Ace of Aces Books

I never enjoyed reading as a child, but found this book to be so engaging and heart felt. I couldn't wait for each of the books in the series to come out. If you can get a hold of them I would highly recommend it! I always felt these books would make a wonderful television series (if they kept with the integrity of the books).

This novel, and its sequel, Glory in the Flower, spoke deeply to me when I was 14 (a scant 6 years ago), and are still worth reading. It is compelling without melodrama and familial without schmaltz. Buy this for any bat mitzvah, confirmation, or junior high graduation. Better than Little Women, even.

The entire series is wonderful, and its a crime that they are out of print. "Keeping Days" and "Flower" are on a lot of school reading lists, and rightfully so. Ranks right up there with the "Little House" series-Tish Sterling is a wonderful heroine!

Handles coming of age more realistically than Little Women, and much more intelligently than the modern teenage series. I don't know how Johnston remembered what it's like when everyone else forgets, but The Keeping Days, its sequel Glory in the Flower, and also the Johnston's Bridget Vandever books spoke directly to me when I was about 12 or 13. It's comforting when *someone* else in the world goes through the same things, even if she is fictional.

This is a long series, most of which Amazon doesn't offer, but if you're lucky enough to read it, you will not be the same. No cheesiness, nothing typical, it is the quintissential growing-up story of one amazing woman. The tales she tells of family, love, and writing will stay with you forever. BTW, the second book in the series is "Glory in the Flower."

The Luck of Relian Kru by Paula Volsky is a charming fantasy adventure tale that doesn't take itself too seriously.

The story begins with Relian Kru, a young man who is cursed with the most terrible bad luck imaginable. He travels around the world hoping to find some way of ending his sufferings. Things take a turn for the worst when he stops in Neurance, a country where clothing's color is used as another form of expression. Of course, Relian inadvertently insults Neurance's ruler the Dhreve with his dark green coat and white stockings. The Dhreve sets his personal assassin after him and Relian is on the run. However, a local sorcerer then discovers previously dormant magical capabilities in Relian and kidnaps him for his own enigmatic purposes....

If it all sounds crazy it is. Relian flies from one wild adventure after the next just trying to stay alive. But that's part of the stories madcap charm. How many books combine cloning, poisonous forests, magical warfare and egg stealing?

The characters are also memorable and appealing in the wild variety. There's the long suffering Relian Kru, (who doesn't take his ill fortune lying down by the way- he's no milquetoast ) the mild mannered court assassin Scivvulch the stick, the jolly but sinister evil sorcerer Keprose, the sycophant automation Crekkid just to name a few.

Magic does play a significant role in the plot but technicalities remain rather vague, which to me was both slightly bothersome and a nice relief.

Also like many of Volsky's works, the dialogue is most enjoyable. Volsky excels in writing witty banter and the verbal sparring is delightful.

I'd recommend The Luck of Relian Kru for any fantasy fan looking for break from high fantasy door stoppers. Yes it's silly, but in an The Importance of Being Earnest sort of way. It's light, fun but also intelligently and engagingly written.

Alas, like most of Volsky's other works The Luck of Relian Kru is out of print.

I sent the Amazon folks on a wild good chase to find this one, having loned my one-and-only copy some time ago [never to see it again]. It was one of my favorites and still is! Thank you Amazon for finding this out-of-print gem!

THE LUCK OF RELIAN KRU was the first book that got me truly hooked on Paula Volsky's delightful characterizations and use of language. It is humorous without being silly (how many books with a three-armed baby can say that?), and a thoroughly enjoyable read. It is often difficult to find now, but it is worth the hunt.

I was lucky to happen upon The Luck of Relian Kru. I'll have to read everything Paula Volsky has written now. The characterizations are timeless (Skrivvulch the Stick, the court assassin, is a classic), and the dialogues are witty and at times hilarious. My sons and I have been quoting the book now for months, and we've loaned Relian Kru to every reader we know here in our little port town of Xiamen (formerly Amoy). Thanks, Paula, for showing us there is something new under the sun after all--the writings of Paula Volsky. I wish I'd known sooner.

"The Luck of Relian Kru" is a fortunate book indeed! Every feature works, from the plot to the characters, from the worldbuilding to the romance, from the cover painting to the back blurb. The story follows Relian Kru as he bumbles through the world, followed by the worst luck imaginable. He has just been condemned to death by assassination for dressing wrongly, and has fled for his life to the Sorcerer Krepose Gavayne to reverse his curse. But lo and behold, Relian's ill-luck holds and Krepose enslaves our hapless hero (and thus unwittingly saving young Kru from Skrivvultch the Stick - the tireless Neuranci assassin). Combining her usual politics, strange creatures, hint of horror, mind-magic, and a well built subtle romance, "The Luck of Relian Kru" is an excellent offering from one of the genre's most innovative authors. Those who enjoyed "The White Tribunal," or her earlier works will especially enjoy this book.

"Almost every therapy assumes that traumas from the past are influential in the present. This book reveals that Past Lives Therapy differs from traditional therapies because of how far back it goes. Without the use of hypnosis, and without requiring the patient's belief in reincarnation, Dr. Netherton probes the unconscious mind and unleashes a flood of traumatic events that go back beyond childhood, beyond the prenatal and birth periods, and into a past life." -- from the dustjacket

Most past lives therapists and other past lives researchers rely on hypnosis. Morris Netherton doesn't, and AFAIK he doesn't particularly approve of the use of hypnosis in past lives therapy. His book remains my favorite, but it is not in print. Any used book search engine will turn up multiple copies of the book however. That said, some of the books are not about past life recall per se.

In 1984 I spoke with Netherton in person regarding his book, and at that time he'd indicated that second book was in the offing. This second title never materialized. I have a feeling that despite its journey from hardcover (that's the ISBN given above, I no longer have my paperback version) to paperback, the first book wasn't that great a seller, and his publisher decided it would lose money in an environment where a dozen or more titles on the same subject were available or soon to be.

The AAPL, an organization founded by Dr. Netherton, has a website that indicates the impending publication of a series of four new books, possibly more suitable for therapists.

Regardless, this book is highly recommended, and there should be little trouble finding a used copy.

Dr. Netherton has taken a different approach to past lives therapy than most therapists, in that he does not use ordinary hypnosis in working with patients, but rather uses a combination of relaxation and relaying what comes to mind. It appears, from his book and other sources, to be extremely effective. It is also apparent that some of his patients achieve a hypnotic state during the therapy session. The very reading of this book becomes a good tutorial in his technique. The only reservation is his segment on the period between lives. This period is evidentally not clearly accessed with his technique, and he has, to a large degree, shunned such explorations. Since his aim is to help the individual with his/her problems, this is understandable. Also, his book was written in 1978, much earlier than many works on the subject. I am left considering that there are pros and cons for both the Netherton technique and the more common hyponotic technique(s). Incidentally, if one is interested in inter-life research, I heartly recommend Dr. Newton's works: "Journey of Souls" and "Destiny of Souls". These treat with material which clearly requires a deep level of hypnosis to access and for which the Netherton technique is not designed. On the whole, I strongly recommnd Dr. Netherton's work to anyone interested in past life therapy or planning to provide this type of therapy.

Morris Netherton, MD, is a pioneer in the relatively new profession of medical practitioners who have learned the value of taking their patients/clients into the realm of the "unconscious" when the painful symptoms they have been suffering from - sometimes throughout their lives - refuse to abate as a result of more conventional therapies.
Netherton's book is so clearly and simply written that it leaves no doubt in the reader's mind that he has been able to make the break-throughs he describes through varying levels of regression work. It is to be hoped that his valuable book will soon see the light of day once more by being newly re-edited by some enterprising publisher!

I came upon this book just by chance, or maybe not? The case studies are fascinating. What amazes me is that all this can be done without being hypnotized, that all this information is at our fingertips. I would highly recommend this book to anyone searching for answers to ailments or problems that seem to come from nowhere.

Recently I've been reading every book on past lives that I can get my hands on and this one, which I checked out from the library since it was published in 1978, is one of the best. It shows, very graphically and explicitly, how a past life trauma can be triggered in the early stages of the present life and how this can affect the patient adversely. Each chapter in the book is devoted to a symptom, e.g. alcoholism, impotence. Dr. Netherton states that the past lives reported on in the book are negative since the patients who came to him had serious problems and had been triggered by traumatic events, vs. happy people who would most likely have positive and happy past lives. I found this book to be amazing in how precisely he isolated the specific past lives that were causing the problems then was able to pinpoint the moment of the trigger, usually caused in birth, like some oddly distressing condition in the birth, an odd event, which the patient was able to recall vividly. His method for releasing the pattern is to have the patient repeat the troubling phrases over and over again, until they lose their significance.

Facinating book, definitely in the top 5 of the dozens that I've read.

Run to Daylight was published in 1963 and was instantly recognized as a classic. Written by legendary Green Bay Packer head coach Vince Lombardi, RTD details Lombardi and the Packers preparation for an unnammed opponnet in the 1962 championship season. The book is a must read for the aspiring coach or anyone interested in pro football coaching. RTD provides the psychological motivation of both the players and coaches and a highly readable account of a week in a pro football season. Along with John Wooden's "They Call Me Coach", this is a must read for coaches of any sport.

In this book Lombardi's life is played out during a week as the patriarch of the Packers. He highlights in detail why they were a 60's dynasty. From the cycles of game planning, interactions with his team, you get to see Packer football from a new perspective. Despite his gruff exterior, it is crystal clear that he genuinely cared about his players on and off the field. This is not a how to coaching book or a biography. It is a slide snapshot that tells more than the reader expects.

Such a rare gem of a book, I was floored by it's great detail and was very happy with this book!! This 1963 publication written by Vince Lombardi, is sure to be missed by much of today's generation, and unfortunately so. Lombardi SHOWS why his Packers were the 60's greatest football dynasty, and how his life plays out during a week as the leader of the Packers. This is an absolute MUST read by ANY real football fan!!!

Vince Lombardi's dedication and devotion transcended football. His quotes are used all the way from the high school locker room to the corporate board room.

This diary is Lombardi in his own words. It covers his views of the weekly cycle of planning for battle, preparing for battle, and then the football game itself.

Packer fan or motivational fan - this book is an easy read worth the several hours to get cover to cover.

This book is mandatory reading for football fans, particularly fan of the Green Bay Packers. Some of the ideas about this book are misleading. However, it is still a great read.

This book is not a biography of Lombardi or a guide on how to coach football. This book does give readers insight as to what it was like for Lombardi during his coaching tenure. Based on technology alone, there are great differences now. The readers get to see all of Lombardi's preparation for the mystery opponent in silver uniforms.

Several of Lombardi's famous quotes are included. Lombardi also discusses specifc intereactions with players as well as a number of interesting stories about various players. Despite his tough exterior, he genuinely cares about his players. When the book arrives at game day, you get to see the game form Lombardi's perspective. It is a real treat for football fans.

If you have read other books about the Packers during this era, you are not likley to learn many new facts. Many of the facts in here are credited as a primary source in other books. However, you do get to see Packer football from a new perspective.

I happened upon "Cretaceous Sea" when browsing Amazon for time travel books. I enjoyed the book so much that I jumped at the chance to read the sequel, "Sea of Time." I agree with all of the previous reviews, but I will keep this brief because I don't want to repeat what's been said already. Suffice it to say that this is a marvelous book that took me to places I could never have imagined. I was so sad to leave Con at the end that I rationed the final pages of the book so we could spend more time together. ONE FINAL BONUS--Will Hubbell is writing books under the pseudonym, Morgan Howell. I just finished the first book in his "Queen of the Orcs" trilogy. It's just as good as this series and its main protagonist is a woman named Dar who is cut from the same cloth as Con.

_Sea of Time _ by Will Hubbell is the riveting sequel to his earlier book, _Cretaceous Sea_. The book opens again with Con, now Con Clements, married to Rick and living the life - incredibly - of her ancestor in 1880s Montana. A happy and successful mine owner, she is enjoying life raising her son Joey and living with her ammonite-collecting husband. Though she would have liked to go back to the 21st century, she had convinced her rescuers that being where she was and doing what she was doing was the best thing possible for the integrity of the timestream.

Unfortunately for the happy family, others disagreed. A man from the far future came to visit Con one day, a person who looked very human but was clearly, well, not from around there. He was a _Homo perfectus_ or Kynden, same species that rescued Rick and Con at the end of the first novel (one of three human species existing in the future by the way, the others being our race which in the future are called the Sapenes and one called the Gaians). This man goes by the name of Sam (full name Samazatarmaka) and he was the man who initially possessed the time travel technology that Peter Green stole. Con thought that Sam had been killed (that was what she had been told) but no, he is very much alive and offers to help Con and Rick if they will help him. Con declined his offer and Sam took his leave.

Not long afterwards Rick is murdered and Joey dies of starvation in the brutal Montana winter, with Con not far behind. A nearly dying Con is rescued by Sam and his daughter Kat (Katulumamana) and brought back to life. Given kind reassurances by Sam, she is assured that she will be reunited with Joey and Rick one day - if she merely helps Sam on a few tasks to fix history, which will, according to Sam, have the happy side effects of undoing Rick's murder and the resulting starvation of Joey.

Con is informed by Sam she has to journey to the 27th century and impersonate a recently deceased genetics worker working for a major corporation. Apparently assassinated before she made some historic breakthrough, Con is to carry through with those important scientific advancements.

How on Earth is she to do that? Well the how is covered by Sam and Kat, as Kat installs a mental implant in Con's skull and downloads directly into her mind the skills (and language, as they don't speak English in 27Th century North America) to do what she needs to do.

However, other particulars bother her. Who assassinated this woman, this Ramona Eberlade, and why? Will they try to kill Con? Even knowing Ramona's thoughts and skills, Con still doesn't understand exactly why this breakthrough is so very important, why someone would kill to make sure it doesn't happen.

Con also realizes she is at the mercy of Sam. Though Sam has been very nice to her, she starts to have suspicions about his motives. Why is he doing what he is doing? Does he really want to help Con? Can he really undo Rick's and Joey's deaths? Con also understands though she has little really choice. When Rick and Joey died and Con was removed from the 19th century, she ceased to exist in the 21st century; as she was her own ancestor; in effect her grandparents, parents, and her own childhood ceased to exist. She was a refugee from an alternate timeline that no longer existed, "a bit of wreckage washed up on the shores of the sea of time" (curiously, in these novels if one changes the past, everything "upwhen" in the future changes, but one cannot retroactively change the past, which is "downwhen;" if your past was changed so you didn't exist but you happened to be at a point in time well before that change was made, you stick around and don't vanish, even though technically you were never born). Con in essence has no home to go back to, though also she has a strength that she doesn't know for a while that she possessed, a strength uniquely hers, as a result.

What follows are some incredible adventures in the 27th century, later on in the 31st century as Sam sends Con to follow up on events she had instigated, and then it is back to the Jurassic for a final showdown.

Very enjoyable book, for the most part it was quite different from the preceding novel, up until that is when they get to the Jurassic Period and the story had some similarities. Cardboard characters aren't any kind of problem here and many of the people in the novel were quite distinct. Each of the two future centuries Con visited were also quite distinctive and original (and chilling I might add). My only complaint - and it is a slight one - is that the author twice in the book had a fair amount of build up for a confrontation between some adversary of Con's and then when the encounter finally happens, it is over in a paragraph or three. While still producing important events in the plot, I felt there could been a bit more pay off. Still, a very good novel and one of the best time travel stories I have ever read. It had many surprises and tied in nicely with events in the first book without being in any way a kind of rehash.

When I read Will Hubbell's "Cretaceous Sea" just over a year ago, I found myself completely enthralled by the main characters, especially Constance ("Con") Greighton, the rich girl, and paleontologist Rick Clements. Indeed, the final few chapters of the book, dealing with the cold-hearted "Homo Superior" people from the distant future, have haunted my dreams. It was after the most recent dream that I checked Amazon for any news on a sequel. And lo and behold, "Sea of Time" was due out the very next day!

Needless to say, I pounced on the book and scarfed it down in just under 24 hours. I couldn't put it down, except when I had to go to work. There I thought about the book all day long, and could hardly wait to get home to finish it. All of the elements which fascinated me in the first book are present in the second: an imaginative take on future timelines and time travel in general, dinosaurs, and the way Hubbell portrays and develops his characters.

One all-too common trap that any author or film maker can easily fall into with sequels is to just serve up more of the same, only bigger and more exciting, so that readers or viewers leave feeling that they've wasted their time and money on regurgitated entertainment. The better sequels, in contrast, make sure that their characters continue to grow as they meet new and different challenges or adversaries. At the same time, they answer a host of questions from the first installment. Such as: "Who are these people, and where did they come from?" or "How does the author imagine the future will look like?" or "How did things turn out the way they did?"

I am pleased to say that "Sea of Time" falls into the latter category. True, as with the first book, none of the ideas about time travel and causality are particularly new. Any fan of Star Trek knows the dangers of tampering with history. Indeed, "Sea of Time" reminds me of two books in particular, also among my all-time favorites.

The first is "Thrice Upon a Time", by James P. Hogan, where the two main protagonists fall in love, then are separated by a change in the timestream. The protagonists meet up again, but this time events prevent them from getting to know each other. The reader, who has a "God's eye" view of the plot, keeps rooting for the sparks to fly again, and is frustrated when they fail to. And yet, what if the timeline changes again?

In "Sea of Time" there is a slight twist on the above: Constance knows that she and Rick were supposed to live happily ever after in 19th century Montana, at the end of the first book, but the villain has killed Rick off for his own nefarious purposes (naturally, to change history). When other time travelers, trying to undo the damage, get Rick and Con back together, by ineptly kidnapping him from an earlier point in his life, he has no idea who she is, and, even worse, thinks she's a madwoman. The scene where they first meet up (again) is sad and comical at the same time. It becomes a major source of tension as Rick, who has not been shaped by the same experiences as in his previous existence, continues to disappoint Con, who can't help but let him know about it.

The second similar book is Isaac Azimov's classic "The End of Eternity", where a group of lunatic time travelers, called the Eternals, endlessly move "upwhen" and "downwhen", tinkering with history, trying to steer humanity in the "proper" direction. Living, breathing people are created and destroyed at a whim, with only the Eternals remembering them at all. So it is with the villain in "Sea of Time". He will stop at nothing to sculpt the future of his twisted tastes, even if it means misery and death for untold billions.

This is another source of conflict for Constance. Initially an unwitting pawn, sent first to the 27th century to carry out a major crime against humanity, then on to the 31st century to finish the work, she figures out what is happening, and begins to fight back. There are no certainties for her. She knows that at any moment the ones she knows and loves can vanish without a trace, as she's jerked about by a ruthless puppet master. Whom can she trust? What is even worse is what might happen if the timeline is ever set straight again, as she, Rick and their new time traveler allies race to stay one step ahead of the enemy. (Or maybe not.) Can she do it, knowing what sacrifices it could lead to? Will Con and Rick end up forever separated by a sea of time, with only the reader remembering their happiness together?

I can say that Constance is one of my all-time favorite fictional characters. I would love to meet someone like her in real life. But of course, reality is seldom like that.

It can give the reader a headache trying to keep close tabs on all the twists and turns of alternate realities. Better to just go with the flow. As one of the characters remarks, he never tries to understand it all without a computer and a temporal data probe.

As with "Cretaceous Sea", the ending of "Sea of Time" was hard to predict in advance, yet in retrospect pretty obvious when it arrived. While there is the potential for a third book, it would be a major coup for Hubbell to pull it off without sounding hopelessly trite. I do find myself hoping he tries.

As I wait for anything else Hubbell might choose to write, I plan on rereading both of his novels again, back to back. And I will dream.

Rick and Con Clements are back on another zigzag and bizarre adventure through time to save the present from the twisted mind of Sam, a whacked-out scientist from the far future. On the way, the author presents us with plenty of characters and stops in time to stretch our imagination. Like Creataceous Sea, the ending is totally unpredictable. Hubbell's writing puts you right in the middle of every plot turn and character encounter. I can't wait for the next book in the series--what happens to that embryo?

In Cretaceous Sea, Will Hubbell took us on a wild ride 65 million years back in time, to an era when dinosaurs ruled the world - until the K-T Event, of course, which we experienced in the company of Hubbell's characters. That steep temporal plunge back into the Cretaceous Period looks like a small ripple in the Sea of Time compared to the experiences chronicled in this follow-up novel. Cretaceous Sea was ostensibly about time travel, but Sea of Time really mines the depths of questions, possibilities, and repercussions the subject of time travel engenders. We're with familiar characters as well, as the wonderful heroes from Cretaceous Sea are back - in one temporal form or another, anyway. The heart and soul of the story is still to be found in Constance (Con) Greighton, who is also Con Clements. At the end of the first novel, Con and Rick Clements, the paleontologist she fell in love with on Montana Island in 65,000,000 BC, settled down in 19th century Montana to live the life of Con's legendary ancestor - yes, Con became her own ancestor.

Con was ready to forget all about time travel and live happily ever after - but this was not to be. The mysterious futuristic man Sam, whose stolen time machine had transported Con back to the Cretaceous Period, shows up unexpectedly and tells Con she has been tricked into changing the course of history. Suddenly, Con's husband is murdered and her son has died, and she is more than willing to do anything Sam wants - if he can bring Rick and Joey back to her. Thus begins a series of time-skipping adventures that take Con centuries into the future to do Sam's bidding. She assumes the person of a scientist whose work changes human history in some unknown major way, and she later travels farther into the future to see just what she has done. Thirty-first century Earth as she finds it is a terrible place, where Sapes (Homo Sapiens) live lives of misery, hopelessness, and genetically engineered addiction, surviving only as the servants of a new and better breed of humans. Blaming herself for the troubles of numerous future generations, Con is increasingly distraught. Then she is visited by three future time travelers of the Home Perfectus species, and they explain to her that Sam has been using her not to "fix" history but to pervert and change it according to his own designs. They want Con's help - but Con refuses to do anything until she is reunited with Rick.

She gets her wish, but unfortunately this Rick comes from a time before he ever met Con or traveled back in time. Suddenly transported to a poor and filthy thirty-first century world and forced to deal with a "crazy" woman who insists she is his wife, Rick is not the happiest of men. To succeed in her new mission, Con must once again win the trust and, she hopes, the heart of the man she fell in love with 65 million years ago. As strong a character as she is, she alone cannot possibly survive some of the challenges she faces here.

The race to beat Sam at his own history-altering game is a strategic one that takes our heroes over diverse areas of the timestream, including the Jurassic Period of Earth's early history. Like time travel, the novel can become a bit confusing at times. First off, the fact that Con is her own ancestor supposedly gives her a special ability to alter time. Then there are a few sudden shifts in temporal causality in which we suddenly see the Con of a different reality in front of our eyes. In terms of the future, you have three species of humans competing for dominance, and in some of those future histories, at least one of the species has become extinct. Con is even confronted with the fact that, thanks to the altering of the time flow, she was no longer ever born- her future past has been completely expunged from the space-time continuum. There are some fascinating ideas espoused in this tale. For instance, time - like a river - tends to be only momentarily diverted by outside changes - it takes a significant stimulus to truly alter the future. I also liked the argument that time travel in and of itself tends to weaken the stability of the timestream.

While the entire book is filled with excitement, the ultimate scheme for foiling Sam's plans seems rather clumsy to me, and the ultimate turn of events can be seen from miles away by the reader. Still, I loved this book. With its heavy emphasis on the theoretical underpinnings and logic-defying nature of time travel, its multiple journeys across a number of millennia, its account of the heroes' struggles to survive in the most inhospitable of times and places (both past and future), and its rich and wonderfully complex main characters, Sea of Time makes for a gripping, entertaining read.

I almost put this book down a couple of times but I'm glad I stuck it out. Charney has for the most part done his homework concerning ancient japan and his weak fop-becoming-hero story has a real edgar rice burroughs feel to it which I loved.
If only more attention could have been paid to certain details which, if corrected, would have vastly improved the tale; such as having his samurai "strapping" on their swords and soaping up in the ofuro bath (The soaping and rinsing is done before entering the tub to soak). His choices for some of his characters names- ie: Masaka (absurd, impossible), Lord Chikara (strength), Obaasen (Obasan? old woman) seem to have been made up assuming that the reader wouldn't know the difference. In the 1980s when this was written such things might have flown but Japanese culture and history since then have had greater exposure. Still..I enjoyed the book.

This is one of my top five reads, alongside Lord of Darkness and Shogun. Charney wraps a compelling story around a foppish young man and turns him into a warrior, rogue, teacher, and legend. I definitely recommend this book for any adventure lovers' shelf.

I was searching for a book with fast paced action, adventure, and heck, maybe a little romance for flavor, and I camr upon sensei. The story of rising from the weak and the transformation Yoshi made is enthralling....END

SENSI AND SENSI 2 WOULD HAVE TO BE THE BEST TWO BOOKS THAT WE HAVE EVER READ. IT HAS AN AMAZING STORY THAT YOU JUST WANT MORE OF. ONLY WISH THAT HE WOULD WRITE MORE BOOKS BUT CAN NOT FIND ANY REFERENCE TO OTHER BOOKS THAT HE HAS WRITTEN

I read this book many years ago and lent it to a friend who I have lost contact with. The book was excellent and inspired me to pursue the ideals and history and culture of Japan. If you can find a copy, it is a must read. I one day hope to read it again.

I had gotten a collection of stories from a friend, and the beginning of The Seven Towers was one of them. It made me want to read the rest of the book, so I went to the library and got it. The story was really good, funny, exciting, and everything else you want. I liked this book a lot because you knew each character's personality really well. A good, well-written book.

It's been a long time since ive read this book, but it has lots of elememts working together; betrayal, good vs evil, politics, love, magic, comic relif, mystery. Every element works perfectly to make a very charming whole

I really like everything by Wrede, and this is no exception. It's been a while since I last read it, but I remember the story being interesting and the characters being witty. It was definitely worth the used bookstore hunt.

I was fortunate to find this book at a used book store. I had read Wrede's Enchanted Forest cronicles,before and loved them, so I was really glad to find this.This book has a neat story. I don't really want to tell what it's about, because that would be giving away a lot of the book! It has good characters. I especially liked Amberglas, an absentminded sorceress. This is a quote from the book:

"Good morning, my lady," he said with more warmth then he had intended. "Yes, it is, isn't it? Though of course it's quite possible that it isn't nearly as good a morning elsewhere. Shula Mari, for example. I belive it quite frequently rains in Shula Mari at this time of year, which could be quite depressing, though perhaps it isn't if one lives there all the time. But then, I haven't been there yet, so I'm not entirely certain" (The one who spoke last was Amberglas) She speaks like this (almost)the entire time! I just really liked this book.

It's easy to see how some of the ideas in _The Seven Towers_ relate to Wrede's later books. Amberglas, for instance, seems to foreshadow Telemain in the Enchanted Forest Chronicles. In some ways she's a more interesting character--but she can also be more annoying to read. The whole idea of the towers also comes up again, though a little differently, with the tower in _Caught in Crystal_. Any major Wrede fans will find it a worthwhile read. It took me seven years (ironic, huh) to track down a copy in a used bookstore, but now we have copies readily available here, which is nice.

If you're not a Wrede fan already, I think I'd recommend looking at one of her later novels first (the Enchanted Forest Chronicles for something humorous; or _The Raven Ring_ or _Caught in Crystal_ for a general, all-around good fantasy quest type of novel; or _Snow White and Rose Red_ if you like fairy tales; or _Sorcery and Cecelia_ for a Regency story, mixed with magic). _The Seven Towers_ is by no means a bad book, but it's a bit scattered, and it certainly doesn't meet the same standards as her later books (not that I'm complaining; it's a good sign when you like a writer's works better and better as each new one comes out).

On the other hand, the style is distinctly different from her other books--it reminds me a little of an older style of sci-fi and fantasy that we don't see much of anymore; I'm not sure how to explain it, but the tone of the book seems like it's halfway in between the Lyra books and Asimov's original Foundation trilogy. Maybe I'm crazy and my copy just has the right, slightly yellowed older-book texture; I don't know. But I think it definitely has some interesting characteristics of the now-long-gone pulp novel (which was already well on the way out by the time _The Seven Towers_ was written). There are a lot of very stereotypical fantasy characters, but the twinge of humor works there. And maybe more importantly, even if you've already heard plenty of stories with shy princes, and older princesses who'd rather be mercenaries, _The Seven Towers_ is still a really fun read. It's not Wrede's best, in a literary sense, and it's not a terribly cohesive novel in a lot of ways (I'm not talking about the multiple points of view, either). But it's an interesting change of pace. And it's still a really intreguing story. Definitely worth picking up.

This book was a delightful find. I bought it based on the glowing recommendations on the cover by Fritz Leiber, Piers Anthony, and Andrew Offutt, among others. It's not often that you see such a collection of authors raving about a book and they sure were right! This book is a brilliant piece of high adventure, fantasy at its best. Despite the "Red Sonja-ish" cover art, "Silverglass" is not really just a stale old "barbarian" novel. No, it is much more along the lines of Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd & the Gray Mouser series-- mercurial, witty, and delightfully character-based. Corson and Nyctasia are two of fantasy's most unforgettable women characters, so much fun that they just win your hearts and make you want to read more and more about them. **Warning** The series is currently out of print. Get it and the rest of the series used through Amazon's used book service. That's what I did to get the next three books after Silverglass, and it was a snap. Thanks Amazon!

I read this book back in the late 80s when it was published. I never could find the sequels even though I knew there had to be some. Now I came across it again and it's out of print. Argh.

Silverglass is an excellent book that offers it's readers a true fantasy trip filled with lovable characters! The four book series (Silverglass, Web of Wind, Witch of Rhostshyl, and Mistress of Ambiguities) all fit together like a snug fitting glove. They are truly great books that hold the readers attention and keep moving forward in a fast action paced enviroment. Loose ends are tied up and have kept me wishing for a new sequel!!! Where are you Mrs. Rivkin?!?

(cheating here and repeating, but since no one is reviewing the three books that make this series, i dont want anyone to miss the fact that it was both interesting and funny and thought provoking. buy all three)

I'm so bummed that the triology of 'mistress of ambiguities, silverglass, and web of wind' wasnt carried on. ok sure, its the old warrior and sorceress, but it was so well done. the character interaction and development was great, it was like looking in on their lives. the playful arguing and sometimes real disagreements between partners brings to life a relationship that is so mundane in other books. to some extent the adventure was almost superflous, just a vehicle for 'spending time' with them. on the other hands, the adventures were so well done, not predictable endings, complex enough to hold interest but without becoming overwhelming... i can only say, write me another one please!

SilverGlass is the first book in a series of four books of the same name. It is the story of the noblewoman/sorceress Nyctasia and her swordswoman/companion Corson. Nyctasia is forced into exile from her city of Rhostshyl for trying to make peace between the ruling families. She hires Corson as a bodygaurd while she travels to mystical forest in the search of her lost lover. A good book that is a good start to an intriguing series. While short(186 pages) it packs in more story than many 300+ page books.

This is the first book written by Janny Wurts and is a wonderful breath of fresh air in that it's a self-contained story. Much of modern Fantasy seems bent of many volumes and epic scope while Legacy is content to be a single volume and a complete story.

It is essential to appreciate the artistry and craftsmanship that Ms. Wurts puts into her writing and for one familiar with her more recent works, this novel is just plain fun. The storyline follows a female main character, Elienne, whose life has been destroyed. Her husband is dead, the Kingdom they ruled has been conquered and she is about to be victimized by the conquerors.

From such difficult circumstances we are lead to a whole new world where Elienne is given a chance to start again. This new world is fraught will magic and her situation becomes immediately intertwined with the political machinations of an evil Sorcerer. The pace of the story is quick and the character's who are used are interesting and in some ways very, very familiar to those familiar with recent work by Ms. Wurts.

Central to the theme of this story are honesty and courage. The main character accepts a situation that is not ideal for her and requires a degree of deception that is in many respects alien to her personality. She is strongly defiant, fiercely independent, but with the classic heroic characteristics of loyalty and even compassion for those who wrong her. Elienne leads us on a harrowing course until at last she is able to triumph in the end although not without considerable pain and loss in the process.

If you are a Wurts' Fan then this book is worth searching high and low to add to your collection. If you are not familiar with her work then this represents a great way to get a taste and see if you like it without investing yourself is a huge novel. For the ability to write a complete story that entertains and inspires I give this 4.5 stars. It's a great book and could deserve 5 stars if I hadn't read so much of the rest of her work and new how good it gets.

As an aside, I am an admitted Fan, so it's pretty tough for me to find faults and in this case I saw very few.

Janny Wurt's careful structure makes Pendaire pass in flowing images of reality, then the reader is cast into the enchantment of shinning sorceries swept over and beyond her charater's awareness and deep into the heart of her readers.Allowing the feelings of her characters to seep into a readers soul and and blossoms into the sudden reality of our own real lives. I have but one question:who forced the Seeress to take her own life?I am still consumed with admiration, If I could write as well. I would be happier than any young author.Eileen and Darion create a powerful and gripping tale of love and betrayal that is irresistable to any reader. Ms Wurts, you have my admiration and congratualations on such a piece!!!!!!!

I absolutely loved this book. It is one of my favorites. The story has such depth. The characters are well developed. It is layered with action, excitment, and intrigue, with emotions bringing it all together to form a story with depth. So many of the books today are frivolous and shallow with no emotional content. I highly recommend this book.

The Khadrach hordes have overrun her home and murdererd her husband. Elienne the widow of the Duke of Trathmere, is imprisoned in the dungeons of her own castle. There a powerful sorcerer comes to her and offers her a choice. Come with him and become the Bride of an unknown Prince, or stay where she is and either die or become the Khadrach Inquisitor's concubine. At first she does not want to go, her husband has been dead less than a day and the thought of being with anyone else repulses her, for she loved her husband greatly. Then the sorcerer reveals that she is pregnant with her deceased husband's child. In order to save the child and herself she agrees to go with him. The sorcerer, Ielond takes her forward in time, to a different place and a different world of which Elienne knows nothing. But the cost of transporting her into a time which is not her own, means that upon their arrival Ielond must die. With Ielond dead, she is set adrift in her new world. With the help of instructions left by Ielond, his apprentice Kennaird, and the sorcerer Taroith, Elienne acclimates to her new world and sets about saving the prince.
Prince Darion of Pendaire was cursed at seventeen by the evil Regent Faisix (who doesn't want to give up control of the realm) with dark magic that left him sterile. In Pendaire, a king cannot inherit the throne unless he can prove he can continue the bloodline by providing an heir. Since Darion cannot he is scheduled for execution whereupon his cousin would inherit the throne; his cousin who is completely controlled by Faisix. The prince's Guardian, the sorcerer Ielond, searched through five thousand years of history to find the one woman who could give Darion an heir and spare his life. That woman is Elienne, her unborn child (passed off as Darion's) will ensure he will be crowned king.
Elienne doesn't want a new husband, but Darion demonstrates that he's a caring and compassionate man who doesn't deserve the fate that awaits him. Putting aside her grief and heartache, she decides to help him and uses her wit to foil several of the evil Faisix's plans to discredit her and Darion. Gradually she begins to fall in love with Darion and he with her, but a prophecy given to Elienne by a Seer makes her think that she is doomed to fail Darion. In order to spare Darion grief and heartache should she fail, Elienne remains aloof, cool, and distant. Their relationship grows strained as her pregnancy advances. She is restless, a sense of doom hangs over her and she knows its a matter of time before Faisix strikes again. It is up to her to see that Ielond's hopes come true, to make sure that at whatever cost Darion lives to be King.

This is a wonderful read... The lyrical quality of Janny's writing, pours visions into the mind's eye as one is reading, literally painting scenes with her fluid grasp of words... The carefully created world to which Elienne is carried away by the sorcerer is perfectly rendered, with its own political hierarchy around which the plot swivels gracefully; and there is also the beautifully conceptualized system of magic and sorcery, which adds to the strength and 'realism' of this fantasy realm.

The pages literally turn themselves!

Fantasy is one of the fields in which a pool of a few basic concepts are regurgitated repeatedly and it is very rarely that one comes across a truly original fantasy novel. Sorcerer's Legacy is one of the few examples of true originality in the fantasy field. With a novel system of sorcery, an unparallelled addressing of the problems of time travelling and a plot that cannot be predicted even if one wishes to to. An as for its style, rapid paced, marvellously characterised and in this and her other books Wurts' use of imagery is of the best in the field

Storm over Warlock is another boy and his animals story. The protagonist is an animal handler, and the genetically altered wolverines are his responsibility. One of his enemies lets them out to try and get him in trouble, so he has to go and find 'em.

This gives him the Luke Skywalker role, while said enemy and the rest of the people suffer the Owen and Beru fate.

He is soon hunted himself, leading him to strange adventures, conflict, and even stranger aliens, the Wyvern, with their magical illusionist abilities.

Storm Over Warlock is the first novel in the Warlock series. Warlock is the second planet in the Circe system. First scouted four years previously, a Terran Survey Corps team has been sent to prepare the planet for the coming of the first pioneers.

In this novel, Shann Lantee has joined the Survey team as contract labor from the Dumps of Tyr, performing the dirty, tedious clean-up jobs and the dull maintenance routines. Yet one of these jobs is the care and feeding of the mutant wolverines, which soon becomes an act of friendship rather than a chore. While the wolverines return this friendship, they are mischievous and cunning, enjoying an occasional outing without formal permission. During one such escape, Shann and the wolverines witness the Tharg attack that overruns the camp. As the only known survivors, Shann immediately increases the distance between themselves and the camp.

As they travel, Shann comes across a downed Terran scoutship being harried by Tharg flyers, but the Tharg weapons set off an explosion that destroys one of the Tharg vessels and drives the other Tharg flyer from the scene. Shann investigates the crashed flyer and is fired on and pinned down by a survivor, but then a rock smashes the Tharg's head from above, thrown by Ragnar Thorvald, leader of the Survey team. Thorvald has been off-world on Survey business and was returning for the arrival of the settler ship, but their hail of the camp was not answered except by the Tharg flyers. The scoutship had been damaged during the fight and the pilot killed, so Thorvald sets an explosive surprise for the Tharg and abandons ship.

When Thorvald recognizes Shann, he immediately asks about the camp and receives little good news. However, he realizes that the Tharg have probably left many Survey items within the camp, since they are no use to the aliens, and then conceives a plan to raid the camp disguised as natives, thereby concealing the presence of Terran survivors. Thorvald and Shann prepare primitive tools and weapons for the attack to add authenticity to the subterfuge. They use bolos, fireballs, stink bombs and spears to kill a few Thargs and create a diversion while Thorvald gathers items from the camp, then they escape on a raft.

Thorvald has noted a "hound" within the camp and suspects trouble. Later, they discover that the alien animal is following their trail and that they can neither evade it nor even kill it with any weapon at their disposal.

In the journey downriver, Thorvald finally admits to Shann why they are heading toward the sea. Thorvald possesses a curious bone-like medallion with hypnotic carvings that has been found on a sea island beach. The object was very unlikely to be Tharg work, so possibly Warlock holds, or once held, a native race living somewhere near the sea. When Thorvald allows a few drops of water to fall on the object in his hand, he looks dazed and acts like he is mind-controlled.

As they float downriver, both Thorvald and Shann have weird dreams about skull mounts and veiled caverns. The first-in scout also had such dreams, which sometimes coincided with an "emanation" registering on certain instruments. They speculate that the river water may have conducted the dreams to them from the sea.

When they reach the sea, the dreams are even stronger. Thorvald is now obsessed with finding the things or persons who are projecting the dream. Then Thorvald apparently succumbs to the lure of these dreams, paddling their canoe away while Shann is asleep on the beach. Shann tries to build another craft, but destroys it later as he sleeps. The dreamers seemly want to remain unfound.

This novel has the signature characteristics of early Norton stories: a courageous young person coping with adversity on his own, with aliens and animals as well as telepathy and other psionic powers. It also displays another signature personality trait: perseverance to the point of obstinacy.

Storm Over Warlock is recommended for all Andre Norton fans and anyone who likes stories about young people, friendly animals, and even somewhat friendly aliens, successfully coping with a hostile environment and even more hostile sentients.

In this book and it's sequel, Ordeal in Otherwhere, Andre Norton continued to develop the far future history that would sustain many of her books though the next decade.

Shan Lantee is very much a Norton young adult hero. Reared in the Dumps of Tyr, he fought his way into a laboring position as a caretaker for a pair mutant wolverines used by Survey in exploring the planet of Warlock. This precarious toe-hold on respectability was threatened by the malice of Garth Thorvald, a young cadet. However, Garth's malicious action in releasing the wolverines led to Lantee being absent from the camp hunting them when the insect like Throgs (aliens with whom the Terrans cannot find common meeting ground and so they fight a war of running skirmishes) attacked and destroyed it.

Heading away from the camp, Lantee chances upon a downed space ship and meets up with Garth's older brother, who had been off world an effort to slow down colonization of Warlock.

The two begin a fantastic adventure as they cross the vividly described countryside, pulled by a compulsion that cannot be explained, while dodging Throgs and natural threats.

This books definitely bears reading and rereading. I may like it even more now, than it did nearly forty years ago.

Norton is one of the most prolific authors ever within the fields of science fiction and fantasy. Most of her works are very workmanlike enjoyable reads, but are often quite formulaic, with little to distinguish one work from the next. Not so with this work, written when she was at the height of her powers as a science fiction writer before turning mainly to fantasy.

Shann Lantee is left stranded on the alien world of Warlock after the Survey camp of which he was the lowest member is wiped out in an attack by the Throgs, beetle like beings so alien no one has figured out how to have any intelligent discourse with. From this fairly stock beginning this book quickly progresses from learning how to survive under harsh conditions while being chased by the Throgs to an investigation of the power of dreams and the value of being able to distinguish between real and unreal when Shann meets the Wyverns.

The Wyverns, the semi-aquatic native race, are masters of the illusion, the dream made real, delvers into the pre-ordained while maintaining the right of individuals to choose their actions. Some of the images Norton paints in describing these people and the tests they impose on Shann have remarkable staying power, haunting and fittingly alien. Norton's thematic points here on the role of fate, individual drive and determination, and the possibility of there being truly intelligent beings that we will never be able to communicate with are all well drawn, never starkly thrown at the reader, but developed naturally from the events of the story. It is these images combined with her strong thematic points that elevate this book well beyond the standard young-man adventure story, though it is also a very good example of that type of page-turning story.

Norton's prose is pretty utilitarian, not scaling the walls of the unforgettable line, but at the same time managing to paint a very coherent picture of her scenes, characters, and concepts. This makes this book both readable and understandable to a wide range of audience ages, from early teen to adult. At the same time, the 'science' here is pretty soft, mainly techno-babble words and concepts that allow her to set the environment for her story, which she acknowledges at one point by referring the Wyvern technology as 'effectively magic'. This is not really a detriment, as the science is definitely secondary to her story of different kinds of people, human or not.

A fine adventure, a compelling look at fate and dreams, an outstanding vision of intelligence in many different forms.

�The Throg task force struck the Terran Survey camp a few minutes after dawn, without warning, and with a deadly precision��

The planet Warlock in the Circe System was being surveyed for possible human colonization when the alien attack wiped out Terran Survey team---all except for Shann Lantee, its youngest and least important member.

Shann now realizes that he is the only one of his kind left alive, �on a none-too-hospitable world controlled by enemies---without shelter or supplies.� He does have two companion wolverines---genetically altered and highly intelligent scouts---

Okay Norton fans, we�re on a strange planet but in otherwise familiar territory: a young, low-caste human companioned with intelligent, mutant animals, manages to survive with their freely-offered assistance. Because of his new-found ability to communicate with his wolverines, he also establishes first contact with Warlock�s mysterious, semi-aquatic Wyverns.

�Storm over Warlock� is one of Norton�s finest SF adventure novels, equally as exotic and exciting as her �Plague Ship� or �Lord of Thunder.� Her hero Shann not only needs to overcome the prejudice of his own kind and survive on a strange new world, he must also learn how to earn the trust of his companions, the wolverines Taggi and Togi.

Norton�s non-human characters, whether they be wolverines or Wyverns are fully-realized, sentient beings. They are not pushovers for pathetic, starving humans, no matter how plucky and likeable. Shann has to earn his own way with them.

We, her readers must also earn our way. We must never expect to fully understand how a wolverine or Wyvern thinks. We must learn to accept them as our equals, no matter what their shape or thought-processes.

Andre Norton keeps us turning the pages, not only for the cliff-hangers that Shann gets himself into, but also for the tantalizing glimpses into the minds of her non-human characters.