Blake Books

This is a nice quality speciality press magazine. Full color art, mostly of pretty girls, associated with the stories. The stories themselves vary in quality, as to be expected. Some are good, some just adequate. Focus is on action and damsel in distress, tho' not exclusively. If you like pulp fiction from say 1930-1970, you'll like this

This is more a review of the entire line, which also includes Vampires 2 and Man's story 2, than it is of a single issue.

Worth a look if you like pulp fiction, I recommend it.

This magazine is a pulpy, fun read. Lovely android girls and sf action. I've been a fan of author C. C. Blake's stories since I read his 2005 Story of the Year Award winner "Chuck Cave and the Vanishing Vixen" and this issue has a far future 'descendant' (maybe) of Chuck Cave, named Rick, saving a girl from an intergalactic crime lord type. Some nice pin up style art and some fun fiction for less than 10 bucks!

I enjoyed the book. The bios are not long but provide a reasonable amount of information about each veteran. The photographs are clear.

But I have some negatives, I think the title should have been "At Peace With Honor: Notable Civil War Burials of Laurel Hill Cemetery Philadelphia, Pennsylvania". I was expecting to see a list of all the Civil War Veterans buried at that cemetery. I was also disappointed to see some veterans listed without noting their regiment, how did the author know they were veterans?

BTW: Amazon should hire someone that knows how to spell "Philadelphia"

Laurel Hill Cemetery has always fascinated me, and I was VERY pleased to find that there was a book printed about the importance of some of the notables buried there. I hope that in the future there will be more books written about this wonderful Philadelphian monument that should NEVER be forgotten.

I am a fan of Blake & Mortimer ever since i started reading them in the late 70's. The only problem is, to find their books in english is a real pain in the neck.
I found 2 of their works in english but not the rest which is rather odd. I do hope they can translate the rest of their stories because they were very good & entertaining. esepcilay the secret of sword.

I love "The adventures of Blake & Mortimer"! Many of my friends thinks they are dull and filled with scientific mumbo jumbo, but not me. However in this book the two companions discovers the truth behind Atlantis (the sunken continent) and the flying saucers. "Atlantis mystery" is a great book I especially liked the apocalypse scene in the end when Atlantis is once again laid under water. However I got a question to Dwight Decker: Why don't you translates the best Blake & Mortimer adventure: SoS Méteors (or something) into english?

From back cover:
The Warlock's Daughter
Jennifer Blake
Fearing her own inherited powers, a warlok's innocent daughter vows never to love-but a dark and dashing man of mystery proves to be more than her match.

A Touch of Warmth
Betina Krahn
A sensuous, delightfully daring woodland sprite is trapped between flesh and fancy-when she loses her heart to an attractive, unsuspecting and very mortal man.

Sweet Cream and Irish Whiskey
Glenda Saunders
A free-thinking theater owner is frustrated in her attempts to seduce a handsome, straight-laced director-until a mischievous and meddlesome ghost abruptly enters the scene.

Shadow's Bend
Jodi Thomas
A young Chicago woman begins a dreamlike correspondence with a lonely, unseen stranger-only to find herself swept away by a miraculous love that transcends time and space.

------

This is probably one of the best anthologies I've ever read. While I didn't care for the first story that much(The Warlock's Daughter-2.5/5 stars), although the sparring was fun, the anthology just got better and better!

A Touch of Warmth was the longest story, but probably the most inventive. Very interesting and sweet. 4.5/5 stars

Sweet Cream and Irish Whiskey is the lightest story and was a really cute and fun story. 4.5/5 stars

And last, but most definitely not the least, was Shadow's Bend. Words cannot describe this accurately. For such a short story, it sure packed a wallop! This one just had your heart clutched in it's pages from the start. My favorite of the book. The only complaints I have are that it should have been a little longer, and what happened to Winchester. It's always amazing to read what different authors come up with in time-travel. Such a beautiful story. 5/5 stars

Usually in compilation books, you get one or two really good stories or "name brand" authors and two or three mediocre stories.

In "Stardust" all four stories shine.

It was a fun read, full of fantasy. Not too naughty, not too nice. Just a great romp if you're in the mood for some fun stories.

My recommendation? If you find it in your local used bookstore - pick it up. You'll be glad you did.

While I felt that this was an interesting read I felt the author painted an unfair portrait of Diana. She portrayed Diana as a crazy, unstable shrew and yet it was Charles refusal to end his relationship with Camilla that caused Diana to be so unhappy and angry. I don't think there are very few women on this planet that would be happy and accept the fact that their husband has a mistress for 20 years that he refuses to give up after marriage. It proved to me at least, that Diana was justified in her ending her marriage and giving up the throne. The author paints Charles and Camilla as 2 poor lovers who go through hell just to be together. I felt no sympathy for either of them. But it is an engrossing book none the less.

An even and informative tale about Camilla Parker-Bowles, a poor little rich girl who may someday get her prince.

What we learn is that the upper class in the UK is alive and sick with its own moral code. Do what you want, just don't talk about it.

I like the author's style of writing, but don't really care for Camilla.

Blake's book is a good overview of the war. Where other books have related the exploits of the Light Brigade or the heroism of Forence Nightengale, this book deals strictly with the military progress of the war. Campaigns also covered were those in Asia Minor and the Baltic Sea. Blake's book is also well illustrated with an overview of the ground, so one can visualize what the soldiers had to go through in order to accomplish the battlefield objectives.
With the battles in mind, I only rated this four stars because some of the writing is rather dry. In one chapter, Blakes gives the viewpoint from both the Russian and Allies standpoint. Rather than help the reader, I think this confused those trying to understand the battle. Overall a good summary of the war.

If you are interested in learning about the Crimean War, this is a good volume to start with. Includes 16 illustrations (drawings and photographs), 11 maps, the Orders of Battle for British, French and Russian forces. Lists British Cavalry and Infantry regiments invovled. A chronological table is given, starting March 2, 1853 and ending April 27, 1856. Events leading to the war are given first. Background on the war on the Danube, in Asia Minor and in the Baltic are provided. Balaclava, Inkerman and Sevastopol are detailed. Administrative difficulties are discussed and the Naval campaigns in the Baltic, the White Sea and the North Pacific are covered. I found the volume very easy to read and most enjoyable.

This book gave me the shivers and I'm not sure I'll look at my family doctor the same. All I can say is DON'T MARRY A DOCTOR! No matter what. No way! Don't do it!

Past that this is a great book and I highly recommend it. I'll be retelling the stories to my friends and family for years to come!

This book contains 10 true stories about doctors, who for one reason or another commit murder. In most of the cases the victim is usually someone very close to the killer. The details in the book are just enough and not overly told. When you finish with one story, you can't wait to go to the next one. It's very easy reading and well written.

Early Snohomish (WA) (Images of America)

My family has been in Snohomish since the mid 1873. The book had great pictures but was very one sided toward certain families. It was written with the help of one of the old families so it left out alot of history. If you want a picture book with lots of great old pictures, this is the one to buy.

I wrote this book because I love the history of Snohomish and wanted to do something to help support our struggling historical society. History is full of fascinating stories of economic treachery where merchants are forever placing their self-interest before the good of their community, which usually takes the form of undercutting other shop owners on retail prices. If you like your history relating to contemporary practices, regardless of how low they can go, then this is the book for you.

Elise Laffont is only 25 years old, yet she is already a widow - and perfectly happy to be one! All of the bachelors around Fort Rosalie, and there are many as it is a military post, are positive that she cannot make her small holding in Louisiana Territory profitable without a man by her side. Yet Elise has nothing but disgust for men, her brutal husband having done nothing but hurt her, mock her and cause her trouble. Elise was proud of her small farm and had made a modest success, but she lost it all one morning when the Natchez attached Fort Rosalie and the outlying areas, killing or enslaving all of the French. Elise managed to escape into the forest and find a small group of survivors, but they knew they could not make it out of Natchez territory without being caught. When Reynaud Chavalier, a half-French, half-Natchez warrior, finds them, he offers to take them to Fort Natchitoches - if Elise will warm his bed at night. Nothing could be worse for Elise, yet the other French insist that they will not survive without him and Elise is forced to comply.

Elise is determined to think Reynaud no better than her brute of a husband, yet when Reynaud sees the fear and panic in her eyes when he reaches for her that night, he is determined to make her want him as a woman. He insists that Elise touch him and pleasure herself. Elise uses these opportunities to tease Reynaud, but she slowly comes to trust him and to believe that all men are not like her dead husband. When they come to Reynaud's plantation, she is content to stay there, making love to Reynaud and living in a kind of paradise, untouched by the outside. However, this time of peace cannot last, for the French are coming to kill the Natchez for their uprising.

When members of the Natchez tribe come to ask Reynaud, known as Hawk of the Night to them, to become the new war chief, Reynaud feels that he has a duty to his people to go, even though he fears that they will lose. At first Reynaud was going to let Elise continue on to the fort, but he finds that he cannot let her go. Elise does not go willingly, but has no chance to make a successful escape with all of the warriors watching her every move. She determines to make the best of it in the Natchez camp and befriends some of the Natchez women and offers what comfort she can to the French captives there. As Elise spends more time among the Natchez, she comes to see them for the people that they are - just like the French, full of strengths and weaknesses, cultural customs and taboos. She knows that she is in love with Reynaud, but what kind of future do they have with the French attacking the tribe from all sides?

This was a very enjoyable romance that also had quite a bit of historical background to it (some of it fictionalized, of course). I liked Elise as a character, she was afraid, yet determined to be courageous and not afraid to change or to adapt to new situations. Reynaud was a gorgeous hero, tormented by not belonging to either people whose blood pulsed through his veins and not sure whose side he was really on. The supporting characters were also quite well developed and fun to get to know: Little Quail, the Natchez woman who befriended Elise and taught her the Natchez way of life, Pierre Broussard, Reynaud's trader friend who fell in love with Little Quail when he was a little boy, the Great Sun, Reynaud's twin brother who ruled the Natchez like a god, Tattooed Arm, Reynaud's mother who fell in love with a French man and bore him two sons, and many, many more. This is a tale full of love and tragedy and the relationships between the characters were very strong. Jennifer Blake really made the time period come alive and the pages just flew by. My only complaint is that Elise's feelings seemed to switch rather abruptly and Elise and Reynaud seemed to have the same doubts and arguments throughout the book without ever really finding any solutions or reconciling. Still, I think that most readers who are fans of historical romance will enjoy this book.

This book was one of the best I've read by Jennifer Blake. You really feel the plight of the Natchez indians without it feeling like a history lesson. You also come to understand the conflict the main male character, Reynaud, feels being half-French, half-Natchez in the midst of a war between the two. The heroine, Elise, is strong-willed but without excessive stubbornness. The beginning of this book starts of strong and the love story between the characters develops well. I thought the last part of the book could have been drawn out a bit more. Overall though, this book is definitely worth reading!

"Figure Drawing Step by Step" by Wendon Blake, Dover Publications, $7.95 ISBN0486402002

Wendon Blake does a good job as far as his handling of the subject goes, and Dover books are often a tremendous bargain, as in this case at a price of $7.95. Anyone can afford to buy this book.

Wendon Blake offers good instruction and there are even a couple pages of innovation in his method. However, at only 80 pages, this paperback is TOO brief a treatment of drawing, when it really is good enough to justify another 30 pages of illustration and detail. There are other books with much more illustration and drawing instruction as well, at a price not much more than Dover's to give this book a higher rating. Otherwise, it's a pretty good book.

this artist also did THE FEMALE FIGURE and was one of my best reference drawing books when I designing clothing or wanted to remodel a dress. I used to own it and have been trying to get another. Uldis Klavins the author acrylics and oils step by step. this and the others of the Grumbacher Library of Step By Step books are a must for serious artists. There are various artist.Larry Oottino,Joseph Maniscaico,Don Stivers,James Mitchell,Jack Seidbotham, etc. The subjects are varied from landscapes, seascappes,animals, cartoons, watercolors, oils arylic, pastels etc. The best of the best.