Science Fiction and Fantasy Books

This is perhaps the best mermaid novel out there. I can't wait to read it again. I couldn't put it down! The story and the characters are unforgettable. Very unique.

I accidentaly stumbled across this book while searching through endless pages of books, here on Amazon. I am so glad that I did. I've always been fascinated by mermaids and have been building my own collection of mermaid books. This is the best mermaid novel that I've read. I'm sure that this will become one of my all time favorite books.
The story is centered on one mermaid's struggles to uncover the truth of her lost heritage and to claim her rightful place in the sea. It is a beautiful and well written story. I highly recommend it as a must read for mermaid enthusiasts. Other books that I recommend:
Sleeping with the Fishes (Fred the Mermaid, Book 1)
Swimming without a Net (Fred the Mermaid, Book 2)
The Last Mermaid
Goddess of the Sea (Goddess Summoning, Book 1) (Berkley Sensation)
The Mermaid's Song
The Changeling Sea (Firebird)
The Mermaid Summer

I am not a avid book reader, but I couldn't put the book down. It gave a new meaning to the sea. A went to school with Alida and she was a very special person in my life. I am sorry to tell all she passed away a few years back and there will be no sequal. It would have been wonderful I am sure. Pick it up and you will devour it. Wonderfully written!

In all my years of reading, absorbing and devouring books. I have never found another like this one. Alida Van Gores should be found and prasied. The brilliant world of the Merra brought to life with such cleaverness. She's created what's reffered to by fans as the "Holy Grail" of mermaid fiction. Alida if you ever read this, I want you to know, my daughter falls asleep each night to the songs and legends of the Merra.
"Start a ripple, change the sea and all that was will ever be."
You changed the sea Alida.

For all of us who have been searching for another book - any other book - by the author who wrote Mermaid's Song, I found this on the web today. It's dated July 5, 1998.

"Author and screenwriter Alida Adrianna Van Gores died of breast cancer June 3 at her home in Laguna Beach. She was 47.

Van Gores began her career as an artist, but soon moved on to writing. Her first novel, "Mermaid Song," was published in 1989, and she was working on her second novel when she died. Also, Van Gores wrote the teleplay for the 1984 CBS telepic "He's Not Your Son," and her screenplay "Marooned" was recently optioned by Itaska Films."

She wrote the perfect mermaid book, but there will only be one.

As a book of fantasy, MoonQuest will absolutely keep you glued to turning the pages to find out what happens next. However, Mark David Gerson steps beyond the fantastic as he weaves messages into the text that are very pertinent to life in our own world and to personal growth. Gerson's creative talent is very apparent in his ability to write stories within the main story, while still maintaining the smooth flow of plot and text. Also, his setting and scenic descriptions tap directly into the readers' imagination and quickly transports the reader to the land of the MoonQuest. Not only is this a great book for fans of the fantasy genre to read, but it is absolutely suitable and enjoyable for anyone, no matter the preference in genre.

Some thoughts from the book I enjoyed was the mixture of adventure, friendship and imagination. But in the end of the book it was more trust and courage. A lot of symbolism and colorful descriptions- loved the colored horses. I liked the fact that the four finally dreamed but their dreams were bad dreams. Yet they shared and by sharing they healed. It took you away to a land of magic and other times to reality. But the most important thing is to have song in your heart and stories( which is imagination) to live your life as the very reason for Prithi the creator meant for it to be. If no stories or songs than life is not a happy or meaningful one and darkness prevails.

Reviewed by Cathy Yanda for Reader Views (1/08)

Mark David Gerson is a craftsman with words and weaves a very fine tale of four unlikely friends as they come together on a MoonQuest, a journey that will end the domination of a cruel king. Toshar, orphaned at a young age and raised by his grandmother, is destined to be the Elderbard or storyteller of his people. As he dreams, things come to be and advice is given.

Gerson dispenses wonderful life advice, woven amid the prose of the story. In one of Toshar's dreams in which he speaks with his father, he asks his father to hold him. "His father shakes his head, "Not hand-to-hand as I did once, but heart to heart. Know that as you travel, wherever you travel, my heart holds yours. Draw courage from that, Toshar, and from the heart of all the bards and Elderbards who have ever lived and died in Q'ntana. We all watch you. We all stand with you...Be your strength, no mine, my son...Do what you must. Listen and know - not to my heart but to yours..."

As Toshar and his friends travel they encounter friends and foes alike, often having to determine which is which. They traverse unfamiliar lands and face many dangers. In the end, I'm certain that Toshar's father, and the other bards and Elderbards, would have been proud of Toshar. The best piece of wisdom Gerson imparts is given to Toshar near the end of the story when he is to be named Elderbard and is questioning this because he is so young to assume such an important role..."The number of years means nothing. It is how you have spent them that has value. It is what they have taught you, what they have earned you, that matters." This is true for all of us.

"The MoonQuest" is a book for people of all ages except for a brief sexually graphic part of the story that may limit it to older teens and above. Let's hope that Mark David Gerson brings us along on many more travels with Toshar and his friends.

First and foremost, a book should draw you in, from the moment you spy the cover, to and through the first page and all the rest that follow. This is a lot to ask in a busy world with myriad distractions. Good books, strong stories, tales worth telling, whether they begin "Once upon a time...." or not, seem to understand this and from the beginning to the end they speak from the heart and you cannot help but read on.

Like any good fantasy, any story for that matter, The MoonQuest introduces the reader to world that is familiar enough to resonate and different enough to pique us literary travelers to embark on the journey. Like any good story, any tale worth telling, The MoonQuest becomes not just Toshar's journey, or Fynda's, or any of the other characters that we come to care for, hope for, but ours as well. And as it seems with the most gifted of storytellers, whether it be bards or writers, it happens so seamlessly, so effortlessly, we are transformed and hardly know it.

The MoonQuest is a great read but more importantly, for me at least, it lingers long after. When you find yourself relating events in your life to the character in a book and coming to a deeper understanding, well that's literary magic. That's just what happened for me and what continues to happen. I don't write reviews. I tend to think, as E. M. Forster did, that books come to us when we're ready for them. I was definitely ready for The MoonQuest. I suspect you might be too.

I was enchanted by The Moonquest. I usually read books very quickly. This one was too delicious. I wanted to savor every morsel! The vivid imagery was beautiful and captivating. I enjoyed all of the wonderful twists and turns of the plot. I fell in love with the colorful characters and experienced the journey along with them. It was truly a delightful read! I didn't want the adventures to end!

Nemesis(Indigo, Book 1) is great! Once you get started you don't stop until you finish it, then you don't stop until get to read all the 7 remaining books of the Indigo saga!

The first in a series of seven, this book tells of a headstrong princess' rash action in the name of curiosity, and the consequences of that action. She no longer exists to her people, and must take on a new identity to begin her quest to right the great wrong that she has brought down onto the earth. She loses everyone and everything that she loves, and she must learn to face herself, as well as her fears.

This is a lovely book that is well-worth seeking out.

I found this at a used book store and picked it up because I thought it looked interesting. I asked the woman working at the counter if she anything about it. She told me it was a great book and that she had read the whole series; that it was a "women kick ...." book. It definetly is. This is one of the best books I have ever read. I read it in three days almost non-stop. You don't even have to be one those people who like the "women kick ...." fantasy books, or Xena, or anything like that. If you want a good read full battle, honor, and love, this is one of the best.

I read this book for the first time when it was released in 1989. It became one of my favorites and I read my way through the rest of the series. At the time that the book came out I was still in college and I identified very much with the character of Anghara. I understood that she had brought her problems on herself, but I still really sympathized with her anger and her passion and her sense of unfairness.

I recently ran across the book again and decided to give it another read. I still enjoyed it, but it is interesting as an older reader how my perception of the book has changed. I now find Anghara exasperating rather than sympathetic. I am amazed that she seems to get off as easily as she does after bringing doom on her lover and her family. I kept reading, but I was looking for some real repentence on her part and getting frustrated because I did not find it.

Cooper is and was a talented writer. The Indigo series was her third fantasy series outing (the first two were Blood Summer and the more famous Time-Master books). Nemesis is set in a semi-Celtic landscape and draws heavily on a variety of myth-based sources for its plot. Cooper does a good job of synthesizing myth in an original way so that it does not feel stale or like a retread of old ideas.

More modern readers will probably be frustrated by the relatively short book length-- I know that I felt like several episodes could have safely been packed into one book, even at the time that I first read them. This series should be a big hit with teenage readers (particularly teenage girls) and are recommended for any reader who enjoys this particular flavor of fantasy.

Anghara Kalingsdaughter is the princess of the southern isles. She is headstrong and has a great deal of curiosity for things that have an 'aura' of mystery. Although she lives perfectly happy with her family and fiancee, she sometimes roams near the 'tower of regrets' and can't help asking herself what lies within, although there are ancient stories that say that the tower is doomed. Anghara acts recklessly and opens the box whithin the tower, releasing seven demons. But she must pay for her error, and seek and destroy every demon, the very demons that destroyed everything she loved. And until she destroys every demon she will became immortal and loose her name, for she is nothing more but a weapon. It's very interesting to see the development of the character Indigo, from this first book to the others. She really changes her view on life.

Great gift for young readers but the complete-the-story contest offer, which would be fun experience, is expired.

After hearing Nick Hornby read his short story "Small Country" on NPR, I had to pick up this book. I was not disappointed. The stories are odd, humorous, and a bit-off center, but they are also immensely enjoyable. The themes are geared primarily towards younger readers (stories about parents leaving for Peru, monsters at summer camp, over protective fathers - you get the idea), with a tongue-in-cheek parody about them that is reminiscent of Lemony Snicket (who, in fact, wrote the introduction.)

Most stories are sure to be a hit with the grade 3 - 6 crowd; the final story by Jonathan Safran Foer ("The Sixth Borough") is a bit less kid-friendly, but the collection as a whole is a fun read. Highly recommended for young readers.

My 10 year old daughter absolutely loved this book. She was a bit intimidated by the title initially , so I started off reading her the stories. We both were intrigued and read the whole book together. I thought is was so good , when we finished, I gave the book to our school library for other kids to read - my daghter nearly killed me for giving it away!

The general impression is that it's a collection of stories that the authors would have like to read when they were kids. Some of them may be scary to the announced age group (4-7) but most are just sweet. For the adult many of them will remind the reader how it was to be a kid. And for the kid, this will make them feel vindicated for many injustices they suffer, like the loud mean boy that everybody likes, over-controlling parents, and having to play sports when they really don't want to.

The funniest part was the introduction by Lemony Snicket. I'd like to know how Paul Revere did wrong by him.

Take some excellent, renowmed writers, have them write a collection of stories for kids, and this is what you get. An eclectic, fun, sometimes creepy mix of tales that those of all ages are likely to enjoy.

While writers like Nick Hornby and Neil Gaiman contribute, the best effort comes from Kelly Link, in his tale titled, "Monster." Although written for children, this is one of the funniest short stories I've read in quite some time - funny, scary, straightforward in its telling - and it's the highlight of an outstanding collection.

The only thing that keeps me from giving this 5 stars is the fact that there are a couple of weak stories that hurt the overall collection. Still, I'd highly recommend this for readers of any age. You might not like every story, but I guarantee that there will be several that catch your fancy.

I got this for my third-grade fantasy loving son, who loved the first two and wished the third one had more action but read it through anyway. He started Queste about two weeks ago and decided not to finish. He kept waiting for it to get better but at half way throught the book, when the new Percy Jackson, Battle of the Labrinth came out he switched. He read that in one day! Too bad that Sage could not keep this sequel fresh for her fans. I am on Amazon right now looking for some other books he may like and wanted to share this nine year old boy's opinion.
Books he loved: All the The Last Apprentice books, Ranger's Apprentice, Garth Nix's, Seven Towers and Keys to the Kingdom. Of course Harry Potter and The Hobbit some of Lord of the Rings (he did skip parts). In first and second grade he loved Secrets of Droon and Avatar: The Earth Chronicles books. I hope this helps some of you with fantasy-loving hard-to-please boys.

I recommend the book because it is a good read and it continues on from the previous story lines . I liked the way they had to travel through the forrest and face the Forxye.

I really enjoyed the imaginative world and playful character development Ange Sage paints in Quest. I can't wait for book 5.

This series is just fantastic. It is wonderful to see the characters evolving through this series. There is so much going on in the book but it never seems cluttered or overwhelming. The visit back to the forest was great. It's always nice to find out what all the other Heap boys are up to. Ms. Sage does a wonderful job of revealing the pieces to the puzzle. The Queste process in and of itself was interesting but when you find out the why of the Queste it's just wonderful. I like that everything isn't a BIG REVEAL and that profound meaning in something can be so simple. This series appeals to both boys and girls (I work in an upper elementary library and see these books going out frequently). Can't wait for the next one!! I was excited to see the fourth book as much as our students (in fact, I ordered my own copy so I wouldn't have to wait!!)

These books are so good. Once you start reading them they are really hard to put down!! They are just SO GOOD!

Book came as promised and was just as enjoyable as the first time I happened upon it in the reading specialist's library. I liked that this whimsical story featured African-American characters as so many of these kinds of stories don't.

I choose the book "Raising Dragons" because my 6 year old daughter loved the book "Balloon Farm" by the same author. She also likes dragons. The book kept her interest. The little girl raised her dragon from an egg. The illustrations are beautiful.

This was the first book I read by Jerdine Nolan and I love it still. It has been one of my favorites for several years now. It's still a pleasure to read aloud to the kids even as they are seemingly growing too old for this kind of book. Ms. Nolan's writing style has an immediate voice and charm. Word choice and rhythm are sweet and folksy. One senses the personality of each character very quickly and again is charmed by them. The illustrations are very pleasing, cheerful and convey the right feel for each character. Great choice of colors. A kids book to keep for the grandkids (someday).

The sweetest relationship between a girl and her dragon that has ever been described. An amazing combination of story and illustration. And it involves a combination of fantasy and rural life that is amazingly rare in children's books. Love it! Love it! Love it!

We borrowed this book from the library because my 4-year-old son is interested in dragons. The very first time we read it, he asked me to read it again 5 times!!! He loves books, but has never asked that many times!
The illustrations are bright, colorful and lovely. The family is believable and hard-working, and the little girl teaches kids to believe in themselves and their passions. The story is loving, fun and sweet as can be. I love the voice the author uses too. Sort of a "southern country farmer" voice.
We are buying this book for our permanent collection. I see years of happy reading of this book!

Two books are just not enough! It was like eating your favorite candy!! And REALLY!; one of them should have been named Kate. Ok, hint, one was a misnamed rat named Ariel. Think Willie Wagglepole. I read Ugly first, and ran amuck in my home town and Houston looking for Vats, alas, to no avail. But Wait, there is always Amazon and sure enough they came through. I got it, read it, and gave both books to a friend of my son for a Christmas present. But of course, I will buy two more from Amazon for myself.
With luck, we might get more books out of this; surely there is more to wring out of the RBV series yet. I mean really two books are not really a series are they?

I absolutely loved this book - just one caveat. You should really read the first book, to get a line on the characters, events that happened before, etc., that book being The Rats,Bats and Vats. Rats and bats have been "uplifted" by an alien species, to help humans on the planet Harmony fight against another alien species that have invaded. Vats are humans who are born from "vats" (not quite clear on this), and presumably raised in creches. They are treated as virtual slaves and thrown into the war as cannon fodder. However, one manages to fight and win the first victory for the humans, with the help of his uplifted troops. Now, he is being charged with desertion in combat by the idiotic army commanders. How he and his bats and rats, plus help from a couple of human officers who know what they are doing make this a truly fun book. I do like when the bad guys are bamboozled by the good guys and the evil aliens get their comeuppance. Get this book!!! But, first, read the preceding book.

Simply put: this is among the funniest books I have ever read.

This is not faint praise; the book "Pyramid Scheme" (also written by Eric Flint and Dave Freer) was my "gold standard" before this, yet "The Rats, the Bats, and the Ugly" was even funnier.

The plot has been summarized quite a bit already; let's just say that Ginny, who was rescued at the end of "Rats, Bats and Vats," is still in trouble and Chip Connolly (a low-ranking enlisted soldier) still ends up going to her rescue.

However, this time, Ginny shows herself to be extremely resourceful, and her self-esteem problems from the first book are long gone. She knows Chip, and his love, and his friends (the rats and bats, who have cyber chips in their heads; they are people, not animals) are all extremely important -- and all of these extremely important people are necessary to their planet's survival.

The war footage makes sense, but that's not what this book is about, for the most part.

No. Instead, it's about the futility of a high command who has never really had to "command" anything, being stuck with a bad war that it doesn't know how to fight; it's about a media which has been controlled by the high command (and the aristocracy; in this book, it's more or less the same thing) finally figuring out they've been hoodwinked. And the conspiracies are just getting started . . . along with the fun.

As I said before -- this is one of the funniest books I've ever read, and I appreciated reading it very much. It is on my shelf for ease of re-reading, and I'm very glad I was able to purchase this book.

Five stars, highly recommended.

Barb Caffrey

P.S. "The Rats, the Bats, and the Ugly" is a direct sequel to the also-hilarious "Rats, Bats and Vats" -- if you haven't read the first book, you will understand most of what's going on, but you'll miss several in-jokes.

Easy way around this is to get both of 'em at once; truly, hours of enjoyment await!

I recommend buying this book now, it is fun, a good engaging read, fun and, oh yes, fun.

Summer read. I bought the paperback that recently came out (summer '06) for a summer read. To me, a summer book is one you just read, relax, and enjoy. No deep deep thoughts, no crazy violence, nor dark magic... just something to zone out with and enjoy.

It has a plot. I liked this book so much because it is light-hearted, but not light in plot. It has a well captured plot and the story follows it. The plot pulled me in for the ride such that I never found myself wanting to go into critic mode.

It is fun. It is an enjoyable comedy that has characters with enough depth to them to carry off the storyline. I looked forward to various characters coming back into the story just to see how they would react to the issues at hand. A fun adventure.

And lastly... I give this book great credit for subtly reminding the reader of what happened in the 1st book (as this is a sequel). While I have a horrid memory and forget books easily, I also hate books that spend pages upon pages trying to redo previous books in a series. This book does a wonderful job of alluding to past events in such a manner that does not draw you away from the story at hand. Great job!

RATS, BATS & VATS ended with the young vat hero rescuing an heiress and precipitating the only significant victory against the aliens who are invading the planet. Naturally, the high brass does not like this at all as it reflects poorly on them. They are also pressured by the helpful allied species "advising" the humans. Something has to be done and that something is that all of the heroes must be punished severely.

Naturally, the heroes do not care for this at all. The old gang of larcenous rats, revolutionary bats, drama queen primates, young hero and rich heiress come together again to not only save themselves but save their planet. They do so with a laugh on every page.

This is a captivating children's story that will make you looking forward to the next book of the series. I think it is smart on the part of the author to finish this Book 1 just after Kate follows Matt into Abadazad. This is exactly why the readers will wait for Book 2. My problem, however, is that the story was not long enough. I wish the book contained 280 pages, instead of 140. It would also make me feel that my money was well spend... Otherwise the book is great, nicely designed, with vibrant colors. Overall I rate it for 4.5 stars.

This book deserves more than five stars! Its compelling, exciting, intriguing etc. Loooooooooooooove it! I've never read such a fantastic novel! This is a book for all kids to enjoy. A classic and a masterpeice! Its appropriate for all ages. The plot is about a young girl, Kate, who finds herself in a enchanted land. You feel as if you're there yourself and experience the exciting events right with Kate. I highly recomend this fantastic novel.

This is an amazingly good book. The moment I picked it up I knew I was in for a treat. The charactors are fantastic and the plot is compelling and engrossing. The illistrations do wonders for the eye and once you star reading you can't stop. 5 stars!!!!!

Take the graphic novel format, add full color, and add more text to get a vivid enchanting diary/journal of magic, adventure, and a friendless child whose life changes. A journey to another world makes for vivid adventure.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Cross Gen Comics was a noble failure. The publisher tried to expand Comics by publishing stories in as many far-thinking formats as possible. They also tried to create tales for all age groups and interests by pushing into as many genres as possible, eschewing for the most part the capes and tights superheroics that still dominate this dusk of the comic industry. Alas, the financial side of the equation did not match the creative and Cross Gen was in the end unsuccessful.

However, one of the last enterprises of the company was the launching of Abadazad. It lasted a mere 3 issues, but fortunately showed enough of it's promise (and generated good word-of-mouth) to be picked up by Disney.

Abadazad is clearly the Wizard of Oz for the generations that have grown up demanding more depth even for Children's entertainment.

Abadazad is a dynamite mix of prose, traditional illustrations and pure comics. The prose adds so much more to the story than could ever be portrayed in traditional panel comics and the comic pages add so much more illustrative depth than could otherwise be conveyed.

The story is strong. While it concerns a more or less standard quest of fantasy ( a young girl must travel to a strange and enchanted land to rescue her little brother), the main character's persona is so much richer (and just a little edgier) thanks to the circumstances of her rather difficult life and family relations perceeding the jump to pure fantasy.

And what a fantasy world she jumps into! With all the depth and colour of Oz or Narnia, but with just a slightly harder edge that should be acceptable to both parent and child. Mike Ploog brings the fantastic world of Abadazad to life and proves the axiom that a picture is worth a thousand words!

A wonderful start for a series that should be immensely enjoyed by anyone 8 or older (or even MUCH older).

I think that "Scorpion Shards" and the Star-Shards trilogy is the best ever. I began to read it in my 7th grade year since my 6th grade techer told me to read books by Shusterman because she thought that I might like it. Scorpion shards is just awesome..It has an incrdible plot and make you want to keep going and when u stop reading it.. u still think about it.. Just getting through half of Scorpion Shards I wanted to read the whole trilogy.

This is one of my all time favorite books. I like this book because, of all of the characters. The characters are very unique. Dillon is a crazy power hungry psycho who causes chaos where ever he goes. All the shards have powers that make them different from every day human.
The shards have powers of that can be used for good and if they desire evil. The shards are controlled by these parasites that make the story interesting. It keeps you interested by an enthralling story line that makes you have to read the next book. I like this book because the battle of good and evil and the chance that all the people in the worlds minds can be shattered if the goods shards don't stop the evil psycho in time.

...in Scorpion Shards. This books is amazingly diverse in areas of interest, and has such great detail that it is hard not to imagine yourself standing next to the characters seeing what Shusterman is describing. This book has little pieces of information from many different fields, such as astrology, astronomy, and even a little biology! I am writing this review within 15 minutes (give or take) of finishing this book, and I would storngly recommend this book to anybody. I know I intend to purcahse the second book as soon as possible, Thief of Souls

Shadow-black tentacles wrapped around the cradle of the telescope. A clouded face that swarmed with a million hideous insects descended upon the astronomer's desk and something with cold dark fur brushed past Tory, its breath sickly sweet.

Scorpion Shards by Neal Shusterman is an exciting novel in which six kids, each with a strange physical or emotional mutation, must discover how to get rid of their deformities. It is a powerful fantasy filled with darkness and suspense.

One interesting concept of the book is how a hunger for something can completely overpower a person. Each of the six teenagers has one, some worse than others. Dillon Cole, the most dangerous of the group, is driven by his "wrecking-hunger" to attempt to destroy all of civilization. Michael "Lips" Lipranski can usually control it, but once his almost unnatural hunger for girls went too far, leaving the unlucky girl without a soul after his kiss.

Another exciting part of the fantasy is its dark and chilling thrills. Like when the astronomer Dr. Bayless meets his untimely demise at the hands of the hungry monsters inside of each of the kids. Or when Dillon destroys an entire city block to feed his hunger. In the end, the six must all face their demons in a strange, lost world.

One last fascinating aspect of the novel is how a single thought can cause so much chaos. Dillon drives whole towns past the brink of insanity, after whispering a simple suggestion into a person's ear. He can alter the entire future of a victim, from possible millionaire to vagabond. Dillon has the uncanny ability to see patterns, whether it be of people's lives or tumbling boulders. He uses this skill to find a human "fuse", from which he can set off a whole chain of events.

Neal Shusterman's book, Scorpion Shards, is one of his greatest achievements. It is a gripping novel, with twists and turns until you reach the back cover.

W. Hodson

Dillon Cole is 15. He loves to destroy things, but not for fun. There's some invisable force inside him that "makes" him do it. So in order to feed this "wrecking hunger," the same power that makes people go insane when they touch him, he has to keep on destroying.

Deanna chang makes everyone afraid. Even herself. When she's around people, she feels claustrophobic. Houses couuld fall on her. Things could kill her. And people around her are so afraid.

Winston is growing shorter and paralyzing people, and Tory is a living bacteria. Not to mention Miachael, who makes women fall in love, and men want to kill. Or Lourdes, who doesn't eat, but gets fatter.

Who are these extremely screwed up kids? They are the Scorpion Shards. Six kids that have enough power to kill or hurt everyone around them. Except themselves.

So why are they like this? Not everyone has the power to strike fear into everyone else. Or see patterns in everything. Something is causing this, other than hormones.

Scorpion Shards tells this story about these six innocent kids, who have had the universe single them out. Their journey takes them through pain, worlds, and death. A wonderful book to read for anyone who likes to see teenagers and out-of-this-world problems.

My husband gave me this book for Christmas last year, because months ago I had mentioned that it was one of my favorite childhood books and I was very chagrined that evidently I had not saved it. I read it again, about 47 years after my first reading, and loved it just as much, maybe even more.
Before I read it, for extra interest I tried to remember everything I could about it. It was amazing to me that I could remember so many little details, even some of the expressions that the children used.
I intend to read it to my grandchildren when the time comes.

This is by far my most favourite book from my childhood. Your child will fly away with the children and visit all the exotic times and places. I great jumping point for parents to explain history in more detail to their kids.

Great for ages 7/8 and up.

This book was my all time favorite children's book. My mother had it as a child and read it to me when I was around three. Once I learned to read I re-read it several times. I most recently read it again this summer and I can't wait to read it to my future children.

I read this book as a child,simply for the story. Now, as an adult, and a would-be educator (wannabe, really) I find myself coming back to the story of the children and their magic ship again and again. As I grew older, I read grander tales of more complicated magic... and greater historical scope... but every now and then, I would return to this story. It gives a different taste of magic... the Norse tradition is too little explored, at times; and a smattering of several interesting periods in history... Norman England, Egypt in the time of the great pharaohs.... even a visit to the Norse gods themselves. Age constraints notwithstanding... a good literature is good literature. Given the current resurgence in magic in children's literature... this deserves a reprint!!

This is a wonderful book, which I've read dozens of times, and it still moves me. I first read it 40 or more years ago, and when I found it again recently, I was just as enchanted by it, and now appreciate it on other levels. I still want to wander a tiny English seaside town and find my own magic ship.
I recommend it to anyone-children, teens, adults, seniors. It has something for everyone.