Windsor Books

"The Yellow Room Conspiracy" begins in 1992, after a radio program has a quiz show that features what was known as "The Seddon Affair" in 1956. Paul Ackerley hears the show while working in his garden and promptly breaks the radio. Lucy (Vereker) Seddon, his companion is suffering from a terminal disease, and asks Paul to marry her. She also asks him to tell her how he managed to kill Gerry Grantworth years ago, considering that the door to the room he was in was locked, at which point he tells her that he'd always thought she had done it. He decides that independently they should write down their individual stories leading up to that fateful night, and thus begins a tale which spans two world wars, brings the reader into politics, and into the lives of a group of sisters of the English country-home set. The story presented is done from two viewpoints, Lucy's and Paul's, told via flashbacks, and isn't a very pretty one.

This book was phenomenal. This is my first book by this author, but it most definitely will not be my last. It is well written, the characters are incredibly alive, and the story will hold you in its grip until the very end. This author definitely has a talent for story telling.

I'd definitely recommend it to people who want something way above average in their reading, or to people who enjoy books that span a lifetime. Readers of British crime fiction should absolutely not miss this one. At times the story may seem a bit convoluted, but eventually all is explained and clarified, keeping the reader turning pages. I started this book at 8 pm last night and finished it around midnight because I absolutely could not put it down -- and that, for me, is a sign of a fantastic book. Highly recommended.

Peter Dickinson reminds me of two other British novelists, Robert Barnard and J.I.M. Stewart. His works usually contain mysteries, as do Barnard's, and are usually novels of manners, as are Stewart's. And like both, he is at his best when delineating complicated and ambiguous relationships whose history and roots illuminate present events. In addition, Dickinson shares the satirical wit and polished style of the other two.

"The Yellow Room Conspiracy" is a mystery and a novel of manners. Narrated alternately by an aged couple looking back on critical events of their youth, Paul Ackerley and Lucy Vereker, the novel evokes a between-the-wars world of Eton and country house parties followed by a post-war empire whose decline culminates in the Suez crisis.

The double narration Dickinson employs is an effective technique. Between them, Lucy, the society beauty, and Paul Ackerley, the archetypal outsider, recreate a series of events that climax in the death of another outsider, Gerry Grantworth, and the burning down of Lucy's family home.

Who killed Gerry? Who burned the house? These are the questions that Paul and Lucy finally explore after spending a lifetime together -- each secretly believing the other had. Dickinson makes you care about the answers.

This is one of a number of marvellous books by Maureen Lipman, and it seems she is improving with every one of them. She lets us into her life and allows us to be with her during her daily routine,with some funny and some sad stories, which will both move you to tears and make you laugh, sometimes at the same time! For those of us who have read all of these books she carries on little stories from previous installments, which makes you, as the reader feel she is inviting you to know a little bit more about her, Jack, the kids ( Amy and Adam ) and of course, the wonderful Zelma ( Maureens Mum ).

I've read the latest in the series from Maureen Lipman, and think it really is excellent.

She combines her incredible sense of humour with the eccentricities of life, mother and acting!

A first class book.

Nicholas Sparks is one of the few writers that make you stop and savour his words, his sentences....He is an amazing writer that grabs you from the very beginning. The Notebook is one of those books that you can read over and over again...It is a classic and a must have in your book shelf. JUST AMAZING!!!

I read the book before seeing the movie. My daughter had advised me not to attend the movie in the theater, but to wait til it was on DVD because she felt it would be too emotional for me. Though the story is a bit thin at places and the characters are sometimes a bit cliche, I still loved the book and the movie. I cried through both of them because my mother died with Alzheimer's Disease. My father was a devoted caregiver to her throughout her illness. For someone trying to cope with the effects of this disease on the family, this movie can be very moving. It reminds you of what you have lost, but it also stirs up those happy memories from the past.

The book The Notebook was very good. it had a very good message to it which was to listen to your heart. When you are stuck in a situation that needs solving, you listen to your heart and do what you think is best. When Allie went and visited Noah, and became close to him, she didn't know what to say to her husband, Lon, about it.

What was Nicholas Sparks thinking when he wrote this book?

*Let me tap into the minds of lonely heartbroken women all over the world.

*Let me add a new age man who reads poetry and pours out his feelings in letters.

*Let me re-create the classic lovestory with a dose of Bridges of Madison county (which should have been shorter, as in should never have been written in the first place)

I loved the movie and was dying to read the book. It is AWFUL. Sugary sweet with no real story or depth.

How can any one read this shallow garbage and cry?

I am shocked that the author signed a $1 million publishing deal and then went on to write more sugary sweet garbage. His only half decent book is 'Message in a bottle' but there is only so many times you can write a boy meets girl, boy and girl fall in love, boy loses girl, boy or girl die love story before its gets ridiculous.
Sparks wants the 'pulitizer prize' now. How?
He writes nothing more than trashy chicklit.

I think the 'Horse Whisperer' by Nicholas Evans is so much more classy, now there's a male author who can write a love story.
Not everyone would agree with me.

Sparks seems like a great guy but he is a terrible author.

This book was so beautiful, I couldn't put it down. If only we all could find a love like this once in a lifetime, and hang onto it!

Junger recounts the relentless ferocity of the Storm of the Century that hit North America's eastern seaboard during 1991. This is a breath-taking, riveting tale of human courage in the face of the most devastating forces of nature.

The book ably reconstructs the terrifying facts, feelings and tragedy of the fishing boat Andrea Gail and her six-man crew, which disappeared during a killing storm of mythic proportions. Tragically, the bodies were never found, so nobody survived to tell the story. The book weaves a compelling patchwork around the sinking itself--the ship's colourful crew, their manic drives, lives and backgrounds. There are fascinating details of meterology, navigation and commercial fishing. We peer into the physics of rogue waves, the horrifying physiology of drowning, the agonies of search and rescue. We feel the adrenal charge of risk-fishing, the frailty of humans pitted against Nature, the lash of wind, the brine, the towering waves, the violent pitch and toss of the sea, told with the crackling force and energy of a first novel. The writing is tight, plain, elegant and restrained. Junger is ever the journalist, always tethered to his materials, never sensational, never indulging himself, or setting free the novelist. Perhaps his stern, disciplined self-control is his greatest triumph. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and would gladly read it again.

This book is very vivid in its descriptions of the storm and the activities leading up to it. The author has done an excellent job of making the reader feel that he/she is involved in the action. Very exciting and emotional read.

I watched the movie of this book before I read the book itself, and I have to say that the movie has taken some liberties with the story and the book is still better than the movie despite its great storm special effects. Nobody can say exactly what happened to the swordboat Andrea Gail but this book does a credible job of describing what probably happened based on knowledge of swordfish fishermen, the fishing industry, the ocean, storm behaviour and the rescue services involved.

Having read this book I now feel I know a lot more about swordfish and the fishing industry than I ever believed I would. I also feel I've been given a reasonable education in storm and wave behaviour around the Grand Banks and northern fishing waters. You have to have some patience with this book as the Storm of the title doesn't really start to play a part in its story till half way through the book. Up till then everything is mostly background material about the fishing industry. However, even if you know nothing about the sea, this book covers so many topics in so much depth that it keeps you moving along till the tragedies and triumphs of the storm and its human costs are played out. A recommended read if you like your stories factually based but not debased to the point of being "based on a true story".

This book is amazing. Sebastian Junger went to a great deal of effort to write this book. It is historically accurate and all people and places are real. The only piece I have trouble with is after Andrea Gail is no longer heard from. Anything regarding what happened on the boat after that is guessing even if it is fairly accurate. The actual name of the storm was Hurricane Gloria and to those of us who lived through it it makes more sense to think of it that way.

I liked this book so much, especially with the movie adaptation. As is often the case, the psychological insight of the original book was invigorating to read. It is hard to see that some of us found the story less to their liking. In comparison with some quickreads, Atonement is something to savor and to come away from with wonder and even bittersweetness for the fate of its characters -- making a reader ask exactly what is real as Briony might have felt.

. . . Couldn't really get into it after watching the movie, but actually managed to finish it this time. Would I read another book of Ian McEwan's? Not unless he changed his writing style drastically.

At first the book is hard to get into, because it flicks back and forth between the different characters' points of views. But then the film is the same. But the book is pages and pages of never ending description - with very little dialogue added in between. And when you do get dialogue, it seems to be all grouped together, before you get more pages and pages of description.

What I will say about the book is that the film was at least faithful to it. You know I hate watching movies of books that I loved (the recent Narnia movies being prime examples), but reading the book after watching the film, I saw a few more insights into what I liked in the movie, but didn't quite make sense.

What I will NEVER get about the movie or the book for that matter, is the whole Lola/Paul Marshall storyline. What girl marries the man who sexually abused her? Or was it consensual? Considering she looked like she was crying the second time at least, we can think it wasn't consensual? I found this whole storyline very difficult to understand, since she marries Paul in both the movie and the book.

The ending of the movie is also changed, and to be honest, I preferred the ending depicted in the movie. The ending in the book just didn't work. I'm not quite sure what it was, but I was still turning pages, trying to find the rest of it.

If I'm going to be brutally honest, I skimmed a lot of sections of this book. I still read it, but particularly the war section of the book (scenes I hated in the movie) I skimmed. I was certainly disappointed even more than I was first time around, and would only recommend it to readers of Ian McEwan's work. Certainly do not read as your first book.

I won't reiterate the pros and cons of this novel, which many talented reviewers have done before.

I only want to pose a question to all readers -- because, having read the book through twice, I still don't get this part:

Lola and Paul Marshall. First he assaults her and she covers for him (falsely blaming her little brothers); then he rapes her and she covers for him again; then she marries him. WTF?

Alternate interpretation: They have consensual rough foreplay the first time; then consensual sex; and then she marries him. This would make sense -- if only I could convince myself that a 15-year-old upper-crust girl in 1935 England would have rough foreplay with a man she'd just met.

Alternate interpretation: She fought him off the first time, then had consensual sex the second time; then married him. Nope; that's another WTF. What girl of that era -- or any era -- would willingly have sex with a man who had just assaulted her?

I'm lost. Somebody, please, explain Lola's motivation to me. Otherwise, I am forced to go with my gut interpretation: Lola's actions make no sense, but we're just supposed to accept them because she's (a) a villainess and (b) a female (and therefore can be dismissed as irrational by nature), and (c) a minor character, quickly dispensed with, whose main duty is to be a Contrivance of the Plot.

Booker Prize, anyone?

I am a big fan of the movie. I enjoyed the book -beautifully written- however the tragedy of the story was almost too much for me to read. Everything is so much more vivid in print. It is one of the few times where I actually preferred the movie.

I almost gave this novel 4 stars, because there was a point at the near-end where I didn't like where the author was going. But in the last pages, he redeemed himself, and I see why it *had* to be told the way it was.

That being said, I loved Atonement. It is one of the best books I've read in years. Robbie and Cecilia's fiery love made me catch my breath, and I know this is a book that will leave me thinking for days.

Frank McCourt once again takes us on a tour of his life, this time from the age of nineteen to his fifties. As with Angela's Ashes, his storytelling is quintessentially Irish, and the reader can almost hear his brogue as he tells his tale. Again, this book is full of Irish humor and sensibility, but is much darker than its prequel, Angela's Ashes. I fully expected to love this book as much as Angela's Ashes, but I had a difficult time coming to terms with the way Frank McCourt presents himself as well as his mother this time around.

Certainly, Mr. McCourt is not in this world to live up to my expectations, but I was so disappointed to learn that he had let alcohol grab hold of him even after describing how his drunken father had made his childhood and his mother's life such a misery. There's no real explanation of how he became an author - his writing is treated as an aside to everything else going on in his life, is seldom mentioned and is never discussed in detail. On the other hand, his teaching career is discussed vividly, but is a sad treatise on American education and I came away feeling as though it was a job he despised.

At long last, there is a reference to the title of his childhood memoir, something that I expected in that book but never materialized. The titles of the two books might have been better off swapped.

C.A.Wulff - author of Born Without a Tail www.yelodoggie.com

Oh my word. I don't know what most reviewers are talking about. Tis is a true gift to readers who're interested in the author's life. Angela's Ashes had more poetry while Tis has more modern day cynicism being caged to a life imposes. In transparent words, this is the book where McCourt grows up in the USA. It's about his odd and awkward days of longing for women and wondering why he was the odd one out, about days when he wanted to be disconnected from his family and despite not being poor, the author finds himself in another predicament of missing Limerick, Ireland.

Frank McCourt is my favourite author. I don't know about writing styles because I've never read many books but Tis truly broke my heart a few times and it made me laugh out loud atleast six times. In my opinion, it is a bit criminal to say that this book is better than Angela's Ashes but I must admit I enjoyed reading this even more.

Do me a favour and ignore all the negative reviews. Arm chair critics wouldn't know better.

I thought Tis was a better read than Angela's Ashes. Being an American born in 1970, I can not relate to Ireland circa 1925 (it was apparently an awful place - move on). However, I found McCourt's historical accounts of WWII America to be fascinating reading. Americans were so openly racist back then toward every group imaginable. If anyone can claim a reason for America's greatness, it's her ability to change for the better, although Iraq is a bad example. But then again, GW Bush actually lost those two elections, so we tried. I suppose there will always be material for books, like Tis, about ugly Americans who despite themselves turn out to have functioning hearts. A sincere thank you, Frank.

I ordered this book USED/GOOD CONDITION. It came in Very good condition. I was very pleased and will not hesitate to order a used book again.

Frank McCourt wrote "'Tis" as an obvious follow-up after the success of "Angela's Ashes". This second memoir is less visceral and dramatic, perhaps because it does not deal with memories of a childhood in poverty. Nevertheless, it is still engrossing and emotionally moving, full of humor and sadness, revealing the deep family feelings and the individual self of the author.

Starting with his arrival in New York City at the age of 19, McCourt describes his first shocking experience with the priest at the hotel (I could not stop laughing, although, sadly, this is not something to be taken lightly), which led to his first janitorial job in a hotel lobby. His struggle for money to sustain himself and send enough to his mother in Limerick led him to work at the docks, where he met a plethora of people and started experiencing the true New York diversity. In his pursuit of education, he discovered the library, but could not even imagine a way to get a college degree...until he was drafted to serve in the Korea war.

Never actually sent to Korea, Frank spent his army time in Germany instead, first working with dog training, and then as a clerk. He became a skilled typist, which allowed him to get a clerical job back in New York City. Another benefit of serving in the military was his entitlement to go to the university. Despite his lack of high school diploma and massive inferiority complex, Frank got a degree in English and became a teacher. In college, he met a beautiful girl, Alberta, who later became his wife (perhaps he viewed her as a challenge? A woman epitomizing everything American?). I loved his descriptions of problems with students and the school system, the family perturbations a little less so - but, all in all, "'Tis" is a great book, which reads very well and is hard to put down. I enjoyed it as much as "Angela's Ashes": in a little bit different way, but I did not expect it to be the same - the period of Frank's life here is that of a young man, and he focuses more on his personal development and experience, not so much on his family (which, anyway, is an eternal presence). Is it a typical route an immigrant could follow at that time, or highly personal? I think it is both, in a way...
I like McCourt's language, the flow of his sentences like a story told at the fireplace, his sensitivity and eye to detail. I enjoyed his view of the New York City, too.

I assume will read the third part, "Teacher Man", with equal pleasure and I am looking forward to it.

A collection of sorts, based around the sixties experience and Vietnam, from early teenagerhood to many years later, following some people intersecting paths over the years. Maybe a touch autobiographical from what the author says in the intro.

The supernatural bad guys in the first long novella I think are likely from The Dark Tower series, which I have not read a lot of beyond some novellas that make up the first book.

Hearts In Atlantis : Low Men in Yellow Coats - Stephen King
Hearts In Atlantis : Hearts in Atlantis [short story] - Stephen King
Hearts In Atlantis : Blind Willie - Stephen King
Hearts In Atlantis : Why We're in Vietnam - Stephen King
Hearts In Atlantis : Heavenly Shades of Night are Falling - Stephen King

You can take me, but don't Breaker the boy.

3.5 out of 5


Hunt the Bitch in a little more moderation.

3.5 out of 5


Post Vietnam dodgy begging.

3 out of 5


Old mamasan ghost.

3.5 out of 5


Fits like an old glove.

3 out of 5




3.5 out of 5

This reading, which is also the Audible reading, may take some getting used to. Stephen King does relatively little acting here, while William Hurt apparently does none at all, yet by the end of the book I thought it was one of the finest dramatic readings I had ever heard.

Unlike what you may hear from Frank Mueller or Jim Dale, both readers seem to believe the text itself is sufficient to invoke the reader's emotion. King does this through a reading that sounds like his natural speaking voice. Yet, perhaps because this book has a special significance to him, his plain, unadorned reading, by careful use of pause and emphasis, sets a mood and draws out nuance and significance that I had missed by reading.

William Hurt uses very little in the way of accents or attempts to act different voices. His reading at first seemed interrupted by ill-timed pauses. Yet as the reading continued, I realized that he was using silence, pace, and emphasis to wring out tremendous emotion. The simple moments of childhood were fresh, the scenes of confrontation edgy in a way I have rarely felt in a reading, and in the confrontation between Bobby's mother and Ted, you can hear every twist and distortion in her soul.

I hope William Hurt reads more books and intent to listen to them.

Low Men in Yellow Coats, the first long (300+ pages) story from Hearts in Atlantis, is a story I've wanted to read ever since hearing about it in The Dark Tower Concordance. If you are a King fan, you already know about his epic series of seven novels, which starts with The Gunslinger, and continues with The Drawing of the Three, The Waste Lands, Wizard and Glass, The Wolves of the Calla, The Song of Susannah, culminating in The Dark Tower.
Since finishing the series and the Concordance, I've enjoyed another related story, "The Little Sisters of Eluria," plus the Marvel comic books (The Gunslinger Born, a series of seven comics which concluded last year, and now The Long Road Home, a series of five more that launched recently.) Plus, while looking through my own library, I just discovered a Special Stephen King issue of F&SF magazine from 1991 which has a long excerpt from The Drawing of the Three called "The Bear" which I practically inhaled last weekend. It's great to be able to continue to live off-and-on in this strange world King created. Ultimately, The Dark Tower series is a karmic journey, which loops back to its beginning like a Möbius Strip.
Low Men is a coming of age story about a boy named Bobby who lives with his bitter and damaged mom in a boarding house, and Bobby's relationship with Ted Brautigan, one of the "breakers" from the Dark Tower series. The Low Men are Can-toi, demon soldiery of the Crimson King, sent to our world to bring Ted back to the world of the Dark Tower, and they amply fulfill their obligation to scare the living piss out of Bobby, (and readers like me!)

This book is actually two novels and some shorts stories with
a common thread. The first novel is an east coast Garrison Keillor with a PSI
grandpa added. The second is a college dorm story from the '60's about
a scholarship student. These two are pretty good, but the short stories except for the end one are dreadful.
I think he could have made a great novel of the first one by sticking to actual autobiographical material.
As it stands it leaves me, as most of Stephen King's work does,
feeling unclean for having read it. Last time I
read one of these I said to myself I wouldn't read anymore
of his trash...

I loved the movie so much that I wanted to read the book. The book had dark and creepy undertones, where the movie didn't show that at all. The movies made growing up in the sixties look fun, the book was strange, for example cars weren't really cars, they were alive. Movie was great, book not so much.

This review is of the Audiobook version.

The first story in this series is '1st To Die' which introduces Lindsay Boxer and the Women's Murder Club. Lindsay is a San Francisco homicide Inspector and she has been put on a case where a married couple were killed on the evening of their wedding. Lindsay is partnered with a man from the mayor's office, Chris Raleigh, and on the same day discovers she has an unusual blood disorder which is potentially fatal. Lindsay's energy is directed toward the investigation as well as her health and as she investigates the first murder and another two 'bride and groom' killings she finds herself drawn into a group of other women for support - Cindy Thomas, a reporter; Claire Washburn, a medical examiner; and Jill Bernhardt, an assistant DA.

The book seemed to draw to a conclusion fairly early but then there were several twists which made the story move in new directions. The interactions between Lindsay and Chris Raleigh were well written, as were Lindsay's moments of emotion as she battles her disease and tries to get to the bottom of the murders. However there were some rather cringe-worthy moments when the girls seemed to have to say "I love you" to each other, as well as having to be vastly successful and feisty as well as in touch with their femininity. Those who like to read more about the murder scenes might find this story a disappointment as it seems to be more about Lindsay and her feelings than detective work. I also felt that the 'baddie' seemed rather comic-book bad and his behaviour at the very end of the story was rather implausible. Still I enjoyed the story and this new series of characters.

The narrator of this story did a good job but sometimes her voice became so quiet that it was difficult to hear over road noise when driving and listening, which is probably how many people will hear this story. In order to hear the quiet sections the volume had to be raised rather more than I would like for the louder sections. However this was an excellent audiobook and whiled away a long journey very effectively!

This is the first James Patterson book that I have read and I was not disappointed! His WOman's Murder Club series caught my attention a couple years ago with his 5th or 6th book but I didn't want to start a series with a book that late in it. Well, I just recently got around to actually starting the series. After I finished this book I immediately ordered #2 and #3 so that I can continue to read them. When I read a book I am the type of person that likes to be able to suspend reality when I read so the fact that their "club" is technically illegal and could cost them all their careers and freedom, I really enjoyed it. I see enough reality every day, I prefer to go to fantasy when I read. I liked the twists and turns in this book and enjoyed the writing style. It was a bit graphic at times, but in my opinion wasn't too overboard. Once again, loved the book and can't wait to get the next 2.

Today I stopped listening to this audio book for three reasons. First, expletive overload. I'm not naive enough to think that cops don't swear (my brother was one), I just don't want to hear it or read it in every other diaglogue. Second, horrible reader. Third, murder nausea. Can't people just be murdered in a novel anymore without all the perversion added in? It makes me wonder about the mind of the author. Give me a clean or semi-clean mystery that has even a mild aroma of good writing. This was my first James Patterson novel and probably my last. Give me Anne Perry any time!

This is the first in the Women's Murder Club series and it is the first James Patterson book I've read. He is a popular and prolific writer, and this thriller doesn't disappoint. It may not be great literature, but it is easy reading with very short chapters and it keeps the reader's interest to the end. The reason I read the book is because of the TV series based on these books about four women -- a detective, a medical examiner, a crime reporter and an assistant district attorney -- who band together to solve crimes. They call themselves the Women's Murder Club. In this first book Detective Lindsay Boxer is also battling a serious illness and is involved in a romance as well as solving a series of murders. This is a good book to take along on a trip. It will help pass the time at the airport and on the plane.

First book in the Women's Murder Club series.

Four professional women in San Francisco (a cop, a medical examiner, an assistant DA, and a reporter) join forces to catch a serial killer who is brutally murdering newlyweds.

Lots of page-turning action and Patterson's trademark gruesome, misogynistic murders. Read this for the gory murder mystery, not for the character development. While I didn't love it, I liked it enough that I will continue to read the series.

Maybe it's just me...I was happy to receive this paperback copy, especially since it's set in Ireland initially, and I was completely enchanted with Ireland on my visits there. Also, some of my very favorite books have been Oprah's selections. But I am giving up after 140 pages. Is it ever going to be anything more than a typical soap opera? "Angela's Ashes" it's not! Sorry, but I can't really maintain an interest in any of the predictable, stereotypical characters.

I just finished reading this book about 10 minutes ago. I couldn't put it down! I would highly recommend this book to anyone.

I picked up this book because it was an Oprah Book CLub book and I had several waiting for me to read.
I found it hollow and not as OBC worthy as others, like Middlesex which I just finished prior to Tara Road.
Tara Road is replete with weak female characters: a doormat in Ria, a punching bag in Gertie, a wealthy backstabbing friend, etc etc.
I wanted to jump into their world and shake some sense into them! WHy must all the women be weak and accomodating and most of the male characters successful and in control (if not domineering)?
I did find it enjoyable along the way but in the end I felt as if I wasted 600+ pages of reading on a stupid woman's book.

Maeve Binchy, once again uses her expertise as a masterful storyteller, to create this light and very readable tale of two women, who are trying to pull their lives back together, after experiencing two separate, very personal, tragedies.
When Ria swaps her beautiful home in Tara Road, Ireland, for Marilyn's fancy house in New England, America, she wonders what possessed her to leave the familiarity of home. But in her struggle to make sense of this new environment, Ria discovers a new sense of self.
Tara Road is a lovely story, filled with colourful, completely believable characters. It also possesses a warmth that is unique to so many of Maeve Binchy's works. And for a book that is 639 pages long, it's also a surprisingly quick read.
A great (and appropriate) book for the holidays!




Zara Stevens
Boy Meets Girl: A Pocketful of Wedding Stories

When my book discussion group selected this title recently, I was wary. But we have had some pretty good discussions about books that were essentially, well, beach reads before, so why not this one. Maeve Binchy had her admirers among the group members, but no one actually claimed that her works had much literary merit. They were "good reads," and there are times when we're all up for just that. TARA ROAD is compelling in a shambling, soap opera kind of way. It takes over 500 pages to tell a story that could have been told in maybe half that number. But then, we wouldn't have benefitted from every conceivable character's point of view, some subplots might have been curtailed or abandoned.

It wouldn't have been nearly as fun.

Funny that this one-time Oprah selection actually mentions Oprah's show in the context of the storyline. Surely that can't be the reason O selected it. Nah, this has all the hallmarks of (earlier) Oprah books--women overcoming life's obstacles, especially the ones thrown at them by MEN. But it's not all hearts and flowers and happy endings. In fact, the reason it qualifies for OB status is that its optimism is attenuated just a tad by something like realism.

It's the new Happy Ending, the qualified one. You move on, you get over it--or at least you try to. There's a bit of hope, some hard won insights, and life will go on (except for the dead drunk guy who ends up drunk and dead, but I won't spoil it for you).

In a more literary text, the parallels between the two women who trade houses, continents, and lives for two months one summer would have been set up more cleanly. Both characters would have been introduced at or near the story's beginning and their storylines would have "intertwined" in some sense well before they do here. The story "belongs" to the Irish character, Ria, with the American woman, Marilyn, coming in almost as an afterthought, or rather as a plot device to move the action along once there is an major turning point in the story of Ria's seemingly perfect, comfortable existence.

But you know, just as on the TV soaps the novel resembles, it all sort of works. Marilyn's entry into the story is somewhat reminiscent of the new character that comes along in Season Two. She's got her own tale to tell, and it gets told, in dribs and drabs, and before you know it, the new gal is a major player in the plotline.

In that respect, TARA ROAD's rambling, slow moving storyline starts to resemble real life in odd ways. It's a little sloppy, and things don't get all that neatly tied up at the end. We think we know where these characters' lives may be going, but we can't be sure that things wouldn't take a completely different turn somewhere down the line.

If it WERE a more literary novel, I might be justified in wondering whether or not there was some kind of "Mary" motif going on here. After all, the three major (adult) women characters are (Ma)ria, Marilyn and Rosemary. If we were thinking "serious literature," there might be some blending of identities, similarities in their fates, or just some kind of bond. And in fact, you could argue for all of those things. But with a Maeve Binchy yarn, it could also just simply be that the author just happened to like those names. Either way, it's a pretty good read.

"Executive Orders" is 1358 pages long. Yes, you read that correctly 1358 pages long! No one has ever praised Tom Clancy for the brevity of his prose, but 1358 pages is one audaciously long book. The only thing that could keep reading a novel of this length from being an overwhelmingly tiresome exercise is for it to contain an audaciously good story. Fortunately for Tom Clancy and Jack Ryan fans, this book resoundingly succeeds on this count.

Now, please be forewarned [IF YOU HAVE NOT READ "DEBT OF HONOR" YET, THEN GO NO FURTHER WITH THIS REVIEW]:

Now, if you have read "Debt of Honor", you will remember the absolutely shocking way it ended, with a rogue Japanese commercial airline pilot crashing his 747 into the Capitol Dome during the President's speech to a joint session of Congress, killing all of Congress, the President, the Cabinet, and the Supreme Court justices (among others). This all happened after the sitting Vice President has resigned in disgrace and Jack Ryan was just approved to be the new VP by acclimation vote of Congress before the plane struck.

So, now Jack is President and he has rebuild a devastated government while facing a political threat from the former VP who thinks he should be president; a foreign crisis brought about by Middle East upheavals (one of which is proving to be quite prophetic); and a domestic crisis brought about by a biological terrorist attack. It's just another day in the life of Jack Ryan.

The real appeal of this book is that every different plot thread is extraordinarily well thought out and set up. In most books this ambitious, you will find certain plot lines boring, making you anxious to get to more exciting portions of the story. In "Executive Orders", Clancy never falls into that trap. You can feel each different thread building upon the others, instead of running in opposition to them. The payoff is a tremendous climax (or rather a series of them) which rewards the reader for their efforts throughout this magnum opus.

"Executive Orders" is a crowning achievement in the Jack Ryan Universe. There are so many fabulous books in the Ryan series, but this one is its apex.

Having been a Clancy fan from his beginning, when I picked up Executive Orders, I hoped to find the same class of writing and pleasant presentation as had been the mark of (most) of his prior work.
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Unfortunately, it seems he had either reached that pinnacle where he could demand he get paid on a "per word" basis, thus the incredible and completely unnecessary length of this work - or he had offended all possible editors of skill, and been left with a very inferior pool to choose from. I'd find it hard to explain this ineffective work otherwise, clearly published on the hope of the merit of the Clancy name and not on any intrinsic merits of its own.
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This is one ponderous book...one that I had a very hard time working through. It could have been fully and effectively covered with half the size, resulting in a much more readable and productive Clancy gripper...easier to follow, more demonstrative of the points he wanted to make, and more conducive to continuing his future unblemished.
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Though I must say I thought I saw it coming in a couple of his works leading up to this one, at least they were still effecive and noteworthy, though beginning to be somewhat needlessly long.
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It is my hope that we don't have a repeat of this exercise in literary back-sliding, and that Mr. Clancy continues to use other writers to assist him in putting his works together as he's been doing since, to keep him from the mistakes he made here.

If you are a fan of Tom Clancy you will love this book. It has all the aspects a book require to make it a great read. Twist after twist this book will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very last page. The events in this book are so realistic you might as well be reading a non-fiction book, that's part of what makes this book so good. If haven't read the books leading up to this I would definitely recommend that you read the other jack Ryan books first. You will fall in love with Jack Ryan in this book and all of Tom Clancy's other books.

Let rate each of the major plotlines in the book in true U.S. Navy fashion, of Outstanding, Excellent, Good, Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory. SPOILER ALERT -- spoilers abound.

The Asia Minor war with the United Islamic Republic. First off, I must note that Jack Ryan is not a good president. His unpresidential conduct (e.g., maudlin funeral service) made him, and by extension his country, look weak. Something to think about when we elect the next president. Second, we now know that Iran taking over Iraq in a matter of days is not something that could happen. Iran can barely control itself, let alone another country. The land, air and sea battles were fairly well done, however. Rating: good.

Ebola terrorism. Well done with the exception that Ding and Chavez pop up, Zelig-like, to provide crucial information about who has been experimenting with monkeys. The retribution at the end was fantastic (JDAMs on the mullah-in-chief's house especially), and my only question is, Why not use a high-level nuclear bomb to destroy the lab, instead of a low-level one? Rating: excellent.

The assassination attempt on Jack. The idea of a Mohammedan sleeper agent is certainly plausible, post- 9-11, post-Lackawanna Sleeper Cell. I didn't like the fact that catching the rogue Secret Service agent depended in part on luck, but it was certainly presented in a plausible way. Rating: excellent.

The assassination attempt on SANDBOX. I'm getting tired of "kids in jep." Clancy skillfully played that card in "Patriot Games" but I'm a little annoyed to see it come up again here. The only thing that saves this plotline from Unsatisfactory rating is the vivid description of the assault and the takedown of the bad guys. Rating: satisfactory.

The Mountain Men. Didn't go anywhere and was unnecessary. Unsatisfactory.

Edward Kealty tries to muscle back into the presidency. A little absurd but does present interesting legal issues. Rating: good.

Running the government. Clancy obviously took the chance to tell us everything he would change if he were president, but it wound up being just a series of political speeches that any competent editor could have stopped. Two hundred or more pages could have been taken out of the book in this part alone and it would have been far better. Clancy needs an editor with some backbone, for his sake as well as ours. Rating: unsatisfactory.

This book is book two of a trilogy, with Debt of Honor being book one and The Bear And The Dragon being book three, so a lot of background events will be missed and the reader will be a bit confused if this book is read without reading Debt of Honor. That said, I am a big fan of Tom Clancy and own all of his books in paperback and have read all of them but four. He tells a good story and gives you an opportunity to learn a thing or two about politics, the military, and technology, even going so far as to give the historic info about discovery and development of such things as our touch tone telephone system, for one example. He makes it fairly clear that there are certain kinds of people he doesn't care for: dishonest politicians, liberal politicians and their mostly anti-military philosophy, political subversives, and environmentalists. That said, what is scary about this book and the trilogy as a whole, is that all the events, from the start of Debt Of Honor to the end of The Bear And The Dragon could conceivably happen. What I noticed about this book is that, intentionally or not, Mr. Clancy has actually written up a roadmap for recovery from the most unimaginably bad disaster and turn of events before and after that are chillingly real and possible. A very good read, hard to put down.