Novels Books

Foget your highbrow accounts of mid-life crises in the Hamptons. Forget your stories of love lost and won against the backdrop of (insert contrived historical setting here). This is what entertaining, escapist fiction is about. A guilty pleasure, something to be covertly enjoyed? No, by Crom! These stories are uncompromisingly true to themselves, and as a result have more integrity than most things I've read in the last 20 years. If only those writing in Fantasy these days could shrug off the weight of tired tropes and imposed expectations of the genre, they could produce something that approaches the fresh, snappy pace and well-described action that Howard pioneered. True, he had the advantage of helping invent the genre, and didn't have to write under this weight, but that's the fun part - like Raymond Chandler, you can read these works, see the genre being invented before your eyes and realise why the style became cliche - it was so good that everyone wanted to copy it.
I find it interesting that Howard, who struggled with depression, wrote stories that crackle with vitality and display what I see as a celebration of living a passionate life. Funny how that works. Anyway, I leave you with a telling quote from "The Tower of the Elephant" that sums up the noble honesty of the character of Conan and why he appeals so much: "Civilized men are more discourteous than savages because they know they can be impolite without having their skulls split, as a general thing."

Having finally gotten around to trying and loving Conan 2.0: Kull: Exile of Atlantis, I was ready to try the finished version, and once again Robert E. Howard did not disappoint! I can honestly say I've never read anything quite like it!

Introduction by Patrice Louinet: Interesting and useful, especially to a newbie like me. Discusses the significance of these editions of Conan stories: "until the present publication, Howard's Conan stories had never been published as Howard wrote them, in the order in which he wrote them, in a uniform collection."

"Cimmeria": short poem containing Conan's remembrances of the home he never revisits, written about the same time that Howard first conceived the character. Also reprinted here: The Best of Robert E. Howard Volume 2: Grim Lands.

"The Phoenix on the Sword": First Conan story was a rewritten Kull story "By This Axe I Rule!" The romance was eliminated, a weird element was added, and after the first draft, the somewhat slow beginning of the plotters' meeting was dropped in favor of the famous excerpt from the Nemedian Chronicles. I liked the original, but I loved this version more.

"The Frost-Giant's Daughter": Interesting twist on several ancient myths with Conan in the role the relentlessly chasing god. Later rewritten as the non-Conan story "The Frost-King's Daughter".

"The God in the Bowl": Weird police procedural involving the investigation of the death of a man Conan was stealing from.

"The Tower of the Elephant": First great Conan story involves Conan's attempt to steal the source of the priest Yara's magic from the title thief-proof tower and what he finds there. Contains interesting bit of history firmly tying the Kull and Conan universes together. Also reprinted here: The Best of Robert E. Howard Volume 2: Grim Lands.

"The Scarlet Citadel": King Conan is betrayed, his army slaughtered, and himself taken prisoner and condemned to a horrible death in the dungeons underneath the title structure, which only makes him mad!

"Queen of the Black Coast": Dark masterpiece about Conan going pirating with Belit, the title pirate leader, and the grim finish, brought on by the last, twisted survivor of a dead primordial race.

"Black Colossus": An ancient sorcerer is reborn and threatens to make Princess Yasmela of Khoraja his bride by force, but a forgotten oracle of Mitra tells her to fear not and place her kingdom in the hands of the first man she meets. Guess who that turns out to be!

"Iron Shadows in the Moon": The first of the "formula" Conan stories. Conan rescues damsel in distress from Hyrkanians, pirates, a giant ape, and statues come to life.

"Xuthal of the Dusk": Conan rescues damsel in distress from two conquering armies, a treacherous Stygian, the god of Xuthal, and the warped Xuthalites themselves.

"The Pool of the Black One": Conan rescues damsel in distress from pirates and inhuman sorcerer giants.

"Rogues in the House": Twist on the formula: Conan rescues fop in distress from anthropoid ape and treacherous priest.

"The Vale of Lost Women": Conan rescues damsel in distress from Kushite tribesmen and "a Devil from the Outer Dark".

"The Devil in Iron": Conan rescues damsel in distress from a couple of Hyrkanian plotters, a giant snake, and an iron-bodied "thing" that had crawled out of the Abyss.

"The Phoenix on the Sword" (first draft): Much closer to the original "By This Axe I Rule!"

"Notes on Various Peoples of the Hyborian Age": Thumbnail sketches of the Aquilonians, Gundermen, and Cimmerians.

"The Hyborian Age": Detailed history of Conan's world. Written primarily as a way for Howard to keep it straight in his stories.

Untitled Synopsis: Never fleshed out outline written after "The God in the Bowl" probably due to rejection of "The Frost-Giant's Daughter".

Untitled Synopses of "The Scarlet Citadel" and "Black Colossus".

Untitled Fragment: Conan starts to rescue damsel in distress. Probably a false start written after "The Vale of Lost Women".

Untitled Synopsis and Untitled Draft: Conan rescues a couple of damsels in distress, the first from a howling mob, the second from the first. Probably a false start written before "The Devil in Iron".

Hyborian Names and Countries and a couple of Hyborian Age Maps: Further author's aids.

"Hyborian Genesis" by Patrice Louinet: Informative notes on the creation of the Conan stories.

"Notes on the Conan Typescripts and the Chronology" and "Notes on the Original Howard Texts": Mostly of use to the Howard scholar.

I am looking forward to reading the rest of this Del Rey series: The Bloody Crown of Conan (Conan of Cimmeria, Book 2), The Conquering Sword of Conan (Conan of Cimmeria, Book 3), Bran Mak Morn: The Last King, The Savage Tales of Solomon Kane, The Horror Stories of Robert E. Howard, The Best of Robert E. Howard Volume 1: Crimson Shadows, The Best of Robert E. Howard Volume 2: Grim Lands, and The Horror Stories of Robert E. Howard.

Note: My review title comes from the mostly praiseworthy Washington Post review published on Howard's one hundredth birthday. However a couple sentences stand out for sheer stupidity:

"Perhaps most disturbingly, Conan glorifies the Gordian Knot solution: The proper response to a complex problem is to grab a sword and brutally hack away until the problem stops moving. Some naive readers might imagine that such a policy actually works in the real world."

This is an obvious reference to Howard's fellow Texan, "W" the Barbarian, and while we cannot know what Howard would have thought of him, we can know what he'd have thought of this sentiment: this idiocy is why barbarism is the natural state of mankind. Earth to Washington Post: while NOBODY thinks that grabbing a sword and brutally hacking away until the problem stops moving is the solution to EVERY problem, anyone who thinks that it is NEVER the solution "is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."

Howard's Conan is a warrior and not much more. The common thread of all the stories is that somewhere along the way way Conan kills someone or something. It's pretty much that simple. Some of the stories are no more than a few pages, while others cover what essentially are multiple chapters. Most of the stories have a smoking hot woman who usually starts scantily clad and ends up completely unclad at some point - though sex does not feature (keeping in mind they were written in the 1930s). Conan isn't even the main character in some cases.

Outside of the tales themselves, I found the introductory discussion of Howard and the development of the Conan character interesting. What was most intriguing to me, though, was the well developed history of Conan's world, written by Howard, which is included toward the end of the volume.

Overall, if you take the stories individually, try not to link them much (despite the ever-present Conan), and you like the genre, you'll probably quite enjoy this collection. It's well written and loaded with exciting action. If you want the type of character development you get from novels, and even from the Conan movies, you'll be disappointed.

The first of the three new editions of Robert E. Howard's Conan following the order in which they appeared and not the chronological sequence by the late Lyon Sprague de Camp. Some are classics of the genre (a genre which Howard pretty created single-handedly): "Phoenix on the Sword" -- in which King Conan, surrounded by assasins in his bed chamber, one hand against the wall, a battle axe in the other says through bloody lips, "Who dies first?" "A Witch Shall be Born" has the classic scene of Conan crucified. John Milius really screwed this up in the movie. It has none of the power of the image Howard created. In "Queen of the Black Coast" you have Howard at the height of his powers and Conan's great love of his life (another scene that Milius copped for the movie to much lesser effect). If you love fantasy than these three books will make, along with Tolkien, a great cornerstone to any library.

First, I must say that I am a woman. Many have found it unusual that I would love Robert E. Howard's work, but I do. I have all of his stories, and am grateful there are new editions to replace my poor crumbling paperbacks.
As a writer of fantasy Robert E. Howard is a must read for any interested in the genre. We take for granted the acceptance of fantasy in literature today, but in the 1930's-it was not respected or looked on with any serious note. I am not saying Robert E. Howard was without flaws, but he could create such heat on paper in a few sentences that takes many a writer pages to achieve. His raw barbarian hero Conan goes from age 15 to aged king and his journey is never dull. It is the scope of imagination in Howard's writing that is wonderful. The freedom to be wild. We should never forget that as writers. As a reader, I relish Howard's tales of savage myth.

This book was first published in 1993 and like with all Simpsons' merchandise and books back then changes to the show over time have left these items a bit dated. Published three years after Do the Bartman swept to the top of the charts this book represents The Simpsons' in the early 90s, when the show was more about Bart rather than Homer. Bart had a lot of catchphrases which have not continued onto modern times which are in this book for example in the first lines Bart speaks to the reader as he introduces forgery he tell us "Okay, Listen up man!" Obviously he no longer talks like this so the vocabulary of Bart is a bit dated but the Matt Groening humour isn't.

Bart teachers the reader about personal enrichment through his eyes teaching us how to cope with the different aspects of life such as School, Food, Health, Money, Work, Parents, Art, Culture, Science, Psychology to name but a few of the vast topics covered. Like the vocabulary a lot of other characters hadn't become mainstream or even created in the first few seasons when this book came out so in the school yard there are a lot of illustrations of kid characters we are unfamiliar with but these are little things in no way retract from the overall enjoyment of this book. With the book being so old too, like I did you'll probably find it for a cheap price in many a second hand book shop.

Bart Simpson's Guide to life is a wee handbook for the perplexed to learn how to get through life the way Bart does it. It includes scenes with other family members too like Lisa, Homer, Marge, Maggie, and of course Bart. It has different subjects including school, love, money, food, and after hours. The funniest scenes are forgery, how to cheat in school, and Bart's Dream Bedroom. My personal favorite scene is Bart's Dream Bedroom because it has a bunch of stuff in it that I like including an observatory with an intergalactic telescope, a wrestling celebrity bedtime reader, a personal fridge stocked with junk food, a giant comic book collection along the walls, a Spinal Tap World Tour poster, an electronic automatic wardrobe selector, a private basketball court, an E=MC2 snooze time sleep helper, a heavy metal band alarm clock, an alien life form chart, a Tinkle-Matic TM bed wetting sheet absorber, a waterbed with piranhas in it, a 50" thick lead door with a giant ant farm in it, two guard dogs in front of it, a little sister early warning detection system, and a thumbprint identifying lock.

Not really. In addition to MAD magazine, this book was integral in my life as a kid through high school. It was given to me by my mom many years ago and I still keep it on the shelf next to my "big kid" books. It is fun to pull out and read a few pages from time to time. Heaven vs. Hell, Sex, Money, School, and everything in between.

This book taught me what auf Wiedersehen means. Go ahead, wiki it.

If you are a Simpsons fan, this is an important addition to your collection especially if you are like me and grew up watching the show.

Bart Simpson's Guide to Life is undoubtadly one of the best books to be based on The Simpsons that I have read.

The laughs keep on coming all the way through to the last page thanks to Matt Groening's pointed wit and satirical look at modern life.

A must for every Simpsons fan.

Not only is Bart Simpson's guide to life funny it also has great drawings, and comical jokes, such as the ingredient list on the back of the book. Buy it and you'll be reading it over and over again!

This will always be the most treasured comic strip series for me and I'm still sad to see it gone from the newspaper strips. Calvin if newbie don't know is a young boy whose imagination is so huge, impressive, and ultimately destructive that it holds no bounds. And of course his stuffed tiger Hobbes who comes to life with the help of Calvin's imagination is while the more responsible of the two just as easily joins in Calvin's hilarious adventures. I also liked how the comics strip creator made different persona of Calvin such as Spaceman Spiff, The Noir 1950's detective, and of course the masked superhero all as memorable now as then. AS I've said before this comic strip to me is equal with the Foxtrot comics strip both will have the same eternal fame as the classic comic strip Peanuts. So for what these books are going for I say start the collection now...

I don't know if I would call myself a huge fan of Calvin and Hobbes, but everytime I pop open one of their collections I am captivated by the sheer sweetness and cleverness of Watterson's work.

This is a nice collection because we get to see a little bit into the mind of Watterson. I like seeing how he designed the characters, which comics he liked, didn't like, changes over time, etc.

Necessary for the true avid fan.

My 18-year-old daughter said, "This guy is a philosopher! As a kid I thought these were just funny."

I'll keep this short - this is one of the best collections you can own for Calvin and Hobbes. As there is a gigantic compilation that includes all of the strips ever made, you might think there is little reason to own anything else. However, this book contains insight directly from Watterson himself. It includes his own personal takes on some of his strips, how he evolved his artwork, his battle with syndication and layout restrictions, and overall a great look into the mind of a rather reclusive man.

His work is magical in every possible sense.

Don't get me wrong, I love C&H. But Watterson is a bit preachy in this book. He tries to explain his rationale behind some of these comics and that's generally cool. But he has comments where he bashes other comics for being pretentions jerks while he comes across like basically a pretentious jerk. /shrug, it's still a good book with good comics. For me, it was a mix of eye-rolling at Watterson's comments vs. laughing at the comics.

Flight possesses a seductive mystique and "Fate is the Hunter" is one of the few books that has ever really truly captured flight's essence.

It is not only pilots that look skyward at the sound of an aircraft or slow down a little as they drive past an airfield. Similarly, Gann captures what is almost intangible and presents it to the reader with an immaculate style that will engross all who read it.

Gann carefully blends the worlds of the philosophical and aeronautical. In this mix, the reader looks out from the cockpit to at times see better within themselves.

A true classic.

Owen Zupp. Author: "Down to Earth"

www.owenzupp.com
DOWN TO EARTH: A Fighter Pilot's Experiences of Surviving Dunkirk, The Battle of Britain, Dieppe and D-Day

This is the memoir of one of the first 300 airline pilots in America. It tells the story of the development of the airline industry and the Air Transport Command during World War II. It is well-written with wit and pathos. I enjoyed the read.

One will see why this was and remains one of the best works of fiction in any genre, but especially aviation. A great book that every pilot has in the bookcase. I also highly recommend, Flying North South East and West,
a non-fiction book that I think is destined to become an aviation classic.
Flying North South East and West: Arctic to the Sahara,

This book reads about as exiting as the monotone drone of a window box fan on a hot sweaty summer night. Gann's style seems didactic to say the least. Muddling through the first chapter I fell asleep and woke up just in time to learn of a near miss in the plane Gann was flying. However in all fairness, most books are written like this, full of details and tangents before coming to the point. Who can get through Moby Dick or Les Miserables without wondering where the authors are going? One should only read books like these if he has a bad case of insomia.

If one is looking for the plot to the movie: Fate Is The Hunter, forget it. This book has almost nothing in common with the excellent screenplay written by Harold Maud except for the title and some flashbacks. Of course it is always a disappointment when the movies don't follow the books, which are usually better than the movies; this case being one of the exceptions.

The paperback book is not an abridged version of the hardcover. So don't try searching for a used copy as I did. It's just a waste of time and money. Quite frankly, I'm sorry I bought the book.

This is one of those books that has a sneak ending - best appreciated by reading through at a steady rate (which only makes sense once the climax of the book is revealed). The stories, anecdotes and tales seem almost trite and mundane - but build to the showdown, for me a life lesson. Flying is revealed for the joy it is, for its wonder, the thrill of a good landing when one has fought the good fight aloft in peril of ending badly. Gann wrote the thing with a purpose - and it wasn't to entertain you. He is like a grandfather with good advice, and he hits you with a zinger to make the point. You will be grateful, either gender, any station, rich or poor.

I ordered the first two of the series.
I was pleased with the fact that they were a pretty good length, but I'm still reeling over the cost!
American dollars are bad. Very bad. Am so broke *droops*.
I love the story very much however, and Inuyasha makes a most adorable villian/good-guy. (confusing isn't it?)
I have shared it with a few of my friends. (Trusted ones mind you. Sooooo expensive to replace!)
They had a lot of reactions ranging from:
*yoink* "I'll see you after Japanese" *runs off clutching book muttering 'My preciousssss'*
To:
"Oh, they aren't very good quality drawings, are they?" *gets head bashed in by me*
And even!:
*Opens first page* "That girl looks really mad. Who is she?"
"Oh! He's a guy??? Are you sure???"
Yes. That really happened. That particular person also mistook Sesshoumaru for a female but I can forgive her for that.
I'd love to buy the rest of the series, but I'm pretty darn sure that I can live without it until the prices go down. One day.

Honestly the first time I saw this anime on T.V., I was turned off by the whole crazy psychotic demon stuff. Then I decided to give this anime a chance, and after the first episode, I was hooked. The story is about a girl who falls into a well and she ends up in feudal Japan. Bizzare? Maybe at first, but after a while you'll say, wow that well gos great with the story.
So I decided to purchase the first volume of the manga, and now I will definately say, this is one of my most favorite series. The story involving and thrilling which also leaves for many unexpected events to happen where they end up fighting countless hordes of demons. All in all, this first volume of the manga will make you want to buy volume 2 of this great series.

Rumiko Takahashi is the writer of InuYasha, which is known by fans has being a Feudal Fairy Tale. InuYasha is a story about a average schoolgirl who is taken back in time through a well on her family's property. She soon discovers many facts abut herself and her destiny that makes one realize that she in no average schoolgirl. She, with the help of Inuyasha, a half human, half demon hybrid, must gather the shards of a Sacred Jewel that gan give demons enormous amounts of power. Now, one might think that this is just a simple story, that can't be very interesting, but one would be very wrong. InuYasha is a `historical action and romance from one of Japan's most beloved creators' with a touch of gothic horror. What more could one want? With a cast full of interesting characters, and even more interesting villains, anyone reading InuYasha will instantly fall in love with at least one of the characters, and instantly hate a few has well. I myself have read all the books in this series to date (Jan. 7, 2004) that are available. But, if you want to find anymore out about Kagome and Inuyasha's adventures, well... you'll just have to read the book yourself.

Allison R.

"Inu-Yasha" has one of the best stories I've ever read. It starts off simply, maybe a bit generic. From there though, you get to know the characters, and you really do sympathize with them. The relationships between them are not rushed, and the romance is done very well. The story gets better in every volume, too.

Anyone who loves manga should try out Inu-Yasha. It's popular for a reason.

There is a little nudity, but it's not done in a sexual way. Still, it's not something for small children.

Violent, gruesome, nudity. Should be removed from the shelves. My 7 year old son told me he read one of these books that a friend in his second grade class brought in. I purchased a few books in the series and we reviewed one for content. I was horrified to see that it talked about murder, a person saves a bucket of human livers and has to move to another town because he has run out of victims. There were pictures of nude girls on a few of the pages. Although it says it is for Teen on the back cover- Young kids are reading these books. My nephews, who are teens, think these books are for young kids. Most teens are not interested in reading them. Which shows that these books although labeled for teens have a young child audience. I am bringing the books I purchased last night, back to the store this morning.

Jim Webb is at his finest describing his "fictional" account of Vietnam. This book grabs you and drags you in.

James Webb (now US Senator Webb) has written one of the best works of fiction about the Vietnam War. He deftly characterizes the people and the place. The US Marines suffered horribly in Vietnam. This book captures the horror, heroism, and comaraderie of combat better than any book in recent memory.

I read this book as a young Machine-gunner assigned to "C" Company 1st Bn 5th Marines while on deplyment to Okinawa, Japan in the spring of 1983! Since then I have re-read this book 3 times and pick up something new and/or see Webb in a different light each time. A great novel, both military and non-military alike will get a understanding of Vietnam from the author Webb who served there.

I was deeply impressed.
I am nearly sixty by now and NOT so easy to be astonished nowadays.
Of course I have read it all before about other wars, in that field it is not particularly original, but it IS the book to read about the VIETNAM USA involvement (was it a WAR after all?... of course it was for the grunts... but part of the American society quite stupidly turned their backs on their soldiers... it would have been bad for professionals... BUT FOR DRAFTEES?...
I was a teenager during the period been born in early 52, so reading this book with perspective (I couldn't have read it when it was published because my English wasn't here nor there - excepting some Beatle songs -) was a great experience, I have seen a lot of films about VIETNAM, but this book hits the mark dead center.
Shades of Remarque, Hassel, that Russian chap and I will say it must have influenced Pressfield and Shaara a lot.
Snake is a great character but not the only one, the whole bunch is a masterful creation (only P.C.Wren's descriptions of FFL soldiers are up to it) and the chapters so much to the point it is almost as you've remembering been there. Goodrich is a fantastic counterpoint.

But I am not for spoilers. I have read a lot of History books and Historical fiction and this one is in my personal top ten.

Highly Recommended.

ADB

PS: Not for everyone I must admit.

I received this book in great shape. I've yet to read it but I've heard so much about it, that it is next on my list!

Having read this book while in Vietnam in the 60's I found it to be a realistic assessment of what African Americans had to live through in America during and before that period. While racial intolerance may have been especially noticeable in the deep South, it wasn't much different in the Northern States. The elite northern academic institutions smiled politely on the surface while just below the surface could be as mean spirited as any of the worst bigots in the South of that period.

In 1969 I moved to the small town of Coushatta in Louisianna after returning from Nam. They still had white drinking fountains and "colored" drinking fountains as well as seperate sections in the restaurants. Lord have mercy if you drank from the wrong fountain or stumbled into the wrong section of a restuarant.

Ann Fairbairn's book is an excellent period piece and can be both dark as well as quite uplifting. Fairbairn does a good job exploring the African American experience through characters such as "Lil" Joe Champlin & David shedding light on the very real experiences of non-fictional African Americans up until the time Fairbairn wrote Five Smooth Stones.

This book and the story within it are kept close to my heart. When I first read it 30 or so years ago I ingested each and every word, and David and Sara became friends and family to me. Anyone could benefit from reading this story as it touches your heart and your mind and your sense of dignity and human rights. I cannot believe a movie has not been made of it, although perhaps none could do the story justice.

I read this book in graduate school 35 years ago at a critical time in my life. I was attracted to its themes of racial harmony and fighting oppression. Little did I realize that I was about to read one of the most bigoted works I would have read in my life (and like another boastful reviewer here, I too "read 200 books a year," so I have a basis of comparison). Despite its great theme of racial tolerance, much of the conflict in "Five Smooth Stones" is fueled by some of the most egregious homophobia ever put to print.

Hero David Champlim may indeed suffer from racial discrimination, but that doesn't stop him from fighting his oppressors with all the tools available to homophobic bigots -- moral outrage, disgust, slurs, threats of violence, private surveillance, exposure, professional ruination.

And who are David's oppressors? Why gay men, of course! Fairbairn peoples her novel with a host of stereotypical gay villains. Consider David's first run-in with nasty white gay duplicity. At Pengard College, our hero manfully rejects the homosexual advances of Virginia aristocrat, Randy Clevenger. Before anybody can say "tea and sodomy," David himself has been accused of perversion by the effete Dean of Men, Merriweather Goodhue (good grief!). Only by the intervention of tough but noble "Bull" Evans does our "victim" clear himself by hiring a private eye to prove that Dean Goodhue and Clevenger have been in, well, collusion. After all, isn't that what these people all do when they meet each other?

I am astonished and disappointed this evil book is still read. Rest yourself and give it a miss.

I read this book many years ago and have never forgot it. I am buying a
copy and reading it again. I want to see if I still have the same reaction to it as I did than. If not I feel it is me that has changed
and the book is still wonderfu.

The reality of all of our existneces is that they're complex. Five Smooth Stones is a stellar presentation and a fascinating read reviewing the intricacies and nuances entailed in the choices we make in life.

I bought three of these books as gifts for three retiring teachers -- they are so funny. An ABC book of odd outcomes for students. Love them.

This book has made me cry with laughter. I work with kids and THEY think it's funny.

The Gashleycrumb Tinies is macabre yet hilarious. It's about children meeting untimely absurd demise but with a sense of dark humor. it needs to be taken the way it is meant. It really is quite clever with the wording and causes of death It is done by alphabetical names. examples are S in for Susan who perished of fits, L is for Leo who swallowed some tacks and N is for Neville who died of ennui(boredome). See very clever. By the way I am a 38 year old mother of two and find this hilarious. My kids don't really get it though. Oh well I geuss their sense of humor is not as developed as mine:)

Hahahha I actually read this online because its so short... if you want to take a break from the stress of life for 10 minutes its great fun. The illustrations are very well done and the rhymes are genuis! i think my favorite kid is Basil who was assaulted by bears.. \hahhahhahha... that makes me burst into laughter again! seriously, if you like macabre hilarity, take a few minutes off and ENJOY THIS BOOK! (There is no graphic or adult images but the ideas would be very frightening for young children. I say 11+ because theres a girl with an axe in her head and some blood thats cartoonish but gross.)

This book is great! No matter how many people tell you how horribly sick it is. Read this book.They only say that because they dont have a sense of humor. So any way read this book! Its both sickining,funny, and tasteful.

i recommend this book to whoever thinks nothing could happen to them and it can happen at anytime.

This book is funny and sad. It made me want to keep reading to find out what happens next in the story.
Dawn is a 13 year old girl who just started having some tests done to her and when she got the results back the doctor told her she had leukemia a type of cancer kids get. When she found out she had cancer she had to be in the hospital for a while until she reached remission. When she got to her room she found out that she had a roommate named Sandy who also has leukemia. They became very good friends and do everything together. They were with each other when their hair started to fallout. When time pasted Dawn had an infection and had to leave Sandy but she came back weak but good. She found out Sandy was in remission and Dawn got mad. When time came Dawn was in remission too. Dawn was new at this and she wanted to see Sandy again so she took the nurse's offer and went to camp. They got to camp and two guys keep staring at them in a good way and things start to get serious between them. Before they knew it camp was over and they had to go home. Sandy writes a letter to Dawn saying that she is back in the hospital in Mexico. About a week later a telegram came telling Dawn that said "We lost are beloved Sandy yesterday 10A.M she died peacefully-no pain." Dawn started to cry hoping the pain would go away.
I would recommend this book to someone who is 12 or 13 because it is a very powerful book with many sad moments in it.

I liked this book. It was funny and sad. It made me want to keep reading to find out what happened next in the story.
Dawn is 13 and was just tested for cancer. The tests are back and she has leukemia. She has to stay in the hospital until she goes into remission. In the hospital Dawn has a roommate named Sandy. They become best friends and do everything together. The day came and Sandy went into remission. A few days later Dawn went into remission too. Both girls decided to go to cancer came together. They had the time of their life there. Dawn and Sandy met two really cute guys and liked the a lot. Once camp was over Sandy had a relapse.
I would recommend this book to someone who likes to read sad books because the ending is really sad.

Six Months to Live was one of the best books I've ever read.It's about Dawn Rochelle and she's just been dienost with cancer .When she was in the hospitl her roommate Sandy turns out to be her best friend.This book is a real tear jurker.Will Sandy and Dawn survive their cancer?

This is a wonderful book, the whole series is wonderful. If you don't like tear-jerkers then don't read it, or any of them. Together, all of the books work to show an image that many books of this kind leave out. They tell a story.

This book is about a girl (miaka)with an strict mother. She runs away to a library and is sucked into a magical book. She meets a male hero named xong giu-sui (Tamahome) She turns out to be the priestess of a mysterious land, and loves Tamahome as her hero. He, on the other hand, is destined to protect her, and loves her like a little sister. But when a mysterious and mean woman comes to the palace to help miaka with a royal quest, she falls for the emporer. The whole story is romantic, yet strange. :S It's not that great, but I read it twice.

-Mangafreak

Some friends at school recomended this manga, so i got it out from the library. I loved it!!! :) Once I started, I could'nt put it down. I read until I finished it, and then went straight to the library to get out the next book. About a month later, and I still love it (although I'm pacing myself now). In fact, its growing on me, I'm seriously considering buying the whole manga series (and thats saying somthing: I'm a picky buyer), and can't wait to get a hold of the anime.

However, there are few things to consider before you buy. Later in the series, the plot gets fairly serious, including family and friends turning on each other, murder, rape, and the like. I've found that almost any manga not geared towards 10-year-olds involves at least a slight bit of nudity etc, and Fushigi Yugi is no exeption. If that is something you can't stand to see, don't buy. But don't worry: Yu Watase does not dwell on this overly, it does not get too involved, and most are just romantic "awwwww! too cute!" situations.

By far the best part of this series (besides BEAUTIFUL illistrations) is the characters. Miaka and Tamahome, the main characters, can somtimes get boring or too predictable and their romantic moments can be drawn on too long. But the other characters more than make up for this, especialy (my personal favorites) Nuriko (who is absolutly HILARIOUS), Tasuki, Chichiri, and Mitsukake.

Fushigi Yugi has just the right amount of drama, romance, and comedy. The plot is great, the art is beautiful, the characters are amazing. What can I say? I'm addicted, and you will be too.

And if you already are addicted, I recomend Inuyasha, by Romiko Takahashi.

Fushigi Yuugi is a wonderful series. I have read the entire manga series and love it. Miaka and Tamahome are a great couple. They have a wonderful love story. Miaka and Tamahome's story is wonderful, romantic and touching. This series is very touching with lots of romance, wonderful characters, wonderful couples and a wonderful story. Miaka and Tamahome have lots of romantic kisses and lots of romantic scenes. This volume is one of the best volumes and has some of my favorite Miaka and Tamahome scenes. This volume is wonderful, romantic and touching and a great volume.

This book was very romantic and entertaining! I really liked the action parts, since there was usually a lot of romance mixed in with them. I do think that some parts were unnessecary and simply used to add some inappropriate content to the book. Being that I love romance, this was one of the best Japanese comics I've ever read! For me to truly enjoy romance manga (and I know I've said this before) the main boy has to be someone that I would like if I was a manga character. Tamahome reminded me of Darien from "Sailor Moon", risking his life to save the main girl! It was those parts that I enjoyed most.

Overall, if you love romance and Japanese comics, I recommend this to you! It is very absorbing and enjoyable! But keep in mind that there IS unnessecary content such as Tamahome walking in on Miaka when she's shirtless.

I got it for christmas and boy is it good! I like it just as much as Ceres! It's beautifully drawn, like anything by Yu Watase it's full of romance too-God I Love it.