Bean Books

I have enjoyed the book but felt it was somewhat of a slow read. Thoughful and reflective.

I didn't know much about Wright and enjoyed this book - learning about his work and getting a glimpse into his personality. Although the work was mainly about Mamah, and got a little dull at times, overall it was a quick read and well written.

I read this book based on a recommendation from a friend. Even though I am not usually a fan of historical fiction, I was interested, as I have been to Falling Water and knew a few things- or so I thought- about Frank Lloyd Wright.
I was truly captivated by this book. Loving Frank tells of the clandestine love affair between the Frank Lloyd Wright and Mamah Borthwick Cheney. This book was so amazing from a feminist stand point...Mamah was a very well-educated, strong woman who was trying to fight her way in a man's world. She did not get a fair shake in the world, but was very courageous.
The end was quite a shock and inspired me to find out more about the lives of Frank Lloyd Wright and Mamah Borthwick Cheney. (Ahhhh, now I understand the draw to historical fiction!) I spent a few hours on the internet researching after I finished reading this wonderful book. It is a story that will stay with you, and leave you wanting more.

A rather disappointing book after all the hype. Too much dwelling on Maymah's emotional torture and not enough on the relationship that drove her to leave a conventional life for that of an outcast. Too little about Frank and I still am not sure why she loved him since she portrayed him as a completely arrogant and self absorbed creature. The pain of leaving her children was well documented and finally tedious but the joy of being with Frank was stated but not explored. Too much minutia on financial matters and then all brushed away as she travels and studies and does as she pleases. Felt there should have been more at the end about Frank to tie up her influence on his life.

Loving Frank fictionalizes the love affair between Frank Lloyd Wright and his mistress Mamah Cheney, a union that scandalized the world. Mamah is a woman who prizes ideas and personal freedom over convention and subservience, but sadly, she also prizes this above motherhood, and they leave behind their marriages and a tribe of children to go abroad together. This brings scorn upon them from every direction. Whereas Frank is condemned for being merely naughty, she is deemed perverse.The novel paints an accurate portrait of anti-feminist social mores of America, prone to a busy-body, indignant hypocrisy, then as now. Horan does a mainly predictable job with this material.

The flaw in this book is the lack of spark! The writing, and the characterizations are dull and insipid.Wright's genius is treated like an encyclopedia subject, the reader has to be told, not shown; we feel none of his fire. Mamah, is portrayed as his thoughtful and provocative equal,but we have to take it on faith, because she doesn't seem to be more than a foil for his narcisissm and excess.

Frankly, I was bored.

I really liked the start of this book, written from the point of view of an outsider, it helps to draw you into this strange world. This book is a good read for those interested in folklore as there are many traditional tales and creatures interwoven throughout. However by the middle of this book I found myself tiring of the constant dangers and quaint (but somewhat irrelevant to the story) tales of the fantastical creatures of this world as it was a little repetitive. I found myself skipping paragraphs just wishing the author would get to the point.
Overall I enjoyed parts of tis book but not enough for me to pick up it's sequels.

I knew this book was going to be dreadful the moment I saw the "Acknowledgments" page where the author had her initials fashioned after Tolkien. If that doesn't say "wanna-be" I don't know what does.

The story begins.
A bad beginning.
Envision the beginning of THE BOURNE IDENTITY but with flowery prose that would be the equivalent of watching BOB ROSS painting "Happy Trees" on PBS.

There are lots of made-up words, but there are lots of REAL words dredged up from some long-lost thesaurus. Words like "eldritch" should only be used if your name is H.P. LOVECRAFT. It got so bad that after a while I couldn't tell which words were made-up and which ones weren't.

Not only are there made-up words for her language, but they're also unpronouncable. How one gets the sound of "baavan shee" from a word spelled "Baobansith" is beyond me. A good fantasy-language should draw you in with its charm, not scare you off.

Several pages in a storyteller tells a tale. Problem is, the protagonists in this tale are utterly stupid, even when you take into account the fantastic situation they find themselves in. When an unnaturally perfect horse is invitingly growing loooooonger, why on earth would you want to sit on it?!

The map of the world is one of the most sparsely populated I've ever seen, so I wasn't expecting any exotic locations, which is a shame. There might have, but I'm not willing to read further to find out.

In spite of my dislike for this book, resulting in my being unable to finish it, I still give it two stars as there are many other books more qualified for the "Worst book ever-written" category.

This book has a terrific beginning in close third-person as a mute, amnesia-stricken youth with a disfigured face escapes imprisonment. He is grudgingly taken in by an old serving woman in a huge manor-tower reminiscent of Mervin Peake's Gormenghast series with its elaborate hierarchies of spiteful servants and decadent aristocrats.

Outside the manor stretch lush Australian forests - major points for avoiding Northern European fantasy clichés. Even better, a mineral exists that defies gravity, and an elite class has arisen of couriers and sailors who use it to travel on the air.

Then comes my first gripe: the author's enthusiasm for stuffing Celtic folklore down our throats. (In the afterward, she waxes on about rescuing Celtic folklore from obscurity, apparently not realizing that it has long ago been strip-mined and incorporated into modern fantasy to the all-pervasive extent that it feels absolutely worn out to many of us fantasy fans.) Here, the servant class tells way too many folktales about water-horses and such that I have already read many times elsewhere.

Then the plot veers away from the intriguing interpersonal dynamics of the manor, and turns into a simple adventure story. Our hero escapes the manor, finds a new friend, wanders through the forests on a treasure hunt (now the folklore actually starts happening to them), and finds out something major about what he really is. I don't want to give this away, but I found it disappointing that he subsequently seems weaker and diminished.

There's a brief stay in a city, then another wilderness journey with yet more folklore happening, and an encounter with an impossibly perfect Aragorn-type ranger with whom our main character falls into unrequited love. In the end, voice and face are restored, and of course our main character is now gorgeous.

My main gripe is that the adventure/folklore suppressed the characters. They were under-drawn. Plus they barely interacted with each other at all, leaching the book of any real strong interpersonal tension. I may go on with the series, but this first book didn't live up to its terrific beginning.

I could not make myself finish this. Horribly twee, with too much forced floweryness. You could give it a rating of 5 florids out of 5, perhaps! Anyway, it is possible younger girls may enjoy this, but for a fantasy of kid hidden away, must escape and do great things after being a servant, then it is pretty easy to find dozens of more worthwhile books, whether for young people or adults.

I am shaking my head in bewilderment at all the rave reviews here. I have never had such a hard time reading a book. I felt like I was forcing myself through never-ending sludge. The author certainly proves she has an expansive vocabulary and a wild imagination, but her style is anything but engrossing. After 100 pages I couldn't care less about the characters or storyline. I do not recommend buying this book. It was not what I expected at all.

not really sure about this book...its an overall pretty good read.....it was the first book of hers i had read......more than likely i will purchase another......overall a good read

This is my third Nora Robert's book. The first two I read were written in 1995 and 1998 and I didn't like them much. Because this is more recent, 2006, I'm wondering if her later work is better than her earlier work. I may try another of her more recent novels. This book "Angels Fall" is about a talented woman chef who has been terribly wounded by surviving a gunshot massacre. She moves away, is in the process of healing and witnesses another murder. It's a good murder mystery. The story also has an interesting romance developing between the chef and a writer who helps her. I enjoyed reading about these two characters. I also enjoyed a supporting character, Joanie, owner of the diner. There were some good lines. I'm extracting parts of three of them here briefly, but they are better within the context of the story. Page 211, after he said her eyes looked tired, she thought "He would always be brutally honest with her. Tough as it might be on the ego, it was better than platitudes and soft lies." Page 266 "a man puts his hands around a woman's throat once, he could do it again." Page 279 "what selfishness you have seems awfully healthy from where I stand."

Sexual language: mild. Number of sex scenes: four. Setting: current day Wyoming. Copyright: 2006. Genre: romantic mystery.

To date I've read the following Nora Roberts books.
4.5 stars. Angels Fall. Copyrt 2006. Review Date 6/30/08.
3 stars. Spellbound. Copyrt 1998. Review Date 1/22/07.
Born in series:
5 stars. Born in Fire. Copyrt 1994. Review Date 7/04/08.
2 stars. Born in Ice. Copyrt 1995. Review Date 6/30/08.
3.5 stars. Born in Shame. Copyrt 1996. Review Date 7/04/08.

Mystery written by J.D. Robb (aka Nora Roberts):
2 stars. Naked in Death. Copyrt 1995. Review Date 7/05/08.

I have over a dozen favorite authors, in all genres, but NR is definitely on the list. First off, I'm amazed that she has been such a prolific writer, while continuing to crank out the level of entertainment she provides. Yeah, much of her work is frequently described as formulaic, but when I need a relaxing, comfort read, I turn to NR. Nora and a little piece of chocolate and I'm healed.

I loved this read! It was like a brief vacation, with Nora's ability to so perfectly describe the environment. I could almost smell the fresh, crisp air of the Grand Tetons and sense the critters hiding in the mountains and swimming in the streams. It made me wish to pitch a tent and stay a while.

Then here comes Reece, sputtering into town in her overheated Chevy Cavalier, battling severe PTSD, with mistrust of everyone, including herself. She hasn't been able to land and stay anywhere very long. She's been on an aimless journey, running from herself and her own emotions, after a near death experience. Her car trouble grounds her long enough, that she begins to realize she can't change anything about her past, except her reactions to it. She learns she needs to fortify her backbone. Some of it---the hard way.

The secondary characters are very entertaining, particularly Brody who shows guarded interest in Reece. She's cute, but he's just not that interested, until he is involuntarily dragged into what may have been a murder scene, witnessed by Reece. Or, is Reece just a little unreliable, considering her traumatic event? Many would say she has the right to have some brief, reactive psychotic episodes, considering her past. She does come off a little quirky, sometimes. Time will tell.

The Cafe patrons', where Reece lands a job, are fun to visit with and you feel like you're sitting at the counter, sipping a cup of coffee, while eavesdropping. The cantankerous Cafe owner is a hoot. She is...and isn't, what she appears to be, on many levels. I found her a delightful dichotomy between Drill Sergeant and nurturer, in a crusty, believable way.

If you're a NR fan, I'm quite sure you will find much to love with this read. And, if you're not, you probably still will, too. It's a great reminder that women have internal strength that can pull us through almost anything---if we just remember to make it our mission to connect with it---regularly. Also, that women need to stand up and mentor other women in crisis. We are one!

I'm a great fan of NR and I was not disappointed. I've liked everything about this book, and wanted to remain as long as possible with Reece, Brody, Joanie, Linda-gail et co. Sorry to see it end, since I've spent so many pleasurable hours reading it.

This book has it all , Romance and a Thriller .
To me it is the best of Nora Roberts .

Reece leaves big city Boston after she has been shot in a restuarant , and heads out driving not knowing for sure where she is going and then she comes to the small town Angel Fist and thinks this will do for awhile, as her car is breaking down , she sets out and finds a job she loves and meets Brody on a trail she is hiking . But Reece see's something on that trail and as she is running she bumps into Brody and it is Brody that ..... Sorry you got to read the book to find out what happened to Reece on the trail and to see how Brody handles all this . Trust me it is well worth reading .

I wanted to like this. Really I did. Commenor's orbit Michael fought me every step of the way. Determined and Drowning Pool's Hate playing, I ploughed on, trying to ignore the heavy diction wordage and predictable plot mocking me. But stick and stone don't break Jabba's bone; and the bone of contention was Maul.

Maul. Who is he? Where was the background? Why does a single NEGTC page have more data on the bloke than the entire book? Frack Starbuck, I wanted to know this guy. You didn't get to know Pavan either--yet another scofflaw outlaw. Yet another protocol model droid. Wisecracking and laser shooting, Davros would sneer. Sneer.

Michael knows his star wars lore. The world was described without Lucenopedia's ridiculously pointless drivel; he knew his society and paraphernalia. But why say tergiversator when you can say traitor? You don't use massive words in a simple short sentence. Complexify your sentence then.

The pace was horriffically slow. This is what he did. He writes every pov entering a room, Maul, the bounty hunter, outlaw. The same thing, doing the same thing, all book long. You just read someone walking in, why do it for each face?

Fracking editors sitting around doing nothing, you're not worth a penny.

"None shall live."

The line of the book. I'll give Maul that much. No, I don't know who this Maul is. I shall call him John. Every second name in a book is called John. Why not another? To make Johnny more interesting, readable, some flashbacks wouldn't have hurt. He needn't have thought to himself with italics, but you pretty much read him just going through the motions.

Enough of Johnny, lets get to Assant. Moons of Commenor, we had ourselves a wimp mage. Which was all fine and candy, they're pretty much all wimps, aren't they? Right? Fine, don't agree with me. Stench of democracy. Where was I? Right. Right. Assant is trapped in the dangerous underlevels. No communications. No transport. But she's got this thing in her head--she could have CALLED to that tower full of magi, you know. Which would have ruined the plot. Possibly; possibly not. I'm saying, she wasn't as helpless as she made herself out to be, and that's what I wanted to see addressed. She's got some skifters up her sleeve, use or negate them. Did I like her? No. I don't know her. She's just there for a book, so how can readers invest that emotion, that care?

Bondara.

The room darkens. The temperature cools.

Eyes narrow. Mine.

Mister Bondara: superb duelist, master of this and master of that. One page. One page is all we got with him. I wanted to see a fight. I wanted a midbook showdown. All right, thought he was outclassed, fine, but gives us a fight. We know Maul won't die before the movie, but give us some fun. The way the mage Quick Ben took on three draconian goddesses in Reaper's Gale. Who by rights SHOULD have swatted that mortal from their regal path. They got a surprise, all right. Don't just die on me Bondara like that, give us surprise, some fight.

Seems like everyone can see Maul's a Sith on a second's reflection, but one thing did ruffle me above and beyond it all: the hunter shoots a wrist rocket at Maul--

Activate Matrix slow-motion...

Maul spins around... blades carving a hole... down through the floor...another hole through the wall...

The rocket is still shooting...

Wow. That's some awesome speed there. Between the blip it would take to go from launch to explosion, Horney head is through the floor and through a wall. Nup. I don't buy that.

Nup!

This book had serious potential. It could have rocked. But essentially, you didn't get some Johnny background; you don't get to know Pavan and Assant; storyline was just bland and unsurprising at every time. Michael did show enough flair and poise to warrant further reading, and he does have the potential to show better.

This is one of the most gripping Star Wars books I have ever read. The story is incredibly clever and well written. At it's climax when everything comes together it is hard to put the novel down. This is highly recommended for any sci-fi fan.

I gave this book two stars because I finished it. I was looking for more character development about Darth Maul. I think everyone who purchased this book is looking for that also. This book is more about some obscure padawan and a couple of non-force users running from Darth Maul over and over. The sad part is that the book really isn't about Darth Maul at all, he just happens to be in it. I would recommend Darth Bane Path of Destruction instead of this. This book really doesn't give you anymore insight into Darth Maul then you may already know.

First of all, this book isn't really much about Darth Maul himself. It's more about some people running from him. A lot of the scenes seemed the same throughout the book and, to me, the ending just kind of fizzled out. The first half of the book was alright, but the main point I'm trying to make is that it's nothing how you would expect and it just doesn't give details about Maul's life and personality that you would expect in a book about Maul himself. So, it will do no harm to just save some time and money and just skip this one.

In order to best appreciate the story in "Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter", it is recommended that "Darth Maul: Saboteur" be read first. Previously an ebook, it is included at the end of most publications of "Shadow Hunter". Reading "Saboteur" first allows a picture of the characters to develop in the reader's mind before the main novel.

Although menacing, the Darth Maul character portrayed in Michael Reeves' novel is flawed. Though a Sith apprentice, his greatest struggle in the book is killing a human who by his own admission is not particularly good at anything. Lorn Pavan, an information trader, comes into possession of a holocron crystal that contains information about the upcoming trade embargo. Neimoidian Hath Monchar attempted to made a quick profit by selling the secrets of the Trade Federation and the Emperor. This fatal decision sets up the chase. Though the end of the novel seems easy to foresee, the reader is drawn into this quick paced read.

Though the protagonists are heavily flawed, the characters are well drawn. As I did, readers may have a problem with such flawed individuals giving a Sith Lord such a menacing chase. It makes the primary villian of the Phantom Menace seem weak. But seeing the story ending exactly where the Phantom Menace begins will be pleasing to Star Wars fans.

Please do not waste your money on this book. It gives info similar to the book/movie, The Exorcist, even after the author emphasizes that exorcisms are not to be considered entertainment. The details seem gratuitous, and the filth that is documented is not something that Christians need to read. I do not believe that this book gives glory to God, but rather focuses too much on the power of the devil to destroy lives when we open ourselves up to his power. True? Yes. Necessary to meditate upon? Absolutely not.

I only bought this book because it is referenced in Ted Dekker's new novel, Adam, which I also don't recommend (not worth your money--check it out from the library, if you insist on reading it).

The Bible admonishes us to guard our heart, and avoiding this book is one way to do that.

As a skeptic to the phenomena of possession and "believer" in a common Creator of all humanity, I had some reservations about the overly-religious appearance of this book. Rest assured that this book does not flaunt a bible-thumping, "hellfire and damnation" approach, and perhaps feels more disturbing for it. Malachi Martin's narrative of five cases of possession and exorcism reads in a fluent, yet gripping style, leaving the participant to ponder upon questions about the soul in a less superficial way than they might otherwise like. In this respect, the good author has undoubtedly achieved his purpose.

The case studies, covering the breadth of the 20th century, deal with a spectrum of issues, personal conflicts and personality disorders that many people may recognise. Indeed, many cases of "possession" show psychological illness as the cause. Psychopathy - psychobiological evil - may have a role as well. Martin states clearly however, that the nature of possession transcends pure psychology, even parapsychology. He refers to spiritual qualities of conscience, faith, hope, selflessness and love that spring from a divine source; a capacity for "humanness" most perfectly embodied in the historical figure of Jesus Christ. The historical discussion around "Jesus" receives no space in this book - readers will need to separate Martin's assumptions from other research in this regard. Fleeting (and encouraging) references to other teachers such as Buddha and Mohammed do exist however, which indicates a reassuring note of religious tolerance in Martin's writing.

Indeed, one can speculate from the cases that while possession and exorcism interact at a super-causal level, the religion itself may simply act as a "stage" on which the will of the exorcist and exorcee opposes the will of the "demonic" influence. Specific prayers, symbols etc, may have no effect if they do not create a "focus point" for the will of the human entities present. After all, possession and exorcism have a historical existence outside of Judeo-Christian cultures.

Martin also assembles the available information into an interesting "pathology of possession" as well. The causation and progress of possession as it proceeds through various stages, examined and listed in a scientific manner, gives the material an authentic feel which evokes the reader's attention in a sometimes uncomfortable way. One gets the sense that long-held communal beliefs about the nature of good and evil in the world may not hold up under the weight of spiritual reality. After all, how many people do you know that admit the concrete influence of truly, consciously Evil forces amongst us? And if such forces do exist... what responsibility do we have? Where does that leave us?

Such questions have no easy answers, but "Hostage to the Devil" dares to ask them of the reader, and provides persuasive evidence to insist that we do not forget them.

At first did not know whether the novel was still in print. Purchased second-printing in 1986, but misplaced the book during many military moves in intervening years. Amazon offered perfect vehicle to research availability. As result, I was able to replace copy for my library at very reasonable cost.

Praise Jesus!!!! This book seriously made me shiver but I got two very important things out of it: 1.) a new respect for the exorcists who risk their own lives to help the victims of possession; 2.) an urgency to remain in God's grace and avoid sinning as best as I can.

This is a very sobering and disturbing group of stories. My question if I could ask the author would be why he wrote it. While it is great that the people suffering under demonic influence were exorcised, the real-life stories are a bit too descriptive. These are definitely adult. I am not sure I would even want an older teenager reading this book. The positive thing to remember is that good triumphs. It is an awful battle. It is amazing that people turn to witchcraft and sorcery and even devil worship. There is definitely evil and Malachi describes it. We need to be careful and realize there are things evil that are explained by psychiatry and then there are things beyond the grasp of the knowledge of the "mind doctors". Here are such cases as presented by Malachi. It is a hair-raising read. I sometimes needed to put the book away a couple days to calm down. Read it. But it wouldn't hurt to have some holy water and maybe say a prayer or two to chase away any of your fears or maybe ... someTHING else.

I alternate between the papar back and the audio book just to satisfy my visual need to read. I am also going to take it to the assisted living facility and listen to it with my mother who doesn't read books anymore, and will enjoy listening instead.
db

I stayed with this one till the end and am not sure who or what wore out first the reader or the story. 496 pages of heavy duty lyricism with flatbed characters is a tough read for me.
If you enjoy an almost Gothic tension for a degenerated Southern stereotype with a mood as oppressive as an oil soaked swamp then this suspense thriller is for you.
Catherine "Cat" Ferry does not solve all her problems in BLOOD MEMORY, but she intrigues you with her struggles. Read it on a bight sunny Southern day and it's not so gloomy.
Writing as a Small BusinessSins of the Fathers: A Brewster County NovelNatchez Above The River: A Family's Survival In The Civil War

There are two plots in this novel, one about serial murders in New Orleans, the other about a twenty-three-year-old murder in Natchez; both plots share an element of childhood sexual abuse. Beyond that, there is no reason for them to be linked, and the constant running back and forth between New Orleans and Natchez is simply chaotic.

There are many, many silly plot contrivances.

There's a scene where Cat Perry comes upon a suicide, is startled when the (very fresh) corpse has a muscle spasm, and accidentally shoots the corpse in the chest. So the NOPD decides it wants to arrest her for murder.

There's a scene where Cat Perry, swimming across the Mississippi River during a rain storm, while being pursued by her would-be murderer, hitches a ride in the branches of an uprooted willow tree, from which perch she is able to use her cell phone to arrange for a ride when she gets to the highway.

When Cat reaches the riverbank, she has to crawl through mud and slime to get to the road. There she is rescued by her neighbor, who takes her home and fixes her a nice steak-and-eggs breakfast before sending her to the shower to rinse off the sulfurous crud left by her river adventure. Yes, that's right. She ate a leisurely breakfast with her attractive (and interested) neighbor while smelling like a sewer.

The whole subject of what Cat is wearing and where she got her clothes is overlooked - she's constantly running off to this place or that without packing a bag. Taken literally, the author's account has Cat wearing her neighbor's old clothes from the time she is rescued from the river near Natchez, through her return to New Orleans, her discovery of a body, her being taken into protective custody by the FBI, her escape back to Natchez via her ever-helpful neighbor's private plane, and to her aunt's funeral. At some point she's got her own jeans on again, but there's no mention of where they came from or when she changed. It wouldn't matter so much if there weren't quite a lot made of the fact that she brought nothing with her to Natchez but her evidence kit.

Cat's personality reads like a catalog of the very worst consequences of childhood sexual abuse - she's promiscuous, bi-polar, alcoholic, and utterly lacking in insight. While the solutions to the two mysteries are being telegraphed from the beginning, poor Cat is the last to know. Well, maybe not the VERY last - her idiotic married boyfriend limps across the finish line long after Cat has shown him the way, and long, LONG after the reader has lost interest.

I'm sure the author was well-intentioned. He meant to write a book about the damage left by childhood sexual abuse, and that's a worthy cause. Unfortunately this is a chaotic plot populated by damaged and unsympathetic characters whose lack of attention to personal hygiene is the most interesting thing about them. Not good. Not good at all.

I won't describe the plot, you can read other reviews for that. A very thoughtful and well researched novel dealing with the effects of child molestation. It's plot is full of twists and turns and adventure that somewhat keeps you intrested and on the edge of your seat, but gets slow moving and boring at other times. It is easy to lose concentration, perhaps it is just too long and drawn out. Written from a humanistic religious viewpoint with lots of phsycology with surprisingly little phsycho-babble, or false phsychological rhatoric, I found the book to be eye-opening as well as entertaining. It was somewhat depressing as it offered no solutions to those whose lives were completely shattered by molestation (aside from death in one form or another), or hope for change by he perpetrators, who were also victims in a hopeless cycle. That is the hopelessness that one finds in a plot written from the humanistic faith. As one who knows the power of redemption and rebirth that is found in the true Christian faith (if you can still find that faith that hasn't merged with humanism or another religious influence) I found this incredibly depressing, but perhaps it could be motivation for those with life changing, faith to offer a powerful solution to those whose lives have been shattered by past abuses. The frequent references to Evolution in the book is humorous at first (like the dogmatic statements refering to the body of a free diver reverting back to it's pre-evolutionary fish state or whatever...and people laugh at my faith?), but become annoying and even sad that people can fall for such pseudo-science which dominates the humanistic faiths, physchology, and even the scientific world despite the scientific evidence that would have sent most of Darwin's theories into the past, dismissed as a myth, if people had not blinded themselves to the evidence, missing links and more plausible theories, just to justify their own sexual desires, which this book itself stresses the power such drive holds on people...kind of ironic? With all that said, I feel it was a well written book overall.

This was the first book I read by the author and it is incredibly well-written and a very intense but worthwhile journey.

Highly recommended!

The authors of this book ask the question, "Are you doing business on the Web? Or are you just on the Web?" According to the author, technology consultant Patricia Seybold, most companies have web sites that give some information about their company and their products. Today, customers are demanding much more from websites, they expect to be able to purchase on line, interact electronically, and be part of a community in cyberspace.

The main point of the book is to show companies that if they meet these expectations, they will grow. In order to achieve this growth, companies need to evaluate their customers. Specifically, they need to start with the basic question of who exactly are their end customers. What to these end customers want? What do these end customers expect from the company?

Once these questions are answered, it is important to develop the electronic structure that will serve the needs of the customers. Create a web site that not only has the basic information on the company and the product, but allows the customer to shop, order, purchase, and track delivery. Companies need to capture personal information by ensuring customers fill out an on-line profile. By collecting these profiles, it will help answer the previous questions and allow the company to better anticipate the needs of its customers.

The author also argues for designing or redesigning business processes from the outside in, specifically organized around your end customers, not around the products and services. The inside-out model, the one designed around products and services, will not work in today's e-commerce, according to the author.

Further advice includes making it easy for consumers to do business with the company, and they will help themselves to want they need. This will empower customers to make choices, thus they will have reasons to keep coming back. The author uses numerous examples to demonstrate how this is more difficult than it sounds. By reading about these companies' experiences combined with the solid advice offered, the reader will be taking the first steps to developing an effective e-business strategy.

Target the Right Customers
1. Focus your electronic commerce efforts on your most profitable customers.
2. In deciding what information to put out start with the most requested information your call centers put out.
3. Think about marketing offers you can make electronically that are not practically to do any other way.

Own the customer's total experience
1. Identify each step or business event where the customer is most likely to interact with your firm and streamline each of those steps.
2. Reassure the customer at each step
3. Capture the customers profile and off them the oportunity to change their profiles at any time and to select a set of profile defaults.
4. Give customers access to their entire transaction history.
5. Let the customer specify if they want proactive notification.
6. Recruit thousands of business partners who can represent your firm to customers
7. Make it easy for your suppliers to deal with you.
8. Focus on excellence in the customer experience.

Streamline business processes that impact the customer
1. Use online forums to overcome internal organizational barriers to success.
2. Use streamline electronic forms that are visible to all legitimate parties involved.
3. Make the right bets on technology

Provide a 360 degree view
1. Layout the groundwork
2. Start by focusing on the convenience of the customer
3. Target your most profitable customers
4. Use middleware to pull customer information together
5. Make sure the answers and information that your customer receives are identical
6. Don't let technology limit your vision
7. Begin by offerring information then transactions

Let Customers help themselves
1. Cooperation is the name of the game on the internet
2. Provide information on the web that helps the customer make a decision or answer a question
3. The best combination is where the person can access the information they want but get a person on the phone if needed.
4. Customers design their own products

Help the customer do his job
1. Make it your goal not to waste the customers time
2. The best website offer at least three different types of search engines
3. Keep track of what the customer looks for and does not find
4. Use electronic mail for targeted marketing
5. Listen to the customer tell you what they need to appear on their bills.
6. Make it easy as possible to help the customer help their customer use your product.

Deliver personalized service

Foster Community

With so much changes in the internet business, this is a good reading to understand how should you start, but new technologies are available now. This book was written in 98, so Patricia Seybold should rewrite.

Being a college student, I was at first reluctant to read Seybold's book as a class assignment. In hindsight, it's one of the best decisions I could've made. This book presents dynamic ideas that are being overlooked at universities today. Rather than focusing on the "how to's" Customers.com gives you the "why's" of the customer market. Talk about making me think! Not only did this book provide an excellent point of reference for class discussions, I found myself unconsciously transferring the knowledge into my job. One thing to take note of: THIS IS MORE THAN A TECHIES BOOK! Anyone in business will undoubtedly benefit from reading it. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!

Got this when it came out and gave it a read. Three years have passed and I just referred to it to support writing a paper on technology. The details are good and the higher level dialogue do a nice job of getting the message across without belaboring anything. If you are about the web and doing business, this is worth the bucks and time.

Maggie & CL and their friends feel like real people. I've enjoyed every Crusie book I could find (most of them). Crusie makes me laugh and cry - sometimes simultaneously. Part of her gift is to weave together the threads of ordinary lives that - as you get to know the people - become not so ordinary. The mundane and trivial turn out to be the tip of an iceberg of profound inter-relationship(s). Her characters experience moments and make decisions that range from the absurdly ridiculous to a pure-hearted aspiration to the sublime. And - just like for you and me - it can be hard to tell the difference until some time goes by. Crusie relates even deplorable thoughts/feelings with a true compassion for each person's struggle to live a meaningful life.

This was my first Jennifer Crusie book so I was not sure what to expect. She definitely did not disappoint! The book had a little bit of everything all rolled up into one. I did think the story dragged a bit in some areas, so I found myself skimming through some of the book (mostly Em's point of view). All in all though, definitely worth your time!

I couldn't sleep one night, and this was my entertainment from 11:30 pm to about 3:00 am. Lively, but shallow, this book was raunchy and outrageous. A lot of Cruisie's writing is a little on the crude side, so it's not for everyone. But it's a nice, fun, face-paced read if you're in the mood for some fluff with a little twist of mystery.

Just discovered Jennifer Crusie a month ago and this is my fav of all her books so far. This book I could not put down and it reminded me of a cross between Peyton Place and the three stoogies. Had me lol at Maggie.
I'm going to have to get the other combo book CRAZY FOR YOU/TELL ME LIES for I'm afraid that I demolished this book from re-reading it. I Loved her MANHUNTING and BET ME, liked her FAKING IT and am luke warm on her WELCOME TO TEMPTATION. Tracking down GETTING RID OF BRADLEY next.

Buy this book - loved it.

I love Jennifer Crusie. I have given 4 and 5 stars to four other books of hers, but this book was no fun at all. I disliked Maddie because she planned her actions based on what other people in her small town would say. She also lied too much. Everyone knew her husband hit her, but she continued to say she ran into a wall. She wouldn't tell her daughter the truth about her husband even though the daughter knew she was lying. She was being framed and set up for the murder of her husband. Yet when she found the gun and money in her car, she touched the gun and hid the money and gun for two weeks telling no one. That is one of my author pet peeves: an innocent person picking up a murder weapon, thereby putting their fingerprints on it. Maddie finds other evidence about her husband's shenanigans and detroys it. I hated the way she acted and thought. Therefore, I could not enjoy this story. Sexual language: moderate. Number of sex scenes: four. Setting: current day U.S. Copyright. 1998. Genre: romantic mystery.

2.5 stars, I think.

I should preface this review with two qualifiers. First, I'm not a diehard Linda Howard fan nor hater. I have no expectations, good or bad, when I see a book by her. I look at the synopsis, if I'm interested I read. If I'm not, I don't.

Second, I like flawed, less-than-perfect characters. Those who inhabit a world of grey rather than black or white and right or wrong. Some are considered anti-heroes. Others are sociopaths. Some are both. On occasion, even outright pure evil can can be appealing. So I had no problem with the protagonists being a killer and a, well, bimbo.

I think I've read a total of six of Howard novels, including this one. Two I've loved. One, I thought was just okay. Two others, I couldn't get into enough to finish. DEATH ANGEL falls somewhere in between the latter two categories.

It was pretty good up to the point where Drea "died", even though it got bogged down with way too much information about moving money. After this point, I was so not interested I basically skimmed the remainder of the book. Things picked up some when "Simon" revealed himself, but Howard had lost me with the near death experience and redemption theme. (What was so wrong with them before?)

But DEATH ANGEL has a bigger problems than a flawed theme - lack of character development and what there is makes little sense.

Why Drea flips out at being "given away" makes no sense. Yeah, being upset, makes sense. Getting so angry and wanting such great revenge doesn't. She was in the relationship with Salinas for what she could get. From her own thoughts, she made no pretense of being in love with him. She didn't even seem to like him much. She knew he didn't think much of her. That was her "plan", play dumb. She was arm candy just like she intended. He "gave her away", so what? They were both just playing their self-imposed roles. Feelings of humiliation and anger, I understand. So angry, she needed to "hit him where it hurts." Why? He ultimately owed her nothing just as she owed him nothing. She got the shopping and living in the lap of luxury, he got arm candy and laid. Payment for services rendered had been exchanged.

Drea's sudden change of heart after 4 hours of sex, even great sex, made even less sense. Fifteen years of clawing her way to something better was suddenly tossed out the window after a few orgasms? Huh? I get great chemistry and the desire to connect on a deeper level with a man, but "the assassin" was that man? The assassin, whom she liked even less than Salinas? That made no sense for such a "street smart" and calculating woman. Drea, if nothing else, was a realist, except when it came to this plot point. So it felt contrived.

An even greater tragedy was Howard's extreme lack of development of "Simon". He was half the story, yet we got absolutely no glimpse into what made him tick except a couple of sentences on the last few pages. No feeling as to why such a careful, calculating, practically-self-admitted sociopath would be capable of turning his life upside down for this woman. Sorry, "skin chemistry", as he called just didn't cut it. Simon could be a stick figure (one into tantric sex) for all the depth he had. (Oh yeah, four hours of sex and his final "release" was depicted like an after thought. Kind of a let down, no pun intended.)

It's unfortunate. This novel could have been some much better if it had been more about the characters involved.

Very different and not a 'fit' for all readers.

Loved it!

This book wowed me! Take one striking beauty with a taste for diamonds and dangerous men, Drea Rousseau is more than content to be arm candy for Rafael Salinas, a notorious crime lord. Until he hands her over for 5 hours to a cold-blooded assassin to do anything he desires as long as he doesn't harm her. For Drea this is the last straw. She makes a fateful decision and a desperate move, stealing a mountain of cash and running. Salinas knows she can't hide and he dispatches the assassin to kill her. Which results in a set of tragic events, that not only turns Drea's life upside down, but the assassins. This book has several surprising twists and turns. It also has a very different hero and heroine. I think you will be as surprised and pleased as I was with this different and unusual book.

When I look at Amazon.com reviews, a part of my personal process is to look at the spelling and grammar of the reviewers, to determine if they have the education to understand the material in depth. Usually, if reviewers with good writing abilities have reviewed a book highly, and those with less than optimal abilities review it badly, the book is worth reading.

Not so in this case!

I cannot determine the target audience of this novel. A part of the problem with this book is with the writing. I understand that sometimes thinking processes need to included, and in rare cases, explained in detail. However, not four times! If you removed the repetitive sections of this book, you may cut it down to between one-third to half its original size.

Quite frankly, it feels like Linda Howard's gender has changed within the last 5 years. This book feels like it was written by a male, who doesn't really understand the female psyche.

The overall feel of this book was cold; there was very little connection between characters. One round of impersonal sex (and since there was no communication between the characters, how could it be anything else?) does not create the relationship between the characters. Not that I am convinced that these characters could have a decent relationship with anyone; they are self-centered and self-obsessed.

The surreality of the death of the heroine half-way through the book was disruptive. The 'grip' of the story was lost, and didn't really return.

In the end, it came across as a half-Mary Sue from perhaps a new author, which is unexpected from a name like Linda Howard.

I wish I could give this "no stars". To sum it up, Bimbo Drea lives with Mobster. In payment for a job, Mobster lets Hitman have sex with Bimbo as payment for services. Bimbo enjoys sex with Hitman, but to get back at Mobster for letting Hitman have sex with her, Bimbo drains his bank account and runs. Mobster hires Hitman to find Bimbo.

I have to assume that Bimbo and Hitman meet up, fall in love, and live happily ever, because I couldn't finish reading the book.

New cultures have been emerging in the world computer network. Among these cultures are Amazon.com, eBay, Yahoo, and google. Amazon provided a computer communication network allowing members to read other members reviews. Amazon track individual preferences and buying patterns and offerred products appealing to those interests. There are pitfalls in mixing technology with human relationship. Amazon avoids some of the pitfalls by customizing a portal for their members allowing them to create lists, private and public reviews, and a network of friendship. The member has the option to communicate with the outside world or remain semi secluded. Amazon and eBay virtual community services bring enormous leverage to the ordinary citizen at extremely low costs. The latent technology must be used intelligently and deliberately by an informed public. The power of the virtual community is the ability to communicate through a public medium in some sort of dispersed decision making process. Net Gain is about the conceptual framework of this communication medium.

Notwithstanding the many new books on on-line communities, I still keep this book on my bookshelf as a useful reminder of the conceptual framework around which many new businesses - failed or otherwise - were subseqently developed.

It has been nearly six years since I attended a seminar organized by the consulting company McKinsey at which the two authors (both McKinsey consultants)presented their book and what seemed, at that time, to be its somewhat radical proposition about profitably developing self-organizing on-line communities around the passionate interests of their memberships.

As I become more familiar with Amazon and how it is organizing the community through which you are reading this and other reviews, I am reminded about the fundamental concepts that Hagel and Armstrong laid out in their book regarding the economics of virtual communities. Amazon attracts member-generated content which is a key part of its business model which uses the passionate interests of its own customer base to increase its business value. Many doubted the vailidity of this proposition when this book came out, but the evidence does appear to increasingly support it.

Arguably, many might now say that this book is dated, on-line businesses having mushroomed and failed since this book appeared, yielding new lessons that this book could not have foreseen. Many of its claims now seem overhyped.

While this and other criticims may all be well and true, I suspect that this book will come to be regarded in future business histories of the on-line business as one of the seminal pieces of strategic business thinking in the late 1990s. I shall keep it for posterity, if not profitability. In any case, there must now be enough second-hand copies for you not to have to make the investment at the full original cost!

Originally published in 1997, anyone fortuitous enough to follow the advice of the authors is most likely a major player in the "virtual community" space right now.

This book accurately predicted the future direction of eCommerce community building whose advice if followed would have built formidable barriers to entry for would-be competitors. The concepts presented are solid and have been proven right. While much of the online landscape has changed over the years, I still found the vast majority of this material relevant and useful.

It's a bit wordy, but I considered that a small price to pay for the information provided. I found the section on "Building a Virtual Community" particularly helpful insomuch as it discusses choosing the proper strategy for constructing the community, generating traffic, concentrating the traffic, and finally locking in the traffic for long-term economic benefit.

As presented, the book crystallizes a clear plan of attack for creating a community by breaking the task into manageable steps. This is a good book to get your thought processes - and project - heading in the right direction.

Both authors are from the esteemed McKinsey & Company. Even though released in 1997, this book has pretty much mapped out where we are now, and possibly to where the web will evolve regarding Virtual Communities. A community is started with an initial investment - a learning curve investment - then receives the positve network effects. The web is used for three basic purposes, to find content, to interact and to complete transactions. They discuss the 'critical mass' of memebers that a community must acheive before it becomes self-sustaining. They project a curve of this new web envirinoment of villages, constellations, coalitions, to finally infomediaries (a state yet to be achieved).

There are four factors of initial growth: the size of the potential community, the value of being online, the intensity of commerce, and the fractal depth of the community. The fractal depth is the number of possible sub-communities that can be developed through time.

Consumer-based communites are either geographical, demographic or topical. Business-focused communites are either vertical (same industry), functional, geographical, or in a particular business category that meets the needs of other businesses. The authors discuss the virtues of each of these.

A fast start-up would be aided by a strong brand name, established customer relationships, or content to keep browsers interested. Skills to get and retain members are key.

The first emphasis is on generating traffic, then concentrating traffic - convincing the browsers to spend time there - you must always be expanding the offerings and creating excitement through participation. One must then lock-in traffic. This can be done by fostering a relationship between members, improving community functions, and tayloring resources to individual members. Keep the sub-communities small. Give them resources to start additional sub-communites.

Sounds like they are right on track.

Five Stars

Hagel has co-authored two especially important books (with Arthur G. Armstrong III and Marc Singer, respectively), the other being Net Worth "which builds on a number of the themes originally developed" in this volume. As Hagel and Armstrong point out, Net.Gain "systematically [analyzes] the economic drivers for value creation that exist on networks. It [uses] one particular business model -- the virtual community -- to illustrate the unique capabilities of digital networks and how these might be harnessed to create a substantial business with very attractive economics." The material is carefully organized within three Parts: The Real Value of Virtual Communities, Building a Virtual Community, and Positioning to Win the Broader Game. Hagel and Armstrong also provide a "Management Agenda", followed by excellent suggestions for further reading.

In the Preface, Hagel and Armstrong acknowledge three inevitable limitations in writing Net.Gain: "The first arises from the profound uncertainties associated with evolving electronic networks and the myriad business models emerging in the primordial brew known as cycberspace....Second, the need to be concise has led us to make some generalizations about the likely evolution of virtual communities and the key principles for success....Third, we do not expect virtual communities to be the only 'form of life' on public networks. Indeed, many other commercial and non-commercial formats (including dictionaries, market spaces, 'web'zines,' corporate sites and game areas) will thrive on these networks as well." Working within these limitations, Hagel and Armstrong succeed admirably when describing the power and potential of the virtual community concept. Also, when explaining (a) how to target the kind of community to start-up; (b) the principles of a successful entry strategy, emphasizing the need to generate, engage, and lock in traffic over time; (c) characteristics of community organizations; and (d) criteria by which to select the right technology. Then in Part Three, Hagel and Armstrong shift their attention to explaining the fundamental ways in which the emergence and spread of virtual communities will alter traditional business.

My strong recommendation is that this book be read first, then Net Worth. My further recommendation is that both books be used to formulate the agenda for a workshop or what is generally referred to as an "executive retreat" (preferably for two days and located offsite) with all participants required to read both books in advance. In their Epilogue, Hagel and Armstrong suggest that "the most radical potential impact of the virtual community may well be its impact on the way individuals manage their lives and companies manage themselves. Communities will serve to connect, much like the postage system and telephone before them. But they will go several steps further than the telephone or fax, as they help the individual to seek out and find. Souls in search of relationship, colleagues in search of teamwork,, customers in search of products, suppliers in search of markets: the virtual community might have a place for them after all." Those who share my high regard for Hagel's two books (co-authored with Armstrong and Singer, respectively) are urged to check out Peter Senge's The Fifth Discipline as well as O'Dell and Grayson's If Only We Knew What We Know. Both can also help with the planning and implementing of the off-site workshop recommended earlier.