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Stephen King did a good thing by writing this book.The charcters and cast
are wonderful, This is one of my all time favorite, what goes on behind the walls of a prision.

After reading 85 novels, I finally read a Stephen King story. My friend who encouraged me to start reading had been after me to read him for awhile. I am really glad that I did. He is a great story teller and kept me in the story even when I wasn't reading it. As I have said before, a good writer is someone who can paint a vivid picture in the reader's mind's eye. This is done here in painting a picture of life in Shawshank Prison, Maine. This a great story of one man's strength to survive against all odds; we can all learn from this. It certainly should be told to all those who would think of breaking the law.

"Stand by me" - this is the most important sentence in the novel The Body written by Stephen King. The novel is about the natural and deep sense of friendship. Four boys are keen on experience an adventure, they take a long way to see a dead body in the forests of Maine. Alone on the way of excitement and fear, they are between childhood and adulthood. The story is easy to read and also to understand.

Reta hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, was a great short story by stephen king. I enjoyed reading this book and even watching the movie. I was suprised how much the book grabed my attention and how I didn't ever put it down.

I recently watched both "The Shawshank Redemption" (with Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman) and "Stand By Me" (with River Phoenix, Jerry O'Connell, Wil Wheaton and Corey Feldman) and this prompted me to dig out my old copy of Different Seasons. Most people are surprised when they learn that those movies were based on novellas by horror master, Stephen King, but he shows that he's not just into scaring the heck out of you.

The story cycle bases one novella per season, and each follows characters on a journey, whether it's one of hope, descent into corruption, coming of age, or life through offspring.

"Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption" takes place over decades, as a prison inmate retains his spirit and soul, while breathing life into a dark institution, and whose patient nature finally leads him to freedom. The story is told in first person from the point of view of old Red, the guy who can get you things, about Andy Dufresne, a young banker jailed for the murder of his wife and her lover.

One of Kingýs great strengths is creating a believable voice for his characters, and as you read this tale, it is like Red is talking to you. Other King strengths are providing back story and creating a world in which these characters live, one with a past, present and future, and it makes them three dimensional. One of Kingýs flaws is going off on tangents and digressions a bit too often, but he always comes back to the story.

ýThe Bodyý (basis for ýStand By Meý) is a coming of age story about four small town boys on the cusp of entering Junior High School. On the Friday before Labor Day, they set off to find the body of a missing boy. One of the four boys, Vern Tessio, overheard his brother talking to a friend about the dead body.

The characters fall into several categories: Gordon LaChance, who narrates the story as an adult, is the dreamer/writer whose older brother died earlier that year. Chris Chambers is athletic, tough but smart. wise beyond his years and the white sheep in a family of black sheep. Teddy Duchamp is the psycho wiseguy who wears thick glasses and hearing aids as the result of his war veteran father putting his head to a stove. Vern Tessio is the least intelligent, but plays a key symbolic part as the one tells the others about the body and also is the first to spot it.

Along their journey, the boys encounter adventures, such as Milo Pressman the junkyard operator and his dog, Chopper. There is a run across a high trestle as a train bears down on them, a swim in a culvert full of leeches, and a night in the dark woods with screaming wild animals. When they eventually reach the boys, they have a run in with a group of teenage hoods from their town. A major difference from the movie, is that this story details the aftermath of the confrontation after the boys return to town.

King does a nice balancing act with his adult narrative and pre-adolescent dialogue, making each voice unique and fleshing out each boyýs character to make them multi-dimensional. All four experience growth, but Gordon and Chris take this growth with them as they get older. Donýt let people drag you down. Thereýs a lot more to this story than just kids looking for a dead body.
My bumps here are again that King goes off on tangents and digressions, some to fill in background and history for the characters, but sometimes really straying far from the course. At one point he takes nearly a page to say that someone is dead, where ýThe kid was dead. The kid wasnýt sick, the kid wasnýt sleeping.ý Would probably have sufficed.

I wonýt go into a lot of detail about the other two stories. ýApt Pupilý is about a boy who discovers a Nazi war criminal living in his town, and blackmails the old man into telling him stories about the war in exchange for not blowing the whistle on him. The stories the boy hears slowly lead him into senseless acts of violence. In ýThe Breathing Womaný a ýdisgraced woman is determined to triumph over death.ý

These four stories combine to make an interesting cycle, and demonstrate that Stephen King has writing talents that stretch beyond his horror work.

I really liked this book and the way it was written. It captures you in the beginning by giving you a look in the journal of the stalker, and from there it does not dissapoint.

Mina and Camille were bestfriends until Camille bacame popular and started hanging with the "cool crowd". She pretty much dithched Mina throughout thier Senior year, which was why Mina was so suprised to get a call from her. Camille asked mina if she wanted to go to the mall, and while hating herself for it, she said yes.

The trip started out rocky and didn't get better from there. As they were eating frozen yogurt Camille asked Mina if she would go with her to meet this guy named Andrew, that she had been talking online to. Mina told her she shouldn't meet him and they fought. Mina caved in and said she'd go, but Camille didn't want her to come anymore. She said she'd take the bus home and stormed off. Mina went home and then recieved a phone call from Camille's mother.

She asked if she had seen Camille and that's when it all started. Camille wasn't back by the next morning so the police were brought in. She was labled missing and they were looking for her.

In an attemt to help Mina went to Camille's locker looking for some kind of clue. There she met up with Camille's Boyfriend, Mick. From there they start trying to find Camille and in the end........

This is a really good book and so are the rest in the [...] series that i have read. The way ti was written captures you, and i LOVE the characters. A really good read, i would suggest tit to anyone.

I love this book. Mr. Cray knows how to right. This story is about a girl named Mina. Her ex-best friend, named Camille, is missing so her and Camille's boyfriend start looking for clues. Before long they find out that she was kidnapped. Unfortunatly she dies so Mick(Camille's boyfriend) and Mina start to look for her killer. They uncover a BIG mystery.

After a quarrel between the two ex-best-friends Mina and Camille, also called Camy, Camille is missing. Her parents, the police and the other people think she has just run away as it is typical for teenagers. But Mina doesn't think so. With Camy's ex-boyfriend, Mick, the scornful girl makes investigations. They come across a dangerous stalker who terrorizes the famous actress Deva Winter ... The case becomes more complicated but then a dead body is found - Camille's. Nevertheless, Mick and Mina don't give up and keep on hunting the murderer. They've just one chance: Mina must play the stoolpigeon in order to trap the Stalker. A dangerous task ... This book shows that life for popular teenagers isn't so easy as you might think. You can be lonely as well. Jordan Cray's novel is very sad, you sympathize with the characters, especially with Mina and K.D. and understand them. Impressing is Mina's change of character. The sarcastic girl becomes a strong, sensible, thoughtful and lovable person. It's not only a simple Internet crime novel, it has depth and truth. Once started the story demands to be finished. One of the best books I've ever read!!! I also recommend "The ShadowMan" and "Dead Man's Hand" .

This book is really good! It's addicting beginning to the end!
Story line: Mina and Camille were best friends starting from their early childhood. They looked the same and everyone thought they were sisters, they were inseparable, But one summer Camille goes with her mom to stay by the beach the whole summer. When Camille comes back she's a totally different person. She has new clothes, lost some weight, and even had a summer boyfriend. When they go back to school the following year Camille becomes totally popular and leaves her somewhat geeky friend, Mina, behind.
When Mina and Camille get in a huge fight at the mall about Camille's new cyberfriend, and how Camille is going to meet him/her, Mina tries to talk her out of it. Camille then storms away saying she's going to take the bus home. But when Camille is missing the next day Mina gets worried. So Mina and Camille's boyfriend go hunting for clues leading to her dissapearence.
This book has a great twist in the end and I would highly recommend reading this book.

After a quarrel between the two ex-best-friends Mina and Camille, also called Camy, Camille is missing. Her parents, the police and the other people think she has just run away as it is typical for teenagers. But Mina doesn't think so. With Camy's ex-boyfriend, Mick, the scornful girl makes investigations. They come across a dangerous stalker who terrorizes the famous actress Deva Winter ... The case becomes more complicated but then a dead body is found - Camille's. Nevertheless, Mick and Mina don't give up and keep on hunting the murderer. They've just one chance: Mina must play the stoolpigeon in order to trap the Stalker. A dangerous task ... This book shows that life for popular teenagers isn't so easy as you might think. You can be lonely as well. Jordan Cray's novel is very sad, you sympathize with the characters, especially with Mina and K.D. and understand them. Impressing is Mina's change of character. The sarcastic girl becomes a strong, sensible, thoughtful and lovable person. It's not only a simple Internet crime novel, it has depth and truth. Once started the story demands to be finished. One of the best books I've ever read!!! I also recommend "The ShadowMan" and "Dead Man's Hand" .

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the similarities in the plot of this book series to that of Halo - the Vang are the Flood. Starhammer is a halo ring, etc.

Great space opera.

I know that Starhammer is not great literature but it is a thrilling story for traditional science fiction readers. Rowley creates an interesting, if frightening, future for humanity. However, the scale of time referred to in the novel spans a billion years, long before humans existed. Somewhat like in the Warhammer series. He also creates one of the most frightening alien life forms I have read about in science fiction, the Vang. I always thought that it was a shame that Rowley didn't develop this theme to more than the three books he wrote on the subject of the Vang and the Laowan. His Founder series was good but I found the Dragon theme less interesting. Like other reviewers here I have read Starhammer several times over the years and it is definitely one of my favourites.

This whole series is completely suspenseful, and this book definately sets the stage!

I found this book as I was looking for more information on the Halo backstory. Everything I was reading was saying that the developers borrowed pretty heavily from this series and they were definately right. Don't get me wrong, they are NOT the same story. There are just a lot of similarities, which in my mind is a good thing.

A word of warning, though... Don't read this book unless you have a whole day to spend; once you pick it up, it's got you!

IF you like Halo, then you will love this book. I cannot emphasize this more.

The people at Bungie who created Halo are such obvious fans of this book its not even funny.

Things from Halo that are based/similar from Starhammer:
-John(Master Chief)
-Covenent
-Flood
-343 Guilty Spark
-Halo(The weapon part of it)
-Cortana
-There's more, I'm sure

I first read this book many years ago after purchasing it along with a bunch of others at a secondhand book stall. I've read it many times since and never get tired of doing so. Just a sensational story that deserves to be made into a blockbuster of a film. If you love sci fi and haven't read this book yet then do so without any delay. It doesn't matter if you have to beg, borrow or steal the money to buy the book - just do so. You'll be all the richer for having done so!

This is the best New! Fear Street book ever. It's about a girl name Sondra who been hypnotized by her best friend and then it get's deadly. I highly recommend this book, ya'll.

The book had a very interesting twist to it.It's about a girl named Sondra who gets hypnotized and begins getting flashes of her past life,such as,answering to her name in the other life,and remembering certain places.This book just proves you never know who you can really trust.I really enjoyed it because I am very into past lives and the such.I recommend this book to any Fear Street fan--You'll be pleased.

Wow, it's been so long since i last read this book (I rented it from the library or else i'd read it again.) I reccomend this book to anyone who enjoys a good thriller. You don't have to be 13-15 years of age to enjoy R.L Stine's fearstreet series. In fact, i'm 18 and i absolutely love him. I'll admit his writting is'nt as elaborate and detailed as other writers but that's what's so great about him. He gets to the point and in the process gives us a great story. The Step Brother is an absolute shocker. You'll be hooked from beginning to end. Especially the end. This book has got one of the best surprise endings ever (although with R.L Stine you usually come to expect surprises).

THE STEPBROTHER IS ABOUT A GIRL NAMED SONDRA WHO GETS HYPNOTIZED AND HAS A STRANGE VISION. LATER ON IN THE BOOK SHE GOES TO A HYPNOTIST AND FINDS OUT SHE IS REMEMBERING EVENTS FROM A PAST LIFE. IN HER PAST LIFE SONDRA LIVED AS PENNY HANSON BUT WAS MURDERED. REALLY THE ENDING DIDN'T SURPRISE ME BECAUSE I READ A LOT OF MYSTERY BOOK BUT IT WILL SURPRISE A LOT OF PEOPLE. R.L. STINE REALLY OUTDID HISSELF WITH THIS BOOK.

Ever since Sondra's stepbrother moved in, she's been having these nightmares. Nightmares about her death. But what she doesn't know is that the events Sondra is remembering is from a past life. And now she believes, with help from her friends and a psychic, that the person from the past is after her in this life. All fingers are pointing towards her stepbrother ... could it be him?

With a great plot and an ending that will surprise you, The Stepbrother is one of R.L. Stine's best novels in the Fear Street series.

Even though I'm 22 years old, I love the Fear Street series. There are even some that scare me to the bone (honestly). Hey, I know you're laughing at me! There are adults out there who do read the Fear Street books. Honest to god!!!

A few years ago I visited these areas and the tour guide spoke with great certainty about everything. Come to find out almost everything is subject to question. Mertz is clear on what has been established, and what is theory. The time, energy and research put into Egyptian archeaology opens new avenues of doubt and make facts more and more elusive.

Mertz warns at the beginning that this is not a text nor a complete history. She says it is an collection material that she finds interesting. The first part was a little TOO informal for me. Mertz hits her stride with Hatshepsut and keeps the narrative strong through the end.

I loved this book. It's very well written and very informative - definitely not "dry" and "stuffy".

The book is interesting as well as fascinating with much information. Just what was needed to add to her Elizabeth Peters novels about Egypt.

For anyone who has an interest in Egypt or ever wondered exactly who the ancient Egyptians were and why their dynasties lasted for thousands of years, Barbara Mertz's "Temples, Tombs & Hieroglyphs" is the perfect introduction. More commonly known to readers as Elizabeth Peters, Mertz is the author of the popular Amelia Peabody mystery series.

Long before she started her career as a best-selling writer, however, Barbara Mertz began as a trained Egyptologist, with a PhD from the famed Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago, the launching pad for many successful Egyptologists. These credentials make her the perfect person to write this history, as she is able to translate the rich Egyptian history of the pharaohs into something more easily understood by readers with no archaeological background, except an interest in Egypt.

This is not to say that the book is always easy reading, although Mertz tackles her subject with a passion and humor readers are unlikely to find in any other, more typical history tome. She manages to bring the Egyptians of old to life, translating ancient hieroglyphs into fascinating stories of individuals, each with their own purpose, strengths and weaknesses exposed.

She opens up the fascinating world of tomb robbers and archaeologists (which some claim are not so far apart in purpose or behavior at times). She demonstrates how information is extrapolated from archaeological findings and illustrates how history is revised over time as new facts and theories come to light.

Despite the injection of personality Mertz brings, this can be dense material at times. For anyone uninitiated in the world of the Egyptians, there are more than 30 dynasties, each with several rulers, falling into 10 eras, dating from the Stone Age Archaic Period to the time of Cleopatra and the Roman invasion. The sheer length of time and individuals and events covered is staggering.

With repeating pharaohnic names, unfamiliar landscapes and place names, conflicting historical research and theories, the book can be overwhelming at times. Yet the reward for sticking it out (dare I even say, re-reading parts) is worth the time and effort expended. Frankly, I read this book twice, cover to cover, and the second time around, I finally began to get a real sense for the overall arc of historical time period covered. And I would hazard to say that it seems even more likely that dipping in again would yield even more historical treasure and understanding.

The richest gift that Mertz offers in her overview of Egypt can be found in the simple stories of the rulers described here, in illuminating for the novice the archaeological tricks of the trade (and weaknesses of such methods) used to determine exactly (or to the best of anyone's knowledge) what happened so many years ago. Mertz's infectious passion for all things Egyptian (well, except possibly pottery shards) can't help but influence her readers to want to learn more. Through her book, she has opened the door to her own exciting world, and readers can't help but want to share in that magic.

Christine Zibas, Book Pleasures

Writing under the pen name Elizabeth Peters, Barbara Mertz started the Amelia Peabody series of tongue-in-cheek Victorian archaeological thrillers in 1975. But 11 years before then this trained Egyptologist published the first edition of "Temples, Tombs & Hieroglyphs".

Like many other books this traces of the history of ancient Egypt from the pre-dynastic to the Ptolemies. But Mertz brings her sense of humor to lighten what can be a dry series of lists of kings. She brings to life highpoints in the Old, Middle and New Kingdoms, as well as the chaotic periods in between. Moreover, she lifts the veil and lets the reader in on many of the scholarly disputes, like those over the woman pharaoh Hatshepsut and the role of Nefertiti in the succession to her heretical husband Akhenaton.

It's also nice to see someone reveal the egomaniac Ramses II for what he was, a poor leader who lost the second Battle of Kadesh, and who covered his weaknesses by pasting his image everywhere.

For anyone who has read the Peabody books, including the depiction there of Sir William Flinders Petrie (and his approach to feeding his staff), Mertz' homage here to the founder of modern Egyptology is interesting.

In her forward to this Second Edition, Mertz says she thought she wouldn't have to do much to revise the earlier work. But then, she adds, taking into account four decades of new discoveries proved to be a challenge. There are places in this book where she discusses post-1964 work, but the addition of the new material is seamless, with no sense of things just stuck in.

This is a delightful introduction to the fascinating history of ancient Egypt.

My 14 month old has been choosing this one over other bedtime books since at least 9 months. The rhythm is soothing to me too, even on the 3rd reading in a row. That really helps by the end of the day!

Not quite a board book, but smaller than most picture books, "Ten, Nine, Eight" fills a nice gap in the middle. Molly Bang's exquisite colors illustrate this counting (from 10-to-1) book that culminates with the protagonist fast asleep.

The context is as warm and familiar as the counted objects: A little girl (it's difficult to tell how old she is, sometimes her face looks a liitle more mature than at other time) climbs up onto her daddy's lap. The dad is obviously smitten with his daughter, but in an unforced manner that seems to come from deep inside. The gentle pictures of their affectionate interactions provide the countable objects. These include 10 toes, 7 shoes (later we see the cat with the missing one), six "pale" seashells (each with its own shape), four "sleepy eyes which open and close," two "strong arms around a fuzzy bear's head (actually, you can see three arms, but you can always exclaim, "you're right, there are three arms!)," and "one big girl all ready for bed."

Ms. Bang's varied palette uses both bold primary colors and some more "sophisticated" hues not always found in a book for crawlers and toddlers. Overall, the tone is pleasant and warm, and the rhymes unforced and natural.

I have bought many copies of Ten, Nine, Eight to give as baby gifts. I love this book. I have been a librarian for over thirty years. I am so glad that this one has stayed in print.

The more I read this book to my 2-year-old son, the more I like it. He liked it right away. It really is a peaceful "goodnight" book.

My children have this book memorized, and so do I. We recite it sometimes without the book as a going to bed poem.

It is a wonderful addition to any parent's repertoire. If you have a friend expecting, be the one to buy this book.

It's better than "Good Night, Moon" by about 78%, at least.

Based on the same-titled movie released in 2001, Mel Odom's novelization of the Angelina Jolie flick is top-notch, enveloping every quality that made the archaeologist one of the most popular icons of the video game franchise.
Lara Croft observes the first third of a complete planet alignment - an event that happens once every five thousand years - through the high-tech telescope at her home, Croft Manor. Little did she know, only hours later, she would become an integral part in protecting the alignment's omnipotent power from ill-intended hands.

Through her deceased father's gift of a planetary clock, she travels from one exotic location to another to locate the pieces of the power's medium, a triangle emblazoned with the All-Seeing Eye, the Masonic symbol of omniscience. But an internal desire to see her father again brings her motives to locate the triangle halves into question. If she finds the pieces, will she use the power it contains for herself? Or will she snatch the godly control away from her foes and bury its abilities for another five thousand years?

Odom's literary portrayal is accurate and engrossing, detailing the emotional impact of each event and discovery, someting that may be lacked in the film version. Rather than drooling over Angelina Jolie, Raider fans can envision the described settings and locales in the book with relative ease, with every exotic touch in place. There are only very slight changes in the book, such as Croft enemy (or perhaps not) Alex West's naked romp from the shower to the bedroom in response to mysteriously lurking shadows (provided by Croft, of course); that differs from the movie's ending locale of the dining room and its strategically placed dining table.

But the story proceeds with the same heart-pounding action and romantic passion that's found in the box-office seller. Though short, it makes the reader feel as though they are in Croft's military-booted shoes, even as much as the video games do.

- T.C. Robson

This book is great. It is just like the movie, only with a little more dialouge. There are even parts before Lara's dad died telling how he tried to stop the evil. The deleted scenes only able to watch on the DVD are in this book, and I thought that was great! The action level seems a little less than the movie. The book seems to just speed by the action and to the point. I didn't really like that factor. If you liked the movie, read the novel, it is GREAT!

Very good in fact. It adds alot to the movie. More fleshed out characters and such. It's only 6 bucks, so what do you have to ose? Another plus is the 8 pages of pictures featuring the amazingly beautiful Angelina Jolie.

This book was just.. WOW!! It was way better then the movie, b/c the movie can only put a certain amount of scenes, but the book you get it all! i loved all the stuff between lara and alex, if you are a lara/alex fan this book is definatly for you!!

Long ago a meteor fell onto Earth with a magical, metallic form within it. Witnessing its power, it was forged into the (thought of) holy form of a triangle and a temple was formed to protect it. A city grew around the temple, The People of the Light were there. During an invasion, the nine planets aligned and the power of the Triangle was shown. Realizing no mortal should possess such power, the High Priest ordered it cut into two smaller triangles. One stayed at the temple. The other was hidden at the end of the Earth. However, the Craftsman who cut the Triangle in half secretly made a highly advanced device. It could serve as a guide to find the hidden piece, and preserve the Triangle's powers for future generations. It was a magic clock.

Lady Lara Croft was much like her father had been. Beginning with a clock he had hidden for her to find someday and tales he had told her as a child, she must set out to save the world. The Illuminati, a secret group of powerful people, were out to find the two triangle pieces before the planets aligned (which happened only once every 5,000 years). At her side was Mr. Hillary, her butler, and Bryce, her technician. Two tombs must be entered and survived or the world would belong to Manfred Powell.

***** I made that brief as possible, but left out much to do it. Even though the movie, as of now, has not been released, I can already tell that the book gives much more insight to Lara and the adventure in which she finds herself. However, many scenes have the potential to be much more vivid and exciting on the big screens! I found it to be a wonderful book! I plan to be in the theater, with a huge group of friends, on its first night out! *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

This is the first of the O'Reilly books I have been disappointed in. I bought the book for one reason-- to find out how to restore a / and /usr file system off a remote tape drive. Unfortunately the book does not answer this question, all of its examples assume the server has a local tape drive attached. The authors spend their time touting freebie utilities at the expense of a thourough discussion of the backup and restore capabilities that come with the operating system.

This book is important for System Administrators and DBAs. The book is well-written and have discussed all the major UNIX flavors back and recovery. The author went further by discussing the Backup and Recovery of major databases on these UNIX operating systems.
I give 5 stars.

As a former Unix system administrator, this book proved invaluable to me. Backups are a dreaded responsibility for most as they are not glamorous, but when a backup is needed, the administrator can become a hero or out of a job very quickly depending on thier backups. The author provides some deep insight into the art of backups, drawing upon real world examples that provide insight into the recommendations. The authors quips on real world backup stories is worth the price alone as there is great knowledge to be gained from someone else's mistakes and failures. Truly a gem that should be on EVERY system administrators bookshelf.

Even though I was still very new to Linux/UNIX, this book was able to help me create a fully automated backup routine as well as how to restore from those backups. I found the book very easy to read and not at all dry.

This is *THE* Computer System backup book. It contains all the basics of why you want to backup computer systems, plus many of the real world experience details. It is written from a Unix perspective, but is still applicable to Windows and other non-Unix environments.

I've been using this book as a general guide for several years now. It was a book I watched work it's way through the O'Reilly system from first announcement to general release. I bought it when it first came out. I have not been disappointed in it.

Many people think of computer system backups as a dry old musty topic of interest to nobody in particular. But 9/11 showed how important good disaster recovery planning and procedures could be to a business.

Some of the specifics are now a little out of date, but not by leaps and bounds. It is still very good for its core reason for being - Backups. It is very much less out of date than other computer books on the market today.

I have been dealing with large-scale computer system backups and disaster recovery for large employers for years... and I still consult this book regularly to make sure have not missed anything important. It covers all the topics you need.

When I bought this I was hoping for some form of indexing of the characters and plots of the novels. What I got was a compendium of author comments on the creation of their novels. Interesting, worth reading, I'm glad I bought it, but it wasn't quite what I was hoping I would get.

Hi all, if you read the star trek novels and have plenty of them this is THE STARTING POINT to figure out what books are placed where in the star trek chronology. Thuis one shows the books covers and gives a synopsis of each book - simply amazing. And its a thick book too, so perfect fot that rainy day to sort through your star trek novels = ) And the price if great too, so click that mouse and get it sent you - highly recomended!!!

Every serious Star Trek fan should have this book. It's interesting and fun.

I cannot imagine all the research that Ayers did to assemble this book. The book is far from complete, but still to track down all the various Star Trek book covers, get interviews, write up summaries is a phenomenal achievement that should help all ST fan writers track down the best in ST fiction.

The factoids concerning the various books are fun and interesting. I, myself would have loved to have heard more on Barbara Hambley's Ishmael where she combined two television shows into one novel.

Another missing fact. That there were major differences in the hard cover and paperback version to the Star Trek:Generations novelization due to the alterations in the last moment on how our beloved Kirk was killed.

Someone at Pocket Books should consider doing a similar type text for all the Star Trek comic books that have been written. Now, that would be a great book. In a few years, I do hope that there will be a second edition to this text, with some of the non-contributing authors telling their side of the story on getting their books out.

Excellent read.

JThree
[...]

Yes, this book indeed contains each and every volume of officially released StarTrek fiction and not only sketches their plots, but also presents b/w pictures of each cover. What makes "Voyages of the Imagination" more than just a simple bibliography is the stories behind the novels, that Jeff Ayers collected in many interviews with the authors. Just the job of conducting these must have been immense. Still more incredible is the time arrow that places every chapter of the fictional world created by the StarTrek novels in the right year since 5 billion years b.c. until 1 012 260. Compared to that, the presumably giant task of finding a nearly practical structure for the bibliography consisting of miniseries which are part of other miniseries that also correspond to tv series, seems small.

But I could think of many other features that I would have expected from this book:
* The plot summary of every novel or short story never tells the ending and usually isn't more detailed than the back covers. I don't like that since I really was interested in the whole story archs.
* There is never a critique of any of the fiction. "Voyages of the Imagination" doesn't tell the readers whether any of the books is worth reading or not so much.
* I would have liked summarizing articles on which characters from the TV and movie productions appear in print fiction and how they develop; who was newly invented by the authors; where are overlaps between the novels that exclude each other etc.

On my rating: Apart from a complete bibliography and some fun with reading the stories behind the stories, this book doesn't offer me anything of what I had expected. But it gets a big bonus from me for the incredible task done and for the fact that it's the first of its kind. Therefore, three stars.

Martin Jost


I originally wrote my review in German:
Ja, dieses Buch enthält wirklich ausnahmslos jeden Band von offiziell veröffentlichter StarTrek-Fiction und umreißt nicht nur kurz dessen Handlung, sondern präsentiert auch s/w-Bilder vom jeweiligen Cover. Mehr als nur eine bloße Bibliografie ist Voyages of Imagination durch die Hintergrundgeschichten der Entstehung, die Jeff Ayers zu vielen Romanen in Interviews mit den Autoren recherchiert hat. Die Arbeit, die allein dahinter steckt, muss unglaublich gewesen sein. Noch unglaublicher wirkt aber der Zeitstrahl, der in jedes beschriebene Jahr von 5 Milliarden Jahren v. u. Zt. bis 1 012 260 unserer Zeitrechnung kapitelgenau den Ausschnitt aus der fiktionalen Welt der StarTrek-Romane einordnet, in dem darüber erzählt wird. Daneben scheint die ebenfalls nicht hoch genug einzuschätzende Leistung gering, eine halbwegs übersichtliche Struktur für die Bibliografie zu finden, in der Miniserien mit anderen Miniserien verschachtelt sind und dabei noch einer der Fernsehserien zugeordnet werden müssen.
Mir fallen aber auch noch zahlreiche Features ein, die ich mir von diesem Buch gewünscht hätte und die bei so viel Vorbereitungszeit doch hätten machbar sein müssen:
-Die Zusammenfassungen der Handlung jedes einzelnen Romans bzw. jeder anthologisierten Kurzgeschichte verrät nie die Auflösung und geht selten mehr ins Detail als die Umschlag-Rückseite. Ich finde das schade, denn mich hätten die vollständigen Handlungsbögen interessiert, die in der Roman-Welt ablaufen.
- Eine Kritik der Bücher fehlt völlig. Mit dem Handbuch "Voyages of Imagination" lässt sich nicht entscheiden, ob irgendeines der Bücher lesenswert ist oder nicht.
- Zusammenfassungen wären interessant gewesen, aus denen hervor geht, welche Charaktere aus den TV- und Kinoproduktionen mitspielen und sich weiterentwickeln; welche Charaktere neu eingeführt werden; wo es sich ausschließende Überschneidungen zwischen den Romanen gibt u. s. w. Diese hätten am Ende jedes Kapitels in tabellarischer Form oder am Ende der Beschreibung jedes Plots hervorgehoben Platz gefunden.

Zu meiner Bewertung: Abgesehen von einer vollständigen Bibliografie und einigem Lesevergnügen über die jeweiligen Menschen hinter den Geschichten bietet dieses Buch nichts, was ich mir von ihm gewünscht hätte. Einen dicken Bonus erhält es aber für die gründliche und unvorstellbar umfangreiche Arbeit die drin steckt und dafür, dass es immerhin endlich das erste seiner Art ist. Unterm Strich also 3 Sterne.

Martin Jost

As a publicist who has worked on the journalism side like T.S. Peric, I learned that he "gets it". I devoured this book as a refresher for myself and to learn what others are doing to generate publicity for their clients. I found Peric's tips and advice sensible, simple to understand and applicable to any product or service. It's one of the most thorough and user-friendly books about publicity that I've ever read.

"Wacky Days" is a book that leads you through the many steps you can take to obtain huge amounts of free publicity.
Anyone who has a business, product, or book is sure to find this will become their Bible to return to time and again gleaming nuggets of information from it's pages.
The author uses examples from his own experiences to show how it can be done. The information can be easily adapted to fit your need for publicity.
An interesting and entertaining read that is a definite keeper which will sit on my reference shelf to be used whenever I am doing publicity. In my opinion, Tom Peric does for publicity what Dan Poynter does for self-publishing.

Great book on ideas and practical ways to generate PR for any type of business. From straight-forward tasks to some strategic planning like offering reporters story ideas for future reference or how to get seated on a Board, Peric' has something for everyone in Wacky Days.

Highly recommended.

Wacky Days... explains how to get free publicity and to be recognized as an expert in your chosen field. Mr. Peric' shows you how to approach the media through Tip sheets, professional looking Press releases, and of course the names, dates, and e-mail addresses needed to create your very own holiday!( Mine is going to be "Buy a piece of thrift store art day", 3rd Thursday in June!)his book is a must read if you spend money on advertising your business.
If you are an independent publisher, like me, YOU MUST OWN A COPY!
All fans of Dan Poynter should have this book right next to The Self-Publishing Manual.
Everyone else talks about getting publicity, but Tom holds your hand, and takes baby steps until your goals are reached, 37 small chapters.

His journalism background has really given him a true insiders edge.

At the end of the book there is a section that explains how to affordably hire Mr. Peric' himself by drawing up a plan from Wacky Days..., gathering up media list, writing your press release and allowing T. S. to assess the plan.
This book explains what journalists love to write about,(People and Ideas)

He also explains why stories get written (they were relevant, useful, or interesting!)

I fully recomend you buy this book.

I've never met or spoken with Tom Peric but as I read this book, it felt like I was listening to a trusted friend give me step by step advice on how to publicize my business. I liked his straightforward writing style and how he educates and empowers the reader so that even the most media-shy business owner can read this book and apply its suggestions about how to publicize his or her business. A great book, you'll be glad you read it.