The book was a hit at our house! Who are Hadyn and Ewan Barlowe - the sons of a famous (slightly infamous) history professor or Champions of Karac Tor? Are these two teen brothers following the instruction of their father or are they answering the call of the great Aion? Do these two brothers have the strength to reach beyond the painof death and conquer despair? These are only a few of many questions that can be answered by D. Barkley Briggs' novel, The Book of Names.
D. Barkley Briggs has created an enchanting tale indeed! The Book of Names takes two very average teen boys and transports them into the world of Karac Tor. All along their fantastical adventure the two young men have to reach beyond themselves and learn how to capture a strength greater than their own dreams to return home. The spiritual analogies are so seamlessly woven into the story that I would often have moments of insightflash into my mind long after I laid the book down!
In Briggs' tale, there is a battle between those who know they are named and loved and those who have become captive to a nameless despair. The struggle subtly builds in intensity until you find yourself anxiously cheering the Barlowe brothers to victory. This is beautifully written and amazing story of courage and strength that carries you on an exciting journey and leaves you begging for more!
Zergwatch: ReviewAbout the Author Robert Jordan lives in Charleston, South Carolina. He is a graduate of the Citadel.
Zergwatch: Exclusive Content
Zergwatch: 's Significant Seven Robert Jordan kindly agreed to take the life quiz we like to give to all our authors: the Zergwatch: Significant Seven.
Q: What book has had the most significant impact on your life? A: The King James version of the Bible. That seems a cliche, but I can't think of any other book that has had as large an impact in shaping who I am.
Q: You are stranded on a desert island with only one book, one CD, and one DVD--what are they? A: The one book would be whatever book I was currently writing. I mean, I hate falling behind in the work. The one CD would contain the best encyclopedia I could find on desert island survival. The DVD would contain as much of Beethoven, Mozart, and Duke Ellington as I could cram onto it.
Q: What is the worst lie you've ever told? A: It's hard to think of one since I am genetically incapable of lyingto women and that takes out 52% of the population right there.
Q: Describe the perfect writing environment. A: Any place that has my computer, a CD player for music, a comfortable chair that won't leave me with a backache at the end of a long day, and very little interruption.
Q: If you could write your own epitaph, what would it say? A: He kept trying to get better at it.
Q: Who is the one person living or dead that you would like to have dinner with? A: My wife before anybody else on earth living or dead. That's a no-brainer.
Q: If you could have one superpower what would it be? A: That depends. If I'm feeling altruistic, it would be the ability to heal anything with a touch, if that can be called a superpower. If I'm not feeling very altruistic, it would be the ability to read other people's minds, to finally be able to get to the bottom of what they really mean and what their motivations are.
See all books in the Wheel of Time series.
REVIEW
There will be a Final Book (#12 Memory of Light) to the Wheel of Time I though Knife of Daggers was on of the better ones in the Series. Jordan got back to the basics of what made all of his readers Love the Wheel of Time. I DO HAVE VERY BAD NEWS, BUT ALSO GREAT NEW FOR WHEEL OF TIME READERS, AT LEAST WITH REGARDS TO HIS FINAL BOOK #12. Please read the following passage all readers need to know both bits of information.
Robert Jordan (this is his publishing name, not his real)....his real name is JAMES OLIVER RIGNEY, JR. Here is a link so you can read it all([...]). James Rigney (aka Robert Jordan) passed away in September of 2007 (last fall)....however there is still good news for all the readers. The whole staff and editors have the notes and spoken ideas Jordan left while in the hospital the last few days before he passed on. The Book will be named A Memory of Light! The family and editors have hired a Fantasy writer to finish the Series and last book. This Writer (Brandon Sanderson) was a personal friend, and was mentored by Jordan too over the years. He will also have Robert Jordan's wife... Harriet.. helping (she edited and helped on all the books with him). They say on their web-site that they are shooting for Late Fall or Early winter (Sept-Nov) in 2009 to have the last book in the Wheel of Time Series on the shelf. This will be called as I said Memory of Light and will be book 12 and will finish the Wheel of Time. This is what they our saying at least, and they know the book might be BIG, and very hard to get all plots and everything in place...... so the Last Battle can be fought....but they will do it, so they say. I really enjoyed all the books, and I know with all the help from his wife (who knows a man better then his wife) this will be worthy of Robert Jordan's Memory and Life.
Ross Hill (who is just a simple man that RJ helped change with getting me to read a lot and that helped me Graduate with a Bachelors of Science in Management) Add a Review
THE ROVER RETURNS After his adventures on the mainland Wick, the Rover, returned to his duties at the Vault of All Known Knowledge and quickly worked his way up the hierarchy , continuing his quest for the preservation of books and the knowledge contained therein. And now that quest is threatened. AN APPRENTICE ACQUIRED It is many years later and lowly Wick is now Grandmagister Lamplighter of the Great Library. His trips to the mainland are fewer due to his advanced age, and lately he has enlisted an apprentice researcher by the name of Jugh to undertake those roving duties he used to relish. An encounter with a goblin ship on the high seas leads to Jugh's discovery of a book in goblin hands, a most urgent matter that must be investigated. A SHADOW DESCENDS This single event , the acquisition of a single book, leads to startling revelations that forewarns of a great evil that exists that is every bit as powerful as the Vault of All Known Knowledge, and whose presence in the Great Library may indeed result in The Destruction of the Books And perhaps much worse.
REVIEW
Books -- the good, bad and ugly Mel Odom's "The Rover" was a fun, light fantasy peopled by the stereotypical dwarves, elves, medieval humans and hobbitlike dwellers. Its sequel, "Destruction of the Books," is very different -- darker, nastier, and takingon the promise of epic battles that were only hinted at in "Rover."
Librarion Juhg is the apprentice to the Grandmagister Wick of the hidden Library. When he hears a rumor of a rare book aboard a goblin ship, he and his ship's crew manage to get the book away -- but not without grappling with the goblins and an evil wizard. He brings it to Wick and the wizard Craugh, who try to figure out what is up with it.
But the book is booby-trapped -- it allows horrifyingly evil creatures to swarm into the Library and destroy it from the inside out. TheLibrary is in ruins, and four-fifths of the books are gone. With the dwellers refusing to help, and evil undead armies descending on them, Juhg must do whatever he can to save his friends -- and what remains of the Vault of All Known Knowledge.
As evidenced by the big blinking "To Be Continued" on the end of this book, there's going to be much more. And it feels like a gradual windup to a spectacular battle, rather than part of the battle itself -- lots of talking, with the odd action scene. But in the last third of the book, Odom makes the plot suddenly spark to life, promising excellence in whatever comes next.
Odom's writing is pretty good, descriptive and sometimes downright chilling. He does tend to launch into long conversations that talk about A) the importance of books, or B) how destroying books destroys civilization/history, and that gets annoying. However, when those conversations drop out of sight, the narrative speeds up and gets tenser, complete with the climactic battle with the undead goblin-beastie Boneblights. Though his good guys aren't terribly original (forest-y elves, tough dwarves, timid halfers), his villains are on par with the best of dark fantasy.
Juhg is in some ways a better character than Wick was -- he has more doubts, more internal conflict, and a more tragic history. Wick also appears, older and substantially wiser; a young human sailor, Raisho, adds an upbeat note to the story. But the scene-stealer is Craugh, a grumpy wizard who is one of the few things standing between the Library and destruction.
Though it takes awhile to get where it's going, "Destruction of the Books" is a passable middle volume in the trilogy that started with "The Rover." Flawed deeply in places, but still entertaining. Add a Review
Tor Classics are affordably-priced editions designed to attract the young reader. Original dynamic cover art enthusiastically represents the excitement of each story. Appropriate "reader friendly" type sizes have been chosen for each title—offering clear, accurate, and readable text. All editions are complete and unabridged, and feature Introductions and Afterwords.
This edition of A Wonder Book for Girls and Boys includes a Foreword, Biographical Note, and Afterword by Eileen Charbonneau.
Thousands of years ago, when monsters roamed the earth and magic rules the world, the Greeks set sail among the islands of the Aegean Sea in search of incredible riches and fantastic adventures...adventures that would become legendary.
The Gorgons: cruel witches with snakes for hair.
Midas: everything he touched turned to gold...even people.
Hercules: the greatest hero of all time.
Chimaera: part lion, part goat, part snake--but all monster!
Pegasus: the magical flying horse.
These are only a few of the fabulous heroes and monsters in the collection of classic Greek adventures retold especially for young people by one of the world's greatest authors.
REVIEW
"...it had the effect of a vision." - from the Introductory Hawthorne's gentle, charming collection of classic myths retold for the children of his day is a neglected classic. Addressing the reader in personable Victorian fashion, his prose is clear and beautiful. Consider this sample:
"Within the verge of the wood there were columbines, looking more pale than red, because they were so modest, and had thought proper to seclude themselves too anxiously from the sun. There were wild geraniums, too, and a thousand white blossoms of the strawberry. The trailing arbutus was not yet quite out of bloom; but it hid its precious flowers under the last year's withered forest-leaves, as carefully as a mother-bird hides its little young ones."
But Hawthorne is also equal to the task of less genteel, more vigorous images:
"At this sound the three heads reared themselves erect, and belched out great flashes of flame. Before Bellerophon had time to consider what to do next, the monster flung itself out of the cavern and sprung straight toward him, with its immense claws extended, and its snaky tail twisting itself venomously behind."
Adding to the pleasure of these retold tales is the gorgeous art of Arthur Rackham, both in black-and-white drawings and full-color plates, which captures the unearthly beauty and the unexpectedly surprising humor of Hawthorne's work. Highly recommended! Add a Review
In the sequel to The Dragon and the George, Sir James Eckert is transformed back into theshape of a dragon. Now he must learn to control his magical abilities and truly become the Dragon Knight--which carries some responsibilities he hadn't counted on. "Lives up to its predecessor. . . ."--Library Journal. HC: Tor.
REVIEW
A great book with a real view on medival life plus magic This book is very exciting and does a good job how life was probably like in the middle ages, but it also has alot of suspence and action, and alot of times when you can't help to wonder how Jim(aka the Dragon Knight) can get out of his situation. It also has the interesing twist of comedy that makes you laugh every once and a while. This was a very good book but, I still like The Dragon and the George, better then this one, but they are both pretty simular. Never the less, this is a great book and I recomend it Add a Review
Zergwatch: ReviewNo child should be allowed to grow up without reading The Jungle Books. Published in 1894 and 1895, the stories crackle with as much life and intensity as ever. Rudyard Kipling pours fuel on childhood fantasies with his tales of Mowgli, lost in the jungles of India as a child and adopted into a family of wolves. Mowgli is brought up on a diet of Jungle Law, loyalty, and fresh meat from the kill. Regular adventures with his friends and enemies among the Jungle-People--cobras, panthers, bears, and tigers--hone this man-cub's strength and cleverness and whet every reader's imagination. Mowgli's story is interspersed with other tales of the jungle, such as "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi," lending depth and diversity to our understanding of Kipling's India. In much the same way Mowgli is carried away by the Bandar-log monkeys, young readers will be caught up by the stories, swinging from page to page, breathless, thrilled, and terrified. (Ages 9 to 12)
REVIEW
Heart pounding Tale "The Jungle Books" by Rudyard Kipling are adventures of Mowgli and friends. Mowgli is a boy who is kidnapped as a baby by a tiger. He is raised by wolves and taught the laws of the jungle by Baloo the bear and Bagheera the black panther. Mowgli is then kicked out of the wolf pack because of Shere Khan the tiger who swore to kill Mowgli one day. Mowgli learns all the ways of the jungle. He eventually kills Shere Khan. Baloo is a lovable bear who teaches Mowgli the ways of the jungle and how to respect it. Bagheera is a feared and wise black panther who befriends Mowgli in all situations. In "Kaa's Hunting", Mowgli is kidnapped by the Bandar-log monkeys. Monkeys are not highly respected in the jungle community because they have no leader. Baloo and Bagheera seek the help of Kaa the Python to rescue Mowgli. The stories "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" and "The White Seal" have nothing to do with Mowgli and his adventures, but they offer valuable lessons. The lesson in "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" is to trust yourself and the loyalty in friends.
The story "The White Seal" is about Aleuts coming to Novastoshnah every year and skinning hundreds of seals. The only white seal ever born on the island, Kotick, wants to find a new island to stay on, so that the people will not know where to look for the seals. This way no more seals will be killed. Kotick wanders for many years in search of a new island to live on. Once he finds one, he goes back to tell the rest of his herd, but they don't believe him. He challenges one of the other males to a fight and if he wins, they will go with Kotick to the new island. In the end, all the other seals die because none of them would go with him, so he taught them all a lesson.
In "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi", a curious mongoose wanders into a garden. He meets a cobra named Nag. Because mongooses naturally eat snakes, Rikki-Tikki kills Nag. Nagina, Nag's wife gets mad at Rikki-Tikki-Tavi and threatens to bite his owners. Rikki-Tikki crushes all of his eggs in the nest. I liked this story, but didn't like how it didn't tie into the adventures of Mowgli.
In "Toomai of the Elephants", a young boy falls asleep on his elephant. The elephants then march off to a hill far away. Here the boy wakes up to find thousands of elephants all stomping in the same pattern, at the same time. The boy has seen the dance of the elephants. When he returns to his father, he tells him that, but he doesn't believe him. I disliked how that this story also had nothing to do with Mowgli and his adventures.
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Searching for the perfect Christmas tree, Winnie the Pooh and his friends venture from place to place, finding all sorts of reasons why various trees are less than ideal, until Pooh quietly selects the tree that will become everyone's favorite.
Tim Tuttlecan't hold a candle to John Henry -- not in school, not in sports, not in anything. To make matters worse, John Henry is Tim's younger brother. But then Tim's eccentric great-aunt Winifred teaches Tim to paint, and he finds he has a special talent.
One snowy Christmas Eve, John Henry hatches a plan to undermine Tim's sudden moment of glory. But when his sinister scheme succeeds beyond his expectations, what follows is a subzero adventure that will change both boys forever.
REVIEW
Anyone can relate to this book Tim lives in the shadow of his younger brother. John Henry is taller, in better shape, a star at sports, and an excellent student. But Tim has a special relationship with his great aunt Winnie, who the rest of the family write off as being eccentric. Great Aunt Winnie opens Tim's world to a new talent, one that John Henry doesn't share. As a result, Tim emerges from John Henry's shadow and begins to blossom. Readers may be, or remember being, in a sibling's shadow when it came to things like schoolwork and sports. They may even remember only being known as "X's brother/sister". While John Henry was a petty character, he was not totally cold hearted and the brothers ended up growing closer, as many siblings do. Readers may also remember a special relationship with an elderly relative, and how that relative took the time to listen and understand them. Mr. Seidler is realistic about the fact that time with an elderly relative is short and precious, and readers will be able to relate to the feelings Tim had at Great Aunt Winnie's passing. Add a Review
