Fan Fiction Books

Aaron Dinin gives an insider view of the greatest support group the Duke basketball program has-its students at Krzyzewskiville.
The story unfolds as a group of students, tenting for tickets for a Duke basketball game, decide to while away a few hours by each giving their perspective on K-ville.

A must read for basketball fans, everywhere.

Cute little take on the Cantabury Tales from the Duke point of view. This book is only for lovers of all things Duke.

As a Duke basketball fan I found this book interesting and it made me wish I could have gone to Duke and experienced it for myself. This book was the next best thing.

I thought the Krzyzewskiville Tales did just what it was supposed to do... I learned about Duke and K-ville, but in an entertaining way. I read some other review that said some negative stuff, but I just think those people didn't get the literary allusion. It's desgined in the style of Chaucer, and the book keeps true to that while still explaining the history of K-ville. As a Duke alumnus, I'm proud to have this wonderful tradition represented in such a creative way. And all my friends and family that I've bought it for have trully enjoyed it.

Though never having been a particularly big Duke basketball fan, I picked up a copy of this book upon a friend's advice, and am glad I did. It's an entertaining way to learn about the fascinating history of what everyone knows is a storied basketball dynasty (whether you like 'em or not, it's true). The stories are easy to read, but packed with relevant information, and I was able to breeze through the book in one sitdown while still feeling like I'd gained a lot of knowledge. I look forward to what Mr. Dinin writes next.

Edited by Dave A. Law and Darin Park (sorry, the name of the book was too big to include the editors into the title).

I received this book from EDGE/Tesseract, which is also in league with Dragon Moon Press, who happened to be the publisher of this particular book. On a side note to this, they also have a couple volumes of a guide to writing fantasy, which may be of interest to those of you who are not into SF.
I'm going to do this review in two ways. First I'm going to talk about the book as a whole, second I'm going to address each article individually, and third I'll end with a conclusion. Here goes:

This book should be on your required reading list for genre-related non-fiction. If you write science fiction, get this book because it will help you in so many different ways, especially if you're just starting out in the SF field. This book covers everything from the early history of SF to sub-genres, creating believable aliens to getting your science right, writing to editing, and submitting to the life of a published author. In a lot of ways it is too much subject matter for one book, but I imagine that Dragon Moon is intending to do with this what they did with their guide to fantasy--multiple volumes--which would help expand upon the ideas that were intentionally left alone. In short, this is one of the most useful books for writers of SF that I have read since Orson Scott Card's how-to book on SF & F. It's definitely worth more than the $24.95 USD price.
Edit: I forgot to mention that the back of the book includes an extensive collection of resources that I have found remarkably useful. It includes websites, publishers, and all of the works that were cited within the articles, among other things.
Now for the criticism, which is sort of bad criticism and simple observational criticism which is neutral. There were some articles that had spelling and grammar errors, though the vast majority of the book was generally perfect. Also, it seems as though there was a printing problem throughout the book that I can't imagine being an editorial issue. The italicized capped "N" was consistently replaced with an italicized capped "I" with a little dot under it. This has to be some sort of printing fluke. It's hard to miss otherwise. Other than that, and what will be mentioned in the individual article discussions, there little wrong with this guide. With authors like Orson Scott Card, Wil McCarthy, Piers Anthony, Michele Acker, and Kim Richards in the table of contents you can see how good this guide really is. The reason I'm doing the articles last is because you may not want to read my take on the individual articles, since overall the book is really awesome. But, in case you want to know what I thought of them individually, here they are:

Part One: Defining

1. Time Line: A History of Science Fiction by Darin Park
This article gives a very, very, very brief history of SF. I did learn a few things about the history of SF, but I think the weakest part of the article--other than some grammar and spelling errors--is that it is too broad. If another volume shows up I would really like to see certain aspects of SF's history expanded upon. It's a good article for the ill-versed reader, but it is very much glossing over the vast history of SF.
2. Searching For the Definitive Definition of Science Fiction by Jeanne Allen
Addressing the age-old question of "what is Science Fiction"? The great thing about this article is that it paints the argument perfectly. What is science fiction? Well, how about, what isn't science fiction? It's impossible to come up with a definitive definition, essentially. Darn good article.
3. Science First, Fiction Second: That's Science Fiction by Bob Nailor
Nailor does a good job here discussing some of the myths in science fiction and basically pointing out that if you intend to write SF, even if you don't know the science and you're simply making something up that can't happen anyway (such as FTL travel), you still need to present it in a way that works. Technobabble used appropriately makes your writing seem effective, etc. He also uses some well known SF writers (Heinlein, Asimov, etc.) to support his point.
4. The Many Faces of Science Fiction: Sub-Genres by Kim Richards
The title says it all basically. This is another of the articles that could do with expanding, especially on the subject of the blurred lines between different genres. Still a good introduction, but I think that sub-genres are vastly more complex than this.

Part Two: Building

1. Technology and Science Fiction by Wil McCarthy
Basically, if you want to write SF, you have to get the science right. McCarthy basically says what anyone else who writes SF seriously will tell you. Readers will drop you like a hat if you create a technology that is absolutely idiotic and unbelievable, within limits of course (readers are likely to accept that a FTL ship works, but only because that's just a general acceptance in SF). McCarthy does a good job going into the use of ideas and researching. His methods might not be for everyone, but he still provides you with a unique insight into how important the science in SF really is.
2. World Building by Kim Richards
The simplest way to explain this is that it's fantasy world building, only from an SF approach. Aliens instead of goblins and elves, alien cultures instead of medieval countries, etc. Depending on the type of SF you intend to write this could be a hit or miss. I found it useful because I do like designing alternate worlds, and it did give a glossed over version of dealing with alien creations.
3. Alien Creation Michael McRae
Just read the title and you'll know what this is about. McRae does go into this by making a point that your aliens don't have to be human, but they have to have a human element to them. If something is too alien it will be impossible to translate it to an audience of people who are human. So, even if your aliens have twelve arms and three mouths, you have to make it so the audience can identify with it. A really good article here for anyone wanting to make aliens.
4. Navigating Your Way Through Outer Space: Facts, Theories, and Conjecture by Jeanne Allen
Another very brief article, but I think this is still effective. It should be expanded though, and I hope that Dragon Moon does so. Allen discusses the vastness of space--stars, galaxies, and beyond--while pointing out how harsh space is. Everything from radiation to the effects of zero gravity on the human body, methods of creating artificial gravity to methods of space travel--real and otherwise--and even the enhancement of humans via artificial means. A good introduction to everything, and very valuable.
5. I Don't Know That Bug-Eyes Monster From Adam: Cliches In SF by Milena Benini
A discussion of the cliches in SF. Really it's impossible for this to be any more limited because there are so many cliches in SF anyway. However, it serves as an example of the types of things that have been done to death already and what you need to do to make sure that any cliche elements you use come off as more creative and interesting.

Part Three: Crafting

1. Bringing Characters To Life by Tina Morgan
Basically a brief discussion on how to make your characters more lifelike. Giving them little habits and such to make them seem real. We've heard it before, but I think the basics of writing tend to be left out of genre specific books for writers. Now genre writers have a place they can go to get most, if not all, of the necessary info.
2. Attack of the Monster Plot: Ideas, Settings, and Plots by Milena Benini
Another basic look to an important element of writing. It was a decent article, I thought, and it did manage to help me really think about some of the issues I'm having with a novel I'm currently working on.
3. Science Fiction As Western Union by Orson Scott Card
Card talks in some detail about some things you shouldn't do with fiction in general: don't intentionally send a religious message or preach to your audience, etc. He raises some good points and defends his position by stating that he has written stories from various viewpoints, including non-religious viewpoints, even though he himself is a religious man.
4. Slash & Burn: When To Make Your Manuscript Bleed by Tina Morgan
Another basic approach to a common fiction element. This discusses all the little things within editing that you should be aware of. Rules like "show don't tell" and "don't be redundant" come into play here. It's a good article and certainly worth the read. Again, this is basic though. It works, but you'll want to go look for more expansive takes on some of the points made if you don't already know about them.

Part Four: Specializing

1. Laugh Lines by Bud Sparhawk
Humor...as in knock-knock jokes and other funnies. Okay, not really, but Sparhawk goes into the uses of humor in SF writing, whether it be within a serious work or a work that is intentionally being funny (like what Douglas Adams did). I think there could have been better humorous examples provided by Sparhawk, but I think he still gets his point across.
2. Going Where Others Have Gone Before...And Want To Go Again by Carol Hightshoe
This article discusses Fan Fiction. The interesting thing about it is that when I started reading it I expected to see only things related to FF, except Hightshoe goes even further by addressing shared-world series (such as Star Wars and Star Trek). This is a really good article that also delves into the issues of copyright infringement in FF (true FF I mean, not shared-world stuff). You might be interested to know that Lucas is one of the few franchise owners that actually encourages FF and Fan Films provided they follow some guidelines (no slash, and length limitations). More reasons to love Lucas I suppose. This was a fascinating read even though I have no intention of writing FF or writing within a shared-world (though I imagine I may try it one day).
3. Writing Graphic Novels and Other Forms of Sequential Art by Dave A. Law
This article was partially useless to me and partially interesting. First, it's useless to me because I have no real desire to get into graphic novels. This doesn't mean the article is bad, what it means is that it just doesn't provide information that I really intend to use. For someone who is interested in this field it will provide some valuable information, especially if you're interested but know very little about the field. It's a good introduction to how things work, particularly on the publishing side.
4. Science Fiction For Younger Readers Aged Eight to Twelve by Simon Rose
This has to be the first article I have ever seen that addresses SF for kids and young adults. I've seen far too many ones that take on fantasy, but never on SF. The interesting thing about this is that much of what is required to make SF for adults work ends up not being required in the same manner for kids. Science doesn't have to be explained too much, it just has to be believable to kids, and since kids are more likely to accept something as believable in a book it's not too complicated to make SF stories for kids. I enjoyed this article a lot.

Part Five: Publishing and Beyond

1. So You've Finished Your Short Story/Novel, Now What? Michele Acker
Everything from conventions to workshops, markets to agents, etc. Everything that takes place between having completed your story to getting it published, and the means to do so. Acker also delves into the different types of publishers (print, POD, electronic, etc.) and talks with actual agents and editors on some very important subjects. Very useful article here.
2. The Art & Science of Book Promotion by Ian Irvine
Those of you looking for a speculative fiction look into the world of promoting your newly published book should look no further than here. Irvine goes into detail on the various methods by which you can promote your book, while also addressing how the publisher may or may not help promote you. I learned a lot from this article and, in the end, I still want to be a writer. I can deal with having to work my [...] off.
3. The Writing Life by Piers Anthony
What can you say about this article other than saying that this shows the grim reality of what it's like to be a writer before and after being successful (if you are successful)? That's about all you can say really. It ain't an easy life.

The conclusion is: buy this book. Period. Okay, well don't if you don't want to, but you should really consider it if you're a writer and want to work with SF. It's an awesome book! Plain and simple!

The aspiring science fiction writer who starts at the beginning of this book will build understanding and a strong foundation of knowledge. While this by no means ensures success in a very tough business, it can give her a distinct advantage. I have read, heard, studied, and practiced all of these techniques for years. But I still found new truths and a wealth of new insights in the words.

Broken into short chapters, written in simple (but not simplistic) language, the book follows a logical progression. Three sections organize the material into five parts, plus appendices. Part I focuses on defining the history and parameters of the genre. Part II delves deep into basic scientific principles, word building, and aerospace technology. Part III covers crafting and revision and Part IV specialty sub-genres. Part V addresses publishing, marketing, and the writing life.

It's important for the writer to understand the multiple sub-genres and techniques used in each to create good stories, as well as to target marketing efforts. Having a single source for very detailed biochemistry, genetics and evolutionary biology, physics, and astronomy is much easier than unearthing it from other places.

I recommend this as the first book for new science fiction writers to buy and see it as the last one those of us slogging through the process will need.


Carole Ann Moleti writes review and commentary for Tangent Online, The Fix, Noneuclidean Café and most recently for Vision: A Resource for Writers.

I think this is a great book for a writer who's interested in learning how to write Science Fiction. It has all the nuts and bolts needed to get an aspiring writer started in writing for the genre. I enjoy reading Sci-Fi, but have always been afraid of trying to write it. Science is not my strong suit and I don't aspire to wasting my time or being a laughingstock.

They've crammed so much information into this book that it's hard for me to do it justice. It covers the mechanics of writing such as: characterization, plot, POV, pacing and so on. And yes I have read that information in other books, but it ties in with what it takes to write Sci-Fi and that's what makes it so helpful.

I liked it that the book gives out some information on black holes, time travel, wormholes and other facts or speculation. It describes the many subgenres and what is necessary for creating alien life. With World Building I create my own world for my story and its characters. World building helps me to make my story believable. I read how important technology is too. I think that's the part that's always scared me the most about writing Sci-Fi.

This book is so great because it walked me through each step of what it takes to write Science Fiction. It's a wonderful guide for a genre that is both complex and sometimes difficult to write. No, it won't write the book for me, but it does give me some basic tools to start my journey with.

A comprehensive, deftly edited, 311-page 'how to' instruction guide for writing in the science fiction genre and any of its many subgenres, "The Complete Guide To Writing Science Fiction: Volume One" is a collection of superbly presented essays and articles by knowledgeable and successful writers ranging from Piers Anthony, to Orson Scott Card, to Tina Morgan. Beginning with Darin Park's 'Timeline: A History of Science Fiction', there are specific chapters dealing with the science and technology in science fiction, world building, the creating of aliens, the use of humor and drama, writing graphic novels in the genre, and even what to do with your science fiction short story or novel once it is written. Whether an aspiring writer yearning to break into science fiction, or even an experienced author with some publication credits in the genre, "The Complete Guide To Writing Science Fiction" will prove to be invaluable reading and instructive reference.

This is definitely towards the bottom of the writing books I've read over the last fourteen years, since I started buying them regularly. I could not bring myself to read the last few essays because anyone trying to write off of this advice certainly won't need publishing advice. Each chapter of this book is a different essay and I'm surprised they were able to find so many that were so inferior. With the exceptions of Chapter Nine and Chapter Twelve I have seen every piece of advice in this book done significantly better elsewhere over the years. This book does seem to be aimed at the absolute beginner but some of the content is frankly dubious. You would be much better off reading previous how to write science fiction books. As I mentioned, there are two shining exceptions which are probably worth reading: Chapter Nine: I Don't Know that Bug-Eyed Monster from Adam: Cliches in SF by Milena Benini and Chapter Twelve: Science Fiction as Western Union by Orson Scott Card. Chapter Nine is a simple and useful summary of SF cliches and how to use and avoid them. Chapter Twelve is an excellent argument about sermonizing in your writing and the real reasons not to do it. I should place the caveat there that I am biased towards Orson Scott Card's teaching style, having enjoyed his writer's boot camp immensely. So you should take my praise of him with a grain of salt. Even so, two essays are certainly not worth the price of a book. Perhaps if you get it used. Better yet rent this from a library and just read those two chapters because this book will have to get pretty cheap to be worth the price. I would recommend instead to beginning SF writers: How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy (Genre Writing Series) and The Science Fiction Writing Series edited by Ben Bova. Writing Science Fiction & Fantasy (Writing Series) (Writing Series) is also a nice introductory work, or the previous edition was at least. For other topics, you are probably better off looking at how to books that are not SF specific.

This book is great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The stickers are so cute and the quiz and games are so funny! Also this is really helpful in case you don't have one of the books in the series or don't understand something in the books. SO GET IT ALREADY!!!!!!!!!!!

I myself actually loved this book. For a Furuba fan, its a major part of the collection. And I'm going to disagree with the earlier statement of volume 18 being spoiled.

I hadn't read 18 before I bought this, and found it didn't really spoil anything for me.

In short, its a major piece for a Furuba fan.

This Book was more of a recap of books 1-18. I hadn't read 18 when i read this, so it kind of spoiled all of the secrets. Make sure to read all the books before reading this. The print was a little small and hard to make out. There were only 8 pages of actual manga in it.

The title of this side book to the Fruits Basket manga proper alludes to Kyo's place in the Zodiac. Just as Kyo is not technically a member of the Zodiac but still loved by fans, the premise goes, this entry is not technically part of Fruits Basket proper but will hopefully be loved by fans as well. Unfortunately, the entry is no Kyo.

The largest chunk of the book consists of character bios that act as a recap of the first 17 volumes of the series which the average fan won't find necessary - same for the games and quizzes. Talk of family trees will pique interest, but unfortunately they turn out to be mini immediate family trees for each subject of the character bios. Translation: we don't learn any more than what we already know, namely that Ayame and Yuki are brothers and the rest of the Zodiac members and Kyo are their cousins. Anyone hoping to find out exactly how closely related each of the cousins are via a master tree will be disappointed. The poll results range from interesting (Shigure and Momiji's positions in the two favorite character poll results - one presumably pre-summer house incident and the other presumably post-summer house incident - are telling) to who-did-they-ask head scratching (Yuki and Haru's friendship doesn't even make the top 20 on the favorite relationship poll??). The interview with creator Natsuki Takaya is interesting, but not worth the price of the volume alone.

Which brings us to the real reason most of us would buy this book - the presumption from the description that it would include a "lost chapter" conclusion to the Ritsu/Mitsuru subplot - a reasonable assumption considering Natsuki Takaya's previous mention in a series proper sidebar that she'd like to do a little more with them but probably wouldn't be able to because the major storylines had gone too far. What we get is a set of one page shorts, involving several different characters, of varying quality - one of which follows the new couple on an amusing if slightly disturbing date. In fact, the best and funniest short actually involves Kyo's theoretical reaction were he to read the head trip that was volume 17.

Ultimately, anyone who must have every single scrap of Fruits Basket material will pick this up no matter what anyone says. Everyone else might be better off saving their money - including Ritsu fans, who wouldn't really lose that much by leaving his relationship with Mitsuru where we last saw it - which in my opinion left us enough to work with to make a good assumption that things would go well for them once he actually worked up the nerve to ask her out.

I have to disagree a bit with the previous reviewer's claim that this book doesn't contain much new information. The character bios mostly are just recaps of material that's been gradually presented within the story, but it's nice to see it collected in compact form-- and they actually show the kanji (or in some cases, kana) for all the major characters' names, which TokyoPop has *not* previously shown in the regular manga. Similarly, the events timeline is a tidy summation which fanfic writers might find useful; the "fashion concept" notes are fun factoids; and the emotional-relationship diagrams have some delightful touches such as Manabe and Kimi being mutually labelled as "toxic friends" to each other.

And I'm astonished that the previous review didn't mention the color artwork! Most of this book is printed in the usual black-and-white format on undistinguished paper, but the first ~10 pages have gorgeous glossy full-color prints of some of the large chapter-intro panels which were flattened down into greyscale in the regular manga volumes. There's also a two-page spread in which Takaya outlines how she creates these sort of images, from initial pencil sketch on paper up through various paint layers in Photoshop. (And an initial page of little full-color stickers (meh), mostly the faces of all the Sohma critters and some of the humans, and a few more color pages of various Furuba merchandise that were available in Japan, and which seem to be shown for the purpose of taunting US fans with their unavailability unless they get lucky on eBay.)

What I do have to nitpick is the overall presentation of the book. In many places, the text is almost unreadably tiny because panels have been shrunk down or because there're just long paragraphs squeezed into there; afaik Shounen Jump's US fanbook reprints have larger pages than the original Japanese editions, and this book would've benefited if TokyoPop had followed suit. Some sections could've done with a bit more explanation-- I still can't figure out what "moe-moe" means in the specific context of page 148-- and the long stretches of frivolous quizlets and reader-survey results from Japan can get a bit tedious.

There are one or two editing slips where a paragraph seems to've been mistakenly duplicated into a different section, replacing whatever else should've been there instead. There are also some notable translation/continuity discrepancies where the dialogue in the reprinted panel doesn't match the dialogue in the corresponding manga volume. (Two words: pronoun trouble.)

So yeah, there isn't all that much new stuff in here-- but I enjoyed enough of the info to offset my assortment of minor gripes. I would've been more than happy to buy this for the name kanji/kana and the color reprints alone, which is probably all the benefit I would've gotten from paying lots more for an import of the original Japanese fanbook.

This book was a gift for our 9 year old granddaughter. It was a big hit. She read it all in a single day... but would not tell anyone the plot or anything else about the book ..after all its a secret!

If you've seen the TV show, then you'll get a reminder of the story. It tells of how Miley/Hannah try to keep her indentity a secret from friends in the "biz". My daughter reads it with me as we get ready for bed....she's totally in love with the dual girl!

miley finds out that her good friend oliver has a crush on hannah montana!!! scary!!!!!! Then when oliver sneeks in her limo her dad throws her wing on her. then oliver wants her to kiss his hand she makes lily's dog do it insted of her. good job miley!!! if you love hannah montanayou haveto get this book i loved it.

my daughter loves these books and now has the set waiting for next one to come out

This book is really awesome. Hannah Montana kept her identity from her best friend, Lily, and one day Lily had asked her if she could go to the Hannah Montana concert. Miley said that she couldn't because she needed to spend quality time with her brother. The night of the concert Lily snuck into Hannah's dressing room and caught her and found out that Hannah Montana was really her friend, Miley!! I strongly recommend this book to anyone who loves Hannah Montana books! It was great!

I read this, thinking that my 14 year old daughter might like it. I was wrong. Ellen Conford is a talented writer, but this book was heart wrenching. You ache for Sylvie, the main character.The things she goes through are too real and you want to see a happy ending, but there can't be because she's 15 and can't control her own destiny. Why would anyone want to read a book that makes you feel bad and has no happy ending ?

It was good....

I'll never break your heart i'll never make you cry i'd rather die, than live without you i'll give you all of me honey that's no lie i'll never break your heart i'll never make you cry i'd rather die than live without you i'll give you all of me honey that's no liiiiiiiiiie!

From the moment I started reading this book, I fell in love with it. I wish more books could be as well written as this book was. Right when I started reading "To All My Fans, WIth Love, From Sylvie," I kept on reading because I was hooked on it. Every chapter ended with an event that caused me to want to read on and on.

I really dont understand how the title fits with the book; the book was not what it seemed to be. From reading the back cover, I thought this book would be a sweet story about a pretty, teenage girl in Hollywood trying to fulfill her dream of getting her big break in acting. In no way was this book as sweet as I thought it would be. Though that would have been somewhat interesting to read, the actual story was a lot better. It was actually about a pretty, teenage girl leaving her home, with her foster parents, whom she really didnt get along well with, trying to get to Hollywood, where she would try to become famous and all the challenges she faces along the way. I really got into the book's suspenseful turns and swerves. Sylvie, the pretty, teenage girl, is the main character inthe story. It is almost unbelievavle how brave she was throughout all the problems she faced. She meets various people, though she realizes she cannot trust everyone.

There were truly great lessons learned from this book. I reccommend it to any mature reader. Sylvie learned what love really is and you can, too if you read this book. You'll really feel for Sylvie.

It's long, but wonderful! Ellen Conford is a wonderful writer. I have read most of her books, but this is the best one yet! Read it now!

I haven't read this book in about 10 years (since I was 10,) but I remember loving it... great story, you'll really wonder what happens, and what has happened in the past, and feel for Sylvie.

One of the things I found particularly interesting (and enjoyable) about reading this book was how it mirrored discussions held with fan communities about what they do. Along with a helpful bibliography on fan studies, and more than one review of fan fiction history (its origins as well as academic study on the topic) there are various, sometimes contradictory, perspectives on the writing of fan fiction. These discuss the various forms it can take, and what models the writing fits into. Also very interesting is the history of machinima, one of fandom's latest art forms. A bit academic for the layman but still a useful introduction to those not familiar with fan fiction studies.

This is an essential book for anyone interested in contemporary fan communities and their creative products: fanfic (including slash fiction), fanvids, online RPGs, and much more. The writers are all both active fans and credentialed academics, and the book as a whole maintains academic rigour while remaining clear and comprehensible to readers who don't know the jargon.

For members of fan communities, the language and activities described will be familiar. For those who are new to this subculture, Busse and Hellekson's introduction gives a succinct and readable account of the intellectual genealogy of fan studies while outlining the state of internet communities at the time of writing (admirably avoiding the common danger for books about the internet, the making of grand claims for a landscape that will be out of date by the time the description is in print, by emphasising the history and time-sensitivity of the world they describe), and Coppa provides a history of science fiction and media fan communities as they developed into the cultures which all the essayists examine and explore.

Each of the essays presents a snapshot of fannish life, considering the communities which form around fan fiction writing, video making and other activities through fresh and interesting theoretical lenses. I was particularly intrigued by Coppa's reading of fanfiction as performance, Busse's and Lackner, Lucas and Reid's examination of writers' and readers' interactions as potentially and sometimes problematically queer acts, and Willis's depiction of slash fiction as making space for queer subjects in normatively straight textual worlds, but others will find different selections from this smorgasbord of literary and cultural analysis to be most appealing.

I am not an academic, but I found this book very readable. Beyond that, it was inspiring to read such a diversity of thought about the fannish culture to which I belong. Unlike the few other books I've read about media fandom, I wasn't just nodding my head and thinking "Yes, I know this already." Several of the essays introduced new ideas, new ways of thinking about fans and how we interact with one another and with our texts, that were not just novel to me but well-argued and fascinating.

My particular favorite was the essay that suggested a view of canon, fanon, and fan-created texts as part of an "archive" of a particular show, movie, or book, erasing the boundary between canon and fannish creations in a way that is, IMO, nothing short of revolutionary.

I would enthusiastically recommend this book to any fan interested in meta, and any scholar interested in media fandom.

Unless you are an academic steeped in modern modes of literary criticism AND an afficianado of Star Trek/Buffy slash fan fiction, don't waste your time on this book.

All of the authors write in an academic style that will be stultifying and unilluminating to even a well-read reader. The promise of the book's title is never fulfilled due to the focus on reviewing and citing the prior works of other academic authors.

The book is further marred by the repetition of a false assumption -- that ALL romance novels are of the Mills & Boon/Harlequin style. This assumption is not only wrong, it is grossly wrong. The Harlequin style has not dominated the romance novel market for more than twenty years, as even a cursory glance at any bookstore (new or used) would attest. This blatant error -- used as the basis of more than one argument in the book - casts doubt on on ALL assertions made by the authors. If such an easily-verifiable or refutable assumption is made in error, one must wonder what other significant errors are being made, especially in the far-more complex and layered world of fanfiction?

McMahon, an aging rock star finds himself with an inexplicable problem. Years ago, a young woman, nanny to his friends child, died accidentally while the band was in France. Now, suddenly, he is receiving letters from her. Letters full of intimate details and knowledge. Letters which are beginning to threaten his own sanity. McMahon hires Beau Youselli, a moonlighting police detective, to solve the mystery. But the past is not to be dealt with so lightly.

Youselli is the perfect antihero. Shallow, in the middle of a divorce, and not quite able to control either his violence or his lust, he provides a chilling counterpoint to the other characters in the book. All of who seem to play equal parts as victims and victimizers. For Youselli, there is no truth, only things to take advantage of as he picks away at threads that seem to go every which way. He despises McMahon, is turned on by women whose lives have become meaningless and boring, and is hopelessly drawn to the writer of the letters.

The plot of the story is simple; one pastiche after another of Youselli's almost furtive attempts to find the reality of Leah, the dead letter writer. What he finds is layer after layer of misdirection and deception. The truth is so ephemeral and elusive that the detective's own identity seems to take damage as the story unfolds. Interspersed with these pastiches are the letters themselves, a series of interior monologues from McMahon, and pieces of the story of Edith, an older psychologist Youselli first uses as a resource and then turns into a lover.

If anomie, the sense of disassociation, were to be made into a mystery novel, "Back From the Dead" would be it. Youselli's almost psychotic detachment from the violence he receives and enacts, coupled with his obsessive quest for someone who, if she exists at all would not be for him, provide the impetus for a series of events that only resolve themselves by happenstance. McMahon's friends, the participants in the accident are all somehow broken or flawed. They move with a jerky mechanical rhythm which hypnotizes the reader. Despite the title, there is no hope of rebirth, of redemption here.

I am not sure how I feel about this book, whether it is a novel or a mystery story, or whether it succeeds or not. Chris Petit is an ingenious author, lending credibility to the outlandish, working multi-layered themes, and even using confusion as a plot device. But I found the literary nature of the book almost distracting. We are not used to having to think as much as Petit requires in order to absorb his efforts. I have to give credit where credit is due, the book is well written, atmospheric and chilling. I will remember more of the story than several I have read recently. But it is not a novel that I would care to reread anytime soon.

Once a rock and roll icon, but now more a golden oldie, McMahon begins receiving a letter a week signed by a woman dead for well over a decade. When the missives start to turn uglier and threatening, McMahon hires disillusioned New York City police detective Youselli to investigate the source and why. The rock idol informs Youselli that Leah baby-sat for the child of a now dead band member, but died in Paris fifteen years ago.

Youselli begins questioning those close to McMahon and quickly realizes that his employer has not been totally truthful with his information. Soon Youselli becomes obsessed with the investigation and wonders if Leah actually still lives. His own life in emotional shamble, Youselli begins to live through the weekly letter even as he seeks the truth.

BACK FROM THE DEAD is at times an engaging mystery due to its fascinating but gloomy characters that readers will actually detest. However, the story line takes too long to develop and will lose those in the audience whom prefer a faster pace. Chris Petit shows flashes of a top talent, especially with the cast and their dialogue, but needs to tighten the plot so that the reader will not feel like they hit the wall of a marathon.

Harriet Klausner

It's been a week since I finished Back from the Dead and I am still not sure if I had it all to do over again that I would invest the time.

The plot is clever, full of suspense, intrigue, and unexpected twists and turns. In a nutshell: an aging glam rocker begins receiving notes from someone claiming to be a young woman from his past. The catch? The woman was supposed to have died over a decade back in a mysterious "accident" in France. Unsettled by the notes, he hires a police detective, of questionable ethics, to investigate the source of the letters. What follows is a somewhat eery search through the underbellies of Los Angeles and New York for two women who appear connected by a shared tragedy.

The story never seems to really get its footing -- waffling between a tale of gas-lighting in the tradition of Atwood and crime noir. In short, Petit can't seem to decide if he is writing a mystery with metaphysical twists and turns or a good old fashioned suspense set in the real world.

Perhaps the greatest disappointment in what could have been an excellent book, are the characters. The framework for complex and fascinating characters is there, however Petit does not follow through. All of the players seem distant and even by the end of the book I still did not feel as if I "knew" any of them. They fell short of really coming to life for me. Moreover, none were particularly likeable.

I was under the impression that this was for an older audience, not a high-school read. It was cute.

Jen Calonita does a wonderful job creating Kailtin's journey for the second time! I could not stop reading this book! I recommend this book to anyone and everyone! Yet another fine job by Jen Calonita!!! I can't wait for more!

I am 14 years old and this is one of the most amazing book I have every read. I love the plot and the characters are are so realistic. I love the fact that it has real facts about hollywood. It kept me reading untill I got to the end. It was so amazing I had to buy the next book the same day! you really need to have read the first book (Secrets of my hollywood life)to understand parts. just as good as the first!! A great book!! :)

The first "Football Hall of Shame" is an absolute classic, and must be read to be believed. This followup consists mainly of leftovers that didn't make it into the first book, so it's understandably not quite as terrific, but anyone who gets volume 1 must also have volume 2. Tremendously fun reading about the players, owners, refs, mascots, fans, etc., who have committed memorable blunders over the years. Some classic stories, including Joe Montana's little-publicized habit as a practical joker. Fun fun!

Like I said in the review title, a good collection of funny football foibles, although it seems a step down from the first Hall of Shame. Of course, book #1 had the more famous tales, i.e. "Wrong Way" Reigels; Georgia Tech 222, Cumberland 0; Cal-Stanford game-ending kickoff laterals. But still, Version 2 is nicely divided into fun chapters, like Most Outrageous School Bands, Craziest Players, Dumbest Coach Moves, and the like. Basically, if you enjoy NFL Football Follies and Sports Bloopers, you'll like this book, albeit without the Bob Saget-esque inane commentary.

Doug Riddell takes the reader through his railroad career as fireman, brakeman, conductor, freight engineer and Amtrak engineer. The book falls short on several fronts: It is set far too small type-a definite strain on the eyes. The spacing of the paragraphs and sequence of chapters are in no logical sequence, making for confusing reading. There is also no glossary of RR terms, which can be mystifying to the casual railfan. More seriously, there is no explanation of RR labor workings or teminology. Why is Doug on the "extra board" for fireman on an outbound trip, but forced to be a conductor on the return trip. Why do crew based in Richmond have different rights than crew based in Rocky Mount? This may reflect poor editing as opposed to poor writing but "From the Cab" is still a disappointment. Mr. Riddell is more effective at the short articles he formerly wrote for the late, lamented "Passenger Train Journal" than the longer fare of this book. If you are a serious railfan, especially in the Virginia/Carolinas areas, ignore this review and buy the book anyway. Others should think twice. Sad but true.

Doug Riddell has taken us inside the life of the railroad engineer. From initially starting out cubbing to learn how the newly merged Seaboard Coast Line and Seaboard Air Lines operate, through working as a brakeman to how he entered engine service to become an engineer. Doug takes us into the cab of the engine, The cupola of the caboose and into the crew rooms and layovers that are a railroader's life. Doug also allows many insights into his own life through these experiences. The night he was almost killed in a crankcase explosion, how it feels to collide with an auto and what he hopes for his son in the future. For anyone who wants to really know what it's like to work on the railroad, this is the book for you.