Elliott Books

I loved this book, being a fan of fairytales this one brings out a light twist I love. Great, for children of all ages, definentally a must read bedtime story. It has humor, action, and as all fairy tales end, a great ending! You must read this book for it will keep you smiling the whole way through!

I loved this book. I thought that some of it was hilarious. I accidently giggled during a test when I was reading this! The end is sooo cute, and when you find out who she marries, you'll laugh why!!! This book might be for people younger than I am, but I thought it was GREAT!!!

I'm glad I preview books before my children hear them...NOT something I'd want my children enjoying. The author's agenda is questionable in my opinion.

This was an OK story, but like Cheri, I took umbrage at the ridiculous statement about breastfeeding. If Sonora were really so intelligent, she would have continued to breastfeed, knowing that it was the healthiest food for her. Silly, I know to have something like that spoil a book for you, but there you have it. A statement like that can leave a lasting impression on a young mind, so you have fair warning, parents. (By the way, I usually like Gail Carson Levine's stories a lot.)

Nothing like teaching kids as early as possible that breastfeeding is "barbaric" and "cannibalism". I am truly disgusted that children are reading this nonsense. Shame on you, Ms. Levine!

This was Raymond Chandler's last novel, published before he died. It doesn't seem quite up to his earlier books. This novel is shorter in length and less rich in details about the rich and corrupt. Chandler had worked for years as a scriptwriter in Hollywood. His drinking may have flushed away his talents. This 1958 story does not have the range of contrasts in his earlier stories (not necessarily a bad thing). The monetary figures are far out of date. An $18 a day hotel room doesn't imply the luxury it did then.

Philip Marlowe receives an early morning telephone call to follow a passenger on the Super Chief. [That was an express railroad train in those bygone days.] Marlowe does this even he knows little about this job. [He needed the money?] He learns others are interested in his subject for their own reasons. Was she a murderess who got off because of a quirk in the law? [Chandler must have been talking to Erle Stanley Gardner.] Is there a nasty blackmailer pestering Eleanor King? Will somebody stop him? Marlowe has the same kind of adventures with the same kind of people that you find in his earlier works. One big difference is that middle-aged Marlowe refuses payment from a client, as if money means nothing to him! There is less violence too. In the past Marlowe suffered beatings as if Chandler was secretly angry with his fictional character. The refusal to accept payment for his work is so fantastic as to question the judgment of Chandler. Will Marlowe marry a rich heiress to live the life of Nick Charles? That was a dead-end for Dashiell Hammett. There are echoes of scenes from his earlier works. And old, rich, and sick man hired Marlowe but the ending leaves few people satisfied. Or is that the most realistic ending?

In 1953, Raymond Chandler published his finest work, "The Long Goodbye." It took him five years to release his next Philip Marlowe mystery, but in 1958 he finally released "Playback," a reworking of a rejected screenplay Chandler had written. In "Playback," aging private eye Philip Marlowe is hired by a gruff law firm to follow a young woman, but he's never told why he's following her or truthfully who she is. Reluctantly Marlowe goes along with it all, but finds there's a lot he doesn't know when an egotistic and curious man begins harrassing Marlowe's target.

Many a person has called "Playback" Chandler's weakest novel, and they're not wrong. The writing lacks the luster and appreciation for life found in Chandler's other books, and the mystery is lacking in the complexity and therefor intrigue which previous Marlowe mysteries held. The conclusion of the mystery is equally unspectacular. But it's not all bad: even at his weakest, Raymond Chandler stands head and shoulders above the rest. There are a number of delightful lines in the book, and it's never once dull. If nothing else, the beautiful and wonderfully upbeat ending makes reading it worthwhile.

Unfortunately, "Playback" was the final novel Chandler published before his death in 1959. (The beginnings of his next Marlowe mystery, "Poodle Springs," can be found in his short story collection "The Simple Art of Murder.") Despite its status as Chandler's weakest work, "Playback" is a fitting and suitably low-key close to the portfolio of one of the greatest American writers who ever lived. The novel's final line cheerily states, "The air was full of music," closing the book on Mr. Philip Marlowe, and though it's been a hard goodbye, "Playback" makes it a sweet one.

Phillip Marlowe, Raymond Chandler's classic noir hard-boiled, fundamentally honest private detective forever literarily associated with Los Angeles and its means streets is a bit off course here in his search for the inevitable exotic/diabolical `missing woman' (`dame' for the non-politically correct types)outside of San Diego. And it is more than the geography that is off. I love Chandler as a great writer with a good ear from the West Coast American scene in the 1940's but hasn't Marlowe followed that woman before in a previous novel? You get my drift. Sure there is plenty of sparse but functional dialogue, physical action and a couple of plot twists but Marlowe needs to think about that rest home for worn- out indigent gumshoes (since he never made enough money). He has taken one too many hits on the head for the lastest worthy cause. Give me those background oil derricks that sound like money churning out the wealth while looking for General Sternwood's Rusty Regan in Big Sleep or the run down stucco flats in pursue of Moose's Velma in Farewell, My Lovely any day. However, even on his uppers as always with Chandler you get high literature in a plebian package. Read on.

"Playback" is Chandler's least of everything. It's his least funny, least compelling, and least believable novel. Most Chandler/Marlowe novels stretch credulity in the big picture by using far-fetched coincidences to tie plot threads together. A few of his books--especially "The Big Sleep" and "Farewell, My Lovely"--are so good, I don't even mind.

But "Playback" stretches credulity in little moments. And in such moments, the dialogue is often painful to read, to wit: "Don't kid yourself. You're a dirty low-down detective. Kiss me." Ugh. The stale cliche of the resisting female melting in Marlowe's arms after some forceful manhandling is beyond tiresome. It's annoying.

I'm not sure what the opposite of unputdownable is (must be putdownable), but whatever it is, that's "Playback." I waded through its scant 166 pages, and I felt like I was fighting a riptide the whole way.

This book is for the diehard Chandler/Marlowe fan in the same way that "Pylon" is only for the diehard Faulkner fan or "Answered Prayers" for the diehard Capote fan. Chandler published "Playback" five years after "The Long Goodbye." You'd think in five years he could've mustered a better piece of writing and re-writing. But, figuratively speaking, he mailed this one in.

'Playback is a rather prosaic effort by Raymond Chandler, which is disappointing to anyone who has enjoyed his other great works starring the enigmatic private eye Philip Marlowe. The prose doesn't crackle like his earlier works, and the 'modernization' of Philipe Marlowe (he actually has sex with his femme fatales) is distressing.

Now as for the story, we have Marlowe hired by some mysterious individuals to shadow a gorgeous woman for some unclear reason. Lots of running around San Diego County, some violence, but the overall effect of the story is one of randomness. A painless yet forgettable read.


Bottom line: really not worth the bother.

Why oh why is DAW books releasing books printed on low quality paper - and at the same if not higher prices!
Hello?! DAW, stop this garbage right now. As consumers we kind of notice when an awesome author like Elliott has her books printed on pulp that will yellow with age in about 5 years.
Take a look at the first five books. If you have collected them because you liked this story and might want to reread it, you won't be happy when this book and #7 are yellowed with age while the first five are still practically new. As for me, I will not be buying this book, I will go to my local library and read it before it disintegrates in a few years.
Shame on DAW books!

The sixth of The Crown of Stars series is the best one yet. I couldn't read it fast enough.

Not only could this book have been about 80% shorter (as a previous reviewer accurately stated), but I am beginning to get a little fed up with the stompfest directed toward my favorite character in this series. Poor Alain has been wrongly accused, imprisoned, beaten, almost killed, struck crazy, and stripped of everything he has ever had in the world, simply because a man thought he was his illegitimate son. If the sheer volume of abuse this man has suffered isn't unrealistic enough for you, then the reasons why should be. I understand that the author wants this character pushed down and trampled on so that his triumph at the end of the series will be that much sweeter, but sometimes the trampling is so outrageous that no amount of triumph can ever be sweet enough. I plan on feeling a bit empty when Alain finally comes into his own.

As for the rest of the characters, I honestly had trouble keeping everyone straight. Some characters I don't even like anymore. Liath is no longer fun to read about. Sanglant is suddenly insecure, and he was so much more appealing when he was strong. Hugh is icky. He gives me shivers. It's like reading about a wierd uncle who makes your skin crawl. We understand that John is scarred. No need to keep calling him "Scarred John". The whole Heribert situation has me dreadfully confused. Who possessed him? Is the real Heribert dead? The rest of the characters sort of merge together in a mish mash of people who have bit parts that don't really seem to add much to the story. Why is Hannah still around (for one example)?

Oh, and someone needs to spank Blessing. Hard.

Liath and Alains' world is breaking apart as King Henry's kingdom is savaged by earthly and supernatural forces. The Eika warriors thirst for the King's land and power, their enmity sealed by generations of blood. Bitter in-fighting within King Henry's court and the ceaseless attrition of raiders also weaken his reign. Those who remain true must stay strong as the shadow of the Cursed Ones falls, and the spell holding the exiled ones from the planet fails. Liath must force her wild sorcery to maturity and Alain, her husband and King Henry's heir, must struggle to hold the realm together. Their twin destinies may yet avert the destruction written in the stars.

It has been quite a while since I read a series and thought "damn, it's over!" at the end. The author has built a vast number of interesting characters but, despite the number, one is able to know and relate to each. Each of the characters has their own remarkable flaws and imperfections, and you actaully have opportunities to sympathize with each throughout the series (even the remarkably "evil" ones you think you would never agree with). Unlike the Robert Jordan WoT series which seems to go on and on and on without resolution, Elliot has squeezed a sweeping epic into a (mere) 7 books, and I found myself disappointed when I finished the last of the third book. Fortunately, there are enough open issues, unanswered questions and unresolved conflicts in the end that Elliot could forseeably write another series to "fill in the blanks". I, for one, sincerely hope to see more from this author in the very near future.

In the Ruins (2005) is the sixth Fantasy novel of the Crown of Stars series, following The Gathering Storm. In the previous volume, the Seven Sleepers raised the enchantment to thrust away the land of the Aoi, but three crowns were disrupted; yet Anne compensated for the setback. Then Liath guided the molten streams of lava up through the central crown, killing Anne and her retinue and the enchantment failed.

Prince Sanglant and Zuangua killed the diamone within Henry and the freed Regnant named Sanglant as his heir. Both armies then acclaimed him as their ruler.

Dragonback Ridge shattered and released the dragon. Alain and the dragon faced each other momentarily, but then the dragon flew away. A wave washed over Alain and then carried him back toward the sea; but the cart caught on the rocks and his chains held him back. His foster father Henri and the dogs found Alain lying amidst the ruins, released him from the chains, and took him home.

In this novel, the land of the Ashioi rejoins the Earth at the same time as the current Feather Cloak, Secha, gives birth to twins. The restoral also has unforeseen consequences among those left on Earth. The violence of the unfolding spell raises volcanoes, generates tsunamis in the Middle Sea, causes rivers to run backward, and buries villages under mudslides. Great windstorms tear down trees and scatter the ever present ashes. Huge waves wash over the shore and sweep far inland. Then the widespread ashes and dust obscure the sun.

King Sanglant has inherited the remains of two armies; both are at half strength after the fighting and the effects of the Cataclysm. After the virtual destruction of Estriana by tidal waves, Sanglant refuses to look further for Queen Adelheid. Nor does he send a party to look for Liath. Taking his survivors, Sanglant marches north toward Wendar.

The hot windstorm blows down the tents of King Geza and Lady Eudokia. The Eagle Hanna wanders among the survivors, witnessing Geza's divorce of Princess Sapientia and his hurried departure to Ungria, but she is captured by Eudokia's soldiers and taken away in chains as they depart. Sister Rosvita waits for her return, but is forced to leave without her before the coming of twilight. Finding Sapientia as they exit the camp, Sister Rosvita takes her with them.

Liath struggles across the devastation that she has created, coming to a ruined watchtower. There she finds Eldest Uncle with a skin of water. He takes her to the river to wash away the grime and ashes. Then she falls sleep, waking once with the arrival of two masked warriors, but falls asleep again for many days.

Waking once more, she dresses herself in an ancient tunic and her mantle, then climbs the watchtower. From there she sees an army of refugees coming. When they arrive, Eldest Uncle and a younger version of himself embrace in joy; they are twins who have been separated in time. Unfortunately, Kansi is with the refugees and turns them against Liath. She flees, but Kansi sends sorcery after her. As she falls, a golden griffin catches her and flies away.

This novel recounts the destruction from the Cataclysm and the subsequent violence among the various human factions and between the Ashioi and the humans. The Ashioi who walked the shadows still remember the war with the humans and horse people; they outnumber the Lost Ones who traveled with their land through the aether and are eager to resume the conflict. The self-deluded humans, however, mostly consider the Ashioi as a sideshow to their own righteous killings. And the country folk and townspeople die mostly unregarded by the nobility.

Highly recommended for Elliott fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of high adventure, noble thinking and magical weapons.

-Arthur W. Jordin

All the tips in their are pretty lame. Like the tip on how to paint inside, erase fills or fill with gap, create a button using HIT state. Com'on, that not a tip if it can be found in the manual.

Save your money, read the manual and you will learn more than what you can get out of this book. Or, follow just one tip in that book, "Buy MM Flash MX Bible" instead of buying this book

The book is really easy to read with heaps of color images, and lots of finger tip tips.

The author writes very clearly and has many tips to speed up you flash authoring.

Here's the killer tip - don't get this book. It proves you can get anything published if you come up with a good title. There is absolutely nothing killer about any of the so-called tips, many of which are just commentary or ads presented as "Hey, look, I just gave you another great tip." If you are completely new to using computers you might learn the most basic fundamentals of how any application works, like clicking on things to select them, or that you can reposition windows. Ooo, wow! Flash's built in online help covers every topic here without the trouble of thumbing through this waste of paper. And the author's overbearing self-absorbed tone makes it all the worse. There are plenty of good Flash books at Amazon, get one of them but avoid this one.

Flash MX 2004 Killer Tips describes itself as being a book that contains all the cool tips you would normally find in the margins of other, more in depth Flash books. The tips are mostly user-interface-related, often pointing out less known but useful features that will save you time and make common tasks easier.

The book is smaller than most Flash books - it's only 191 pages long, but the space is used well. On each page there are an average of four tips-take away about 20 or 30 pages for table of contents and index stuff and you that leaves room for quite a few tips-you do the math. It's all color and the paper quality, layout and design are commendable. The author takes a very casual approach to his writing, making the book very readable and even entertaining.

If you've been using Flash for a short amount of time, or if you're new to the software, this book will be useful to you. It's a quick crash course that will have you working efficiently from the beginning rather than learning everything by trial and error.

If you've been using versions of Flash previous to MX 2004 and already consider your self to be an intermediate or advanced user, don't expect to find too much new here. Most of what you'll find will be little things here and there that will improve your process, but a lot of the material covered in this book will already be familiar.

There are a few, but not many tips specifically related to Flash MX 2004-most of what is covered are features that were already available in Flash MX. None of the features in Flash MX 2004 Professional such as Screens or Forms are mentioned. There is a small section on ActionScript, but most of what is mentioned are fairly small (but useful) tips or tweaks to the interface to make coding simpler.

If you're new to Flash and/or looking for a quick way to bring your Flash skills up to par and to improve your workflow, check out Flash MX 2004 Killer Tips.

I'm going to first preface this review by saying, if you are looking for advanced development techniques or samples of complicated physics or communication code, you will not find that in this book. People have come to expect any old book about Flash to cover anything and everything as well as provide working code samples specific to a project they may be working on at the time. This book, however, is aptly titled.
Flash MX 2004 Killer Tips has got plenty of little tidbits of information that will help to speed up your workflow, make you more familiar with the user interface, even help you out in times of crisis. The author's self-exhaling sense of humor makes the book fun to read as well.
Everyone should be able to take away something from this book, whether you are a seasoned Flash professional like myself, or a total n00b donning the self applied title of a "Flasher", there will be something in this book for you.
I'd recommend reading the Amazon sample pages if you are unsure, and if after that, you are still unsure, look for a copy to flip though at your local bookstore before purchasing on Amazon.com.
Final summation - the information inside is well worth the price.

This is a read not to be missed if you wander what is going on in today's corporations. Elliott and Schroth have come as close as anyone to date in looking at the entire problem facing todays corporations head on; not just all the accounting and finance problems. They don't mess around either in explaining their position. Agree with them or not, they lay out a very serious issue very simply and straight forward. What I find amazing is that WorldCom, Bristol-Meyers /Squibb, Nortel, Xerox are all discussed in this book. I found the Wharton review below the most helpful and probably the most credible of all the reviews on this book.

If your looking to share an opinion with someone and you feel like business leaders are letting you down, then by all means, pick up this book. This book stands on its own and appologizes to no one. The Wharton Business school's review is dead on in citing that the authors are trying to get at something much deeper than the shallow perspective of accounting. Something is fundamentally broken ... and these boys point it out. This book is not about greed, its not about Enron, its not about accounting methods, but its about a deeper and more fundamental issue that no one else seems to be getting to .... our system for understanding the current economic, legal and technological functionality of our corporations is broken. As the authors point out, "Have you been able to tell recently when you hear an earnings report on the news if anyone can tell the difference between them lying to you and the truth? I've been listening and I can't distinguish Xerox today from Xerox a year ago when I hear it on the news. The people these guys are talking about begins with us. Read this book and read it deep. There is a warning here that we all better pay attention to. Remember, this book is acknowledged to have been written before all this Enron stuff took place, and then a little Enron perspective was added. If the authors are actually that correct, we have a long way to go to fix the curret problems.

In another era, we might have been tempted to shrug off How Companies Lie as just another polemic against corporate greed. In the wake of Enron, Global Crossing, Tyco and a host of other corporate scandals, however, we must (sorrowfully) admit that this book is as timely as it is insightful. Readers will gain much from the book's explanation of some of the actual accounting techniques that companies use to mislead investors, as well as its advice on how to spot telltale signs that a company might be cooking the books. While financial and accounting experts might find this analysis a bit basic, we from getAbstract recommend this book to all general business readers.

This book examines the problem of financial misstatements with a special focus on Enron. The book is light on facts and analysis, but heavy on opinion. Most of the chapters just restate contemporary criticisms of contemporary management decision-making (e.g., greed). The authors have very little to say about warning signs and the accounting used by management to mislead investors. Those wanting a more substantive analysis of the issues and the perspective of an insider should read Arthur Levitt's new book, "Take on the Street."

This fortuitously timed book pulls no punches about the seriousness of the problem currently facing the stock market:

"The scale and penetration of corrupting market processes is global....."

According to the authors, investors have no choice other than to assume that everything corporations report or otherwise articulate is not all the truth. Investors must find ways to verify what is going on inside the corporations that hold their money, or they must decide that they have reason to trust the leadership team and place their bets on the people in charge.

The authors point out that if financial planners and brokers are smart, they will begin to position themselves as "investor's representative" to the capital markets. Investors want to know more about the companies in their portfolio and how the professionals are making sure that money is not in the hands of the fakers. Investors may also want to see that their investment advisers have a little skin in the game as well.

Here are some of the useful reforms suggested by the authors:

1. If executive sells company stock, put 50% of proceeds in escrow for minimum of two years; audit companies would have to place 30% of their fees in same kind of account.

2. Provide some kind of limited insurance (e.g. $100,000 maximum like FDIC) to protect individual investors from fraud, paid for by publicly traded corporations

3. Have auditors report to SEC and paid through an "audit tax" (a pool of funds paid by corporations) rather than directly by corporations

4. Have something like the Baldrige awards to recognize and reward companies based on the quality of their tools for verification of the financial data they report.

5. Require financial reports to include, among other things:

- all "off-balance sheet" debt, revenue, and taxes
- all loans to customers, insiders and outsiders
- measures to ensure employee ethics
- measures taken by the audit committee of the board ensure that audits produce an accurate picture of company performance...

don't waiste your money unless you been a hermit or a monk.

The book has an excellent photos showing the tipical body response, and the explanation are clar and short

Although I find Martin Lloyd-Elliott's book "Secrets of sexual Body Language" an interesting read, the human body language is anything but linear, and more importantly I think the author gives too much credit to people in certain countries, in particular the United States and Great Britain. Today's America has the most insincere individuals on the planet. I can say this because I am an American, and have observed this for years now. The social interaction is hostile regardless of the environment, be it at a nightclub, at the office, on the street, you name it. This changes the equation. At this moment in time we are witnessing more sophomoric human behaviors among people. A man could receive a lot of "positive, inviting" signals from a woman, only to be told to go to hell once he walks over to introduce himself. Was it his fault? Not necessarily, in a lot of cases women enjoy doing just this. But unfortunately "Secrets Of Sexual Body Language" does not address the games people play. This is where books such as "How To Be The Jerk Women Love" or "Nice Guys and Players:Becoming the Man Women Want" has to pick up the slack. A more accurate title for the book should be "Secrets of Sexual Body Language When All things Being Equal". The problem is that in a lot of Anglo Saxon nations people have adopted extreme attitudes and live with their noses pressed to the wall. A twisted dynamic exists between the sexes creating a World that is the likes of an insane asylum. As we go forth in the dawn of the 21st Century we are seeing more and more of humanity becoming Prozac nation dolts strung out on anti-depressants, and having volatile personalities. This makes up a good percentage of the demographic, and this is extremely difficult to calibrate, and in a lot of cases somewhat feudal.

Some books I just read and some books I read with a highlighter underlining as I go then making notes in the margins. Flipping through this book, I found that I had heavely highlighted it, the detail is that rich. While the illustrations were not that informative the content is. And it's not a sexual technique manual, it's more on methods of flirting and how to detect it. I recommend it.

I'll go ahead and get the 1 bad thing out of the way, and then go ahead and review all the other wonderful aspects of this highly recommended book:

On page 56 - referring to handshakes - the bold text reads:

"Unconsciously we reveal our desire to dominate by placing our thumb on top [during the handshake]."

On page 57, in the body of the text, the reader will surely be confused when he reads:

"People less concerned with power tend to offer a hand in which the thumb is on top and may have less need of domination."

I would assume that the person who puts his thumb on top is more concerned with domination, but that is just my intuition, and since the book provides the reader with an outright contradiction, the reader will need to rely on intuition for this part. Perhaps if the author is reading this, they can go ahead and edit the book before its next publishing.

Now that we have that out of the way...

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and found it extremely helpful. I went to a party recently and was amazed at how many different signals were being sent out from person to person during conversations that neither party was aware of. I didn't go interview any of these people to check my validity per se, but the people I had originally brought along with me to the party confirmed with me their interest (or disinterest, as it were), which I had witnessed before they said anything about it simply by reading their bodies.


This book has many colored photos showing what you should be looking for, fortunately of very attractive people. I really enjoyed that the photos showed without apparent exaggeration what exactly one should see. The book also goes on to mention that oftentimes, more than one sign is being demonstrated, and sometimes of both positive and negative causes, leaving the person sending mixed messages. The book gives an obvious remedy, as well as a strategy to better understand the person throughout interactions.

My only problem now is remembering all of the different signs the book talks about, and then remembering to look for them while talking to people, while at the same time listening to what they are saying. I suppose that this isn't the book's fault, but it goes to show how much valuable information it contains.

If the reader intently reads this book and then goes out and watches people interact, they will be unable NOT to see signs of positive or negative feelings, both sexual or general.

Although this book does contradict itself, I still highly recommend it to anyone interested in the subject. You will not be disappointed.

After reading some of the other reviews I almost didn't buy this book. But I'm very glad I did. If you're interested in complex characters, a fascinating exploration of differing cultures and what happens when they begin to intermix, and if you enjoy great story telling, then you should definitely read this book.

And unlike some other reviewers, I found the homosexual part of the storyline to be interesting--observing the various relevant characters explore and struggle to deal with beliefs and feelings in light of their corresponding culture's rules and ideas of morality. I have no idea where one reviewer got "our heroine asks another man to sodomize her husband while she watches." That's not in the story like that at all. That makes it sound incredibly crass--and that's not how Ms. Elliott handles it at all.

Some reviewers complained about the lack of plot and slow movement. Yes, it does move a little slow. But if you approach it as a journey to be savored for what it is, I think you'll enjoy it. I look forward to reading the other 2 books in the series. And if you like this kind of story/series, I strongly recommend that you read the "Warprize" 3-book series by Elizabeth Vaughan. Happy reading!

This book is rather different in style from the first of the four Jaran novels, but I can't really agree with the reviewers who said it was weaker.

The basic setting for the series is that humans are a subject race in a domineering, but relatively benign, empire under the highly hierarchic alien Chapalii. Charles Soerenson, the only human to hold a high position in the Chapalii empire, is secretly using his position to prepare a revolt against the Chapalii. Meanwhile, his sister and heir, Tess, becomes stranded on the planet Rhui, populated by technologically backwards humans who Soerenson has ordered, with the consent of the Chapalii, are not to be aware of the existence of other populated worlds and advanced technology. While there, she falls in love with a Genghis Khan like figure, Bakhtiian, who has united the nomadic and matriarchal Jaran under his leadership and is preparing a campaign of conquest against the settled peoples of Rhui. The Jaran seem to be based roughly on the Russian/Mongolian cultures of the Russian steppes, and Jaran names are recognizably Russian.

In this novel, second in the series a few years ater the end of "Jaran", Charles Soerenson is visiting the Jaran along with some of his aides and a troupe of Earth actors, with the goals of exploring the Chapalii monument that Tess discovered in the prequel and persuading Tess to return with him. A final goal is gradually furthering the evolution of Jaran and Rhuian culture, with the expectation that they will eventually recontact galactic society. The visit takes place against the backdrop of Bakhtiaan's continuing campaign of conquest.

The actors, unmentioned by the other reviewers here, are central to the story, because their objective of using the language-based art of Shakespeare and classic theater to communicate across linguistic and cultural barriers reflects the novel's theme of how different cultures, and people from them, understand and misunderstand each other. This is also developed in a romance between an actress in the troupe and a Jaran warrior that progresses in spite of their lack of a common language, and a sometimes comic subplot of an arrogant young nobleman sent as a diplomat to the Jaran from a deeply patriarchal feudal kingdom, who is so shaped by his own culture that he is incapable of even understanding how little he understands the Jaran.

A related theme that is developed by suggestion in both this book and the prequel, perhaps for a more direct exploration before the series concludes, is the similarity between Charles's rule over Rhui and the Chapalii rule over Earth and mankind that Charles is in rebellion against.

The story generally involves far less action, and a bit less sex, than the first installation. It does feature a plot of repressed homosexual attraction that reaches an unpersuasive climax, so to speak, in a threesome. But in general, Elliott is elaborating the ideas and characters of the first volume and preparing for crises to come in future installations. The resultant novel some will find boring, but I thought that the characters were interesting enough to maintain an installment that is a bit thin on action.

One problem I did have is that there are really too many minor characters and substories going here, particularly among the Jaran. This book may have more Russian names in it than "War and Peace", which makes it hard to follow some elements of the story.

Althought Jaran is now one of my all time favorites, I was a tad bit let down by An Earthly Crown. Granted, all these reviews are a matter of opinion, I had super high expectations for this book, and was a little confused about the twist of events in it.
It continues the saga of Tess and her husband Ilya on the primative planet of Rhui. Her brother, who is in high power and needs her with him as his only heir, decides he needs to go investigate why she isn't willing to return, not to mention do some investigations of his own. He decides to bring with him a group of Actors who's leader has some cultural studies he would like to test thru' theatre. I can't get the ultimate reason why the great duke, Tess's brother would allow such a thing, especially when the planet is so primitive, and he hasn't been there in so long. A group of Actors! Why not scientists, or Anthropologists who hid their true intentions of learning about their culture to keep it from being modernized? Maybe I missed something there.
Also, I was so excited about reading about Tess and Ilya's new love, and this half of the two book sequel really didn't get into it except you discover that Ilya has had a homosexual past and is fighting repressed emotions for his ex-lover. Not that I am a homophobic or anything, its just that discovering that this warlord who is conquering the planet, who fought so hard to win Tess's heart turning out gay, kindof took out SOME of the masculinity out of him, and his love for Tess almost seemed divided. Not to mention I felt insecure 'for' Tess when she was dealing with her feelings with Ilya perhaps still having those feelings, but Then they end up in a threesome and that kind of crossed the line for me. It was like hearing your husband still loved his ex and then you guys got together to solidify that it is ok. I personally didn't feel that that would be the way to go, but HEY, that's me... I ended up flipping thru it pretty quick, anticipating the ending to my own disappointment, becuz' I hated to face my feelings, but I really didn't have that big of an interest to get the next book.
Jaran is still in my favorites, and always will be. Perhaps in the future I will venture to see what happens to Tess and Ilya and all them folks, but right now I have moved onto other worlds. And Kate Elliot is still an amazing author. With all reviews you gotta decide for youself if they're helpful or not, and make your decision to read the book on your own personal thoughts and tastes.

The first Jaran book was excellent and the Crown of Stars books got me hooked (other than book 4). As always, Kate's writing style is enjoyable, but this time the plot is a bore. Basically a silly romance, starting with the tough guy marrying the beautiful blond he hardly knows (only to run off to battle), and culminating with the a menage a trois between the hero, heroine and hero's ex-gay lover. Kate says male-female role reversal was a key part of her first book, and the woman with two men seems a natural extension of that, but the book became too engrossed in this and the need for an interesting plot (as in Jaran) sort of fell by the wayside.

The first novel in the jaran series was terrific. I had high hopes for the second. Too bad it's such a weak effort. I'm not sure I want to bother with the third, as this one was seriously downhill from the first. I have to agree in part with the somewhat homophobic reviewer. What was an entertaining view into an alternate culture turned into a silly "slash 'em and screw 'em" pulp novel.

I suppose Elliot may be trying for an effect similar to Robert Heilein's "Time Enough for Love", but she does not come close. Instead, Bahktiian becomes a Caligula like figure and Tess turns into "Honan, the Licentous". Ridiculous.

BTW, don't even try to blame the harsh reactions on male insecurity. My wife read the book before I did and told me she hated the ending. I have to agree. It's a bad turn to an already strained storyline.

Even though I don't agree with Lazarus Long's actions at the end of "Time Enough for Love", his character was still real. "Earthly Crown" is an easily disposed of tabloid with no lasting value.

Good to bring back 'the old days' of when this series was on TV. Also good to see just how writing has advanced in such a short time - Fred Hoyle was then seen as a writer worth reading, which may not now be the same.

Message babe from space.


Astronomers detect a signal that they realise is information, not your random junk they usually get. Great excitement follows when they realise it is some sort of plan.

Now, is downloading and building this thing a good idea, or very gullible? That is what they are soon going to find out as a fancy computer is built to deal with it, and something surprising emerges.


3.5 out of 5

I actually saw the TV series when I was a child. It was an amazing thing for me, it altered the way I looked at the world and the universe. The book is good, but the TV series was better. There are two main characters in the book. Dr Fleming and Andromeda. There also a female doctor Dawnay and others but I have to draw the line somewhere.

The story starts with Fleming, a radio astronomer, detecting an intelligent signal from space. It is discovered that squeezed in between the simple signal is an enormous amount of information. When decoded it is shown to be the plans for a powerful superconducting computer. OK obviously it looks like Contact ripped some of this off. So the govt decides to build the thing. They find that there is extra data which is intended to initialise the computer. After it is turned on the pace really starts to pick up. Slowly communication is establised. Then it finds out what we are made of and creates a living creature (well tells the humans how to make it), then eventually after a very suspicious suicide (a young girl seemingly hypnotised electocutes herself on two bars that project from the computer). The next thing we see is that the computer has analysed this girl and gives the instructions to create a new living creature , which turns out to be a clone of the girl. They christen her Andromeda.

Now the pace picks up. Always the scale seems to be expanding. The computer's influence is soon national, then global. Fleming becomes more and more convinced that it is evil. But you never actually know, and you don't know if Andromeda is human or something else, it is not certain what the purpose is ... but there is a purpose.

My appreciation of the book was influenced by the TV series so you might find it dry. There was a sequel called "Andromeda Breakthrough" which was nowhere near as interesting, though it did finally resolve the issue of "what was the motive" and "is it evil".

Plot summary: a radio signal from the Andromeda "nebula" (galaxy) is a plan for a computer. The computer, when built, asks the scientists questions about what elements they are based on, etc. It then tells them how to build a cell from scratch, which multiplies until it becomes a dog-sized amoeba with a lidless eye and primitive brain. They hook it up to the computer as an input device. The computer then gives them instructions for building a human, who functions similarly. She helps the British build a great anti-missile missile and the British get all excited about becoming a great power again. But, of course, there is one scientist who knows what is really going on...the alien intelligence is using them, not vice versa....

This is a great story, in part because it is so realistic. Andromeda is about 1,000,000 light years away, so two-way communication with someone there would take too long. But to send instructions for building something to talk to is better. This inspired Carl Sagan's Contact, which is longer and more complicated but inferior in inspiration.

The characters are also fairly believable: the protagonist bucks all authority and is an alcoholic; the protagonist's girlfriend deceives him and feels terrible about it; the "scientists" who became mere bureaucrats decades earlier in their lives, and the earthy female biologist contribute to the background.

Another thing that makes this book so fun to read is that it was published in 1962, so all of the computer talk is very outmoded. It's so charming to read an author who believes he has to explain to the reader what a computer program is!

I have to say something about this remark: "It is a sad fact that Fred Hoyle--astrophysicist, cosmologist, nucleosynthecist, panspermicist and generally polymath extraordinaire--is not better recognized as one of our greatest sci-fi authors."

Yes, Hoyle was both a scientist and a science-fiction writer--and a popularizer of science as well, but I don't see that that makes him a polymath, particularly since his science-fiction, though entertaining enough, had no especial literary value. In the sixties, his science-fiction was very well known, nearly as well known as that of Arthur C. Clarke, Ray Bradbury, and Isaac Asimov. I'd guess that most of his stuff is now out of print for two reasons: 1) Genre fiction tends to be ephemeral, and 2) Hoyle's scientific reputation plummeted (deservedly so) as he continued to promulgate his long-since discredited "steady-state" theory of the universe and to embrace such fantasies as the space-spores "theory" of the origin of life, with no credible evidence or argument to support either.

Anyway, "A for Andromeda", adapted from a sixties British television series I've never seen, is great fun. I loved how its headstrong, heavy-drinking scientist listened to Webern to show how "advanced" he was. (Hoyle's lectures about music in "October the First is Too Late" are equally endearing precisely because they are so naive.) I'd love for this to put be put back in print.

Henry Bendix does some manipulation of the UN via Stormwatch Black. Stormwatch has to deal with Kaizen Gamorra and his crazies.

Stormwatch Prime has problems in Japan with a nihilistic group, with a tripartite psionic being at its heart. Fuji uses a bit of literature to help.

Christine is in the field, in power activator mode.

There's no doubt that Warren Ellis' work on Stormwatch was groundbreaking, but not much of that can be glimpsed in these first issues of the Ellis run. While these stories do much to vitalize the previously lifeless Stormwatch series, they're only decent in comparison to what comes later. The writing is decent, the characterization is mostly bland, and the art is often confusing (too many characters look like one another, especially Jenny and Christine). All of this was a drastic improvement over what had been done with Stormwatch previously, but it's not Ellis quality.

From a continuity perspective, none of these issues are essential for understanding later Stormwatch and Authority stories. The first story in this collection features a lot of dramatic changes for Stormwatch, but all of these changes are explained clearly in later volumes. These early stories do provide some background for Jenny's hostility toward Henry Bendix, but that may not be reason enough to pick up this volume.

All in all, these aren't bad stories. It won't hurt you to give them a read, but I would personally begin in a more exciting place, probably with the "Change or Die" volume.

I really did not like this as much as I thought I would. I really liked the Authority and thought this would be good as a back staory and it really was not. The story was all over the place and you did not get a good sence of the characters. Oh well

I've heard a lot about Warren Ellis' "The Authority." I've been wanting to read it for a while, but I decided to pick up his Stormwatch work, as I know that is preceded Ellis' newer series. I this up the other day and read through it fairly quickly. If it is anything, it is slick and entertaining. I really love the art, cuz I'm a sucker for that slick superhero jazz. The characters and their powers are unique and interesting, to say the least. It is also clear that Ellis had a very definite plan for where to take this series. What it is lacking is a certain depth of storyline. Each issue is a completely self-contained story, which is fine, but they feel a bit rushed. They all probably could have been better served over a 2-issue story arc. Still, the characters are intriguing, as are the ideas of doing good at all costs and the ends justifying the means, two common themes with which the stories flirt. While I've read a lot of reviews bashing the pre-Ellis Stormwatch material, it would probably be helpful to get a bit of a summary of what went on before, just to acquaint yourself with the particulars of the characters and the world which they inhabit. Still, an altogether entertaining, if light, collection. I look forward to reading more Stormwatch, end eventually getting right into the thick of the Authority.

In the past, Stormwatch was rarely a hot book, or one that many people read except perhaps for the creator's families. With Forces of Nature, Ellis and Raney set out to change that. In so doing, they sewed the seeds of what would later become the Authority.

The Good: For a whole new concept, it's not the worst intro book out there. You get an idea of who the new characters are and where this overall long term plot might be going.

The Bad: The art is not Raney's best, not by any means. Also, since so many new characters are being established, the previous characters do not get a chance to shine, which is fine for long time fans of Stormwatch. However, if this is your first Stormwatch book, you might be left with the 'who are those guys?' feeling.

The Indifferent: The plot is at times intriguing and at times infuriating in equal parts. I think it's because Ellis was completely changing the direction of the book. It's very hard to cram new characters, old characters, new villains and old villains all into one book and still have it come off as brilliant.

All in all, if you love Ellis or Authority, you'll probably want this book in your collection. However, if you've never heard of either one, you might want to barrow this and check it out before you make the investment.

Although a monster field guide is a cute idea for a fun stocking stuffer or coffee-table book, this book makes it painfully obvious that the writer fell short in their research. I'm sure there are more inaccuracies but, just by flipping through the book I noticed a few major ones just involving the Buffy universe.

1. The entry labeled The Master, actually, uses a picture of The Gentlemen from the Buffy episode "Hush".

2. The entry for Spike from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" states that Spike has been turned into a human so he is no longer a vampire, which is not true. The author must have mistaked Spike getting his soul back with becoming human.(Very very different!)

3. The entry for Angel from "Buffy and "Angel" states that Angel can "morph" and fly. Angel can do neither and neither do any vampires in the Buffy universe except Dracula.

It is pretty clear that the author has never watched more than one episode of Angel or Buffy or even attempted to research the characters. I know this is just a novelty book but that does not mean research is not necessary and it is amazing to me that this book would get published with so many major factual mistakes.

It is certainly a clever take on the survival-styled guide, using movie monsters, and writing with tongue firmly in cheek. The only drawback I can see is that the authors have erroneously left out Cthulhu and his brethren. How odd. Perhaps they are merely waiting for a proper film adaptation to come along, instead of the tired and inane dreck that occasionally pops up like a three-month old bloated corpse in the water. I must note that the Lethality and Weaknesses sections for each monster are informative and lively, but I would question the inclusion of such innocuous creatures as the Little Vampire and Grandpa Munster, as they are hardly the stuff of nightmares.

Oh, and there appears to be at least one error: a photo of those dastardly and evil Gentlemen from the Hush episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer graces the monster entry for the Master. Oops. The Monster Size Comparison Chart included in the book is clever, but I sincerely doubt the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man could take Godzilla, no matter how much bigger he is. Smores anyone?

For 100 years of movies and TV, monsters have been apart of the imagination of many geniuses; from monster animals, to monster men, to manufactured monsters and many more kinds of monsters. King Kong, Frankenstein's Monster, Shrek, the Munsters, Tarantula, Norman Bates, Dracula and Many more. For any one who loves monsters this is the book for you.

I was thrilled to see this book at the local Hastings, being a monster geek and all. However, I think it could have been better:

1. Several entries were inaccurate- they claim the first Frankenstein movie was the James Whale version, which is not true. If I recall correctly, their was a silent version that was made at the very dawn of motion photography.

2. Some were redundant- there's different entries for "Living Dead" and "Zombies", along with the Gorgon and Medusa. In the, er, "real world" (as far as you can say brain-eating, walking corpses apply to it) there might be a difference, but not so much in the "reel world". (Before anyone throws a fit, let me say taht I am aware of the real-life voodoo "zombies". I just think that in movies "zombies" is practically reserved for the brain-eating type, and the Serpent and the Rainbow types should be designated some other way. Voodoo Zombies?)

3. While many obscure movie monsters were covered (Frogs? Vampire Circus? Ape from George of the Jungle?) many notables were excluded. Where's the Xenomorphs from Aliens? The Predator? E.T.? Graboids?

4. The last one might be anal of me, but there were tons of typos.

I would recommend this books for monster movie geeks (duh) but I wouldn't do so heartily.

It claims that Eddie was Grandpa Munster's nephew. Huh? Eddie was Grandpa's grandson.