Games Books

This is the sixth and final novel in Dorothy Dunnett's Lymond Chronicles. Like each of the novels in the series, the action is fast, absorbing and beautifully written. Lymond himself is dealing with the issues of nations and of monarchs while at the same time grappling with family secrets and finding that his own limits of endurance are being reached.

Set against the backdrop of the marriage of Mary, Queen of Scots to the Dauphin of France, the religious turbulence between Catholics and Protestants and the fragile alliances between European powers in the 16th century, this novel is a fitting conclusion to an epic and magnificent series.

'We have reached the open sea, with some charts; and the firmament'.

Highly recommended.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

Dorothy Dunnett is absolutely the finest writer of historical fiction that ever lived. I have been a fan for 30 years -- her books are so complex and interesting that I find I can re-read them many times over and still learn something new each time. 'Checkmate' is the final book in Dunnett's Lymond Chronicles and the only negative thing about the book is that sad feeling you gets when you reaching the last page and realize the six book journey of her hero, Lymond, is over!

My only word of caution is: don't start with Checkmate. The characters and situations are so complex that readers really must start with 'Game of Kings' and read the series in order.

Checkmate, the conclusion to The Lymond Chronicles, is best, most beloved book I've ever read. Each time I reread the series I feel like I'm gaining more perspective and understanding of these wonderous people. But when I recommend it to friends, I have a terrible time explaining what it is really about.

The writing is stunning (although sometimes you have to work a bit for understanding.). The details of history are engrossing. The plot twists and twines and leads to strange lands (literally and figuratively). But most of all there is Francis Crawford of Lymond and Sevigny.

Lymond is unique. In his strengths and weaknesses he is unlike any other literary character I can think of. This series is his story, but primarily told by the people who love, hate, respect, and fear him. My first time through I did all four. The conclusion, which I did not anticipate, pulls him together as a character and a person. The journey to get there is a wonderous thing.

And while Lymond is the center of the whirlwind, Phillipa (especially), Jerrot, Archie, Richard, and the rest of the cast each add dimension and beauty to an already enthralling tale.

I can't recommend this book enough.

Dorothy Dunnett's brilliant characters people a dazzling world that really existed, furnishing the Lymond Chronicles with a richness, immediacy and depth I've found in few other novels. They will stay with me, Lymond, Sybilla, Phillipa, Jerrott, Archie, Danny, the Dame de Doubtance, Khairedin -- all of them.

Checkmate opens as Lymond and his band of mercenaries leave England behind and travel to France to serve the French King in his battles with King Phillip. As Lymond is still set upon returning to Russia King Henri offers Lymond the annulment from Philippa that he desperately wants if he serves France for one year - if he doesn't Henri will do all in his power to block the annulment forever. Philippa comes to France to serve as lady in waiting to the young Mary Queen of Scotts, and continues her investigation into who actually parented Lymond and Marthe, as Lymond starts his own separate inquiry into his parentage.

The story unfolds amidst the pageantry of the French Court as it prepares for the wedding of Queen Mary to the Dauphin of France, and Philippa and Lymond struggle to deny the love they have come to feel for each other. Lymond and Philippa's adventures take them from the domicile of the deceased Dame de Doubtance, to a wild chase through the back streets of a French town (loved it!), until Philippa's quest to obtain the proof of Lymond's birth before it's sold to the evil Margaret Lennox and culminates in a disastrous encounter for Philippa that tears Philippa and Lymond apart and almost destroys any chance they have for happiness together.

As with the first five books in the series, Francis Crawford is a fascinating hero, and is as suave, debonair, flawed and fascinating as only a 16th Century version of James Bond could be. This was a rock-solid finish to a fabulous series, and it was wonderful to see the return of Jerrott and Marthe, along with more of Lymond's mother Sybilla and his brother Richard. I most especially enjoyed the mature and grown up Philippa who stole every scene and was a perfect foil for Lymond. My only complaints are the return of the French and Latin without translations as was found in the first book, and thumbs down to the publisher for not including a cast of characters as they did in the first four, this was a complex tale with many characters coming and going and that would have been greatly appreciated. Five Stars.

Gave a glimpse of the professional swimming world. Starting with kids beginning swimming to Olympians from the perspective of professional coach. Entertaining and more appreciative to the sport. But too late for me to join.

Very nice book about swimming as a sport and the people, swimmers and coaches and more, in and behind it. One of few great books about swimming.

This will go down as the best swimming book ever written. The facts of non-fiction with the fluidity of a great novel. PH Mullen has written the aquatic masterpiece.

Seriously inspiring, got me through a lot of long practises.

P.H. Mullen's Gold in the Water is a story that i first came into contact with a couple years ago. It is a fast paced true tale about average men trying to accomplish their goals. Reading the story over and over has helped me get through the hard times in and out of the pool. You don't need to be a swimmer to appreciate this story, but it does help. As I am in film school now, this is one story that can inspire more people then Remember the Titans with the Olympic power of Miracle. I encourage every athlete, Olympic fan, parent, or anyone who has a goal to accomplish to buy a copy of this book and one for their coach or mentor. It is a book to read over and over again.

this was my first tarot deck, i think it is beautiful. the best thing about this deck for me is that its a bit smaller than regular tarot decks i ve seen. i have small hands and so the larger ones are akward for me. these ones seem to be about the same size as regular cards, but the pictures are still beautifully detailed. it comes with a little book that tells you the interpretatins and layouts. this will be the second time i bought them.

I bought this deck based on the recommendations at amazon and I absolutely love it! It has given me very clear, powerful readings. The artwork is so vivid that it leaves an imprint on your imagination thereby making it easy to memorize the cards with very little effort. As other readers have said, the eyes of the characters almost come to life so their personalities are easier to read and remember. If you love the art, then I would go for it and buy it. I also like the Hanson-Roberts Tarot Companion which gives detailed descriptions of each card.

This is the best Tarot deck I have found and it was also the first one I ever owned. My parents brought me up reading Thoth and I thought that was the only deck to use until I found this little gem.

The Hanson-Roberts deck doesn't have all the frills and extra symbols of most decks, and some would say that is a weakness. To me, it's actually the deck's strength. It doesn't bog it down with details that confuse the novice reader and the expert will probably own another deck that has the symbols anyway.

This deck has wonderful energy to it. It's like a caring grandmother that wants to steer you on the proper path. She may ignore the bad, or understate it, but she always knows what's best.

First of all this truly is a wonderful and attractive deck. I first received it from a friend in elementary school and horribly abused it after realizing I hadn't the attention span to memorize 78 cards... and in the end had a 54 card deck (I had thrown out the ones that I didn't like) and eventually lost them all completely. Now just a couple weeks ago my friend pulled out his new deck he just got, it was the Hanson-Roberts deck. The second I saw the "to all believers" card I was swept back to 4th grade. I bought it online that minute.

This deck means a lot to me and I highly recommend it to beginners and people who don't want their eyes to explode looking at the original Rider Waite Tarot. This will keep your eyes quite content and un-exploded. Truly beautiful.

I originally bought this deck back in 1991. I was just discovering the Tarot, and I was attracted to the artwork. I immediately fell in love with it. The images are beautifully crafted, the colors are soothing, and it follows the Rider-Waite tradition which makes it easy to study (since most books out there on the subject of the Tarot follow the Rider-Waite tradition.) I know there are "flashier" decks out there, and I have purchased some of those; but I've never felt the same connection to those decks as I do to this one, and sadly they just lay dormant in my closet. Instead, this is my baby. When I decided to start doing psychic parties, the first thing I did was buy a new copy of this deck specifically for parties. I keep my original deck to myself. I recommend it whole-heartedly.

My Grandson had checked out a couple of the Look-Alike books from the Library. He really liked them, so I decided to get him one for his 5TH birthday. He really enjoys finding the look alike objects in the pictures, and spends a long time for a five year old doing so.

My twin 5 yr old boys love these books. It has become a night time ritual with them. There are so many cool things to spot. I would recommend this book for anyone looking for something to do during quiet time.

My 3yo son and 37yo husband both love this book (as do I). We can easily spend half an hour or more every evening playing a modified I-spy game - and it's no easy feat keeping a 3 yo entertained that long. I would highly recommend it for travel, except that it's a large size book which makes it a bit unweildy to carry.

This is a another book filled with fascinating ways the author puts together pictures using common everyday items. You'll never look at ordinary items the same way again once you see how she creatively puts together her pictures. Children and adults alike will be fascinated by this book. If you want to give a child a book he or she will look at over and over again, this is a good choice.

My kids love these books. My son checked one out at the school library. My husband and I were amazed at the detail these pictures have. It puts I spy to shame. My kids look at these books all the time. Great for the car, or restaurants, they keep my seven and four year old happy, and I also enjoy looking at all of the cool pictures. They use everyday items and combine them into ordinary things. For example a chair might be made up of pretzel sticks for the legs, a ritz cracker for the seat, and something else for the back. There are hundreds on each page! Amazing!

This is often the first book I read to my upper elementary student children. Many have not been read to or for some other reason do not know the JOY and FUN of a good book.

We act this one out. From getting their muscles "kneaded" and arms "stretched" like dough. I get their permission first. Sigh... that is the decade we are living in.

We "shake" flour (really a salt shaker.) And sprinkle oil (in a firmly sealed vial.)

We whirl and twirl a stuffed animal in the air. Next the checkers (pepperoni)

Then the children "cook" in the oven. (actually under a desk.)

This is one book the children ask for and moan when I tell them it is at my other school.

It makes believers of them that books are exciting.

What a fun book! Our 3 year old loves being made into a pizza with all sorts of toppings made from paper or play food. Great activity that ends with a nice hug!

This is a wonderful and exciting book for all family members of every age. It's sturdy, nicely illustrated,easy to hold and to read. Talk about love in the family, this book illustrates to parents the importance of communicating, touching, and just having a good time with our children. Pete's a Pizza brings out the child in adults and keeps the child in children.

Cheer your kids up by turning them into pizzas. A cute book for any collection.

Petes's in a bad mood because he can't go oult to play with his friends on this rainy day. To cheer him up and pass the time, his dad invents a fun and unique game. He is going to make a pizza out of Pete! The book is very amusing as the dad rolls the dough (Pete) and sprinkles cheese (paper) and tomatoes (checkers) on the pizza. This could be a wonderful game to play with your own children. Loads of fun to be had.

This cleverly written concept (counting and poetry) book combined with the most beautiful illustrations makes this a must have for any home library. Before they can even read, children will enjoy have this story read to them while they look at the vivid pictures and try to count all the bugs to match the story. Opportunities to increase vocabulary are bountiful with the creative and broad use of vocabulary within the rhyming plot. The ending shows a great character building lesson to get to know someone before making a judgement. Just perfect!

Very cute story. I bought my niece the Fisher-Price tea party set and bought this book to go with it. The story is short but the pictures are adorable and very colorful. I would recommend this book. My niece is 1 1/2, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone over 3.

We've been reading this to our little guy since he was three months old, if even that, and he was glued to it from the start, easily his favorite book, still, at nearly 13 months. Great color, great rhythm, and lots of fun bugs! :)

The "Miss Spider" books are pretty easy reads. Nice stories, wonderfully bright, and imaginatively styled illustrations!

My 3 year old is a little concerned with spiders in general and I think by giving a sweet personality to a spider, it helps to take the edge off of the spiders we may find in the house and in nature.

The artwork in this book will keep any child interested. It took my daughter a few reads to get into the story and she still prefers Miss Spider's New Car, but we read this book often.

My son and my daughter both responded to this book when only 2 or 3 months old - the animals have big eyes and friendly smiles, and when they peek at the baby reader, the baby responds with smiles, coos, and wriggling. Perfect first book. Sturdier than most flap books, but will get lots of loving use, so why not buy 2?

We love this series! Large, colorful illustrations and full page flaps makes this a great book for little ones new to reading. A perfect gift too!

They used to read this book frequently at reading times in Ohio when my daughter was in baby laptime. She always loved it and I gave it to a friend as a gift. She says that her daughter is really enjoying it as well.

This book is great. I not only have my own children but I own a child franchise and I read this book to our 10-13 mo. olds and 12-15 mo. They just stare and smile and try to grab every page.
I love this book.

Your little one will have plenty of fun pulling down the flaps in this colorful book. However, the large flaps in Peek-a-Moo! are thick paper and therefore easily tear and crease. Also, if you have a toddler who does not want or understand to close the flap back up with each page (such as the case with our 14-month-old daughter), you need to make sure the flaps are back up before you turn the page. Otherwise, they will hang out the bottom of the book, vulnerable to further damage from the wrath of an active toddler. We have other lift-the-flap books that have smaller, thicker flaps that automatically close when you turn the page (such as Dear Zoo--highly recommended), which are in much better condition.

then by the God-Emperor's throne, READ THIS! I have never gotten into Warhammer 40K, but I read about this book because it coincided with the Dark Heresy RPG. On a whim, I decided to buy it, figuring that if I didn't like it, I could re-sell it. Well, was I SURPRISED. Fast paced and cohesive with characters that you really get attached to, it was like reading an action movie. First-rate, off-the-top-shelf writing makes this trilogy the best sci-fi I've read in a long time. It's dark, gritty, and lethal - everything you would expect from the Warhammer 40K universe. I loved it so much, that I bought a bunch of Abnett's other works. Moving on to the Ravenor series now. I can only hope that it is as good as Eisenhorn. My greatest disappointment is that the story ends. I wish I had drag in Hollywood, because I'd snap up the rights to this and start shooting tomorrow. Buy it, read it, sit back, and enjoy the ride. Just phenomenal!

Eisenhorn is a fantastic read from the best author in the Black library stable, Dan Abnett.
Previous reviewers have done fantastic job of reviewing and highlighting the books contained in this Omnibus so I leave you to check out others reviews, so I'm just adding my voice to the chorus.
Buy it, read it, enjoy!

I loved these books, they were well written and offered something I think is rare in the 40k universe; that is deeply engrossing characters in a very pulpy setting. Took me a while to get used to the style of writing though as I have never seen anyone use 1st person omnicent and that threw me for a bit. After I got used to that I just soaked up the flavor that Mr. Abnett put out and loved every second of the endless adventure. If you want a book in the 40k universe that is not totally over the top crazy all the time then this is your book. It is very grounded as you see things through the eyes of one particular Inquisitor. I wish Mr. Abnett would write more books of this idea, it was refreshing for the hero to not be the unfalliable space marine and just a man doing the Emperor's work. Buy this book you will not regret it.

I was looking for a good 40K novel to read and stumbled on Eisenhorn. The rave reviews gave me a reason to check it out. I admit that I have only just started penetrating the 800 or so pages, but I already can attest to it being a great read. When I was younger, I read a compilation of Warhammer Fantasy stories (the book was called Ignorant Armies) and I was dissappointed with the poor quality of the writing. Eisenhorn, however, is a much MUCH better book and it is a very good read. Dan Abnett is an excellent storyteller and he does a good job of carrying the reader along. I particularly like the personality of Eisenhorn. He is an Inquisitor, but you also have a chance to see his compassion and bits of humor. My hats off to this book, I can already see it deserves the full 5 stars.

Explores the tiniest depths of the Inquisition through the stories of Inquisitor Gregor Eisenhorn. Very good read.

Sarah is a scared, tense person who is going to her first day of school. She
doesn't want to go to school because she is so nervous about the students in the school. So she tries to do everything to avoid from getting out of bed but nothing works. What I liked most about this book was that it was funny, had great pictures, and it's surprise ending. I would recommend this book to teachers, parents, and friends.

This book was an excellent read for my students on the first day of school. They loved it!

I love this book! My kids were so surprised to see that the character that was nervous about school wasn't a child. Great ending! This book allows students to see that grown-ups are afraid and/or become nervous before school too.

I read this book to my students on the first day of school. They just love it!! The surprise ending never fails to create giggles and thus relieve some of the tension we all feel on that first day of school. Every teacher should have this one!

This book is wonderful! The whole way through, you have no IDEA that the main character is not a child! At the end you find out it is an ADULT - AND that she is a teacher, afraid of her first day of school. As a teacher myself, I thought the book was ingenius! :)

This is a beautifully written story about a gambling addiction, and yet it is so much more than that. This is about a woman who loves her family and her life, and you can't help but love them too. I enjoyed all the details about growing up in Queens. It brought back so many memories. And I also loved all the details about playing poker. A lovely book.

This book is brilliant. Not only is it a great, simulataneously heart-wrenching and hilarious story about gambling, it is a fantastic family history. At the same time you fall in love with Frankel, you'll want to hang out with all her relatives and play poker with her for hours. I highly recommend it!

A touching life story which entertains and educates. Easy to read, I am passing my copy on to family and friends, who are currently working to reconcile a loved family members' secret, addictive and finally criminal life from gambling.

Hats and Eyeglasses captivated me from beginning to end. Martha Frankel's description of her childhood, filled with lots of loving "aunts" and "uncles," is hilarious. Frankel brings humor to gambling addiction, a subject that all to many of us deal with in our families. She exposes her addiction and recovery in a way that makes us hopeful.

I couldn't put the book down. After finishing it I handed it to my husband, who read it just as quickly.

A warm, witty and insightful memoir of a family and poker playing. I couldn't put it down. The three themes of, the gambling family, poker with the guys, and descent into on-line poker hell, are woven together with humor, charm and honesty. As a life-long poker player who has been part of long running games with the same people, I will tell you that Martha brings it to life on the page. The camaraderie, laughter, anger, and the drama, replete with heroes and scoundrels, is described in detail and emotion that I know to be dead-on. I laughed and I cried. I doff my hat, and my eyeglasses too!