Windsor Books

Everything was great. The book came quickly...came in great condition...and was a great price...what more can I ask for?

I read that Roddy Doyle was J K Rowling's favorite author. His fiction was too real and depressing. Plus it was hard to follow as he jumped from the past to present day often.

I think my main problem with this book was the language. I found all the cursing distracting, and made the flow of the book choppy. I gave it three stars because if you take all the cursing out of the book, it was quite good.

Doyle did an excellent job in describing the life of a physically abused wife, I was completely drawn into her life from page one.

I would recommend this book to a friend. It is not a happy story, but the main character is immensely likable, and her story is interesting and worth reading. I liked Paula Spencer. She's funny, insightful, vulnerable and charming. She is also flawed, which makes her seem very real to me. It was hard to read this book though, because the shadow of her tragedy creeps across every page. Doyle waits until the final chapters to tell us, though, about Paula's battering at the hands of a man she loves, her "shattered" husband, Charlo. The title tells us what we do and do not want to know, so I think it's fine that Doyle waits until the end to reveal it all.

This book is written in the first person, and as an American the Irish vernacular was initially difficult for me, but Paula's inner dialogue is well written, and very enjoyable. I think I might have picked up a few Irish colloquialisms.

Kudos to Roddy Doyle! He has created a wonderful, likable, character in Paula Spencer.

Written in 1996, this "prequel" to 2007's Paula Spencer, tells of Paula's life from her teen years to her passionate relationship with Charlo Spencer. Part of a family of robbers, Charlo is an exciting man who makes her feel alive and gives her a sense of selfhood. Booker Prize-winner Doyle crafts a dramatic first-person narrative told by Paula, who leaves her rigid home and unsympathetic father to marry Charlo, a man her father disapproves of. Their passionate relationship and remarkable sense of communication vanish when Paula becomes pregnant with the first of their four children. Gradually, Paula finds solace in alcohol, as Charlo becomes an absentee husband and father and eventually a philandering wife-abuser.

Paula begins her story in the present, with Charlo's death--shot by the police after he has murdered a woman during a robbery--then develops the story through her reminiscences about both the good and the bad times. As she relives her courtship and early marriage and explores her early past and her more recent past,, she also tells us about her present battle with alcohol. She regrets that Nicola, her teenage daughter is responsible for the family on many occasions, since Paula works nights cleaning offices and then returns home wanting only to tell Jack a bedtime story and then abandon herself to drink.

As the story of her abuse evolves, the reader is privy to Paula's innermost conflicts. Though she knows that "I lost all my friends--and most of my teeth," she also bemoans the fact that "he beat me brainless and I felt guilty." The tendency of abuse victims to blame themselves, especially when their love has been as great as that of Paula and Charlo, explains Paula's comment that "for seventeen years I was brainwashed and brain dead." She knows that she has made her children suffer, not only because of her abuse but because of her alcoholism, but she has been powerless to change until in one violent moment, she sends Charlo out of the house and determines to live her life on her own.

Doyle's ability to structure a novel such as this one, which moves from immediate present into recent and then distant past, providing important information about character in the process, brings this dramatic novel to life. His trademark humor is subdued here in favor of the ironies of Paula's life. This is a far more serious novel than the Barrytown Trilogy--more in keeping with the Booker Prize-winning _Paddy Clark, Ha, Ha, Ha_, an equally sad story of a deteriorating marriage from the point of view of a ten-year-old boy. This poignant novel is ultimately a celebration of the human spirit as Paula determines to take control of her life and to provide a family for her children. n Mary Whipple

This is the fifth Graham Greene novel I've read, and the first with an even moderately happy ending. A pseudo-spy novel with a pseudo-spy named Wormold, the book is more a meditation on where human allegiance should really be when government and family seem at odds with each other. It's also a fairly quick read (for Greene) that's funny as hell.

I read a lot of Graham Greene, and this is the one one of his works that disappointed. Characters were dull and the plot, slow to develop. Also, the technology described seemed very dated in view of today's world.

Wormold has an uneventful but stable life. He is a fortysomething Englishman living in Havana, where he stayed when he fell in love with a Cuban woman who has now left him for good, in the company of their 17 year old daughter, the cyinical, likable, and beautiful Milly. Wormold has a vacuum-cleaner shop, but business hasn't been going well lately, on account of political trouble in pre-Castro Cuba. Every day, at noon, Wormold goes to the bar to have a drink and a chat with his friend, the old doctor Hasselbacher. One day he meets an English stanger who starts harrassing him into becoming a spy for the British MI-6, the intelligence agency. Wormold doesn't really feel like it, him being a peaceful and risk-avoiding guy. But Milly does something silly which puts Wormold in serious economic problem. Plus, the MI-6 is willing to pay for his services, so reluctantly but with no choice, he accepts to spy for the British. As he is no social mingler, he finds nothing to report about, but report he must, if he wants the money to keep coming in. Hasselbacher gives him what seems to be good advice: since the information is to be secret, no one will know it but Wormold, so why not invent everything, including sub-agents whom will also have good salaries and travel expenses? Wormold follow this advice and begins to send fake reports, mainly about a weapons-system "currently being developed" by the Cubans in the Eastern mountains. London is shocked and surprised. Could Wormold provide some blueprints of the weapons? Sure, why not. Little by little, and then at speeding frenzy, things get out of control. Covert sub-agents, both those whose names were just taken from the Country Club directory, as well as those living only in Wormold's imagination, begin to die and suffer attacks. Reinforcements come from London. Wormold doesn't know what to do and he's afraid about sweet Milly, who is wanted as a wife by the chief of police, a noted torturer and corrupt man. What will Wormold do?

This book is as hilarious as you will get. Greene's black humor is wonderful and the characters are all likable in a spoofy way. Unwise recruitment of spies proves disastrous for the British government, but delicious for any reader of this crazy farce, one of the best spies books there are. Greene shows here, as always, a genius for plot and character-development, as well as a humor absent from his bleakest books, like "The Power and the Glory", or "A Burnt-Out Case". Great.

Nice to see this classic in print again. Hitchen's insightful forward adds to the pleasure of reading Greene's wonderful "entertainment" again. If you haven't read it yet, do so now!

Graham Greene, a major, well-known 20th century British author, had a very long life, most of the century, and a very long and prolific writing career. He may be best known for "The Third Man," "The End of the Affair," and "The Power and the Glory," but his books were greatly honored, highly-praised by the critics, generally best sellers, and often made into movies. As was "Our Man in Havana," a later work of his, initially published on October 6, 1958, and just re-released. Greene famously divided his books into 'novels,' such as the "Power and the Glory," and 'entertainments,' such as "Our Man in Havana." While working on the book at hand, he wrote to the Indian writer R.K. Narayan, a friend, that he was at work on "a rather hack job, an entertainment called 'Our Man in Havana.' I am getting too old to boil the pot." However, he also wrote to his mistress Catherine Walston in 1956 that "Our Man" was potentially a "very funny plot which if it comes off will make a footnote to history."

The book is set in Havana, Cuba, during the last days of the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, and reproduces time and place very accurately on the page. The plot's reasonably gripping, and resonant. Like his later follower, John LeCarre, Greene had first-hand experience of the British Secret Service. On the recommendation of his lifelong friend Kim Philby, who turned out to be England's most notorious postwar spy/traitor, Greene had served in Africa's Sierra Leone during World War II, and this is a spy story. The lead character is Jim Wormold, an English seller of vacuum cleaners based in Havana. (Everyone can take a moment here to remember Alec Guinness as this character in the excellent movie based on the book.) Wormold is poor and desperate: his wife has left him, and he hasn't enough money to pay his hefty bar bills, let alone keep his beautiful teenaged daughter Milly in her preferred lifestyle. So, without realizing what he's doing, or where it will take him and those he loves, he agrees to become a British spy; "Old Blighty's" man in Havana.

This may be an entertaining entertainment, but not to worry: there's plenty more serious Greene here. His instinctive anti-Americanism, left-wing viewpoints; and jaded cynicism as to the spy's life. His remarkable ability to create characters, even those who don't get many pages, such as Captain Segura, a local policeman/torture enthusiast, with a cigarette case made from human skin. Segura strongly resembles Batista's dread 'enforcer' Captain Ventura, and in his dark glasses and unmarked car, he will turn up again, and again, creating terror in various Latin American countries, most notably in Haitian dictator "Papa Doc" Duvalier's feared "toutons macoute."

Greene traveled widely, as a journalist, and to research his novels. He had great serendipity in his visits: many of them occurred at highly interesting times. "Our Man" was published in October, 1956; on New Years Day 1959 the revolutionary Fidel Castro came down from the mountains. The author set his Vietnamese war novel, "The Quiet American" just before the critical battle of Dien Bien Phu. He set "The Comedians" in the last days of Duvalier's Haiti. He had another stroke of luck: the long American blockade of Cuba has resulted in the country, and the city of Havana, staying much the same as the writer described them nearly fifty years ago.

All in all, think I'd have to go with "a very funny plot which if it comes off will make a footnote to history."

Georgiana Spencer Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, was born in the eighteenth century and died in the early nineteenth century, but her life was very modern in many ways. She was an open activist at a time when women were supposed to stay behind the scenes, a bold and flamboyant hostess who used her social prestige to advance her political agenda, and a beautiful but ultimately self-destructive woman whose emotions helped shape British history.

Georgiana was born into one wealthy and powerful aristocratic family and married into an even wealthier and more powerful one. The Cavendishes were bastions of the Whig oligarchy, which governed Britain almost continuously through the eighteenth century until the 1760s, when King George III forced them out of power. In opposition the Whigs became the progressives or liberals of the day, calling for curbs on the King's powers, protection for the liberties of the people, and for progress and social reform (with the ultimate aim of regaining power for themselves, of course). Georgiana was married to the Duke of Devonshire, who was retiring where she was outgoing, far more interested in living a quiet life with various mistresses than in helping to advance the Whig cause. Georgiana, frustrated with a husband who did not appreciate her, threw herself into politics, becoming a friend of Whig leaders like Charles James Fox and campaigning openly for him and others.

Georgiana's private life was complicated. She and her husband were involved in a years long menage a trois with Lady Elizabeth Foster, who was simultaneously Georgiana's best friend and the Duke's mistress and mother of his illegitimate children. Georgiana was addicted to gambling and lost enormous sums which she feared to reveal to the Duke. Eventually Georgiana herself had a love affair which nearly caused her marriage to end and forced her temporarily out of sight. Although she returned to political life after some years, her health broke down and her influence remained diminished.

Amanda Foreman has produced a work of great scholarship which reads like a novel. Georgiana's life is so fascinating that I've read this biography several times just to see what she would get up to next and how she would get out of one scrape after another. Foreman makes the good point that Georgiana epitomized many women of the eighteenth century, who were far more active and involved in politics than is generally supposed, as well as being a harbinger of the kind of power base to which women in the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries still aspire.

I was never a biography fan until this book. Foreman does a dazzling job of bringing Georgiana to life. I could read this book over and over again!

if some one told me what really happen 18th century upper crust i would not believe them.money,sex,adultery,hidden preganacy,lesbianism,royality,gambling and drug addiction.fashion theather social scandals,politics,betrayal, blackmail and war.it's a soap opera that really happen.even a evil bestfriend who bears two childern by georgina husband is through in.this book is addictive.i didn't put it down till last page.

I was wanting more of a historical novel but this book reads more like a text book. Almost every page has notes at the bottom of the page, this makes for very "choppy" reading. Interesting subject but not a cozy read. I had to make myself finish the book.

I am currently obsessed with Jane Austen, came across a glowing review of "Georgiana: Duchess..." in the New Yorker, and couldn't resist reading this story of Regency England. Unlike Austen's heroines, the Duchess has a very dark side - she's a gambler, adulteress, liar, drug addict...I found myself wanting her to be happy (and to win against the evil Bess) in spite of (or because of?) these qualities. In the end, her charisma, beauty, fashion, gentleness, vulnerability, wit, privilege, and political engagement endear her.

I loved the book, the story, the characters, the history, and the politics. Unlike some other reviewers, I found Foreman's writing incredibly engaging and easy to read.

I easily read this book in a few hours, it was short and it keeps your attention. It's definitely entertaining, but I can't say that I truly loved it. The characters are such bad people that it's hard to sympathize with them in any regard. For a love story, it wasn't that romantic or inspiring, and I will probably never read another book by the same author, because I was really just not blown away by it.

Great story and Stanley Tucci does a great job with the narrative. Far better than the Nicholson-Lange movie version.

A very good book, that for the most part has stood the test of time well. Some excellent twists, about people who you get the feeling might have turned out differently if the circumstances of their lives had been different. Short enough for anyone to take a chance on, and most will probably enjoy the time spent.

The Postman Always rings Twice is an Americal classic--a great book by any standard. Cain's plot for the book is simple enough: an immoral hustler who lives by his wits gets in cahoots with an equally desperate and amibtious woman who is seeking to escape her loveless marriage.

Cain's book is remarkable for its suspensful account of a well laid out murder plan that succeeds but doesn't bring the two perpetrators much happiness. The book stands out for its blunt and realistic portrayal of vicious criminal behavior.

It's helpful to know that Cain was a screenwriter in Hollywood before he wrote the book. That I think is the reason for his sharp dialogues, some of which will stick with you forever! Cain's great dialgoue writing skills are a key factor in keepign the action tight throughout the many twists and turns of the book.
I haven't seen either of the movies based on this book, for one reason or another. Surprisingly, I've read this book atleast a half adozen times and the book has left an indelible impression on me. I can literally see the entire movie in my head everythime I think about it!

This book essentially is Kerouac meets the three horsemen of mystery: Marlowe, Hammett and Spillane. Written with curt statements, little detail, and almost exclusively dialogue (could be a movie script), this book quickly outlines a thorough story in about 100 pages.

The protagonist, Frank Chambers, is basically another impulse driven, good-for-nothing, tiger on the road. He is the bad boy which good girls fall for. And the girl in this book is Iowa blond beauty queen, Cora Papadakis - whose surname comes from older husband Nick Papadakis. Frank's character reminds me immensely of Kerouac's "On the Road" hero - Dean Moriarity.

Cora hates herself and her life. After Nick employs Frank, she falls for the help. The femme fatale employs Frank to free her from her misery - which means murdering Nick. After botching the job the first time, and failing to run away while Nick sits in a hospital bed, Frank meets up with Cora for a second chance (hence the title).

The second attempt leads you through another botched caper which only leads to an ingenious and fruitful legal maneuver which climaxes with the insurance agent perjuriously testifying in order to save the company money. Money acquits evil.

But, if you sleep with dogs, you wake up with fleas. A few escapades later, Frank and Cora mutually mistrust one another to the point where each believes the other will do to them what they did to poor Nick.

The ending is classic irony. And, that is what makes the book so ingratiatingly wonderful for film makers and readers. Love is conquered by the unknown. Isn't it usually "Love conquers all?" Then the unknown conquers all, or does it?

If you are looking for flowery prose, detailed description, or poignant passages of reflection - forget about it. This is Hemingwayesque, it is Marlowe-like or Hammett-influenced. This is about dialogue, slang, or street talk. This is classic fodder for film noire. This is a classic mystery novel.

I thought this was a great book and would recommend it to anyone looking for a fun and entertaining book

As all the Lucky's novels this one is excellent. You won't be able to put down the book until you finish it, JC has the ability to write five different stories in the book, merge all of them at the end of the book and keep you interested in all the stories and willing to read for more.

From reading some of the reviews the customers have said i was a little sceptical about reading this book, but once i started it i couldnt put it down. i brought it everywhere even to work (something my boss was not thrilled with). i would deffinatly read this book again. personally i think it was the best book out of the whole lucky series. i hope you enjoy reading it like i did!!

Before Dangerous Kiss, every Lucky novel was an improvement from the last. That's why I was hoping for this to be the best Lucky novel, and Lucky could end at her best. Unfortunately, this one almost makes Chances look better!

This is "A Lucky Santangelo Novel", yet Lucky only plays a secondary part. Lucky's persona we all knew and loved in her prior adventures is much more passive, which is a major letdown. Another thing that I must say is that most of the characters crossing over from other Lucky novels serve no point in the novel, and you almost want to yell at the book, wondering why they are wasting pages.

Lucky has been a lot of fun, but I think it is time to leave her be, and move on to bigger and better things.

Dangerous Kiss is so different from the other Lucky Santangelo novels because it does not feature the Bonnatti family. I really loved that it introduced new characters to the world of Lucky Santangelo and Lennie Golden.

This book is definitely worth five stars because you won't want to put the book down. It will keep you wondering about the fates of Lucky and everyone that she loves!

The bravery of this woman is brilliant. I have read only two of the three books. She has overcome remarkable odds to open the eyes of all women to what goes on in Saudi Arabia with women. Jean P. Sasson has proven beyond all doubt that the pen is mightier than the sword. What these two women have done is remarkable. I was wondering, does Princess Sultana's Circle come on audio cassette or cd perhaps?? I wanted to get copies of these books on audio cassettes or cds for friends. BRAVO!!!!!

Yocheved Cook

Excellent read . Makes me glad I am an Autralian able to live a free life. Could not put it down.

This story is written simply but soon captivates the reader by taking them into the mysterious palace, heart and world of an Arabian princess. I was pleased to discover a well told story that gave me a light but unprotected look at Sultana's world and the culture of her nation. American women are generally aware that Middle Eastern women live under great restriction. What we don't see is how they live with it, feel about it, rationalize it or deal with it when it becomes too much. This book gave me a sense of understanding from a point of view other than my own very American one. I found myself understanding the weights that tug at the hearts and manners of these women. For American women, to defy is ordinary and not typically met with resistance. This story follows the fuel that ignited the courage to stand up to long standing injustice... no matter the cost. Admittedly, it was an easy read but it did it did offer some cultural education.

I highly recommend reading the Princess Trilogy. I had a hard time putting the book down. It's a really easy read.

My review is the same as I gave for the book "Princess" It is very good

This is my first spy novel, and I have to say I'm pretty impressed. I don't lose tracks of the characters, and the story flowed smoothly.

There were previous reviews about Meade's mistakes regarding certain languages and topography. This I was not aware, but if this the case. Shame on him. I had two serious issues with the book. First, I had a problems visually with half of the action scenes. Second, why did Anna do through these bouts of weakness when she believed in once instance in the story, that Alex was being too brutal. I don't understand drastic times call for drastic measures.

It's 1953, and Joseph Stalin is nearing the end of his life. Hardly a cause for celebration among his enemies, Stalin's impending demise signals that he's on the verge of his most reckless adventure yet - WWIII. Hoping to forestall the Soviets before they can perfect the H-bomb, the CIA dispatches their most elusive assassin to off Stalin for good. With a beautiful woman at his side - a Russian who escaped the brutal Gulags, but left her daughter behind - the assassin eludes every dragnet the Soviets leave in his pathm but one. Unfortunately, the mission of the assassin, codenamed "Snow Wolf" is compromised before it even touches Soviet-bloc soil. Yet the Wolf feels confident he can reach his target. Meanwhile, Jake Massey, the American spymaster who set the mission going, is ordered to kill it - and his agents if he has to. With the details of the mission known to the Russians, the west is terrified that the soviets will use Stalin's murder as an excuse for war.

This was a book I'd wanted to read for years, but the results are disappointing. There's little to break away from the pack of McLean, Forsythe or Ludlum or their imitators. The dialog and prose are flat, and the characters are cardboard caricatures - you learn little more about them than needed to set the good guys from bad (especially a KGB sadist named Romulka who'll pose problems for the Americans and Russians alike). Those flaws aside, "Snow Wolf" is boring - it takes forever to get its act together, and by then, it's lost sight of what its about. Nothing in the latter part of the book ratifies the fears of the former - that Stalin is on his last legs, and plans to go out with a thermo-nuclear bang; that the Russians are on the verge of starting WWIII; that the Soviet Union is a police state inhabited by loyal and ideology-enslaved communists ready to destroy the world). The story hints at some secret held by Anna Khorev, the Wolf's companion - but then forgets about her and turns her into the standard damsel-in-distress. Worse, losing sight of the ideas it started with, "Snow Wolf" doesn't create any new ones, or become any character's story. It focuses on the Wolf's hunter, a KGB officer names Lukin who, unsurprisingly, turns out to be a too-decent guy to kill his prey. There's a late plot twist revealed in the last few chapters, but it's been botched as well - the existence of the secret is revealed near the beginning, so you're already primed for it. The revelation of the secret follows the rest of the novel's style of unnecessarily over-baked dialog, and the revelation itself just has you scratching your head. That said, the plot holes aren't terribly huge, but do beg for your attention - though the story is told from the viewpoint of Anna Khoreva (no spoiler - she's introduced early on), much of the book occurs out of her presence. Also, the idea that Soviets would blame the west seems pretty much out the window once they learn of the Wolf's mission. Don't they have enough to blame the west already? The novel posits a Soviet armed camp poised to strike at the rest of the world, but never hints of this once we actually get to Moscow.

But worst of all, "Snow Wolf" just doesn't hold your attention. It's just pages that barely rise past "skim worthy".

When I read the summary of this book, I ordered it, without wasting a second. This book didn't disappoint me in the least. This is my first foray into the Russian thriller genre, and I can't wait to read another.

Anna Khorev, Alex Slanski, Jakob Massey, Yuri Lukin. 4 different people trying to accomplish 3 different objectives. These 4 different people about whom the readers will learn a lot.

A plot to assasinate Joseph Stalin. Knowledge of this plot by Soviet leadership. The reader gets to see both sides.

The setting, plot, character development and skillful artistry with which Glenn Meade writes are a recipe for instant success. This book is gripping, intense and absolutely readable. In all honesty, this book now tops my list of favorites.

I hope you enjoy this book just as much as I did.

Snow Wolf is an amazing novel that pictures actual people along with fictional characters. The plot to the story is based on one of the theories of how Josef Stalin really died. It is said that he died of natural causes, but Glenn Meade portrays the theory that Stalin was assassinated by none other than the CIA. Before Eisenhower was sworn into office, he was shown a folder that contained disturbing information about Stalin. The folder said that Stalin was in an unhealthy mental state and was in the concluding state of building a hydrogen bomb that was believed to target the US. The about-to-be President decided to take action on what he read and ordered Operation Snow Wolf to take place, an assassination plot that was to be organized by CIA agent Jake Massey. Massey chose Alex Slanksi and Anna Khorev to follow through with the mission, though Slanski was the only one out of the two to know what they were sent to do; Anna didn't know about the assassination attempt for Stalin. After the mission was in the end of the training phase, the President was informed that the KGB found out about the threat to Stalin's life and set up a hunt for the two operatives. The head of the KGB, a cold and wicked Beria, sent Major Yuri Lukin to assassinate Slanski and Anna. The operatives go through unnerving obstacles and keep your nose in the book to see how they will outwit the Russians. You are brought into the past as you witness witty escapes and true espionage. You also realize the true connection between Slanki and Lukin as their attempts to end each other's lives comes to a climax. Snow Wolf has a very twisty plot that leaves you wondering and wanting to know what happens next. Me being almost 15, it usually takes me a while to get hooked on a book, but this novel had me hooked after the first part (I must admit, the intro is a little boring, as is the last part). IF you decide to read this book, make sure you aren't doing anything later that day, for the time goes my fast and you won't be able to put it down.

This is an outstanding book! It has a wonderful combination of a fasciniating and exciting espionage story, viewed at times in a wonderfully nostalgic background through the eyes of Anna Khorev. The novel also takes us to some fascinating areas of the world, and describes them beautifully. I whole-heartedly recommend it. The plot is primarily set in the post-war USSR, where the CIA have plotted to kill Joseph Stalin (Operation Snow Wolf), the mission being coordinated by Jake Massey, who enlisted the aid of Alex Slanksi and Anna Khorev, with the KGB under Levrente Beria attempting to thwart them at every opportunity. The characters are well developed, as are the relationships between them. And, in spite of its length, the novel remains fast paced, and addictive. I couldn't put it down.

Enemy of God, #2 in The Arthur Books, was my favorite of the three. Reading these books was a great experience because knowing that I had the opportunity to continue the story and it not ending was so much fun...until I finished #3.

This book is an excellent read and follow-up to the first one. A lot happens within these two covers and by the time you turn that last page you'll wish you had already purchased the third book to the series. Cornwell delivers excellent reading with great historical accuracies in terms of people and places, horrific battle scenes drawn out with extraordinary detail. If you like Cornwell, this will make you love him.

I was intrigued about this alternate version of the Tales of Arthur. This well-crafted book (the third of 3 books in this series) fleshes out many of the legendary characters in very believable ways. I liked the book.

Again, as in The Winter King, book 1 in this trilogy of Arthur, Cornwell presents part 2 of the history of Arthur from a very different point of view and with a very different spin on the tale. This is not the magical tale of a sword in a stone or of a round table and a grail quest. What this is, is a tale told by Lord Derfel Cadarn, Derfel 'the mighty'. He is, as he tells this tale, an old monk in the service of the king and queen of the Britons. But he was a warlord and lifelong friend and warrior of Arthur's. Indeed, he spent most of his life with Arthur.

The tale, despite the fact that it is a tale of Arthur, is more a tale of Derfel and his interactions, opinions and views of Arthur; not to mention a tale of all that Derfel did, his family and his life. It is a tale of broken love, war, treachery and death. It is a tale of the Britons in the 5th century. But it is more about Derfel than it is about Arthur. This does not detract from the story. This is a wonderful tale about a warlord of Briton and Derfel (pronounced 'Dervel', a Welsh name given when Derfel was an orphan raised by Merlin). We hear Arthur's tale of war and of love, of Guinevere and Lancelot, Galahad and all the other names we know from the great mythological tale of Arthur; just not in the way we all know the tale.

But this tale is of real men in a real world with real problems and little, if any, magic. The tale continues Arthur's tale of rise to rule the Britons and his quest to unite the Britons under one king and defend his country from the invading Saxons. It is a tale of broken oaths, untrustworthy alliances and selfish ambitions.

I highly recommend this book to those that seek a story of dark age England. If you seek the mythical sword in the stone type tale, you will, most likely, be disappointed by this, but you may enjoy the refreshing new spin on the tale, without the excesses of magic.

If I have one complaint about this tale, it is that the book does not contain a map, as Book 1 did. I continually had to refer back to the map in book 1 as I read this story. This does contain the very helpful list of names and places at the front of the book, as did book 1. But, a map would have been helpful as the story encompasses travels and wars throughout the British isle.

This is a wonderful tale of medieval England and should be greatly enjoyed by any lover of history or historical fiction.
Enjoy!!!

After a hard fought victory at Lugg Vale, Arthur and Derfel hope for peace but alas it is not to be. In this second book in Cornwell's Warlord series the Arthurian legend continues. Derfel finds the love of his life and becomes a "Lord of War" while Arthur suffers his worst betrayal, and of course there is plenty of fighting. "Enemy of God" is a completely new chapter in the Arthurian legend in which Cornwell transforms Merlin into a real and loveable character and introduces the reader to much of the magic and mystery of the Druid. The story takes the reader into the reign of King Mordred and the dark times that follow. In this installment Derfel is at his happiest while Arthur is brought to the depths of despair. This is my favorite of the three books because the story brings out such deep emotions and leaves such a lasting impression.

Growing up in the 1940s is both perplexing and exhilerating for 10-year-old Sally Freedman. The war has just ended, and her family is going to spend the winter in Miami to help her older brother Douglas recover from a bad kidney infection.

Miami's full of wonderful new things for Sally, including warm weather, knowledgeable older friends and a totally different style of living. But at the same time, a shadow seems to linger from the war, involving things that Sally doesn't quite understand and which no one will explain to her. So, she's forced to try filling in some of the gaps herself...which is met with sometimes hilarious and sometimes heartwrenching effects.

For some odd reason, this is one of Blume's least-mentioned books; although, it's certainly one of her finest.

if you read this book be ready to go back to the 1940's baby. sally battles soooooo many hardships in her life than she ever has in her life! i recomend this book to all ages . my sister is in the 2nd grade she read it and she loved it . hope to see you reading this great book!!!!(-: (-;

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This book is very interesting and full of adventure, when I started reading this book I couldn't put it down the excitement of Sally's life was amazing and it remided me of my own.
Sally J. Freedman is the main character of this book she is about 11 years old and she is curious about life's journeys. Sally is Jewish and she has some questions about her religion that you can find out if you read the book. Sally has to move to Miami Beach because her Mom is very conscientious and doesn't want her family to get sick from the cold weather in New Jersey.
When Sally leaves New Jersey she has to take a train because her Mom doesn't like to fly. Sally's father, Arnold, has to stay in New Jersey because of his business. Sometimes Arnold gets to go to places like Cuba or the Goodyear Blimp. Sally gets to take one of her friends. Sally's brother, Douglas, gets to bring one of his friends, but Sally's Mom, Louise, is scared. She thinks that something bad is going to happen when she is on the blimp, but Sally's grandmother, Ma Fanny, doesn't want to go either.
Near the end of the book some thing really unexpected happens but you will have to find out for yourself by reading the book.
I would reccomend this book to anyone especially girls who love to learn about life. It teaches about religion and superstition but sometimes Sally makes up her own stories about what she thinks about the people around her are like there was one person who she thought was Aldof Hitler but the rest is a mystery.

Sally learns that there are many different perks of growing up. Through the novel, it strictly demonstrates various situations that require special attention. Sally is constantly having hurdles to go through, and if you would like to join Sally, then pick up a copy of the book, and you will be able to go through the journey with her.

I really love this book. It is one of my favorite books. You cannot put it down.

Mary Higgins Clark is one of those contemporary writers who can deliver a great story without graphic sexuality, violence or language. This particular book is one of my favorite Mary Higgins Clark books as it deals with the business of reproductive technologies. Over the last 10 years, I have read it over and over again.

A typical (and dependable) offering from MHC. Although her books are formulaic (beautiful woman in danger has to use her brains and a little outside help to figure out how to save herself and close friends or family members), they are still enjoyable. Although there is the added challenge of figuring out if I've read this particular book before or if it's just because it's all so familiar because of MHC's [tried and true] formula. But then, that's part of the reason that I enjoy her books . . . they ARE dependable. I have almost always enjoyed her books. When I am traveling and need something to fall asleep to in the evenings, I can count on MHC to deliver --- and I can recommend her books to friends and not be concerned about which one they pick up or that they have to be read in order.

An awesome mystery/suspense novel from Mary Higgins Clark. The best part about this book is it never gets stagnet. There are constantly new revelations, new suspisions, and I loved it!!

This book kept me reading from begining to end. It was great. I especially liked the topic of in vitro fertalization. There was many different elements in the story that lead up to a grand finale at the end. Easy to follow.. and you won't want to put it down. Highly recommend it!

This is a fun read. The main mystery is about Meghan's father. Mehgan tries to unravel whether her dad is dead or alive, if he had a double life, and if he murdered a unqualified fertility doctor after his disappearance. I really liked how all of these story lines flowed together and how they added to the mystery and suspense. I really didn't feel this story line was as predictable as other reviewers felt it was. I went back and forth between suspecting who the real murderer was and the ending surprised me.

I also like how Higgins-Clark developed the characters. That said, Bernie really didn't add anything to this book. I am not sure what Clark needed him for other than to add a disturbed character.

All in all this book did not disappoint.