Shadow The Books

Henry Weibert is the first writer to use logic and physical evidence when writing about the battle athe Little Big Horn. Weibert lived in the area around the battlefield for sixty-six years and spent a great deal of his free time studying the fight. He points out that Custer never attempted to cross the middle ford to charge the village as every lazy historian claims. There has never been one shred of evidence that indicated Custer ever got within half a mile of the ford. Weibert used his knowledge of the battlefield and the archeological finds of others as well as his own to show Custer's true route to his final destiny. Any reader who wants to read the true history of this battle should read this book!

Henry Weibert is the first writer to use logic and physical evidence when writing about the battle athe Little Big Horn. Weibert lived in the area around the battlefield for sixty-six years and spent a great deal of his free time studying the fight. He points out that Custer never attempted to cross the middle ford to charge the village as every lazy historian claims. There has never been one shred of evidence that indicated Custer ever got within half a mile of the ford. Weibert used his knowledge of the battlefield and the archeological finds of others as well as his own to show Custer's true route to his final destiny. Any reader who wants to read the true history of this battle should read this book!

Skein of Shadows is a wonderful, quick paced, action packed read that leaves the reader wanting more. The book is a collection of five stories, following five different characters to the same climatic end. Each story is written in the authors own individual style, but all of them remind the reader that something bigger is happening. I had the pleasure of meeting these writers and talking to them before actually reading the book. They have come together to not only create a great cast of characters, but provided an excellent adventure for anyone who enjoys the Scifi/Fantasy Genre.

The "Skein of Shadows" is a fun Fantasy novel that makes good use of perspective in five separate short stories to lead the reader on a tense Fantasy ride. By using the perspective of five distinct characters in separate short stories we become enmeshed in the conspiracy to bring destruction on the city of Crown. From the taught short story of the Assassin hired to kill a blood enemy, to the story Dwarf that forlornly fights evil for the sport of others, to the quirky sea race pulled slowly into the maelstrom, to the slow witted barbarian who's primal instincts govern his decisions as much as the faceless puppet master who "guides" him, closing with the ethereal detective that ties the "strings" together in a clean package. One of the better Fantasy books I have read. I recommend it for the Fantasy reader who enjoys tales of magic and might mixed cleverly with a detective story that keeps the reader engrossed to see the final outcome.

This is my favorite devotional book. It contains everything from scripture, to recipes, to poems, offset with her wonderful take on life.

Masterful simplicity providing hope, insight, and a higher ground.
Highly recommended. Makes a great gift!

A Best Seller in my eyes. As a Park employee who work for both the father and son selling billboards for 27 years, I keep telling people who ask how I could stay with one company so long that I love what I do. With all the rumors I've heard over the years, some wrong, some right on the money, this history is amazing and the book brings back many memories. Loved the quotes, the poems and the realization I must work for some kind of superhero to have survived all he endured. I'm glad to have been along for the ride, and although co-author Mr. Babcock isn't here now to share this, I'm sure he's looking down with a smile.

Kerry Leipold, VP/GM
Park Outdoor Advertising, Finger Lakes Division

This is the story of a man who started from nothing and made a billion dollars in media and advertising written by the son who followed in his footsteps. It is candidly written and should appeal to anyone who has ever worked in a family business. Highly recommended.

This book consists of thirteen passionate and riveting stories told in a humorous manner. These episodes took place where individualism was replaced by collectivism for the common good. They portrayed madness during a time when madness became normality. In this book, the innocent allowed "wise" people to do good for all and only "wise" ones ended up doing well. I highly recommend this book for its account of ordinary people struggling and perishing under repression.

An incredibly poignant and touching memoir of Sheldon Lou's experiences while growing up in China during the Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution. Despite the personal challenges and tragedies, the author tells his story without the heaviness often found in such memoirs, allowing readers to make their own judgements and draw their own conclusions. Sheldon Lou's ability to weave humor throughout his touching stories is remarkable, refreshing, and much enjoyed. This book is also a great read for anyone interested in modern Chinese history -- especially the Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution.

This is my first Michelle Spring novel, and it is a very well-done effort. It's heavily "British" in its pacing and characterizations, but Spring's prose has verve and bite, sprinkled with some humorous moments as well. Little Darryl - did he really kill his foster mother so viciously? He says he did, and so he's been incarcerated for two years. His older brother approaches PI Laura Principal to find out not if his little brother did the deed, but WHY? Laura's fascination and dedication involve her in some dark family secrets and some other interesting characters. Principal is a fresh heroine, one with a heart and a sense of commitment. The villain is a surprise in some ways and the rationale in its solution quite believable. A good book; will definitely try the remaining ones in the series.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Crimes committed by children are a subject we all naturally find disturbing, but this latest instalment in Michelle Spring's Laura Principal series handles the topic with sensitivity, care and real empathy. There is nothing sensationalistic or superficial about this book, and as with the rest of the series, even minor characters emerge as real, well-rounded people. You find yourself guessing - did Daryll do it? Why did he do it? If not him, then who else might have done it and why? As with human nature, nothing is as simple as it appears on the surface, but you are kept in suspense as the plot is tightly controlled and elegantly resolved. My favorite in a series that just gets better and better.

What some fan's may not know is that these books are encompassing characters and an overall storyline that will be part of the upcoming sequel, Starcraft 2. This trilogy is a wonderful creation of cannon, produced by a true professional in the area of Science Fiction literature.

From start to finish, the author's main goal is to always ensure the reader is fully immersed in the environment to give a sense of actually being there with the characters. Due to the unique nature of what is being described in the book, it is necessary to not only display a proper mental image of the surroundings inside the story, but to also give deep insight into the emotional and psychological aspects of not only human but zerg and protoss characters as well.

Truly a wonderful book!

Book Two explains even further the history of the Protoss, and brings forth the legacy of Adun (which Starcraft players will recognize from 'En Taro Adun'). While the author never fully explains where this 'Ulrezaj' comes from, the story makes up for it with a good storyline and a climatic battle in the end.

Also, for people who are looking forward to Starcraft II, this book would be a good read since it's starting to hint at possible connections to the upcoming game. For anyone who's seen the Terran singleplayer trailer for SC2, you'll remember Zeratul mentioning something about a secret that threatens the whole universe. In "Shadow Hunters", the preserver Zamara inside Jake Ramsey also mentions a secret that will threaten all existence. Connection? Maybe. The book also gives a lot of insight on the character of Valerian Mengsk (son of Arcturus Mengsk), who is supposed to play a pivotal role in SC2.

A phenomenal story -- even for those who don't particularly care for the sci-fi kind of fantasy romance. I found this book ten years ago, and like the other reviewer, I've never forgotten it. I was actually able to find it on this website because I still remembered the names of the characters! You will not be disappointed.

I first picked up the first book of the series when I was in High school and after that I had to read the rest of the series.This book has been on my mind ever since then. The story line was tragic and torture yet I could not put it down. The emotions that Varian felt, when he posed as Ryker, was vivid and wonderfully expressive.The love between Varian Saar and Jana Greyson seemed ill fated in the beginning of the book because of Jana's rejection of Varian and her acceptance of Ryker, but in the end their love did triumph even after the revealation of Varian's deception.This book sent my emotions into limbo because I could feel what the characters felt.I can't convey my enthusiasm without degrading the book. You readers just have to read it for yourself. One final word about this book- orgasmic.

Douglas Cooper's Steel Shadows is a gem. Although it is specifically about Pittsburgh, it is really about how we see, portray, and interact with the landscape around us, urban or rural. Cooper is first a wonderful visual artist, and has allowed us a rare glimpse into his methods here. Rather than look far afield for his subject matter, he has taken on the challenge of visioning his native city, in immense and powerful murals, which are remarkably well re-produced in the book. Cooper can also write, and illustrates with his words the process of producing the murals and the logic behind them. Together, his drawings and text serve to usher us into the world of Pittsburgh, that singularly muscular and angular American city, and to cast some light on what it is to be an artist at the top of one's game, working hard to make that art - in this case drawing - relevant and useful in a changing world. A very pleasing, entertaining, and thought-provoking book.

Imagine you are standing at the top of a cliff in a hilly city or on top of a skyscraper in a flatter one. Slowly rotate 360 degrees, taking in all that you can see as you turn. Then imagine doing the same thing 10 years ago, 20 years ago, 30 years ago and work older landscapes into your contemporary ones. Then imagine wrapping all that you see and imagine onto a flat surface. I don't think I could actually do that - but Douglas Cooper can and has. Cooper's new book, STEEL SHADOWS, does three distinct tasks. It offers an insightful autobiographical sketch on how Cooper, an architect/professor at Carnegie Mellon University, came to draw the way he draws. Writing in a naive style, he recounts 2nd grade experiments on perspective, his education at Carnegie Tech, his sojourn to Europe to study buildings, and the evolving style which puts myriad angles continuously onto a flat piece of paper in a way which makes sense - to the viewers as well as to Cooper. The second task is to help the reader fall in love with the landscape of Pittsburgh as Cooper did, first as a 6-year-old enamoured of trains. Cooper's drawings in STEEL SHADOWS, excellent reproductions of the massive murals installed permanently in a variety of sites in Pittsburgh, give one the feel of the steep mountainsides, winding streets, and crumbling industrial landscape of the city. Cooper seems to love it all, and his amazing drawings draw us into his love affair. The third element of STEEL SHADOWS is an illustrated collection of writings on Pittburgh including excerpts from architectural historian Franklin Toker, poet Peter Blair, writer Annie Dillard, historian William Serrin, and novelist Marcia Davenport. My favorite excerpt in the last section is actually by Cooper, himself. "Living with Meg across from Forbes Field" allows him to indulge in his second passion after Pittsburgh: baseball. Along with stunning drawings of the old ball park, Cooper tells us of the neighborhood of South Oakland, life in the bleachers in Forbes Field, and his life as a young married man sitting on his porch directly across the street from Forbes Field waiting for foul balls to be hit out of the stadium and to him. One might question whether this book would be interesting to those who are neither artists nor Pittsburghers. I am not an artist, but as a longtime fan of Cooper's work, was intrigued with his thoughts about how he came to draw the way he does. His writing is simple but not simplistic; even technical sections were clear to me, a layman. I am a Pittsburgher, so cannot state how one from another city will enjoy STEEL SHADOWS. Cooper's drawings, though, transcend the specific place he portrays. His urban landscape and his vision of the ways in which places and times come together have universal appeal. It is Pittsburgh that he draws, but it is Cooper himself as well as his city that we see.

A new and entertaining heroine for the 21st century. Quirky, suspense-filled and fun, the characters and story pull you in and don't let go until you've read the last page. The author takes the best qualities of past heroines like Buffy, The Vampire Slayer and Wonder Woman, andadds a modern element that keeps you entranced in the story. I can't wait for the next book!

Review of
A STIRRING OF SHADOWS

A Stirring of Shadows is a sci-fi type tale that is set in a dimension called Shadowverse where strange creatures have different powers.
Melody, an earthbound human, does not fully realise that she has special powers until she is called upon by the Shadowers to save the universe from the clutches of the dark witch Lorduke and his master Sarggoth.
Melody is transported to this other dimension by a group of impossibly quirky characters - a talking dog, a talking duck, a disembodied brain and an orange cat. Steven is an Elemental with special powers and he is the group's leader whose task it is to conduct the fight with Melody's help. Melody quickly learns she has even more special gifts - her tears can revive the dead and her blood can destroy evil - but she is also the instrument by which the evil Lorduke and his cronies hope to liberate the Ancient One via possession of a certain artifact.
Lorduke feeds on human souls and Melody is also engaged in a race against time to save her friend Raven from becoming another of his unfortunate victims.
I was pleasantly surprised by this imaginative, quirky tale. This book is an awesome mix of irreverent comedy, devious plotlines and sci-fi originality. The stunning characters could only have come straight out of a seriously fertile imagination and Mr Catapano has indeed demonstrated his great skill in bringing these quirky characters to life on the page.
This book takes you to another realm of existence where even the logic of life itself is challenged.
An uplifting light-hearted read for those who enjoy a tale about the ultimate power of good triumphing over evil.
I recommend this book as an entertaining absorbing tale that will ultimately make you smile with its side- swipe at life.

Review By
Patricia J Newcombe
Author of INSIGHT
www.patriciajnewcombe.com

March 2004