Elliott Books

This is such a cool book! Every type of dome, wood, funky treehouse, church remodel, and woodsy shelter imaginable. Very like "Handmade Houses A Guide to the Woodbutcher't Art" by Art Boericke- now out of print. Good for ideas on wood use especially, strange and wonderful woodburning stoves, weird window designs, and so much more. Mostly color photos with some explanation per page. An Idea book for the free spirit in all of us. Charmaine Taylor

Woodstock, New York, is famous for its counterculture idiosyncracies. This is true not only in music, art, and rock-and-roll, but also of the quirky, handmade homes built by many of the town's citizens. This book pictures many of these houses, and explores who built them and why.The book is available at the Golden Notebook book store, in Woodstock, NY, 12498.

"You can't run away from trouble. There ain't no place that far." Uncle Remus

Huck and Jim take to the river to escape their troubles, but trouble dogs them every foot of the way. In fact, both Jim & Huck were within days of liberation when they eloped. They literally escaped from freedom.

The slavery and such are interesting sideshows, but Twain makes it pretty clear Jim wasnt mistreated, and freedom was always across the river, north & east, if Jim wanted physical freedom. Freedom was NOT down the river in the heart of the Deep South. All of this is metaphor for running away from your troubles.

This book accurately depicts the lifestyle and thoughts and feelings of Americans during the time slavery was legal. This book incorporates many concepts from other books such as Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet when the Grangerfords and Sheperdsons feuded against each other over a marriage. I recommend this book.

How can one critically review what is arguably the greatest American novel? Very carefully! Twain, who briefly served the Confederacy was a river boat pilot, miner, reporter, lecturer, acerbic wit, devoted family man, was the premier writer of 19th century America.

In "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" Twain thoughtfully and compassionately weaved a tapestry of mid-stream American life and culture which probably did more to positively change white America's view of its black minority than any legislation ever could. He achieved all that while creating a timeless world of youthful adventure to where countless generations can escape.

This wonderful volume is a replica edition that contains almost 200 original illustrations by E. W. Kemble, which conveys the raw excitement of life on the Mississippi. It should be given as a present along with "The Complete Tom Saywer," so the reader can have access to the the entire mythos that Twain recorded.

I have read and enjoyed "Huckleberry Finn" many times; but this recording enhances the text and makes it that much more enjoyable. The narrator, Tom Parker, does a superb job of bringing this odd assortment of strange and humorous characters to life. He does an especially fine job of pronouncing the numerous dialects that Twain put down for posterity. Hearing Mr. Parker's pronunciations and articulations brings these characters to life in all of their mid-nineteenth century motley. If you close your eyes you can picture Huck and Jim conversing as they travel on the Mississippi, lazily wasting their days and outwitting the numbskulls they encounter along the way. Parker does an especially fine portrayal of Pap Finn when he rants about the Guv'ment in a drunken stupor. His Duke and King are also delightfully portrayed in all their vainglorious pomposity.
I was really impressed by how much value I received for so little cost. I laughed many times while following along with my text of the story. After all, Twain was primarily a humorist, and what's the point of reading a story like "Huckleberry Finn" if you refuse to see the humor in it? And Tom Parker's dramatic skills embellish this humor by bringing the text to life. Aside from the humor, Mr. Parker elicits the heart and soul of both Huck and Jim and shows how their views of each change as they both realize just how human and decent the other is. This is a story of some very human people from a time and a world that no longer exist. It's like reading a dream of a foreign world.
This CD set is worth the money. It's a delightful and heartfelt reading of a most wonderfully compassionate and funny story about the common sense and innate humanity of an "uneducated" boy from the back woods of Missouri who discovers his own sense of morality and humanity while living by his wits and travelling up and down the Mississippi while meeting an assortment of colorful characters along the way. And, yes, it is unabridged.

Twain's Huckleberry Finn has derived much controversy from its use of the "n" word in the dialogue as well as what some believe are stereotyped characters within the novel. As some have noted in defense of Twain, Twain's main object was to portray and depict the typical Southern dialect of this time period, and so his use of the word was to mainly show that this was a common expression used. This "overuse" of the word is most obviously an attempt at debunking the idea that people should speak this way. What some forget while reading Huckleberry Finn is that it is a satire aimed at breaking down and making fun of many of the conventions of not only the South, but other aspects of social life. Perhaps the biggest indicator of Twain's intent of facetiousness is in his "Explanatory" and "Notice" in the book's preface, where it is inferred that we are not to take everything so seriously in the book. There are many other things going on in the novel, and it is a shame that often we overlook that a classic like this has so much more going for it.

For one thing, the novel is as much about growing up and striving to do good as anything else. Huckleberry Finn has this battle throughout the book, and mostly after he meets up with Jim on Jackson's Island and must do some serious soul searching to figure out what is right and what is wrong. An abolitionist wasn't thought of lightly in this setting, and so Huck is not easy to let go of society's laws. However, through much of Jim's guidance, Huck does learn morals and principles of life. Jim represents the father-figure in Huck's life, mainly because Huck's "real" Pap is an alcoholic, abusive, neglectful and mean-spirited to his son. If there ever were a case for a character breaking the stereotype idea, it would be Jim. After all, isn't it Jim who questions what Huck believes about him running away from slavery? When Huck examines ironically to himself is, and will always be, a "no good abolitionist", this admission and growth of character can be chalked up to Jim, who has already influenced Huck by then. Jim helps Huck grow up and be a more thought-provoking character. Huck gains a better picture as the novel progresses; for instance, he comes to understand that the duke and the king are not only frauds, but that they are lower than low because of their greed and callousness to the Wilks family.

On another level, the novel is a lot about light-hearted fun, satire, poking fun of society and just Huck's imagination. Huck is a child who is not easy to civilize; he wants to be out in the world and living an adventure, being in a band of robbers with Tom Sawyer or adding "style" to a given situation. Huck often lives life by the moment, and has to use his "street smarts" to get out of predicaments, which might mean making up a story, faking his own death, dressing up like a girl to get information or using quick wit to escape a sticky situation. He seeks freedom and adventure, and the Mississippi River, where Jim and he spend much of their time on the raft, is a symbol for this escape.

Over all, I found this to be a difficult review because Huckleberry Finn is probably one of my favorite books and Twain is one of my favorite authors. But, I think if you read Huckleberry Finn in the right light, it is an amazing read about adventure and growing up. Definitely recommended!

This book was whiny and condescending - I stll don't know if she's still married or not because she only talks about herself and her silly cooking problems (get a life!). She can't blow dry her own hair? How absurd is that? Alright already with New York - we get it - you love it. The last chapter of this book depressed me so much - I just turned 60 and it made me feel like there's no reason to go on. I wonder why the mood of the book changed so much in that last chapter. The book was all fluff and no meaningful in the least. it's hard to feel sorry for someone who can pay $10,000 for an apartment if she wanted to. I felt like she was trying to sound like someone out of the bohemian '60's, naming specialty stores around her and dropping names of people constantly. I wish I could get my money back. I didn't even like her silly movies. And what does "don't marry anyone you wouldn't want to be divorced from" mean anyway?

The last time I read Nora Ephron was "Heartburn," and I loved it. That was years ago, and I can't imagine why I didn't read all her books back then. But that just means I can enjoy them now. I loved "I Feel Bad..." because I too feel bad about my neck, and I hate my purse, and I couldn't agree more...there are few things in life that are as satisfying as a really good book. And this is.

This delightful book was charming and witty. Although I am only twenty and could not relate to a lot of the experiences Nora describes, she gave some good advice that I will take with me and remember as I age.

Is Nora is great writer? Yes What I love about her is the content, her stuff, is so meaningful. Not just mindful esoteric banter, but real issues, real life, learning and laughing about her self. I have recommended this book to several people and family...Everybody laughs and loves it.
Thank You Nora Ephron. We love you!

I feel bad about the money I spent on this book. Nora Ephron is a genious when it comes to observing and writing about other people in modern society, but this collection of essays falls completely flat if one is to believe it is about thoughts on being a middle-aged woman. She makes a couple of good observational hits, but the majority of it is too personalized and elitist. How many of her readership can truly understand and relate to living in New York and being a successful journalist, author, and producer? I wanted to read and laugh about the inevitable things that happen to women as we age and be able to relate to my sisterhood around the world and throughout time. Ms. Ephron includes too much fluff from her own unique life circumstances here to accomplish this. This book just demonstrates that even the most talented writers cannot be successful in every genre they attempt.

I was really disappointed with this book. I read Atonement first (also by McEwan) and thought it was great. I then read Amsterdam, which was good but not great. Since then, I have been nothing but disappointed in this author. He is a talented writer but his stories are generally weak and unbelievable, his plots are boring, and his characters are vapid. I can't believe most of his books get such high marks!

Enduring Love deals with erotomania, or Clerambault's syndrome, most recently featured in the movie A La Folie...Pas Du Tout or He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not starring Audrey Tatou (of Amelie fame) and Samuel Le Bihan (of Brotherhood of the Wolf fame) - a rather chilling movie told in a cheerful, romantic comedy-esque manner. In McEwan's novel, how the two main characters meet is an event of remarkable proportions. A hot-air balloon appears to be flying out of control, tossed and buffeted by a strange wind, and four men rush to the aid of the pilot and a young boy trapped inside the basket. Suddenly they are lifted into the air, all the men hanging on to the ropes of the basket. Someone detects the danger and the futility of the effort, and drops first, then one by one, the others follow, save one. The balloon, after losing the extra weight, moves swiftly and farther away from the men who look on in horror. The last man hanging on eventually loses all strength and falls to his death. Ironically, the basket lands safely later and the boy is unhurt. One of the men, Jed Parry, becomes inexplicably drawn to the narrator, science writer, Joe Rose, after their joint witness of this awful incident. Something passes between them, according to Parry, and thus the novel unfolds its riveting tale of how life can change in a single instant. Murder and insanity ensue, of course.

When I read the other book McEwan won the Booker for, I wondered why. That plot was rather unbelievable and the story was rather unsatisfying.

With this, again, he's stretching my credulity. As some others have pointed out, the relationship between Joe and Clarissa is unconvincing. I would buy that yes a stalker could do what Jed did. But the lapses in Joe's character and Clarissa's too just plain annoy me. I pushed through the book because McEwan is good at capturing thoughts in interesting ways. Otherwise, the characters stink.

Sometimes, I feel like McEwan just collects factoids and musings and strings them together with a lame plot to make a story.

The year this novel came out, I was living in London, going to university and working part-time at a book store. Stocking fiction paperbacks every week, I noticed how many of McEwan's books we always had coming in, but the title Enduring Love caught my attention. There was absolutely no description of the plot, only a few quotes of praise. Of course my curiousity meant I had to buy and read it. Perhaps b/c I read this novel w/ no expectations of any kind, reading this novel has been the single most pleasurable and altering reading experience of my life. While the ignorance that I approached this novel with may account for some of this experience, I do not think that another author could have had such a profound effect on my literary career. I began devouring all of his other writings, but this is still my favorite, and I believe his best work, with Amsterdam a close second. I recommend picking up any of his novels, carefully avoiding any specific reviews, synopsis, etc and just lose yourself in the carefully chosen words, for McEwan never wastes even one, and the poetry that is the sometimes enduring, sometime frightening genius of McEwan's explorations of the human psyche.

In "Enduring Love," Ian McEwan has written the most perfect first chapter I've ever read. Joe Rose, the narrator, begins by telling us, "Here's where it started" and you begin to realize, with horror, that what "it" is is the astonishingly rapid unraveling of the perfect life he has. The action begins when Joe happens to help with an accident waiting to happen--a hot air balloon buffeted by high winds, with a ten-year old boy cowering in the basket. Having acted unthinkingly to help save the boy, he and a handful of other men who happen to be nearby are towed upwards on the balloon lines, vainly attempting to bring it to earth. One by one they let go--all except one.

I won't divulge any more specifics than that, other than to say that McEwan is clearly a genius. His gift is in excavating the messy architecture of the human heart and exposing how very fleeting and tenuous some relationships are, while showing how firms the bonds of other relationships can be. The characters are realistically drawn and their interactions with each other true-to-life. There are a couple of twists, but they're believable--and they add to the general sense of loss and emotional horror and enforced loneliness this novel palpably sketches.

I usually write reviews of books that deal with theology and Christian apologetics and other really side-splitting kinds of subjects that, I suspect, provide endless amusement and delight to both of the people who have read them.

But I'm wandering outside my usual field because I found this history of a culturally influential television institution to be quite interesting. It is, at times, funny and-reflecting the reality of what happened-at times, sad.

"Live From New York" basically tells the story of how Saturday Night Live started and it takes the reader through the various eras of the show.

It seems that I'm in the minority among many of the people I know, but I think some of the more recent eras of the show and some of the more recent mixes of cast members are just as funny-and perhaps even funnier-than the early days with Belushi, Akroyd, Chase, and the gang. My friends who disagree with this assessment will, no doubt, snort and wave their hands dismissively. Sometimes I say things that these people disagree with just to watch the snorting and hand waving. When you lead a slow-paced life, little things go a long way.

In telling SNL's history, the book relies heavily on quotes from numerous cast members and writers, past and present. The behind-the-scenes stories of various people who have been involved with the show over the years are captivating for someone like myself who has enjoyed watching SNL in its various permutations over the past several decades.

Book is a great source of commentarys from the people who worked on the shows over the years. It does not deal in a narrative form, only blocks of comments by people. Little detail on specific sketches or true history, more like a collection of things remembered by people involved with the show. It made a great addition to my other books, and is enjoyable on its own.

Virtually everything that has ever happened on SNL is contained within this book. A brilliant narrative assembled almost entirely of interview fragments from people involved with the show, the book is a crash course in SNL history from it's inception to the modern era.

Particularly interesting is the exposure of cast conflict bubbling over onto the show into hilarious sketches, such as Chevy Chase's rise to stardom and Belushi's jealousy becoming a cold open for the show.

Although it's almost 600 pages long, it reads like a much shorter book, and I couldn't put the thing down. I found myself waking up early before work to put a dent in it, and was genuinely aggravated when nine o'clock rolled around and I had to go to my desk.

The book is also incredibly instructive to those interested in sketch comedy. SNL being the pinnacle of the medium, being given the opportunity to get into the heads of such an array of writers and actors is really revealing.

Background:
The authors interview most of the living cast and crew from SNL and gather/mold the various responses into a kind of oral history of what went on behind the scenes of the show from day one. The book also takes a look at what was happening at the network level and the encounters that Michaels and the other producers of the show had when corporate sensibilites clashed with comic creativity. The version I read also has an extra 30 pages or so of what various people think about Lorne Michaels.
----
This was a pretty interesting book if your like me and werent even born when the first show came and only really became aware of it in the mid 90's. It does a pretty good job of showing how the show changed (it seems in the casts eye's first) from a show were you did envelope pushing comedy to a place that was more of a spring board to a movie career. The book also does go into detail on most of the famous feuds, deaths, bad hosts/good hosts, and other incidents that have popped up over the years. A great majority of the book deals with how the show comes together, which I think is the most interesting part, and how all the people somehow manage to work together depiste massive pressure and somtimes conflicting personalites. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes SNL and wants some background info on how the show came to be in its current form and perhaps those who might want an idea of what happens on the road to stardom.
m.a.c

This is a big sprawling nonfiction book told in highly readable "sound-bites" more than 25 years after the heyday of the ground-breaking television show Saturday Night Live. The author rounds up everyone involved (with the exception of the poor dead people like John Belushi, Gilda Radner, and Chris Farley). So you get an interesting then-and-now view. The participants put their work into perspective with the passing of time. One thing that impressed me was how much this show has influenced American pop culture. Also noteworthy: how incredibly pressured the job was. These people (notably Chevy Chase) ran roughshod over each other, and then had to put up with each other. This is what happens when you get a lot of creative types, big egos, and (yes) recreational drugs at the same table, and then put yourself on a killer schedule. Fans of the show will find this especially fascinating to read.

Jean Hegland's "Into the Forest" is a beautifully written speculative novel about one potential future for humanity.

The main characters are Eva and Nell, two sisters who live at the edge of a forest. Some global disaster occurs; the sisters don't know exactly what happened and neither do the readers. Society crumbles around them and finally the sisters are left to fend for themselves.

The author explores some interesting and quite realistic ways in which society may start to disintegrate. Hunger after food deliveries stop is a real possibility, and violence may become a reality of our future. It was quite interesting to read about potential ways in which these scenarios may play out.

On the whole, I much enjoyed this book. The writing was good, the characters were captivating, and the scenarios were worth pondering.

After reading "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy (which was excellent, btw) I was looking forward to reading another story about people surviving after a catastrophe. This tale concerns two sisters who live in a rural area of the West Coast with their non-conformist yet loveable Dad. Their mom has already gone to her reward. Eventually Dad dies too and the girls, who are in their late teens, must survive on their own without electricity or parental guidance. They are too far from any town to walk and there is no gas left for their truck so they are very isolated and must grow and can their own food. Their isolation is both a curse and a blessing. The blessing is they learn just how self-sufficient they can be when they are beset by hard times. The curse is that they are at the mercy of wandering strangers whose intentions are not always benevolent.
CAUTION SPOILERS AHEAD:
I gave this book only two stars because the story often did not ring true for me. I found it hard to believe that the older sister would continue her ballet practice when this would only mean a waste of fuel (i.e. food) that was already in short supply. I also found it hard to believe that two sisters would have a sexual encounter with each other merely because they were insolated from the rest of the world. I also found it hard to believe that the girls would blow up their house knowing that they were risking setting the forest on fire. Sometimes it felt like the author spent too much time listing items that they (or others) were running out of. Other times I was just shaking my head, saying "no way, no way!". This author was definitely telling rather than showing so I was disappointed with this book.

A short way into this engrossing novel, I was struck by the parallels with our lives today, even though this book was written in the mid 1990s. There's a faraway war "to protect our freedoms" that does not affect most aspects of everyday life but may be behind much of the collapse. There's a terrorist bombing, problems in currency markets, natural disasters including unimaginable floods of the Mississippi, huge government debt, and increasingly common shootings in US cities and towns.

My spouse and I used to kid each other about what we'd need "when the collapse comes." This book tells more about it. A good read, though I agree that one scene could have been cut and the end is a bit extreme.

This book didn't do much for me; it was our book club selection recommended by a friend. The consensus of my group was that if you are a sister or have daughters you can relate to the story which in hindsight I agree. The story was flat and didn't answer many questions for me. It is an easy read but not a gripping one & to be honest, I found it kind of boring and really odd in some places. I wouldn't recommend it.

This is an amazing book. I became totally engrossed in the characters and their life choices. The ending was astonishing and perhaps not the way I would have gone, but up until that point, I began to listen to the news and see just how possible this scenario could be and wonder how I'd react. It forces you to look around at all you have and wonder what life would be like if you didn't have the most basic of modern conveniences. Great story - great book for discussion - I highly recommend.

Just finished King's Dragon by Kate Elliott.

I liked it.
There were a few flaws, mostly in the first half of the book. Some things were a bit too simple and flat, and required a bit more of imagination and until a certain moment I could not bring myself to really care about most of protagonists (for example: a bit too much whining on Liath part or her deep feelings for the prince while there was no time to develope such sort of feelings) but the story and writing has improved towards the end.

I am looking forward to reading Prince of Dogs.

I give it solid 3.5 out of 5.

I picked this book up due to the online line reviews and I was somewhat disappointed. The main characters were good but I think the action was very slow due to the fact that the author had some many volumes in mind for the series. Overall I didn't dislike the book but I would not really suggest it to a friend and it didn't interest me enough to buy any of the sequels.

The Crown of Stars series is well-thought out and obviously well-planned. It's epic in scope and it's got a lot of texture. There are many complex characters who we follow in parallel, as in Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time. Some of them are very likable, and there are some really excellent villains (e.g., Hugh). Ms. Elliott's creatures are imaginative and enjoyable, and I especially liked the way they interact with the humans. Ms. Elliott uses a lot of description and therefore her plot moves very slowly (again, similar to WOT).

The writing was inconsistent throughout the series. Sometimes it seems brilliant, but at other times I'd think "why did she tell me that?" or "this could be moving a little faster." It's often wordy. Her editor could have almost arbitrarily taken out a third of the sentences with no ill effect. Sometimes she over-explains what a character is feeling or his/her motivation when it would have been better to let the dialog or action speak for the character. Sometimes she tells me something too many times (e.g., "but his voice always sounds like that"). I wonder if the inconsistency is due to different editing processes, because it's not like that in all the books, and even some individual books are internally inconsistent. I thought the fourth book, especially, was not well edited.

The pace of these novels is so slow that I found my self bogged down in the middle of book 5 with not much desire to go on, so I decided to quit. I struggled with that decision because I really did want to find out what happened to the characters, but it was taking me too long to get there and the writing style wasn't good enough to make up for the crawling pace (unlike Wheel of Time).

Overall, these books entertained me for a while. The plot was interesting and the characterization was particularly notable, but it eventually got too slow.
--FanLit.net

I haven't finished the series yet but so far I have loved all the books up to book four. That is where I left off and have just ordered the remainder of the seven book series. King's Dragon is a rich tale with great characters. I would recommend this series highly. I have read and reread the first four books and they never fail to please.

It was with great anticipation that I set out to enjoy the Crown of Stars series. After all, it is most often compared to George RR Martin's Song of Fire and Ice saga. As such I ordered the complete 7 volume series (in hardcover no less) and have just completed the first book, King's Dragon, last night. This review is difficult on account of the fact that there are two distinctive qualities to the story that need addressing.

I'll begin by agreeing that the scope of the world Kate Elliott has crafted in her tale is nothing shy of epic. The reader is carried along from the perspective of two very insignificant characters (as far as society is concerned) as they discover the vastness of the world around them. In that aspect the novel works well. Additionally Elliott does a very commendable job fleshing out her characters early on; I was very interested in the exploits of Alain and Liath right from the get-go.

Unfortunately it is the middle of the book that begins to stumble in my opinion. KE is a bit too concerned with her fictitious religion (that often crosses so close to reality that it is laughable) and what could be the culmination of a bunch individual story plots combining in an epic battle is instead dragged on and on with intricacies. Granted her political poise and even her (unbearable at times) over reliance upon the religious aspects of the world could be considered brilliant writing by some, I personally sought a little bit better pacing from the middle to around three-quarters in.

The good news is that the ending actually picks up on the promise delivered in the beginning and has (to my own surprise) left me eager to dig into the second volume, Prince of Dogs.

And just to clarify, I'm by no means an action junkie in my reading. I can appreciate the slow pacing and daunting details required to flesh out an entire fictional world (I mean honestly, that's technically what fantasy is). However, I felt that Kate Elliott's flaw in this piece was her tendency to get bogged down when the reader would expect the pace to start quickening. What worries me is that many other reviewers state they flew through this one only to get bogged down later in the series... Probably not a very encouraging sign that I found myself bogged down already.

I bought this book at an airport to read during a long flight. It is full of funny stories and strange tales. His writing style is very engaging. I read it all in one sitting. I wish he would write a sequel!

This book is a rehash of old stories. Nothing new or insightful. A far better read is Babylon Air.

Plane Insanity is very funny in the first 5 or so pages but loses the plot after than and becomes a standard review of items you have either experienced or read about in the papers.

Most disappointing read this year!

Half the stories are not funny and there is way too much complaining about the job. Mr. Hester is, though, a skillful writer and you can read thru the whole book to end up wondering why you did not throw it away sooner. Maybe Mr.Hester should quit flying and become a full time writer.
Fit to read while waiting for your delayed flight.

The author writes what could be a fascinating book, but he seems to defend the airline industry at the expense of the passengers. His section on the 'Mile High Club' could have been much better. Granted, the force and appeal of sex is part of nature, but graphic descriptions aren't necessary.

If he writes a regular column, I would be suspect as to the content of his column. No doubt that we humans are funnier than anybody, but the author didn't have to be so bitter about passengers. I have met some flight attendants who were very pleasant, and some who were rude, and most who were pleasantly distant. It's unfortunate that Reagan and the Congress chose to deregulate the airline industy, it has suffered since then.

But the author backs away from that, concentrating on a mish-mash of disconnected stories.

Bought it as could not get the Air Babylon book, which was recommended. Started reading but got bored very fast. Bought Air Babilon and it is much more interesting and realistic

This book kept you interested up until the final paragraph, trying to second guess everything that happened. It was great - just as everything else by Jeffrey Deaver.

Deaver has written another breath-taking work, this time about the "human lie detector," Kathryn Dance. Not only is the main character different, with only a phone call to Lincoln Rhyme and the East Coast, but also I think this novel shows Deaver practicing and improving his skills. His plots have always been superb (not to mention the mechanics of his writing, which may go unnoticed), but they had certain common strains: you knew that some character would not be who they appeared to be at face value, and so forth. When I read this, I felt Deaver is trying out new plot structures and styles; since he is breaking free of old habits, some of the writing lacks the surety of early books, but this is a sign that he is moving forward.

The best is yet to come. When he wrote The Vanished Man, I thought Deaver would never top that. Now I believe he can.

I love Deaver's books but the character development in this one outshines them all. Not to mention the great plot.

Charles Manson remains a major villain in modern mythology. Unlike other legendary evils, however (such as Dracula), Manson remains almost used in fiction. Perhaps it's because he's real and still alive. Maybe his acts begin to pale compared to more recent killers. Even with Jeffrey Deaver, Manson is not really a character, but he is the template for the nasty Daniel Pell, also known as the "Son of Manson".

As Deaver's novel The Sleeping Doll begins, Pell is serving a life sentence for the murder of a well-to-do family, though one member did survive, a child who was overlooked by Pell and his accomplice (and got the nickname that is the book title). Pell, however, has orchestrated an escape with the assistance of the pathetic Jennie Marston, one of those unbalanced women who falls for convicts (I suppose female convicts have their share of adorers too, but you don't hear as much about them).

Leading the chase to get Pell is Kathryn Dance, an agent of the California Bureau of Investigation, and most of the book is a cat-and-mouse game between the two. The brilliance of the book is the way Dance and Pell are almost mirror images of each other, both masters of understanding human behavior. For Pell, this gives him a charisma that gave him his own Manson-like family; for Dance, however, her skills are a way of anticipating the acts of criminals. For the great manipulator Pell, Dance is a real threat.

Deaver is adept at suspense and action in addition to the well-placed plot twist. The Sleeping Doll is typical Deaver fare, which is generally a good thing, but in this case is marred slightly by a twist or two too many. Overall, though, this is an entertaining and fast read which will please both fans of Deaver and thriller readers in general.

I am amazed by the reviews giving this high ratings. This book falls flat on nearly every level imaginable. The only interesting things and not enough to sustain were the protagonist's role as interrogator with tips on how to spot a liar, and some stuff about how cult leaders get and maintain control. Both of which seem shoehorned in from research manuals or white papers. As a police procedural the plot is mechanical and predictable, the dialog stiff, the efforts to get into the heads of both protagonist and antagonist are clumsy and trite. Doesn't rank a literature like Martin Cruz Smith or Richard Price can produce, doesn't rank as a good procedural like Elmore Leonard or Grisham, not as hard hitting as Elroy or Vachss or Harris ... far better stuff out there. I got through the first half before giving up.

One of my favorites books. I loved all characters, except for Claire. She was very annoying & stupid. I find it funny that Betsy the dog plays a pretty big part in this book.

Readers of "The Coming Storm" have the pleasure of exploring four lives--that of the headmaster of the Forge School, his wife, a twenty-five-year-old novice teacher, and a troubled fifteen-year-old student. Each character is intriguing and opens up his or her own world to the reader. You'll find yourself wishing you could travel to Middle Forge and the Forge Academy to explore then for yourself. I actually missed the characters when I finished the book, which to me is the mark of a great novel. I've put "The Coming Storm" back on my bookshelf so that someday I can visit with these wonderfully intriguing characters again.

I will not deny that Russell has talent with his words. However, just past the halfway mark through the novel I became so angered by the plot (extremely slow and ponderous up until mid-book) and the characters that I threw the book across the room and never opened it again. In fact, I tossed it. No recycling, no used book store. The trash heap. I felt he had created characters that he hoped we would care about and then, when it became clear he had grown bored with the story and their roles, made them into masochistic icons. If you are bothered by unsafe sex, especially with the notion of "bug-chasers" this book will hurt you.

I have just finished this book, and I must admit I have been impressed by it. Indeed, for a long time, I had read historical books almost exclusively, and I was under the impression that fiction had lost much of its appeal to me, even though I had studied literature as part of my curriculum of British Studies. On a few occasions, remembering the days when I used to devour books of fiction, I would pick up a novel and read a few pages, but it would fall off my hands very quickly. So, when I started reading The Coming Storm, I thought it would happen again, and it looked as though it would occur once more as I was perusing the first ten pages or so. But the the suspension of disbelief which is required to make fiction work finally operated, and I was totally hooked. I plunged with delight into the world of the Middle Forge School and became fascinated with the four main characters, the way they interacted with one another, their desires and their adjustments , as conveyed through the stream -of-consciousness technique so expertly handled by the author. I also enjoyed the general mood of the book and the way it was reflected in the landscapes, which serve as subtle objective correlatives for the characters' states of mind. The main theme of the book - illicit love between a teacher and one of his students - was difficult to tackle and, in the wrong hands, would certainly have repelled me , and I was indeed rather put off by the short Pittsburgh scene in which Tracy Parker scrutinizes the whereabouts of a teen-ager, which, to me, looked like a sleazy variation on Death in Venice. But in the case of Tracy's relationship with Noah, the fact that their relationship goes beyond mere sexual attraction, that it is based on genuine, reciprocal love, makes all the difference, and we certainly root for the two protagonists, notwithstanding the ill-advised nature of their affair. In fact, these two characters are particularly lovable, and I personally felt concerned towards the end of the book, when the separation between Tracy and Noah became irrevocable. I was really moved by the scene in which Claire was led by Betsy to Tracy's former house and when she realized Tracy had taken the time to plant the bulbs she had given him. The flowers were in full blossom, the natural process had followed its usual course, but, as a result of society's prejudices, Tracy had had to go and give up a promising teaching career, which had been nipped in the bud, so to speak. On the whole, I found the scenes between Tracy and Claire particularly well done and moving. Claire is a magnificent character, both sympathetic and insightful. In fact, although she is the only really significant female character in the book, it seems to me that her point of view is the one that most closely reflects the author's own voice. I was slightly disappointed with the fate that the author reserved for Tracy. An extremely lovable chracter throughout, he brings much to the other characters in the way of transformation and self-discovery, but doesn't receive much himself in return, and it looks as though the author somehow leaves him in the lurch. But this may partake of the author's partiality to open endings. I read somewhere that Tracy Parker made a short appearance in War with Animals, Russell's latest book. So, perhaps, we are in for a reunion between Tracy and Noah in one of Russell's next books, after all ...

Captivating, beautifully written story that involves the relationships between up state New York boys' prep school head teacher Louis Tremper, his wife Clair, newly employed young teacher Tracy Parker, and 15 year old wayward student Noah Lathrop III. Deeply repressed gay Tremper befriends handsome Tracy, and attempts to share with him his love of opera; Tracy himself develops a close friendship with Claire as confidant. More dangerously Tracy becomes involved with troubled Noah, initially seeking to help him but inevitably the relationship develops much further until they become sexually involved.
Whatever the rights or wrongs of the relationship between Tracy and his young student, it is clear Noah is no innocent party, and subsequent events prove the effect, for good or bad the story reveals, all this has on Noah.
This is in no way a predicable or inevitable story, but full of surprises. It is most beautifully written and told, and the relationships that develop between the various participants are most endearing. A story that is both heartbreaking and heart warming, it is not until the end that it becomes apparent who surprisingly is/are the true hero/heroes. Not to be missed on any account.