doro's potential telepaths have been failures. Most who have transitioned to be an Active have been unbalanced and a danger. Mary has the potential to be the strongest and the most stable, if she lives through transition from Latent to Active.

What follows is a gathering of telepaths, the rise of Mary, and the origins of the Pattern. While this can be read before Patternmaster or after Wild Seed (which is set even before this book), but publication order is the way to go as Butler reveals this world in a particular way and with each revelation the next becomes more important.

Patternmaster was quite obviously Octavia Butler's first novel. It was decent enough, but not as strong as her later works. With Mind of My Mind Butler has written a much stronger novel which deals more with issues of identity and belonging, but it is also simply a stronger story with greater detail and description and more raw emotion. The first half of the novel is building, building and telling a consistent storyline with shifting viewpoints. Midway through when Mary actually begins building the Pattern Butler's storytelling becomes fragmented in that we are now given scattered episodes about the building of the Pattern. There are greater shifts in time during the second half of the novel, but this too is building to a great conflict and a great confrontation.

Not perfect and not as extraordinary as her later work, Mind of My Mind is a much more accomplished novel than her debut and shows the growth of Butler's soon to be masterful storytelling.

-Joe Sherry

Good premise, but charcters were not very well formed, and not very likeable either.

Octavia E. Butler's books often deal with the issues of race, sex, and class and feature young black women coming into their own. In MIND OF MY MIND, Mary, a young woman raised in tough conditions, realizes that she has extraordinary power, and this both frightens and amazes her. Her predecessor, Doro, is also someone of nearly unlimited power, but he can hardly be categorized as human. Able to take over the body of anyone, he discovered this ability as a child in ancient Africa. Through the ages he learns to control this power and with it embarks on a quest to breed a new species--one that will dominate the world.

However, his experiments are not without cost. Many of the humans that he "created" are wrong. Their abilities may be dormant and often cause mental problems that are uncontrollable. In one truly horrifying scene in the book, readers are presented with a possible outcome when two of these humans come together--a baby's rotting body is discovered among two people that are incapable of functioning because their abilities, in such close proximity, drive them crazy.

Still, there are some that function enough to breed more children. And finally, Doro has what he wants in Mary. But her power may prove greater than his, as he feels that she is what he could have been. He believes, at first, that she will be easy to guide and control because she is a female. Once she fully learns to command her abilities, she also learns to lead others like her, and she and Doro continue a dangerous game of mental chess as they learn what the other is truly capable of.

Though a short novel, it is written from multiple points of view and engages the reader with simple yet extraordinary prose and dialog. Anyone that enjoys science fiction and fantasy should enjoy this book; it is also a great read for anyone that is looking for an engaging story that probes the questions of humanity, evolution, and the responsibilities and pitfalls of power.

"Mind of My Mind" is one of Butler's most riveting excursions in vampiric fantasy and science fiction; the second chronologically in her critically acclaimed "Patternist" series, depicting a near future United States where humanity has split into two branches, most notably the telepathic vampiric one. In a riveting tale set almost entirely within the city of Los Angeles, Octavia Butler introduces us to an intriguing cast of normal humans and mutants, ultimately waging war to determine humanity's future; an intriguing cast comprised of credible, multi-dimensional people. An intricate test of physical and mental will pits the nearly age-less leader of the mutants, Doro, who has systematic bred a small portion of humanity for his own purposes, like a herder raising a unique breed of goats or sheep, against one of his "children", Mary, a young woman. Their epic struggle will determine whether this unique strain of humanity will not only survive, but ultimately, assume dominance over the "normals". Much to her credit, Butler conducts a vivid exploration of race and sexuality within the pages of "Mind of My Mind" replete with elegant literary passages and a splendid ear for dialogue. And her exploration of the importance of obtaining power is one that is timeless in science fiction, beginning most notably with Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein", but skillfully depicted and embellished by Butler in this admirable example of science fiction and fantasy writing. This is truly one novel which I can recommend highly to those interested not only in Octavia Butler's greatest works of fiction, but also in one of the finest ever written in American fantasy and science fiction.

I loved this book. It fit perfectly in with the rest of the series and added to both the continuation and explanation of the complex storyline of the other three books.
If you have been reading this series, you must have this. If you have no idea who P.C. Hodgell is, I would recommend you start with Godstalk and work your way to this 4th book in the series to familiarize yourself with Jame's universe.

First of all, let me state that I have LOVED P. C. Hodgell's work ever since I picked up God Stalk in the late 80's. I was delighted when I learned that she had a "new" book out, and promptly purchased it. I loved the story, and felt that it continued the saga beautifully - and I hope she writes more Real Soon Now. However, having done some professional proofreading, I was less than pleased with the technical quality of the book. The maps were poorly reproduced, and nearly illegible in places. The book text was also poorly proofed; I found typos on every page, it seemed; the sort of thing that happens when someone runs a fast "Spell Check" but doesn't bother to check grammar and syntax. So, if this bothers you, buy the book anyway, because the story is great, but be prepared to wince repeatedly as these errors push you back out of the story. Hey - next time, Ms. Hodgell, or Meisha Merlin, run it by me, and I'll proof it for free!!

I recently reread the first two books of this series and then worked my way through Seeker's Mask. I loved God Stalk, thought Dark of the Moon had problems, thought Seeker's Mask had problems but was compelling enough to keep me reading, and finally started in on To Ride a Rathorn.

Wow. Amazing. I am thrilled, yes thrilled, to finally get hints and bits and pieces of the elaborate backstory that has lurked behind Jame's adventures. I feel that in this book we are finally given enough detail to have an inkling of understanding of the complex psychological issues that face so many of her characters.

Jame and Tori are wrestling with the same issues as ever, but here we finally start seeing the big picture, start really feeling their struggle and knowing it, rather than being told it exists. There seemed to be a bit more of a window into the internal life of the characters in this book, more detail about their childhood and especially more info about their father. Tori's deepseated response to the Shanir comes to make more sense.

A brilliant and fascinating book. God I hope there's another after it.

I just wanted to show support for this series. I absolutely love the books and look forward to the next one.

Hello. PC Hodgell here, thanking those readers who have kept faith with me all these years and welcoming new readers to my occasionally insane fantasy world. (Sorry about the five stars: I was afraid I wouldn't get posted if I didn't put down something.) Yes, I'm a slow writer, rather like the grain of sand in an oyster which eventually, if lucky, irritates the host enough to produce a pearl. Nor has it helped that publishers keep dropping me mid-series. Blame that for the gap between "Dark of the Moon" and "Seeker's Mask," when no one would touch my work. My last publisher suddenly went out of business without paying me anything for the past five years. Now, however, it appears that Baen is picking me up, so I hope to get all the books back in print and to have the funds to concentrate on continuing/finishing the series, which has become my life's work. ¨To Ride a Rathorn" got cut in two to bring it out on schedule. I'm currently working on the second half. If I ever get my website on line, you'll have the chance to commission "God Stalk -- the Sweater" (I have about 4000 different colors of yarn to play with) or a stained glass window, those being my other current occupations since I retired from UW-O, along with training a Saddlebred colt named Pip (aka Peregrine Stargazer) and chasing three rag-doll kittens around the house.

_The Unforsaken Hiero_ (1983) is the sequel to _Hiero's Journey_ (1973). Early in the novel, Hiero Desteen, now a prince by marriage, is kidnapped from the state of D'Alway and has his telepathic powers destroyed by drugs. He escapes assasination by a fluke of luck and begins another journey westward and then northward, without friends, weapons, or extrasensory powers.

Many of the flaws in the ecological background of _Hiero's Journey_ that I complained about in another essay have been skillfully avoided in _The Unforsaken Hiero_. This is not to say that Lanier has planned a detailed ecology with rigorous care; but he avoids any glaring errors, which is all that is really required for an adventure novel. He does this in several ways. First, he gives attention to herbiverous animals in the story, particularly in an account of Hiero's fight for survival across a desert and a prairie. Second, he gives more attention to fauna of a non-monsterous nature in his setting, which makes the occasional fantastic creature seem more realistic. And third, he gives more attention to details concerning how his creatures survive. For example, _The Unforsaken Hiero_ features another gigantic underwater creature. But this time, Lanier takes care to show how the creature captures its prey and how it has survived for its long lifespan. These improvements in the background of the novel make it superior to _Hiero's Journey_.

Perhaps the weakest aspect of the novel are the characters. They tend to be either bluff, hearty, courageous warriors on the side of good-- or foul, deceptive traitors on the side of evil. You can tell the latter by their eyes: "The face was no longer that of the harassed functionary, but something older and colder, the eyes gleaming with mockery and triumph" (24)... "It was the face of Amiable Aeo, and from the young eyes came the same blaze of pure evil" (ibid)... "At the sight of those faces, a child would have screamed in horror. The eyes were dead, gray pools of nothingness, in which there glowed a baleful fire" (62)... "Behind him, eyes glared in impotent rage from the narrow slit of a window" (166)... "The gelid eyes glowed with a light that came from the Ultimate Pit" (194). Other characteristics of the Unclean are voices that are cold and icy and mental patterns that are foul and filthy. One wonders how the villains could fool anyone enough to betray them or to achieve the power they wield.

I confess to a sneaking fondness for this novel. It's a passable adventure tale competently told, and it is great fun straight through. But there is a simplicity in its theme and characterization that prevents me from rating it as a classic or of classical quality.

I love the Hiero books but alas there will never be a third book

Mr Lanier suffered a stroke before he could write the third book and the story vanished in his mind. Enjoy what we have. There wil not be any more :(

I first read Hiero's Journey, and the sequel, years ago and they remain on my top ten list. Why? A great set of characters - of all species!! The post apocalyptic world is seething with all kinds of new life, some good, some bad, some just plain unknown. The good folks are really good, and the bad are totally evil - how can you beat a story in which the bad guys are "The Unclean"? This story has a similar appeal as Vance's "Exploration Team", in which a man and the animals he mentally communicates with explore new planets. Hiero maneuvers through his world, constantly exploring, and the reader gets to explore with him. As a consequence, adventures are just as much a surprise to the reader as they are to Hiero! Lanier does a matchless job of pacing the story. These two books are on a par with any science fiction written at any time and deserve to be savored again and again.

Like the reviewer "Catfish," I keep coming back to this book and it's predecessor "Hiero's Journey." This work is also on my top ten list of all time bests. I am always a bit surprised that more have not read them. The story line is almost flawless and the character development is acute. Lanier's smooth prose just tops it off. This is one of those works which I reread every year or so. There is something about the story that sort of keep drawing you back. I of course would like to see the series completed but am fearful that another author could not do it justice and would hate to see a wonderful work ruined. Would recommend this book to anyone wanting a page turner with some classic writing thrown in for good measure. If you can find a copy buy it (actually, buy several copies...I keep loaning my copies to others and for some reason they never come back home!)

Why I am new to the world of non-fiction, Sterling Lanier has enraptured me. The book's exquisite description and excellent character developement have made a a fan of his, and Hiero's. I'd also like to say that I recently read Lanier's works on the suggestion of his sister, whom I met on a train ride from Munich, Germany to Vienna, Austria. She did not go without mentioning to me that her brother has passed, that she missed him very much, and that Hiero's adventures could not continue for this reason. For all of the Sterling Lanier fans out there, enjoy what you have, for the saga of Hiero will not continue.

If you are a parent looking for a great series of books to engage your kids and inspire them to read, then look no further than the anybodies series.

THe Anybodies not only makes you want to read the the other books in the series, but it is filled with references to other children's classics, which are obviously meant to inspire your children to continue reading.

The Anybodies is my second favorite book. I love the story. I also like how it relates to the outside world. This story is about a girl named Fern who gets switched at birth, and now she has to live with the VERY BORING Mr. and Mrs. Drudger. Then some people that she has never seen before (or has she?) come to her house and she finds out from them that she is an Anybody. What is an Anybody? Well, you've got to read the book to find out!!!

The theme of this book (and its excellent sequels the Nobodies and the Somebodies) is that nothing is what it seems and that everything can change. This is such a powerful message for kids, who tend to look at the world so literally and so in the present. Very unusual. Very well-written. Great read.

This was a great book. I recommend it. I liked this book because it was full of adventure. I think it was one of my favorites and I would think other people would like this book. I am 10 years old I think people of all ages would like this book.

It's true! Everyday after lunch, I read to my 3rd graders. We have a short window of time before going to recess. One of my students bought the book "The Anybodies" for me from our school book fair (I had hinted for it).

Even in the first day of reading, they were hooked. Did I mention I only have a short time to read? Fifteen minutes to be exact. The class was hooked. By the end of the first week, the classroom clock would be pointing to 12:30...recess time, but none of my students budged. None reminded me of the time. I had to stop reading, but they wanted to hear more.

Ok, N.E. Bode, whoever you are, what kind of magical literary genius can spin a tale so mesmerizing that even 8 yr olds deny themselves the frivolity of recess in order to hear "what happens next"?

When the last day of reading "The Anybodies" rolled around, the kids were downtrodden to say the least. What to do now? So, on to trusty Amazon.com. What on earth is there to read following that addicting novel? AHA!

Yes, N.E. Bode, we're reading "The Nobodies" and, yes, we're hooked again. See a review for that book in a few short weeks. You have made fans and friends of us all! What does that old writing professor of yours know anyway?