Paths of Glory Books

I found this book by accident while looking at publishers for my own novel, and I was very pleasantly surprised. The plot is very well developed as are the characters, and they are very interesting and captivating. I read the first three books all in a row, and was very impressed. I can't wait to read the fourth one, and I definitely recommend these books to anyone who is looking for something new and original and interesting.

In the land of Madryn, the four races are forced to work together to defeat the evil Darklord Lorthas. The elves, the humans and the Garan'ah fought courageously at the final battle when the mages erected the Barrier to contain Lorthas. The Barrier is a magical mountain range with only one entrance, a portal guarded by a garrison of troops.

A millennium later, the segregated races keep totally to themselves distrusting one another. Young orphan Jeran lives on a farm near the Boundary; he befriends a runaway slave Dahr. The twosome share many happy times together before two outlaws thought to have been exiled inside the barrier attack their homestead. Jeran's uncle sends him to warn King Mathis that the Barrier is weakening. Accompanied by Dahr, Jeran meets allies and enemies in their quest to see the king; even after their message is delivered, the adventures of Jeran and Dahr are just beginning as the monarch has plans for his youthful messengers.

PATH OF GLORY is epic fantasy in the tradition of THE LORD OF THE RINGS and the SHANNARA series. The protagonists are two young people who must learn about their different heritages if they hope to understand what is happening and being able to help when the seemingly inevitable war begins. No one will be in a funk after reading this fine coming of age novel except those who fail to read the next tale, SWORD OF HONOR, in the Boundary Fall series.

Harriet Klausner

Book One of Bret M. Funk's "Boundary's Fall" series, Path Of Glory is a high fantasy about Jeran (an orphan raised by his uncle on a farm near the Boundary) and Dahr (an outcast hiding from his past), two men who find that they must brave a perilous and uncertain journey in order to warn their king of an impending darkness, as the boundary that has sealed the imprisoned Darklord gradually weakens. The four major races of the world, once in alliance, are now squabbling, and new enemies seek to exacerbate the chaos to their own ends and benefits. Path Of Glory is an entertaining epic and a deftly written saga of hope, determination, and courage.

I enjoyed Path of Glory very much. It was little slow getting started as the author had to set up the world, characters and story, but a few chapters into the book it got very interesting. I found the characters so believable I feel as if I know them. The description was so well written, that I could have actually visited the places. The story gets a hold on you and you can't put it down. I can't wait for the next book. I think that is book is a definite must read. If you like books like the Wheel of time by Robert Jordan, you will love Path of Glory.

Path of Glory, by Bret M. Funk, has all the clichés: reclusive Elves, powerful magicians, and
long-forgotten evil in a pre-industrial society. But if you thought the classic fantasy novel had
nothing left to offer, think again. Told mainly from the intimate perspective of two intriguing,
three-dimensional characters, Funk puts a realistic and thought-provoking spin on the typical
sword-and-sorcery tale. This first book in the Boundary's Fall series combines modern prose and

sensibilities with the epic storylines of Tolkienesque fantasy.

The story follows Jeran, a farm boy living with his uncle, and Dahr, an escaped slave whom
Jeran's family befriends and unofficially adopts. When two former warlords escape from a
magical prison, Jeran and Dahr find themselves saddled with the duty of reporting the news to
the king. They are aided by two Magi, who help Jeran discover his illustrious family roots and
his own magical abilities.

Jeran's ambivalence regarding his magical "gift" is one of many double-edged topics in Path of
Glory, and it adds a degree of thought and relevance that few fantasy writers even consider.
Magi are responsible for most of the civilization's greatest accomplishments, yet they are
resented for their power and have been hunted nearly to extinction. The mysterious Elves, while
revered as wise and nearly immortal, have both helped humanity and enslaved them at various
times in their history. The king of Jeran's land must cope with bickering politicians before he
can worry about the decay of a millennia-old magical Boundary. Not many fantasy novels
discuss the economic disadvantages of tariffs, but Funk avoids Star Trek preachiness by
introducing questions, not answers, and leaving the reader to draw his own conclusions.

In fact, just as with real bureaucracy, years pass before the various countries and races gear up
for the impending war reported by Jeran and Dahr. The story rejoins the boys, now young men,
as they embark on a diplomatic mission to the Elves-the first Elf-Human encounter in over a
century. The friendship is shared by a third, the young prince Martyn, who hasn't quite figured
out the balance between authority and responsibility. The journey along the title Path serves as a
test of strength and loyalty, especially when Dahr is forced to choose between his sworn duty
and his lifelong hatred of slavery. The book ends just as the party enters the Elves' domain,
leaving the rest of the story maddeningly untold until the next installment is published.

This novel is a character-centered work; events unfold in an episodic fashion, but the main
storyline barely gets beyond setup in this first entry of the series. Instead, we experience the
characters' everyday life. Dahr's knack with animals and Martyn's addiction to flirtation are
demonstrated in numerous character-building scenes. The writing is not nearly as concise as one
expects; scenes can exist simply for atmosphere and entertainment, but the witty dialogue among
Jeran, Martyn, and Dahr keeps boredom from setting in. The writing style wavers somewhat
between archaic formalism and modern slang, but taken as a whole it's a fast read and doesn't get
bogged down in purple prose. The whole novel has a warmth to it that is atypical of story-driven
fantasy and Sci-Fi; characters don't just exist to fill a plot point, they have their good and bad
points that grow on you over time. The strength of Funk's writing is his ability to evoke
sympathy for the characters; you are drawn in to their struggles without really noticing, and
putting the book down becomes more difficult each time.

However, there's more to Path of Glory than guilty pleasure. The author has taken great pains to
weave a history of his world; the tales of warriors and noble sacrifices will satiate even the most
hard-core fantasy reader. The descriptions of controlling and using magic are creative and
evocative on their own, but the passages truly come alive in the context of Jeran's experiences.
The bond between the reader and the characters heightens the drama of every situation, holding
the reader's interest throughout every extraordinary revelation.

Path of Glory makes the classic fantasy approachable for every reader, even those turned off by
fantasy series in the past. I'd recommend it for anyone interested in seeing down-to-earth
characters coping with larger-than-life events.

After seeing the excellent movies from Stanley Kubrick, I decided to read the novel, which it was based upon. Being out of print, it was difficult to locate. But I finally found a copy at a local library. It was worth searching.

Paths of Glory was written by Humphrey Cobb and first published in 1935. Cobb, who had served in the Canadian Army during the First World War, wrote this novel as an anti-war statement. In my opinion, it's one of the best. Cobb shows an unpositive view of war. There are no heroes. Not even Regiment Commander Colonel Dax is the courageous man he was in Kubrick's film. He doesn't even have that big of a part.

French General Assolant is given orders by his Army Commander (Whose name is not revealed) to take an important German position called the Pimple. To take the "Pimple", Assolant calls the 181st regiment, which was supposed to be placed on leave.

We see the attack beforehand from the eyes of those on the battlefield. A patrol is sent out, where one of the men gets killed by the drunken commander due to a careless accident. The incident is covered up, but would play a part later.

The next morning, the eargely anticipated attack on the Pimple is launched. It proves however to be impossible. The 181st is made up of a combination of battle weary vets and fresh new recruits to compensate for losses. Thus, casualties are high. The bombardment from artillery and machine guns also is so difficult to go through that many soldiers never even leave the trenches. Believing the men are mutinying, Assolant orders the battery commander to fire on the men. Fortunately, in what may be the only sensible act in the novel, the man refuses without a written order. Assolant then orders a court martial to preserved his dignity at the expense of others.

Four men are selected: One from each of the attacking sections. One section refuses to send a man but the other three select. The men are sent in front of a court-martial with a well-trained lawyer at their side. But it is really more of a Kangaroo Court. This is because the Indictment against the convicted is not read ("It basically states the accused are convicted of cowardice"), no Stenographic notes are kept of the trial, thus denying the convicted the possibility of a pardon, and the defense is not allowed to build its case. For example, when an attempt is made to call witnesses, it can only be "To prove that they made it to the enemy wire", which no one of the regiment did. And when the defense attempts to state the decorations one of the men has received (So it can be shown he isn't a coward) the president of the council says "The men are on trial for their current cowardice, not their former bravery" and that "Medals are no defense".

What is most ludicrous is the line of questioning on the defendants. It is absurd in the way it forces the men to answer irrelevant questions. An example by the President of the council on the convicted Private Ferol:

President: Did you advance?
Ferol: Yes, Sir.
President: How far did you advance?
Ferol: To about the middle of no man's land.
President: Then what did you do?
Ferol: Well, the Boche machine guns were like a hailstorm and I saw that-
President: No. Answer my question. What did you do?
Ferol: Well, sir, I saw that me and Meyer-
President: I didn't ask you what you saw. I asked you what you did.
Ferol: Yes, sir.
President: Did you advance?
Ferol: Not after I saw that me and Meyer-
President: Did you turn round and go back?
Ferol: Well, when I saw that-
President: Attention! Answer my question. Did you turn round and go back? Yes or no?
Ferol: Yes, sir.

This edition (Paperback, University of Georgia Press, 1987) includes a fascinating afterward by Stephen E. Tabachnick. He mentions about the book's placement of the chain of command and about themes from the book.

Sadly, Paths of Glory has become largely underrated over the years. My English teacher hadn't even heard of it. This book should be put back in publishing as soon as possible so more people can experience how great it is and should be recommended reading at schools so people can see how ridiculous war can be.

Soldiers have forever obeyed the commands of officers, knowing sometimes that to obey the command was to die and to refuse to obey it was to die. Compound the situation when the officer is acting solely in self-interest, for pride's sake, for the sake of a promotion, for his own ego regardless of the lives of the men he leads. The paths they must follow, the paths of glory, leads but to the grave.

This army is French, but it could be any nation's, any year's, any war. Cobb's evocation of pride and prejudice affectinfg the lives of innocent men is scary in that we know it is not over.

Veteran combat soldier and military historian Charles Whiting has painstakingly researched and deftly written, Paths Of Death & Glory: The Last Days Of The Third Reich, a military history which draws from interviews, battalion journals, and the experiences of ordinary soldiers to provide today's reader with a vivid and accurate picture of the closing days of the World War II's European Theatre. A sharp, no-nonsense and utterly absorbing account, Paths Of Death & Glory is the tenth volume of Casemate's "The West Wall Series" and a welcome addition to personal, academic, and community library World War II Military collections.

Excellent story of a young boy coming of age just prior to and including the Civil War. Wonderful descriptions of life at that time. Endearing characters.

I'm an European WWI book collector. I bought this accidentally, because I thought it would be the novel "Paths of Glory" by Humphrey Cobb, made famous by Stanley Kubrick's film. If you are a film enthusiast, go to Paths of Glory.

Instead of a novel I found and outstanding travel book about the First World War. Most of that genre are just rubbish and painful to a modern reader. Irvin S. Cobb makes an exception. He is able to analyze the feelings of Belgian and French civilians, Prussian and Bavarian officers and his own feelings too. It is a journey to the mind of a man in the war, too. That makes his book an rare source to the mental history of the war. Cobb is a good and critical journalist, but he doesn't avoid the inevitable moral conclusions about the First World War and the fate of Belgium.

I'm fortunate in owning a first edition of this great book and I'm fortunate in being the first to write an Amazon review on it. This is the same story that resulted in the significant anti-war movie [starring Kirk Douglas] of the same name.

The story is that of courage, cowardice and the unwavering illogic of an illogical war. French troops are ordered to take an unassailable German position. Generals will be covered in medals and glory. The position is, however, truly impregnable and the attack fails almost before it starts. Many Frenchmen are killed before they even clear their trenches. Survivors huddle in the depths of their trenches refusing to face the wall of German lead and steel. The French commander, disgusted with the performance of his troops, orders French artillery to shell the French lines--shell the French troops so that they'll be obliged to face German rather than French destruction. The artillery officer refuses but the damage is done.

The French survivors are to face the ancient Roman practice of decimation. A number from each company are to be selected and shot for cowardic. Col. Dax, a line commander refuses to go along with such a ridiculous order but is obliged to accept a lesser number. Three men, men who are hanging with medals for bravery, are to be shot for cowardice. Despite Dax's protests the order is carried out and brave men are shot as cowards.

This is a story of war and a story of man's inhumanity to man. It is a truly fabulous story--the equal of Remarque's "All Quiet on the Western Front."

Ron Braithwaite author of novels--"Skull Rack" and "Hummingbird God"--on the Spanish Conquest of Mexico

Absolutely gorgeous illustrations capture the life struggles of Sojourner Truth. A wonderful picture book that will provide children with new insight into the life of a brave woman who sought to change America.

Kate Nicoll, MSW

This is a book I almost didn't buy because of a detracting review. I'm glad I listened to a friend who emailed me the Amazon page
While the author's tongue is firmly in cheek, there is a lot of useful information. Some common sense bears re-emphsis.
Three cheers for the light-hearted among us!
"Ruth Leslee Greene" is obviously a pen-name

It's so dead-on in its observations that you can't help but laugh!

Ostensibly about golddigging, this book shows women the absurdity of greed while encouraging them to be better people instead of blinded by bling.

It should be under Humor instead of Self-help.

This is a favorite item to give favorite women. The title has been recently updated and issued under the author's real name KEVIN DOYLE. Both versions have great covers and it's fun to gift wrap them in currency.

This is a good book by Kevin Doyle writing under pen-name "Ruth Leslee Greene."

The nom de plume is obviously a play on the word "ruthless."

Another version of HOW TO MARRY MONEY just out from Penguin/Plume under Doyle's own name has been revised, expanded and updated.

Either way, both have great covers and make perfect gifts for birthday girls, graduates, hostesses, and stockings over the holidays.

Check out Doyle's HOW TO MEET BEAUTIFUL WOMEN.

This is a fun read by KEVIN DOYLE, writing as RUTH LESLEE GREENE.

A even bigger, better. less expensive version is the one Doyle has out this year under the same title but using his own name from Penguin/Plume.

Also fun by Kevin Doyle are two other titles - HOW TO MEET BEAUTIFUL WOMEN and DATING YOUNGER WOMEN.

This author is truly the King of Shallow Pursuits and his books make perfect host/hostess gifts.

Very well-done book; good background too on the events Wolfe was involved in as well, esp. the '45 in Scotland. Well written.

Stephen Brumwell's biography of General James Wolfe is a top notch read for those interested in the man behind one of the most decisive battles in North American history. Through extensive research, Mr. Brumwell delves into the known facts, testimony and controversy surrounding this determined and inspirational leader and gets as close as anyone can to the truth, heart and life of General James Wolfe. As I read the book I felt I got to know Wolfe as a real person--through his hopes, desires, disappointments, doubts and courage during his short lived life leading up to his death on the Plains of Abraham in his "against-all-odds" victory against the French at Quebec. For anyone interested in the history of North America--this is a Must Read! I only hope this book is used as a blueprint for an epic movie about one of the greatest British Generals of the French and Indian War.

Paths of Glory: The Life and Death of General James Wolfe is the first full-length biography published in half a century of Major General James Wolfe, a British military hero whose decisive 1759 victory against the French, on the Plains of Abraham before Quebec, ensured that English would become the dominant language of North America. Wolfe paid for his victory with his life; since then he has been enshrined in paintings, praised for his military genius and self-effacing modesty, and reviled by revisionist historians who paint him as bloodthirsty and snooty. Paths of Glory seeks to uncover the truth, as best as historical records and testimonies can deliver, of the chronically ill Wolfe's life and death. An inset handful of color and black-and-white illustrations, notes, and an index round out this absorbing in-depth chronicle of a pivotal historical figure.

This is one of Anthony Price's strongest works. The narrative is taut and suspenseful, with a complex chain of events occurring in the modern day which hark back to a little-known battle of the First World War. For historical and military buffs, this is one of the essential books of this genre.

I picked up a copy of this book at my local library at some point in the Eighties. Almost twenty years later, I suspect I've forgotten the plot of more mysteries and thrillers than any single person in my tri-state area. But "Other Paths to Glory" remained with me. In "Other Paths," a young military historian is recruited as a cold war spy when it appears that a modern mystery is somehow connected to World War I. The characters are well-developed, the plot is tight and suspenseful, but most of all the haunting past pervades the book and becomes its most compelling character. Price evokes the immanence of history so well that the book is elevated from a good-read-that-might-still-be-forgotten to a genre classic.