Pitch Black Books

I had an ancestor who I think worked in this mine. reading the book has helped me understand how the mine worked, but more importantly, how the men lived who worked there. It is easy to understand and the book flows so it is not a labor to read it. I still don't know if I will find my g-g grandfather Patrick Condon here or not, but with the help of this book, I just might.

I highly recommend it.

I don't about it being a "Mile Deep", but it sure was "Black As Pitch" if you turned off your miner's light. One of the things that made this book so meaningful to me was the fact that I worked in the North Ore Body of the Sterling Hill Mine. This direct, personal connection made the book all the more interesting - and helped it earn its fifith star. I recognized several names and faces - and words I have not heard in thirty years, like, stope. That aside, I found that the material was well organized and that the company town was much more beneficial to the workers than that of the corporate town.

As the 1st cousin once removed of one of the contributors to this book, reading this was extra meaningful to myself. My great-grandfather was one of the miners this book talks about, and to be able to read about how the miners lived their every day lives in this time was truly fascinating. I recommend this book to anyone with Franklin, NJ roots, you will definetly enjoy it, and perhaps will learn a thing or two about your own family.

Carrie Papa's father, Paul Moore, was a deep shaft miner in the Franklin Mine in northern New Jersey. This is an area well known to geologists, mining historians, and mineral experts for the quality, diversity, and complexity of zinc ores and associated mineral wealth. A Mile Deep And Black As Pitch: An Oral History Of The Franklin And Sterling Hill Mines is a unique regional history drawing upon the memories and experiences of thirty-four mine workers, their families, and others whose lives were intertwined the New Jersey mining industry in general, and the New Jersey Zinc Company in particular between the years of 1897 and 1986. A superbly presented and original work of seminal history, A Mile Deep And Black As Pitch is especially recommended to the attention of students as well as non-specialist general readers with an interest in American's mining industry and the contributions deep shaft ore mining has made to the development and expansion of the American nation.

John Douglas, known to his comrades as JD, is a young soldier from Springfield, Illinois who is sent to Vietnam during the war. He is a medic and goes out on missions with a Marine group known as the Valley Dogs. The North Vietnamese Army and the Viet Cong fear the Valley Dogs and have put a large bounty on their heads so whenever the Valley Dogs are out in the jungle, they must be extra careful. JD not only patches up the soldiers when they are injured, but he must also protect himself and others in the group. JD admits to himself his fears and his deep desire to get home alive. He daydreams about the wife and son he left in the States. In battle after battle, JD has close calls as they fight the Cong and the North Vietnamese Army. The North Vietnamese Army takes no prisoners. After one particularly ugly skirmish, he is listed as Missing in Action (MIA). His family does not expect to see him again but JD is a survivor from his heart.

Thomas R. Jones, a Vietnam veteran, has penned an awesome tale of war; the ugliness, the brutality, the killing, the pain and the fear. In LOST SURVIVOR he shows that fear presents itself in many ways. Some of the soldiers kill and torture wantonly while others cower in terror. Jones points out the mad racism that keeps the soldiers able to kill and maim others who do not look like them. He even deals with the racism that exists among the American soldiers. LOST SURVIVOR is a smoothly written book with plenty of suspense and a surprise ending. This is a painfully real book that should be handed to every young man or woman who willingly joins the military. I am going to recommend it to the many Vietnam Veterans I know.

Reviewed by Alice Holman
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

Tom Jones has told a very realistic story of war. It may be told through the eyes and words of a Black American, but a warrior of any race or nationality will recognize it. He shows us the horrors. We're both repelled and captivated by it because of the ease with which "JD" appears to cope. And because he shows that we can survive the horrors without being possessed by them.

The reality of JD's fight/flight existence as a warrior, cannot be excised when facing the transition back to the "normal" world. Instead JD incorporates the "warrior" reality as but another lesson, albeit a hard one, of life's educational system. That he is able to achieve this without hatred, psychosis or suicide is what makes JD heroic. But I think the most important thing to JD's survival is his understanding that "life means doing, death means being done."

I came away from this book caring about the characters Jones has created. Not old enough to have experienced Vietnam, I now have a better understanding of that period in our history and see how it is playing out today. I recommend this book to anyone who wonders what a veteran goes (is going or has gone) through when they come back to our reality after having survived the war. This is a fantastic book. Once I picked it up and began to read, I didn't want to put it down.

This cover perfectly fits the large Bibles like Zondervan's NIV Life Application Study Bible with large print. This item, made with heavy-duty zippers closes completely around the bible to protect from weather and can be fully opened without removing the Bible for reading. It has two external zippered pockets to carry markers, pens, etc and a large sleeve to accommodate a Church program. A strongly stitched vinyl handle allows this to be easily carried. The cover is black with subtle touches of gray and looks very nice. I use this cover to carry my Bible to work and church.

Pitch Black is a very highly recommended compendium of the wit and wisdom, the observations and commentaries, the experiences and anecdotes of Arthur Black, one of Canada's best-known humorists. His topics range from suburban heroes to garage sales as a blood sport, from the medical applications of duct tape to the real differences between men and women, from how to reuse that Commodore 64 gathering dust in the closet to why writers dread cocktail parties and barbeques. Arthur Black's mastery of storytelling is clear, compelling, and pure entertainment from first page to last!

I really wish I had read this book a couple months ago.
When I tried to kill myself no one understood why I was in the hospital so long and why I was so sick. I overdosed on tylenol just like Jason did in the book. And just like Jason, I waited too long for my stomach to be pumped.
The whole story was very accurate and brought me back to that night. When she said that Jason had stomach pains and was sweating and his face was flushed... that's what tylenol does. It takes a long time but eventually the symptoms kick in.
Suicide is very serious and I think every has thought about it at one time or another. But it does get better. You just have to take life day by day and remember that God is always there.
This is a really great book and I wish it wasn't labeled Christian so that more people would read it because I know a lot of people who would benefit from it.

I read the book Pitch Black by Melody Carlson. This story is about a girl named Morgan who has a big problem. Her problem is her best friend Jason commits suicide by taking an overdose of Tylenol. Morgan also thinks about committing suicide like Jason did and being with him where he is. She and two other friends from the suicide pact decide to do it together at Morgan's house but her grandma shows up and the whole plan is messed up for that night. Then Morgan starts to go to church and has second thoughts on committing suicide. You will have to read the book to find out the shocking but realistic secret about Jason's death that changes Morgan's thoughts about the suicide pact.
The lesson to learn is that you don't need to follow others because you could end up hurting your self, that's in the book but you have to read the end to really get it. There is one connection I have and that is that Morgan's mom and my mom both got re-married. I think they should have put more information in about Morgan and Jason's fun times so that I could get to know him better. The author got my interest by saying," Did you hear about Jason." No one under 11 should read this book, because it could give them bad thoughts.

Pitch Black is a book about a girl named Morgan. After her friend commits suicide, she and some of her friends try to follow in his footsteps. She tries not to chicken out until her grandma shows up. Morgan starts to see God's work even through bad situations. Hopefully, her friends will think the same thing.
The theme of the story was bad things happen, but you can get through it. The theme came to me when Morgan was trying to convince her friend that it's not worth killing yourself. The suicidal pact in this story really caught my attention. Teenagers should really read this book because many of them are faced with the same problems.

In this fourth installment of her TrueColors series, Melody Carlson focuses on the feeling of being lost --- to a point where suicide seems a viable option to alleviate the debilitating emotional pain. In the opening section of this story, Morgan Bergstrom just wants to be left alone. Not only does she have to contend with an out-of-touch divorced mother who's dating a man almost half her age (and whose plans to wed in Vegas over the weekend have Morgan in deep distress), Morgan also must cope with her kleptomaniac drug-addicted brother, an absentee dad, and a grandmother who took off to sow her wild oats in her later years.

Nothing about Morgan's life seems to be going according to plan or improving with time, which is one reason why she decides to ditch the youth group scene, attending church and speaking to God. At a standoff, Morgan believes it's useless to continue praying for "good things" to happen when it appears life just keeps getting more out of control.

Relishing a good pity party, Morgan doesn't realize that her current life's woes will seem small in comparison once she receives the devastating news that her good friend, Jason, committed suicide the night before. It takes some time for a stunned Morgan to realize that the news is true. Considering that Jason seemingly had it all together, Morgan wonders (along with her high school class) what chance the rest of them have.

In response to this event, an emotionally devastated Morgan and two other students desperately make a suicide pact with actual plans to carry out their joint suicide together. Thankfully, they are interrupted by the unexpected appearance of Morgan's grandmother, whose recent conversion to Christianity provides some steadying influence and a whisper of hope to Morgan. Through a series of mishaps, Morgan ultimately realizes that choosing to live --- even in the face of horrific pain --- is the most courageous decision she can make.

Trying to deter her fellow students (whose numbers begin to swell) from following through on their suicide pact is more daunting. Yet Morgan's newfound sense of hope in Christ and His ability to stand alongside others, even during the most dire tragedies, is contagious. She is able not only to thwart her peers' plans, but also joins them in establishing a "pact to live."

Though the storyline might at first glance appear trite, Carlson's ability to capture the emotional highs and lows overcomes any weakness in plot. Another excellent and practical inspiring text from this author.

--- Reviewed by Michele Howe

I hope no one has ever experienced the death of someone close to them. Unfortunately the majority of people have. It's even more sad when you know someone who's committed suicdie. As the 2nd most common form of death among teengers, it's very rare to go to a high school that has not experienced the effects of it. Even more scarier are the number of teens who have considered the thought of taking their own lives.

Pitch Black, book 4 in the True Colors series, takes a look at teen suicide, a sensitive yet important issue. Morgan's best friend has taken his life and she and two friends are struggling to figure out why. They come up with the solution that it is best to join him and they make a suicide pact. As Morgan finds out what really happen, she decides to rethink her stance and help others realize that it's not worth it to end your life.

I feel that this was a very good book that teens should read. What I found interesting is that Jason tried to kill himself not for the sake of his peers' attention but for his father's. Imagine the guilt his father will now face the rest of his life. The essay about the effects of Tylenol overdose was very informative and should be made more public. I also appreciated Carlson's aknowlegement that Christian teens sometimes shy away from situations they are uncomfortable in handling. When Morgan found herself questioning God, her youth group and even her best friend distanced themselves away from her. Those are the times when they should have been there for her the most.

I feel that many teens believe that no one would care if they died and everyone would be better off if they were gone. I know that because I used to feel that way myself. This should not be the case. Suicide is a topic that many Christians are afraid to bring up. Churches and youth groups need to be aware that even their members are struggling with this idea. I hope that more people, teens and adults, read this book and understand that there needs to be more attention brought to this issue. It might even save a life.

With authors like John Hocking and Tanith Lee, you know this is going to be a great anthology. Whether you like hack'n'slash or tales that are a bit more cerebral, Lords of Swords delivers exciting high fantasy and sword and sorcery works. I've read fantasy anthologies by big publishing houses, and Lords of Swords stacks up well against those, and in most cases surpasses the competition. Daniel Blackston has put together an excellent collection that should be in every fantasy enthusiast's private library.

This anthology is full of great stories by great writers. Sword and Sorcery fans will love it. It's fast paced and action packed. From the first story to the last this is one great read.

If you have been hungering for some good old-fashioned swashbuckling reading, here is the ticket. In fact, if you have not taken a look at Lords of Swords, your heroic fantasy diet is lacking some essential vitamins.
LoS has a nice mix of well-known and less famous authors, and a pleasing mix of blood and thunder, interesting world building, and plenty of buckled swash.

Lords of Swords is a fantastic collection of heroic fantasy stories by a great mix of up-and-coming and established authors. The stories within contain plenty of sword-clashing action, awesome characters, and wonderous settings.

The sheer variety is astounding. In these thirteen stories, the reader is taken from Viking Norway to a world covered in seas of rainbow mist, from the pirate towns of the Hispanic isles to the colorful--and deadly--empire of the Moon King, with characters ranging from the Blue Pilgrim, a deadly warrior in both body and spirit, and a barbarian sheriff with a sentient axe to a dragon-painter living under the streets of an Eastern metropolis and a farmer cursed with a pair of iron talons in place of hands.

A handful of stories didn't work for me--too many for me to give the book five stars--but, overall, Lords of Swords is highly recommended for all fans of great, imganitive fantasy.

Lords of Swords provides all the trappings of heroic fantasy with its 13 tales of valor, honor, and glory. Avoiding the tendencies of many modern fantasy writers to make their stories either highly convoluted or to add modern socio-political sensibilities to fantasy settings, this collection presents fantasy stories in the classic vein. Heroes are heroes. Villains are villains. And honor is about keeping your oath and holding fast to tradition, not being politically correct.

The opening tale, John C. Hocking's "Vali's Wound", sets the stage for the rest of the collection. A young Viking confronts one of the Valkyries to defend a fellow warrior. His own weapon having been destroyed in a previous battle, he attempts to stand against the Chooser of the Slain with a borrowed weapon. Intrigued by his bravery, she makes him an offer that would spare the life of his friend.

The second story, D.K. Latta's "Something Dwells 'Neath Hannah Town", is a gorgeously dark and exciting tale. When Kainar, Guardsmaster of Hannah Town, begins investigating a series of grisly murders, he uncovers a strange underground hideaway full of terrifying creatures. But are these creatures truly monsters, or are they only seeking to protect their own? Latta does a wonderful job creating a sense of place for the reader, carefully crafting each sentence to build the tension and move along the story.

My favorite story in the collection was Vera Nazarian's "The Slaying of Winter". Nazarian's tale of vengeance, honor, and forgiveness centers on Iliss, a young woman who seeks revenge against the Northsmen who killed her brother and slaughtered her people by killing the very god they worshipped. She finds an unlikely, and unwelcome, ally among the Northsmen, and together they seek out the god Trei. But gods are only found when they want to be, and the ending is poignant and profound.

This collection also features an interesting little tale by Vampire Earth series author E.E. Knight. "That of the Pit" introduces us to Knight's new fantasy hero, The Blue Pilgrim., and a strange but entertaining story of commerce, intrigue, and adventure. Fans of the genre will find stories from popular favorites such as Tanith Lee to fresh new voices like Beth Scope (definately a new writer to watch).

The editor has done a wonderful job with the story selection. Each story both compliments the others in the collection and yet stands out on its own as an exciting journey for the reader. This is a must-have collection for fans of fantasy fiction.

Sages and Swords (edited by Daniel E. Blackston) was the second pleasant reading surprise for me in a week. I was about to go to the field and needed something to read in my off time. Since I didn't have anything new in my usual series, and wasn't in the mood to reread anything, I thought about taking a crack at the Pitch Black anthologies. Flashing Swords was pretty good the few times I'd made time to check it (that's not a reflection on my interest or the quality of that e-zine, it's because I'm just not one of those reader that enjoys to read on a computer screen)...I figured it was worth the risk. If it seems like I was predisposed to be less than impressed, well, I was. Neither this nor Lords of Swords were published by "big name" houses, I only recognized a couple of the names in the Table of Contents, they were trade paperback sized...I'm sure I'm not the only one so reticent. However, I'm happy to say that my hesitations were completely unfounded and that I enjoyed the hell out of both of them. All of the stories in this one were good, but I particularly enjoyed those of Stiennon, Felts, Tarbox, Nazarian and Jones. Not to make this sound like a CD you buy for just one song, you can enjoy this anthology in its entirety. Don't take my word for it though: order one of them. You'll probably wind up getting the other.

This is the second anthology compiled by Daniel E. Blackston of Pitch-Black Books, following the enjoyable Lords of Swords. While some of the same authors are in this book, we meet none of their previous characters. It's an all-new cast swinging swords, facing demons, conversing with gods, and stealing fabulous gems. There is much to entertain here, provided by a wide range of writing skills. You'll find established classics and first-time works. I found five of the stories to be spectacular, containing characters that I'm eager to interact with again. There were only two offerings that I found lacking. Of added interest are two articles on fantasy writing, one regarding realism in fantasy writing and one to help aspiring fantasy authors become acquainted with their market. In addition, there is a great interview with R. A. Salvatore. I've seen some complaints on a few forums about these articles stealing space from more short stories that could have been included, but I found the articles to be good reads and beneficial to me as a novice writer. My advice to those not interested in writing fantasy - don't read the articles. Just enjoy the fantastical stories. I found Sages & Swords to be a great delight and would recommend it to my friends.

The 5 stories that moved me most were:

Ed Knight's "The Morgwa", a terrific tale of a warrior's sacrifice to do what is right, what he must, without knowing if it will even be enough. This is the code of honor and sense of duty no matter what common to all warriors. I can envision Etu's life, the spirit-warrior constantly on guard, always protecting his people - all without their knowledge; in fact, in their ignorance, with their scorn.

Rob Santa's "Game of the Krillihitchkin" is a very intelligently well-written story. I found myself rooting first for one character, then the other, then both, then finally for the ultimate winner of the game. I liked that I could picture myself there in the cave with your characters, a quiet observer.

"The Sultan's Well" by Sean Stiennon is an engaging, well-paced story, smoothly written. A straight-forward action tale with a practical and capable protagonist, it is a good read that I envision as part of a larger work.

Vera Nazarian and "Demonkiller" are wonderful! This is a very intersting tale that introduces Agnias, the best character in Sages & Swords! I thought the first half of the story to be great, with a good beginning, set-up, and character description. The second half did seem to taper off a bit, but never lost me for an instant. I definitely want to follow the story of Agnias' life.

"The Ugly Truth", by Michael Boatman, is a fun read! I liked this story a lot, although it took a little work to get into, as the presentation of information at the beginning was somewhat confusing. Once I understood things, however, the story built up quite well and ended strongly. And I got to meet Molo, the character who gives Agnias a run for her money as the best character in the anthology! What could be better than an unpretentious, unperfect, even unknowing, hero?

I read every word in the book and applaud each of the contributing authors for their works. Congratulations to the outstanding duos of publisher and editor David and Daniel, and artists Storn and Loren for their efforts.

Daniel E. Blackstone's Sages & Swords: Razor-edged Arcanum is packed full of the sort of fast-paced, action-filled, fun fantasy that you just don't hardly see anymore. After reading this book you will wonder why. Fourteen Sword and Sorcery thrillers from writers as well known as Tanith Lee and Harold Lamb to newer ones you've probably never heard of, but should have. Tucked behind these are a few articles of interest mostly to the novice writer but the meat of this volume is in the stories.
Starting with Joeseph A. McCullogh V's "The Gates of Katawael" and running right through to the reprint of Harold Lamb's 1933 novella "The Golden Horde" with nary a mistep in between this book is a treasure for lovers of fantasy and for readers who used to love fantasy but don't really seem to enjoy it anymore. Sage's will bring fantasy back into your world.
The best stories in the book, for me, were Robert J Santa's "Game of the Krillhitchkin"- a nicely done tale about a dragon and a wizard, Barbra Tarbox's "Detour At Abbinford" and Howard Andrew Jones's "The Thief of Hearts" but truly there's hardly a weak tale here. Some fantasy fans may be a bit put off at the Lamb novella, at fifty-five pages easily the longest peice in the book, and historical adventure with no real magic in evidence in it, but once you start that one you will forget all that as you discover one of the great masters of the adventure tale at the height of his prowess. There is plenty of sorcery in the other tales to make up for Lamb's lack and no one writes a better adventure.
Sages is more than a long evening's read, the stories here will have you coming back again and again. A worthy follow-up to Pitch-Blacks earlier Lords of Swords anthology, this one will have you seeking out that earlier, excellent work. I can not reccommend it highly enough.

I've tried a few texts for teaching music fundamentals to non-music majors and this is one of the better books. I really like that the book starts with the keyboard as a visual representation of music theory. The book could use updated music excerpts/examples. Also- the fact that students tear out workbook pages renders the book invalid for buyback programs. A separate workbook would be a much better option for college use.

Gary White takes a different approach to learning the study of music, one which should serve as a model for other books of this type. Much more focus is pute on interaction and music-making (i.e., active, rather than passive learning). This can be used independently of a classroom experience, though it is intended for that situation, and works better when there is a teacher to clarify notational issues.

I've seen the movie, The Chronicles of Riddick. The battle and race on Crematoria was as entertaining as sci-fi gets. So when I learned that there was more to the Riddick "saga", a book and a movie (Pitch Black), I decided to read the book first, and catch the movie later. I suspect the book gives no additional insight into the movie because it is based on the Pitch Black screenplay, and not on an original novel (although I've heard there is a connection to a Isaac Asimov short story, Nightfall).

As I read the book, I envisioned Vin Diesel's face and voice throughout. Obviously, I'm contaminated! I also envisioned an exciting movie. Because of the book/screenplay, I look forward to seeing the movie and comparing it to the Chronicles of Riddick.

Here's what I didn't like about the story.

* On a huge, uncharted planet, a crashed spaceship just happens to end up a short walk from an old human mining station. Planets are big entities, you know. Of all the potential sites on Earth, what is the chance that an out of control space vehicle would just happen to land near, say, the Taj Mahal? Not so good. At least in Alien the ship was directed to a particular spot because of the distress beacon!

* What's this with the "dinosaur" boneyard? The bones hadn't fossilized, so they were alive not too many years ago (certainly less than 500 years). So where is all the vegetation that would support such beasts? Are we to believe that the underground predators ate them all?

* Finally, these underground predators... so how does the characteristic of photons causing them to disintegrate evolve? If they evolved underground, then how did wings evolve? And again, how likely was it that this space vehicle just happened to land near the underground colony of these predators?

Finally, I had to point out this paragraph:

"A fetid stench enveloped them like some thick, noxious fog. The stink of diseased, rotting corpses pulled the air from Fry's lungs. Acid bile burned her throat as she abandoned all hope and attacked the blood-greased wall of gutted predators" (p. 166).

As the ads for Southwest Airlines say --- Wanna get away?

Pitch Black, Though based on a movie, is the tale of a group of intergalactic Earth bound pilgrims who crash land on an uncharted desert planet. The predicament is only made worse by the fact that an anual event of terror is about to take place. Despite the cliche plot and lackluster dialogue, I found the main charectors, Riddick, an escaped convict, and Captain Fry, the callow ship's pilot, along with the plot to be a roller coaster of turmoil both physically and emotionaly. If I had to rate this book on the scale I'd give it a 4 and a reconmendation as a "lieasure read"

The book is VERY similar to the movie, and I should hope so since it was written after the movie. The one majorly annoying difference to me was that the character we know and love as Jack is named 'Audrey' in the book and is, of course, already known to be a girl which takes away from her character a bit. Otherwise the book was a super quick read because you could picture every scene from the movie perfectly. It helped to flesh out the characters a little more and give some more background which is the reason I bought this book in the first place.

This book kicked ... It was great and I loved it! Riddick is one sexy serial killer. It was just as good as the movie and the movie is the best in the world. That's just about it. It was great and I reccomend it 2 everyone and their mothers.

Lauria's rendition of David Twohy's _Pitch Black_ follows the line of the screenplay extremely closely. Owing to the cinematic style in which it is written, the book is short, weighing in at only about 160 pages, and is possessed of an extremely choppy style.

While a faithful adaptation of the screenplay, the book rarely extends itself beyond what ocurred on-screen. When Lauria does attempt to provide additional exposition, however, he tends to do so at the expense of many things which constitute the core of the story's atmosphere. Riddick, for instance, is portrayed as an ex-commando of sorts framed for murder and subsequently hurled into the hadean world of the prison system; Jack, the young girl masquerading as a boy, is stripped of this central part of her character and unrepentantly renamed Audrey. While as a stand-alone story Lauria's _Pitch Black_ would not have suffered from the alterations to the screenplay's plot, it does not hold up to the later developments revealed by _Dark Fury_ and _The Chronicles of Riddick_. To be fair, though, this is likely the result of ignorance, not carelessness, on Lauria's part, as at the time of the project's inception there seem to have been no plans for a sequel.

From a technical perspective, Lauria's book falls prey to terrible editing. It is likely the single highest concentration of typographical and grammatical errors I have seen in a 160 page book in many years. Additionally, on occasion the names of Imam's young pilgrims shift about. A boy who is among the first to die in the carnage about which the plot swirls briefly reappears in name for a full paragraph toward the end of the story, but just as quickly the character reverts to the name assigned him prior to the blunder. This is not so much the writer's fault as the responsibility of the publishing editor, but the constant interruption provided by distracting and betimes confusing errors nevertheless detracts from the reading experience.

I did not keep this book; it was relegated to the used book store, but in general it attained to the level I have come to expect of media tie-ins.