Characters Books

Love it Love Love it! It was kind of sad when Abby didn't get the part she wanted. But then she helped rewrite the script(she's a great writer) so that made me happy and that definitly made her happy.

Have you ever been in a play? Abby had! This book is about Abby wanting to star in the play " PETER PAN ". ( Her teachers had planned it. )But she found out that she was only the Narrater. Miss Bunder told her to rewrite the " PETER PAN " so it would be less old fashion. ( If you want to read more ...... Read The Book!!! )
And I forget to tell you, this is also a very great book!

I love this series. It is apropreite for all ages from 1-100. It teaches morals and is funny at the same time. This book is about a girl named Abby Hayes who wants to be in a play to perform at her school when her grandmother is visiting. Most of the book is about her practicing for auditions but the end at the play is one of the best ending of any book.
I suggest that you read the first and second book of the series so you will understand it a little bit more.

I had fun reading this book. Ms. Bunder and Ms. Kantor are putting on a play. They let Abby do the job of rewriting the script.

The Amazing Days of Abby Hayes Reach for the stars is a great book. It is about a girl that is in fifth grade girl and her name is Abby. Abby has a writing class every Thursday. She loves the class because she loved to write in her journal. Abby's writing teacher decided to do a play. The play was Peter Pan. Abby got to rewrite the play. She was so happy about that. She practiced and practiced for the part that she wanted but she did not get it. Her teacher gave her the part of the narrator. Everyone loved the show she rewrote.
All of the Abby Hayes books are written in two kinds of print, black print and purple lettering. The black print is the author telling us the story and the purple lettering is Abby writing in journal. I love this series because I can relate to what she is going through. I think girls that keep journals would like this book a lot

This book was exactly what I was looking for. The author provides a Christian view into how moms can help instill desirable traits in her son. It was full of great tips for single moms. It was realistic, honest, and encouraging. A must-read for moms of boys!

As a mom of two boys, I have found this book to be an eye opener. It is written in a simple yet delightful way. I recommend it for anyone who has boys or who work with boys.

Gave me insight into my son, but, also helped me understand my husband. Great book with good advice. Really liked that it had a list of recommended movies to help boys see examples of good male role models. Would have liked a little more depth on how to actually implement some of the suggestions. Perhaps the additional recommended readings will expand on some of the ideas. I've recommended this book to all my friends who are raising boys. Will read again and again.

Rick Johnson has gotten to the heart and soul of what makes a boy a boy and a man a man, physiologically and emotionally.
He gets back to the basics and common sense of parenting and his advice and tips can relate to parents of all backgrounds.
As a parent of two older daughters, my 13 year old son is posing quite a few issues I have never before faced. Mr Johnson's book addresses all of them and answers questions I have found myself up against in the past few years.
Straightforward and informative, Mr. Johnson's That's My Son is a wonderful confirmation of what you're doing as a "repeat parent" and helps guide you along if you struggle with your first experience having a son.

Read it in a couple of days. Great book for Moms and/or single moms. I have renewed faith that I can raise my boy to be a good man even if I'm the closest thing to it in his life!

Dr Seuss comes through again. Fun to read, good morals, excellent story.
Lots of fun!!

This is my favorite Dr Seuss book (even though I discovered it only a few months ago). The story and pictures are excellent and (importantly) it is particularly easy and fun to read aloud.

Unfortunately, this book is advertised as being suitable for 5-8 year olds only - NOT TRUE! This book is for ANYONE of ANY AGE who enjoys stories.

This book is so appropriate today, maybe more than when it was written in 1948 (a response to the New Deal, perhaps?)! I'm sure I appreciate the message (beware of freeloaders!!) more than my kids, but they enjoy the story and the pictures (as always) are priceless. Dr. Seuss was a national treasure and his books are all terrific.

This book should be in every child's library (and most adults as well). This is the starter book for Orwell's Animal Farm.

I first read this book when I was a little girl. I was really impressed with it then, of all the Dr. Seuss books I thought it was the best because of the message. The poor moose is so soft-hearted, he lets everyone take advantage of him. It has a wonderful message for children to learn about "users". If you only read one Dr. Seuss book to your children, read them this one.

Barnabas Sackett's life from his evasion of the Queen of England in Europe to fighting and befriending different tribes of Indians North of Jamestown and South of Plymouth. Makes a long drive seem much shorter! John Curless has a perfect voice for this story. One of Louis Lamour's best!

I discovered books on CD from a coworker. Having a one hour and ten minute commute each way makes listening to books on CD a great way to enjoy the travel time.
I found this book very well written and very well spoken. One person having to read the voice of many characters is probably not the easiest thing to do. This reading is well done. I found myself sitting in the company parking lot just to finish a chapter before facing my workday. This was my first L'Amour book on CD and it was very enjoyable.

Sackett's Land and To the Far Blue Mountains make a complete story of the life and times of the Sackett progenitor. The combination is entirely satisfactory. L'Amour had the ability to tell the story well, and he developed that ability with years of work and research. It is probably fortunate for Sackett enthusiasts that he wrote the first books in the series later in his writing career. We benefit from his seasoned skills.

As in his westerns, in this book L'Amour focuses on what he finds interesting and what he thinks the reader will like to know. For the most part, he doesn't go into the technical detail that some authors pursue, but he paints a clear picture. The reader has a feeling of being there, or the strong sense that they could be there, right along with our hero.

The Sackett family saga is the story of an American family. Like all of L'Amour's work, it is wholesome and educational. He consistently hits on themes that his readers recognize, the importance of education and critical thinking, respect for our fellow creatures and the world in which we live,loyalty to family and friends, and taking positive action to shape one's own life. All that and a fun story too, for the cost of five bucks.

Dramatically narrated by John Curless, To The Far Blue Mountains is an flawlessly recorded audiobook presentation of yet another of Louis L'Amour's classic western novels featuring the hardy endurance of the Sackett clan as they addressed the challenges of life in the Old West. To The Far Blue Mountains follows Barnabas Sackett, who is on the run with his steadfast wife Abigail and his only escape is to the west. This is a superbly written adventure story of earning a life for oneself on the frontier, surviving all manner of hazards both human and environmental, and eventually prospering despite the hostilities of nature and man alike. To The Far Blue Mountains is an enthusiastically recommended audiobook for personal and community library collections!

I picked up this book because the intro on the back cover sounded good and I've liked almost every L'amour book I've read. Its written in a first person narrative as though he was sitting across from you on the couch telling the story.

The first half of the book is terrific, following his escape from England. We learn of his thirst to be out in the wild open spaces of the newly discovered America, he is falsy accused and is running from the law collecting people to join him as he describes the new beginnings they can have in the New World. Its very tightly written (though I think his escape from prison was way too easy) and you really love the character.

Once the group got to America things changed. In an effort to show the WHOLE life of Barnabas the whole story changes, now we have 50 years of history in 100 pages. So the narrative changes from a day-by-day upbeat story where friends are joining the group to a list of significant events, usually where one of the group dies from an indian raid. It becomes a series of "we built a fort", "xxx died in an indian raid", "the fort burned down", "we went down to sea and traded our skins for supplies", "yyyy died in an indian raid", "we built another fort", etc.

I didn't like the ending either, I think the whole story basically got pretty depressing towards the end with all the group dying or leaving to go off and do other things. All the next generation were grown up and strong but we don't have the emotional connection with them that we did with the first group.

This is a cute story about duck detectives out to solve the case of the pilfered vegetables.

This is a well crafted book that even reads like the old show. I found it was easy to mimic Jack Webb's presentation. What is also cute is the incorporation of old children's fables for extra characters.

The artwork is fun and my girl liked to say the tag line "Dum de dum dum"

You can't go wrong with this one. I have had to read it couple times every day so far.

My son brought this book home from school. We read it over and over again. It was actually lots of fun to read! We loved it so much we're ordering our own copy!

I read this book to my five year old son tonight with my "Dragnet" voice and we laughed as the catchy Dum De Dum Dum was read. I decided to read it to my 8 year old daughter as well and she also loved the book and said we have to get it. I came back to my son's room down the hall where he should have been going off to sleep, and noticed at 8:53 the he was still up listening to me read the book to his sister, he liked it that much and now I am ordering it from Amazon this instant! Dum De Dum Dum Dum!

This was one of the funniest kids books I have ever read! It was hilarious and downright entertaining. It had my children and I excited about turning the page. I even called my 15 year old sister, read it to her and she loved it! Ms. Palatini should make this a series. I would buy every one!

Let's say you're a parent that loves nothing more in the entire world than to sit down and watch a little "Dragnet" on the telly. Now let's say you're that same parent, but you'd like to instill the wonders of Jack Webb in your little one. Enter Margie Palatini and Richard Egielski's, "The Web Files". More "dum de dum dum"s than you could shake a fist at.

Bill and Web (partners) are working the barnyard shift when they hear trouble ah-brewing. Someone's been pirating a peck of purple peppers (ready for pickeling). It's off to confront he usual suspects, when our heroes get a lead. In the end, you can rest assured that the dastardly villain will have met his just desserts and our brave ducktectives can work another day.

There are people who will buy this book, read it over and over, and love every minute of it. They'll revel in the exceedingly terrible puns that crop up with frightening regularity. They'll soak up the detective atmosphere (a combination of "Dragnet" and Ed McBain). They'll never get bored with this puppy, and that's all right. There really are some nice things in this book. Egielski's adept illustrations compliment the rising action, best displayed in a scene in which a variety of fairy tale characters hound the police precinct with tales of woe. I was especially taken with the third degree our heroes give a distraught Little Boy Blue.

As for myself, the aforementioned scenes are gold. But the puns.... lordy begordy the puns. Admittedly I have a low pun tolerance. If you can read the following sentence without twitching, then this is undoubtedly a good book to get: "A lot of squawking going on down in the coop area, Ducktective Web. Looks like fowl play. Report says feathers are flying. Chief says we should check out the chicks." You get the idea. I, personally, had problems with that sentence, but that's just me. Other people will adore this book. It does have some nice touches here and there and is chock full of enough movies and cop shows to bring a chuckle every other page. If you like a good rousing yarn and don't mind slightly painful text, this is the perfect book for a dark and rainy night. Hint: Have your kids hum the "Dragnet" closing music when the book's villain is tried and convicted. The book supplies all the "Dum de dum dum"s itself.

First Off: When buying a slipcased, oversized comic book you should always CHECK THE QUALITY. This book in particular came with a torn up slipcase.

I'm by no means a "comic book" guy. Everyone I know puts this book in the league of extraordinary comics (such as Watchmen, Dark Night Returns) but I cannot figure out why.

The story is rushed and sporadic (see: the building/filling of the prison). The reproduction of the artwork is spotty (as many have pointed out). The overall length is depressingly short. The comic doesn't take its time and develop; it makes a mad dash for the finish line, ignoring its initial themes in favor of a quick, predictable ending.

The story is magnificent, the wide array of background characters and new characters provides a rich backdrop for the conflict, and the artwork is absolutely amazing.

A ground-breaking must-read for any fan of DC comics characters!

The hardcover Absolute Kingdom Come is one of the BEST hardcover comics I own. The story is excellent as well. If you want a comic that will boost your collection this is definitely one of the ones to choose!

Exactly what I was looking for at a great price! My husband could not get enough of it - he has read it from cover to cover!!

This book was the best gift I've ever given. I've read it before and its a must read by for any comic lover. Plus, the price is unbeatable because it normally goes for atleast $75 in any give bookstore. It came in awesome condition and very timely. A high reccomended item for any comic fan.

Meet the great James Boliver "Slippery Jim" DiGriz, the Stainless Steel Rat himself, a pre-eminant scofflaw and star of ten 'Rat' novels. This ficitional futuristic thief proves himself to be an expert burglar, cool con man, and consumate liar. Out conned into working for the Special Corps, an elite government law enforcement and spy agency, DiGriz puts his talents to use all in the name of justice ... except, that is, when he's using them for his own self-benefit by breaking the very laws he should be upholding. Of course, Slippery Jim rationalizes this by claiming he is doing society a favor by committing crimes. Though a rascal, Jim is a humanist at heart and takes great care to ensure no injury befalls anyone as a result of the mischief he creates. In the three novels here, "The Stainless Steel Rat", "The Stainless Steel Rat's Revenge" and "The Stainless Steel Rat Saves The World", DiGriz encounters the sociopathic femme fatale Angelina, a military society bent on conquering the universe, and the time traveling megalomaniac known known as He. Humor and action blend seemlessly in a tongue-in-cheek style that is thoroughly endearing to the loveable rapscallion the Stainless Steel Rat.

I first read this book in the summer of 1977, and the Rat has endured as my alltme favorite fictional character since. Slippery Jim is easily one of the funniest and most endearing characters I have encountered in my literary adventures. Sure he's a scoundrel of sorts, but he does it for all the right reasons, of course! If you are looking or a futurstic psuedo-James Bond/Flint type character with great humor galore, the Rat is your man! I recommend the Rat highly to any sci-fi or action/adventure fan. Or for that matter, anyone with a sense of humor! I keep hoping for a Rat movie...

THIS ISN'T IT! But if you're looking for a good romp through space with a quasi-vigilante, Jame Bond sort of character, you will thoroughly enjoy this material. An excellent read when you just want to have some fun!

I can say this after reading it about 12 times over the last 20 years. If you ever feel bad, just wonder 'what would Jim do?'

This paperback omnibus collects the first three volumes of the nine volume (so far) Stainless Steel Rat series: "The Stainless Steel Rat," "The Stainless Steel Rat's Revenge," and "The Stainless Steel Rat Saves the World." Never having read any of this legendary space cowboy series, I found that a little of this stuff goes a long way. The stories feature a charming rouge con-man who gets turned into an agent for the elite Special Corps. The first story is fun and mindless, the second is still fun, but by the end of it I was wondering if the formula was to be repeated in the third, which it was. There are some fun moments to be had, but this is writing by the numbers.

In one of those odd literary coincidences two Moby Dick fans simultaneously got the bright idea of writing fictional accounts about Ahab's wife, but while Sena Jeter Naslund was writing for publication, Louise M. Gouge was writing her dissertation novel, not really expecting to ever publish it. (One assumes that the critical and commercial success of Naslund's Ahab's Wife: Or, The Star-gazer: A Novel lead Gouge's editor and agent to push her into polishing it up for publication as her third book.) What resulted was the Ahab's Legacy trilogy, of which this is the first volume.

You might think it unfair to compare the two, and you'd be right but for the wrong reasons. Naslund's Everyone Loves Una; Or, The Navel-Gazer: A Mary Sue, as I call it, is one of the worst books I've ever forced myself to finish. In contrast the Ahab's Legacy trilogy was a pleasure to read.

Similarities abound, both authors having decided that an unconventional girl was needed to win old Ahab's heart, but profound differences exist that make for interesting comparison and contrast. Thus, while Una is a laughably absurd prodigy, Hannah is simply a woman slightly ahead of her time due to an unconventional upbringing as the doted on only child of a devoted widower. While Una basks in the worship of mid-nineteenth century New England's thoughtful elites, Hannah reads their books, attends their lectures, and finds her thinking profoundly influenced by them. Compared to unintentionally hilarious Una, Hannah comes across as only slightly more modern than everyone else, an all too human figure.

This first volume is about their love and marriage and his obsession and death.

Note: Louise M. Gouge is a devout Christian, and Christian themes are explored throughout the novels so if Christianity gives you a rash, you have been warned. However, to her credit, Gouge does little preaching and never gets preachy.

The middle book of the trilogy is Hannah Rose, and the final book of the trilogy is Son of Perdition.

Louise Gouge's telling of Ahab's Bride's story is beautifully wrought. The tone is consistent throughout the book, so much so that I was captivated by the time period. She does a lovely job of capturing Ahab's obsession, his penchance for pushing away anyone who longed to have deep ties with him--all in all a great character study of pride and its destructiveness both to the person who is prideful and the person living near the pride-filled one.

I normally don't read historical fiction, but I greatly enjoyed this book.

Ahab's Bride is captivating. Although I am not easily hooked into a novel, I was hooked almost before I could take a breath. I could hardly put the book down until I was finished.

From the first paragraph the reader is transported back in time to 19th century Nantucket into the world of Moby Dick's Captain Ahab and the woman who falls love with him. With an impeccable depiction of the period, Louise M. Gouge walks us through the dusty streets of two whaling communities and into the lives of these fictional, but realistic characters.

Hannah Rose, the viewpoint characer, is a woman who transcends time, a woman we easily identify with, a strong woman who goes after her dreams and faces life with honesty and courage, somewhat reminiscent of Ida in Cold Mountain.

Meanwhile, the person of Captain Ahab, as seen through the eyes of love, takes on new and intriguing dimensions which make you want to brush off your copy of Moby Dick and read it all over again.

Louise Gouge does a terrific job of showing us the real Ahab, both his obsession with the White Whale and his more personal life when on land. Great story.

As the prelude to Herman Melville's Moby Dick, Louise M. Gouge's Ahab's Bride stirs a reader's desire to read the classic novel. Gouge's handling of the text is well done, her characters jump from the page, and the narrative fills in the blanks concerning the life of literature's mightiest whaler, Captain Ahab.

Hannah Oldweiler is drawn to Captain Ahab from their first meeting, as he is to her. They marry, much to the disappointment of both Hannah's father and her young suitor, Jeremiah Harris, both of whom worry for her spiritual welfare.

It does not take long for Hannah to realize that her marriage to Ahab will have no effect on his vocation, as he continues to disappear on the interminable whaling ventures, leaving her to care for the estate. At the conclusion of one of these voyages, Ahab returns with a wooden leg, lost in a struggle with a giant white whale, and becomes consumed with revenge.

Taking second place to Ahab's grudge match, Hannah and her small son are left to face life alone. How will Hannah learn the lessons life is offering her and how long will it take before she turns back to God in her loneliness and confusion?

Craig Hart (...)

We are using this book to discuss character and how to develop it in our Bible class. While the book is not written from a religious point of view, the principles in this book are congruent with Biblical principles. This is a truly wonderful book that I encourage others to read.

This book can probably be read in just a day, but the truths it emphasizes will be valuable for life.

Ethics means you should start with an open mind and listen to those you trust. Then, you make your own decisions. What is right for one may not be the situation for you. You must be able to dream and to hold to your dreams. That is most important, as the dreams tell us what is happening in our subconscious mind. It's hard, but you have to be able to accept criticism and grow from the hurtful comments of others. A great rule of thumb when someone does something intentionally to harm you or your psyche is to "consider the source," and go from there. If you value that person and his opinion, it might be choice to try his advice; if not, smile and say "thank you."

Willy Loman in Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman," was a failure to himself and his family because he embraced "a corrupt vrsion of the American dream which defines success as money, status and celebrity. Like that conman in "Born Yesterday," written by Garson Kanin. Both plays were written in the 1940s and showed capitalism at its worst.

A good moral code is basically a set of values and principles which guide one's behavior. To be perfect, it should be based on religious training of a lifetime starting with the Ten Commandments of the Bible. Jesus led an exemplary life for his time and place. Today's world is filled with evil. New Orleans, deemed the most sinful city (along with Las Vegas), felt God's wrath with Katrina. The Bible promised we would not be destroyed by floods in the story of Noah and the Ark. Knoxville is teetering on the brink of being almost as sinful with so much emphasis on liquor. It, too, is in store for some form of God's wrath -- in what form, I'm not sure. But I predict that the walls will come crumbling down on Gay Street someday. A moral compass is useful for questions of right and wrong.

The hardest choices rise to the top because the questions which could have been solved with simple rules are delegated to others. Such is our city government, as the mayor isn't facile enough to follow through on his promises to the common folk. This is a town of "studies and plans" going on for years, with no follow through. It takes outsiders to come in and corrupt the whole town. Drinking, drugging, carousing on the downtown streets openly by people who were not born here will be the downfall of a town, not the city it could have been. I have never been good at judging character; thus, I have been let down by some I trusted. But then, I am not a leader; nor a follower be -- I tend to take the road least taken. I believe in causes and was told recently that I came home for a reason. Whether I succeed or fail is still up in the air, and I have made an impact -- something I could never have achieved had I stayed here all of my life. We see in the photographs of the Civil War how Abraham Lincoln changed from the confident President to one of toil and pain etched "ever deeper" in his face. He cared deeply and the price he paid was his life.

+++++

This slim book by professor of ethics and philosophy Russell Gough is like a self-help guide for the soul, showing how we can lead better lives simply by being better people. Gough elaborates:

"This book offers what I call mirroring, rather than a finger-pointing, approach. In one-to-one, conversational fashion, its primary goal is to encourage each of us to think about improving our personal lives...in terms of our own personal character...Each chapter of this book is designed to emphasize a given aspect of the all-important nature of personal character [and are] designed to encourage practical self-reflection and enduring personal growth."

What is character? Character, as used in this book, is "what you are in your essence, the sum total of your habits, your personal assortment of virtues [or goods] and vices [or bads]." The title of this book, "Character is Destiny," is an actual quotation uttered by the Greek philosopher Heraclitus.

In fact, each chapter of this book is titled by an actual quotation from a person of great character. These quotes "capture the force and point of each chapter." You'll find that these quotations or chapter titles "are definitely well-worth committing to memory and...living by."

Each of these quotations or chapter titles comes from the following people:

(1) Heraclitus (Greek philosopher)
(2) Socrates (Greek philosopher)
(3) Dwight Moody (American evangelist)
(4) Anne Frank (German-Jewish teen who was forced to go into hiding during the Holocaust and subsequently died at age fifteen in a concentration camp)
(5) Ralph Waldo Emerson (American poet and essayist)
(6) Aristotle (Greek philosopher)
(7) Paul (the Apostle)
(8) Albert Schweitzer (German theologian, musician, and missionary)
(9) Jean Paul Richter (German humorist)
(10) The author (ethics & philosophy professor and author)
(11) An anonymous person (thought to be Charles Reade, English novelist)

You'll find that each chapter is easy-to-read and written with great conviction and eloquence. There is not reams and reams of theory to sort through. This book is written in real English for real people on perhaps the most important subject of all--character.

There is an appendix (not labeled as such) to this book that, in my opinion, is very important. Here, Gough states the following:

"In this book, I have focused on the vast majority of times in our daily lives when we have a pretty clear idea of the ethical line separating the right thing to do from the wrong thing to do. Thus, our discussion has been one not of knowing the right thing to do but of having the character to do the right thing."

But what of those rare situations where there is NOT a clear ethical line where we "truly [don't] know what is most ethically appropriate to do." These are called ethical dilemmas. I was glad to see that the author gives us insight into handling these difficult situations.

Who is this book written for? I would say for high school students, college and university students, and adults: in other words, for everyone. (I disagree with the second part of the last sentence of the Amazon editorial review above.)

Finally, I liked the idea that the author stated that he was not perfect ethically. Thus, this is not a book written by a preachy person who thinks he's a saint or thinks that he lives on Mount Olympus.

In conclusion, this is a well-written, easy-to-read book that speaks directly to the moral crisis of our time!!

(first published 1998; forward; preface; introduction; 14 chapters; appendix; main narrative 160 pages; notes)

+++++

The author did a great job all around. He at least nibbles around the edges of trying to put a philosophical foundation under this, still largely, "how to" book. If, like me, you would like to go further and understand the solid foundation that supports all of the author's fine work, I'll give you a tip that can save you a lot of prolix philosophical reading. I found a book called "WEST POINT", by Norman Thomas Remick that explains all the philosophy in easy to read, understandable language behind the 200 years of character building at West Point, the world's premier school for that purpose. It will advance your understanding of the principles presented so expertly by Mr. Gough in his 5 star effort. Regardless of whether you are serious about understanding what all this is REALLY all about, you'll find "CHARACTER IS DESTINY" readable and enjoyable.

It is amazing that Conan and all the stories he featured in could be covered in three books. I have the first and have to get the second, and I will, but the fact that such a huge Hero in the sword-and-sorcery genre came out of only a five year time period of short stories seems to me to be as amazing as how realistic the character is. He is flawed, humorous, sometimes greedy, always willing to bed a pretty lady and has a heart of gold. And, of course, nerves of iron. While you may watch the movies or the TV series, remember the real Conan are on the pages of these books.
Get them new or used.

This is one of three books containing the original Conan stories, as written by Robert E. Howard.
The stories in these books are organized in the order they were written, which helps see Howard's development of Conan and of the new (at the time) sword and sorcery genre.

There are other collections of Conan stories out there (in particular the 12-book series), but those collections contain revised ("modernized") version of Howard's Conan stories, and Conan stories by other authors (such as L. Sprague De Camp and Lin Carter) which may be worthwhile stories, but they're definitely NOT Howard Conan stories.

Enjoy this volume; enjoy all three volumes. The original Howard stories are definitely a gift.

Dont miss out on these Robert E. Howard Books, to bad he killed himself, or we may of had more than 12. I have to give 5 stars i loved them, its the only fantasy books i have ever read

Most people have heard of Conan the Barbarian, what with the comic books and the movies, but few people really *know* Conan.

When I first began reading Robert E Howard's Conan stories my expectations were quite low, I expected Conan to be a stock "hack everyone to bits" hero with little depth. As I continued to read I became more and more amazed at the staggering difference between Howard's Conan and the muscle bound galoot characterised by Hollywood.

Conan, of course is a barbarian, a man brought up in the hardened lands of Cimmeria, taught at an early age to fight, ride and survive. But at the same time he is a dichotomy; a man of furious, explosive fighting prowess tempered with a thoughtful intelligence that defeats his enemies in battle not simply by use of brawn, but with a mind that knows how to outwit opponents with superior strategies and brilliant, off-the-cuff, tactical decisions.

He has many friends, many enemies, plays many parts; the mercenary, the reaver, the pirate, the commando and eventually a wise and just king. But for all these things the underlying barbarian is never far from him. It is the thing that defines him, and with it he has a code of honor that often puts, so-called, civilised people to shame.

If you buy this book it is well worth the price if only for "Beyond the Black River", which in my estimation is one of the finest Conan tales by Howard. But there are four other admirable tales included as well. Enjoy.

This is great stuff, utterly action-packed! Howard has a wonderful sense of words, and--though he makes the occasional error in cognate reuse (e.g., "the courier coursed down the corridor")--he describes people, places, and events in jaw-dropping detail. You can faint from the splendor of the fabulously wealthy cities and places he word-paints ('limns', to use a favorite term of his). I could do without the all-too-frequent brutally detailed battle scenes, indicating precisely which archers and pikemen were positioned where and whose horse slipped in whose blood. Just when you're about to lose interest, rest assured that a ferocious dragon or wacky gorilla-monster lurks around the next corner. Oh, and there's some very good black magical humor, e.g., when one wizard, in the guise of an eagle, makes off with the head of a second wizard, whose headless body runs after him, muttering curses. You've got to admit that that's imaginative. I witthold my sixth star because of the uneven nature of some of the stories: indeed, the earlier tales seem to flow better than the later ones (n.b. that Conan's character chronology is unrelated to Howard's authorship chronology). Also, the dialogue occasionally seems silly or stinted: it's hard to believe that a barbarian--even though we know he's thoughtful and good-hearted--would engage in such lengthy monologues (all but monologues, I should say) while supposedly "conversing" with other characters. His words sound like what one would write, not like what one--a barbarian, moreover--would say. But never mind these nickety-pickety nitpicks: this is great, great stuff. After enjoying these, you may want to look into the other volumes (but of course!) and Howard's other works: Bran Mak Morn, Kull, and Solomon Kane. The last of these has adventures such as battling voodoo demons in darkest Africa, chasing vampire queens into forgotten cities, and engaging in swordplay with the enchanted skeletons of murdered sorcerers. Aah! That's the ticket!