Science Fiction and Fantasy Books

I pulled this off the shelf in a bookstore at the age of eight and forced my mother to buy it. Now, ten years later I still find pleasure in looking at the wonderful artwork and reading the great adventure story. A perfect rainy day read.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that Gurney's second Dinotopia book is just as good as the first. The illustrations are wonderful. After reading this, I now know more about the characters in the movie Dinotopia.

Dinotopia is an island where dinosaurs and people live in peace, except for the carnivores that live in the Rainy Basin. This book is the sequel to Dinotopia: A Land Apart from Time and it was just as good as the last Dinotopia. The sequel brought more depth to the plot without losing any of the original’s glory.

I first saw this book in my english classroom's bookshelf back in junior high. I was about 13 at the time, and after flipping through the pages, reading a few paragraphs; seeing its astonishing level of detail and wonderfully drawn art, I had to have this book. So I took it home and never brought it back. I wasn't the only one either. At the end of the school year, only 3 of the 7 copies our teacher had remained. Dinotopia: The World Beneath, is that good.

Even now at 22 years of age, the book sits on my shelf as I type this. It's art and story are still captavating to me even today. And its the art that really shines. Well drawn, imaginative pictures that are sure to please children and adults alike. ***High quality and artistical marks here.*** This book is sure to make you say "Wow!" And I'm not really into this kind of stuff. James Gurney knows how to draw, and write a book.

The story is set around the late 1800's on a island where man and dinosaur live with one another in pure harmony and peace (with the exception of the angry Tyrannosaurs) and, in all aspecs, equal. Arthur Denison, sets out to find a lost ancient city of Poseidos. Encountering many dangers along the way. His son Will, who was stranded with him years before on Sauropolis Island is on his own task of helping retreive a plant to make medicine that will save the life of a baby triceratops.

I can't count the times I've read through this book over the years. And for parents who want to know what kind of book they're getting for their children, it is an educational book; teaching in respect, kindness and alike. This ***IS NOT*** no Jurassic Park book. Completely opposite. No blood, no gore. Probably one of the finest fantasy books ever written, it's creative, original and opens the imaginative mind.

Kids will love this book for many years- This isn't a book that will wind up in a box of stuff on its way to a donation center. Indeed a book worthy of handing down to generations to come. You would be hard pressed to find a book that can match Dinotopia in artistic value. A wonderfully made, great book for all.

The first book was one of a kind...until the second came along and finished the story. Dinotopia: The World Beneath is a must have for anyone who has read the first book. There are new adventures, amazing new discoveries, plenty of exciting action and a satisfying conclusion to everything. The illustrations are just as spectacular as they were the first time and the story does not dilute itself one bit. I urge you to find yourself a copy of this book, and also a copy of the original if you have not read that either; both are amazing books meant for all ages.

I loved this book. It was exceptional. I thought it was funny and exciting, and had everything an Animorph book should. Tobias is one of my favorite characters, and Rachel IS my favorite. Both of these characters were in it a lot, and that was another plus. I loved the chapters when they told their families what they are and what they could do. Rachel's mom reacted so stupidly it was funny. My eyes were glued to the pages without exception for the two and half hours it took me to read it. I recommend this book to anyone and everyone. A must-have addition to the Animorphs series!

This book is my FAVORITE Animorophs book and I've read most of them. The Yeerks begin to realize the "Andalite bandits" are really humans. (most of them) So with the Yeerks closing in The Animorphs and their families must evacuate to the Hork-Bajir valley. Jake parents are taken and made into Controllers and Tobias finds his long lost mother, Loren. This book is really great.

I love books about Tobais and this is his best book yet. The Yeearks are starting to realize that the so called analite bandits are humans and are collecting the animorph's blood to see if there is a family match. Guess whose match they find; Tobais's mother. Tobais's mother is blind and has amensia. Tobais morphs his mother's guide dog and gets her to safety.

I think this book is one of the best Tobias books, but it seems so abrupt when he meets his mother. It's almost like Tobias says, "Hi, I'm your son." Then it's as if his mother says, "Oh. Okay then. I knew that." I don't really like that part. Otherwise, it's pretty good. There are good Rachel and Tobias parts, an appropriate amount of action, and a great deal of emotion.

Yep,that right.The Yeerks are finally begining to think that maybe the 'Andalite Bandits' aren't Andalites at all,maybe they're human.So they have figure out how to tesst them, DNA.Because every time when the Animorphs are in battle, they lose some blood.So if the Yeerks test it they will find DNA strands of every animal the have acquired,and their actual human DNA.They will know who they are, infact the Yeerk computer has already found a match.The Animorphs try to break in and destroy the computer,but they're stopped.But before they leave they see the one match on the computer,its somebody by the name of Loren, Tobias' mother......Tobias is shocked,everyone has always told him his mother is dead,He has to see her and he wants to save her,Jake doesn't really like that idea,He thinks she could be a Yeerk.So Tobias,Marco and Ax will watch her house for 3 days,and if she doesn't go to the Yeerk pool during that time they will know if she safe,but by then so will the Yeerks....But the computer is still going,and soon the other Animorphs' family members will turn up as matches too........

This is definatley one of the best,and one of my favorites!!!!!I loved the story, its a classic Animorph book...This one,like most Animorphs,really get you into the story,you feel like your really morphing,really in the battle,and really feeling the emoitions and thinking the thoughts....I strongly recomend this book,it Incredible!!!!!!!!

Well written and unique. Character and plot driven. Characters are so well described.

I absolutely loved this book. It would be a five star review, except for the fact that I've already read the two follow-ups. They betray the fact that RAW burned through all his best ideas on the first book. What appear in EWS as great set-ups for subsequent books turned out to be one-shots, left to die on the vine in the rest of the series. The Widow's Son is also a good book, but RAW spent too much time on farcical footnotes and not enough on character and plot development. So some of the genius of The Earth Will Shake is ruined by lack of cultivation.

Still, I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in historical fiction, conspiracies and using the arts to help liberate mankind.

Anything by Robert Anton Wilson is worth reading. His Illuminati stuff is doubly so. The original Illuminatus Trilogy is one of the greatest scifi, horror, thriller, political, historical, adventure and pornographic novels ever written. All of the Historical Illuminatus books are equally well done, equally fun to read, and equally true historically.

I read this book back in the late 80's when it was printed by a mass-market publisher (Signet, I think) containing two abridged volumes; The Earth Will Shake and The Widow's Son. I loved it then and was never able to find Nature's God. Now I have all 3 books. After re-reading this edition, I've enjoyed it twice as much!! There is still yet an unpublished forth book, "The World Turned Upside Down" and we're all awaiting this gem to be published. Earth Will Shake is a coming of Age novel set in the enlightenment era where a murder happens in church during an Easter mass. From that point on it's a roller coster ride of wicked but serious fun. You are enlightened by the sheer weight of the subject matter that continues to this day. In these works you meet diverse characters who are historically real. I.e., the young Mozart, Count Cagliostro and Casanova, just to name a few. Dan Brown though entertaining, is comparatively an amateur hack when writing about the Illumniati (see for yourself and read this. You won't be disappointed). When the Da Vinci Code got ALL the attention, there was no mention of this work and I find that a sad reality though parr for the course in these "shaky" times. Remember, "reality is what you can get away with"...

Robert Anton Wilson has proven to be capable of extraordinary talent with this series. Mixing fiction with non-fiction he weaves one of the most satisfying Masonic related tales to be discovered and published. The Earth Will Shake, The Widows Son and Natures God are a type of writing that I had previously not encountered through Wilson. This series can actually be very inspiring, and it's written in such a dramatic way I am convinced it would make an excellent movie. Yet, at the end of the series, the reader sees reference to the fourth book "The World Turned Upside Down", and alas, it is non-existant. Whatever reason Bob has for abandoning us devout readers of this series (I have read all three books three times and stolen much wit from them) I urge you, dear Bob, please don't leave us hanging, finish the fourth book! More! More! Your Friend, Joey

My second favorite of the series so far. So much happens in book 8... Things readers have been waiting on since book 5 come about and there's romance and violence and politics and general badassery from my favorite characters. Can't wait to get the next one!

This is a welcome addition to the series. It was a little shorter than I would have liked but it left me satiated.

This volume carries up to Fables 50th issue. And I've got to tell you, it is worth it. Wow!

Warning! Spoilers below!


This is one of my favorite books in the entire FABLES series. It is built around several major events. First, Mowgli continues his long and ultimately successful search for Bigby Wolf, partly because Prince Charming wants him to carry out a mission behind the Adversary's lines and partly to fulfill the requirements to allow the early release of Bagheera for his role in the farm uprising (see Book 2 in the series, ANIMAL FARM). Enlisting major allies in the cloud giants who inhabit a parallel dimension in the sky, Bigby is able to appear near the magic woods surrounding Gepetto's hut, completely destroying them and making it impossible for Gepetto to make new puppets for a few decades when the forest will regrow. Mission accomplished, Bigby and Snow White marry (old hokey ceremony and all, the kind of offensive one where the woman pledges to honor and obey and it concludes with them being named man and wife -- come on Bill! It is the 21st century, even the Fables would have junked that old dusty routine) and settle in the valley where the giants used to sleep. The book concludes with a diplomatic mission to the cloud giants by Cinderella to urge them to finally sign a mutual defense pact. Clearly, in the event of a major conflict, the Fabletown residents are going to need some major help. Having allies who are both giants and accomplished will surely help. But what of those who Cinderella inadvertently offended? Will that one day come back to haunt the Fables?

All in all, another spectacular addition to an outrageously fine series of graphic books.

Volume 8 kinda ties things up in a way that the series probably safely could have ended here (though I see a new one is coming out in June). Bigby and Snow are back. Things just seem to happen. The problem is that it is the weakest of all the Fables volumes so far. It almost makes me nervous about the next volume, but I do mean almost. As a whole this is (and I was a bit surprised) one of the better comic books out there.

J.R.R. Tolkien was the master of fantasy, and that's not just because he was the first to write a very popular modern epic.

What makes Tolkien superior was how he used his extensive knowledge of mythology and linguistics to create his own complex world. He was a professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford, a fellow of Pembroke College, and a fellow of Merton College where he studied and taught the linguistics of early English. Over many years he created his own elvish language with a complex syntax and grammar, and a complete history and mythology of Middle Earth (see the twelve volumes of The Histories of Middle-Earth below.) This gives his works so much complexity and texture that when you read them, you feel like you've dropped into the middle of a real civilization.

Besides the amazing world-building, Tolkien builds excellent characters and uses them to explore such heavy human themes as friendship, love, greed, power, redemption, gender-roles, self-sacrifice, and death. This is not a light epic for a Sunday afternoon. This is intense, bone-chilling, goose-bump raising stuff. You can feel the weight of the world on the shoulders of Frodo and his companions. And, though there's a happy ending, it comes with much suffering and loss.

And all the while, Tolkien's writing is beautiful and poignant. In my opinion, the only writers I've read who even begin to compare are Ursula LeGuin, Susanna Clarke, and perhaps Lois McMaster Bujold.
~FantasyLiterature.net

It would have helped if I read the Hobbit first.

This book had a depth, I had never read before. The complexity of Middle Earth was astounding to the 11 year old boy who first read this book. This was a book that couldn't be put down and mostly read under the blankets late at night with flashlight.

I have reread the book 10 times throughout my life. I lived in Israel for a year and when times were tough or I was lonely for home. I went to the school library and would start reading the familiar pages of this book.

I look forward to my kids discovering the book and Tolkein's world on their own.

I have read each and every one of J.R.R. Tolkiens LOTR trilogy including 'The Hobbit' at least 6 times and I am still not tired of them. They are classics! Some people say there's too much detail. I disagree but I like detail and I think it's the mark of a great author but I understand that some people just want to read the book and not have to listen to the author describe the bark on a tree for three pages (I'm exaggerating, he doesn't go into THAT much detail). These books are great, no language, nothing inappropriate at all. If you are looking for a good book to read on a rainy day I recommend LOTR. P.S If you want to see too much detail read 'Last of the Mohicans'.

I had never read the Rings trilogy. I liked The Hobbit when I read it years ago. I've never been a big fan of high fantasy (elves, dwarves, wizards), but this is the best. The world Tolkien creates is deep and amazing, and although the songs and poems get a bit tedious (especially when they're written in imaginary languages), I really got into the adventure of the characters. I read this right when I got back from Alaska and imagined the landscape to be much like that in Denali National Park.

I bought The Hobbit for my 11-yo son at a school book fair. He plowed through it in no time and loved it so I decided to buy him the Lord of the Rings trilogy as a Christmas present. He can't get enough of these books. He read the first book and absolutely loved it. He's almost done with the second book. He (and I) would definitely recommend any of the Lord of the Rings series. If you like the fantasy type of books then these are a must-have for your collection.

the second book in the fingerprints series starts with ray finding out someone wants to kill her. it goes from there to ms. A announcing that jesse ran away. when anthony says "thats impossible" the two go investigating. they look everywhere and check everyones fingerprints. Rae even makes Yana join she and Anthony to New Orleans to find jesse's father. after being teased and abused about looking young and going to prep school rae takes her friends back home.
they ask people around jesse's normal hang out. all of which have their own very convincing thoughts on where jesse is. they are all telling the truth rae finds out, according to their fingerprints. Rae and Anthony find someone deathly afraid that if he says something, he'll be in trouble. by touching his fingerprints they are lead to a house, where they find the man they are looking for has been gone. For a really long time. When they go back to the car they find a knife waiting in the seat. Jesse's knife. Rae finds thoughts leading them to an abandoned warehouse. but they dont know WHICH abandonded warehouse. they search for any unusual activity, and in all theyre hard work find a meth lab. So basically, all of their work was to no avail. one day, sick of waiting for someone to arrive anthony enters...making a lot of noise and breaking a window. worried about him, rae enters as well, using her little "power" to get in. the 2 find eachother, and, with out managing to kill eachother they find the warehouse is empty. but wait, whats that noise? the follow the noise and find jesse. they ask him for info, then, being as he doesnt remember, rae checks out his fingerprints. and gets a whole lot of nothing. oh, and did i mention that someone is trying to kill rae?

Melinda Metz takes Haunted to a new level with its suspense thriller. It's about a girl that gets framed and is sent to the nuthouse and later is released to go back to a prep school. She has a gift to read minds with a touch of her fingertips. The book gives good detail and drama. It tells a story about a girl trying to become normal again. I liked the book because it gives details, suspense, and you cant put it down till you finish it.

Rae Voight is just barely starting to come to terms with her new powers - the powers that let her "hear" other people's thoughts when she touches her fingerprints to theirs. Rae is still a little weirded out over the whole thing and hasn't even told Yana, the only girlfriend she has left whom she met in Fair Haven, while she was recovering from her mental breakdown the previous summer. Of course, Anthony knows because he was the one who figured it out, but Rae knows that most people will think she is a freak. She tries to forget that there is someone out there who wants her dead, but it never seems to be far from her mind.

Anthony comes to Rae for help when he finds out that Jesse, one of the kids he met in group who is like a brother to him, is missing. Anthony knows that he wouldn't have run away, but he has no idea where to look for him. Rae agrees to try and "read" the fingerprints at Jesse's house and before she knows it, Anthony, Rae and Yana are off on a madcap adventure to New Orleans to try and find Jesse's dad. Too bad that the whole trip was a bust because Jesse's dad hasn't seen him for years and years. Whats even worse is that Rae discovers that Jesse was only kidnapped to hurt her. Someone is playing games with her and the prize is Jesse's life...

This is the second book in the Fingerprints series and it starts almost right after the first one ends. It was interesting to see Rae start to see her powers as a gift instead of a curse and to see how she would choose to use them. We also got to see more of Anthony and what a great guy he is, even if he is a slow learner and is always beating up on himself. All of the characters in this series are great and the reader will feel like they know them when they are done reading. I highly recommend reading the first book in the series, Fingerprints: Gifted Touch, first though. Also, this book has another cliffhanger ending with the reader still being clueless as to who wants Rae dead and why so I would have the next book in the series handy...

Although the series is for readers aged 9 to 12, it's an interesting enough concept to keep older readers entertained.

The second book in Metz's series explores how Rae's gift can be used to her advantage (to aid others) and some methods in which she can control when to use her gift. Rae puts her gift to the test when she must use it to find Jesse (a boy from group therapy who "ran away"). Jesse's disappearance coincides with Rae being stalked. In this book, the reader gets to know Anthony, Rae, Yana, and Marcus a little better. For those of you who read the first book, a romantic relationship between Rae and Anthony doesn't develop until later in the series, much to my dismay ^_~ After finishing this book, be prepared to read the next and the next! It's addicting!

If you haven't read the first book, I would definetly suggest doing so if you want to understand this book a little better.

Happy Reading!

You will not believe how good this book is. Once you start to read it, you might stay up all night until you are done. I don't want to give away too much about the book, so I'll just say this: The author really has a way with words that make you fell like you experience what the character experiences. It is amazing. I'm surprised these wonderful books aren't more well known, and I am sure you won't regret making your purchase. If you are the type of person that likes a book that keeps you waiting for the next big event in the plot to unfold and gradually reveals (the book, not you) the answers to the questions you have had and continues to do so as the series goes on, I completely reccomend that you check this book out.

I bought this book for my granddaughter and she has already read it several times. When her parents took her camping over the summer, she took it with her. (The fairies go on a camping trip in this adventure.)When they returned, all I heard about for days was how they all worked with Mother Nature, leaving only footprints and taking only pictures. She swears they saw Madam Toad and Madam Robin.

I think this book has had a good influence on my granddaughter. She has become very involved in recycling and other conservation concerns. She wants to plant something and help it grow. She is out looking for signs of gnomes and fairies. She is drawing nature pictures of flowers and butterflies. And she is reading more than ever. I highly recommend this book.

My kids really liked the book, but it has an element of death. It is labeled as for seven and up, but I personally prefer children's stories to be lighter in subject matter. If this was read to a very young child, parents would probably need to have a discussion about death with them. What my kids liked best: the fox helping the squirrel, the dwarf and his secrets, and the black stag because the fairies got to ride on his antlers.

In this installment of The Fairy Chronicles, several new fairies are introduced. The same fairy team of the first three books is present, except Dragonfly on vacation with family, but Periwinkle is added to the mix. She is a Native American fairy with special skills coinciding with her culture, to add to her fairy gift of sun tolerance to fit with pink periwinkles. I have been buying these for my granddaughter. Since I only see her about once a month, I get to read her books before gifting them to her. She agrees with me that Firefly and the Black Squirrel is wonderful. When the fairies go to their Fairy Circle, more fairies are introduced. We can't wait for their adventures. We took a drive to a park last week and along the way we saw what we deemed as purple meadows and white meadows. They weren't the same as the ones in the book, but we still had fun imagining that there were fairies flitting about them on a fun adventure. We really liked this book.

Firefly and the Quest of the Black Squirrel has a fantastic assortment of characters: dwarf, black squirrel, goblin, twenty plus assorted fairies with six being the main participants in this fairy mission, bees, hornets, birds, brownies, the magical Black Stag, the Shadow of Death, and a magical creature known as a squit. Each of these characters is given a colorful personality, even the bees and hornets, to add to the intricate kaleidoscope. The squit, Firecracker, who is a furry, fluffy creature about the size of a basketball when dry (and a baseball when wet) has a wonderful personality. The fact that he might not even be real adds a certain charm to this book, making it extremely memorable. My two children loved this story, and I am looking forward to reading it again and sharing it with other family and friends. I think this book would appeal to a multitude of readers, and I do recommend it along with the others in this series. The books contain activities and nature facts in the backs as a bonus.

The Mom's Choice Awards® honors excellence in family-friendly media, products and services. An esteemed panel of judges includes education, media and other experts as well as parents, children, librarians, performing artists, producers, medical and business professionals, authors, scientists and others. A sampling of the panel members includes: Dr. Twila C. Liggett, Ten-time Emmy-winner, professor and founder of Reading Rainbow; Julie Aigner-Clark, Creator of Baby Einstein and The Safe Side Project; Jodee Blanco, New York Times Best-Selling Author; LeAnn Thieman, Motivational speaker and coauthor of seven Chicken Soup For The Soul books; Tara Paterson, Certified Parent Coach, and founder of The Just For Mom Foundation(tm) and the Mom's Choice Awards®. Parents and educators look for the Mom's Choice Awards® seal in selecting quality materials and products for children and families. This book has been honored by this distinguished award.

Here's an honest opinion from an 8-year old. We read Fisherman's Son together and loved it. Here's what my daughter said:

The Fisherman's son is about unlocking a secret. The main character is a little boy, named Wiley. Wiley has a big adventure under water with his dolphin friend, Elden. At the end the end of the book, Elden's friend, Beluga, the whale, helps them to save six lost children. Along the way, Wiley has to face a big bear and her cub, which has one eye. He also has to battle a big, tough monster deep below the sea.

My favorite part of the book is when Wiley meets Elden because I would like to meet a dolphin one day, and because Elden is my favorite character. The words in the story really helped me with my school strategy. We are learning about picturing, which is making pictures in your mind as you read the story. This story really describes what Wiley and Elden are doing. I love this book!

The imagination of this writer is fantastic. I am truly impressed that a writer would go to such depths of research to make the book authentic. I would also recommend "Twilight" and "Moonspins and Widdershins" Frances Kenney

Marilyn Peake skillfully takes her readers along with her on a boy's journey of self discovery, a tale that harkens sweetly back to our childhood stories of forests and bears, dolphins and fairy godmothers. Wiley is a brave boy who faces his sorrows and opportunities with determination and grit. He is the 'every boy' who is left alone to his own devices, a child much wiser than the adults who inhabit his world. His adventure with Elden the dolphin bespeaks of our primeval instincts - a landscape of land and water, bridging time to eventually heal the hurt and disappointment brought about by his absent and troubled father. The Fisherman's Son beautifully breathes life into a child's hope for a better tomorrow.

What if you were given the task to travel to a place deep within the waters, to a place that stories once told of a kingdom and its people that lived in such riches you couldn't imagine? But this task did incur some danger; would you be so brave and take on this responsibility? Marilyn Peake's THE FISHERMAN'S SON has such a character who not only binds you to him but his travels will become your own.

Marilyn Peake is a fantastic storyteller. Her enthralling tale, THE FISHERMAN'S SON, of a young lad and his quest to save six boys trapped within the deep realms of the waters surrounding his village, rivets you by tagging you alongside this journey. The added characters of Elden, the dolphin who is Wiley's water guide, and the magical Lucinda who guide Elden on land just deepen the plot.

Her visual descriptive details are sharp and vivid, breathtakingly drawing you into the storyline. One cannot help but feel Wiley's sadness over the loss of a loved one in the very beginning.

The repetition of the phrase `Drink deeply by land or sea. Earth comes only once' only heightens your curiosity to find out what this actually means.

Her short chapters and simplistic words weave an enchanting tale keeping the flow of the story moving along at a nice dramatic pace for all ages to read.

The mapping of this mystical book is cleverly laid out for the reader to experience. The historical journey through a city that once lived in pure euphoria is enchanting. A feel of `Atlantis is alive' titillates the reader.

This classical `sit by the fireplace' reading can be handed down and read for many generations to come. Peake crafts a drawing tale of a young lad who is trying to come to terms over a devastating loss, a drunken father, and a quest that has him bewildered.

Although geared for the younger adult reader, this is a gem of a story to suit all ages.

For those who have a love of the sea and Celtic landscape, "The Fisherman's Son" will be a particularly enjoyable read with your children. As for your little ones, they'll have a rich story of fantasy filled with oceanic learning.

When 12-year-old Wiley O'Mara's mother dies, his journey to fetch the nearest priest in a hamlet far from his own sets him on a completely different path than he intended. He can expect no help from his alcoholic father; abusive when at home, which is rare.

Ah, but like any good tale worth its salt, the travails of this adventure lead to the challenges and rewards of an even greater one. Wiley's trial takes him through the vast landscape of his Gaelic homeland into the beauty of the ocean depths. In this fantastical coming-of-age drama, Wiley learns who he really is, the strength of his mettle and that his destiny is to help the people of his land realize their full potential. And isn't that the destiny of each of us? It's an old theme always worth revisiting, particularly in children's fiction.

This is a book that will appeal to "tweens"; but especially to children aged eight through ten since Wiley is a storybook hero they can look up to. These younger of the "tweens" can certainly read "The Fisherman's Son" on their own, but there are a few large words that may have them coming to mom and dad. A good story that also encourages learning new words is always a plus.

Likewise, you may want to talk with your children about Wiley's home, very much like nineteenth century Ireland, though the author never puts a name to the island (all the more appropriate for a child's fantasy). As the story moves into the briny deep of the North Atlantic Ocean, there's even more to pique your child's intellect along with his/her imagination.

But all along Wiley's far journey , your child is in store for deeper learning. Strength of character. Honor and ethics. Belief and confidence in self and the ability to face great adversity, whether in the family or in the world. They're all within these pages.

The Fafhrd and Gray Mouser series is a great find for the fantasy reader. I highly recommend all the books in this series. Fritz Lieber is a fantastic writer, if you have never read his books you are in for a treat.

The Lankhmar series has two main characters Fafhrd the Barbarian and the Gray Mouser. Fafhrd is a barbarian and thief. The Gray Mouser is a small quick-witted thief and sometime wizard. They are best friends and go on many fantastic adventures together, which are told as a series of short stories. This book is a reprinting of two books: Swords and Deviltry (The First Book of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser); and Swords Against Death (The Second Book of Fafhrd and The Gray Mouser).

The first book describes where Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser come from and how they meet. In the second book Fafhrd the Barbarian and the Gray mouser lose their first loves to death, and they set forth on a quest that leads them throughout Newhon on a series of adventures where they finally steal the mask of death from Death himself.

To sum up, if you like fantasy, you'll like this book.

This book is the earliest adventures of Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser, their early lives, how they met and adventures. The novellas are rich in detail of the surroundings and show that the world of Nehwon is well-developed. Fafhrd and The Grey Mouser's interactions are realistic (except perhaps for the high-flown language) and kept me turning pages eagerly. Lots of hack'n'slash as well as intellectual puzzles, a few moments of hair-raising suspense and some definite sizzle. Classic swords & sorcery with very little mumbo-jumbo and no complicated explanations.

Fritz Leiber is without a doubt one of the the most over-looked of a group of authors that are basically the fathers of the modern Fantasy genre. Ill met in Lankhmar is an excellent collection of short stories detailing the meeting and early adventures of the two most renowned Heroes/Rogues in the fabulous world of Nehwon Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. What is most enjoyable about the stories is the crisp action filled pace Lieber sets while still managing to describe everything in a way that gives you a feeling of immersion in the rich, exoctic world of Nehwon and the vast City of Lankhmar which is the Heroes main base of operations. The main characters are exceptional creations. Two lovable never do wells who usually emerge from there various adventures victorious but with little or nothing to show for it. There is a comic bent to their various escapades that is very enjoyable. Overall, just a great collection of short stories.

The book reads like a series of short stories. Cele Goldsmith commissioned Fritz Leiber to write a series of Fahrd and Gray Mouser stories for Fantastic Stories pulp (one of the two early plups edited by Cele Goldsmith). That says it all. They are a fast read with plenty of action and very little of the long, dreary and seemingly endless descriptions of scenery etc.. found in many other books. The stories revolve around characters and the deeds of those characters. Unlike Jordan's Wheel of time series, which provides pages and pages of explanation of the types and colours of curtains found in each room of a house, something happens on every page.

Fahrd is like a Viking big, lustful and not scared to kill. Gray Mouser is an apprentice wizard that is not scared to use the black arts to get revenge eg. burning enemies to a crisp. Forget political correctness which is expected in so much of the literature these days, you will not find it in this book. It is like the old Star Trek (kill anything that gets in your way) and unlike the Next Generation (lets us open up the lines of communication so we can have meaningful dialogue).

If you like short stories that are well written, do yourself a favour and get a copy of this book.

Poor Fritz Leiber. He has never truly received the credit he deserves for fostering the fantasy genre. Along with the old Conan stories and Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, this is amongst the most influential works of fantasy fiction.

Fascinating worldbuilding, intrigue and exciting characters abound in these tales, all told with Leiber's exceptional artistic skills. Not only are the plots and personalities compelling, but Leiber has a magical rhythm to his storytelling and descriptions. This is one of the few stories that is on my "reread" list.

Pick this up and you'll love the stories--and when you look at the copyright date of these tales, you'll come to appreciate just how much Leiber has affected the fantasy authors that have come since.

I had read this story decades ago when I was young, and revisiting again as I am older, it was amazing to see how William Sleator writes so many science fiction / thriller type stories for young readers without dumbing down the story for the sake of the reader. This was the first of his books that I found, and I have been reading his short stories ever since. I hope to pass them along to my kids once they are old enough.

Writing for young adults, Sleator is a master of twisted and subtly terrifying sci-fi/horror. I read this many years ago and the story of Tycho and his demented future self has been lodged in the back of my mind ever since then. If your tastes run towards left field like mine do, you'll find a kindred spirit here.

I first read this book when I was in forth grade. It made a great impression on me. During a move a year later the book was lost. I recently found it on auction and read it again. I am amazed at how wonderfully complex the story is for both young and old readers. Certainly a story for all. Happy reading.

My dad read this book to me and my little brother twenty years ago when I was [...]. I remember being so enthralled by the story. It wasn't until yesterday that I finally remembered the name of the main character and found the book here on Amazon. I just ordered it and I can't wait to read it!

When I read the book "The Green Futuers Of Tycho", I was amazed at how well William Sleater( The author) Put together this Science Fiction book. My teacher read it to the class, and right after she finished the book, every one wanted to read it once more. I was trying to get my hands on one of the copys, to unfortunatly find that the book was out of print. I defenetly reccomend this book for anyone, and esspecialy those who like Science Fiction.