Windsor Books

Fantastic account of an Englishman's desire to be Irish. Hilarious.
The account link's historical fact with whimsy and is soul searching at the same time. It captures the essence of the Irish Pub.

The delivery and price were fine, but the pages in the middle of the book are all scrambled up and I had no patience to deal with it.

It took me a while to finish this book, not because I didn't enjoy, to the contrary, I wanted to make it last as long as possible, so I rationed out 10 or so pages a day and would get my fill of laughs and insight into traveling in modern Ireland.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book - Mr. McCarthy's humor and insight into the factors and foibles of humans had me laughing through each chapter. Bravo!

After reading the negative reviews of this book (and there aren't many), I wonder two things: did those reviewers read the same thing that I did and, if so, do they have any appreciation for good writing?! McCarthy's book is excellent, and his sharp wit and superb sense of humor come across brilliantly throughout the pages. On my first visit to Ireland in December 2006, I stopped by several of the places that he describes, including Abeystrowry, Dursey Head, and MacCarthy's bar. They were made all the more special by knowing that I was trodding in Pete's footsteps. His book is well worth the time and money you'll spend, and you may find yourself reading it again and again (as I have). Ignore the negative reviews (there will always be boorish morons in the world), and treat yourself to a fantastic read!

Working in Ireland for nearly two months I picked this up in a second hand bookshop and figured it would keep me occupied for a week. Three days later I finished the book and was wondering why I'd not read anything by Wilbur before. He has a command of word that many authors don't and this book combines the thrill of finding an unknown tomb, a mystery, romance and treasure hunt. Not many men can write a good romance amid all the other action but this guy nailed it.

Your "helpful" votes are appreciated. I seem to have angered a Mormon over my negative reviews of books attempting to proof the Book of Mormon is an ancient document and not Joseph Smith's religious novel.

This person gives me a negative vote almost as soon as my reviews are posted. Oh, well. To be so threatened by the facts.

The plot of the "Seventh Scroll" grabbed me and wouldn't let go. A woman archaeologist and her husband find an Egyptian scroll that leads to the lost tomb of a pharaoh. The husband of Royan is murdered for the scroll, Royan escapes, and is soon aided by an Indiana Jones character named Nicholas. The wealthy Nicholas funds an expedition, and Nicholas and Royan head off to Ethiopia and find a lost tomb that had been ingeniously hidden by a river.

I don't want to give the story away, but I really got lost in this grand adventure. I had to overlook the fact that Smith referred to his previous novel "The River God" in this novel. That takes the reader out of the story, in my opinion. It sounded like an ad for "River God," and makes me less likely to read that novel.

Overall, it kept me turning the pages. If you haven't read "Cry Wolf," by Wilbur Smith, then you are in for another treat of an African adventure. An Indiana Jones character in the 1930s takes a convoy of armored cars into the Ethiopian highlands with the Italian army in hot pursuit.

We should all urge Hollywood to make these two novels into movies. We need some new takes on the Indiana Jones genre. Go for it, Hollywood!

Click here for Cry Wolf: Cry Wolf

After reading River God I had to jump right back in to another great Wilbur Smith book. It ties in nicely with River God - both are excellent books although I enjoyed Rived God slightly more. Wilbur Smith's books are great I just wish I had time to read them all.

In this sequel to "River God", Wilbur Smith leaps forward 4000 years to tell the story of archeologists, adventurists, and opportunists as they converge on the secret tombs of Pharaoh that Taita, the brilliant slave, constructed in Ethiopia during the exodus of that earlier story. The opportunities for continuity were enormous, but sadly, Smith does not develop these opportunities.

His main character is a refined British adventurer, a cross between James Bond and Indiana Jones, whom Smith endows with virtue and a cunning, clever mind, even though this character stalks an endangered species for the purpose of killing it as a trophy, and removes ancient Egyptian artifacts for later sale at auction. The female love interest is an Egyptologist who inexplicably looks past this behavior with adoring eyes. Woven throughout are mercenaries, insurgents, wealthy bad guys, and traitors: so many characters that "The Seventh Scroll" would have become a "War and Peace" of Africa had Smith fully developed these separate story lines. And then there is a backstory that is not fully described: the discovery of ancient scrolls in Egypt, the seventh of which alludes tantalizingly toward an undiscovered tomb that might contain enormous wealth. This story alone could have introduced the quest and the action in a satisfying continuation of the earlier story, yet Smith skips over this. Rubbing salt into the wound, Smith inserts himself and his book, "River God", into the story, as Clive Cussler does in the later Dirk Pitt novels. This gimmick collapses the suspension of disbelief to become annoying.

These are harsh words for the follow-up to a marvelously-written novel. "The Seventh Scroll" is readable as a light (although long-winded) adventure story, just wince at the corny dialog and wooden characters and focus instead upon those few connections to Taita that extend the story in "River God" just that little bit further.

Wilbur Smith is brilliant. You must read River God first, or you lose the effect of this book. He has done things which will surprise and delight you in this book. One the characters in this modern novel about people searching for the tomb of the hero of River God was the author himself and his book River God! I loved the fact that one of his characters, the beautiful and brilliant Egyptian/English archiologist was critical of how Smith portrayed the character of Taita, the slave genius. It adds an amusing twist to a story. You can imagine the author smirking as he wrote it.

The thing about Smith's books is a pure sense of adventure that captures you and makes you feel you've had the adventure as much as the character had. His violent scenes are startlingly brutal, almost beautifully so, but elegantly brief and non exploitive. I appreciate his restraint and cower at the terrifying depth of his imagination.

The only criticism I have is his use of language. The speech pattern is odd. I find it bothers me. Instead of saying "I'm coming" his characters say "I am coming." which sounds to, at least the N. American ear, stilted and odd. Perhaps its an English thing, maybe it's African, or maybe it's a product of his generation. But I wish he'd knock it off, it gets in the way when you have to stop and chew on a bit of dialog like that trying to "hear" it in your mind in a way that works yet failing and mentally having to change it to "I'm coming" in order to move on. Give it up, Wilbur. Like it or not, people don't speak that way!

I loved River God and hestitated to read a modern story when I wanted to linger in the past with Taita, but I'm so, so glad I did!

Tiger Eye is a heartfelt and touching story. It all starts out with the death of Davey's father who is killed in the hold-up of his store. Because of his death the story includes many thoughtshots and descriptions to show what the characters are feeling. The story goes on with Davey and her family's struggles and how they compinsate the death of their dad.This story is a great read because the characters and storylines are believable and realistic.I wouldn't recommend this book to people who do not like sappy endings because even though this book is good it can still be a tad predictable. Even with it faults I throughly enjoyed it and hope you do to.

Most of this story is set in Los Alamos, New Mexico, where I lived for part of my childhood. Judy Blume does a great job of describing the scenery: the blue skies, the pine trees, the Aspen trees, the canyons. Most of her description of the town is pretty accurate too... the names of streets, the approximate layout of buildings in the "downtown" area. I enjoyed her descriptions of the different cliques of people in the high school: the coneheads, jocks, stomps, and loadies. She also nicely describes the main tourist area of Santa Fe (a nearby town), and briefly mentions the Albuquerque hot-air balloon Festival.

The main character, Davis (or Davey), is a girl who joins the "Candy Stripers" (high school student assistants) at the hospital. The Los Alamos hospital did indeed have that program available. Overall, the book is easy to read and shows how Davis learns to cope with the death of her father. The book uses the "first person" perspective (which I found a bit annoying) and has very short sentences so it should be readable by anyone from the 4th grade and up.

--Lynellen.com

What an awesome book! I can't give it enough praise. Even though it's a
kids' book, I loved it. I'm just a kid at heart.

When Davey's father dies suddenly, in a convenience store robbery, Davey's mother has trouble adjusting to her life in Atlantic City. So she accepts an invitation from Aunt Bitsy and Uncle Walter
to stay with them for a while. Davey is reluctant to go, but life moves on, in New Mexico. And Davey finds out that life is a good adventure,
wherever she is.

I give this book five stars. It's the best book I've read by Ms. Blume.

I read this because it's on the ALA's list of 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books (1990-2000) and I'm slowly working my way though the list. This is one of the few Judy Blume books I managed to miss when I was younger and I have to say, I'm quite surprised that it's on this list at all. I found absolutely nothing objectionable about the book at all. I agree that the subject matter might be unpleasant to some, but for anyone who's experienced (or might experience) the sudden (and possibly violent) loss of a loved one (and everyone does at some point in their lives) this book is an exceptional read. Not only does it deal with one families struggle to deal with the sudden, violent death of their father/husband it also deals with other types of loss and grief issues. Included in this book are the difficulty of being childless for a couple that wants children (the aunt and uncle), Wolf's experiences with the inevitable loss of his father to cancer, Jane's drinking to cope with the intense and often unrealistic expectations of her family and her own fears about wanting to live her own life but being afraid to at the same time. Tiger Eyes manages to convey an intensity of emotion with regards to each family members fear, grief, anger, and depression...and manages to do it without being depressing or having the main character wallow in it. The struggles of Davey and her Mother are very real, they "feel" authentic, you get a depth of emotion in the reading and I think that is what makes this an excellent book. I think it's a shame anyone would try to censor this, to pretend that death doesn't occur or that there aren't difficult issues in families that lead to children and/or parents making bad/self-destructive choices. I think it's a very good thing that there are books like this that allow readers to enjoy a good story and realize that we are each human and must come to terms with our problems as best we can. I give Tiger Eyes five stars and two thumbs up...highly recommended!!

Tiger Eyes is one of my favorite books that I had read. It was about a girl named Davey and her life after her father died. Her father died by getting shot 6 times in the chest during a robbery. It was hard for Davey and her family to recover from his lost so Davey and her mother moved to New Mexico to live with her relatives. Davey lived with her aunt and uncle for a while but she didnt like it because they were too overprotected. They didnt let her do many things that she wanted to do. For example, when she wanted to learn how to ski her aunt and uncle said that she shouldnt or she will get hurt to much. She wanted to go to Drivers Ed but they said it wasnt safe and told her to stay out of the canyon because she could get hurt by a rock. It was hard for Davey to move on after her father died but even though she was forbidden to stay out of the canyon she still went there. It was her place to relax and be by herself. While she was in the caves she met a wolf. The wolf ended up becoming one of her friends because she was able to tell him anything and what was wrong and because the wolf understood how she felt. Davey had a best friend who was an alcoholic so she was always afraid hoping she wouldnt get hurt. It took time for Davey to move on but it took her time to realize that she should move on with her life for the better. The main characters in the book were Davey, Her aunt and uncle named Bitsy and Walter the wolf and Daveys mom, Gwen. The main place took place in Lost Alamos Canyons and in New Mexico such as her aunts and uncles house.

The style of the book was like any ordinary book. Events were separated by chapters and what happened in each event was separated in paragraphs. Reading the book you could feel and understand how Davey feels and you could experience yourself in her shoes and what she goes through. You could feel what Davey had to put up with. You could tell by the words she uses and how they describe how she feels.



Before I read this book I thought it was about a girl whose father died and when his father died she met a tiger and the tiger was his dad. After I read the book I liked it a lot because I was able to relate to it in a way. I was able to relate to it because Davey lost someone she loved. I didnt lose my dad from a death but I lost him because of a divorce between my parents. It was hard for me to accept the fact that my parents were going to get a divorce and there was nothing I could do about it. After Daveys lost she moved to New Mexico and lives with her aunt and uncle. While my parents get a divorce I had to move and live with my mom. It took time for me to get over the divorce and my dad leaving us because it felt that it didnt matter.




This book made me realize that there is a time in life that it is hard for someone to get over a loss in your life and you have to move on for the better. It made me realize that when you lose someone you cant force yourself to get over it fast and you cant really realize how much you lost someone until you really lose them. Just like Davey she had a help of a wolf but in reality wolves cant talk so to me, it means that you should be there for someone and make them feel and know that you care about them and you would do anything for them to make them feel better. When you lose someone its better to tell someone how you feel because keeping it inside bottled up doesnt help anything. Losing someone hurts but you have to remember that you got your friends and your family supporting you 101% of the way.

I have read ALL of Louis LAmour's books, and a few twice. The Walking Drum is the best book I have read by 'any' author I will no doubt read it again, God willing. And I love to give it as gifts. I am honored to give this book my only "5-star plus" review ever.
Thank you for asking.
Most Sincerely and with blessings,

William (Bill) McBride
1.757.774.1603

If you enjoy reading books full of adventure, intrigue, and suspense, with a medieval flair, this is it. I first became aware of Louis L'Amour by reading this particular novel, and I was blown away. Mr. L'Amour's gift of storytelling is magnificent. Buy the book; you will not be disappointed.

A friend gave me this book and raved about it. It has been a rollercoaster reading experience. The Walking Drum takes place in a time and place not written about much in popular Western fiction: the world of Moorish Spain in the 12th century, then across France and into the Byzantine world. Really fascinating time period and great historical descriptions of everything from weapons to medicine. It was like reading a history book but with no boring parts. Great philosophizing on the roguish hero's part as the boy becomes a man.
I was just a tad disappointed in the ending, which seemed a bit rushed to me. L'Amour could have decreased some of his cliff-hanger ending earlier chapters and concentrated a little more on the climax and denouement for full reader satisfaction.

Adventure deep into the early development of trade routes to the East during the late middle ages. Adventure into the romance saga a the great libraries of the ancient world. Adventure deep into the territory of the assassins of Iraq and Afghanistan as describe in THE LIFE OF OMAR KYHAN by Charles Lamb, 1932 and Marco Polo.
Louis L'Amour leaves of the saga of the American West and leaves us wishing there had been time in his life for a sequel to THE WALKING DRUM.
It doesn't matter what your favorite genre, adventure, thriller, suspense, or mystery this epic has it all between the covers.
THE WALKING DRUM is one you don't want to miss.
Writing as a Small BusinessSins of the Fathers: A Brewster County NovelGuns Across the Rio: A Texas Ranger in Old MexicoNatchez Above The River: A Family's Survival In The Civil WarUnder the Liberty Oak

Given the prior reviews I was eager to read Walking Drum. It sounded like the sort of historical fiction I enjoy. I had never read L'Amour before. I think I now see why. The book was mildly enjoyable but not much beyond that. I found myself skimming sections after the first third of the book - you can easiy see what is happening and the writing style made it easy to fast-forward through the action. The greatest flaw in this book is the main character. He is not particularly sympathetic because he is too unbelievabley competent to ever really be in danger or too fail. He starts out as a possessor of secret Druidic lore and a sailor and progresses from there to master swordsmanship, Latin, Greek, Arabic, Persian and other languages, learn astronomy, alchemy and medicine, dicover the lost Chinese formula for gunpowder...well, you see the problem. There is no book that he reads that he doesn't memorize totally (part of that secret Druidic lore) and everything he turns his hand to, he masters. Naturally, every woman eventually falls for this superman in medieval clothing.

The book passed the time and I don't regret reading it but it is so unrealistic as to be almost cartoonish. If this is an example of the writer's style, I will not be picking up any of his other books. However, if you have time on your hands or need a book for the beach, this might be it.

I was only 11y/o when I read the book.It's also the first D.Steel's book that I read!Im already 26 y/o and some of the lines still lingers in my mind.."Some people aren't meant to live in our lives forever...some just passes by to give us a GIFT."..etc. My sister also read it and she also love it.On some days, we would still talk about Maribeth and her story! That's how the movie striked me! It's a simple, short story but you'll definitely love it!

This is the ONLY Danielle Steel book I have ever gotten into. It's a real tearjerker, and I have read it 5 times and I can read it another 5 times, it's that good!!!

Danielle Steel is simply Brilliant! I sincerely recommend this novel to anyone who has ever lost someone they love!

My mom told me about this book so i decided to give it a chance since I am not a big fan of romance novels. I read this book in a couple days and when I got to the end I cried for a long time. I have told everyone I know to read this book. They all tell me how much they loved it and how it made them cry also. I would recommend this book to everyone.

This book is a perfect `gift' for you or anyone that love romance.

My husband and I have decidedly different tastes in books. He reads history and historical fiction. I read mostly fantasy and am an Arthur legend freak. He had read virtually all of Bernard Cornwell's Sharpes books and quite a lot of Cornwell's other historical fiction when he picked up my copies of The Arthur Books and proceeded to read all three.
I loved the Arthur trilogy and have read a lot of the Shapes books. Cornwell's books are good reads. Period.

This was a very good trilogy, but the finale, this book, was by far the best. The Winter King, book 1, and Enemy of God, book 2, were both well written, entertaining and interesting (I gave both 4 stars as they were good but not great), but this book finishes off the trilogy with war, carnage, destruction and misery; it had its good things too, but we are talking about dark ages England and what else would you expect of Arthur. This was definitely a 5 star read.
Again, as with the first 2 books, this is a different tale of Arthur. There is no sword in a stone, no grail quest, and little magic; other than superstition and luck, there is a reference to a curse that, in the book, seems real enough. But, for the most part, this is real world soldiers and warlords facing enemeies, deception, battle and chaos as the world is perched on the verge of Armageddon; at least that is how the book tells it.
Our storyteller is again Lord Derfel Cadarn, Derfel "the Mighty". Son of a Saxon (and that Saxon, you will find, adds an interesting twist to the story), but raised by Merlin (a druid with what is described as much power, but which even Merlin admits is mostly smoke and mirrors) Derfel (a Welsh name pronounced "Dervel") is one of the mighty men of Arthur's fighting force. One of Arthur's round table; well, sort of, the oath sworn men are called the men of the round table oath though no round table existed. There is no Camelot, though that title is also addressed.
What you have here, just as was in the first 2 novels, is a tale of the Britons fighting to save themsleves from fanatical religions, attacking Saxons and backstabbing traitors. The tale finishes well, cleaning up all loose ends nicely. I read in one review that the book was a let down becuase it "fizzled" at the end. I would disagree. The book does end quite abruptly; I was reading and realized I had only a handful of pages left and wondered how it was going to end so quickly, but it does end without leaving the reader hanging. I believe the ending was perfect; a necessary abrupt cliff where everything just falls, but you will know all you need to know by the time you reach the back cover.
I have read many of Cornwell's books and would call myself a huge fan of Cornwell's work. I prefer and recommend highly his current and continuing work, collectively known as the Saxon Chronicles (The Last Kingdom, The Pale Horseman, Lords of the North, and Sword Song), but this trilogy was very good and Cornwell provides his ubiquitous details of battle, strategy and tactics, and weaponry of the times in his usual highly accurate and descriptive manner. Don't take that as a dig on this trilogy. This was a wonderful trilogy, I just enjoy the other a little more but that may simply be because I am a student of the Northmen who populate the Saxon tales.
Back to this story; why does this book rate 5 over the 4 I gave to the first 2 books? Well, for starters, the entire tale comes to a head here and suspense and mystery is all laid out, a prize for having completing the trilogy. Also, the characters become more real in this tale as they have aged and lived full lives. They become more honest with themselves and their comrades, lovers, spouses and enemies. Finally, the tale brings to an end, without destroying myths, the tale of the Arthur that we all know without destroying the possibilities of the myths.
You really should read books 1 and 2 before coming to this novel and I highly recommend you enjoy each; but I encourage you that you will come to an excellent end with this final installment.
Arthur lives in glory in these tales as does Derfel and it is Derfel that we truly get to know in these books and through him we learn Arthur's tale. Derfel is a wonderful character and I am sad to now leave him behind. This trilogy was very enjoyable and stands up to Cornwell's high standard of writing and historical knowledge.
Enjoy!!!

For more dark age England, other than the Saxon Chronicles mentioned above, I also recommend Cornwell's Grail Quest Trilogy which takes place during the 100 years war (those books are, The Archer's Tale, Vagabond, and Heretic).

An amazing conclusion to an incredible series. Cornwell's Arthur is like no other, with a believable story that is brilliantly written.

Just finished it Cornwell's Warlord Trilogy. I thought it was absolutely phenomenal. I have an issue with how quickly he ended it though, it seems very out of keeping. Everything else in Derfel's life is described extensively, and by having the story be from Derfel's POV and ending it with the last battle at Camlann, he leaves out so much story which could easily have fitted into an epilogue. Were I his editor I would at least have advised to spend some time on tying that up properly. Too many questions unanswered. What happens to Guinevere, Galahad, Gwydre and the others on the boat for instance? Does Derfel ever meet them again? Where does he go to live with Ceinwyn and how many more years are they given? I understand that he wants to keep Arthur's final fate unknown, even though we can deduce from his never coming back that he did die, but the final chapter just doesn't seem right in how fast Cornwell goes about tying things up. Also the Silver Mist and him never returning, while typical of the traditional Arthurian ending of Arthur going to Avalon to sleep forever, seems like a rather out of place "magical" ending to this starkly realistic series where everything has a logical explanation.

Other than that niggle about the unsatisfying ending, nothing but praise. Well almost. I thought the characterization was great, particulary for the secondary characters. He does a great job of building a big cast of characters in a way few authors can. Especially the group of Arthur's companions such as Sagramor, Culhwch, Galahad, Tristan. Derfel is the star of the show in this series rather than Arthur, whose portrayal I am ambivalent about. The same applies to Merlin, who has been portrayed better elsewhere ( Stewart). Merlin to me was too powerless as well as too vulgar. I understand he went for the Dark Merlin/Mad Merlin take but I don't think it fully worked, he is too diminished for my taste. Nimue was interesting, as was Guinevere. So many good enemies as well, Lancelot, the Saxons, Amhar and Loholt, Mordred, Nimue, the vicious twins Dinas and Lavaine that killed his daughter, so many weak men set off against strong ones, the story of Tristan and Iseult, the character of Gawain gets a completely different treatment,a great sense of melancholy for a lost reign. Wonderful how Cornwell gives us the story through the eyes of a man writing at the end of his life, excellent device. Actually a great romance between Derfel and Ceinwyn as well, touching.

His portrayal of magic in the story seems to shift at the end of the third book from how it has been portrayed up until that late point in the story however, and I found that quaint. After two and a half book of pretty much no magic and alternate explanations for everything that could be construed as magical, he does seem to want to make it plain at the end that there is some real magic being done ( Nimue's curse, the use of shadowbodies to torture Ceinwyn).

Lancelot: He's a total tool, bereft of good qualities, unlike Galahad who is his opposite and who Derfel calls his best friend.

The Saxons: not villains in the sense that they are just like the Britons, trying to gain land so continious flow of Saxons coming to the British shores can be accomodated. And enemy yes, but it depends on the POV. Nimue, the druid twins, Lancelot etc are more clearly defined as villains.

Strange how Nimue turned out. From Merlin's best friend in youth to ally in maturity to cruel enemy at the end. Mordred was a truly terrible human being, rotten even as a boy.

Merlin's portrayal leaves too much to be desired here. As does Arthur's, who is lead around the nose too much by Guinevere in the first two books, something which is corrected in book 3. He is very human, but for me just a bit much and too flawed. Some of his decisions were just poor and as Derfel said, poor for all to see but Arthur.

Loved the companions. The bachelor Galahad, Christian knight of great prowess, coarse Culhwch, built like a bull, Derfel himsel with his marvellous life story, Sagramor the black demon. Tristan was a great character as was the brutal Lord Owain in book 1, I was sad to see him killed. Same for Aelle, Derfel's father.

In the end, a superb portrayal of Arthurian legends. The only Arthurian series that rivals it is the vastly different Merlin Trilogy by Mary Stewart. I've still yet to read Sword at Sunset though, which has no Merlin as I understand it. He puts a different hat on almost every character, and on many known events. He has great storytelling flair and displays great characterization abilities. He shows us battles, passion, romance and makes the Arthur story new to those had become tired of it.

9/10

Cornwell is brilliant as always. Excalibur, the last book of the Arthur series, is wonderfully written, bringing the reader into the final chapters of Arthur's life. A great read, sure to keep you turning page after page.

More of a horror than science fiction, THE ISLAND OF DR MOREAU is a disturbing and unforgettable book. Wells had a knack for making his stories come to life through the voice of the narrator, whom, as Pendrick in this book, seems like he's telling the story of something that really did happen. You can almost feel the emotion behind the words as Pendrick tells his tale. The almost-human creations of Moreau are nothing less than freaky. Both scarily mysterious and horribly familiar, these creatures evoke conflicting emotion in the reader. Should they just be put out of their misery? or encouraged to live? You can't help feeling both horror and pity for these very disturbing characters.

While it is a short book, it feels complete, without any unnecessary inclusions, while still telling the story in its entirety. Wells knew the lessons he wanted to teach and the buttons he wanted to press, and accomplished his goals. The implications of man playing God, the reason of our religion, and the definitions of humanity are powerful messages that you can't help but absorb when reading this book. One thing, I wouldn't call this book an argument against science, but against tearing down the boundaries around the definition of humanity.

Take a couple of days and read this one for fun. A great example of Wells' work and an enjoyable novel.

This book arrived well before the expected date and was a great buy. I will be buying from them again.

H.G. Wells' fantastic imagination is readily apparent within his visionary books such as The Time Machine and The Invisible Man, however I consider The Island of Dr. Moreau to be his greatest work in this regards. In less than 200 pages, Wells' manages to trap the reader within the mind of an uninvited "guest" on a remote island strewn with subhuman creatures, ghastly experiments, and a raving mad scientist.

This is simply an amazing story, made even more so given its 1896 publication date.

Considering this novel was first published in 1896, it is a testament to Wells' visionary imagination. His description of horrific vivisection experiments is a century ahead of its time. Dr. Moreau is portrayed as the ultimate villain, disregarding ethics for his own desire to play God in the name of scientific advancement. This is a great work of early science fiction that challenges the moral implications of science even today.

After reading The War of the Worlds a couple years back, I was very turned off to H.G. Wells. I mean, what an awful ending to that story. I remember feeling like all of the events and various moving parts in the story were building to a big, beautiful, explosive climax, and then the next minute it was over and I'm left standing there confused and angry.

Thankfully, Island of Dr. Moreau has restored my faith in Wells.

The novel hooked me right in with this structure of a story within a story, and the style of a true and scientific account kept me intrigued throughout. Plus, it was violent and animalistic. It did a lot of interesting exploring into the human psyche and condition, not just about our inner animal, but about our scientific curiosities, our behaviors in various situations, etc.

That's not even mentioning all of the fascinating topics Wells broached that are so timeless to have spawned many copycat stories. Sometimes in reading classics after having read and been exposed to so many stories that seem to descend directly from said classic, it can be difficult for the original story to really grab my attention. That was not at all the case here; Wells original seems to withstand the test of time and even survive a critique from myself of the ADD and video game generation.

Bravo, H.G.

I read this in 2003.
Absolutely nail-biting and un-putdownable.
Had bought it in an airport stopover during my honeymoon and absolutely could not put it down even at my hotel!
Amazing book, and more so because the facts mirror closely.

This book has a contemporary setting, and is more believable
than others in its genre. I really enjoyed it. It is readable
and does not confuse or have too many characters to keep track
of.

This is another book from my Top 5 List. Mike Martin really helps us to understand what's all about Iraq's Gulf War. If more politicians read this book, we would probably dealt better with war conflicts. This should be readed by everyone in school, a military/historical fiction which lots of lessons to everyone.

Not enough human intelligence.


Even then, in Iraq, it seems. A desperate military sends one of the few men it has that has a shot at passing locally into Iraq because of worries about a superweapon.

Quite literally, a BFG. He does a bit of rabble rousing of the spook kind to aid his cause, while he tries to work out what is going on and stop it.

Just passable, as far as Forsyth goes.

I usually do not post my reviews of books, but this book was so good I feel obligated to tell other potential readers to buy it. I've read a lot of espionage books and this one is at the top of the list. It's better than Day of the Jackal, The Odessa File, Eye of The Needle, Brotherhood of the Rose, Fraternity of the Stone, etc.

This book has real characters, believable plots, and about ten twists and turns I never saw coming. From start to finish, this book kept me captivated with its characters and how they all interact and are intertwined. Forsyth does a great job in this book and paints a very grim picture of how close Iraq came to having a weapon of mass destruction. Or did they?

I am always impressed at how Forsyth's research is so thorough. It makes it very difficult to differentiate where fiction starts and fact ends. This book is no exception.

Jim Dixon is in his first year as a college lecturer and he's been in trouble nearly from the second he arrived...unfortunately, since he's also on probation, he's panicking a great deal that he'll lose his job. He despises his boss - an elderly, absent minded and rather self important gentleman called Professor Welch - and doesn't even like his subject, Medieval History. (He only ever studied it himself because he'd seen it as the easy option when he was a student). He's had a few unfortunate encounters with his fellow academics since he started - he'd barely arrived at the college when he accidentally caught the Prof of English with a stone on the knee, and then knocked over the Registrar's Chair at his first Faculty Meeting. (If only the Registrar himself hadn't been on the verge of sitting down...) There had also been the essay submitted by one of Dixon's pupils had submitted an essay heavily criticising a book written by one of Welch's ex-pupils. What made this difficult to sweep under the carpet was the level of Welch's involvement - the book was written at his suggestion and under his guidance - while the essay was based heavily on Dixon's lecture notes.

Jim, however, does have a few allies - including Alfred Beesley, (who works in the college's English Department), Bill Atkinson (someone always happy to provide Jim with a cover story) and Carol Goldsmith (the wife of a colleague at the history department). However, Jim spends most of his time with Margaret - another member of staff at the university. It's not that he particularly wants to - rather, he more or less feels morally obliged to. The problem is things have now got to the point where they're widely seen as a couple. Margaret is now "recovering well" at Welch's house after a recent (apparent) suicide attempt. (Prior to Jim, she'd been spending some time with an utter cad called Catchpole...who, rather understandably, ran off with his new girlfriend to North Wales for a couple of weeks). Jim had been supposed to meet her for a pot of tea that evening , but had backed out to write the following day's lecture...it's something he feels rather guilty about that, bearing in mind what had happened. (This guilt is something Margaret shamelessly trades on throughout the book).

Since Margaret is staying at the Prof's house, Jim can't avoid visiting once in a while. One of the most significant - not to mention disastrous - visits is for a weekend long artistic gathering. Jim manages to set fire to his bedclothes, destroy his bedside table, and make an enemy of Bertrand - one of the professor's sons. Bertrand, a pretentious artist with an awful beard and a significant superiority complex, arrives from London for the proceedings with a very pretty guest called Christine Callaghan. Jim naturally is smitten - but is afraid to make any move...partly for fear of what it will do to Margaret, and partly because he knows stealing Betrand's girlfriend will lower his standing in the Professor's eyes even further. Still, at least he's interested in Christine herself...unlike Bertrand, who's only interested in her uncle - the noted art critic, Julius Gore-Urquhart.

An amusing and easily read book. Jim proves a likeable character - although the laughter comes mostly at his expense, as he lurches from one disaster to another.

I enjoyed the clever satire of the absurdity of British academia where status and pretension can be valuable, and yet luck, both good and bad, can suddenly change everything. Very smart, but I just didn't feel the connection with the story personally.

This novel almost cost me my job. Many years ago I taught a seminar in satire, and one of the books on my reading list was "Lucky Jim." When a senior faculty member heard about this, he tried to rally others in my department to deny me tenure, proving, of course, that the novel's searing attack on academic snootiness was right on. I got tenure anyway, and the novel still makes me smile.

"Lucky Jim" borders upon enduring excellence as a novel. The writing is strong, but the characters and story are weak which makes this a "good read" or "light fiction" or "popular press" rather than literature. I offer this distinction at the outset since many reviews of this novel praise it so highly and it can lead one to expect something more than you get. When you read to pass time, this is good pasttime reading.

I was particularly struck by Kingsley Amis's strong observation and artful writing. He seems to observe the world closely and accurately, then comments upon it with strong writing. For example, he describes a character as disliking another couple so much the character wonders why the couple doesn't hate each other, too. A fabulous observation and conceit, too.

As other reviewers have noted the situation of the novel is highly specific - post World War II England with academics at a second rate college. The story revolves around a small set of characters most of whom are employed by a college. As someone who spent a lot of time at American universities, I can affirm that the stereotypes of academics appear on both sides of the ocean and it was painful at times to see myself and other colleagues in the characters in this novel. However, you can enjoy the book even if you know nothing about post World War II, England, or universities.

The British literary theorist Terry Eagleton characterized Kingsley Amis as a "racist, anti-Semitic boor, a drink-sodden, self-hating reviler of women, gays, and liberals." Well well! And what is the reader of "Lucky Jim" to think of such a venomous outpouring of contempt toward the author whose book he innocently holds in his hands? Indeed, Kingsley's famous offspring, Martin Amis, stands accused of following in his father's infamous footsteps. He has had his fair share of literary dust-ups too and is in the middle of a raging and anguished public argument about England's cultural identity. Like father, like son?

Certainly, no matter what anyone says about Kingsley, "Lucky Jim" stands up as a comic masterpiece. For me it's a memorable and complex characterization of British class differences as shown in the myopic world of academia. The tortured reflections of Jim Dixon, lecturer, as he tries desperately to appease the abominable and self-absorbed Professor Welch are at the crux of this classic. Dixon's troubles only begin with Welch. They also involve two women, one who's highly neurotic and rather plain, and another who's very young, very attractive, and very confused. Margaret and Christine are both unfortunately connected to the good Professor, which sets up drawing room comedy of the highest order. Hilarious confrontations and elaborately absurd schemes inundate the action. But what lifts this novel above the rest is the precise and brilliantly realized writing. Listen, for instance, to this passage about Dixon waking up the morning after an excess of drinking: "Dixon was alive again. Consciousness was upon him before he could get out of the way; not for him the slow, gracious wandering from the halls of sleep, but a summary, forcible ejection. He lay sprawled, too wicked to move, spewed up like a broken spider-crab on the tarry shingle of the morning." Wow! Then there's this passage about having breakfast early at his lodging house: "There was something about Miss Cutler's cornflakes, her pallid fried eggs or bright red bacon, her explosive toast, her diuretic coffee which, much better than bearable at nine o'clock, his usual breakfast-time, seemed at eight-fifteen to summon from all the recesses of his frame every lingering vestige of crapulent headache, every relic of past nauseas, every echo of noises in his head." Yes!

I read the Penguin edition with David Lodge's entertaining Introduction (a plot spoiler, by the way, which should be read after you turn the last page of the book). There you can find from Lodge a bit of an apology for Amis' 1950s "politically incorrect" characterization of women. From Amis: "Christine was still nicer and prettier than Margaret, and all the deductions that could be drawn from the fact should be drawn: there was no end to the ways in which nice things are nicer than nasty ones." But Lodge is generous about this rather simple view of things, since Amis later on found the "nasty" things inescapable. Lodge also places this work in the context of the British literary and theatrical scene of the late-1950s and points out "Lucky Jim"'s mold-breaking impact on that generation. No question this entertaining work cracked open some stodgily sealed doors and piquantly pointed out British academic and cultural absurdities.

O lucky me, to have found this book, warts and all. I highly recommend it.

This is a book that shouldn't work, but it does. It is based on two absurd and totally unrelated science fiction premises. The first is the evolution of "triffids." Triffids are a new species of plant of unknown origin (probably artificially cultivated) that, when mature, pick themselves up out of their roots and begin walking around and killing people. The other spectacular premise is that one night there is a terrific "comet shower." The entire world watches it. The only problem is, much like a solar eclipse, if you look straight at it, it blinds you.

The triffids have already been around a while by the time of the comet shower. They have become domesticated and people have become bored with them. After the world is stricken blind, nobody thinks much about the triffids, until...

I was expecting a schlock science fiction novel about marauding killer plants. What I got instead was a very well-written, literate, thoughtful book about survival and sociology. (Don't be put-off - there are still those scary killer plants.) I was reminded of The Stand and the George Romero "Dead" films. The difference is, the rest of the world doesn't have to be killed off - they just have to go blind. It is shocking to think of how collectively helpless the world would be if that happened.

The focus of the novel is more on the post-apocalyptic aspect than the killer plants. The triffids do take over the Earth, but it is not a story like I am Legend, in which the triffids are such a threat no one can leave the house. The triffids are relatively week and can be dealt with - but there's so many of them.

After reading this book, I am not surprised that it is reprinted by Modern Library. It is a very nice paperback edition with helpful "reading group" questions at the end. It is worthwhile to pick up this "rediscovered" classic and see what good science fiction is.

"The Day of the Triffids" was for many years my favorite sci-fi novel; afterwards it was replaced in that honor place by Dune and Hyperion.
I've read this novel when I was a teenager in the mythical Argentinean sci-fi magazine "Mas Alla", it was published there as the main story of the inaugural number. I've treasured my collection for more than 40 years.
"The Day of the Triffids" still stands in my all-time best novels list and I've reread it once every couple of years.

It is a typical product of the '50 immersed in the "Cold War", but with a forceful story line, exploring a post catastrophe world.
The drama evolves smoothly, griping you up to the last page; it has a somewhat melancholic background, our known world fading into dust and a new one emerging from the ashes in a pitiless confrontation with the Triffids of the title.
It is a novel that fifty years after it was written still catch your interest and keep you going on.
In sci-fi not to be dated is a commendation.

If the reader wants to have a vivid picture of London in a state similar to this book descriptions I encourage he/she to see the movie "28 Days Later".

I wholeheartedly recommend this book to all sci-fi fans and general public too!
Reviewed by Max Yofre

A great novel in the zombie/vampire genre, with a solitude-induced dystopia akin to Matheson's I Am Legend and Brook's World War Z.

Some may see the sci-fi concepts as far fetched, specifically the triffids themselves, but the overall story congeals well bringing about stressful situations and sparking philosophical questions regarding morality, social convention, principles, and what would be the appropriate type of organization in the chaotic aftermath of pandemic blindness.

Not much I can add that others haven't.
This is an excellent book, which, because it deals with human nature, surely has to remain timeless.
In the aftermath of the comets, the loneliness of people who are literally left in the dark is tangible and help to make this novel remain in your mind long after you've finished reading it.

The part the triffids play in this chaos is remarkably easy to imagine, especially knowing the scientific research that is carried out now into genetic engineering. The triffids, although dangerous, are tolerated and managed because of their useful oil. If some degenerative diseases could be eradicated by cultivating a deadly plant...would we?

I really enjoyed the way Wyndham makes us think about human behaviour and how hard it is to unlearn. The ideas on what to tell future generations and the references to disasters in the ancient world I found really thought provoking.

While I stand by the reviews that state the excellence of this story, and the skill of the author, intending purchasers should know that this is an *edited* edition - something I didn't pick up on until reading along with a BBC unabridged reading of the book.
Example - in Chapter 1 when Bill Masen encounters the doctor in the corridors of the hospital - this has been removed from this edition.

The fact this is an edited version needs to be made clear to intending purchasers