Nova Books

I don't have much to add to the other reviews, except to note that one of the techniques of the Nova Mob is to provoke conflict by playing back the worst things opposing groups have to say to each other in a positive feedback loop. I started to think about this when tracking the Clinton sex scandal and impeachment on the Web, and have had cause to think of it since....

my god, man! Burroughs is a sheer genius. I read the trilogy as well as Naked lunch and the Wild Boys (also cut-ups) three years agoo. This is the one I remember most. I took awhile to read it, and I tried to compete in an interpretive speech with it, but ended up using a piece from The Ticket that Exploded. Every one of these books fascinates me. I also highly reccomend the Soft machine. This got me hooked. I also read Junky, Place of Dead Roads and Queer last year. I am now currently reading Western Lands!!! The man's resume is endless. His genius continues to influence in many deconstructionists today. Look at Radiohead, Andy Kaufman, David Lynch, all of those abstract thinking break down the cell wall artists. They are of a special breed. and this is a special writer!

I won't be as vivid and descriptive as an eel in hot pursuit over gravy, er, I won't be as evil and malignant as Cortez babies, er, want I....EGAD! Start over...

I won't be as descriptive and detailed (there we go) on this review as on THE Wild Boys. This too is a good book, but my least favorite of my collection. It also seems to be the shortest, and less memorable. Parts of it seem to be more preachy than other releases, opening with Agent Lee talking about how the mass media is controlled by psuedo-punk poseurs addicted to controlling the brainwashed populace. From what I remember, Burroughs seems to make fun of these individuals (who have such elaborate names as Jimmy The Butcher, Jackie Blue Note, etc.) who are portrayed as racist punks fooling everyone with actually being the enemy of true revolutionaries. The plans they hatch up to keep the world controlled are amusing.

Aside from this most coherent of writing, the rest is pure Burroughs insanity...classics include the section "Twilight's Last Gleeming", in which a ship is going down and all hell is breaking loose (the immortal line quoted above is said by the drag-wearing captain of that ship). This may come as a shock, but some of the sections actuall bored me...mainly the more scientific information packed parts like the relationship between parasites and hosts, other easily forgettable things. But look past this, and Burroughs knows what he's talking about.

As before, there are some downright beauties and truths around...this may have been from one of the other books since they all seem to flow together as a whole, but I remember a story about a house shifting over a dsert plain and the tenants trying to socialize with lonely lemurs hanging in a tree. There's a great peice of poetry existing right around there. about angry warriors waitng around with their arrows loking for someone to shoot. It just proves that WSB would've been good at straitforward poetry, possibly better than Allen Ginsburg. He actually tried it with Tom Waits on The Black Rider album, remind myself I gotta get that. Wancha all stripped down, all stripped down....wrong album. Point blank, this book is just as worthy/signifigant/brown propeller on a fasion moon as any of his others. Dig? Flat, baby. Flatfooted and pure goulash on my headset tonight. Burroughs, my man...you know it...you...

Fadeout in classic form.

This installation into the Nova series helps establish the reality of Interzone, first introduced in Naked Lunch. The Nova Police are the only thing keeping the Nova gangsters from harboring the monopoly on the universe's only source for Apomorphine. Burroughs appears in the novel as Agent Lee, the primary factor for the Nova Police. From incidious mass-poisonings to wild goose-chases across Interzone, Nova Express is an essential bridge between Naked Lunch and The Soft Machine. In my mind, one cant/shouldn't read either of the other two without having read Nova Express as well.

Oh, this book is superb; thrilling. Burroughs' critique of media/information culture has never been more relevant (he even predicts, in 1964, the emergence of something that sounds very much like the Web - "more and more images in less space pounded down under the sex acts and torture ever took place anywhere"). Great chunks of the book function practically as a Machiavellian instruction manual on how those in power might use a stream of words and images to generate fear, passivity, and conflict in a human population.

Some of Burroughs' incisiveness may derive from his usage of the famous cut-up and fold-in techniques (using passages plagiarized / "sampled" from other texts, including psychology journals, newspapers, pulp science fiction and true crime texts, and literary sources like T. S. Eliot and Rimbaud) - when he uses these, he gets at a radical (if illogical) analysis of the source texts. The illogical / nonlinear structure that results might throw some, but to my mind, this fits in perfectly with the book's overall critique - if you believe that certain forms of language (and thought) are politically corrupted, as Burroughs does, then the answer may be to compose a text that exists outside of those structures. The result feels vital and exciting - it is practically a new way of thinking on the page - and Burroughs' ideas on how to resist and defeat "the machine" and the nova process are similarly thought-provoking and unexpected (they bring to light a spiritual (monastic) side of Burroughs that I hadn't been previously familiar with).

Thank you so much - the book arrived in fantastic condition and I enjoyed it very much.

--Beth :)

In this entry of the popular Rina/Peter Decker series, Kellerman assures us of more Jewish history and customs as the victims in this one are of the Jewish faith. This time the double-edged mystery sends Peter and Rina to Israel to track down the sons of a wealthy diamond magnate and his wife. Did the boys kill their parents? Add to this, the search for a friend of Rina's from New York, who comes to California for a visit with her three children and then mysteriously vanishes as well---to Israel. Add a cool ice queen named Kate Milligan, a shady partner named Shaul Gold, add a few other nasties and Kellerman sends her heroes off into a labyrinthine plot.
Kellerman's a good writer and as she progresses, she tries to focus more on plot and suspense, and not so much on Rina's faith. It does seem surprising though that she manages to slight other religious beliefs while sanctifying her own? Hopefully, as she progresses she'll take some clues from her husband Jonathan and write more substantial works.

I had trouble putting down this book from the very start -- it's a real page turner with a well-plotted mystery -- two of them actually -- keeping you going. The mysteries involve a family who has disappeared out of the blue -- he's a California diamond dealer, so perhaps this was part of a theft -- and a woman and children who arrive unexpectedly for a visit with Detective Decker and his family -- her husband is also a diamond dealer in a Chasidic community in New York. As Decker goes about trying to solve the disappearance of the California family, odd things begin happening with the New York family who are visiting -- they also disappear. Is there a connection?

The mystery takes Decker and wife Rina to Israel, a major diamond cutting/dealing country.

I learned a lot about diamonds and Israel reading this book, and for the most part really enjoyed it. The dialogue was more natural than in some Kellerman books I've read. But -- her pro-Jewish, anti-everything else sentiment was present in this book again, this time in an anti-Moslem bias. Why are metal boxes on door frames considered good religious practice but painting a doorway blue (as Moslems do) treated as superstitious? It seems to me that the customs of Orthodoxy Judaism are unusual enough that Kellerman should be more tolerant and openminded about the practices of other faiths.

Peter Decker and his wife Rina are enjoying family life with her sons and their new baby daughter when Rina's old friend Honey Klein asks to come visit. Rina is surprised because they hasn't been in close contact with Honey in recent years, but she agrees to the visit. Meanwhile Peter works with his partner Marge on a case involving an entire family who have suddenly vanished. The husband is a diamond dealer, and there are many motives for a possible murder, most of them having to do with money. Coincidentally, after Honey comes to the Lazarus home, her husband, also a diamond dealer, is mysteriously killed. Peter's quest for the truth in these matters eventually takes him and Rina to Israel where they pursue missing persons from both of these cases. As usual, author Kellerman weaves interesting facts about the orthodox Jewish religion as well as Peter and Rina's evolving family life. The trip to Israel adds an extra dimension to the story, and the total package is very satisfying for a mystery reader.

In my book 'Sanctuary' is one of the best in the Peter Decker/ Rina Lazarus series. The story revolves around the missing husband of Rina's friend. The search takes Rina and Peter to Israel where we are treated to a fascinating tour of the West Bank and the diamond trade in Israel. What makes this entry so important today is the portrayal of the continuing conflict and violence that shapes Israel's future and her people. It is a pleasure to read a book that is both thoughtful and fun to read.

My only other suggestion if you are new to Faye Kellerman is to start at the beginning with 'Ritual Bath' to see the relationship between Rina and Peter unfold. Then read all her books in the order in which they were written. Its a great series.

Anything where Mr. Collins is involved it number one with me. End of discussion.

When attaching ones self to a celebrities persona, (i.e. actor) one tends to critique only the physical contributions. Stephen Collins is not just an actor. He is an intellectual literary artist capturing your interest from beginning to end in this book. The character, "Nicolette Stallings" embraces your fantasies and simultaneously engages you in a plethera of empathy. Her erotic behavior is stimulating, believable, and before long, desirable to any red blooded American woman. Stephen Collins? A Minister?
(Eric Camden) not in this book.............he's too delicious for words.

I actually read `Eye Contact' a few years ago. It was the first erotic thriller that I'd ever read and it still stands out in my mind as on of the best.

This is the story of actress Nicolette Stallings who only feels powerful when seducing someone of the opposite sex. However, her sexual game of cat and mouse soon turns deadly when she propositions a man she meets in a restaurant who she playfully dubs as "Wally Wall Street". After their one night encounter at a high class hotel Nick finds it hard to get rid of "Wally" who now blames her for the break up of his marriage. After an unsuccessful attempt on his own life "Wally" otherwise known as Jeffery White, finally does succeed in killing himself but not before he manages to frame Nick for his murder! As Nick becomes the center of the medias attention and hunted by the police she tries to find a way to prove her innocence not without having a few sexual encounters along the way.

`Eye Contact" is an excellent erotic thriller not for the timid and will keep you at the edge of your seat trying to figure out how everything will play out in the end. Who would have though that the minister for 7th Heaven could write like this?

I actually read 'Eye Contact' a few years ago. It was the first erotic thriller that I'd ever read and it still stands out in my mind as one of the best.

This is the story of actress Nicolette Stallings who only feels powerful when seducing someone of the opposite sex. The sexual game of cat and mouse soon turns deadly when she propositions a man she meets in a restaurant who she playfully dubs as "Wally Wall Street". After their one night encounter at a high class hotel Nick finds it hard to get rid of "Wally" who now blames her for the break up of his marriage. After an unsuccessful attempt on his own life "Wally" otherwise known as Jeffery White, finally does succeed in killing himself but not before he manages to frame Nick for his murder! As Nick becomes the center of the medias attention and hunted by the police she tries to find a way to prove her innocence not without having a few sexual encounters along the way.

'Eye Contact" is an excellent erotic thriller not for the timid and will keep you at the edge of your seat trying to figure out how everything will play out in the end. Who would have though that the minister from 7th Heaven could write like this?

This novel really does stand the test of time. I read this book many years ago and it still sets well in my memory to this day. It has just about everything in it that one can imagine. Reading this novel is quick and doesn't drag on and on like some novels that I've completed. The long of the short of it, "If this book stands out in my mind today, even though it has been many years since I've read it, then it has to be good reading."

If you don't believe me - buy it and read it yourself.

Why five years for me between his first and second book I cannot explain except for 185 others read first but the wait was worth it. His underlying situations along with a streaming plot really make the book run. I will now continue on to whatever else he has written because I find his writing enjoyable as any other Author of thrillers he is right up with with DeMille, Clancy, Higgins and the others. I highly recommend this book.

I've stumbled across "Games of the Hangman" by accident and was hooked by the non-stop action. Now 5 years later, I stumbled across "Rules of the Hunt" and am enjoying, once again the very dangerous adventures of Hugo Fitzduane. Indeed looking forward to reading the "Devil's Footprint" (look for my review). Mr. O'Reilly's prose is straightforward and clear with a very tight plot. The characters come to life and the action sizzles. Not for the weak of heart. Terrorism is a very real threat that Mr. O'Reilly brings to light in all it's dark reality.

All of Hugo Fitzduane's adventures stand by themselves, and this one is a must read. Everytime this guy writes a book - it gets better and better than the last one! I can't wait for book 4:Satans Smile. Do yourself a favor and get into this well told novel that packs it all for all people young and old, male or female.

This book starts out slow but builds to an incredible level of tension. You will stay up late to finish this book. Do NOT miss the second book to the Fitzduane series.

Our Hero Fitzduane thought his war with terrorism ended with the defeat of the hangman but in the world of international terrorism nothing is forgotten! He and his family are targeted for death by the hangman's sadistic lover,a female japanese terrorist.Fitzduane must take the battle to her on her own tuff which is Japan.This novel gives us scenic and very bloody tour of Japan as our hero battle terrorists, yakuza(japanese gangsters) and lethal betrayal in his own ranks.Another great atmospheric spy thriller!

The exploration described in this book is almost unbelievable in terms of its difficulty. It describes amazing feats but it also describes day to
day activities and experiences.

The book is readable enough. It is not a classic turner but anyone should be able to read it. It is definitely worth reading.

I am not sure they make people this tough any more.

I've read almost every book written on exploration of the South Pole, and this book - by Apsley Cherry-Garrard, a member of Scott's expedition who never wrote anything else - is one of the best. The other reviews here give many of the details, so I won't repeat them, but this is worth reading by anyone who loves a great adventure story.

The Worst Journey in the World By Apsley Cherry-Garrard

Apsley Cherry-Garrard was a privileged English gentleman of twenty-four when he paid 1,000 pounds to accompany Robert Falcon Scott on his ill-fated "Terra Nova" expedition to the South Pole in 1911. It was the twilight of the British Empire, although no one knew it, and there was only one place on Earth left to explore: Antarctica. Scott had prepared for this expedition with his earlier "Discovery" mission, even leaving stores of supplies at various points. Things began to go bad almost as soon as the ship left port: animals sickened, the load shifted, the winds didn't blow enough or blew too much, and the ship got stuck in the Ice.
The general plan was for the group to proceed by sled hauled by themselves, not dogs or machines. This "man-hauling" concept had been abandoned as worthless by Amundsen, the Norwegian who would haunt Scott throughout the journey. Everything that could go bad, did. Animals got sick and died; food spoiled; fuel ran out; men became blinded by the snow glare and frostbitten. The idea was to slog as far South as possible as a group, and then for a smaller force led by Scott to reach the pole.
But it was far colder in the interior than Scott had believed possible - down to Minus 45 and Minus 50. With their limited equipment, survival in those conditions was impossible. Scott and his group essentially froze to death at their last camp. One man walked into a blizzard saying " I am just going outside. I may be a while." Cherry and his group found the leader and his team dead in their final camp, and built a cairn in their honor. One of the final entries in Scott's journal:
"The Norwegians have forestalled us and are first at the Pole. It is a terrible disappointment, and I am very sorry for my loyal companions. .. The Pole, yes, but under very different circumstances from those expected... Great God, this is an Awful Place!"
Cherry never doubted Scott's judgment or character, but others have. Recent biographies including Roland Huntford's "The Last Place on Earth" depict Scott as vain, headstrong, resistant to criticism and petty. Huntford, referring to Cherry's account of Scott's admission that he may have failed to use the dogs properly, says: "this is Scott's first recorded admission of a mistake...that the fault may have been his, and not the animals'. Scott...had begun to feel very doubtful that the ponies will do their job & evidently thinks Amundsen with his dogs may be doing much better. The sight of a commander not only rueing his actions, but lacking the self-control to hide it, was hardly uplifting." (Huntford, "The Last Place on Earth, P. 406) But Scott, despite his many flaws, remains a hero to most of the English speaking world. Cherry himself, having accomplished so much so young, settled into a comfortable upper middle class life in England. writing and speaking of his experience.
"The Worst Journey in the World" is a classic of human endurance and will.
It is inconceivable that men of today's world, using Scott's equipment, technique, and knowledge, could have done what he did.

# # #


Suggestions for Further Reading:
South: The Last Antarctic Expedition of Shackleton and the Endurance (The Explorers Club Classic)
The Last Place on Earth (Modern Library Exploration)

Get this book and read it to your children. Teach them of the days when men were men (and British at that!). Wean them from the cultural myth that whining and wimping and looking out for yourself alone are desirable traits. This book is about more than survival; it is about life and living. Here men give their all for the mission, for each other, for the animals in their service. You read it and wonder, could I have lived it? The book will answer, reminding you that there is more to life and more to live for, than we ever realized.

It's been more than ten years since I read Cherry-Garrard's account of Scott's journey to Antarctica, but I can still feel the lung-searing cold and hear the hellish, monstrous wind coming out of the center of the continent into which the journey was headed. I have never read of anything more terrible than this expedition including Shackleton's truncated Antarctic nightmare and Lewis and Clark's astonishing and dangerous overland haul from St. Louis to the Pacific.

This particular expedition was one terrible misadventure after another almost from the very start when there is a storm at sea right out of the gate as the ship carrying everyone and everything from Tierra del Fuego is swamped and so much food, materiel, and livestock are lost overboard. From there the bad luck never seems to stop. The very fact that these men continued on under circumstances that would have discouraged and then defeated most human beings is almost past credibility. In particular I remember the constant breaking down of the diesel-engined snow cats, the terrible fate of the Asian ponies, the leopard seals, and the long dark impossible trip that Garrard and one other member of the expedition take in the dead of the Antarctic winter to the Emperor Penguin breeding grounds to retrieve a few precious eggs for science. In winter. In the dark. Wearing 1911 woolen clothes, eating preseved 1911 food, and using 1911 (non-)technology. It took 1911 men to do it. I cannot imagine anyone from our time doing this with that equipment. At times I simply had to stop reading and wonder just how much more hardship human beings could stand. I've never felt so physically uncomfortable, so drained and so worried (as a mere reader!) as I was ploughing through this book which was a feat (the writing of it) in itself.

This is a story about a long-vanished era where grit and determination were measured on a different scale from what we see today. An absolute must for any lover of true adventure. It truly was the worst journey in the world against which any subsequent mission of its kind - including extra-terrestrial - must be judged.

I love the combo of sweet comfort food and folk art illustration. A fun & unique little find.

All of the recipes in this book are easy.I've had the book for a week, and I've already tried 6 recipes. Most of them call for ingrediants that are already in your cupboards.The toughest decision will be trying to decide which recipe I'll make next.

Shelagh Duffet has created and compiled a book as beautiful and joyful as a holiday in her province! This is a book that is not only a tremendous aide to those potluck dinners that are more and more popular in economic restricted times as these, but is as well a cookbook with a heart and soul, with comments from her recipe-gifting friends that purvey a real warmth. The recipes are delectable, the art scrumptious, and the book a must-have for all those desiring a tasty life!

A lovely book written by someone who knows how to get the best out of simple ingrediants. Used the book for BBQs and formal dinners - cant believe I've only had it for a week. The staff think it is great. Thank you Shelagh

We have had our cook book for only a coule of days, but the depth and variety of tastes and textures pleases the whole family - we used to live in Italy and France and so have very strong and decerning tastes. Thankyou Shelaigh

I mean it,this is brilliant stuff ! Mr. Reginald has done his homework and proves himself a master of all things medieval with this first tale set in Nova Europa. His grasp of history playing itself out in a dark and bloody alternate Middle Ages and his subtle introduction of fantasy elements to the mix, earmark this as a series to follow closely in the months and years ahead. Im hoping that we are treated to maps in future volumes since the various tales are set in different areas of Nova Europa and at different times in history.Speaking with Ariadne Press,the second novel,The Exiled Prince will be arriving soon in Amazon warehouses and the third novel Questiones is due to be released in September.
May this author live to be a hundred !

It was with a degree of trepidation that I set out to read THE DARK-HAIRED MAN. 600 pages! I'm a strong admirer of Robert Reginald's short stories (see my Amazon review) but not a big fantasy fan. And the first few chapters were indeed not so easy. All those funny half-familiar names, for instance. Granted, there is a useful glossary at the back of the book for quick reference, and in any case that half-familiarity is the whole key to Reginald's Nova Europa. Nova Europa is how the world might have developed if the Roman emperor Julian, known to us as "Julian the Apostate", had not been killed in the year 363 in battle with the Persians (or perhaps at the hand of a Christian enemy? According to one tradition, this was the martyr St. Mercurius, who returned briefly from the dead to finish off the wicked pagan emperor). In this alternative vision of history Julian survived, to become "Julian the Great", and the following centuries worked out rather differently. The trick is not original, but Reginald carries it off most elegantly. Once the reader has grasped what the situation is, the novel zooms along in great style. I actually found it difficult to put down, and I read it through to the end in two late evening reading sessions each of which followed a long working day. THE DARK-HAIRED MAN is one of the most exuberant books that I've ever read. There is a wide-range of distinctively-drawn characters, the writing is atmospheric, the "fantasy elements" (the things I normally like least in fiction) are plausible within their frame of reference, and the main source of evil in the story is immediate, psychologically convincing and chillingly spiteful (which is more than can be said for Tolkien's Sauron, for example). So: Hats off to Mr. Reginald for a really fine piece of work! The second novel in the series, THE EXILED PRINCE, has already appeared, and there are apparently further novels on their way. If they can match the quality of this one, we shall be witnessing the creation of a major literary phenomenon.

And, here is a book truly for the readers of ... well... of ... "this kind of book". And, just what "kind" of book is it? Well, it's a book on the massive historical scale that includes pretty much all of the genres: mystery, suspense, romance, sci-fi, fantasy, murder, humor ... It's chockablock with a distorted Medieval Europe, and the myriad characters existing therein, that/who could well be assumed to exist in some other dimension. Kings and Queens and Dukes and Witches and Warlocks and Wizards, and Demons, even the Devil, come into play, in this fictionalized account of somewhere, sometime, Middle-Ages' landscapes whereupon power struggles bring into play, on an enormously large stage, all of the delicious vices and virtues, all of the acts of bravery and vengeance, all of the greediness for power and machinations of powerful people, good and bad who die and are born ... of nations that rise and fall ... of metamorphoses, physical and mental, that occur. Magic rings and torques and mirrors come into play. Magic, black and white, along with many momentous magical moments, arise on each and every page, as the brilliance of author Robert Reginald weaves this literary tapestry that, while it may prove too complex for some readers to fathom, on all its myriad literary (and those not in-on-the-inside-jokes) levels, does reward, one and all, in the end, with a finely-wrought solution to one man's search for his identify in a world suddenly gone mad because of vengeance and witchcraft. [Speaking of tapestries, by the way, a series of them play an important part in the latter pages of the volume]. THE DARK-HAIRED MAN is a must read for anyone "into" this kind of book.

P.S. The novel is very funny too.

In "The Dark-Haired Man, or A Hieromonk's Tale" Rob Reginald has created an intriguing blend of fantasy, history, romance, and mystery. Fascinating characters, from the tragic to the humorous populate in medieval world of Nova Europa. I especially like the strong female characters who use their brains, feminine wiles, magic, and their political connections to change their world. These women operate within the constraints of their roles as queens, princesses, and noblewomen but exhibit every bit as much power as men, without dueling with swords. Several forms of magic work in Nova Europa, sometimes in opposition to each other. Mysteries, from the overarching questions of Afanasy's parentage and the evil one's identity, to the small questions about magical dolls, increase the suspense. Amusing situations, witty dialogue, and sarcastic comments keep the reader laughing just enough to offset the sorrow over the horrific battle scenes and the death's of major characters. Although quite different from most fantasy worlds, Nova Europa is a delightful place to visit and I look forward to Rob Reginald's future fantasy novels.

An Amos Walker Novel. Little more needs to be said. Estleman hasn't misfired yet. Still looking for that 5-star book I know he has out there.

Amos Walker, an alcohol-guzzling embittered Detroit Private investigator has a new case: protect a man who is paying ransom for the retrieval of a valuable illuminated text called: Hours of the Virgin. When his client is killed, Amos feels obligated to investigate, leading him plunging head first into the seamy side of the porn and art-theft industry.

I really enjoyed this latest installment of Loren Estleman's Amos Walker series. In this 'episode,' Amos must confront some ghosts from his past, and make some hard choices.

While I like the Amos Walker series, I keep hoping for Amos to have some FURTHER character development. Sometimes his inability to find a woman, and his habits (alcohol and cigarettes), are a little over-done. Must Amos attempt to smoke in every possible unacceptable place? I.E.: The art institute, the library, the massage parlor, and the Green House? And do we really need this to be described /Every/ time? It's time for Amos to get the nicotine patch!

Overall a solid Amos Walker story.

For a dozen previous novels, P.I. Amos Walker would occasionally mention the death of his former partner and mentor, who was killed during a stakeout of an adulterous husband. But not until "The Hours of the Virgin," do we find out just how much that tragic event affected him. Walker is investigating a case involving a missing fifteenth century manuscript when he is double crossed and disciovers that his partner's murderer is involved. Along the way, Walker learns much about his partner's death, and life, that he never knew. All of this leads to a satisfying climax in which Walker finally confronts some of his own inner demons.

Estlemen's Walker P.I. series is one of the best currently going. Unlike a lot of the fluff that passes for hard boiled detective novels these days, Walker is the real deal. All of his novels have the kind of downcast loneliness that is vital to the genre. The spirit of Phillip Marlowe lives on in Amos Walker.

As usual, Mr. Estelman does not disapoint. I turned to this book after a real stinker and I was well rewarded. Mr. Estlemen is a great mystery writer for a number of reasons. He's a master with the hardboiled writing. He's prolific (at least one mystery per year). He's good. The last mystery I had read, by another author, I figured out in chapter three. This one held me to the end and it also made me laugh. I think this is an excellent read for mysteryphiles and non-mysteryphiles alike. His writing is pure poetry.

One wonders what the city fathers of Detroit think about Loren D. Estleman. His vision of the city, as seen through the jaundiced eye of Amos Walker, private investigator, is nearly uniformly morose, a city on the greased skids to palookaville, a one-hit wonder whose 15 minutes has been over for an hour and a half.

But like the city, the Motor City investigator keeps on trucking in the 13th novel of this highly praised series. Walker agrees to help a curator at the Detroit Institute of Arts to help recover a recently stolen medieval illuminated manuscript. But the meeting at a rundown porn theater is interrupted when Walker is distractedby a young woman, then shot at. When the smoke clears, the woman, the manuscript and the curator have all disappeared.

While tracking down the leads, Walker is also following a trail into his past. Twenty years ago, Dale Leopard, his boss and mentor, was found dead while on a case, and Earl North, the man who beat the charge, has reappeared, seeking the manuscript. Is there a connection between the murder and the Hours? Did North really kill Leopard?

Estleman writes like an aria; his prose sings with metaphors and observations that strike just the right note. He's been around long enough so that comparing him to Dashielle Hammett and Raymond Chandler isn't an original thought, but it's true and it'll have to do. He gives Detroit its unique identity of a crumbling and crooked but proud city trying to find itself.

Joan Collins is a brilliant writer! I suggested in my literature class that we stop reading Hemmingway and turn to Joan's books. The teacher said maybe, but this was an American Lit course, and Joan is British. I could't put this book down. It was a page turner all the way with a plot that kept me on the edge of my seat. This is a great novel, one for the ages.

I am not a fan of romance novels, and I cannot read anything by Joan's sister Jackie. Joan Collins though taught me what great writing is all about. To live, to love, to eat gourmet food all while living a life of fame and secrecy...it blew me away. The words flowed like honey from the page and took my breath away. I could only hope to approach Joan's writing style with my own meager attempts at prose. All this, and the woman acts too! Joan Collins is a spectacular writer and one of the best we have writing today. Joan is so great, she confounds the experts. She is YEARS ahead of her time, which is why she had that trouble in court. They didn't get her and she didn't yeild...a true artist and a great inspiration to all writers.

a wonderful book from a woman who has learned from her years what life and love can be. I can think of no greater author this century than Joan for capturing life in a phrase, a smile in a word, or an experience in a sentence. Joan has written the way women long to live, full of passion and verve, always looking for the miracle man to sweep us away. Don't bother with Goethe for classic literature. He couldn't hold a candle to her. Joan captures the psyche of women like Freud never could. A must read for all.

Joan Collins has virtually made me give up reading. Her novels are so well written, everything else seems like a waste of time. Joan is a woman who has truely known love and knows how to capture it on the page. I can't wait for the next book in this series. "my little cabage", don't make us wait too long.

Joan Collins is to novels what Shakespear was to scripts. There has been little her sister has writen that has approached this brilliance. Joan hurls thunderbolts where other mearly write sentences. I culdn't put this one down. Why is it that this book was missed on the top 100 novels of the century? Chauvinism. Joan should do like Virginia Woolfe and dress like a man while having torid romances with artists like Rodam. I can't wait for the next book. Joan Collins writes life like I've always dreamed it to be! Ten stars! **********

If you are a Westie lover, this is a must have. The pictures are adorable and the book has some great information in it no matter what age your Westie.

I love this book, is a quick guide about the most adorable dog breed.

I was totally unfamiliar with the West Highland Terrier breed and I wanted to find a book that could educate me on numerous aspects, including training tips. I was very pleased with the content of this book and would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to learn about West Highland Terriers.

Jill Arnel is definitely an expert when it comes to terriers, especially Westies and Cairns. So happy that this book is out there.

One of the best dog breed books I've read. It's original. Really appreciated author's smart style and wit. Much more informative than others. Very contemporary with some interesting trivia.