Ace of Aces Books

This quizzels are so much fun. Once you get started you can't stop. My teacher introduced them to me in the quest program. I asked the name of them and she told me where I could find them. All of the quizzels are like little mysteries. They start of pretty easy but then get really hard. I think that these quizzle are amazingly fun. Wayne Williams sure did a good job creating them.

I think that anyone should buy quizzles. They are very fun, and they challenge people's minds. As my teacher would say," Think Already

Readers just discovering this trilogy are lucky, because they can buy them all at one time--but beware, you may be up all night reading them. Sira's destiny is such an exciting one--a most satisfying conclusion to the three books.

This book proves that Louise Marley is a true writer. From the opening paragraph to the last sentence, you are enthralled in the world of Nevya. The wonderful charcters and amazing setting are weaved together with expert craftmanship. If you are ever looking to read a great book, I would definitely read Receive the Gift.

This book and the book in my title are equal in the reading of THE BATTLE OF THE LITTLE BIGHORN. You will enjoy them both.

Victory or Death! General George Armstrong Custer was determined to find one or the other in the valley of the Little Bighorn - and so he led two hundred and twenty-five men of the 7th Cavalry into one of the bloodiest massacres in American history. In this riveting first=person account, told in thr voice of a hard-bitten civilian scout, Spur Award-winning author Lewis B. Patten vividly recreates the dramatic events that led up to the clash of arms on that momentous blood-soaked Sabbath.

Nash ranks in there with characters like Monte Walsh and Gus MacCrae. The book had a profound effect on me, causing me to review my own past. I'd love to have a hardcover copy of the sequel, "Passage to Quivira." Tks.

A wonderful character study. Beautifully evocative of the southwest at the crossroads of this century. Ignacio Ortiz is a man to be admired. Thank-you, Mr. Zollinger, for bringing him to us

An excellent dark fantasy novel that takes place in the capital of the decadent kingdom of Rossacotta. Full of warped characters, bizarre customs and a murder mystery (actually more than one - people keep getting bumped off during the cover-up and investigation). Two main points of view: Nimnestl is the chief bodyguard to the 9 year old king, and Polijn is an apprentice minstrel.

Looks like the author doesn't write anymore (sad) - last published short story according to Locus was in 1998.

I found this the second volume (published first for some reason) in the far corner on the top row of my bookshelf because Dan Crawford seems to have disapeared after the third book These very different and fun story's had been pushed aside by new additions to my libary but since we have been going through this fantasy dry spell (at least good fantasy) I went digging for something to read......They tell the story of the adventures of a exiled warrior woman of noble birth with a very short fuse and a dry sense of humour named Nimnestl. A necromancer who much to his own disgust is apparently on the side of truth "his truth" and justice "his justice" named Kaftus and Polijn a young girl from the streets who uses common sense and basic mistrust of everyone to survive .With Conan the child King they all serve are without a doubt some of the most intresting characters I have ever enjoyed reading about the story's are quick and well writen with alot of strange twists that will keep people guessing Dan Crawford has a way of changing tracks so that the story you thought was a sub-plot becomes the main focus and what you thought was the central story of the book gets finished half way through ,in two of the three books in a fun style that made me laugh outloud as I read it. These three books Rouse a Sleeping Cat, A Wild Dog and Lone , and the The Sure Death of a Mouse are very good and well worth a read. The Pixies should have got more screen time I think... Please write more

Norman Franks' SE 5/5A ACES OF WORLD WAR 1 joins others in Osprey's 'Aircraft of the Aces' series to chart the Royal Aircraft Factory and its famous unit No. 56 during World War 1. Collections strong in either military history of the era or aviation history will find it packed with over a hundred photos, nearly forty new color art works, and detailed biographies of all pilots.

The Royal Aircraft Factory SE 5a was one of Britain's two best fighters, the other being the Sopwith Camel. While the Camel reigned supreme at lower and medium altitudes, the SE 5a handled affairs at higher altitudes. Almost 100 British, Commonwealth and American pilots made ace in the SE 5/5a, many of their exploits being chronicled in this Osprey 'Aircraft of the Aces' volume by Norman Franks.

The SE 5a aces list reads like a 'Who's Who' of famous WWI pilots - Ball, McCudden, Mannock, Beauchamp Proctor, Rhys Davids, 'Taffy' Jones, George McElroy, Bill Lambert, 'Grid' Caldwell, etc. Relating the exploits of all those men would obviously require a book double or triple the length of this Osprey volume.

Within the book's 80-odd pages of text however Franks does a good job of touching upon each SE 5/5a squadron as they were formed and highlighting the backgrounds and successes of each's top-scoring pilots. Inclusion of several first-person accounts of dogfights is a definite plus.

Eleven pages of color profiles by Harry Dempsey and over 110 black & white photographs help illustrate the combat career of this sturdy warhorse and its brave pilots.

Nicely done, an excellent introduction.

it was a great page turner that keep you spellbound throughout the whole book.

A very elusive book, The Serpent's Egg is also a rare delight to all who may find it. Stevermer has filled this book with a mysterious object called The Serpent's Egg with strange powers, a murdered hero, an evil duke, and a group of conspirators trying to warn the queen against the duke. Throw in excellent, quirky characters, some good old fashioned swashbuckling, a good handful of letters and sonnets, and a twisting plot...Highly recommended. Also try Stevermer and Wrede's Sorcery and Cecelia, and Stevermer's A College of Magics for more quasi-historical fantasy.

This book was very well written. Full of action and suspense. At the end, Had me (a full grown man) crying like a woman at a chick flick. BRAVO!!! " Thank You Nancy"

This and later books of Garroc are set in the Geoffrey of Monmouth Old England. Berberick does the Old English stuff as well as an Inkling. She's good at magic too. Read 'The Panther's Hoard' too.

At his best, Sheffield fits in the category with Larry Niven in that Sheffield is able to deliver a fully developed world driven by several far-sighted predictions of where technology and need will drive mankind. Sheffield seems to produce his very best material when he writes solo and (frankly) when he writing 20 years ago.

"Sight of Proteus" fits both those parameters, and in my opinion is among the two or three best that Sheffield ever produced. The story is based in a world where changes to the human form can be ordered from a public catalog - and of course the darker underworld where prohibited changes can be obtained.

In an over-populated world where underground scientists are willing to push the envelope of human form and evolution, this novel broke new ground pushing the "what if?" question related to human potential. I have the paperback in its 1978 edition and it has a permanent place in my SF collection.

Its the first book in a series of three. Some real good advanced biothechnology,intristing lead charecter,good plot. He really took his time and thoght about all kinds of human forms. Get the trilogy,if you know whats good hard science fiction is.

In the future the humans are not top dog. There is an alien race that controls most of the known areas of space and believes that all other races are there to serve them. Humans get by because this other race sees itself as "too noble" to be mere traders/merchants, so that's the role that humans have to fulfill. In this story a young Sioux is sent to one of the planets controlled by this other race to join a trading post there. The aliens of the world are kept in slavery by the wearing of collars that can stun, punish or kill them. The Sioux discovers accidently that the world would be a perfect place for horses and that the natives, much like the Native American's have a true affinity for horses. The trials and tribulations of getting the horses, helping the natives and keeping himself alive all make for a very enjoyable read.

The Sioux Spaceman (1960) is a standalone SF novel. When the Terran League reached the stars, they found the Styor Empire occupying the most desirable planets. The Empire was old and beginning to crack, but was still capable of defeating an upstart newcomer. The League dealt with the Empire mostly through the Outworld Trade Service.

In this novel, Kade Whitehawk is a Lakota Sioux in the Outworld Trade Service. On his first post, Kade had taught a Styor lordling a painful lesson. Now he has been pulled off that assignment and shipped back to Lodi for disciplinary action. Yet he is being placed in an emergency reassignment to a Mixed Team on Klor. Kade is confused, for Mixed Team positions are supposed to be rewards, not punishment details.

Enroute to Klor, Kade learns as much as he can about his new assignment. He learns that Klor has three continents, two in the western hemisphere and the third in the east. This eastern continent is hook-shaped and stretches across the equator. A chain of mountains and foothills runs diagonally across this continent, but most of the land consists of grassy plains.

The third continent is the most important to the Trade Service. The Terran Trading Post is located in a level space among the mountains, equidistant from the Styor administrative center, Cor, and a giant smelter-producer complex. The rest of the continent is covered by the individual holdings of the lords.

The Trading Post is mostly interested in the furs of giant bat-like creatures. These flyers are trapped by teams of the native Ikkinni hired from various lords. These Ikkinni are slaves captured from the wild natives lurking among the peaks.

The Ikkinni are tall, but very slender, and are covered with fine, long black hair. Their wide mouths contain the sharp teeth of a carnivore. Around their necks are the collars that enslave them.

Strangely enough, his predecessor, Jon Steel, was also a Lakota. According to his briefing, Steel had been "lost by an act of violence", which meant neither death by the Styor nor death by accident. Kade is very interested in discovering exactly how Steel had died.

On Klor, Kade busies himself catching up with more current records and correspondence. He finds an interesting analysis of the native grass, comparing it with the grama grass of his native plains. He also finds himself in charge of a Terran bear destined as a gift to High-Lord Pac.

Kade becomes interested in Dokital, one of the native slaves permanently assigned to the Trading Post. The slaves on the post are owned by a Styor lord, but are overseen by a half-breed Overman named Buk. None of the slaves will have anything to do with the bear, but Kade tries to get Dokital used to the animal.

In this story, Kade presents the bear to High-Lord Pac and entices him with visions of riding horses. Since Klor has no domestic animals, Pac is definitely interested in a creature that responds to his commands. Kade orders a stallion and four mares from the nearest outpost.

Kade accompanies the natives on a hunting trip and nearly finds himself being "lost by an act of violence". Instead, Buk becomes a victim of his own plot. In the process, Kade discovers an interesting use for his stun gun.

This story resembles several of the author's early science fiction. The Terrans go to the stars to find them already occupied by a large empire that is slowly falling apart from its own corruption. The same theme was used in the Central Control stories such as Star Guard (1955) and the Outworld Trade Service is very much like the mercenary services of that novel. The Trade Service is also similar to the Free Traders in Sargasso of Space (1955) and other stories.

This story also has some similarities with The Beast Master (1959), for both feature Amerindians as the protagonist. Klor is very much like the plains of Arzor and both are populated by tall, yet slender, natives. But the evil aliens in the earlier story have already been defeated and, nominally, were not a problem.

The Ace Book edition of this story is really a novelette, only 133 pages in length. Originally published as a Double Book, it was so popular that it was reprinted as a singleton. Eventually, it was republished in hardback by Gregg Press. The title of this review comes from the cover of the singleton edition.

Highly recommended for Norton fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of high adventure, exotic natives and interstellar intrigue.

-Arthur W. Jordin