Authors Books

The Best of Good is a refreshing novel about real people and their journey to self discovery. We all know these people. We are these people. It has the right amount of bitter and sweet. I laughed and I cried. I felt rejuvenated while reading it. I didn't want to put it down. This is my new favorite of all of Sara Lewis' novels, and my favorite of all the books I've read in a couple of years!

What a wonderful book! The Best of Good is a gentle story about real people that grabs hold of you and won't let go, even after you've closed the cover for the last time. I found myself reading long sections aloud to my husband, and each time I thought I had finished, he would say "Keep reading!" It's that kind of book. One that asks you to keep reading because the characters have become important to you as real people, not because the chapter ended with an explosion or a car chase. If you like reading books instead of reading television shows written on paper, this is the perfect book for a fall evening.

Within a few pages, I was so hooked that I couldn't decide if I wanted to read it straight through or savor it for a few days. I couldn't put it down.
I am anxiously awaiting her next book.

Once you meet Tom Good you can't help but root for him and hope for him. Good will stay with me for a long time. Be prepared to leave a place in your heart for him. The best of Sara Lewis' excellent novels. Can't wait to see her next book.

Having just finished reading "The Best of Good", there are tears in my eyes. This book moved me deeply, while also providing hours of enjoyment. Writing in the first person, as a man, was an amazing feat for Sara, who continues to surprise me with her books. I've read all her novels, and this one rates right up there and, in fact, it's hard to choose a favorite. The characters were so very real to me. There are even things about Tom Good that I can recognize within myself. His struggles to start living his life again after isolating for 20 years made me examine my life, too. The children, his neighbors and his sister Ellen were all so realistic. They all have their layers of complexity, which Sara presents so brilliantly.

Read this book and see if you want to start making a quilt, upgrading your surroundings, getting closer to the people around you, and maybe even forgiving yourself for guilt that you should not have assumed for things in the past. This is a powerful book, in the guise of light entertainment! Absolute bravos for this, and I highly recommend it!

Blackbelly is a novel of unexpected depth from an author who understands how to tell a morality story without beating a dead horse--or sheep, in this case. Heather Sharfeddin's prose is straightforward, non-judgmental and honest from first word to last. And her characters, Chas McPherson, the proud loner who wants to do right by his dying father, and Mattie Holden, an unassuming nurse looking for a chance to start fresh, ring as true as any I've encountered--on or off the page--in recent memory. Blackbelly is a story of loneliness, repressed needs, and bigotry in a small town. Sprinkled with a hint of the supernatural, a few bible quotes and a layer of underlying tension, it resonates like a clanging cow bell. We haven't heard the last from this outstanding wordsmith. Salmon Run

I read Sharfeddin's book between Hemingway and Terry Kay. She more than held her own against these two great writers. From the first chapters I was drawn in and felt like I was a part of the story. I was impressed with Sharfeddin's ability to capture the lead male character so well. How did she get into the mind of a male so well? Maybe I don't want an answer.
This is an enjoyable book that reaches deep to capture emotions we all face but often hide from. Through this book we can learn a little more about ourselves, our society, and others. I recommend this novel.

I know Heather Sharfeddin personally. I raise Blackbelly Sheep. I grew up in rural Idaho just a few miles from where Heather grew up. With all that being said, I loved this book. I read it in one day just days after it was released. I didn't want it to end. I still think of the characters and wonder how they are and what they are doing. As I was reading the first few pages, I kept thinking how amazing it was that Heather was the writer and that I knew her. It was not long before she took me away from that and led me into the lives of her characters. I am buying this book for almost everyone on my Christmas list. One of the best reads ever--and I read a lot!!

Have you ever hit a dry spell with the books you read? When everything you pick up is missing that special something that hooks you in and holds you until the last word?
I was in just such a dry spell when I picked this book up after having seen in reviewed in the Idaho Statesman. I am so glad I did!
I will wait as patiently as possible for this author to write another novel.

This book is a real page turner that is masterfully written. I am eagerly awaiting a second novel from this author.

Dan Poynter's book is a virtual gold mine for authors and publishers. He shares his years of experience in the publishing business with a dictionary of every aspect of publishing, promoting and sales of books. Dan shares the secrets of e-books, audio-books and where to go to get the author's books changed to digital copies for mass marketing on the internet. This is his best book yet.

Poynter's Encyclopedia and Shepards' Aiming at Amazon are both perfect manuals for anybody interested in self-publishing. Brief, informative, and easy to use - what else is needed? Highly recommended.

Yuval Lirov, Practicing Profitability - Billing Network Effect for Revenue Cycle Control in Healthcare Clinics and Chiropractic Offices: Collections, Audit Risk, SOAP Notes, Scheduling, Care Plans, and Coding

Poynter, as always, knows his subject: Self-publishing. This book hits all the high points in an easy-to-access format.

Loads of useful information for the self-publisher/author. I would have
preferred to have it in chapter form. That would have made it more readable.

If you have questions about the publishing industry, you will be hard-pressed to find a better resource than Dan Poynter's book, The Book Publishing Encyclopedia. This alphabetical resource guide is filled with facts, figures, tips, and tactics.

Any resource guide filled with so much information is bound to motivate a writer to continue striving for the exciting status of publication. It becomes a matter of absorbing enough information and doing enough research about all the available publishing options to make the right decision. Not all authors are destined for Random House, but that doesn't mean they have to remain unpublished. There are alternatives! Whether you are seeking an independent press, a mainstream publisher, or the convenience of a turn-key publisher, this book defines the terms you should know. - Brent Sampson, author of Self-Publishing Simplified

Gomez-Arcos, Augustin. "The Carnivorous Lamb", Arsenal Pulp Press, 2007.

Haunting and Weirdly Unusual

Amos Lassen

Arsenal Pulp Press of Vancouver, Canada has been resurrecting gay and lesbian literature with Little Sister's Classics series. The newest addition is Augustin Gomez-Arcos' "The Carnivorous Lamb", written in 1975, which was translated into English in 1984 (from the original French). Gomez-Arcos was a Spanish anarchist, a dramatist and a playwright who self-exiled to France where he wrote primarily about Franco's Spain.
This book is an allegory about that period and centers on a young gay male who comes of age within a troubled family--his mother abhors him, his father cannot be bothered with him and ignores him. He does have a brother that loves him deeply.
The young man is the narrator and the carnivorous lamb. He begins his story when he was thirteen and when his innocence is lost. It is the 1950's when he, the younger of two sons is kept in the shelter of his home by his overbearing mother and at 13 he manages to begin to break away. He has a tutor, a strict disciplinarian and a family priest who is intent upon seeing that the boy reach adulthood by the right path. He, however, feels that he must rebel against those that oppress him and as he comes of age, he does so as a reaction to his mother and father and to the authority of church and state.
It is not an easy to reach maturity and as we read the tale of the family, we see that is political satire of the time. Gomez-Arcos not only takes on Spain but the Catholic Church as well. He does so with humor that disguises the true horrors and the tyrannical rule of Federico Franco. Likewise the book deals with the repression of religion and the structure of the family. The concept of authority is blown away and in its place we get identity and liberty as the author defies all in beautiful and provocative ways. This is a book not only to be read for the excitement of reading a masterpiece but it is to be cherished as a document that has returned to us from the dead.

Agustin Gomez-Arcos, The Carnivorous Lamb (David R. Godine, 1975)

I find myself somewhat astonished that a book this explicit was published in 1975. I am quite a bit less surprised that it is long out of print. (However, the fact that my Interlibrary Loan request for this volume was filled by the Ohio Dominican College? Now that floored me.) This tale of a homosexual relationship between a pair of brothers, told mostly in flashback as the younger brother awaits his older brother's return, wife in tow, from South America, never flinches from its sometimes shocking subject matter, but nor does Gomez-Arcos ever exploit his material from gratuitous shock value; it just is, and that, perhaps, is the book's major strength.

The book follows two avenues, for lack of a better way to put it; the first follows the love story between Ignacio, the narrator, and Antonio, his brother, who is five years older. Yep, incest, but I did warn you above, right? The second is a portrait of a once-wealthy family gradually driven to destitution by the Spanish Civil War and the Franco dictatorship. I get the feeling most readers will be enchanted with one storyline and want to ignore the other (which is which depends on one's proclivities, no doubt); I tried to pay equal attention to both, and appreciated the way Gomez-Arcos wove them together into one book. It certainly could have been done better; the pacing is atrocious much of the time, and one gets the feeling this could have easily been half the length and still contained everything Gomez-Arcos wanted to say. Still, it's hard to argue with the language, which is never less than gorgeous. (One French reviewer on Amazon excoriates the English translation, saying it loses much of the "purity and clarity" of the original; I can't vouch for it, but I do know the language in the English translation is wonderfully done.) If you are a fan of writing style over plot, this is a must-read, but be warned that some of the subject matter may be too intense for more sensitive types (or too boring for thrillseekers). ****

((I award a Secondary Title for this review: "A One-Of-A-Kind Take on Brotherly Love"))

I can't tell you if this was a beautifully written book.......but I can advise you that it is a beautifully translated tale. Since it was first published in French (I know only a few phrases and a number of individual words), I cannot quarrel the earlier, Paris-residing reviewer who seems to think not so much of this translation. But, to this reader, to me, the translated writing seems near perfect, making this one of those few books to un-shelf from time to time and in which to become quickly engrossed.

It's a love story......but one probably unlike any you've read before (its nature has been described elsewhere in these reviews). And it is also a history lesson--one told from very personal points of view (as so much of history is told). But mostly, it's a tale which tells us that love in any guise can be found between two people, no matter their situation one to the other, and that as the strongest of our emotions it can redeem us from the worst difficulties we may think we face.

****

Of all the many books I've read, this is my favorite.

Its been a while since reading a book that was so profoundly satisfying and well-finished. It is a beautiful book celebrating an exuberant, deep love. It sells the book short to call it simply homo-erotic, just because the main protaganist is a man who loves his brother. The book deals with love and its devastating mutations in a protective confined stultyfying Spanish home in the Franco years. The metaphors for the "chronically dead" fascist regime are so graphic that you find yourself gasping for air...and the characters, as portrayed by Ignacio, the younger brother, are gruesomely real as he tells his story with wit and skill that have you smiling hard as you read. Very sexy too, even for a hetero woman.

I simply had to have this book. I have started on a creative writing career hoping to specialise in supernatural fiction. So who better to read than the acknowedged doyen of the genre? MR James was an absolute master of the craft. Many years ago the BBC dramatised one of his short stories every Christmas Eve and continued the practice for several years. Even as a mature adult these plays used to scare me witless! Michael Hordern's wonderful depiction of paralysis in sheer terror at the end of "Whistle and I'll come to you my lad", is indelibly engraved in my memory. But the television can only depict one man's interpretaion. Believe me, the imagination does so much more. So the stories are infinitely more enthralling. This volume contains all the greats: the nightmarish Count Magnus, Whistle.., Number 13, the haunting Mezzotint and perhaps the most chilling ghost story ever written, A Warning to the Curious. The thing about MR James was that he wrote so well and with such a sensitivity for how to make the supernatural thriller "work". Apart from the inevitably dated settings, it is entirely possible to imagine the events he relates as a plausible part of one's own daily experience! This volume contains a very useful essay (Explanatory Notes)by the author on the elements of the most effective ghost stories. The valuable insights offered therein are alone worth the price. This volume contains a representative sample of his best known work and I am compelled to recommend it in the highest terms. But a warning to "the curious": this is potent story telling. The reader who having once picked it up, will not be the same when they put it down again; if they can (heh, heh, heh,heh).

I bought this book in Paris. It was the cheapest most interesting book in English, so I grabbed it for the flight. It's one of the best book buys I've ever had.
This stuff is genuinely spooky. There are images here
that will stick with you for a long time, and this guy puts in a lot of interesting historical details that make
the stories seem all the more plausible. Can't
recommend this book enough.

O whistle, an' I'll come to you, my lad;
O whistle, an' I'll come to you, my lad;
Tho' father and mither should baith gae mad,
O whistle, an' I'll come to you, my lad.
(Burns.)

Over the last Twenty years I've purchased many books and got rid of many (After reading them then donating them to charity shops), but this is the only one I've repurchased.
I could never get the scenarios and characters out of my head, the way M R James succinctly describes a scene or a, "terrifying agent of supernatural malice" have resided in my head as much as I would have liked them to leave.
If lots of Gore is your thing you may be disappointed by these stories, but for those of us who like a well written story told with panache and subtlety, then these are for us.
~~~~
For several years in the early 70's when the BBC made "A Ghost Story for Christmas" it was always the M R James stories that disturbed me the most. But even though I was disturbed by them I was always too fascinated to switch the TV off, and whilst the BBC interpretations were good they never quite captured the atmosphere of the written page.
Most of the "Heroes" (For want of a better word) of these stories are intellectuals from the dusty halls of some Academy or other, who are afflicted by intellectual pride or the even graver sin (In M R James stories)of curiosity! They investigate things that should be left well alone.
~~~~
My personal favourites are "The Mezzotint", and "Oh Whistle, and I'll Come to you, my Lad".
The endings of a few of these stories are not completely resolved, and it's because of that, they stay in the mind longer.
It has always amused me that some of the most creepy and ungodly stories ever written in the English language were written by this most devout Christian of men.
For maximum effect to be read late on a stormy night, and by candlelight!

More than at any other time since the era of the gladiators, entertainment in America today seems obsessed with murder, mayhem and gore. The Chainsaw Disembowelment Scene has been used in so many movies that it's almost a cliché, and I'm so jaded with seeing cadavers that I refuse to turn-on my TV.

How different are these stories by M. R. James. There are no monsters such as in H. P. Lovecraft, and the spectres which do appear never get to perform any injury - it's always a close call.

The focus here is on suspense. Not, though, that there are any surprises. We know that the strange old tome will yield its dreadful secret; that room 13 of the inn will be infested with demons; that the druid slide-whistle will summon some ghastly phantasm.

The pleasure of reading the work of M. R. James lies in his pretty writing - the lost art of the English language in its perfected form. Reading these stories is analogous to listening to a great musician perform florid music which is always in a minor key.

M.R. James is the quintessential, literary ghost story writer. His stories begin with such dark innocence, the reader wanders along, enjoying the prose, while the atmosphere thickens with the macabre. He is very Victorian in his approach, his paragraphs are skillyfully crafted. The only trouble the novice reader will encounter is adapting to his scholarly attention to detail. His prose is magnificent but heavy. The thrill is in the patient reading of his stories. Think of reading M.R. James in terms of drinking port... you sip port, you linger with it, you appreciate its aromas, its texture. You wouldn't think of knocking back a beautiful glass of port? No...Pick this book up, indulge yourself slowly with these stories and soon enough, ghostly memories will fill your imagination. The moods he casts heightens the pleasures of both the mind and the spirit.

Casting Two Shadows is an incredible mystery with numerous twists and turns. It's a book that is hard to put down once you've turned the first page. As chapter and chapter unfolds you begin to think you have the story figured out and then another unknown key is revealed. The characters are well scripted and evolve in just the right amount of time, so they are people you empathize with by the end of the book. It is a shame that Colin Doran will not be sharing his talents with us in the future...he was a gifted author. My only question is when is Holywood going to pick it up as a movie option?

This was an amazing book from start to finish. I read all of the time and i cannot believe how much this book surprised me. I think my mouth dropped 5-6 times because of the suspense and shock! I will be reading this book over and over again because it really is THAT GREAT! Colin was by far a gifted writer and it's unfortunate that we will not be able to read another novel written by him.

I'm on page 177 and I just stahted the book yestaday. (insert my best Bostonian accent here). Anywaysssss, I'll be back when I finish it.
All joking aside; I can't put this book down. It's fun, easy, and interesting reading. I'm actually looking forward to the bus ride to work tomorrow so that I can keep going!

Luv you Colin,
Cousin Jen

Absolutely one of the best books I have read. The twists and turns just after I thought I had a good grasp of the story just boggled my mind. It was one surprise after another - and the ending, a complete surprise, (because I thought I finally figured it out)was fascinating! Definitely read this book. The ending makes it that much better. I think I read the ending three times when I finished the story because it was just so perfect.

What I thought would just be a drama turned into much more. Much like when you watched that first season of Lost and you realized "wait, there's a bit more going on here than some people on an island..." The book twisted itself into whole new forms and I thought it was great!

I read a lot of books and the most amazing thing about this one is that it made me feel the experience. I felt as if I was going through the twists and turns right along with the charactors. I went from flying with them to feeling for them more times than I would have thought possible.

THE CHANCE SHE TOOK was an excellant read. Kole Black did a great job with this novel--you think you may know where this story is going but he throws a twist in there and you are left with your mouth hanging open! This was a quick read and will keep you turning the pages. I guarantee you will be flipping through the pages so fast you will be done with it before you know it, because you will be so engrossed with this story. Remember this author's name because I see him bringing more 5 star reads to us. Get this book!

I am not the one to take the time to give an author the credit that is rightfully due to them, but after reading The Chance She Took, I had to break tradition and give Mr. Black some well deserved praise. The Chance She Took is a definite page turner!! Mr. Black is truly talented writer whose words allow the readers to visually connect with the characters. I eagerly await his next masterpiece and I am proud to add his works to my book collection. The Chance She Took is a definite must read and I would recommend that others buy this book and support this gifted writer.

My book club selected this book for it's February reading selection and I have to say that I was so surprised! I was expecting a sweet little love story, but nothing could have been further from the truth. This was some serious urban fiction! If you like a novel that is straight drama from beginning to end, look no further. Because Kole Black seriously set it off, up in here! Some of the women in my group say that they didn't like it because, it was way too much sex and drama and some of the characters died at the end of the story. But like I said "That's life"! Life ain't always sweet wine and roses. As a matter a fact, it's rarely that way. That's what made this story beautiful. It was so real! Because I felt like I knew the characters, and you either loved them or hated them.

Kole Black brought this grimy tale to life, in full color! And the plot twist at the end seriously busted my head! I really enjoyed this book! Plus, it ended on a cliff hanger! Now, I am fienin' for the sequel! LOL

Great, Great, Great novel!!!

The thing That I must say is the story is a PAGE TURNER! And that is an understatement! I saw this book being featured by an online book club that the author "ZANE" was part of. And they everyone in the club was going crazy over this book, so I had to check it out. Let's just say that my money was well spent!

The story is very, very sexy and the love scenes are very well crafted! Kole Black had me extra hot & bothered! (if you know what I mean>) I am an avid reader, and I read at least 2-3 books a month. So I know if it's quality when I read the first page. Kole Black is now one of my favorite author's! He has his own unique style. As long as he keeps 'em coming like this, and does not try to change his formula, he is looking at a very, very successful career.

I cant wait to read his next book!

A number of reviewers of this book have compared Benson's ghost stories to Montague Rhodes James - justifiably, since they were probably the two greatest Victorian authors of supernatural short stories after Sheridan LeFanu and Algernon Blackwood. But there are also differences, some subtle and some less so. For instance, James's stories, drawing heavily from his own experience, frequently have a whiff of the ecclesiastical or academic about them, while Benson's tend to center on a middle-class, often somewhat smug Englishman going about his daily routine with no greater concerns than what to have for dinner and what seaside resort to spend the summer in. James's supernatural creatures are almost always malignant and frequently solid, as in "Canon Alberic's Scrapbook" or "Mr. Poynter's Diary", while Benson's, while they can be heard, felt and occasionally smelt, tend to be more traditionally misty and sometimes more anguished than malevolent. As the useful introduction by Richard Dalby points out, the trademarks of Benson's stories (overbearing fathers, malice-filled women, men whose closest friendships seem to be with other men and for whom love of the opposite sex has disastrous consequences) tell us a great deal about him as a person, whereas about all one gets about James from his stories is that he had a great love of ancient manuscripts, was religious and was a profound scholar.

Another difference is that while James occasionally shows a bit of dry irony, Benson more clearly has a sense of humor. As other reviewers mentioned, he frequently inserts psychic interludes dealing with mediums, seances, and somewhat exasperated spirits, but he also points out that the mediums and seances depend on fraudulent tricks (especially in "Mr. Tilly's Seance," where the disembodied spirit itself gets irritated at the medium's chicanery). His attitude seems to be that mediums and spiritualists are less to blame than those who swallow their bait - if you want to believe that Aunt Martha has nothing better to do with her afterlife than answer your impertinent questions, he seems to say, don't ask me for sympathy! In stories like "Spinach," he betrays a clear affection for the likable young sibling mediums, even if they are clearly at least partly frauds. And in one of the book's most hair-raising stories, "How Fear Departed from the Long Gallery," centering on an ancient murder that will make any parent's skin crawl, he argues that the attitude of the other-worldly apparition may depend on how you approach it, not the other way around.

Having said that, the one thing James and Benson have in common that separates them from lesser hack writers is that in both cases, the persons who tell the story are likely to be pottering along in their daily lives, totally oblivious to signs of trouble, when something sudden and terrible comes out of the darkness and either almost overwhelms them and carries them off, or actually does so, never more terribly than in "The Face." For those whose acquaintance with Benson may be restricted to "Mrs. Amworth" and "The Man Who Went Too Far," both frequently reprinted in anthologies, this book will open up a whole new, and somewhat frightening, world.

Benson was a good friend of classic ghost-story writer M.R. James, and was among those present that Christmas Eve when James read aloud his first ghost stories.

Benson didn't have the genius or the highly literate background of James, but he did know how to write a good ghost tale, and he did just that. His stories, as has been mentioned elsewhere, deal largely with a man or two men going on holiday and finding horror instead. Women often get the worst of it in his stories, either being innocent victims or horrifyingly evil antagonists; it doesn't often happen that a woman in one of his stories is a regular person who helps to solve whatever mystery is entangling the characters.

One classic in the misogynist vein is "The Room in the Tower", in which a young man experiences a recurring nightmare of visiting a school friend, whose frightening mother always speaks the same words: "Jack will show you to your room; I've given you the room in the tower." Our protagonist knows that he must, at all costs, avoid that room, but he always awakes before the evil inside can overcome him.

"The Step" is one of the finest ghost stories ever written, about a heartless English businessman in Egypt who begins to hear someone following him down the street, at night... and what happens when he confronts his pursuer.

For those who, like me, love the ghost stories of the Victorian and Edwardian era, this is a must.

E.F. Benson, perhaps best known for his amusing 'Mapp & Lucia' comedy-of-manners stories also wrote a respectable body of ghost stories which are gathered together in this excellent omnibus anthology. All make for quality reading as examples of the English supernatural genre but a few stand out as darkly-luminous masterpieces, unforgettable in their haunting hold upon the reader and written with real verve. 'The Room In The Tower' is an undeniably chilling narrative of vampirism featuring a truly terrifying female revenant - the words spoken recurrently by Mrs Stone to the protaganist: "Jack will show you to your room: i have given you the room in the tower" are enough to instil a frisson of pervasive dread every time one reads this story. 'The Sanctuary' is a delectably macabre tale of damned souls and secret diabolism at an English country house complete with a hidden Satanic chapel for nocturnal celebrations of Le Messe Noir. 'The Man Who Went Too Far' unfolds by awful degrees the seductive but injudicious immersion of an artist in the deeps of nature mysticism which can only culminate in the most hideous revelation of truth and the sign of the cloven hoof - it is marvellously written, exquisite prose and descriptive passages and has a most beguiling undercurrent. 'The Cat' likewise is utterly engrossing and 'Mrs Amworth' stands as a unusual classsic of the vampire tale. But these are just a few of the delights this packed volume offers to the curious reader, there are many other marvellous tales to cause one to look over one's shoulder as the clock strikes twelve and a sighing midnight wind scrapes the twigs of an overhanging bough against the window. Quintessentially English, wrought with a delicious lightness of touch and a hint of a stylish insouciance but nevertheless conveying a genuinely disturbing charge of the uncanny these tales will be read again and again. E.F.Benson's contribution to the field of supernatural terror is of a very high standard. This anthology is well-worth obtaining.

I have been soaking up horror anthologies like a sponge for well over two years now. I would have thought I would tire of them, but I just can't get enough of the atmosphere and the gloom these types of tales relate.

My current favorite is this dense book compiling the supernatural tales of E.F. Benson. At the moment I am only about of a third of the way through. Perhaps I should wait until I finish, but judging by the variety of stories here, I feel safe to say that I highly recommend this hefty volume.

Many may find some of these tales a little dated, for science may have disspelled a few of the subjects covered. But for the most part these are timeless tales, rich in description, drenched in dark moods and never failing to surprise with the seemingly endless ways Benson appears to construct a solid ghost story cleverly and elegantly.

I'm not given to superlatives, but I find it hard to express anything to say about this book where superlatives or comarisons to the greatest writers of this genre without seeming trite. There ARE a few contemporary authors of the Victorian-Edwardian Era, which the Benson Brothers bridged, who have a story or even several better than many in this collection, but just mentioning these names says more about how great E.F Benson is- I'm talking about J.S Le Fanu, M.R James, Villiers D'Isle Adam and in the modern era, the list is even more impressive: Flannery O'Conner, Thomas Liggoti, Clive Barker, Issac Bashevis Singer and Peter Straub(who has quietly taken over the crown as America's Horror Short Story king with two masterpieces "Houses Without Doors", "Magic Terror" and several novellas masquerading as novels). I urge you to read E.F Benson's Book of Ghost Tales, then demand that some publisher do a public serviced and re-publish Benson's two nearly(?)as talented brothers R.H and A.C Benson who, from the few tales I've read in anthologies and old magazines may well be as good or,dare I say it?...even better.

This was my first L. L'Amour book and I loved it. It was relatively easy reading but very enjoyable. Mr. L'Amour is excellent at developing the characters and weaving them into the story. I had a hard time putting this book down at night before going to bed..
I have already purchased several more of his books and am planning on collecting the entire set.
You will definitely enjoy this book and this writer.

Comstock Lode is classic Louis L'amour. This book is extremely enjoyable and fast-paced. If you are just starting out on Louis, this book will not steer you wrong, it is a perfect example of his genius.

I just finished reading Comstock last week, when I happened to be up in the California gold country myself. I'm a garden writer, author of 5 published books, and I was in Placer County, speaking to the Auburn Garden Club. The town of Auburn, which sits in the middle of the gold rush's richest territory, is a neat place, one to visit if you get the chance. I noticed too that there is still a very busy mining supply store right on one of Auburn's main streets. There's still gold and silver being found up there!
But I digress: All of us who read Louis L'Amour's Westerns have probably noticed that while all of them are fun to read, some are certainly better than others. I thought that Comstock was darn good, and certainly one of the best of his books set in California. If you enjoy a fast-paced, action packed Western, I expect you'll like Comstock. I recommend it!

"Comstock Lode" is just fantastic! This book was written by the famous Western writer, Louis L'Amour. Louis L'Amour has written over a hundred books, including the famous Sackett novels. The setting of this story is in the mid-1800's, during the gold rush in America. The story is told in Virginia City, Nevada.

The main character is Val Trevallion, a young man of twenty-four with a harsh past. Both of his parents were killed when he was young and he has taken it upon himself to have revenge on the killers. He is a quiet man but very strong because of his work in mines. Though he has not had the best education, he is very smart. Grita Redaway is Val's friend from his past. Her parents were also killed by the same people who killed Val's parents. She is a very beautiful and an intelligent actress. She is independent though with a streak of stubbornness in her. Al Hesketh is the villain of the story. He is a cruel and wicked man, only thinking of himself and how he can become rich.

The story begins in Cornwall, England in the year 1859. Val is fourteen-years-old when his father and mother decide to move to America. His father wants to work his own mine in California. He saves enough money so they go to America by boat. When they reached Gunwalloe, the Trevallions decide to travel to California with another family, the Redaways. The Redaways have only one daughter, Grita, who is eight-years-old. A few days before they leave, Val's father goes to buy supplies a few miles away. Suddenly, drunken rustlers attack the wagons in which Val and Grita's mothers are in. The drifters kill the mothers then beat up Mr. Redaway. During the whole time, Val and Grita are hidden nearby; Val protecting Grita and shielding her from the sight. After they leave, killing Mr. Redaway, Val and Grita go find Mr. Trevallion. After the dead are buried, Mr. Trevallion, though heartbroken, decides to carry on to California with Val while Grita goes to live with her aunt. But on the way to California, Val's father is killed by the same men who had killed his mother. Val swears to have revenge on the murderers. Ten years go by, during which Val shoots two of the people who were involved in the murders. Val then realizes that he has wasted his life and decides to settle down and have his own mine in Virginia City, Nevada, where the Comstock Lode is. He gets good land and finds some silver in his mines. But trouble seems to follow him everywhere. He finds out that Grita is in big trouble, in which the remaining men who murdered his parents are involved.

Love this book, and is one of my favorite L'Amour books. Louis L'Amour is the type of writer that, whatever he writes, you'll know before-hand that you'll love them. "Comstock Lode" is no exception. Some other of my favorite L'Amour books are:

*North to the Rails*
*Sackett Series*
*Matagorda*
*Crossfire Trail*

...and this list can go on and on and on!

Louis L'Amour's Comstock Lode is a brilliant, fictional novel based on real events that will suck you in as soon as you start reading. I'm not one for westerns at ALL, but I was recommended this book and told myself, Why not? It sounds alright, nothing really better to read as of right now. I'll admit, the first few chapters started off a little dull, but then, you get deeper and deeper into the story and you can't put the book down. I recommend this book to anyone who likes adventure novels or Louis L'Amour in general.
Val Trevallion was a son of Tom Trevallion and his wife Mary, who lived in England until finding a large amount of gold and, moves to the States. While in Louisiana, Val's mother and the mother of another girl named Grita Redaway are brutally murdered by a group of shadowy characters, one of which Val will never forget the eyes of. Val and his father set out for the Wild West, but on the way there, his father gets murdered as well. A name on a gun gives Val a clue as to the identity of one man from the group of men that murdered his father and possibly his mother. Val goes to the Comstock where he is known as the toughest, most feared man around. While there, he will remeet Grita, a beautiful, budding actress and the memories come rushing back. His main mission: to kill those who killed his parents. But not everyone seems to be who they are, and Val has to come face-to-face with the man whose eyes haunted him years earlier in this edge-of-your-seat thriller.

This was a great book and I loved the dialogue. I am not particularly fond of love stories but this is a cute love story. It is one of those books that makes you feel good and smile when you are done reading it. That Neola was a trip.

Cousins is raw, real and original! The dialect is flavorful. The characters are emotional. The passion is sensational! Fantastic writing.

This book is absolutely wonderful! It reads well and the dialogue is genuine. I couldn't put it down. I laughed, cried and laughed some more.

Cousins has a down home, hot and spicy, misty rain, warm slow dripping home made molasses, dip me in it with a fresh hand made buttermilk biscuit kind of flava.

All I can say is that I want to live in Sweet Water, North Carolina. If this place is not real, it should be. If the characters aren't real, they need to be.

Every page is gripping! Every love scene is inviting! Every plate of food is digestable! This author has an imagination that's out of this world! Her talent is unshakable!

Cousins is absolutely the best book I've read all year. The author keeps you captivated. The characters have such strong personalities you actually feel as if they are still with you when you put the book down. I didn't want to put it down until I finished. I would love to see this book in a movie! Excellent writing!