In the Break Review

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In the Break ReviewIN THE BREAK is a story of friendship, loyalty, romance, tragedy, and the forever search of that perfect wave. In commanding style, Jack Lopez takes readers through the highs and lows of the characters, their feelings and emotions, and in the end leaves us with an unforgettable tale.
After Juan's best friend, Jamie, has a hostile fight with his stepfather, everything seems grim. In a flash of emergence, Juan, Jamie, and Jamie's sister, Amber, flee town on their own for Mexico, to let Jamie lay low for a while until things at home calm down. And while they're at it, they might as well surf as much as possible. Their days of fun surfing and nights of romance lead them to believe everything will turn out okay. But things don't seem to slow down, the ocean isn't calm, and eventually the tide catches up to Juan -- and it's from there that he must decide how to handle things.
Jack Lopez's lyrical and flowing writing style takes the reader away from their surroundings and allows them to be washed away with the current. Lopez's killer command of description and handle of language allows him to communicate truly believable voices and create a narrator with a scope of view not often observed in contemporary literature today. With hands-on description of real big wave surf and the southern California surfing scene, readers will get lost in the words and find themselves plummeting through every drop of loss and heartache, and escaping into an unbelievably well-told story.
Cheers to J.L.
Reviewed by: Long NguyenIn the Break Overview

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Troy: Lord of the Silver Bow Review

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Troy: Lord of the Silver Bow ReviewThis book was released in England on the 1st of September and since I couldn't wait until it was released here in the U.S., I ordered.
I was not dissappointed and neither will you be.
David Gemmell fans know that this British author is most famous for writing in the fantasy genre. He is a master of creating a world and then peopling it with characters that are more human than any writer I have encountered. Though "Lord of the Silver Bow" is the first part in a trilogy about the Trojan War, Gemmell still writes like it were his own world. In fact, if the reader didn't know better, he would think that David Gemmell had been in ancient Greece scribing the events as they happened.
Historically, Lord of the Silver Bow is probably not accurate as it is peopled with real historical figures as well as figures from Gemmell's fertile imagination. Whatever historical "truths" that Gemmell misses are more than made up for by his deep insight into the minds of his characters. As in all of his novels the characters contain within them the whole range of human strengths and weaknesses; David Gemmell seems to suggest that a strength and weakness can be one and the same thing.
The story follows Helikaeon a sailor, warrior (and possible King) as he deals with love, death, loss and gain. Odyseuss is a homely, story telling, king that adds wisdom and humor to a world that for the most part is pretty grim.
"Lord of the Silver Bow" is a wonderful beginning to what could quite possibly be the greatest work of an already brilliant writer.
I for one can hardly wait for the rest of the trilogy to unfold.Troy: Lord of the Silver Bow Overview

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The Great Cheese Conspiracy (Marshall Cavendish Classics) Review

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The Great Cheese Conspiracy (Marshall Cavendish Classics) ReviewThis was the first book I read over 20 years ago, and I never forgot it. That is how much I enjoyed it, I would definitly recommend it.The Great Cheese Conspiracy (Marshall Cavendish Classics) Overview

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Tokyo Year Zero Review

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Tokyo Year Zero ReviewA strange but effective mystery set in early post-war Tokyo, this novel always seems a bit off-balance. There are murders, there is a police investigation (of sorts), but the primary interest is the portrayal of Japan under the Occupation forces and the desperation of day-to-day life in Tokyo.
You will not get a feeling about being comfortable knowing what's going on. Wheels within wheels, the police at all levels work clandestinely with the criminal gangs, and the police at all levels often seem to be working at cross-purposes to each other. Only the top-level police have access to automobiles, and it is odd to see the day starting with the sergeant barking "Bow!" and everyone bows deeply to their superiors.
When you finish the book, there's no sense of satisfaction--but this dark and disturbing work makes you feel as if you've been given a glimpse of hell--rather like Dante's Inferno. If you want a good, more conventional Japanese police novel, try Matsumoto's Points and Lines. If you want the classic police procedural, try Freeman Wills Croft's series. Tokyo Year Zero is unconventional, unsettling, and harrowing--and effective.Tokyo Year Zero Overview

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The House of Power (Atherton, Book 1) (No. 1) Review

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The House of Power (Atherton, Book 1) (No. 1) ReviewMeet Edgar, a mischievous boy who likes to climb (which in a land of fig trees is a pretty good thing). Enter Isabella, who spies on Edgar as he climbs where he is not allowed (ie sister-like pest who turns out not to be so bad). One night Edgar finds a book, a glimpse of a memory from his past, hidden in the cliffs. But alas, poor Edgar cannot read. Nor can anyone that he knows, but he does know where people CAN read... in the Highlands of Atherton. Beyond where he is allowed to climb but he goes regardless meeting a young boy, Samuel. Samuel uncovers the truth to the earthquakes plaguing Atherton but before he reveals it to Edgar, Samuel is stolen away by some bad men. Ah yes, a story of secrets, adventure, soldiers, villians, action-packed war, and heroic deeds in an ever-fast changing world... you can't go wrong by reading "Atherton: House of Power." Atherton holds the same spirit of adventure that the "Chronicles of Narnia" and complexity of the "Ender" series. All ages will enjoy this story.The House of Power (Atherton, Book 1) (No. 1) Overview

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Christabel: A Novel Review

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Christabel: A Novel ReviewChristabel, from the prolific Karin Kallmaker's Laura Adams persona, is a gothic romance, a tale of the supernatural and how an evil entity torments one woman's soul through generations. There are two stories told: first, how the evil found and took a young woman, Christabel, for his own in colonial New York. The second story is of the modern la Christabel, supermodel, spinning out yet another life to provide the suffering that the evil thrives on.
In Coleridge's version of this tale, even nature itself is evil (so green, so female), as is the witch Geraldine, who bewitches young Christabel with veiled references to lesbianism. Christabel is just a victim and the rescuer is Sir Leoline, who must fight both the witch and nature for Christabel's soul.
Laura Adams turns this story upside down. Geraldine represents the peaceful, natural world of the native Manhattans, and when the young Christabel meets the native woman, passion soon follows. Their joyous happiness is discovered and fouled by a demon Puritan preacher, who contrives Geraldine's downfall. Easy to do when Halley's Comet has appeared overhead -- blame it on the nearest nonconformist female and call her a witch. As the preacher takes possession of Christabel in the past, the modern day Christa has adopted desperate measures to try to break the cycle. An investment banker, Dina has renounced the part of her heritage that has passed down over time, but one touch of Christa's hand brings the power -- and the passion -- surging back. Defeated in the past, she arms herself for another battle in this lifetime.
The story weaves back and forth in time with perfect clarity. Minor characters from the past have their roles to play in the present. Even an ancient tree contributes -- significantly -- to the link between the two stories.
The plot makes for a good read, and the writing is pure Kallmaker/Adams -- prose matching time period and, of course, unbelievably erotic tension between her characters. The reality of life on the island of Manhattan in the late 1600s is well researched. The resolution is electric and quite, quite satisfactory. Once you start, you won't put it down until the last page.Christabel: A Novel Overview

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The Lost Ones (The Veil, Book 3) Review

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The Lost Ones (The Veil, Book 3) ReviewOliver Bascombe is imprisoned along with his sister Collette and his fiancee Julianna after having been tricked into killing the King of Yucatazca, one of the Two Kingdoms; an act that has helped destroy the truce and brought the kingdoms to war. Behind the scenes, it is the sorcerer Ty'Lis who is manipulating events. Ty'Lis and the Atlanteans are hoping to weaken the Two Kingdoms and end up being the supreme power. They have been killing the Borderkind and hope to close off all gates between the modern human world and the world of myth and legends.
Oliver and Collette may be Legend-born, people with unique powers to enable the Lost Ones (humans trapped behind the Veil--which separates the worlds of myths from the mundane world) to be able to cross back into the human world they originally came from, but if so, they have yet to come into their powers or believe in themselves. But they still have to somehow escape and try to keep the human Kingdoms from war and the Atlanteans from killing people and closing the gates.
The story is fast-moving and filled with battles and action and magic and monsters and plenty of horrors (both of monsters and of warfare). There is some character growth in that Oliver and Collette and Julianna need to deal with being crucial players in events that will be possibly world-shattering. And there is suspense and emotion as characters are threatened by the evil Sandman and by the violence of warfare.
There could have been a little more character development and growth, but this is the third in a trilogy, so most of the emphasis is placed on bringing things to a climactic ending. Even that isn't handled particularly well--the warfare is horrific and there is also heroism and sacrifice, but Oliver's attempt to shorten the war seems ill-planned and odd, yielding an unintended result. Things seemed to tie up a little too quickly, but it was still a solid ending for this trilogy. My small pet peeve is that Ty'Lis succumbs to a classic Evil Overlord no-no when it comes to dealing with Oliver and Collette. Ah, well. I guess that's why the Evil Overlord-types never win...!The Lost Ones (The Veil, Book 3) Overview

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Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones Review

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Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones ReviewR.A. Salvatore is pretty much accredited to re-launching the stagnant Star Wars novels with Vector Prime (the first novel in the continuing New Jedi Order series) and killing off Chewbacca. With his style of writing, and previous work within the Star Wars universe, it was probably pretty easy for Lucasfilm to get Salvatore to pen the second movie.
I won't bore you with what you already seen in the movie, but I do believe that the novel of Attack of the Clones is required reading for all Star Wars fans, as it fills in many blanks that seemed to be missing from the movie. It also ties the spanning years between Phantom Menace and AOTC. Actually the reader won't even recognize the start of the movie until he is in chapter 5.
The first four chapters explains where Obi Wan Kenobi and a 10 year older Anakin Skywalker have been up to. We are also introduced to Padme Amidala's family back on Naboo and learn much more on how she became a queen. The detailed conversation between Padme and her sister (never seen in the movie) are a great set up on how she eventually falls for Anakin.
Also we learn how Shmi Skywalker was abducted by the Tusken Raiders, and much more origin information is given on Beru and Owen Lars (Luke's eventual uncle on Tantooine) and the dynamics of the Lars/Skywalker connection.
Throughout the remaining novel the reader is treated to more bonus material (much of which was indeed filmed, but hit the cutting room floor before release) that seems to open your eyes to the bigger political picture of that famous galaxy far, far away. Questions such as: Who were the lost 20 Jedi? How did Dooku ascend to power? Why Jango had Boba created, and how was young Fett trained? How did the Separatist factions begin? It was this great filler material which earned 4 stars for me.
However, there were a few drawbacks. Salvatore seems to rush through many of the epic battle scenes....I realize reading a novel is not the same as seeing your favorite characters and millions on CGI effects in a theatre, but I felt cheated reading the Obi-Wan/Jango Fett confrontation, the chase scene in the skylines of Courascant, and most of all the very rushed feeling of the climatic battle. I couldn't shake the feeling that Salvatore was rapidly approaching the 300 page mark, and hadn't got to the main battle at the arena on Geonosis so he had to rush the writing taking a lot of steam and strength out of what should have been the mother of all battles for the book. After that, the remaining plot points were only given a paragraph or two to be wrapped up, end of book. This should only be worth three stars, as it could have easily been expanded properly with another 30-40 pages.Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones Overview

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Buckskin Run Review

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Buckskin Run ReviewHere you'll find tales of cattle and cowboys, gold and greed, rewards and revenge, and country as wide open and raw as the Arizona dessert or the great Rocky Mountains. In this collection of eight short stories the world's best selling writer of westerns takes the reader back to the raw boned times of leather, bullets, and ten gallon hats. It was a time when men were men and anything that moved was a target. It was a time when the law reigned supreme at least, that is, till it got in the way of the business at hand. It was a time when good ranch land was as valuable as gold and equally fought over. It was the time of the cowboy.
As fans all around the world already know, Louis L'Amour brings these rough times to life with his stories. No one spins a tale quite like he does. The eight stories here are prime examples of L'Amour at his best. Between each story L'Amour has included historical notes which, while not exactly related to the stories in any particular way, help to bring a deeper sense of reality to the anthology.
Buckskin Run is a fantastic collection of gritty western yarns and it's a great action packed read from the first page to the last.
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Moon Women Review

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Moon Women ReviewI heartily applaud Pamela Duncan for her first novel, "Moon Women". The book tells the story of 4 women trying to come to grips with the reality of their lives. Ruth Ann is the mother, just getting used to her freedom being divorced from her husband A.J. But in one day her life suddenly does a complete turn around and she finds herself trying to once again relate with her daughter Ashley 19, who has just gotten out of rehab and come home to stay and who is pregnant. Then there is Marvelle, Ruth Ann's mother who at 84 is slowly sliding into senility. Her mother has been living with Ruth's sister Cassandra but, Marvelle decides she would rather stay with Ruth Ann and Ashley.
Thus starts the story of nine months out of these women lives as they learn from and about each other. Ashley who has spent 19 years running away from home now finds herself on a journey to find herself, Cassandra who has always hid behind her obesity and lonliness trys to come to terms with the life she has been dealt. Marvelle living between today and the past and has stories she wants her daughters and granddaughter to know before she passes. Ruth Ann is just trying to hang on to each of them and somehow find herself too. This is a heartwarming story that will leave the reader glad they took the time to listen.Moon Women Overview

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State of the Union Review

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State of the Union ReviewI just finished reading the French version and ordered the English version for Father's Day for my dad. I loved this book and wish it was not finished! I highly recommend it. Interestingly the translation of the title into French is : The Secret Charms of Married Life....having nothing to do with the English title.State of the Union Overview

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Robinson Crusoe (Bantam Classic) Review

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Robinson Crusoe (Bantam Classic) ReviewRobinson Crusoe is best taken at two levels, the literal adventure story of survival on an isolated island and as a metaphor for finding one's way through life. I recommend that everyone read the book who is willing to look at both of those levels. If you only want the adventure story, you may not be totally satisfied. The language, circumstances, and attitudes may put you off so that you would prefer to be reading a Western or Space-based adventure story with a more modern perspective.
Few books require anyone to rethink the availability and nature of the fundamentals of life: Water, food, shelter, clothing, and entertainment. Then having become solitary in our own minds as a reader, Defoe adds the extraordinary complication of providing a companion who is totally different from Crusoe. This provides the important opportunity to see Crusoe's civilized limitations compared to Friday's more natural ones. The comparisons will make for thought-provoking reading for those who are able to overcome the stalled thinking that the educated, civilized route is always the best.
One of the things that I specially liked about the book is the Crusoe is an ordinary person in many ways, making lots of mistakes, and having lots of setbacks. Put a modern Superhero (from either the comic books, adventure or spy novels, or the movies) into this situation, and it would all be solved in a few minutes with devices from the heel of one's shoe. Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I liked the trial-and-error explorations. They seemed just like everyday life, and made the book's many lessons come home to me in a more fundamental way.
Have a good solitary trip through this book!Robinson Crusoe (Bantam Classic) Overview

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Airman Review

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Airman ReviewI love the Artemis Fowl (Artemis Fowl, Book 1) series and Half Moon Investigations by Eoin Colfer, so I was exciting to pick up this book and delve into a story of adventure in the great blue yonder. What I didn't expect was how enraptured I would become by this book, especially after reading the first chapter that made me roll my eyes with its campiness.
Conor Broekhart was born to fly, or more accurately, he was born flying. From his legendary birth in a hot air balloon to his heroic feat saving the princess from a deadly fire by turning a flag into a parachute, Conor has always looked to the skies for inspiration. But when his tutor and king are both killed in a plot to take over the government, Conor spends the next two years in prison, thinking his father has turned his back on him and his beloved princess blames him for her father's death.
After nearly loosing himself in the inhumane conditions of the prison mines, Conor finds escape drawing designs for flying machines on his cell walls. His plans finally take flight ex machina in the form of a balloon that carries him to safety. He must then decide if he will turn his back on those who abandoned him or stand against the evils that threaten the freedom of his nation.
It was like reading The Count of Monte Cristo (Penguin Classics), The Princess Bride: S Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure and an H.G. Wells novel all in one. It had all of the elements of a great adventure novel in a very contemporary writing style. It made me laugh, it broke my heart, and it left me wanting more. I absolutely adore this book and hope that Colfer continues to write adventure novels.
This book is for a slightly older audience than Colfer's usual readers because of its complex themes and sometimes violent overtones, but it is still an appropriate book for advanced middle grade readers, high school students or adventurers of any age.Airman Overview

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The Eternity Code (Artemis Fowl, Book 3) Review

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The Eternity Code (Artemis Fowl, Book 3) ReviewHE'S BAAACK! Yes, Artemis Fowl is back in action in the third addition to the hit series. The book is packed full with action and lives up to the promises of the other books.
Artemis Fowl is coming to grips with the return of his kidnapped father and Fowl Sr.'s newly formed conscience. His parents are insisting on turning around the illegal enterprises of the Fowl Family, but Artemis isn't so sure. Still, in an effort to please his parents, he decides that he will commit just one last crime. Just a tiny one.
But, Artemis didn't count on the operation blowing up in his face. When he meets with American master criminal Jon Spiro, he didn't realize he was being set up. All Artemis wanted to do was intimidate him a little bit with his new "C Cube", a hybrid of fairy and human technology decades ahead of its time; it will render all other technologies--like the ones Spiro creates--obsolete. So when Spiro steals the Cube and mortally wounds Butler in an attempt to murder Artemis, the young master criminal is forced to seek the aid of his long-time adversaries.
The Fairies are less than pleased when Artemis reveals his loss of the fairy technology, that, in the wrong hands, would be capable of revealing the entire Fairy civilization. Determined to steal back the C Cube, Artemis enlists the aid of Captain Holly Short and the Fairy criminal Mulch Diggums in a risky operation that takes place in Chicago.
Great fun! Colfer exercises his great prowess as a writer as he seamlessly winds the third story of Artemis Fowl. The funny, witty characters manage to be charming and tough. The only qualm I had was that Holly and Artemis had less interaction that they did in #2, which would have added even more humor to the novel. We also get to know Juliet Butler better, which is a good addition to the story.
Okay, do you really have to read this review to know you NEED TO READ this book? I didn't think so. If you haven't, read the others first. And when you have finished all three, you'll be hoping that Colfer will produce a fourth (its rumored that it will be quartet.)
So Happy Reading! You'll have lots of fun with this one...The Eternity Code (Artemis Fowl, Book 3) Overview

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False Impression Review

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False Impression ReviewJeffrey Archer does two types of books. On the one hand he does the epic family thing, typically following a group of two or more people through their lives, observing their families, friendships, business triumphs and defeats, and loves and losses. Typically his characters in something like this are either business tycoons or politicians. On the other hand, he also does suspense novels, a sort of poor man's Ken Follett, with a writing style more on par with someone like Jack Higgins, though Archer's books are longer. False Impression falls into the latter category.
The plot centers around a millionaire art collector and megalomaniac who contrives to have people killed and wind up with their property without having to pay for it. He specializes in loaning money to people who have expensive art, and who won't be able to pay off their loans, especially not with the terms he negotiates. The book starts the day before 9/11/01, with him finalizing a "deal" that will bring him one of Van Gogh's self-portraits, worth tens of millions, for next to nothing. He runs into a snag, though, in that his office is in the World Trade Center. Though he escapes unharmed, he finds former and current employees working to sabotage the deal and see that the Van Gogh winds up in proper hands.
This is a reasonably good book, but it definitely has its flaws. The protagonists all sound British, and there's one scene in particular where a pair of truckers attack a woman, intending to rape her, for no other reason than that the author needed the plot device, and of course most Europeans think that sort of thing happens in America all the time. A few days after 9/11, it seems doubtful, to say the least. All of the characters come across as cardboard cut-outs, other than the English Lady who shows up way too rarely in the plot.
The above objections aside, the plot is relatively entertaining, and at least it reads fast. Whatever else he says or does, Archer has no pretensions: he's writing a potboiler, he knows it, and he doesn't bother to try and convince you otherwise. It's a good thing he doesn't.False Impression Overview

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Leather Maiden Review

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Leather Maiden ReviewCason Statler is an Iraqi War vet returned home to Camp Rapture, Texas. Before his time in the service -- he signed up for Afghanistan after 9/11 but was shipped to Iraq, go figure! -- Cason was a Pulitzer Prize-nominated journalist, so the local paper is happy to hire the "local boy made good" as a columnist.
Cason is wondering if there'll be anything to write about in such a slow town when he comes across the notes left by his predecessor (best known for her weekly survey of local garden insects) regarding the unsolved disappearance of teenager Caroline Allison.
Meanwhile, Cason struggles with the return to his hometown, among other things: living at home with his parents again in the wake of his more successful brother; a drinking problem that may or may not be out of hand; and being dumped by the girlfriend whose presence helped see him through the war. When Cason's brother's reputation is threatened by blackmailers, the two of them have to work together as a sort of private detective/vigilante team, and Cason learns that his brother has weaknesses too. Including one that connects him to the Allison girl.
Nearing the end of his third decade as a horror and crime fiction author, Joe R. Lansdale (winner of the Edgar Allan Poe Award for The Bottoms, and more Bram Stoker Awards than you can count on one hand) is still topping himself with each new novel, singling himself out with his particular style of down-home noir.
Leather Maiden combines Lansdale's talents for mystery plotting, quirky but realistic characterizations, colloquial dialogue that doesn't resort to dialect, and an intense portrayal of the dark and light of daily life in the rural South that can only come from a native. The result of this is a novel that offers emotional depth and authenticity along with a fun read. I wrote that Lost Echoes, Lansdale's previous novel, was "very likely the best thing he has ever written." Leather Maiden may be even better.Leather Maiden Overview

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Atonement Review

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Atonement ReviewThis is an engaging story and so finely written that the reading is both effortless and seductive. After I had finished (that is, after drying my eyes and regaining my breath), I was amazed to realize how complex a plot it is considering how smoothly it is told. By far, it is the best book I have read in years.
The story starts on a summer day at a large country estate in pre-WWII England. For anyone who delights in the heady mix of intelligence, innocence and youthful imagination, the beginning is like eating rich chocolate: 13 year old Briony has written a play -- the references to Austen, Burney, and family performances within 18th century lore are abundant and perfect -- to be rehearsed and performed by her unwilling and displaced visiting cousins in order to celebrate her brother's return to home with his sophisticated friend. However, reheasals in the playroom for THE TRIALS OF ARABELLA (of course) do not run smoothly: the twins boys do not understand what is expected of them; there's tension between Briony and 15 year old Lola. During the hot summer afternoon, Briony looks out the window to see her older sister Cecilia and Robbie, the cleaning lady's son, having what looks like some kind of menacing (and intimate) interaction in the fountain. The rest of the day's events and mishaps play out without implication until nightfall when a real crime of a sexual nature occurs and Briony's overactive imagination and lack of sophistication lead her to make a accusation which results in genuine tragedy for everyone. Without revealing the entire plot and overwhelming descriptions of war and survival, Briny spends her life paying for this mistake. Near the end of her long life, and having enjoyed without enjoyment a successful writing career, Briony's birthday is celebrated by her relations. This party is held at the old country house, now a renovated hotel, where her grand nieces and nephews perform THE TRIALS OF ARABELLA, a deeply emotional and incomprehensible experience for all (the surviving twin boy, now an old man, breaks down completely, as will nearly every reader).
This book goes into my unofficial rank as one of the best reading experiences I've ever had. It tooks me days to shake the feeling that Briony was a part of my life. I was completely transported and I don't think there can be better praise than that.Atonement Overview

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Kidnapped (Bantam Classics) Review

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Kidnapped (Bantam Classics) ReviewOriginally written as a boy's adventure novel, modern readers will probably consider it more a book for adults. My father gave it to me when I was eight, after I'd read _Treasure Island_, and I disliked it then immensely, put off by the lack of plot movement, the Scots dialect, and the total absence of pirates. Re-reading it now on the Kindle, I admit it's a lot more enjoyable, partly because the Kindle's dictionary helps translate some of the Scots dialect, partly because I'm a more mature reader.
The plot is fairly straightforward (skip this paragraph if you want to avoid spoilers): Our Hero, David Balfour, is tricked out of his rightful inheritance by an evil uncle, shanghaied, shipwrecked, partnered with a historical figure (one Alan Breck Stewart) and caught up in the events of an unsolved historical mystery (the "Appin Murder"). The body of the novel is a day-by-day description of their flight through the Scottish highlands, on the run from the Redcoat troops searching them out.
Overall, the novel succeeds in creating some degree of tension and suspense, especially in the first half or so, with some classic melodrama elements. The latter half of the novel drags a bit, though, and would probably be less appealing to younger readers and more enjoyable for readers more interested in Stevenson's prose style. There is a great deal of Scots dialect, but the most obscure words are footnoted and some (but not all) of the less-obscure words are in the Kindle's dictionary.
Overall, I'd recommend this highly to a fan of books like Sir Walter Scott's _Waverly_ or _Rob Roy_, or to anyone who had a particular love of historical fiction set in the 18th-century scottish highlands.
There is a sequel, written by Stevenson, with the alternate titles of _David Balfour_ and _Catriona_. Those wishing more information about the "Appin Murder" can find a chapter discussing it in Andrew Lang's "Historical Mysteries" (also available as a free Kindle download).Kidnapped (Bantam Classics) Overview

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The Last of the Mohicans (Bantam Classics) Review

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The Last of the Mohicans (Bantam Classics) ReviewI thought that this was an excellent study of the European-Indian relationships and intertribal relationships among the Americam Indians. There are some gruesome scenes; I feel it is probably a fairly accurate account of practices at that time amongst those tribes. At times the narrative gets wordy because of the details of the history and traditions. I can't believe this book was taught in the 5-8 grades in this country 30 years ago. I don't think the majority of 12th graders could read this book with ease.The Last of the Mohicans (Bantam Classics) Overview

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The Wind in the Willows (Bantam Classics) Review

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The Wind in the Willows (Bantam Classics) ReviewWhen I was very young (about six thousand years ago), our school master used to read to us from Wind in the Willows. The stories had a magical quality and a few weeks ago, as a somewhat older person, I got to wondering whether they would still have that sense of enchantment that held us so captivated all those years ago.
I was NOT disappointed. Toad was just as cantankerous and difficult as ever. Badger, Rat and Mole were just as supportive - just as memorable. Badger is unpredictable but protective (and sometimes mean). Mole is timid and shy. Rat is courageous and romantic. And who could ever forget those dreadful gun-toting weasels, ferrets and stoats glorying in their take-over of Toad Hall? Wind in the Willows is a true masterpiece of allegory with endless moral lessons disguised as a children's story. It is also a lesson in things long-forgotten... the glory of floating noiselessly down a river at dawn, past loosestrife, willowherb, bulrushes and meadowsweet. How many of us have even heard of these meadow plants, never mind seen them. But it doesn't matter, because it evokes nostalgia either for things long-forgotten or for things never-known.
At a child's level, Wind in the Willows is about friendship and about life in an imagined world centered around the river. At a less innocent level, Wind in the Willows draws many parallels with life, though Kenneth Grahame managed to avoid preaching his lessons. Not the least of Graham's parables is that 'the bigger they are, the harder they fall' because Toad is as egotistical and as self-important as they come until being thrown in jail for 'borrowing' a car. After that, it's all downhill for Toad, and it is only thanks to the loyalty of his friends that he regains some of his position in society - though not before learning a little humility first.
Though, at an older age, we pretend to be more sophisticated, at heart we always hold out the hope of a return to innocence and simple adventures. We are still (most of us) perfectly capable of identifying with the animals and the idea, as one reviewer put it, of two school-aged hedgehogs frying ham for a mole and a water rat, in a badger's kitchen does my imagination no harm whatsoever! As for Grahame's choice of phrase (...the "remotest dungeon of the best-guarded keep of the stoutest castle in all the length and breadth of Merry England"...) it's almost as poetically attention-grabbing as Rowan Atkinson's Blackadder series.
If you're looking for laser guns and hi-tech wars, W-i-t-W is NOT the book to buy. If you're after something a little more gentle (and a little more intelligent) Wind in the Willows is an outstanding example of a Classic that continues to withstand the test of time.The Wind in the Willows (Bantam Classics) Overview

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