Publishing Books

I happen to think the Christ story is worth telling over and over again. Did the writer improve on the story...well...really...who could? Did she succeed at bringing a modern day miracle man to life? She did. Was her writing good? I think it was terrific. I too bought it because the reviews were glowing, I'd have to agree with 5 stars!

A close friend and fellow reader handed me this book last year as a "must read." Must read indeed!!! I could not put the book down. Actually, I have read the book 3 times over the past year. The premise upon which the book is written is interesting, different and inspiring. The story introduces us, in the begining, to a young man who is performing miracles in today's world. Who is this man? From whence did he come? This story is intriguing with various twists and turns that keep the reader on the edge of their seat. The characters are well developed. The plot is both complicated and yet very readable and understandable. Readers, as well as the characters in the book, are taken on personal jouneys of self discovery. There are so many different levels upon which you can read this book. It is a mystery. It is inspirational. It is relavant to the world today and to the world in Biblical times. (with it's many references to another young man who performed miracles.) If you witnessed a miracle, what reaction would you have? I introduced this book to my Book Club and we all read it for the April selection. They, too, loved the book. As you can see, I give it 5 stars and a very definete "thumbs up."

I completely enjoyed this book. It presents a question of great importance in a fast paced, fun filled account of modern life. It is difficult for a book to be both thought provoking and fun to read. This one does it all.

I am not a Christian so when a friend told me the premise of this book and urged me to read it I was hesitant. Luckily, I was finally convienced and was pleasantly surprised.

Sacred Ashes is a fantasy thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat till the very end. The twist and turns in this story were so surprising and shocking that I felt compelled to reread the book when I finished it for the first time. Much like how I felt when I saw the movie the Sixth Sense for the first time.

I would urge any lover of great Sci-fi or fantasy thrillers to purchase this book!!!

I purchased this book because of the very high reader ratings, and because the substance sounded intriguing. Next time I will do more homework than just relying on the glowing reports of other readers. I found the writing in this book to be rather impoverished and flat. As a reader I was not prompted to think or inquire more deeply into the occurence of 'miracles' in our life. Rather, this was a retelling of the Christ story, in a contemporary setting, without any penetrating insight into why certain people are drawn to any given set of beliefs. And just in case the author was 'just' writing a story, I must say that it failed to hold my interest.

I've worked my way through this entire series now, and while the first dozen or so (this is no. 23) were generally well done -- good, reasonably accurate descriptions of London of the 1880s, pointed contrast between Society's drawing rooms and the miserable existence of the laboring classes, vivid character development of both working cops and the elite -- the last few have shown a definite decline. Thomas Pitt, Inspector and then Superintendent at the Bow Street station, and a both very talented and highly empathic detective, has now been stripped of his position by the Forces of Evil (the entirely fictional and extremely melodramatic "Inner Circle") and dumped in the lap of Special Branch, where he's beginning to learn how to be a secret policeman instead of a public one. The "Seven Dials" area of London is a pretty minor player in this one, too; the author should have called it "Alexandria," because that's where Pitt is sent to gather information on a beautiful and patriotic Egyptian woman living in London who is caught red-handed wheeling a dead bottom through her back garden in a wheelbarrow. Also implicated is a high Foreign Office official, which is how Pitt and his "M"-like boss, Narraway, get involved. If the details of the motive for the murder become public, the government could fall, Egypt could erupt in revolt, and Suez might even be lost. Can't have that, right? The action is low-key, the plot development takes its time, and the reader will enjoy the scenery, both internal and external. At least The Inner Circle manages not to appear this time, and it's fun watching Pitt trying to deal with a totally foreign milieu -- even though Perry could have spent a lot more time painting its details.

I never really liked political anything, even in Anne Perry, but I could not put this one down. I finished it in one day. She did not disappoint me!!!! Thanks Anne

elizabeth cohen

Classic murder mysteries rely heavily for both their effectiveness and their appeal on a "slight of hands," and one of the tricks is a set of characters in whom one can become interested enough to relate to them in some way. Another is to create an ambiance that arrests the attention and keeps it. Anne Perry has a great knack for creating both memorable characters and an interesting stage on which they play out their roles in the story.

Her Seven Dials is an amazing recreation of Victorian England in the earlier days of the queen's reign. The era is young yet, and the political turmoil that will set the stage for World War I and the social changes it brings is just beginning. Some of the older characters can remember the Napoleon wars. Thomas and Charlotte Pitt are paradigms of lower middle class life in the period, with their fate in the hands of Thomas's mentor in the Secret Service, Victor Narroway, and their maid servant and her beau, Samuel Tellman, in theirs. The interactions among all of the characters gives as much a feeling for the period as does the mention of hansom cabs, harnesses, and horse manure in the streets. Even the yellow skies and the chocking, smog filled London streets is classic for the era.

Perry's characters are charming and detailed, each a work of art in them selves. The maidservant is spunky, savvy and sensitive, used to the school of hard knocks, and her friend Tellman is gruff, masculine in an "old fashioned" sort of way, and smarts under the unfairness of social inequality and the period's newly arising sense of social empowerment. The stiff, formal society in which Charlotte Pitt grew up and still has family is faced with an erosion of their privileges and with a growing sense that they are on the threshold of major change. They are like dinosaurs waiting for the asteroid to strike them.

All of this sets the background for a puzzling murder of a man who should not really have been where he was at all and certainly not dead. The central characters push forward in an attempt to make sense of the confusing, almost irrational facts. It is this irrationality that is part of the slight of hands. Eventually Pitt must go to Egypt to unravel the mystery by back tracking the murdered man and his alleged murderess.

The venue in Egypt is Alexandria, a city to which I have been about three or four times. The descriptions of Victorian Alexandria might still easily pass for today, although the city today is more Western than Cairo and much more so than Thebes. The description of the rug suq was definitely memorable. The quarrel that leads to a small riot in the book reminded me of the minor violence that occurred among men there and in Cairo in the few days before Sadat was assassinated. Like the brewing sense of political unrest in the book, here too, everyone felt the tension in the air; everyone knew that something was afoot, but no one knew what was about to happen. It was a very tense time, and so was Pitt's Egypt.

I can not for the life of me understand the author's description of malaquia, an Egyptian soup--which I refer to as "frog-pond"--made for special occasions, as "delicious." I found it slimy and green. The latter I could handle, the former I couldn't. The mention of the sound of what seemed like crickets to Pitt, also brings back memories. Actually the sound is not crickets but a similar one made by small frogs in the canals and on the banks of the Nile. It's very restful. All in all, Pitt's trip to Egypt was as memorable for me as for him.

A delightful mystery.

Anne Perry doesn't disappoint in this recorded book. Read well, and easily one for the bookshelf.

Very descriptive and historically accurate. You'll love her vivid pictures of Alexandria. Egypt comes alive. I'm a harsh critic but this work bowled me over.

As a fifty four year old I can still feel the excitement and joy from reading this book in 1960. (or it could be my meds) I had finally found a match for my vivid imagination and have been a reader and writer ever since. A disservice to humankind if this story isn't availiable to any and all.

I discovered these books when I was in Elementary School. I loved spending the afternoon reading about the adventures that these two had. I am happy to see that these books are now once again available.

I loved these books as a kid, and as a 40+ year old adult would love to get a new copy. Please reprint these books!!!

In the 1950's, I "discovered" the books in this series at my grammar school library by accident (sorry, no wonderful teacher story here.). A miracle they had a cool book like this since we had so few books in there. The title, pictures and the easy to read prose hooked me. So much so that I read it several times and even found the second book in the series - "The Space Ship Returns..." and read that a couple of times too.

As I grew older, I would tell people about these books - asking them to keep an eye out for me at used book sales. I even searched the Web and eventually found the entire series from a used book seller. I plan on sharing these books with the little ones in my family. And I hope twenty, thirty, forty or as in my case, fifty years from now, they will do the same.

I hope they get reprinted so more people can enjoy these fun books.

Louis Slobodkin is well known as an illustrator of children's books. He is less known as the author of this 1952 sci-fi masterpiece, the first in a series for ages 9-12, and once a staple in every library worth its salt. It's the gentle, wonder-full story of Eddie, a boy scout who spends summers on his grandma's farm, and his encounter with Marty from Martinea. The two become fast friends and travel the world in Marty's spaceship, disguised as a little green car and powered by secret power ZZZ. Exciting and easy to read, and drenched with Slobodkin's beguiling illustrations, here's a series kids will love to discover.

So why is it out of print? My copy is stamped "DISCARDED," which tells the sad tale of the days when imaginative books were cycled out of libraries in favor of "educational" ones. This was the first book in the series, others being "The Space Ship Returns to the Apple Tree," "Three- Seated Space Ship," "Round Trip Space Ship," "The Space Ship in the Park," and "The Space Ship Returns to the Apple Tree." The first three books were also reprinted as paperbacks and offered as a boxed set as The Amazing Space Ship Adventures Boxed Set in 1981. Until imagination again gets the upper hand and these books are reprinted, find them used at Amazon and discover Eddie's wonderful world.

This book.

Is one of the best books I have ever read. I started it and didn't put it down till I had read the last page.

What a story. What a love. I am blown away.

This book left me breathless.

Erastes is an exquisite writer. I am beyond impressed.

Beautiful, lush and romantic. I couldn't put the book down. I knew I was in trouble around 2:30 a.m. I was still reading. It was everything a romance novel should be. Romantic, well written, characters you love and care about, Exotic and lush locations. I wish this book would around when I was 16. Buy it and enjoy!

I really enjoyed this take for its unusual subject matter. A gay Regency romance! I say more, more, more! Both the leads were extremely well-drawn and three-dimensional, and the prison scenes were fascinating. Very well-written in the style of the period, too--no anachronisms like you so often see. A minor quibble with the confusing POV shifts didn't detract from the enjoyment of this unusual romance. The research Erastes did shines through.

Standish is not "stand-out-ish," but it's a pretty good story, though often black and dark beyond redemption. The characters, especially Rafe, Ambrose and Fleury, are well-drawn, unique and interesting. The settings are diverse (England, Paris, Venice and a horrible British prison), and probably are accurate and mostly believable. Erastes' take on history seems passable. Isn't it interesting that our basic view of these overwhelmingly important eras in history are almost always exclusively brought to us from the perspective of the rich and privileged? Really, it's only during the prison scenes in this sotry where we gain a truer picture of real life in the 1820 in Europe.

This is a gay story with lots of gay male sex, gay male talk, gay male musings, and gay male dilemmas. For the most part, the author gets the sexual episodes nearly right, if a bit overdone. This soft male porn isn't always a realistic rendition of what sex really looks/sounds/smells/feels like. But the love, the intimacy, the closeness and the need for physical attention and affection are indeed well-portrayed. The sex really does spice up the story.

The story itself is less believable, frankly, than the sex, but it is an engaging tale. Too bad so may people are so badly damaged and so badly damage each other throughout. Sometimes, in reading stories like this, I yearn for the normal people who actually populate my life. They are every bit as interesting as these fictional ones and never quite so tragic. This story follows one disastrous episode after another in the lives of these sometimes pitiful but interesting characters.

Make no mistake. This is not literature. It is a soft porn romantic tale, a snapshot into the lives of some seriously flawed homosexual men trying to live "normally" in a hateful, repressive time in Europe.

My one complaint is this: For the life of me, I could not, and cannot figure out the ending. As a voracious reader of all kinds of novels, I detest the cute "style" employed here by Erastes of demanding that you conclude for yourself what happened at the end -- not a satisfying conclusion at all!! I thought I deserved better after wading through the whole book.

If you don't want to read graphic, detailed, several-pages-long episodes of erotic sexual encounters between men (some midly brutal, I might add), then don't read this story. If that's all you want, don't read it either. But if you want a mix of an 1820's man-to-man romance with gay sex and a good view of the life of the privileged class at the time, then by all means read it.

One of the characters in Standish does nothing--doesn't move, doesn't speak, doesn't think. And yet this character controls emotions and actions and passions just by existing. It is a house called Standish. Like the Rochester mansion in "Jane Eyre" or the cliffs in "Wuthering Heights" Standish is a place so important to the story that it almost takes on life.

Standish is the vanished patrimony of Ambrose Standish, impoverished grandson of the man who lost the place to Gordian Goshawk in a gambling game and lost his life in a duel soon after. Ambrose is studious, intelligent, and bitter at a fate which has him toiling as a tutor to support himself and his two spinster sisters. The house, Standish, is his obsession, his dream, his torment.

When Rafe Goshawk, who inherited Standish from his father, returns from many years abroad to take up residence there his life is set on a collision course with Ambrose. The Goshawk family's reputation is that of "venal, predatory raptors" and Rafe himself is a cold-eyed man, as bitter as Ambrose but for a different reason. He was born in Paris, raised as an aristocrat, and was a young boy when the Terror sent his mother to the guillotine, destroyed his world, and sent him and his father fleeing to England.

Ambrose hates the Goshawks without ever having seen one of the infamous breed who ruined his family. And then through circumstances or fate, he finds himself hired as tutor for Rafe's son; for the first time he sees the house he has obsessed about, up close. It is everything he dreamed it would be. It's a given that Rafe and Ambrose will end up in each other's arms but if you expect roses and violins and a predictable ending...surprise!

I won't go further with the story because it has so many twists and turns and I don't want to write a spoiler. The writing--descriptions, dialogue, everything about it--feels real and authentic. Erastes is an author who must research and research and research. And yet the research never overwhelms the story. It never intrudes. The author handles violence and sex with equal ease and knows the fine line at which to stop.

It's superb, well-crafted storytelling at its best.

...Ruth Sims, author of The Phoenix

great product, great price and i really like. a great way to get the book on a student stipend.

As both doctor and founder of a EchoScribe Inc, a leading internet based medical transcription company, (www.echoscribe.com) I must recomend Stedmans as the dictionary that all physicians must own. There is also the PDA version that is also a good carry. It not only provides a quick reference, but in writing medical letters, and transcribing documents, this book is a "medical must have."

I am a transcriber and Stedman's Medical Dictionary is necessary for my work. It is invaluable. I also love the illustrations for clarification.

This medical dictionary provides simple definitions on key
terminology in the field of medicine. Some simple definitions
include the following:
- antigen involves the immune response
- a virus is incapable of growth beyond living cells
- bacterium multiply by cellular division

The volume contains the human anatomy in full color pictures.
For instance, the following parts are depicted:
- skull
- head and neck
- musculature
- cerebral hemispheres
- disc anatomy
- heart anatomy
- classic fractures and radiography depicting the events
- foot joints i.e. interphalangeal joint, tarsometa tarsal
joint, ankle joint

This medical dictionary is perfect for the science student
in your house. In addition, the book will complement the
existing personal library of medicinal acquisitions.

A great resource, I recommend the CD version for saving a lot of time and effort ... only if you can have a computer on while you're studying.

Ray Bradbury is one of the great short story writers. Very few can pack as much emotional punch into so few pages as he can: just read "The Lake" or the haunting "Rocket Man" (which inspired the Elton John song of the same name!) to understand the power of his writing. And while I think most of his novels are mediocre at best (I've never liked "Something Wicked This Way Comes," as much as I admire it for the obvious influence it had on genre writers), I insist that Bradbury should never be forgotten, if simply based on the merit of his short fiction. And this book especially, which collects 100 of his best, should be celebrated.

If you buy this book with the newer Bradbury collection, you will have a fairly comprehensive collection of short stories by the master. This collection is not the best. It has it's share of mediocre stories, but even so the great stories are wonderful. "The Veldt", "The Fog Horn", and "The Jar" are my absolute favorites, but there are more gems scattered about the book.


As others have pointed out, it is a tad bit dated. (One of the stories talks about the year 2003). So if you want more up to date stories the newer volume is better. All in all, some interesting stories, but not essential reading.

It is hard to categorize Ray Bradbury as a writer. To many he is known as a science fiction writer, largely due to "The Martian Chronicles." However, he is much more versatile than that, his stories cover many different themes of life, death and strange things in between.
When I was in high school, my favorite story was "The Veldt", where a couple purchase a high quality virtual reality room for their children. However, rather than experience normal children's playrooms, they prefer constant scenes of an African veldt, complete with lions who hunt and kill their prey. The parents try to put a stop to it, but their children whine until they get to keep the veldt. However, the parents finally decide to stand firm and are going to shut the room off. At this time, the room comes alive and the lions kill and devour their parents. I considered this story so good that I must have read it at least twenty times during afternoon study hall. The imagery that the story conjures up is almost visual, which I find is a characteristic of so many of Bradbury's stories.
He is the best writer I have encountered in putting down words in a simple style that still manages to generate tremendous virtual images in your mind. This book is a collection of his short stories and I have read this book at least three times and most of the stories in it in other collections at least twice. Even after all these readings, they are still wonderful, as the images are different each time. Most stories by other writers keep my attention when I first read them, but I find them boring if I try to read them again. It does not seem that that will ever happen with Bradbury stories, which is why I strongly recommend this book.

What can I say about this collection, except that is essential reading for anyone serious about Science Fiction or Fantasy as a form of literature (that's right I said it-the dreaded "l" word) Bradbury has piled up enough superlatives in his life that I don't think I need to go into them.

Anyway, this is a book of Ray Bradbury's greatest stories, which means that these are some of the best stories that imaginative literature has to offer. Why not make it a two-fer and get the "Bradbury Stories" collection with it? Both are worthy, think of "The Stories of Ray Bradbury" is the top shelf A-list stuff, and "Bradbury Stories" is the Solid B list collection. Still great, and best of all, no repeat stories in the two collections! The man was so prolific that he could probably fill up a third volume with no repeats as well...

This collection of stories affected my writing. At least one story I've written has been professionally compared to Ray Bradbury's style. While I never sought to mimic him, I believe I was drawn to his stories because of my writing style and childhood daydreams. This collection is a prime example of Bradbury's work. It's inspiring, startling, spooky, and just plain hypnotic.

Even though I first borrowed this collection from my local library, (and having read some of these stories in others collections), I tracked down a used copy to own just so I could pull it down and revisit my favorite people and places.

A must have for any Bradbury fan... novice or cult-like follower.

Useful for the more experienced needleworker, but also for anyone with a general interest, Techniques of Indian Embroidery offers an ideal opportunity for anyone interested in drawing on the wealth of Indian embroidery techniques, and illustrates clearly how to achieve many beautiful stitches and techniques.

For centuries, India has been renowned for the richness and diversity of its embroidered textiles. Embroidery is part of the Indian way of life, and is in evidence everywhere: on clothes, adorning animals, in temples, homes and other buildings. In this book, Professor Anne Morrell explores the many traditions of Indian embroidery and its many techniques. She builds up a fascinating picture of the evolution in India, exploring the local traditions that make the work of each area unique, and looking at the way in which innovative stitches and designs have been added to those traditionally used to create new techniques and creative possibilities. She discusses the many different stitches and techniques in detail, including quilting, pattern-darning, counted-thread work, whitework, the enrichment of embroidery with mirrors, gold, silver and other metals, and applique and patchwork. many of the historical and contemporary embroideries illustrated are accompanied by clear worked samples showing exactly how the different stitches can be achieved and then used to create exciting effects. A final section includes twenty individual stitches and the method of working them, so that the techniques explored throughout the book can be put into practice. This is an invaluable working guide for anyone interested in drawing on the wealth of Indian embroidery techniques for use in their own embroideries or in the study of ethnic textiles. Anne Morrell was born in Madras and has long been interested in the embroidered textiles of India. She was a lecturer at Goldsmiths' College in London before moving to the Manchester Metropolitan University, where she became a Principal Lecturer in the Department of Textiles and Fashion. In 1992 she was appointed Professor. She is the author of a number of books and articles on embroidery under the names Anne Butler or Anne Morrell. She has held exhibitions of her work in many different countries.

This marvellous book includes the influences of local and regional traditions, exploring individual techniques such as quilting, counted-thread work, shisha (mirror) work, metal work, beading, applique and patchwork. A brilliantly written book, that I highly recommend.

Professor Anne Morrell, formerly Anne Butler, has chosen twenty of the most popular embroidery stitches, and her aim is to show not only how to work them, but also how to USE them effectively in finished pieces of embroidery, either on their own or in combination with other stitches. Each stitch there is a working diagram, an explanatory text and a photograph of the stitch in progress. This introductory page is followed by a series of photographs showing examples of the stitch in use, some historical, others from the work of contemporary embroiderers; all serve to illustrate the rich variety of effects which can be obtained with one stitch. The basic techniques and materials necessary for embroidery are explained in an introduction, together with some hints for the student on how to work with a wide range of stitches.

Many people think of Indian embroidery as shisha (glass) work, which incorporates tiny mirrors into rich, colourful embroidered patterns. Particular to India, this embroidery technique is thought to have been developed by the wife of Shah Jahan; he built the Taj Mahal at Agra in her honour. Shisha is covered in this book, together with many other techniques, all illustrated with splendid examples. Sections cover embroidery stitches; quilting, darning and pattern-darning; counted-thread work; whitework; metal work; embroidery with a hook; and applique and patchwork. A section at the back gives diagrams of the stitches used, but the main use of this book is as a splendid record and inspiration, tracing the origins and techniques used for centuries in India to adorn clothes, homes, temples and animals. But this is no dry history book; it is written in a very practical, interesting way.

I bought this book at the American Book Center in The Hague, Netherlands, a few years ago. As I knew many of the places mentioned in the book, it took on an even deeper meaning for me. I love this book, and I list Diet Eman and Hein Sietsma as heroes. Definitely 5+ stars!

Excellent book. The book is fast paced, exciting and touching.

The risks and sacrifices that the author and her fiance went through for their beliefs and for unkwown people amazed and inspired me. Highly recommended.

The account of the author and her experiences fighting the German occupation of Holland during WWII is harrowing. It is hard to imagine that any human being can display so mush courage at such a young age.

The true story of true Christians, and Dutch patriots, Diet Eman and Hein Sietsma, and their courageous risk of everything to resist Nazi tyranny and hide thousands of Dutch Jews.
True Christians always love the Jewish people and Israel, and true nationalists are opposed to both Communism and Nazism, both the antithesis of national self-determination.
Diet recounts her own life, and experiences and what she saw and heard, as well as her deep faith in G-D, that guided her in all she did and thought.
Diet recounts her experiences in Scheveningen prison, where she describes how Jewish families, who were caught in hiding, were hauled into the prison, mothers, fathers and children: 'On the nights the guards brought Jews in, we always heard the children crying all through that place. It was bad enough for us to have to suffer through a place, like Scheveningen, but it was terrible to hear those poor innocent children crying.'
It is up to true Christians and righteous gentiles to stand by the State of Israel today, in the struggle for her survival and that of her children, against the monstrous Islamic-extreme leftist hate machine.

I have read more than 75 books of this genre depicting this period of history. "What would I have done under the same circumstances?" That is the question I am always asking of myself whilst reading these stories. This is the story of a group of people with the courage of their convictions...Diet's story is inspiring and touching. It illustrates perfectly that the power of prayer is undeniable and when 'all one can do is pray' one has done everything.

This book serves a wonderful purpose. It helped me understand a side of God that most of us don't stop to think about. (Reality) Seeing is not believing. Believing is within a feeling connected to the mind that came to a realization to me from reading this book. This book will help you if your searching for God in your life. I can't say enough about it and I highly recommend it to thoses who need a boost.

I have read this book several times and have found something more to think about. If your looking for a meaning with God this book is inspirational and picks up the soul. This book is truly wonderful and is easy to read. Another recommendation is "Conversations with God" in which the Author also has connection with God in his writing.

This book is beautiful and I want to express the loving, forgiving beautiful God in this book. He forsees the future and warns us about the time coming near. We have but two choices to make and that is restore ourselves to him, or stay as we are in the dark side. I don't believe the year 2000 has come. History tells me that our timing is mis-calculated and we still have little time left. Wheather you agree with me or not don't matter. What matters is God. Books like this one help restore what is lost. This book helped me vizulize a loving, understanding forgiving God, and not an angry God as I have known through my life. Sincere regards to the author. Deb Seme

Though none of us can come up with an explaination as to how or why some people have unusual communication, I have to say that this book is comforting. I'd recommend this book to my friends. Its inspirational and helpful to understand that maybe God is not punishing. I was raised to believe that God was punishing. What good can come from us, if we think we're going to hell, regardless what we do? My perspectives have changed. I can't imagine how it feels to the writer, but I can imagine the disapointment God must have in the human race. This book encourages humanity toward love, forgive and understand each other. I'm eagerly waiting for the second edition. The Journey To Fruition.

TTTIN is an unusual book to read...but what I liked most was the effectivness felt which gave me a sense of God's love and understanding of humanity. I was raised to know a punishing angry God which gave me no reason to restore my faith or beliefs. This book has a way of getting a message through to seek a better path toward God...if your spiritually seeking relating to matters in your life.

It was day 157... and it was raining... or at least Amy hoped it was.

Thats how the story unfolds, and I have to tell you seeing this book again after all these years is like seeing a friend I haven't seen in a long long time.
The story is great. Listen, ya'll don't know me, but if you are looking for a book to let your kids read, or to read to your kids, this is it. I read it often in 1981 I also recommend two other books, "The Children of Morrow" also by HM Hoover, and "A Wrinkle in Time" by Madeline L'Engle.

This book was the first book I felt I could not do without. I checked out this book from my elementary school library in the 5th grade.. and never took it back. I didn't want to let it go. I was so nervous that I saved my allowance money and bought the book from the library when I told them I lost it.. when I was 10. I am now 32 and still have that book on the shelf. It is a truly wonderful story and will help your (or your childs) imagination run wild.

All her eleven years, Amy has lived in the dim underground City--eighty levels deep in the earth with its endless expanse of crisscrossing halls. The "Outside," as everyone knows, is polluted, barren and hostile. No one can go out and no one wants to.

Reading is not allowed in the City (or even taught), but Amy got hold of a book once about the Outside and she's very curious. Axel, a "psycho," says he's from the Outside--that's why he's a mental case. But Amy believes him. And together they secretly plan and execute a haunting and terrifying escape to the Outside.

A Hard-to-put-down book from beginning to end.

[Juvenile science fiction suitable for the intermediate grades and up.]

A Non-Workbook, Non-Textbook Approach to Teaching Language Arts: Grades 4 Through 8 and Up

I first read this as a child, and it was one of several books that really made an impression on me. Every couple of years I would hunt it down through the local library, and it never lost its impact, even reading it as an adult! Finally, through Amazon, I was able to buy it for myself, and it will always have a place of honor on my bookshelf.

The story may have been labeled for young adults, but don't let that stop you from reading it! The writing is excellent, the plot is intriguing and moves swiftly. The ideas presented are thought-provoking and will have you thinking about the book long after you've finished it.

It's vaguely science fiction, set on a futuristic Earth, in a crowded, self-contained city -- one with no sunlight, no grass, no flowers, no beauty, no hope. Intelligence is frowned upon, reading is forbidden, life has little meaning. Then a boy appears and claims to have come from somewhere else, somewhere with bright sunlight and wide open spaces! Only one girl believes him, and together they set out to escape the dismal walls of her city, to find the impossible freedom of his home. Along the way they make some startling discoveries about the world they live in and the choices their ancestors made.

In a far-flung future, the people are told the air above is too polluted to breathe-there is nothing left on the surface anymore. All that exists is the crowded underground city. Eleven-year-old Amy has always been the curious sort, but she has learned to hide her curiosity-and the fact she can read-from the adults who watch her. Until a strange boy tumbles into her world, claiming he is from the outside-and together the two of them must uncover old secrets and new worlds.

This is a rollicking preteen SF tale by H.M. Hoover that I found back in the eighties and was one of my favorites. Though this was originally published in the eighties, Hoover's ability to conjure up a another kind of world, to tell the kind of stories that speak to the reader and spark their imagination still shines through-so it's unsurprising that so many of her books are being reprinted for a new generation of young readers to discover and enjoy. Hoover herself confesses in her bio that she wrote the kind of stories she enjoyed reading as a child-what better way to capture an audience? THIS TIME OF DARKNESS encapsulates the idea of a strange, oppressive future society with appealing preteen protagonists. Readers journey with them as the discover the way out of the darkness, but will the watchers allow them to find freedom and hope in the world?

Many will want to pick this book up out of nostalgia-having read this when they were kids-to revisit the story they remember, and maybe to share with their children who are just encountering science fiction for the first time.

This story is perfectly tailored to its audience, and while some of the future technology may feel a little dated since publication, the overall themes hold up well, and deliver their message of hope and perseverance admirably. If you are encountering Hoover for the first time, look for some of her other SF classics, like THE WINDS OF MARS, ORVIS, or my favorite, THE LOST STAR. For books in a similar vein, you might also check out THE CITY OF EMBER by Jean Duprau and DEVIL ON MY BACK by Monica Hughes.

Happy Reading! ^_^ Shanshad