Book Description
Before there was Black Company, there was the Dread Empire, an omnibus collection the first three Dread Empire novels: A Shadow of All Night's Falling, October's Baby and All Darkness Met.
Customer Reviews:
Early Glen Cook.......2007-01-10
Having been recommended this book I was eager to get started reading it when it arrived. Now, I love most of what I have read by Glen Cook, especially the Black Company series (if you haven't tried it, check it out), but I must say that although this is unmistakably Glen Cook, I haven't quite managed to work up a great enthusiasm. By all means it is original, the characters are exiting, but the feeling that the rest of the world is just cardboard props for the main characters are a bit to dominating to make me feel totally happy about it. That said, it is easy to recognize the the distinct style that will make the Black Company books so good.
The first and best of the Dread Empire books.......2006-08-09
As others have noted, there were seven of the Dread Empire books published. The first three are the best; the prequels are worth reading if you can find them at reasonable price ("Fire in His Hands", "With Mercy Towards None") tho they left me feeling that there should be another book between them and the Dread Empire ones. The sequel trilogy to DE was awful. Cook says that the last book sold in the hundreds. I never heard the story of the lost manuscript until recently and was somewhat skeptical, but the original poster found a confirming reference - many thanks.
But the initial three Dread Empire stories are great. I've re-read my paperback originals until they're tattered, and will be picking up this omnibus edition without fail.
What makes it good? A good chunk of it is the combination of gritty realism and utter unpredictability. Plans succeed or fail on the oddest twist; every victory and every defeat isn't certain until it's over. When the protagonists go into battle even major characters can die, so you never know from page to page just what's going to happen.
And the characterization is best of all. Varthlokkur, the avenging wizard who discoveres he might be nothing more than a tool; Nepanthe, the spoiled princess who grows up fast but sad; Mocker, who has the seeds of greatness but can't quite make them grow; Aril Dantice, who goes from callow youth to future eminence gris; and Bragi, the adventurer who can't help rising to the challenge no matter what it costs him personally.
Get this book. Read it. Love it. I'm doing all three.
Addendum: I now have the book. I did not intend to re-read it on the spot, just glanced at it to see how well it was put together physically. Somewhere around the second chapter it sucked me in yet again, and I barely put it down for the two days it took to finish. Yes, I stand by my praise in the above.
Oh, and physically - very well put together, full cloth bindings and a properly sewn spine. The only complaint I could make is that Cooks maps from the original edition aren't included. Fortunately his physical descriptions are good enough you can get by without them.
First Dread Empire trilogy, a must read, as well as the rest of the series.......2006-08-09
The dread empire series is one of the best I have ever read. Cook pulls absolutely NO punches in depicting the gritty reality of human life, death, ambition, callousness, and realpolitik. Unlike nearly every other novelist, even military novelists, Cook has no problem developing a character for half a book or 2 books or more, then simply killing him in the most incidental or non-dramatic fashion if that is what the plot calls for. This realistic depiction of things is his hallmark in both this and the black company series.
The first novel in this book is the weakest of all. There is a lack of focus or ability to draw the reader into the various characters presented here; Varthlokkur is very hard to empathize with in this book, and other major characters only get limited page-time. I believe the second novel began to address these issues, and by All Darkness Met, Cook has found his voice, the reader is attached to the characters by now, and he concludes the tale in spectacular fashion.
After this Cook wrote 2 prequels dealing with the origins of some of the characters in this trilogy as well as that of El Murid, then he began a second trilogy following a few years after this omnibus, the first 2 books of which both occured mostly in the same time period, presenting intersecting events and events from 2 view points. They are excellent as well, and end on a note with obviously is set up for the third novel, though with cook there is no telling which way that novel would have gone. Unfortunately, the third volume, 'The Wrath of Kings,' was stolen in manuscript form from his house in the late 80's and has never been recovered. This series has never been finished. When/if you finish the final published volume, An Ill Fate Marshalling, and realize what is lost with that manuscript, you might want to scream.
In response to a question on another review - google glen cook and wrath of kings...SFsite has an interview with him up. I doubt they would fabricate something like that but who knows.
To recap - While the first book is somewhat dry, and October's Baby less so, getting through it to All Darkness met and then the four other dread empire books is 100% worth it.
Some of the best there has ever been.......2006-08-06
I have read the 3 book that make up this volume time and again. There is little that equals them in this category, and none better. The characters are as well formed as the situations are richly detailed - complex, chaotic and cruel. There is magic, but it seems to obey a kind of second law of thermodynamics - you cannot get something for nothing and you cannot even break even. It is a lot easier, cheaper and safer to go to the market for something than it is to get magically. Things happen because of the strength of the personalities, not because somebody waved a wand. The main characters appear in all three books, and develop as time passes an problems are evaded or surmounted. The setting is mideval, without gunpower, but with numerous small kingdoms or principalities, and the intrigues, tensions and border skirmishes. If you are a Buffy fan, this is not for you, but if you liked R.E Howard, or Karl Edward Wagner's Kane, you are in for a treat.
Book Description
A probing look at today's revolutions in psychoanalytic thought and practice by one of the most original and incisive writers in the field.
Customer Reviews:
Beyond libidinal impulses.......2003-06-21
The major thrust of this book is exploring the world of psychoanalysis in a new light. In the traditional Freudian view, the psychoanalysis was meant to explore completely objective principles. Certain idic impulses were causing a person problems, and once these regressional idic impulses were destroyed the person was now free to live life in a healthy, though not necessarily happy, manner.
Because of this objective thrust, the psychologist was seen as a very remote and impersonal figure. The new turn in psychology that is being explored is that the psychologist now should help the patient explore the subjective world. This includes analyzing dreams, (though popular in Freud's day, has since fallen from grace), thoughts, feelings, and perceptions. All of these things are also subjected to change. The new view that is being supported is that the relationship between two groups must become better known, and this is where the psychoanalytic process takes place, not in replacing libidinal impulses.
The Real Deal.......2003-01-27
Mitchell was the real deal, a psychoanalyst who could speak to a broad discerning audience about hopes and dreads of being alive.
This book is honest about human nature, unflinchingly so, and it offers very specific, well-reasoned arguments about what human relationships can do for people (and for that matter, can't), and how that happens.
How sad that he died just as he seemed to be entering a prolific period.
wonderful hopes and dreads.......2000-10-10
This book is one of the most enlighting, in today's psychoanalytic field. It integrates the modern thoughts in viewing the human mind and the clinical process, to gether with a critical and learned look on the traditional way. Mr. Mitchell is a brilliant representative of a modern psychoanalist who remembers where we came from, but has the courage to go further.
Book Description
A brilliant weave of personal involvement, vivid biography and political insight, Koba the Dread is the successor to Martin Amis’s award-winning memoir, Experience.
Koba the Dread captures the appeal of one of the most powerful belief systems of the 20th century — one that spread through the world, both captivating it and staining it red. It addresses itself to the central lacuna of 20th-century thought: the indulgence of Communism by the intellectuals of the West. In between the personal beginnings and the personal ending, Amis gives us perhaps the best one-hundred pages ever written about Stalin: Koba the Dread, Iosif the Terrible.
The author’s father, Kingsley Amis, though later reactionary in tendency, was a “Comintern dogsbody” (as he would come to put it) from 1941 to 1956. His second-closest, and then his closest friend (after the death of the poet Philip Larkin), was Robert Conquest, our leading Sovietologist whose book of 1968, The Great Terror, was second only to Solzhenitsyn’s The Gulag Archipelago in undermining the USSR. The present memoir explores these connections.
Stalin said that the death of one person was tragic, the death of a million a mere “statistic.” Koba the Dread, during whose course the author absorbs a particular, a familial death, is a rebuttal of Stalin’s aphorism.
From the Hardcover edition.
Customer Reviews:
Odd, Uncomfortable Book.......2007-05-28
There are a number of good negative reviews already, with which I agree for the most part, especially the one that asks: Why was this written in the first place?
The book attempts to stand on the shoulders of much more serious and lengthy works by Conquest, Pipes, Solzhenitsyn, Mandelstam and many others, and might serve as a good, well-written synopsis of their work, but Amis wanted to make it more pesonal than that and took up some very odd, rather remote contingent themes, such was why Soviet history is regarded with laughter, whereas Nazi history is not. Maybe this is more of a problem in Great Britain. I think we Americans are guilty of not knowing as much about Soviet atrocities as we should, but not of undue levity.
Anyway, there is much for sensitive souls to consider in the story of Russia in the 20th century, some of it is hinted at and evoked here - that maybe there is such a thing as conscious evil in the world, for example. And I think that maybe Amis wanted to provide a picture that included both the horror of the millions of civilian murders inflicted in varying degrees of maliciousness and the intellectual (me, him) sitting in his chair reading about it. But if he did, it doesn't really come across, interesting as they might have been. I think it's a intriguing illusion we have that memorializing people whose lives have been unjustly tormented and cut short somehow influences the deceased favorably.
The oddest thing are the juxtapositions of historical (and outrageous) fact with his personal activities, friendships, pre-occupations, which as I say, don't jell. Ingredients are poured together but they don't make anything.
Another theme hinted at but not developed that interests me very much is that Stalin and his brothers in hatred are symptoms of our soulless, inwardly dead age, in the way that alcoholism is a symptom of inner imbalance in an individual. How does a person like Stalin come about? How does an individual gain power enough over other people to get them to murder? Most people can hardly get someone else to bring them a glass of water. What are the inner dynamics of someone who gets millions to murder other millions?
So all in all, it was a disappointment, though it began well.
Koba the Dread.......2007-04-12
Amis applies his mastery of language to the soviet "experiment", recounting his own story of discovery.
Horrific and brilliant
Amis's screed hasn't aged well.......2007-03-06
This book was my introduction to Soviet history when it came out (a role I suspect it played for many readers) and I thought highly of it at the time. The most memorable moment in the book, for me, was Amis's epiphany that even an achieved socialist utopia would be a kind of "hell." But rereading it recently, I didn't think it had aged well. Amis's tone is relentlessly sour, smug, and soggily self-important in the way that a certain type of Nabokov fan is (I like Nabokov, but his airy pomposity is insufferable in the hands of almost any imitator). I couldn't help but think that a more straightforward style would have suited his subject better. For that matter, the book could have been considerably shorter; as is, it's too long to be a good essay and too short to be a good history book. And despite his boast that he combed through "yards" of books on the Soviet Union to write the book, he makes countless errors. For instance, Lenin's brother is listed in the index as "Alexander Lenin." Did none of the yards of books Amis read tell him that Lenin's real name was Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov? He also makes commonsensical errors that are downright comical: He devotes a paragraph to a sentence of Trotsky's which he finds to be appallingly phrased, apparently unaware that Trotsky didn't originally write that sentence in English.
His utter refusal to cite even the simplest sources is also annoying; it's as if he thinks he's writing a "better" type of book than a simple history text. Perhaps he feared that citations would make it too obvious that he's basically ripped off every major historian in the field. His open letter to Christopher Hitchens (an incredibly embarrassing concept) lectures his Trotsky-worshiping friend in such condescending tones that I can almost imagine the letter's recipient cringing on his behalf.
That said, the book is a decent, readable introduction to Stalin's Russia (Amis appears to know next to nothing of Russia prior to 1917), but this emphasis makes the book's thesis seem lopsided. Surely the majority of Western leftists don't need to be told that Stalin was a wicked tyrant. If Amis actually took his own thesis seriously, he'd devote his book to tearing apart Lenin and Trotsky. I couldn't help but think that Amis simply didn't have the intellectual stomach for this task - much easier to regurgitate large chunks of Solzhenitsyn and Conquest and smugly imply that Hitchens is some kind of apologist for the Gulag. At one point he implies that the February Revolution was the "real" revolution, but at another point he brusquely dismisses Kerensky as a fool. Most of his judgments seem filched from other historians. This isn't a bad place to start, but don't let this be the last book you read on the subject.
Koba the laughing boy.......2006-10-01
This is a depressing yet brilliantly written book that jumps in your face from page 1 as the brutal history of misery and suffering inflicted on the USSR by Stalin, Lenin and their company of Bolsheviks is laid before the reader. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn explores and describes the soviet system brilliantly in his Gulag Archipelago books, so too Amis explores deep into the psyche of a despotic, hopeless system of government and its deadly effect on the lives of the people it dictated to.
One can only wonder at what kind of bitter, unlucky chance could come upon a people who enjoyed a brief period of inter revolutionary freedom after the overthrow of the imperial system, and with a large range of alternative parties to choose from, ended up with the despotic, psychotic Bolsheviks led by Lenin and co as top dogs at the pinnacle of the pack. Vasily Grossman's words as quoted page 251 is an excellent summation of what freedom is supposed to be. There are so many examples of countless lives destroyed physically, mentally and spiritually in this book that it hits you like a sledgehammer as you wonder thank god l was never born into this insanity. Yet at the beginning the system was built on lies, dictatorship of the proletariat meant dictatorship of all by a handful and if you did not like it then the Soviet govt would say stuff you, you are surplus and you can rot in a concentration camp or be dispatched physically.
Amis maintains his white hot rage against the Bolsheviks, the USSR and of course Stalin for the whole book. The reputations of Lenin and Trotsky also sizzle like sausages on a barbeque on a hot summer's day in the Antipodes as Amis applies his blowtorch of a pen to their revolution and the system of repressive government they created which fell into Stalin's lap. As for Stalin himself, well Amis lays cudgel blows in all directions upon him and leaves no stone unturned in his description of the evil, misery and suffering he created and inflicted upon the Soviet Union. Essentially the book is about Stalin, and Amis is able to capture the evil essence of the man in his personal and public life and lay it all before the reader.
Learn about Stalin.......2006-05-12
British novelist Martin Amis ponders the question, `why is it that one never laughs about Hitler's Holocaust which claimed the lives of 11 million, while members of the left are able to laugh about Stalin's rule, which claimed the lives of over 20 million?' This is an examination of the socio-historical-political facets that underlie Soviet style communism, and seeks to provide explanation for its broad support among the European intellectual elite of the 1950's, including Amis' father Kingsley. It is also a fairly rigorous, though often unoriginal forensic portrait of Stalin's particular breed of tyranny, which Amis attributes both to his insanity as well as the totalitarian nature of the Marxist-Leninist system which he inherited.
This book might be though of as a letter to those of the old left such as Christopher Hitchens, who continue to derive a fair amount of laughter and enjoyment for their past follies. Amis breaks from his historiography in these moments, and he imposes his own anti-communism on Hitchens' work; he contrives dicey judgments such as,
"although I always liked Christopher's journalism, there seemed to me to be something wrong with it, something faintly but pervasively self-defeating: the sense that the truth could be postponed. This flaw disappeared in 1989, and his prose made immense gains in burnish and authority. I used to attribute the change to the death of Christopher's father, late in 1988, and to subsequent convulsions in his life. It had little or nothing to do with that, I now see. It had to do with the collapse of Communism" (pg. 47).
This is painting with a broad brush; one could easily make the case that Hitchens' journalistic authority diminished after his stance on Iraq in 2003. Still, Amis does a competent job of presenting the facts to the members of the hard left such as Hitchens, who have always taken a flippant tone in evaluating the USSR.
Amis' historical work is fine, though it is generally unvaried and unoriginal; he relies mostly on Alexander Solzhenitsyn's standard historical accounts in the Gulag Archipelago Volumes, which are more than competent and standard. There are also some interesting looks at the correspondence between Nabokov and Edmund Wilson during this period. However, Amis' occasionally bizarre political oversimplifications, i.e. "[a]s in Germany, this was the birth of mass-media propaganda; people were unaware, then, that propaganda was propaganda-and propaganda worked" (pg. 213). Such declarations are less then insightful, and fail to provide adequate explanations as to Stalin's popularity. Koba the Dread is still a fairly competent evaluation of Stalin's life and politics, and it provides a fair and brief overview of the Soviet Union for readers who desire a quick blow-by-blow, even if it is derivative of Solzhenitsyn.
Product Description
Omnibus edition of 3 Glen Cook novels: Old Tin Sorrows Dread Brass Shadows Red Iron Nights
Customer Reviews:
Consolidation of the 2nd Three Garrett Books.......2005-11-05
Since most of Cook's Garrett books are long out of print and very difficult to come by, you might end up having to buy this consolidation to find the individual stories. This book, "Garrett, P.I.," is the 2nd of 3 consolidations (so far). The others are "The Garrett Files" and "Garrett Investigates." This book contains the 2nd three stories in the Garrett series: "Old Tin Sorrows," "Dread Brass Shadows," and "Red Iron Nights." "The Garrett Files" contains the 1st three: "Sweet Silver Blues," "Bitter Gold Hearts," and "Cold Copper Tears." "Garrett Investigates" has the last three so far consolidated: "Deadly Quicksilver Lies," "Petty Pewter Gods," "Faded Steel Heat." The remaining two books ("Angry Lead Skies," and "Whispering Nickel Idols") still appear to be in print on their own. As was the 1st consolidation ("The Garrett Files"), this book is well bound, has good quality paper, and is well cut. As a pure average of my ratings for the three contained stories, I rate this book at a Very Good 4 stars out of 5. My individual reviews follow:
"Old Tin Sorrows:" Excellent 4th in Cook's Garrett Series. If this isn't the best of the whole Garrett series, it's right up there fighting for the slot. For all intents and purposes, there's no Dead Man in this book: it's all Garrett, with some support from Morley and a couple of appearances from Saucerhead and the Dojango triplets. It's got good pacing and keeps you scratching your head trying to figure out what's going on all the way to the end. It's also one of the darkest books in the series. Nasty stuff. But, it explains why Garrett is so fixated on his picture of Eleanor in later books. Excellent, excellent book. I rate it at 5 stars out of 5.
"Dread Brass Shadows:" Very Good 5th in Cook's Garrett Series. Unlike the previous book, this one has a lot more Dead Man in it. Unfortunately, as a counterbalance, the pacing is a bit uneven (nothing horrible, just noticeable). This book also introduces Winger. Alas, Cook's portrayal of her is inconsistent. From scene to scene, she varies from competent to incompetent at specific tasks. For instance, in one scene, she's not all that good at hand-to-hand combat. Yet, in another scene, she defeats someone whom Garrett would be afraid to tackle. Ditto for her tracking ability: at one point, she's essentially blind to what's going on around her. At another, she's picking out people Garrett misses. It's a shame, since she plays such a large part in the book (basically replacing Morley and Saucerhead). Given that, I rate the book at a Very Good 4 stars out of 5.
"Red Iron Nights:" Very Good 6th in Cook's Garrett Series. It's a good book, but the pacing could use some work. Also, Cook introduces several minor plot elements and does very little with them until the end. One of them, having to do with Morley, he doesn't do anything with (like explain it) at all. Regarding recurring motifs in the series, in this book, Cook introduces Chodo's daughter and the Parrot. His introduction of the Parrot is disappointing considering its prevalance in later books (if you don't know to watch for it, you'd miss it entirely). But, still, overall, a very good book. I rate it at 4 stars out of 5.
Average customer rating:
- dread mountain is awesome
- The best book in the series!
- The Dreaded Mountain of Summer Reading
- Gem five.. will they survive?
- uummm...
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Deltora Quest #05: Dread Mountain (Deltora Quest)
Emily Rodda
Manufacturer: Scholastic Paperbacks
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ASIN: 0439253276 |
Book Description
The Shadow Lord dominates the Land of Deltora. Only Lief, Barda, and Jasmine can save it from his evil powers. To do this, they must restore all seven gems to the magic Belt of Deltora.Four gems have been found. Now grave news has reached Lief from his home. He longs to return--but the quest must continue. To find the fifth stone, the heroes must venture to the edge of the Shadowlands and enter the dark and terrifying realm of the monster Gellik.Can Lief, Barda, and Jasmine survive Dread Mountain?
Customer Reviews:
dread mountain is awesome.......2005-12-16
This book is one of the best books I have ever read in my life. You really should read it,infact I bet you would enjoy it to! If you do read this book it will probabably take some time to read but, if you read the whole entire book you will be dying to read it again. Also, you need to tell all your freinds how good it is and I bet they would like to read it to!
The best book in the series!.......2005-07-09
Our three heroes are on the track of the fifth gem which lies in the dangerous Dread Mountain, but before that Lief has a terrifying vision of his parents home, barren and destroyed.Lief, Barda and Jasmine, continue on their journey, managing the long walk by flying in the pouches of a peaceful species called the Kin.When they enter the domains of dread mountain, they must face poisoin gnomes, grey guards and messages written by the writer's blood.And worst of all they are stuck in the terrifying mazes of the evil mountain!But this only seems small compared to the darkness they feel when they face the fifth guardian, the evil Gellick, who is invincible to destroy.Will our heroes survive the dreads of Dread Mountain.........................................................
The Dreaded Mountain of Summer Reading.......2005-02-05
Books Books Books. You are always forced to read stupid books for Summer reading. I begged not to have to read them and so the choice was given if I could find a book in the next week to read I didn't have to do summer reading. After searching without success I found a book to replace Summer reading that was the newest of The Deltora Quests at the time. Like the four books before this book cast it's spell and I could not put it down out of interest. It is not exceptional, not the most action packed, not the most romantic and certainly not having the best monsters but I will always consider it my jewel. I'd take Gellick over the Hoboken Chicken any day! That poisin spitting frog on the front, he will set you free.
Gem five.. will they survive?.......2003-07-11
As they travel to Dread Mountain, Lief, Barda, and Jasmine find a clear spring. But an ominous sign makes them unsure. They are thirsty, and out of water. They drink, and later discover the entire truth of Dreaming Spring. They also meet the Kin, a fabled creature thought to be extinct. The Kin take them to the mountain, but their only young follows. Can they care for her, and themselves, too? She proves to be helpful, and as they learn about what happened on the mountain, they are imprisoned by the Dread Gnomes, Gnomes that live on the Mountain, under the rule of a toad-like creature, Gellick. The fifth gem, the emerald, is inbedded in his brow.
uummm..........2003-06-26
I liked these books a ton. I am a big fantasy person (harry Potter, Lord of the rings, tamora pierce, etc) and i thought they were really good. one of my best friend lent them to me and i had the whole series (and deltora shadowlands) finished within, like, a week. I am in 7th grade and a big reader (at least two hours a day) and these books are great (but not as great as tamora pierce).
Average customer rating:
- The story continues...
- All that is important is known...
- Second book in one of the most entertaining recent space opera series
- Excellent Story!
- Very, Very Good
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The Sundering: Dread Empire's Fall (Dread Empires Fall)
Walter Jon Williams
Manufacturer: HarperTorch
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ASIN: 0380820218
Release Date: 2004-02-24 |
Book Description
The Dread Empire of the Shaa is no more, following the death of the last oppressor. But freedom remains elusive for the myriad sentient races enslaved for ten centuries, as an even greater terror arises. The Naxids—a powerful insectoid species themselves subjugated until the recent Shaa demise—plan to fill the vacuum with their own bloody domination, and have already won a shattering victory with superior force and unimaginable cruelty. But two heroes survived the carnage at Magaria: Lord Gareth Martinez and the fiery, mysterious gun pilot Lady Caroline Sula, whose courageous exploits are becoming legend in the new history of galactic civil war. Yet their cunning, skill, and bravery may be no match for the overwhelming enemy descending upon the loyalist stronghold of Zanshaa, as the horrific battle looms that will determine the structure of the universe—and who shall live to inhabit it—for millennia to come.
Customer Reviews:
The story continues..........2007-01-02
The second book in Walter Jon Williams' Dread Empire's Fall series, The Sundering, resumes exactly where The Praxis left off. It continues the story of Gareth Martinez and Caroline Sula as they battle to retake the Shaa empire from the Naxid rebels. The writing and characterization continue to be top notch so if you enjoyed the first book you will definitely like the second. Although the second book was good, I felt that it put a lot of pressure on the third book to determine whether the series will be great or not. In other words, after reading about these people and their war for two volumes, I need the third book to be truly spectacular in order to make the first two books pay off. Therefore, I will withhold judgement on the entire series until I finish the third book, but if the first two books are any indication, I don't think I'll be disappointed.
All that is important is known..........2006-07-21
... so says the Praxis...
So often Science Fiction, and the sub-genre of Space Opera in particular, is set amidst a completely unbelievable background, either an unlikely extrapolation of current society and science or worse still, our current society set in a thinly veiled future that lacks any cohesion.
The Dread Empire series defies this trend by setting the books in very believable, cohesive, and reasonable setting. What a wonderful change from the likes of David Weber's Honorverse.
"The Sundering" is a marvelous continuation of the "Dread Empires Fall" series, providing more of the rich prose and exciting storylines experienced in "The Praxis".
While reading, I often paused to wonder at the depth Mr. Williams has developed for the story's universe, its beauty, and more importantly, for its cohesiveness. I give it 5 stars.
Second book in one of the most entertaining recent space opera series.......2006-05-23
The Sundering is the second of Walter Jon Williams's space opera series collectively called Dread Empire's Fall. (First was The Praxis.) In the first novel the last of the Shaa, the long-lived aliens who controlled the multi-species Empire, died, setting off a battle for control. One species, the Naxids, rebelled, arguing that their status as first species to be conquered by the Shaa made them natural successors. The other species were taken by surprise by the rebellion, as they had apparently assumed that things would continue much as before, with power divided fairly evenly between the several species. A war quickly followed.
The central characters are two humans, Lord Gareth Martinez and Lady Caroline Sula. Both are relatively young and quite brilliant, and both become heroes in early action of the war, effectively preventing an immediate Naxid victory, though it is clear that the Naxids have the advantage of numbers. Martinez and Sula meet and are obviously attracted to each other. However both have flaws that will obviously cause future problems. Sula has a very dark secret in her background, further complicating her already compromised status as the last surviving member of a disgraced family. Martinez's family, while very rich, is provincial and thus his social status is tenuous, and his ambitions (and those of the rest of his family) tempt him towards dicey social and political manipulations, and occasional rather careerist, and conceited, actions.
In The Sundering, the story of the war as well as the personal stories of Martinez and Sula are advanced but not resolved, as one might expect from a middle book. Both are responsible in part for some further military successes, due to their brilliant tactical minds (and to fruitful collaboration). Their personal relationship takes some steps forward as well, only to be impeded by mutual misunderstandings, and by the problems mentioned above: Sula's past, and the ambitions of Martinez and his family. By the end of the novel a plan the two concocted for saving the Empire has been put into motion, albeit credited to more respectable people, and each are involved in desperate battles (of very different sorts) with the Naxids.
The book is very exciting, with some first rate space action, and some ground-based action as well. Williams appears to take great care in making his battle scenes plausible, taking into account travel times, acceleration requirements, and the general physics of space travel in planetary systems. Various aspects seem modelled on Napoleonic era naval adventure books, such as the hierarchical nature of shipboard society, and indeed the aristocratic focus of the overall society. The overall design is quite familiar, including such important things as the hero and heroine being brilliant mavericks, and such small details as Martinez's crusty and wily veteran servant. But if much is familiar, even cliché, Williams works very well within the form. The intrigues and twists and those disasters the reader sees coming give great pleasure. The flawed characters still attract this reader, and I root for them despite grimacing at their folly. This series is great fun to read, one of the most entertaining space operas in many years.
Excellent Story!.......2006-03-23
I truly wonderful novel! It has been awhile since I read science fiction that is so good.
Very, Very Good.......2006-03-21
I commented on this books predecessor that the remarkable thing about Dread Empires Fall is that very little actually happens. I enjoyed the book but I was looking forward to the next installment. I am pleased to say that the second book certainly moved the story and it is rather more action packed then the first text.
As I usually make a point of I do not wish to give too much of the plot away so the review lacks some specifics. The book is far more action packed then the opening book of the series. The story moves at a good pace and the plot does not seem either rushed or artificially elongated. The weakness in middle books is that they often feel like a bridge between the foundation and the capstone and otherwise seem to have very little reason to exist. This is absolutely not true in this novel. The story was engaging and very satisfying. It is still true that the book would be hard to fully engage with if the first text had not been read first.
An excellent book. I hesitate to give this novel 5 stars and have settled on 4 instead. This book, in my mind, does not quite join the very top-level books in the field but it is very, very close.
Average customer rating:
- Five Stars
- Very Sad
- It was disapointing
- disappointed
- Great Start to Learning About the Salem Witch Trials
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I Walk in Dread: The Diary of Deliverance Trembly, Witness to the Salem Witch Trials, Massachusetts Bay Colony 1691 (Dear America Series)
Lisa Rowe Fraustino
Manufacturer: Scholastic Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0439249732 |
Book Description
Deliverance Trembley lives in Salem Village, where she must take care of her sickly sister, Mem, and where she does her daily chores in fear of her cruel uncle's angry temper. But when four young girls from the village accuse some of the local women of being witches, Deliverance finds herself caught up in the ensuing drama of the trials. And life in Salem is never the same.
Customer Reviews:
Five Stars.......2007-08-08
One of the last books of Dear America series and what a tragedy given how wonderful each of these books are. Here we have Delieverance Trembly living in Salem with her sister Mem who is sickly. Their parents are dead and their uncle has disappered Delieverance is trying not to let anyone discover they are alone but her worries are subsided by events unfolding in Salem. As a witness to the Witch Trials, Delieverance is surprised by what's going on and when one of her friends is accused of being a witch Delieverance grows suspicious of the trials. You can feel her worries, fear and horror at watching her town where she thought she knew everyone try and hang neighbors.
Very Sad.......2006-12-10
Liv's life is very sad. Her dearest role model is accused of being a witch. I cried when I read parts of this book. I wish we had read this book in Middle School! I think the other students would have really liked it. I know I did! I liked it so much that I'm trying to write my own 'Dear America' book about the Salem Witch Trials. The working title is 'Witness to Insanity: The Diary Of Rebecca Goode'.
It was disapointing.......2006-12-03
I rented this book from the local Library, partly because I wanted to learn more about the Salem Witch Trials and it was a Dear America book I had never read. Boy, was I wrong! The style was not anything like what I thought it would be. It did indeed give accurate history-like innocent people getting accused of being a witch, and the fear that 15th century people were going through. But it was boring the way that Deliverance had to do almost all the work by herself, because her sister was so lazy!And it really got to me, when Mem, Deliverance's sister just turned on her. Deliverance has absolutely NO ONE to turn to, except a neighbor lady that eventually is executed!! To make matters worse, she loves a boy that ends up marrying Mem. And if I remember right, Mem thought he was ugly and hated him!And Deliverance really loved him,no matter what he looked like. Things are just not looking good for poor Deliverance! If you are looking for a history lesson, you may like it, as I learned more history myself, but if you want a nice book more balanced out and entertaining with history as well, I would not look for it in this one.
disappointed.......2006-10-28
I bought this book in the gift shop of the Witch Museum in Salem, Ma. Having no listing of "fiction" on the shelf above the book, it was sitting there with other books of the trials and the cover stated it was the diary of a witness. It caught my interest because it lead me to believe there was a witnessed perspective on the trials that may have shed a different light on the mystery. Not familiar with the "Dear America" series, it did not register to me that this was a fictional novel. I bought it before I returned home on my trip, read 2/3 on the plane, and was anxious to read the rest of what happened to Deliverance and her family. Being almost finished, I wanted to get on-line to see what other readers thought. It was then that I discovered that the book is fiction. Having a great interest in the factual history of Salem and the witch trials, I am obviously no longer interested in reading this book. That the novel states it is scholastic is puzzling. Why create more confusion in an era shrouded by mystery by telling it through the eyes of someone who does not exist? My lesson is learned at least. If we need to be entertained by fiction to retain facts that are interesting in their own right, I'll stick to the history books.
Great Start to Learning About the Salem Witch Trials.......2006-06-01
When I first bought this book, it was because it was the bookstore's most recent release. I started reading it on the ride home and was captivated by the flowing writing style and the central character's devotion to God - something missing in modern fiction. I read at around the same time as other Dear America's and thought it of high quality. I liked the character change, for one thing - she wasn't always scornful of "witches." After finishing it I started reading more books about the Salem Witch Trials.
Average customer rating:
- i really liked the series
- Slow To Start, But Some Promise
- Good start. Let's see where it goes.
- Sci-fi with some basic misunderstanding of physics
- Good start to an even better series
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Dread Empire's Fall : The Praxis
Walter Jon Williams
Manufacturer: HarperTorch
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Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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The Sundering: Dread Empire's Fall (Dread Empires Fall)
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Conventions of War (Dread Empire's Fall)
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Fearless (The Lost Fleet, Book 2)
ASIN: 038082020X |
Book Description
All will must bend to the perfect truth of The Praxis
For millennia, the Shaa have subjugated the universe, forcing the myriad sentient races to bow to their joyless tyranny. But the Shaa will soon be no more. The dread empire is in its rapidly fading twilight, and with its impending fall comes the promise of a new galactic order . . . and bloody chaos.
A young Terran naval officer marked by his lowly birth, Lt. Gareth Martinez is the first to recognize the insidious plot of the Naxid -- the powerful, warlike insectoid society that was enslaved before all others -- to replace the masters' despotic rule with their own. Barely escaping a swarming surprise attack, Martinez and Caroline Sula, a pilot whose beautiful face conceals a deadly secret, are now the last hope for freedom for every being who ever languished in Shaa chains -- as the interstellar battle begins against a merciless foe whose only perfect truth is annihilation.
Customer Reviews:
i really liked the series.......2007-04-18
I took my a while to get into the pace of this book, but once I did, I found it to be great entertainment.
Jon Williams speaks in a very cynical voice and I am quite sure he is settling scores with people he used to work with (or maybe school teachers?).
In any case, I am happy to recommend this book and the two that followed in the Trilogy.
Slow To Start, But Some Promise.......2007-02-17
Walter Jon Williams, having previously knocked out a couple of cyberpunk novels, here turns his hand to the venerable space opera genre with mixed results. It's roughly 300 pages of slow-building character development, focused exclusively on two protagonists, before anything major happens in the last quarter of the book. And as for the rebellion that the cover copy promises...well, the actions of the bad guys are predicated on mutual stupidity and gross ignorance on the part of the entire population of the galactic empire, including the rebels themselves. Another drawback is that the villains are villains because...uh...they're villainous or something. It's in their nature. Inevitable, really. We can't exactly say since we get virtually no clue whatsoever what makes them tick, and not a single one of their race stands out in any way at all.
Another quibble is that if you gave, say, David Brin or David Weber the same 300-page buildup, the one would have completely immersed you in the particular galactic milieu with its myriad cultural intricacies and nuances, and the other would've taught you all about shipbuilding, crew command, and fleet maneuvers. Here, Williams more or less settles for "Space is big. I mean, really big."
BUT. With all that said, at least our two heroes are relatively interesting, not to mention interestingly flawed. The male lead, Gareth Martinez, is in fact a bit of a social-climbing yutz who is primarily concerned about advancing his career and family interests, which is a refreshing change from your usual omni-competent destined-for-greatness born leader featured in many other series.
This is not the kind of thing you'll want if you need to see things blowing up from Page 1, or if you revel in layer upon layer of details, but if you like your space opera old-fashioned and with comparatively uncomplicated heroes and evildoers, you'll find yourself pleased.
Good start. Let's see where it goes........2006-12-30
I picked up this book based solely on the intriguing synopsis on the back cover and I wasn't disappointed. The story follows the military careers and personal lives of Gareth Martinez and Caroline Sula as they fight to recapture their empire from a rebellious alian faction. The first book of this well written space opera left me eagerly anticipating the second volume. The best parts were often the slow character developmental segments wedged between the fast paced interstellar battles. This is certainly not a hard science fiction book, no extravagant futuristic technological concepts here. No extrapolations of current scientific thought or conjecture. No artificial intelligence, virtual reality, clones, robots or supercomputers. Just worm holes transporting interstellar battleships from one solar system to another. The story solely rests on the strength of the various characters that we meet and their "every man" struggles for career advancement and romantic fulfillment. The story could easily have been written as a 20eth century Naval war epic that just substituted starships for battle ships and planetary ring stations for harbors. I hope that the second and third books delve deeper into the history of the empire and add new twists and turns to the story. For those that love a good space opera, The Praxis will fit the bill.
Sci-fi with some basic misunderstanding of physics.......2006-09-24
I'm a big fan of space opera, and usually find no difficulty suspending my disbelief to enjoy a good story. Faster than light travel? No problem. Transporter beams? I'm all there. Space suits that clean your bottom automatically? I want one! What bothered me about this book was some very basic problems with physics.
Some of the reviewers mention the rescue of a space yacht tumbling through space. The method of rescue involves the rescue ship matching the 3-dimensional tumble of the craft in trouble and then latching on to it. Sorry, no. Matching the tumble does not mean the two craft are stationary relative to each other. A student of basic kinetics will tell you this won't work.
Similarly, I love the "dog-fight" style space battles inside the various solar systems. But these battles take place with the space craft traveling at 70% of the speed of light! No mention of time stretching, relativity, or any number of other weirdnesses that would take place in such a battle. The author knows enough to not allow these ships to make quick turns at 0.7c and allows them "months" to reach such speeds, but still it's just hard to swallow.
All in all, good writing, good story, but dude, learn some physics!
Good start to an even better series.......2006-08-28
WJW's has developed a fascinating space-faring future world with deep and compellingly flawed main characters. Unlike more utopian futures, such as Jack McDevitt's Polaris/Seeker universe, the future in Dread Empire's Fall is built around a rigid caste structure, and a prohibition on AI that makes the world much like our own.
This opening book in the trilogy develops the two main perspectives through which the reader will experience Dread Empire's Fall, an ambitious lieutenant, Lord Gareth Martinez, and Lady Caroline Sula, who, as a "pinnace pilot" must guide batteries of missiles toward their enemies in the vacuum of space. The story spends more time with Martinez, though Sula's back story is more detailed, and relevant in that it both haunts and drives Sula. The oppressive and class-driven social structure makes for interesting observations from characters that have grown used to it, yet do not view it naively.
The action starts to pick up, and the pages turn quickly, when Martinez catches an early wind of a planned revolution by one of the other races that populate the wormhole-connected cosmos along with humans (known here as "Terrans"). The world is interesting, the space-battles invigorating, and the growing and complex relationship between Sula and Martinez captivating.
The first half of the first book is on average slower than the rest of the series, but well worth the investment. This is hard military-sf with characters worth knowing.
Average customer rating:
- Good Series Closer
- One of the worst endings to a series I've ever read
- A nice ending
- Exciting and frustrating all at once.
- Hated to see the end of this series
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Conventions of War (Dread Empire's Fall)
Walter Jon Williams
Manufacturer: Eos
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Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Williams, Walter Jon
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The Sundering: Dread Empire's Fall (Dread Empires Fall)
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Old Man's War
ASIN: 0380820226
Release Date: 2005-09-27 |
Book Description
The universe has fallen into bloody chaos now that the dread empire of the tyrannical Shaa is no more -- at the mercy of the merciless insectoid Naxid, who now hunger for domination. But the far-flung human descendants of Terra have finally tasted liberty, and their warrior heroes will not submit. Separated by light-years, Lord Gareth Martinez and the mysterious guerrilla fighter Caroline Sula each pursue a different road to victory in tomorrow's ultimate battle -- for the new order will be far more terrible than the old ... unless one last, desperate stratagem can hold a shattered galaxy together.
Customer Reviews:
Good Series Closer.......2007-07-16
Convetions of Dread isn't anything new to the series but it provides a good final chapter and wraps up all the loose ends from the previous 2 books. Assuming you read the begining of the series, I recommend the final novel.
One of the worst endings to a series I've ever read.......2007-03-17
Read this review prior to reading this book (or series, hopefully). This series ends probably as badly as any series possibly could. If it wasn't for the fact that parts of the book were OK, I'd give it 1 star, because the ending was so stupid that, if I could, I'd give it a negative five stars.
While I don't recommend you read this, I won't give away the specifics of the ending, as that would be wrong of me. However, everything that was frustrating about the first two books (i.e. silly caste structure, total reliance on patronage, accent descrimination) wins in the end, irregardless of the world changing honors that the two heroes achieve.
I truly don't understand the point of the author even writing this series, if he's simply going to allow the status quo to remain intact. One of the reasons people read books like this, is to see a civilization that has turned geologic, and then gets into a war of survival, have the ability to change. But no, the author strives to make sure that all of the stupidity that we wished to see overturned is put right back in place after the war is over.
Now, don't get me wrong, I don't mind the love triangle ending. But the political ending really makes me regret ever picking up the first book, as I now realize that reading this series has been an absolute waste of my time.
A nice ending.......2007-01-08
Conventions of War, the final chapter in the "Dread Empire's Fall" trilogy, wraps the story up very nicely. Though I felt the series was a conventional space opera, it was probably the best classical military science fiction story I've read. The last sci-fi trilogy I read was John C. Wright's "Golden Age" series, which was a meaty, hard science fiction epic, not really falling into the space opera category (although I could be wrong about that). The Golden Age happened to be one of the best science fiction stories I've ever read, wonderfully pushing my intellectual ability to imagine a radically new technological future and its philosophical underpinnings (needless to say I highly recommend it). Dread Empire's Fall was not that kind of tale. Though not ground breaking, I enjoyed the series very much. This series tells the story of a fractured empire and the military campaigns that ensue to make it whole again. More specifically, it follows the exploits of the two heroes of the war and how their ideas and actions changed the course of the war in their favor. The writing was excellent and I really grew to like and care about the two main characters, especially the low born noble, Lord Gareth Martinez. Like the two volumes that came before it, Conventions of War was a real page turner, and I recommend the series to anyone who loves a well written military space opera with great characters.
Exciting and frustrating all at once........2007-01-05
One of the hallmarks of well written fiction, for me at least, is that I get so caught up in the characters that I find myself saying "Why did they do that?" instead of "Why did the author write them that way?" This book definitely falls into the former category - well written, with real characters and a story that kept my attention and interest.
Read the entire trilogy - having the full context makes it so much richer.
Hated to see the end of this series.......2006-07-21
So often Science Fiction, and the sub-genre of Space Opera in particular, is set amidst a completely unbelievable background, either an unlikely extrapolation of current society and science or worse still, our current society set in a thinly veiled future that lacks any cohesion.
The Dread Empire series defies this trend by setting the books in very believable, cohesive, and reasonable setting. What a wonderful change from the likes of David Weber's Honorverse.
"Conventions of War" is a solid ending to the "Dread Empires Fall" series that leaves the reader wanting more, and happily, there seems to be plenty of room for additional books in the series.
Mr. Williams gives us rich character development and compelling action amidst the stars. Hallelujah! I give it 5 stars.
Book Description
Dreadlocks are a modern phenomenon with roots reaching as far back as the fifth century. According to ancient Hindu beliefs, dreads signified a singleminded pursuit of the spiritual. Devotion to God displaced vanity, and hair was left to its own devices.
Dreads captures this organic explosion of hair in all its beautiful, subversive glory. One hundred duotone portraits present dread-heads from around the world, in all walks of life. Interviewed on location by the photographers, jatta-wearers wax philosophic about the integrity of their hair, and every stunning image confirms their choice. Alice Walker puts words to pictures, offering lyrical ruminations about her decision to let her own mane mat.
Customer Reviews:
Incredible photography.......2007-05-25
I loved the beautiful pictures in this book.. a must-have for any lover of locks!
I love this book.......2007-04-15
I always saw this book at the natural hair stylist that I visited. Now that I and my daughter are lock wearers i decided to purchase it. The photography is outstanding and book contains both cultivated and organic locks. Great to have in your home library and leave out as a conversation piece. Excellent.. Must buy it.
I also recommend:
Kinki Kreations: A Parent's Guide to Natural Black Hair Care for Kids
Good for coffee!.......2006-11-13
Excellant book. As one who has carried locks for quite a while I can say that it's nice to see the photos and words of others who share this part of theirself with others. Dreads are beautiful and deeply personal; to explain them is not always easy, to understand them, it seems, is often even harder.
An incredible pictorial of the many facets of dreadlocks!.......2006-03-16
My loctician had this book on her coffee table during my last visit and I fell in love with my locks all over again. The book opens with an introduction by Alice Walker that recaps her first encounter with locks and her subsequent adoption of the style. Through this introduction, Walker addresses some of the common misconceptions about locks. "Dreads" continues with a historical perspective of locks and their political, religious and fashion roots. This is a great coffee table item. Not only is the book a great validation of the beauty and uniqueness of locks but it is also an excellent way to inform people of the facts about locks. I wish I had a copy of the book at the office when I started the locking process three years ago! Highly Recommended!
Francesco Mastalia.......2005-08-11
Shortly after this book was published I came across it in my local Borders. I immediately was drawn to the wonderful shadows and expressions that were displayed in this beautiful book. I would consistently turn to it when wanting to draw and always found myself paging through it over and over again seeking out the best defined shadows and contrast. Never could find the 'best' they are all wonderful. Earlier this year in 2005, My husband was in the process of looking for a photographer for our wedding to be in July, when we came across Francesco Mastalias website. At the time I did not recognize the name as being the author of one of my favorite photography books, but I did note how beautiful the photos displayed were. Anyway, to make a long story short, we met him, liked him and his work and arranged him to photograph our wedding. Gorgeous work there too!I also found out that he is the author of this incredible work of art. Needless to say I was very excited as I had one of the few 1st editions that were printed. I recommend this book to anyone with an appreciation for unusual displays of beauty, and heartily look forward to any future work Mastalia may publish.
Books:
- A Passion for Plants: Contemporary Botanical Masterworks
- A Twist of the Wrist: Quick Flavorful Meals with Ingredients from Jars, Cans, Bags, and Boxes
- Antonio's Gun and Delfino's Dream: True Tales of Mexican Migration
- Art Deco Fashion
- Aura Reading Through ALL Your Senses: Celestial Perception Made Practical, Second Edition
- Because They Hate: A Survivor of Islamic Terror Warns America
- Best Friends for Never (The Clique, No. 2)
- Blahnik by Boman: Shoes, Photographs, Conversation
- Bobbi Brown Living Beauty
- Bobbi Brown Living Beauty
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
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- Relic
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- My G-String Mother: At Home and Backstage with Gypsy Rose Lee
- The New Handmade Graphics: Beyond Digital Design
- Patagonia: Land Of Giants
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Lord of the Silent Kingdom (Instrumentalities of the Night)
A Fortress In Shadow: A Chronicle Of The Dread Empire
Sung In Blood
The Tyranny of the Night: Book One of the Instrumentalities of the Night
Passage at Arms
