Genres Books

It arrived very soon. I am very pleased with the good condition of the product.

Among the many bygone newspaper comic strips, there are a few that are considered classics. It is fortunate that unlike many legacy strips (such as Gasoline Alley, Dennis the Menace or Dick Tracy), these strips died with their creators, keeping the original strip undiminished by successive artists. Krazy Kat has gone away, as has Peanuts (although it continues in reissues of the originals); so to, has Steve Canyon.

Milton Caniff had developed Steve Canyon shortly after WWII, and unlike his previous strip - Terry and the Pirates - he was able to assert more creative control over Canyon The collection of 1947 strips presents the first year or so of Steve Canyon's adventures. And "adventure" is the right word, because this was an adventure strip, focused on intrigue and action.

As Canyon is introduced, he is an ex-WWII fighter pilot who has now runs a struggling operation called Horizons Unlimited, which specializes in charter flights, particularly for moving cargo. His first client in the comic strip is the wealthy and beautiful Copper Calhoon, who like many of the characters, have rather unique names. Copper wants Canyon to fly her to her various properties, where she suspects shenanigans are going on. She's right. Like almost every woman in the strip, she also has a romantic interest in Canyon, who generally stays detached from any love affairs, though one woman will appear later in the year that he is attracted to.

Though this considered a classic strip - and it is well-drawn and written - it also is not at the top tier of the older comics. To me, the significant flaw is the occasional bits of silliness that distract from, rather than enhance, the storyline. Nowhere is this more obvious than the character of Happy Easter who can be annoying at times. Canyon himself is an okay character, but often bland compared to the characters around him. Overall, Steve Canyon the comic strip, at least in its first year, is a decent but not exceptional work.

As a paperboy in the sixties, I was always fascinated by the adventure strips in the newspapers I delivered, but unfortunately I only managed to read them sporadically and missed their continuity. It was also the time of their decline and today, the adventure strip is not what it was in its heyday during the previous decades and has largely disappeared. I often wished I could revisit those times. A number of high-quality reproductions have recently come out, restoring these great strips, and it is now time for me to delve. Since there is much agreement that the giant among the adventure strip artists was Milton Caniff, I gave the 1947 Steve Canyon a try.

The post-war years had their special appeal, reflected in the visual arts - and especially Hollywood, with its Lauren Bacalls, Bette Davises, Katharine Hepburns, Agnes Mooreheads, Joan Crawfords, and scores of other individuals and femmes fatales, and the leading men of the time, and secondary characters and sidekicks - there is something about the visual style of the people, cars, planes, design and architecture of the time that is very pleasing. The look of those times is stunningly captured in Caniff's panels, little chiaroscuro masterpieces (Caniff was called the Rembrandt of cartooning), with the artist's own stable of femmes fatales, villains and supporting characters issuing from his imagination, complemented by gripping plots.

This Checker restoration is well-bound and well-printed on glossy paper, and the art comes through in delicious detail, though it is admittedly a little small, due to the need to fit enough of it on each page. The panels are all beautiful and some are masterpieces so detailed that it is worth looking at them with a magnifying glass. The balloons are very wordy, however, and crowd the art. The pacing and imaginativeness of the adventures is superb. There is more depth to the stories than one would find in any of the superhero comics past or present (possibly a very few exceptions nowadays). You will find strategy and planning, tactical execution to get out of situations, technical knowledge, plot twists, and very little deus ex machina. The femme fatales have distinct personalities; Caniff did not get them all from the same mould.

Obviously, one does not discuss matters of taste, but if the chiaroscuro renderings of a very special era by a recognized master appeals to you, then by all means get this hard copy of the late forties.

For years, I have been more familiar with Caniff's "Terry & the Pirates" than with "Steve Canyon". Having bought this volume, though, I can't wait to get more. Milt knew how to tell a story and was an incredible artist. As a cartoonist myself (I draw the strip "Tuttle's") I am envious of the freedom Caniff had. Not just in space, but that he was apparently given more than a month at the beginning just to establish the characters. Now, if a strip hasn't grabbed the readers by day 2 (it seems) it's gone.

I want to give praise to the publishers of this book, too: Checkers. Some reprints of cartoons lately have gone to such lengths to present the strips in a large format that the cost of the volumes became prohibitive. Especially for people who aren't comicphiles. Checker has done a great job of presenting the cartoons in a crisp print that's readable and affordable. I can't want to get more editions!

Milton Caniff left Terry and the Pirates to create his own comic strip, Steve Canyon, and these early adventures are some of his greatest work.

All but a few years of Steve Canyon have already been reprinted, by Kitchen Sink, in the Menomonee Falls Gazette, in Comics Revue monthly, and in Carl Horak's Caniffites, but it is good to have the beginning of the strip back in print from Checker Books. Until his support of American troops in Vietnam lost him many of his readers, Milton Caniff was one of the most popular cartoonists in the world. His snappy dialog and interesting characters, especially his female characters, make his strips well worth seeking out.

"The Music of Black Americans: A History shares some of the most important, yet fascinating events of black America".

Book was in mint condition! I was completely satisfied.
Kimberly :-)

Cosa consigliare ad un appassionato di musica afro-americana che, conoscendo un po' di inglese, decidesse di leggere qualcosa per cui valga veramente la pena di fare un po' di fatica?
Personalmente non avrei molti dubbi: credo che l'opera più completa che esiste sul mercato e che associa alla competenza una buona leggibilità anche per chi non è di madre lingua sia proprio questo.
Eileen Southern è Professor Emerita di Musica e Studi Afro-americani alla Harvard University di Boston, fondatrice ed editrice della rivista The Black Perspective in Music, che è stata pubblicata dal 1973 al 1990, e autrice, coautrice ed editrice di numerosi volumi sulla musica e la cultura afroamericana.
Il libro in questione, di 678 pagine, ripercorre tutta la storia della musica afroamericana dalle origini (1619) fino all'ultimo decennio del XX secolo. L'opera è suddivisa in 14 capitoli ed è completata con un'accurata bibliografia e discografia e un indice dei nomi e dei temi.
Il linguaggio è piano e comprensibile anche a chi non abbia una quotidiana familiarità con l'americano scritto.
Il libro della Southern affronta tutti i diversi generi musicali dei neri americani, dal canto in congregazione alla musica urbana del primo ottocento, dai worksongs ai traveling road shows, dal blues al ragtime, ecc..
Il taglio critico trasversale, che analizza l'emergere della musica nera all'interno della più ampia realtà sociologica e culturale dell'America Settentrionale, consente di cogliere con chiarezza le fasi dell'evolversi della cultura afroamericana, non solo musicale. Si tratta di un'opera più descrittiva che interpretativa, in tal senso più adatta a chi, volendo avviare la propria conoscenza del fenomeno musicale afroamericano, non è interessato all'analisi del significato profondo della musica e dei testi e a conoscere i diversi modelli interpretativi proposti dagli studiosi.
Fondamentale!

I am using this book for my masters thesis and I must say that I am very pleased. Ms. Southern did an excellent job researching the subject and the book is put together well. There is so much information involved!!! She starts from the VERY beginning and smoothly takes you through the ride of African-American music. Each section is very thorough. This text is perfect for anyone who is researching the subject or just wants to gain knowledge on this rich music. A+++

Have you ever heard about The National Negro Opera Company? Founded by Mary Cardwell Dawson, the company made its debut in Pittsburgh in 1941. This is but one of the fascinating things you can discover in this marvelous book. If you have an interest in music of whatever variety, your library is incomplete without this book.

This 3rd edition was done in 1997, thus it is quite up-to-date in its coverage of classical, jazz, rock, pop, gospel, swing, ragtime or blues. If it is music as practiced, performed or composed by people of color, this is where you'll find valuable information about it. Beginning with Africa and continuing to the present day, the four sections detail this rich history: Song in a Strange Land (1619-1775); Let My People Go (1776-1865); Blow Ye the Trumpet (1865-1919) and Lift Every Voice (1920-1996). The latter section is particularly informative reading with sections on Jazz, The Harlem Renaissance, and the Mid-Century Decades. It is these years in which artists of color finally took their well-deserved place on the musical stages of the world. Of course, they had been visible in their own world, and the popularity of such major composers as Scott Joplin and Duke Ellington allowed them to more or less effortlessly cross-over to the 'white' world. Lena Horne, the Mills Brothers, Louis Armstrong, Cab Calloway were--and still are--names to be reckoned with in any list of fabulous performers.

And then there was Marion Anderson who finally made her way to the Metropolitan Opera at the very end of her career, making way for Robert McFerrin, Leontyne Price, Jessye Norman, Simon Estes and George Shirley, who were very much pioneers in their respective repertoire. Today, thankfully, artists of color are not at all rare on the concert and/or opera stages of the world. But lest we forget the individual trauma these artists suffered in order to be able to compete in this way, we need to remember the past while we are glorying in the present. This book will, if you let it, open your mind and your ears to wonderful, glorious sounds, without which our world would be a much quieter and poorer place.

The author of this book is the renowned Eileen Southern (Professor Emerita of Music and Afro-American Studies at Harvard University) who is herself a musician as well as a writer, and is eminently qualified to illuminate The Music of Black Americans to the world in general.

Pages 613 through 646 comprise a rich bibliography and discography; the index takes up 41 pages. NO music lover should be without this invaluable reference work.

I just finished reading "Myself Among Others" by George Wein. This is the best book on Jazz I ever read. Politics, craziness, love, trust, friendship, race relations... are all inside by a major insider.
I even learned things I did not want to know about my idols. That is a must read book for anyone who has any warm corner in his heart for the "classical music of America."

I'm only up to page 128 in this wonderful book but am already completely enthralled. As Nat Hentoff said, "He has known more musicians-some very well indeed-than any writer on jazz, and he certainly knows the business end." To read personal accounts of his relationships and experiences with almost every jazz legend I've ever heard of (and some from before my time as well) is mesmerizing. And George Wein's personal life outside of jazz is not exactly "chopped liver" either!! The book is written with a wealth of knowledge, intelligence, insight, warmth, humor and humility. The only criticism I have is that the book is only a little over 500 pages!!

George Wein has blessed music lovers by utilizing his God-given business acumen to influence the way live music is presented. He has blessed us again with this warm and well written memoir that contains a wealth of anecdotes regarding a who's who in American music in the later haalf of the 20th century. George Wein started out as a jazz pianist but his exposure to so many legendary jazz performers brought him to the realization that his talent for the business side of music may have exceeded his actual musical ability. He devoted himself to promoting jazz performances and performers ultimately becoming the driving force behind the famed Newport Jazz Festival. Along the way he has countless stories to share regarding the great legends of jazz with whom he became acquainted. Branching out to promote folk music festivals and having some intersting experiences with the newly emerging Rock culture , George adapted his approach and enjoyed some additional successes. The book includes characters such as Ellington, Basie, Armstrong, Monk, Coltrane, Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger, Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, etc, etc.

This is a very entertaining book for music lovers of all stripes but will have special significance for the jazz lover since George Wein is clearly a jazz lover and speaks the language. A great book.

Without question, the best book on Jazz I have read. Mr. Wein's story by itself is fantastic. His life is interesting and his writing excellent. Additionally, he dicusses numerous musicians and offers personal observations which bring them to life. He recommends Lp's, CD's, songs and sets. What more could you ask for?

George Wein's wonderful memoir, "Myself Among Others", might just as well have been titled, "Payback Time". Although he chided Alberta Hunter for using the expression, as she mounted the stage, after many years in obscurity, followed by renewed stardom in the eighties, I can't help feeling that George is muttering that phrase to himself, as he rollcalls those sometime irresponsible, sometime neurotic, sometime drug addicted children the world knows as "jazz artists".
George knows the territory very well. As a teenage fan, very competent pianist and singer , jazz night club entreprenuer, and promoter of the "daddy" of the outdoor music festivals, "The Newport Jazz Festival", and oh yes, lecturer at Harvard, in his custom designed jazz course, dare anyone tell George anything about jazz, and the wonderful lunatics that people the jazz world?
Here is what it's like to do business with artists worshipped the world over, like Louis Armstrong, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Benny Goodman, Dizzy Gillespie, Woody Herman, Stan Kenton, Chet Baker, Count Basie, Stan Getz, Thelonious Monk, Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus. Space precludes naming them all. In addition to dealing with these "darlings", were the torrential rains at outdoor perfomances, political opposition from irrate townspeople, and the piece de resistance of booking concerts, other promoters dissapearing with George's money.
Maybe the presence of a natural built in Prozac machine kept George sane through this craziness, but I have another theory. His passion for the music. When you are hearing a Louis Armstrong, or a Charlie Parker and you truly "get it", there is something that goes beyond mere entertainment, or an expert improvisor. I can't even find adequate words to describe it, but when these men improvise on a popular song, it becomes like a classic solution to a philosophic, or mathematical theorum. It's hard to state the "problem" to be solved, but the true jazz fan knows that Louis, and Bird, and the other masters, came up with incredibly beautiful solutions night after night, year after year.
If you love jazz, and the artists, this book is a must.

With reference to the first review, "without you" was not Nilssons song, it was written by Pete Ham. Nilsson was certainly talented but lacked focus.

I am sad knowing Harry will never write , sing or play again. What a smooth as silk vocal and style that is matched by only the very best. A true classic. Whether or not you're a fan, Harry is the meaning of love of life, pleasure and music, a talented musician and a loss for the future. Very sad!

I am a new fan of Harry Nilsson. I love his song: Without You

You know, if you're going to complain that an artist's song "isn't really his song," then you should at least give ALL the credit where it's due.
Tom Evans and Pete Ham wrote "Without You."
Harry was an amazing talent. The world is worse off Without HIM. Enough said.

In dispute to the previous reviewer's comment, Harry Nilsson did NOT lack focus. Rather, he was adventurous. What does a pop star do to stay on top? Find a winning formula, and repeat it. This Nilsson did NOT do. He topped off his mounting pop success of the 60's with "Nilsson Sings Newman," a very UNpopular album at the time, but now quite revered. The project challenged Nilsson as an arranger and vocalist, but confused his more formulamatic fans. Then, he acheived Rock chart success with Nilsson Schmilsson, followed by Son of Schmilsson, which had an "F" word song on it, alienating his more genteel fans. So what does Harry do next? TWO albums of old standards; a thrill for him, but an alienation to his now more rocking fan base. Is this lack of focus? No, it's a artist doing what he wants to do, what he himself finds interesting, without too much concern for public opinion, a la Bob Fripp. Harry could have been a much bigger "Star" by repeating one of his successful formulas such as "Nilsson Schmilsson" over and over again, but he choose a more personal, heartfelt path; followed his artistic vision, wherever it took him.

I got this books as a present for my kind who loves Evanescence and has followed in pretty much detail their story and tracking. It provides very good background information and interesting notes on the group.
A must-have for the die-hard fans.

This is a really good book for fans of Evanescence and Amy Lee. It has some nice pictures of Amy in it. The written part of the book isn't really anything special. There's nothing unusual about the man's story and there's nothing wrong with that. A person or band doesn't need a story of suffering and starving if their art is as good as that of Evanescence. I got the impression that someone had photos that they wanted to turn into a book to make money and that the writer is just someone who was contracted to write the thing and had no personal interest in the subject matter. Almost everything written has an annoying habits of saying "In SO AND SO MAGAZINE ON SEPT 13, 2002 it was said that...". I give the book five stars for the pictures. If I were reviewing only the written part I would probably give it a 3 star rating.

I picked up this book at Hot Topic when i was just browsing. So i bought it. I started reading it the next night, it was well written. I just couldn't put it down because i wanted to know "everything" about my favorite band. They have some great photos too. I read this twice then put some of the pictures up on my wall. It covered almost everything you would want to know about this band, past and present. It was full of great facts that i've never heard before. So i recommend you read this book, its very interesting and if everyone could only read this, it would probably put an end to all the Evanescence rumors.

Great awesome book about Evanescence. The author did a really good job explaining Evanescence's roots, background, history, etc. And there are lots of cool pictures of Amy and the band. Overall, just a really cool book. Defintley recommend to any Evanescence fan.

I picked up this paperback while staying in Florida. It was hard to find on the shelf because it's actually very small. I paid 12 bucks for it and it was worth every penny.
I'm a knowledgeable fan of Evanescence I was very happy to find a few tidbits here and there I didn't know already. If you're like me, you're tired of reading/hearing "Ben and Amy met at summer camp" and "Bring Me To Life is about this" etc. The book had some great light reading covering the bands humble beginnings all the way thru the last stop of their tour. It's very easy to read and the pictures included are quite nice. I was hoping for some rare images, maybe like some early photos of Ben, Amy and David but no luck there. Most of the photos are recents, in black and white and a few color photos are thrown into the middle of the book.
My favorite part was the timeline in the back. Here the reader can see specific albums, track listings, locations of shows etc. Pick this book up if you like Evanescence, it's like having your own Evanescence scrapbook.

Shadow Scourge may be looked as another sci-fi doomsday book when examined. But what Outlanders is is totally the opposite. The author uses history and future all in one: The book takes place in the future yet they encounter things thousands of years old.

I cannot describe the total uniqueness in these novels. While most future books are man books straight sci-fi, this isnt. If you look at a catagory this book is in in the store its catagory is Western/Men's Adventure. Yet this book had fantasy, humor, facts, sociology, history, romance, friendship, drama and BRILLIANT storyline. Everything is in these books that anyone could want to read about. Therefore it isn't western or men's adventure.

In this particular book, the group journey to South America where they encounter the descendents of the Mayan Empire that headed south after their descendants were murdered by Hernan Cortes. Their culture is still the same after 700 years. These characters which take place 200 years into the future expierience things not seen in 500 years. Anyone into history would enjoy this book.

Also, In other comments you hear about vampires and this and that. Im not a fan for vampires but they play a small part in it. Anyone that likes horror would like this.

Anyone into romance, friendships, tension, aliens. you name it, its in this book as well as all the Outlanders Series.

The author is very intelligent and thats no lie.

Shadow Scourge was a very well done novel. Even after talking to the author about it and being told to be disappointed, that wasn't what had happened.

Sure, it was more combat oriented than most of the previous novels and there was a creature that may or may not have been a vampire, but the rest of the novel more than made up for that.

The story centered more around Brigid and Dafore. It was great to see these two characters getting more attention than ever and learning more about the medic from the Cerberus redoubt. That alone makes the novel worth while picking up.

Then there is the scientific explination on the swampies, as well as the vampire family from Bloodlines, and a re-visit to South America and the natives that were encountered in Emerald Fire.

I was told that Science Fiction and Horror do not mix. Sometimes it's true, other times, take the Alien movie series, it works. As long as the writer takes the time to explain things, it will always work out.

And there is an added bonus that we learn more about the Magistrate training as well as what happened to the installation where the Aurora crashed in Armageddon Axis.

Worth while reading folks!

Shadow Scourge is about as different an Outlanders book as you can get. Though it has lots of action, it's more like a horror story with a really creepy and nasty villain. The best part about it for me is that Brigid gets star billing in this one. She's not in the back seat like she was in the previous novel but right there in the thick of things--and the things in this book even creeped me out who's a big Steven King fan. Like all books in this series, I recommend this one.

I don't usually read horror stories because they never scare me. I didn't expect to find a horror story in an Outlanders novel...and I didn't expect to have it "creep" me out. Shadow Scourge has a lot of action in it, a lot of violence but the supernatural overtones made it a winner for me. Outlanders is usually high adventure and action with sci-fi overtones, so this book came as a nice surprise.

"Shadow Scourge" may be one of the strangest stories in the series so far and maybe that's why I liked it so much. With its references to a couple of old Deathlands adventures and echoes of Lovecraft, its fast-moving, VERY action-packed and filled with deviltry and derring-do. Our heroes face a villain of the likes they never encountered before and probably pray they never do again. The way the swamp muties were featured made them some of the most repellant creatures ever to appear in either Outlanders and Deathlands--and so of course I hope they show up again. So far the track record of this series is 100 percent. There are some novels I liked better than others but I haven't come across a bad one yet.

Mask Of The Sphinx is an engaging new episode in the Outlanders series. I was a little prejudiced against this book because it has a tie-in with a Deathlands novel, Nightmare Passage.

Even though I read Nightmare Passage several years ago and liked it, I am angry with Gold Eagle for what seems like the "Deathlandization" of Outlanders with the two very substandard entries by another writer over the last year.

But Mask Of The Sphinx is a truly excellent book with vivid, vibrant characters, a great storyline and an exotic locale full of mystery and intrigue. Quite fortunately, the Cerberus heroes--who I buy the series to read about, not substitutes, take note, Gold Eagle!--are back in full character. I enjoyed seeing everyone getting out into the field.

The jumping-off point for the plot deals with helping Quavell, the pregnant hybrid who has been living in Cerberus for quite some time, and who oddly, wasn't mentioned as even existing in what I read of the previous book, Sun Lord.

It was a nice change to see the characters embarking on a mission that was basically benign for once...even though circumstances changed pretty quickly--as usual!.

It was also interesting to see Kane forced to exercise his new diplomat's muscles, particularly when he comes face-to-face with an old enemy--who actually shows she's not quite as one-dimensionally evil as the Cerberus warriors thought.

Although Mask Of The Sphinx won't make my top five favorite novels in the series, it's still a masterful piece of adventure storytelling, full of all the qualities that have made Outlanders so praiseworthy over the years.

One of the all-time best of the series. I would give it a 10 + if I could. A must read for action/adventure fans who want a little more than just the same 'ol same 'ol.

Why cannot Hollywood turn this series into a major motion picture, which has multiple, endless sequels, is beyond me.

'Mask of the Sphinx' is more like it! This is pure classic Outlanders, full of exotic places, colorful characters, mystery, action, humor, babes and mummies!

All the cool and competent characters we know are back and no "liberties" are taken with them.

The Cerberus crew find a city modeled after ancient Egypt hidden in the California desert, ruled over by a babecilious telepathic queen. There's a revolution going on and she wants the help of both the Cerberus crew and the forces of Sam the imperator to defeat it. The reader never knows if she's playing one side off against the other to gain her own ends.

And when mutants patterned after Egyptian gods show up as well as walking mummies--Yeesh!

'Mask of the Sphinx' is one very cool book!

This is the first book of the Outlanders series that I have read and I enjoyed it very much. The characters generally acted intelligently and actually had personalities. It was refreshing that characters, which were known to be enemies, could interact with each other without trying to kill each other. Not that there wasn't violence, because there was plenty of that. It's just that the mayhem was a tool to further the plot and not just there for its own sake. The tidbits of character background sprinkled through the book, made me want to read the other books of the series so I could get to know the characters better. This went for the good guys as well as the bad. I only hope that the rest of the books in the series are as good as this one.

The latest in the Outlanders series keeps the reader enthralled and guessing. While the plot has Kane, Brigid, Grant and their companions on the run in a bizarre and exotic setting, "Mask Of The Sphinx" is pure Outlanders, not like the distorted version as presented in "Sun Lord", authored by a fill-in writer.

I don't think "Sphinx" is one of the top ten of the series but at least it doesn't seem like it takes place in an alternative reality as in the previous book and that earns it a lot of points as far as I'm concerned.

The threads of continuity as woven by Mark Ellis has been one of the more enjoyable points of reading Outlanders for all these years. It's always enjoyable to find the recurrence of locales, good guys and bad guys from the past. In "Mask Of The Sphinx", we have a couple of returnees.

It was also great to find that the plot basically revolved around Quavell, the pregnant hybrid who has been a resident of the Cerberus redoubt for a couple of years at this point--but who was mysteriously missing from "Sun Lord".

"Mask of The Sphinx" also had enough mayhem to satisfy action fans, but without the gross misogyny so often used in this genre, particularly by the fill-in author "Sun Lord".

All the female characters are portrayed as multi-dimensional, suprisingly even a returning one who up to this point was depicted as a scheming, narcissistic witch.

There are no bimbos or sluts in "Mask of The Sphinx", only intelligent women who the reader has to decide are good, bad or somewhere in between.

I won't give the details away, but "Mask of The Sphinx" works on every level, from fast-paced adventure, violence, suspense, mystery, vivid characterizations and most importantly--the heart and soul of the Outlanders series has been returned to it.

All that we've come to love about Outlanders is in Skull Throne. Exotic peoples, places, enemies, and objects. I love how we're seeing that things aren't going as smoothly for the Cerberus group as most serial plots would have. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if a number of the Cerberus crew decided to leave - possibly even as traitors. Things aren't going smoothly for the team and that can only leave room for new conflicts and adventures. I haven't been this excited about a series' next release in a long time.

How many ways can I explain the awesomeness that is Skull Throne? From the flash-bang opening with Cerberus Away Team Alpha in Pakistan (including a visit from our old friend Decard from Mask of the Sphinx), through the jungles of South America, and right up to a rousing climax within an ancient Mayan pyramid, this book crackles with energy at every turn.

The action throughout the book is varied and exciting. Giant battles against hopeless odds with high tech weaponry? Yup. Up close and personal battles with nothing but primative tools? Yeah, that too. Beautiful princesses, ancient civilization, high technology disguised as artifacts... it's all there.

I am being deliberately vague, because there are just too many fun surprises for me to spoil them here. Suffice to say, the book is high adventure at its finest and stands proudly with other classics of the series like Tomb of Time and Mad God's Wrath.

Skull Throne is another rousing adventure tale in this decade long series of them.

The Cerberus warriors team up with an old enemy to face down Overlord Nergal. In the process the reader is introduced to the newly formed Cerberus Away Teams and goes on a vivid and colorful trek through the Amazon rain forest.

As always, Mark Ellis mixes myth with real history with sharp characterization to make a very memorable book. Highly recommended.

Great book but I wish there was a way of getting this in a subscription.

Skull Throne is fast-paced, action-packed and in my opinion one of the best novels in the entire ten year history of the series...which is an accomplishment few writers today can boast and Mark Ellis should take a bow.

I love the "Cerberus crew" of Kane, Brigid and Grant and the entire supporting cast of Domi, Lakesh, Philboyd and now the Cerberus Away Teams. Being able to visit with old friends and be introduced to new ones makes Skull Throne an exceptionally enjoyable book.

The humor between the lead characters, the camaradrie and the fact that they get on each other's nerves lifts them from being one dimensional cut-outs to fully realized portraits---larger than life of course, because they're so heroic but they still have ordinary concerns.

The explanation put forth by Mark Ellis about the true nature of the mysterious crystal skulls as well as the fate of Colonel Fawcett all those years ago in the Amazonian jungle is both original and amusing.

I also was gratified by the return of Sindri, who we haven't seen in several years...and he's just as cunning and entertaining as ever.

The trek through the jungles was vividly described and I particulary liked the scene at the waterfall with Kane and the high priestess, Ixchel.

The only criticism I have with Skull Throne is that it wasn't twice as long!

Not much I can add to the other reviews about this book than agree with them. Excellent, entertaining and even a thought-provoking novel.

No amount of superlatives can do this series justice, this novel just continues the upward trend this series has shown since it started.

That said, this one makes up for the slighty disappointing 'Doomstar Relic' and then some.

This chapter features revelations aplenty and lots of well executed interpersonal banter and even humor. The Kane/Beth-li/Brigid triangle is a riot and is the best feature of the slow start to this novel. After the opening gambit things don't let up for a second, this is a 'read-in-one-night' book that's for sure!

The ending sets up what sounds like a great new direction for the series which seems like it could be along the lines of one of my personal favourites 'Omega Path'.

Consistently quality stuff in a genre that's not normally known for such things. If you're not an Outlanders fan by now, you should be!

I only started with Outlanders with Parallax Red, but I went back and read all the earlier books. As other readers have said, this series is very strong in the character and story departments.With Iceblood, Outlanders hits a new standard of quality. Simply put, its fun, full of high adventure and unexpected plot twists. For the first time in years, I'm actually excited about keeping up with a series.

I've been an off-and-on reader of Axler's Deathlands series for several years, but I've been with Outlanders from the beginning. Though I've always enjoyed it, the alien angle bothered me. Partly, I couldn't understand why, if the Archon Directorate were so superior and had conquered humanity, we saw only one of them--Balam, who was a prisoner on top of it.Iceblood explains why, and I have to admire Axler for planting all the clues to this revelation from the first book onward.Outlanders really is an action-adventure series for people who don't ordinarily read such things. Iceblood is the perfect example.

Outlanders continues to grow and transend its roots as just another men's adventure series. Iceblood is major turning point and readers who haven't been following the series need to read this one.There is a surprising development about the Archon Directorate and mysteries which have been hinted at the last few books finally come to light--not to mention that a long unanswered question from the Deathlands series is finally answered.But like all the other Outlander books, it is the characters which make this story--from the "Mulder and Scully" like relationship between Kane and Brigid Baptiste to the scheming but still sexy Beth-li to Grant's consistent bad luck (the bad guy drops a whale on him!) to the strangely sad Archon, Balam, who turns out not be such an alien after all.A whole lot of surprising things happen in this book and there is action galore. The fight to the finish between Kane and the sicko villian, Zakat, kept me on the edge of my seat.Also, Iceblood is apparently the lead-in to a trilogy and I can barely wait for it.Outlanders is categorized as "action/adventure". Let me tell you, it's not false advertising!

There's a certain je ne sais quoi about the work of the earliest sci-fi writers by which they draw the reader into a richly painted world that scarcely allows him to come up for breath. This may sound trite, but, as one recalls, the ultimate objective of all strongly crafted fiction is to dissolve the delineation between the reader's universe and the story's universe. Perhaps I should except the trite--even silly--works of the likes of H. G. Wells and Rudyard Kipling (I have difficulty getting into a story where "high-tech" battles between opposing forces are fought on horseback!), but the majority of the stories are very finely textured. Ironically, as we leave the Golden Age and progress toward modern times, the "tightness" of the individual story as a complete, conceptual unit is lost: frankly, I'd prefer if sci-fi never advanced past the '70s. But that's not the fault of this book, but, rather, of the "writers" who are too concerned with glitz and pseudo-technique than with telling an enrapturing story. Also on the downside, there are some editing problems, and I'd have been happier if the British editors hadn't insisted on forcing British orthographic conventions upon American text. Kudos to the editors of this absorbing volume for doing just about the best that could be done with the hundred-plus-year panoply of science fiction literature in the English language.

This is a history of sci-fi kind of anthology. We start early, then we move upwards through the 1980s. As a history, this is a fine collection, very enjoyable, as it makes it possible for one to trace the development of the genre alongside what was happening in the world it has its roots in.
But as a history, sometimes, I fear, quality has to be sacrificed. Not all these short stories are optimal for the genre.

That fact that this collection would get produced again after about 10 years is a sign that this book is selling well enough that it deserves a re-release with a different cover. I'd always been a fan of science fiction, but never really tried to get into it until I read most of the stories in it. With only 30 pages left to read, I'm interested in finishing the rest of the book now.

Shippey's selection of stories is excellent whether you are a science fiction fanatic or an amateur. What's good about short stories is that they are short enough so that if you don't like them, you can move on to the next one, and if you really like it, you can look for longer works by that particular author. The book is thick enough to include a span of stories which vary in plot and complexity greatly. More general ideas such as how the world may be like in the future, whether the world will end or not, how a part of the future may be like in the future, government policies, religion, standardized tests, alien invasions, sickness, the afterlife, and even sex are a few big concepts in the science fiction stories presented. At least one of these stories may even bring some disgust or creative joy to your taste buds. More specific plot stories which are not necessarily tuned in to a social global theory are also included such as search for treasure and visiting alien planets. Something for everyone pretty much in the science fiction genre.

As you would expect from an anthology of this sort, there is a historical and/or critical if you like introduction to the field of science fiction, of some reasonable length, before getting to the stories.

Then, you have a chronological progression of tales, or various types chosen by the editor to be presumably representative. He appears to have done a rather good job, too, averaging 3.73 over a wide range of eras. Should be able to, though, if taking your pick. Pretty minor Wolfe and Le Guin stories, and a useless Disch tale drag it down a little.

With that, and the intro, probably a 4.75 anthology I think, definitely excellent.

Oxford Book of Science Fiction Stories : The Land Ironclads - H. G. Wells
Oxford Book of Science Fiction Stories : Finis - Frank L. Pollock
Oxford Book of Science Fiction Stories : As Easy as A.B.C. - Rudyard Kipling
Oxford Book of Science Fiction Stories : The Metal Man - Jack Williamson
Oxford Book of Science Fiction Stories : A Martian Odyssey - Stanley G. Weinbaum
Oxford Book of Science Fiction Stories : Night - John W. Campbell, Jr.
Oxford Book of Science Fiction Stories : Desertion - Clifford D. Simak
Oxford Book of Science Fiction Stories : The Piper's Son - Lewis Padgett
Oxford Book of Science Fiction Stories : The Monster - A. E. van Vogt
Oxford Book of Science Fiction Stories : Second Night of Summer - James H. Schmitz
Oxford Book of Science Fiction Stories : Second Dawn - Arthur C. Clarke
Oxford Book of Science Fiction Stories : Crucifixus Etiam - Walter M. Miller
Oxford Book of Science Fiction Stories : The Tunnel Under the World - Frederik Pohl
Oxford Book of Science Fiction Stories : Who Can Replace a Man? - Brian W. Aldiss
Oxford Book of Science Fiction Stories : Billenium - J. G. Ballard
Oxford Book of Science Fiction Stories : The Ballad of Lost C'Mell - Cordwainer Smith
Oxford Book of Science Fiction Stories : Semley's Necklace - Ursula K. Le Guin
Oxford Book of Science Fiction Stories : How Beautiful with Banners - James Blish
Oxford Book of Science Fiction Stories : A Criminal Act - Harry Harrison
Oxford Book of Science Fiction Stories : Problems of Creativeness - Thomas M. Disch
Oxford Book of Science Fiction Stories : How the Whip Came Back - Gene Wolfe
Oxford Book of Science Fiction Stories : Cloak of Anarchy - Larry Niven
Oxford Book of Science Fiction Stories : A Thing of Beauty - Norman Spinrad
Oxford Book of Science Fiction Stories : The Screwfly Solution - Raccoona Sheldon
Oxford Book of Science Fiction Stories : The Way of Cross and Dragon - George R. R. Martin
Oxford Book of Science Fiction Stories : Swarm - Bruce Sterling
Oxford Book of Science Fiction Stories : Burning Chrome - William Gibson
Oxford Book of Science Fiction Stories : Silicon Muse - Hilbert Schenck
Oxford Book of Science Fiction Stories : Karl and the Ogre - Paul J. McAuley
Oxford Book of Science Fiction Stories : Piecework - David Brin


Give tanks a try.

3.5 out of 5


Flame on, lights out.

4 out of 5


Air travel advancing control.

4 out of 5


Amazing scientifiction.

3 out of 5


Interplanetary interpersonal communication.

4 out of 5


Showing your flight age.

3.5 out of 5


Altered man mission adds a mutt.

4.5 out of 5


Dead race destruction discovery toasting.

3 out of 5


Grandma has a pony. All the better to help her defeat alien invastions.

4 out of 5


Composite Mind War accomodation.

3.5 out of 5


Martian labor aeration.

4 out of 5


Brain capacity reduction circuit.

3 out of 5


Human lack machine chaos conflict.

4 out of 5


Population space premium.

4 out of 5


Underpeople Lord assisted capital punishment escapage.

4.5 out of 5


Dowry delay death.

3 out of 5


Bubble suit Titan tearaway.

4 out of 5


Breeding punishment volunteer.

4 out of 5


Classification.

2.5 out of 5


Slave vote.

3.5 out of 5


Free Park experiment not bright.

4 out of 5


Got a bridge to sell you.

4 out of 5


S8x and violence.

4 out of 5


Betrayer Star Knights.

3.5 out of 5


Interspecies business shocks.

4 out of 5


Cracking victim charity.

4 out of 5


Total access story program plan.

4 out of 5


A whole generation of children with enhanced intelligence wipe out all the adults via bacteria, and these superbright changelings go hunting the remnants that haven't been killed outright.

3.5 out of 5


Dropping your bundle and bundle.

4 out of 5

The Oxford Book of Science Fiction Stories edited by Tom Shippey is a very representative collection of some of the best short stories of the genre written between 1903 and 1990 and collecting stories form such luminaries in the field as H.G. Wells, Ursula K. LeGuin, and George R. R. Martin. As you read each story, you are on a linear progression throughout the last century, watching the genre evolve and you get a good representation of the various forms of science fiction, from extraterrestrial exploration to time traveling. Shippey also does a good job of choosing stories that reflect the social conditions of the time each story was written letting us see how the world turned out despite the warnings given by the author's tale. The introduction is also a wonderful accounting of science fiction and its eras written by Shippey, which is a great read. This book should definitely be on the shelf of every science fiction aficionado.