Blake Books

This book was a little different from the other anita books before it. I liked it alot. very detailed, and gory.

Looking for a good vampire book after reading Stephanie Meyer's Breaking Dawn, I dove headlong and joyously back into Anita Blake. This one was excellent, again, though it moves more into the long-term action of a series, rather than a one-shot stand-alone as the first books were. Being an epic fantasy fan, I prefer this kind of thing, because it helps keep the characters moving and growing and changing, but doesn't have to have them do it at too frenetic a pace, as happened in, say, Rachel Caine's Weather Wardens series.

This book focuses on three long-term plot threads, one past, one present, one future. For the past thread, it closes the circle started in the third book, Circus of the Damned, because Anita and Jean-Claude have to answer for killing the Earthmover, Mr. Oliver. The rule is that whoever kills a member of the vampire ruling council takes that council member's seat; since the only way to get on the council is to kill one of the current members, only Jean-Claude can take Oliver's place. However, he doesn't want to, and even though he declares it is because he knows he isn't strong enough and would only become the main target for anyone itching to get a seat (which is certainly true), I think his main reason for not wanting it becomes clear almost immediately after we meet two of the council members, the Traveler and the Master of Beasts. Jean-Claude doesn't want to be on the council because these people suck. They are horrid. They are cruel, they are obnoxious, they are arrogant beyond all measure, and worst of all, as Anita points out, they are petty: they worry overmuch about small issues of precedence, they take umbrage at any word that is not purely sycophantic, they attempt to dominate and control and degrade anyone and anything around them. They are the ultimate bullies, but sadly, they have the power to back it up -- power they waste almost completely, because all they do with it is run their petty little games and try to get a leg up in their eternal squabbles. This is the perfect example of the corrupting influence of power.

It was fun to read because Anita has a very salutary effect on the council members: she intimidates one, and manages to find and bring out a shred of decency and honor in the other, and she keeps them from doing too much harm to the supernaturals in Jean-Claude's domain -- which might as well be called her domain, as she continues to take on the role of protector for more and more of the supernaturals, which is the second major long-term plot thread this book follows. She becomes the official leader of the wereleopards, and takes on more of the role of lupa for Richard's pack, a role that gives her the power to fight off the council and be of some use to the werewolves when they need her. And they need her, because Richard has finally turned completely into a petty, vindictive shrew. Okay, okay, she dumped you. She wouldn't sleep with you, and she slept with another guy, a guy you don't like. It hurts, I understand. But come on, already! Richard is so bitter that he is enraged by everything that has to do with Anita; he keeps trying to flaunt himself in front of her -- one of those, "See what you're missing, baby?" posturing things -- and yet the slightest hint of Jean-Claude in her life throws him into a complete hissy-fit. He can't stand the idea of anyone trying to help or control his pack other than himself, and yet he is not capable of handling his pack, because he can't face his own beast and he's turned into such an angry, screaming rhymes-with-witch that he is a terrible leader. One who uses cruelty to get his way, despite all of his high morals, because he is taking out his own pissiness on everyone around him -- I feel bad for the students in his class. The future plot thread sets up the theme of Richard trying to deal with his role in the triumvirate, although all he really tries to do is make them hate him so much that they'll throw him out of the triumvirate and he can go wallow in his self-pity forever and ever and ever. It's pathetic. Anita actually helps him deal with his beast at one point, and she tries again and again to deal with his immaturity, but he won't let her, and he won't let go of any of his rage. Frankly, I can't wait until he is put in his place. They seem to be leaning towards replacing him, which would probably make everyone happy -- except Richard, of course, who will never be happy, never ever ever because Anita didn't sleep with him and that ruined his whole life -- but for that to happen, Richard would have to leave St. Louis or die, since I can't see the triumvirate including any were other than the leader of the pack (vroom vroom) and that has to be Richard, who can't handle either his responsibilities as pack leader or as Jean-Claude's wolf. Unless Richard abdicates -- which he won't, the arrogant putz -- or gets killed. Which would certainly make things easier.

But then, that is one of the most attractive things about this series. Things are not easy. It's kinda like real life, that way. So, here's to Anita, and I hope she muddles through. And personally? I hope Richard gets put down, hard. But I want him to live, shamed and humbled and broken. I want his outside to be as weak and childish as his inside. But maybe I'm just being petty. Oddly, I don't feel bad about that.

Anita Blake books are so good I updated my collection to the hardcovers because I wore my paperbacks out. This is a great series but it is for adult readers.

I love the Anita Blake series, so far each one is better than the last

Laurell K Hamilton certainly has a way with words - her books draw you in and the reader never knows quite where the story is going next. These books are all very unpredictable with unexpected events unfolding and an ever-widening cast of characters.

The ever-widening epithet also describes Anita Blake's powers and responsibilities. Not content with 'merely' being a necromancer, as the books in this series have unfolded she has gained position as a lupa (female alpha wolf), leopard pack leader, vampire human servant and more. However this reader has found that the more this series continues, the more abstract and distant Anita Blake seems. In the first few books it was possible to identify with her as a woman trying to hunt monsters and not to become one. However at this point in the story I have found that Anita has become someone fairly unlikeable with her idiosyncratic set of rules that just don't work for this reader.

This story contains all the complexity of the previous stories, if more. The love-triangle is settled for the moment so more time is spent on the difficulties of Anita's life as she juggles her varied tasks. She is asked to investigate a possible supernatural firestarter, she finds herself getting involved with were-leopard and werewolf politics and her lover, Jean-Claude, needs her help with the European Vampire Council. The level of violence in this book seems rather over-the-top at times and some aspects of the plot seem rehashed from previous books, plus I have serious doubts about Anita's sanity and her self-awareness as to her limits. The author's skill in telling the tale lift this book above many in this genre but I didn't feel it was a patch on the first four in the series.

Originally published for Curled Up With A Good Book © Helen Hancox 2008

I have to read this book for class, but it's sooo good I don't even mind it. Great story

This book was very motivational and taught me a great lesson in humility, perserverace, and hope. I would recommend to everyone!

I have read a few reviews that where readers preferred the Disneyfied movie to the strong and honest look at a real human life that Chris Gardner exposits in his book. That's a bit sad. I find his honesty refreshing and courageous in a world where many look askance on the rougher edges of our humanness while ignoring the courage it takes to reveal warts.

This book inspired me and is about to change my life. It is the portrait of a man who never succumbed to self pity in spite of many odds stacked against him. He did not give in to bitterness either. He blamed no one for his plight, simply pushed forward and found solutions to each crisis he faced. He has set an example for the many people of all races recovering from abusive childhoods.

It is not so easy to get the demons of low self worth and self pity out of your head when they have been placed there by parental figures and communities either convinced of their own moral superiority or simply exercising their own brand of ignorance over a childhood span of 18 years. It is a struggle, daily, until it is rebuilt and often times depends solely on the kindness of strangers who may or may not be from the polished set.

The fact that he prevailed from sheer dogged determination and a refusal to accept the labels others applied to him is a wondrous and beautiful thing and should spark hope into the hearts of those who know his story all too well from personal experience.

If you prefer the pristine bubble of a Disneyified existence, stick to the movie. If you are not afraid of the grit of human life and are not easily offended, read the book. It is far superior and much more satisfying.

If you're interested in reading the book because you saw and loved the movie, you should be forewarned that you will find the effect of the movie somewhat diluted here, and also that the movie's version of events matches in very few particulars the actual events of his life as recorded in his autobiography.

That said, the book provides much more background about Chris Gardner's life, and it is a fascinating and ultimately triumphant story--and, in the latter part of the story, his commitment to his son does shine through.

His idol-worshipping meeting with Nelson Mandela at the end is a bit much, but otherwise Gardner's story is told with admirable sincerity and intelligence. And best of all, he's completely unapologetic about pursuing material wealth and prosperity, and saying that these are part of his pursuit of happiness. People who've been dirt poor are typically more honest about things like that than the self-righteous idiots who've been comfortable all their lives and never really had to work and then tell us sanctimoniously that "money can't buy happiness"--true, it can't, but it sure helps.

And Chris Gardner's story is well worth the money.

If Chris Gardner had any morals I'm sure they wouldn't have come out in this book as he goes to great lengths to tell you every sexual exploit he's made in his lost, disgusting, immoral life. I couldn't finish it. Talk about all his sexual escapades! ...and his inability to keep his d**k in his pants, and worse still, his inability to keep a wife because of it! He's a moral black hole taking thousands of susceptible people with him into the depths of crude, rude, disgusting, immoral, sex addiction-type behavior. There's nothing HAPPY about this book!

I just threw mine away. If it would have fit in the toilet I would have flushed it. I'm sure it would have gotten stuck in the u-bend causing me even more misery to add to the misery I felt reading this life-sucking black hole of a book.

I am the mother of a two children, ages seven and five. We have read and reread nearly all of Roald Dahl's children,s stories. In general, I love this author. His stories are entertaining, even magical, and so beautifully written. When reading Dahl, I am always aware that my children are exposed to high quality literature with a richness of vocabulary and ideas. Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator is the only exception to our general delight with Roald Dahl. It is dark and lacks the sense of optimism, the charm, the magic of his other stories. Neither of my children enjoyed this book and I did not either. My advice would be to stop after Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and not pick up this sequel. Instead, grab Matilda, the BFG, or James and the Giant Peach and treat yourself and your kids to a real treasure!

Not as good as the original.


The takeoff into the Sequel of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is ok, but the rest doesn't live up to it, unfortunately.

You can save the kids this one and go for some of Dahl's other work, or just go through the first book again.

The space mission here isn't as much fun and doesn't offer as much clever commentary as the other book.

After reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to my 5 and 7 year olds, I got down my childhood copy of Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator. It made for a terrible read aloud! The plot was slow, the dialogue boring and I had to edit out some racist parts about China and the Chinese. We all decided to abandon the read aloud after Chapter 5. Very disappointing! I was actually surprised to still find the book in print!

Actually, in comparison with the first book (Charlie and the chocolate factory) this book is definitely not as good. I did however read it in 2 days because I wanted it to be done in a matter of time for school, and, I couldn't put it down. This book does not have as much adventure because it's in space and then taking wonka vites and Vite Wonkas and so on and so forth. This book did keep your attention and of course, was written by roald dahl which makes it superior.

Because my children dearly loved Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, I could not have been more delighted to find a sequel. I bought it as soon as I discovered it, and proceded to read it to my daughter. My son then proceded to read the book himself.

As I read it to my daughter, we were both very disappointed. We had hoped to discover what happened as Charlie learned about running the Chocolate factory and ultimately how he took over. Instead, we found some sort of a creepy science fiction type of story, complete with very frightening aliens. Neither one of us enjoyed the book very much.

My son read the book and had nightmares about the aliens for months afterwards. He wrote a book report on it and stated that he did not like the book in his report. (I wonder why?)

While I certainly recommend the first book, I cannot recommend this one at all. It isn't fun to read and just isn't the kind of story most of us are looking for after Charlie won his factory.

Had wanted to read this for about 15 years, but it's funny how more books are published and then you have to read them? How 'bout that? This book has been out six centuries, so I guessed another 15 years would not hurt me. Chaucer's facility with language, his ability to rhyme, his familiarity with the human condition, and his ability to link the human conditions to elements of people's trades and careers at this time truly make this book one which paved the way for many other satires, multi-person narratives, and rich, nuanced tales of particular events at particular times.

This book is endlessly satisfying. I found Chaucer's poetry to be very intelligent, with allusions to the work of the day, to cultural references, to fashion, to religious beliefs, to prominent figures in the world at that time, and most of all, to allowing his imagination not to be limited by expectations on the limits of his writing. The stories in the book come via the relating of experiences told by travelers on their way to Canterbury. At times, the stories are considered too dry or too preposterous or perhaps they are too derivative. But Chaucer imbues the multiple characters, the minister's wife, the metalworker, the barrister, the civil servant, with characters who respond as mentioned to stories, if the stories are not seen to be up to scratch. Many of the stories concern sexual hijinx. Some concern convoluted family relations, some concern work concerns. Chaucer's currency with the lives and ways of many in 14th century England make the book rich and satisfying. He was a master poet and it seemed that Chaucer enjoyed spinning these tales for the more privileged who would have read this book at first. It is not surprising, however, that the book has remained current. The interests, themes, and topics from which Chaucer very ably spins his tales remain relevant today.

I bought this book as a gift for my sisters birthday. It was on her wishlist, yet neither of us realized it is a coffee table sort of book. Maybe neither of us read the review carefully! Either way, we were both happy with the quality and the illustrations inside our beautiful.

The only negative was that it arrived with one of the corners a little smushed.

I bought this book as a challenge of my English understanding a couple of years back.
I have started reading it but lost the enthusiasm after about the third of the book, and I didn't continue. Its a hard read, and you have to constantly look up Middle English words (there is a dictionary at the back, but I didn't find out about it till much later).
In the future I plan to buy a translated version (either into modern English or Hungarian).

What would it be like if you had to make a very long journey on horse back? Pretty boring, right? But what if someone had the brilliant idea of telling stories on the way there? That would make the trip go a lot faster. This is the premise of the Canterbury Tales. There are a lot of people who all want to go to the shrine of St. Thomas a Becket at Canterbury Cathedral. They all met at a pub when the pub owner said that they should all tell one story on the way there and one on the way back. The version of the Canterbury tales only consists of four of the one hundred twenty eight that were told.
The first story that is told by the Nun's priest. This story is about a poor widow who lives on a farm. As you get further in this story it starts retelling the story of a chicken and a hen. This chicken had many wonderful hens around him. "This noble rooster ruled over seven hens, whose work it was to please him. They were his sisters and his wives." (pg. 20) But there was one hen named Lady Pertelote that he liked the most. One night he had a dream about a fox eating him. The next morning he told Lady Pertelote and she thought it didn't mean anything. A couple of days later a fox tricked him to shut his eyes and then the fox snuck up behind him and snatched him in his mouth. He was saved by the widow.
The next person to tell was the pardoner. His story was about greed. There were three people who were searching for death because they heard of all the horrible things he had done and wanted to kill him. While on their way they met an old man who told the men, "If you're so anxious to find Death, turn up this crooked road. I left him in that grove, under a tree and there he'll stay." (pg. 41) So that's what they did. When they got there they saw a sack full of gold and decided not to chase after Death but take the gold by night. They decided for one of them to go into the city and get wine to celebrate. The person that went was the youngest of them all. While he was gone the two thought up a plan to kill the third one so that they only had to split the money between them. The third boy wanted the money all to himself so he poisoned two of the bottles of wine and left one free of poison for himself. As he got the tree the two men killed him and they celebrated by drinking the wine and they died too. In the end they all got there wish. They met Death.
Those two were my favorite and the next two are by the Wife of Bath and the Franklin. The wife of Bath is about a man who threatens the life of another if they don't tell him what women want. The franklin's tale is about women who loved a man who left her and she was very sad. Nothing could make her feel better. If you want to know what happens at the end of these stories you'll have to read the book.
Historically this book is very good. It is based in the year of 1386. It show the life style of people who lived in the middle ages. It taught me that not all people were rich back then. It is historically spot on but the thing about this book is because it was written in the middle ages all the living conditions are right but it's very whimsical. Chickens can't talk, and Death isn't a person. In a way it shows how people thought back then. It tells us that some people might have wanted to meet death. Maybe in a physical way because they wanted to die or they just wanted to see someone death took away from them.
The reason I liked this book was because of the old English. I like taking in the metaphors and deciphering it. If you like Shakespeare then you'll most likely like this book. It is very whimsical and magical. It shows the people in the middle ages in a very metaphorical way. This book shows how life can be mystical and great even when you don't except it.

Please note: The Bantam version (translated by Hieatt) only contains the most popular of the Tales. (Use the "Inside this Book" feature to check the table of contents, as I, alas, did not.) The facing page translation is just what I was looking for, but really wanted the complete set.

I usually don't go for all the books about Diana, Jackie, and other celebrities. However the author has written a concise book about the making and death of a Princess. It details how Diana fell in love with Charles, and then how the marriage soured. Then it details her after marriage relationships with other men including Dodi. The last half of the book details the relationship with the press, and how the accident fell in place after a number of variables. These include a defective car, a drunk driver with emotional problems, and Dodi trying to escape the grasp of the press. The accident resulted in the death of three of the occupants of the car.

This is a surprisingly good read. The flow of the book was excellent, and Andersen went through and connected all the pieces. The author places all the information into a easy to read account of the death of Diana.

The book has a gossipy tone, and it portrays Queen Elizabeth II in an extremely poor light. For example, the author makes a big deal over the flagpole at Buckingham Palace and the Queen's alleged initial refusal to fly the flag at half mast. That flagpole is for the Royal Standard. When the Queen is home, the Royal Standard (not the Union Jack) flies full. When the Queen is not home, the flagpole has nothing on it. Merely following that tradition is not a sign of disrespect, except in the minds of people who are not knowledgeable.

The book describes Diana and Mother Theresa as "two humanitarians." Give me a break. Mother Theresa did far more for the poor in a day than Diana did in her whole life. Shaking hands with an AIDS patient (as a lawyer meeting clients, I have done that lots of time) or spouting the liberal view on land mines does not qualify a person as "humanitarian." It is a genuine shame that Mother Theresa, after a lifetime of dedicated service to the poor, had the misfortune to die in the same week as Diana, and, as a result, be virtually ignored.

"No single event in history had ever been witnessed by so many people at one time. Across the globe, an audience of more than 2.5 billion watched the solemn progress of Diana's cortege through the silent streets of London and the funeral service at Westminster Abbey."

This aspect gives the book a little gravitas -- the sheer impact of her fame and her death's interplay with her influence worldwide. This book was a fast read (2 days). The real value of the book comes, I think, from Andersen's reportage of the details in the opening of the book of what happened in the hospital in Paris right after she died: how Prince Charles reacted to viewing her body, how no one could find any clothes to put on her (since her pants and top had been cut off her in the ambulance and Mohammad Al Fayed had had all of her things immediately removed from Dodi's Paris apartment) so in the coffin on the way back to England she wore a dress from the British Ambassador's wife's closet, how the hospital had taken privacy precautions against the press, etc. The second part of the book that is interesting here distinctly is the last section, which dissects the events leading up to the crash (the driver Henri Paul's drinking problem and psychological state), the explication of exactly how the crash happened, who came on the scene first, how Diana was treated at the scene, her injuries, what she may have said (according to Andersen, her last intelligible words were, "Oh, God, what's happened?"), and how a variety of interplaying factors led to the deaths of Paul, Fayed and Diana. For example, if she had been wearing her seatbelt, which she almost always did, she probably would have walked away from the accident, and how, ironically, of all the people who got in the car that night, she was probably best qualified to drive it. This section and the first seem to contain the real reportage of the book.

The middle section about her life appears to have a lot of recycled material in it, that if you've followed Diana stories and books, you've probably read this before (and to be fair, this may be just because I've read this six years after its publication). Morton's earlier Diana: Her True Story is quoted along with other somewhat accepted sources on the subject of her life. There are some tidbits, such as the assertion that Diana was set to star in a second Bodyguard movie with Kevin Costner, and that whilst Dodi was preparing to propose to her, no one who knew her well believed she would have accepted. While Andersen seems pretty objective in not portraying the princess as a saint, noting that she cut people out of her life when they said something to her she didn't want to hear, he does leave out of his book some well-traveled stories that paint her in a bad light (such as the comment she made to princes William and Harry's nanny post divorce that hinted that the nanny had had an abortion), or he glosses the negative trends in her life, living too much by (bad) instinct, her immaturity, etc.

I thought that this book was going to be more serious reportage on the accident. While it did contain that element, it was really a book about her life, with all the usual suspects included. Really, the stuff that's new here is about the day Diana died. The rest seems somewhat tired.

When I first heard about this book coming out, I was afraid it would be a tasteless and exploitative piece of paparazzi trash exploiting the death of a beautiful woman. However, I was more than impressed and pleased with the way the author combines hour by hour events on the day Diana died with background on her life and relationships. Diana was one of my favorite celebrities ever, not just for her beauty and elegance but for what she survived through and the fact she was such a good mother. This book combines all of those elements and also gives us a window into what happened on the day she died. One of the only tasteful and well-written books to come out after her death...

I found this book to be incredibly informative and a fascinating read, which I read almost in one sitting. Instead of the usual tawdry gossip of most Diana biographies, it describes exactly, and in fascinating detail, about the events that led up to her death, the day she died, and the ensuing mourning that followed. We are made privy to details we never knew, and they are very essential details, in my opinion.

To me, the most interesting and ironic part of this entire tragedy is that Diana lay in the hospital in Paris, dead, with nothing to wear. Prince Charles and Diana's two sisters were on their way from London, and the world's most famous and well-dressed woman literally had nothing to wear. The clothes she had been wearing when she died had been torn from her body by doctors who were attempting to revive her. Her luggage had been whisked back to London by a paranoid Mohammad Feyed. And, here was the world's most glamourous woman, at death, being forced to wear a dress donated by the wife of the English Ambassador to France. This irony is just one of many sad ironies and twists of fate in this account.

We learn of the behind-the-scenes machinations leading up to Diana's funeral, the conflict between Prince Charles and his mother, the Queen, and how Diana's boys reacted. Prince Charles is definitely painted in a much brighter light than ever before. I was absolutely fascinated by this book, and I think it is well worth reading.

What more needs to be said huh? When you watch the movie, as the music kicks in, you are transported not just in mind but also in body to a place that none of us were able to see first hand. The way the Indians (excuse me, I meant Native Americans although Clovis People are the real Natives, but that's another topic for another day) are portrayed as the good guys and the whites as the bad guys truly hits home.
The best of the best include Dances with Wolves, Lord of the Rings, Gone with the Wind. If stranded on an island, those are the three titles and movies I would want with me. I suppose you can add Raiders of the Lost Ark to this list as well as Star Wars. Combined, what is that like 100 Oscars between all those movies.

I have not yet read the book but I will as soon as I get through my other 50 or so books I have bought in the last 6 months. The thing of it is, what really drives Dances w/Wolves is the music in the movie. It just makes your heart swell with hope that one day true love may find us.

A friend recently gave me a copy of the "Dances With Wolves" movie (one of my favorites since seeing it years ago) and the book which I had never read. After a repeat viewing of the movie, I read the book.

The main reason I normally prefer the book versions of a story is that one gets to know the thoughts and feelings of the main characters that embellish each scene and are actually sometimes needed to understand the full scope.

This reason especially applies in the case of "Dances With Wolves," written by Michael Blake. The main character is alone with only his horse, the infrequent visits of a lone wolf and his brief journalized thoughts for company until his company includes a nearby camp of Indians. As the beautiful and memorable story transpires amidst a language barrier, one is privy to a richness of behind-the-scenes depth the movie version is limited in presenting.

There are a few variations between the movie and the book, including the ending (and I prefer the ending of the book), but if you liked the movie, you will love the book.

I saw the movie only once and it was good, but this book was way better! I can't wait to read Holy road.

Michael Blake's book Dances With Wolves is a great read, and one that I really enjoyed. The story is about Lt. John Dunbar, a lieutenant in the Union army during the Civil War. After being sent to an abandoned post by a drunk General Lt. Dunbar is forced to live on his own without anybody knowing that he is stationed at Fort Sedgwick, due to the fact that the guy that drove him out there was killed on the trip back, and the General was admitted into a mental hospital. Living on his own Lt. Dunbar befriends the Comanche Indians living just down the river from him, after they try to steel his horse. And that sends him on a trip through life that will cause him to change forever.
I thought that Michael Blake did an excellent job of developing the characters, especially Lt. Dunbar, Stands With a Fist, and Kicking Bird. I personally felt like I knew these characters after I was about halfway through Dances With Wolves, I was even into predicting what each character would do next. I guess the fact that I was able to do that means that the book was some-what predictable, but that doesn't change the fact that it has a good plot.
Dances With Wolves has a great theme, saying that however alone you feel or think you are, there is always somebody around that you can befriend. You can see this in Dances With Wolves when Lt. Dunbar realizes that he is alone at Fort Sedgwick and that there are no replacements coming back. Which made him feel utterly and completely alone, even pushed him into depression. Then the Comanche Indian kicking Bird found him and his camp, and this started that process of Lt. Dunbar and the Comanche Indians befriending each other.

The Costner movie based on this book is one of my favorite movies ever, so it was only natural for me to pick this book when I saw it. As most would agree, the movie is NEVER as good as the book, so I quickly surmised that, since the movie was fabulous, the book must reach vast unknown limits of greatness, right? Well, not exactly. Michael Blake's writing of DANCES WITH WOLVES is certainly a good book and a wonderful story, it is Costner's ability to turn this story into such a brilliant production that is the real achievement here.

I have found that normally, if I like a movie and read the book afterwards, it serves to enhance what I saw on film. In this case, however, the book had somewhat the opposite effect for me. There are differences between the two that only seem to diminish Costner's work. A couple of things I knew already, such as Costner's use of the Indian Chief, Ten Bears, who I knew to have been a great Comanche, not a Sioux.

Well, as it turns out, the book is written to that effect. The Indians befriended by Lt. Dunbar and portrayed in the movie as Sioux, are actually Comanche. Now I can understand the alteration here, for a couple of reasons. First of all, though most Americans are notoriously ignorant of our rich history, for the most part, people do know the Comanche were the badest of the bad and it would be an increased degree of difficulty to portray the Comanche in a positive light as being rather passive and wanting only to be left alone to live in peace. Though the Sioux were hardly any more docile, their reputation is certainly not nearly as notorious. Also, for cinematic reasons, it's certainly understandable that the domain of the northern Sioux is a more picturesque backdrop that the barren plains of the Southern Comanche. Also, the Sioux language of the movie has a more poetic feel to it and is somewhat more widely recognized than the rather obscure Shoshonean spoken by the Comanche.

I hope I haven't given the wrong impression here. This is a very enjoyable read, though it is a rare occasion where the book was not nearly as enjoyable, for me at least, as was the movie.

Monty Rainey
www.juntosociety.com

Esio Trot is a fun little book which takes virtually no time to read. It initially captivates the reader with romance in later life and what the man enthralled with a woman will do in order to win her. And this is where the fun begins as well as the zany plot that will captivate the younger audiences for whom this tale was written.

As I said, the story is fun, but far too silly to take any more seriously or be any more enjoyable than the least enjoyable Dr. Seuss book. I was very disappointed that Mrs. Silver never learns the truth behind Mr. Hoppy's exploits. I realize it's meant for children, and therefore many may say that the moral themes are not that serious. But my position is that the moral themes of a children's story are all the more serious if for no other reason than that it is a children's story.

All that to say, check it out of your local library and have a brief period of fun. But afterward I would recommend much more enjoyable and rewarding literature like THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA, the Puffin Classics, or even such contemporary favorites as HOLES.

This book was actually a disappointment, Dahl seems to be saying that deceit in order to achieve one's ends is acceptable. Though it sends a wrong message, it is entertaining to read.

Humorist Roald Dahl and illustrator Quentin Blake have teamed up to produce a delightful senior romance. Now, if you are expecting to meet a character hint ed at in the title, forget it, for ESIO TROT is not a name--nor a person--at all. Elderly Mr. Hoppy has a secret crush on his below-balcony neighbor, Mrs. Silver, but how can he earn her gratitude-- and hopefully more--when he is too shy to invite her up for tea?

Desperate to make a favorable impression the gentleman concocts a clever scheme to ingratiate himself with the lady. He courts her by appealing to her devotion to her pet tortoise, Alfie. With great patience and mechanical ingenuity this bashful suitor sets out to win his sweetheart. Literary Disclaimer: No turtles were harmed during the writing of this short, light-hearted read. For kids of all ages!

If you don't bother to think about this story, then it is a whimsical little tale (only 55 pages) about a couple of elderly people who have unusual character traits and who end up getting married and living happily ever after. How sweet, just the thing to entertain young malleable minds.

But what is really going on here?

Let's start with Mr. Hoppy, who is retired and who has always been a lonely man and is very shy. Presumably he has never been married. He loves gazing down on Mrs. Silver when she is out on her balcony, which conveniently juts out a good bit further than Mr. Hoppy's balcony.

As for the widow Mrs. Silver, she tells Mr. Hoppy, "I'll be your slave for life" if he can tell her how to make her beloved pet tortoise Alfie grow faster. "Size, of course, was everything," as it says a few pages later.

"Back in his flat, Mr. Hoppy was simply quivering all over in excitement. 'Your slave for life', he kept repeating to himself. What bliss!"

Hmm, time to call in Freud?

So Mr. Hoppy devises a deceitful plan whereby he convinces Mrs. Silver that she should recite a silly incantation to Alfie three times a day. Mrs. Silver is gullible enough to believe this.

Mr. Hoppy then snatches Mrs. Silver's beloved Alfie from the balcony below, and lowers a slightly larger tortoise to replace him. He repeats this operation eight times over the next two months. Mrs. Silver is sure that Alfie has grown due to Mr. Hoppy's incantation that she is still reciting to "Alfie" three times a day.

"You're a miracle-man, you are indeed!" says Mrs. Silver.

"Mrs. Silver, please will you marry me?" blurts out Mr. Hoppy.

As for the illustrations, Mrs. Silver is shown to be a plump and well-endowed woman who favors low-cut dresses. Several drawings show the splendid view that Mr. Hoppy has from his vantage point on the balcony above. No wonder he loves leaning over his balcony-rail and gazing down on Mrs. Silver.

The moral of the story? All's well that ends well.

Rennie Petersen

Hi I'm Elyssa I'm in 2nd grade. I'm 7 years old. I just finished reading Esio Trot .It is about a man named Mr.Hoppy. Who loves a woman named Ms.Silver.Ms.Silver has a pet tortoise that she wants to grow so Mr.Hoppy gives her a piece of paper that says some weird words.I like this book because it is funny. I think the funniest part of this book is when Mr.Hoppy gives Ms.Silver the piece of paper and Ms.Silver says there are an awful lot of poos in there aren't there? I love Roald Dahl books. My favorite Roald Dahl book is Matilda. Matilda is a little girl who can read all the books in her house by the age of 3.I recommend both Matilda and Esio Trot for ages 7 and up. I wish I could tell you the ending .But you'll have to read the book to find out.

Having read other reviews on this DVD,re picture quality, content and sound I do not think I would purchase the DVD considering the comments. The CD seems to be the one to buy and get quality for sound plus, from this fantastic musician and guitarist.

A must for Clapton Fans.. Keeps the beat in your soul jumping and groovin the whole show. FANTASTIC buy this and get rockin

I love the songs on this DVD, though I'm not a huge fan of the orchestra section. One thing that does bother me is the 3 seconds between camera cuts. For example, during a 30 second solo, the viewer will jump back between the audience, backup singers, pianist, bassist, and finally Clapton.

First things first. I'm not the only one who ever saw Clapton, but I've seen a lot of concerts. I saw this show in New York. He played so long that we left (some had to work the next day) but his guitar playing wasn't good, great or fantastic. It was simply mesmerizing. He played for four hours (from what I could gather).

But for a DVD (or live cd) I suppose the artist has to fit some format (like keep each song under 15 minutes) for it to be packaged right for sale. Most live shows are "cut", I'm sure the artist knows they are filming for a recording and things have to be kept tight.

"24 Nights" is as close to a live Clapton show you will ever see. The DVD shows him playing. A lot of close up solo work--which , let's face it, is why you go to see Clapton! There are no interviews. There are no shots of the audience, There are no people holding lighters in the air.

Contrary to other "reviewers" that bemoan the fact that the dvd is not the same recording as the soundtrack album, I think that is a good thing for the reasons I mentioned. If you want a good sound, get the CD recording I guess, but if you want to see what a Clapton show is (or was) like, take a look here! It is really pretty close! Remember, a DVD requires you to SEE! We shouldn't be discussing sound quality here....and another thing.....the sound is not bad...this isn't a bootleg or anything.....maybe just not up to techno-geek requirements.

Bytheway, if I could get the real soundtrack to this dvd-(rather than the cd recording), I would. I consider it to be superior to the cd for the solo work.

Mind you, I am a guitar player who named his first son after Mr. Clapton so I may be biased (hahaha) but he plays so well, and there is so much to see, in terms of his playing, that I cannot watch the whole show in one sitting. It is like too much chocolate. I have to rest in the middle.

This is a fine recording of Claptons fabled London Albert Hall concerts from the early 90's.

Starting with the 4 piece band you get:
Running on Faith
White Room
Sunshine of your Love

Then the Blues Band:
Watch Yourself
Have you ever loved a woman
Worried life blues

Then the nine piece band:
Pretending
Bad love
Old Love
Wonderful Tonight

The Orchestra and band:
Bell Bottom Blues
Hard Times
Edge of Darkness

This all done very professionally and there are some great moments interspersed with just a few I could have done without. The live version of the 'Edge of Darkness' theme is tremendously powerful, and the Blues set is my favourite overall. This has Jonnie Johnson on Piano and Robert Cray and Buddy Guy on Guitar.

Well worth buying overall.

Simple and a quick read...good message (depending on your perspective, I suppose) to love all creatures and have empathy.

ISBN 0590132059 - It seems like every childrens' book I read these days has something to merit a note for the crazy parents. This one is no different. If you're a parent who thinks magic is somehow linked to evil, pass this one up. If you're a parent who's going to be bothered by an anti-hunting message (for real, they exist), go read something else.

The nameless narrator of The Magic Finger tells a story about her neighbors, the Greggs, who enjoy hunting for sport - much to her dismay. Having begged them to stop, she reaches the end of her rope and "puts the magic finger on them all!" in anger. The next morning, the family has begun to turn into ducks, growing wings where their arms had been. At first, the idea of flying makes this change somewhat appealing, but that changes quickly as the Greggs spot four ducks moving into their house - leaving them without food or shelter! They must learn to fend for themselves as ducks until an agreement is reached with the new "people" living in their house.

There's more than one message in this book - first, the repercussions of not controlling your anger, as our narrator discovers when her magic finger is the cause of more than one incident. Second, the anti-hunting theme, which doesn't state that no one should ever hunt. It just says the girl is bothered by the Greggs' hunting for fun. Third, the family reaches an understanding of how the ducks felt, showing that at least trying to see things from someone else's viewpoint is good. There's plenty here, in this tiny book, to talk about with your child! Worth a read for parent and child alike.

In this book, a little girl about 8 years old lived on a farm. She was an ordinary little girl with a magic finger that could turn stuff into what she wanted it to be. The Gregg family lived next door and they loved to hunt for geese, squirrels and other wild animals for fun. The little girl loved animals and didn't want to see them hurt. It made the little girl angry every time she would see them leave to go hunting. She tried to talk to the Greggs and convince them to stop killing the wild animals, besides they had a right to live too. They only laughed at her and continued to hunt. This made the little girl even more angry and with a flick of her finger a curse was cast upon the Gregg family. The next morning as the Greggs' woke up they discovered they had wings instead of arms. The hunters had become the hunted. This book was good for learning lesson on treating others, whether human or animals, as you want to be treated. I love animals so this book had great meaning to me. My favorite character was the little girl because at times I wish I had a magic finger too! An easy, fun book to read for anyone with an imagination.

In this book, a little girl about 8 years old had a magic finger that she would turn stuff into what she wanted to. The Gregg family lived next door and they loved to hunt for geese, squirrels and other wild animals for fun. The little girl loved animals and didn't want to see them hurt. It made the little girl angry every time she would see them leave to go hunting. She tried to talk to the Greggs and convince them to stop killing the wild animals, besides they had a right to live too. They only laughed at her and continued to hunt. This made the little girl even more angry and with a flick of her finger a curse was cast upon the Gregg family. The next morning as the Greggs' awoke they all found out they had wings instead of arms. The hunters had become the hunted.
This book was good for learning a lesson on treating others, whether human or animals, as you want to be treated. I have alot of love for animals so this book had great meaning to me. My favorite character was the little girl because at times I wish I had a magic finger too! An easy, fun book to read for anyone.

In this book, a little girl about 8 years old lived on a farm. She was an ordinary little girl with a magic finger that could turn stuff into what she wanted it to be. The Gregg family lived next door and they loved to hunt for geese, squirrels and other wild animals for fun. The little girl loved animals and didn't want to see them hurt. It made the little girl angry every time she would see them leave to go hunting. She tried to talk to the Greggs and convince them to stop killing the wild animals, besides they had a right to live too. They only laughed at her and continued to hunt. This made the little girl even more angry and with a flick of her finger a curse was cast upon the Gregg family. The next morning as the Greggs' woke up they discovered they had wings instead of arms. The hunters had become the hunted. This book was good for learning a lesson on treating others, whether human or animals, as you want to be treated. I love animals so this book had great meaning to me. My favorite character was the little girl because at times I wish I had a magic finger too! An easy, fun book to read for anyone with an imagination.

The tough as nails Vampire hunter we loved in Guilty Pleasures is here in full color.
The first 6 comic books as one in Hard Back cover... What else can you ask for?
The next 6 of course.
Here we are introduced with Jean Claude, Aubrey, Nikolaos and Death himself - meaning of course Edward - in the freak party...
Hope you will enjoy it as much as I did.

I hadn't even read any of Ms. Hamilton's books until I saw there was a comic book out about Anita Blake. So I read a few novels and then bought this graphic novel and must say it stay very true to the story and the artwork is wonderful. Personally I love the characters, and feel they were well drawn and well represented.

This graphic novel is almost the =valent to watching a movie, and then reading the book for more details. I heard about the graphic novel b/c the subject was on vampires, so i read it then got the novel and tried to read that up until the ending of the graphic novel which is issue #6. Now I've read the novel 3 times over. Great book! This graphic novel helps with the visualizations because I couldn't remember names well in the book for some reason. I just wasn't forming that rapport, which sucks because that's why i at first didn't rate the books/novels high. Bad descriptions/andor too many characters, so this book helps you visually IDENTIFY characters better. From the alternate #1 cover you also get a glimpse of what Anita will face in her series (comic goes to book 3 so far).
The only negatives about the graphic novel is the lack of narrative captions. Some pictures I guessed what happened but it wasn't given a box at the top of the panel. For instance the first few pages has a vampire rushing his arm towards Anita, they should have said that, because the drawing was only one panel. They should have had the hand down then go up if they didn't wanna talk about it. Also with the Rat King there should have beeen a caption about how "Anita noticed a tattoo of a crown on his arm". That's the downsides to the comics. The artwork is looking more cartoony as well (7,8, 9) which they need to work on. Simple changes like don't have the character smiling or looking happy if getting attacked, artists!!!!!! Ohhhh there's a backstory in this about what life used to be like before the act that declared vamps legal citizens.

Once upon a time, before the Anita Blake series became cheap porn with surreally well-endowed vampires and werethingies, there was "Guilty Pleasures."

And like many a successful fantasy/horror novel before it, Laurell K. Hamilton's breakout horror/fantasy story has been adapted into graphic novel form, with "Guilty Pleasures, Vol. 1" compiling the first six issues of her first novel. The results... are not so good. Slack-paced and self-indulgent, it comes across as a goth teen's daydreams, wrapped in indifferent artwork that doesn't seem quite to match the storyline.

Anita Blake is a vampire hunter and an animator, able to raise zombies from the dead. Nickname: the Executioner. She also isn't too fond of vampires or werecreatures, even though St. Louis is swarming with them. So when a vampire acquaintance comes to hire her, she turns him down. But at a bachelorette party, she soon finds herself hip-deep in vampire politics -- and a dangerous enemy who is trying to kill her.

Things only get more complicated when she ends up facing the Master of the City, the deceptively childlike Nikolaos, and a dungeon full of wererats. To find who is offing vampires in St. Louis, she'll need to relax her "no vamps" rule -- and join forces with the mysterious, seductive Jean-Claude. But as she investigates further, she finds herself delving into the dark world of vampires, and the "freaks" that worship them....

This graphic novel is pretty faithful to the original novel, sticking closely to Hamilton's storyline -- which admittedly is tough, since the whole mystery is only pursued in random fits and starts. Stacie M. Ritchie and then Jess Ruffner provide some pretty good adaptation of the first-person dialogue ("You don't have to be undead to be evil, but it helps"), which is never easy.

But... a big but...

A graphic novel is more than its words -- it's art too. Brett Booth has done some decent artwork in the past, but he doesn't seem to have his heart in this one, perhaps because Hamilton oversaw the entire process. Parts of it are decent at the core, but the little details make it silly, including the cartoonish illustrations (Anita's GIANT lips, which make Angelina Jolie's look positively skinny) in a realistically-drawn comic.

In fact, these become more prominent as the comic proceeds. Often the action described doesn't match the illustrations (while thinking, "I'm not a coward," Anita huddles down and wrings her hands). And we get other visual quirks, like giant thick thighs -- they pop up on lots of people like Anita and the rat king, but Madge's enormous thunder thighs (each is thicker than her waist) are the funniest thing in the whole book.

Anita Blake herself is the most comically drawn -- she's as pale as an albino, has ultra-red lips, and ridiculously curly hair. The hair is the biggest distraction since it's always snaking down over her eyes and occasionally drapes itself six inches in front of her face. And her personality cannot make up for the artwork -- she acts less like a tough, gutsy vampire hunter and more like a sulky Hot Topic teenager. Her "tough" one-liners, which she lobs at all the wrong people, don't hurt this impression.

Perhaps as a reflection of Booth's own mood, our doughty, not-too-bright protagonist also always looks bored -- even when pinned to the ground by a vampire, she looks incredibly bored. Worse, her eye-rolling facial contortions make her look even more alien.

Nor does it help that Jean-Claude looks exactly like a breastless Anita, right down to the pasty chalk-white skin and artificially flowing black hair. That might be okay, if he had a personality beyond "sexy French dude." The other characters don't fare that well either: Bert looks like a blond Frankenstein's Monster, Philip looks like he's covered with herpes, and the deadly Edward looks like a wide-eyed pervert. And the lethal Nikolaos looks like a Disney heroine, which I don't think was the intention.

"Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter: Guilty Pleasures" takes on a mildly entertaining fantasy book, and transforms it into a thoroughly tepid graphic novel. Interesting for completists, but an exercise in lackluster art for all others.

I hate to do this for many reasons. One, because this book was expensive. Two, because I liked Guilty Pleasures as a novel. Three, because I'm already considering giving up on the "Anita Blake" series altogether, and this comic adaptation just made me more convinced that I should. What I'm trying to say is that... regrettably, this is the single worst comic I have ever read.

This nicely bound hardcover collects the first six issues of Laurell K. Hamilton's first "Anita Blake" novel. The way it is adapted makes me feel like Stacie Ritchie, the woman who adapted the novel into a comic script, doesn't know the first thing about comics. Instead of letting the art tell the story, she bogs it down with repetitive dialogue and countless narration captions that simply did not need to be included. The novel was in first-person, so had a lot of narration, but when one adapts a story into a different medium (comics especially) the internal narration has to be cut down extensively. But Ritchie goes to all lengths to include absolutely every bit of Anita's thoughts in here, which make it a chore to pull the story out of this. It's basically the novel "Guilty Pleasures" with horrid art. There was no effort at all to make this work as a comic book.

The art, no matter how you look at it, is simply inexcusable. Anita's legs are the size of tree trunks. Other characters have legs that are twice as long as their upper bodies (no joke). The colorist did a fair job in working around Brett Booth's mind-numbingly awful pencil work, but there is simply no saving this book. The art amps up the melo-drama of this story, making an enjoyable novel into a campy comic book with the cheesiest looking vampires this side of Count Chocula.

After trying time and time again to force myself to enjoy this comic, I had to admit I hated it. There was a glimmer of hope towards the end, as there is an original short story included called "Vampire Victim" that is written by Laurell K. Hamilton and her husband, but again, the whole thing comes off as utterly amateur. I'll never read another Marvel adaption of an "Anita Blake" novel, because the creative team behind this comic simply has no idea how comics function. I'll give original "Anita Blake" comics one more shot (because I already have The First Death, but unless that book shows a catastrophic improvement, this series as a whole should be buried and forgotten.

0/10