Book Description
Meet Cassie Ellis—a young college graduate with the world on a string, a yen for screenwriting, and a need for fast cash to pay off her student loans. Eager to avoid the lucrative snooze-fest of a reliable consulting job, she shocks everyone she knows by opting for a sexier, more flexible job: mixing drinks. Never mind that she doesn’t know single-malt whiskey from Jack Daniel’s: she’s eager to learn. And under the tutelage of a sexy Soho bar owner, she’s soon cranking out three-olive martinis with the city’s glitterati fifteen-deep at the bar—all while angling for tips, fielding bad pick-up lines, and trying to keep up with the other bartenders who party as hard as their stylish clientele.
When Cassie accepts a summer gig bartending in the Hamptons, New York’s most elite summer destination, she finds herself catapulted into a whirlwind of dazzling celebrity and over-the-top wealth unlike anything she’s ever seen. Life behind the velvet rope is hard to resist, especially when she finds herself falling for a Hamptons hottie named James. But as the summer progresses, and she finds herself surrounded by playboys, moguls, spoiled rich kids, and Paris Hilton clones in strappy stilettos, she soon wonders if playing the ersatz socialite—while actually trying to make a living—is more than she bargained for.
Drawn from the authors’ own experiences as bartenders in the thick of New York’s party scene, The Perfect Manhattan is a perfect mix of sparkling social satire, romance, comedy, and scandal that provides a fast-paced, enormously entertaining look inside the life on the chichi side of the tracks.
Customer Reviews:
A Great Summer Read.......2007-09-05
Cassie Ellis just graduated from Columbia University. She needs income to pay off her hefty student loans and credit bills. She does not want to get an entry level job where she will only earn a small income, so she decides to explore other options. She hears of a bartending school that offers job placement guaranteeing hundreds of dollars per night in tips. She takes the class, but it she ends up on a dead road.
After some time, she attains a job at an Irish pub in downtown Manhattan. Then, she is offered an open call (audition) for a bartending position in the elitist Hamptons where heiresses and socialites swarm around in their Jimmy Choos, Hermes Handbags, and Range Rovers. Cassie then meets the perfect and prominent James Edmonton. We witness the intense romance and harsh heart-break, as the authors captivate the reader.
The authors take the reader through the exciting but harsh world of New York's Old Money world of the ivy league educated social circles, charities, fundraisers, clambakes, and country clubs. I urge all of you to read this book as it is an entertaining story that all twenty something females should know.
Kristin Marquet
Author of "How Can a Woman Survive Dating in a World Full of Players, Losers, Liars, Scumbags, and Mama's Boys? A Single Women's Guide to Online Dating in a World full of..." and "The Ultimate Women's Guide to Modern Dating.
Drink It Up.......2007-07-26
This fun bit of chick lit follows a recent college grad of Columbia who is saddled with debt (ok, sounds familiar so far...) and a slightly useless creative writing degree named Cassie, who decides to enroll in bartending school, ultimately fails, but manages to lie and smile her way to the 'top' of the bartending scene, and indirectly, the social scene of Hampton's once she lands a gig at a hot club.
Of course she deals with a romantic relationship with an extremely well-to-do Hamptonite, and it's quite obvious throughout the book how things will turn out in Cassie's love life...but I have to give the writers credit for the romantic conclusions they draw between Cassie and her boy James' love lives....they handled the relationship between them in a fairly realistic manner throughout, not the least of which was found in the end of the book.
But forget the love story or the 'thrill' of getting an insider's guide to Hampton's bar life - the thing I found most interesting about this book was the extremely graphic and somewhat digusting description of what it means to be a bartender. From the opposite side of the counter, suddenly all of the things Cassie internally dwells on rung true, whether exploring misogyny, sex, or wealth I always found Cassie to be exceptionally insightful - which gave this book the depth it needed in an otherwise frivolous setting!
I recognized the trappings of what I've heard from bartending (and waitressing) friends. I found the lifestyles of the main characters in this book so insanely bizarre (getting home at 7 am and being up and at em a few hours later? hungover? ICK!) that it just drew me in regardless of the somewhat 'flat' characters throughout. As I said, the insights of Cassie probably came more from the two girls who wrote this book, former bartenders and likely aspiring writers at the time, and as such I found this a very valuable book in learning to tip and be a bit more polite at bars! A good read for anyone interested in a fun story that more than makes up for its lack of concrete plot in its insider look at the service industry.
Couldn't put it down!.......2007-03-22
This book was fabulous. It was a fun read and being a bartender and a college student I could totally relate to it. I think it would be a great book for just about anyone though. Read it, you won't be sorry.
Good effort, but lacking substance. (3.5 stars) .......2006-12-13
"The Perfect Manhattan" is a fun, indulgent novel, filled with authentic details of a wild life of bartending. Cassie Ellis, the main character, is loveable and relatable, and the adventures she witnesses throughout the book are interesting and page-turning. However, after reading about a fourth of the book I was already tired of the constant drinking and hangovers, and felt a bit bedraggled myself, but I stuck it out for the rest of novel, constantly shaking my head at the messes Cassie got herself into. The ending was refreshing, and not as predictable as I had thought it would be.
While the novel was entertaining and had great character development and setting, the plot lacked a bit. The story seemed to drag, and not have much true direction; other than the first and last 50 pages, the rest of the novel is nothing but late-night partying and the resulting exhaustion. The two real-life bartenders-turned-novelists that wrote this book obviously have talent for writing a good story, plenty of great material from their line of work, and I look forward to any future novels penned by them - but I do hope they will take some classes on plot development and learn the craft a little more.
Grade: B
Perfectly Fun.......2006-11-21
Just graduated from Columbia, uncertain about the future and burdened by student loans, Cassie Ellis decides to become a bartender in the Village, thinking it will be the perfect job to earn a lot of money and keep her days free to work on her writing.
But the new job proves not to be as lucrative as Cassie expected and soon she's seduced by the promised riches of the Hamptons. Working at the exclusive Spark, Cassie meets who seems to be the man of her dreams, sees plenty of snow in the summer, and finds herself completely unprepared for the new, rich world she's just entered, where pedigree trumps education, and even the trust funds come with strings attached. Overall, a very fun read.
Average customer rating:
- Lord of Ice
- A Nice Romance (Military Style)
- Thoroughly enjoyed it!
- I'd rate this 10 stars if I could...
- Damien is another hot Knight!
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Lord of Ice
Gaelen Foley
Manufacturer: Ivy Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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Lord of Fire
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ASIN: 0804119732
Release Date: 2002-01-29 |
Book Description
Celebrated as an extraordinary new talent in romance, Gaelen Foley astounds readers with her vibrant stories of passion and adventure. Now, hot on the heels of her daring Lord of Fire, she spins the powerful tale of a hero tempted by the one woman he is forbidden to love. . . .
Damien Knight, the earl of Winterley, is proud, aloof, and tormented by memories of war. Though living in seclusion, he is named guardian to a fellow officer’s ward. Instead of the young homeless waif he was expecting, however, Miranda FitzHubert is a stunning, passionate beauty who invades his sanctuary and forces him back into society. Struggling to maintain honor and self-control, Damien now faces an even greater threat: desire.
A bold, free spirit, Miranda has witnessed the darkest depths of Damien’s soul–and has seen his desperate need for love. But before she can thaw his unyielding heart, she must endure a terrifying nightmare of her own. . . .
Download Description
Celebrated as an extraordinary new talent in romance, Gaelen Foley astounds readers with her vibrant stories of passion and adventure. Now, hot on the heels of her daring Lord of Fire, she spins the powerful tale of a hero tempted by the one woman he is forbidden to love....
Damien Knight, the earl of Winterley, is proud, aloof, and tormented by memories of war. Though living in seclusion, he is named guardian to a fellow officer's ward. Instead of the young homeless waif he was expecting, however, Miranda FitzHubert is a stunning, passionate beauty who invades his sanctuary and forces him back into society. Struggling to maintain honor and self-control, Damien now faces an even greater threat: desire.
A bold, free spirit, Miranda has witnessed the darkest depths of Damien's soul-and has seen his desperate need for love. But before she can thaw his unyielding heart, she must endure a terrifying nightmare of her own....
"Ms. Foley is a compelling storyteller whose vibrant images and scintillating prose capture the imagination."
RENDEZVOUS
Customer Reviews:
Lord of Ice.......2007-08-26
It was a wonderful book. I would recommand it to any reader interested in historical romances.
A Nice Romance (Military Style).......2007-05-15
This was the first book I've read by this author and I enjoyed it. I thought it was well written and nicely edited. I believe a "good romance" book needs to involve female characters that I would consider a friend and a romantic male character. This book has those qualities. I don't agree with the "spotlight review" dated 2002 that this was a father/daughter relationship because they did not know each other until her appointed guardian died and then Damien went to tell her. She was 19 by then and they were attracted to each other. She was too old to be left in the "girls school" anyway. Damien proved to be a true hero in many things. A Colonel and war hero capturing Napolean and facing "war terrors" for his time in service. Damien was an all around "nice guy" and helped Miranda solve several "problems." Don't want to give away the story by telling too much. I enjoyed it and I'm rather picky.
Thoroughly enjoyed it! .......2007-02-12
I just finished reading Lord of Ice (read Lord of Fire yesterday), and I have to say I enjoyed Damien's story much more than Lucien's. I "connected" with Damien and Miranda, and thought their story was a great deal more poignant than Lucien's. His vulnerability (a hero prerequisite in a Gaelen Foley novel) is -- in my opinion -- much more believable than Lucien's -- there's nothing more sexy than a man who blushes shyly in front of the woman he loves. Miranda was a strong match for him; after she vows to behave, she does.
Just an all-around good book. Entertaining and thoughtful. What more can you ask? Ms. Foley's done a great job with her "Knight Miscellany" series. Now I'm starting Lady Jacinda's story -- !
I'd rate this 10 stars if I could..........2007-01-11
I loved this book. Damien was everything I love in a romance hero: strong, sexy, and kind-hearted. Miranda was spunky and fun. It did not surprise me at all that Ms. Foley wrote Miranda as a strong willed woman who falls head over heels in love, submitting to him as another reviewer wrote. She was seeking adoration from the beginning of the novel and she found it with Damien.
I would recommend this to anyone looking for a quick read that entertains as well as touches the heart. Bravo, Ms. Foley!
Damien is another hot Knight!.......2007-01-02
There are many other long reviews, so this will be brief. This is the 3rd book in the Knight Miscellany series, following The Duke and Lord of Fire. I suggest they be read in order so you will be more familiar with the other family members that have a part in this book. I liked Damien the war hero and the sexual tension between him and his grown-up ward, Miranda. The story is fairly simplistic and predictable, but has good entertainment value.
Book Description
Starting in Lord of the Isles and continuing in Queen of Demons, Servant of the Dragon, and Mistress of the Catacombs, David Drake has told the continuing, interlocking stories of Garric and Sharina, Cashel and Ilna, young brother and sister pairs who journey together from a small town to the capital. Their destiny is to reunite the island kingdoms of the Isles into one empire for the first time in a millennium. They seek to do this at a moment in history when the cosmic forces upon which magicians draw are at a thousand year peak. Wizards of even small learning are immensely powerful. Human greed and evil are reinforced by supernatural energiesIn Goddess of the Ice Realm, as Garric and his retinue reach the island city of Carcosa, the wizard Tenoctris perceives a powerful supernatural assault directed against them. Ilna and her beloved, Chalcus, are sent to investigate a magical threat to shipping in the north. Cashel is translated into another world by evil magic, and Sharina to yet another. All of them face deadly dangers and overcome them before they are again united during the terrifying and dramatic climax.Filled with action, startling revelations, romance and sorcery, Goddess of the Ice Realm is epic fantasy at its exciting best.
Customer Reviews:
remarkable.......2005-02-17
This is a complex story, beautifully plotted and well told. It is hard to put down. The good guys win in the end, but you are really going to be amazed at the artistry with which Drake keeps you on the edge of your chair, as it all comes seamlessly together at the last instant. Buy the whole series and read them all! Tour de force!
Entertaining...with a caveat.......2004-12-22
Drake's writing ability once again shines, but I would really like him to stop going to the same plot-well over and over. Yes, it has served him in the past, but it's time to branch out a little.
That said, he is a master storyteller with a fine grasp of the art of smooth and entertaining prose, and this is more of a quibble than anything else. And his characters certainly do spring off the page and lodge themselves in your mind, which is why this one is a keeper.
Save money and time BUY SOMETHING ELSE.......2004-10-16
I wouldn't even give this one star if there was an option.
Plot: weak at best, just get on with the bloody story!
Characters: not very convincing
The author has a way of insulting your intelligence with every page. His constant review of the previous books is annoying. The whole thing is set up like a bad soap opera. If you liked this then you should really seek new authors, there is much better out there.
last verse same as the first.......2004-07-15
uh.....is the next book going to be the same story line yet again? This series started out with some major potential!
Which book does this describe?
Cashel goes off by himself....Sharina too.... Ilna and Chalcus off together adventuring, Garric doing whatever....they all meet at the end and defeat everybody and everything.....blah blah blah.
Entertaining...but lacking in plot development.......2004-03-16
This fifth installment in the series is much like the rest of them:the main characters go their separate ways for the bulk of the novel and reunite for the subplot. The plot, in fact, is becoming rather predictable, with only details changing from book to book. There is very little of the "epic" in this fantasy series, as the plots of the now five books just don't seem to be driving at anything.
That being said, the book IS entertaining, and I even found myself laughing at points. That's more than can be said for some of the other big names in fantasy at this time. While not intellectually stimulating, "Goddess of the Ice Realm" will provide a number of hours of good reading, and is certainly worth purchasing for readers of the series.
Book Description
No sport is as important to Canadians as hockey. Though there may be a great many things that divide the country, the love of hockey is perhaps its single greatest unifier. Before the latest labour unrest in the National Hockey League (NHL), however, it was easy to forget that hockey is also a multi-million dollar business run, not by the athletes or coaches, but by corporate boards and businessmen. The Lords of the Rinks documents the early years of hockey's professionalization and commercialization and the emergence of a fledgling NHL, from 1875 to 1936.
As the popularity of hockey grew in Canada in the late nineteenth century, so too did its commercial aspects, and players, club directors, rink owners, fans, and media had developed deep emotional, economic, and ideological interests in the sport. Disagreement came in the ways and means of how organized hockey, especially at the elite level, should be managed. Hence, some coordination, by way of governing bodies, was required to maintain a semblance of order. These early administrative bodies tried to maintain a structure that would help to coordinate the various interests, set up standards of behaviour, and impose mechanisms to detect and punish violators of governance. In 1917, the NHL held its first games and by 1936 had become the dominant governing body in professional hockey.
Having performed extensive research in the NHL archives - including league meeting minutes, letters, memos, telegrams, as well as gate receipt reports - John Chi-Kit Wong traces the commercial roots of hockey and argues that, in its organized form, the sport was rarely if ever without some commercial aspects despite labels such as amateur and professional. The Lords of the Rinks is the only truly comprehensive and scholarly history of the league and the business of hockey.
Average customer rating:
- I'm the artist for this great storybook!
- A must read
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Nanuk: Lord of the Ice
Brian J. Heinz , and
Gregory Manchess
Manufacturer: Dial
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Fiction | Bears | Animals | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
Fiction | General | Animals | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
Other | Fiction | Explore the World | People & Places | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0803721943 |
Book Description
Since history began, man and animal have clashed in the ultimate struggle for survival. Even today, deep in the heart of the arctic, the struggle continues: Nanuk, a great polar bear, hunts walrus and seals. Miles away, a human sets out on his own hunting trip. As the great bear hunts his seals, the boy hunts the bear, once again playing out nature's unending cycle of predator and prey, where only the strongest come out alive. Brian Heinz, the critically acclaimed author of The Wolves, once more takes us straight to the heart of the fight for survival. With Gregory Manchess's majestic illustrations, this book will be cherished by young nature lovers forever. Brian J. Heinz was named New York State Science Teacher of the Year in 1991. His first Dial book, The Wolves, was a Booklist Editors' Choice. Gregory Manchess won the gold medal from the Society of Illustrators for To Capture the Wind (Dial).
Customer Reviews:
I'm the artist for this great storybook!.......2002-05-09
I had a wonderful time painting the pieces for this book by Brian! Being a polar bear enthusiast, I loved the story from the very start. I think the story is visually excellent and I could have done many, many more paintings for the book. Brian has written a very real and accurate portrayal of Nanuk's harsh life of survival that is thrilling all the way along. It may be out of print but I believe that young people will keep discovering this gem in the libraries and be left with some powerful memories!
A must read.......2000-05-08
A great book that must be read. All readers will enjoy this thriller.
Average customer rating:
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Fire, Flood, and Ice: Search and Rescue Missions of the South African Air Force
Dick Lord
Manufacturer: Covos Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Aviation | Military | History | Subjects | Books
General | Military | History | Subjects | Books
Military Science | History | Subjects | Books
Social Services & Welfare | Poverty | Current Events | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
General | Aviation | Transportation | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0620229012 |
Amazon.com
Mind- and reality-bending drugs factor again and again in Philip K. Dick's hugely influential SF stories. A Scanner Darkly cuts closest to the bone, drawing on Dick's own experience with illicit chemicals and on his many friends who died from drug abuse. Nevertheless, it's blackly farcical, full of comic-surreal conversations between people whose synapses are partly fried, sudden flights of paranoid logic, and bad trips like the one whose victim spends a subjective eternity having all his sins read to him, in shifts, by compound-eyed aliens. (It takes 11,000 years of this to reach the time when as a boy he discovered masturbation.) The antihero Bob Arctor is forced by his double life into warring double personalities: as futuristic narcotics agent "Fred," face blurred by a high-tech scrambler, he must spy on and entrap suspected drug dealer Bob Arctor. His disintegration under the influence of the insidious Substance D is genuine tragicomedy. For Arctor there's no way off the addict's downward escalator, but what awaits at the bottom is a kind of redemption--there are more wheels within wheels than we suspected, and his life is not entirely wasted. --David Langford, Amazon.co.uk
Book Description
Bob Arctor is a dealer of the lethally addictive drug Substance D. Fred is the police agent assigned to tail and eventually bust him. To do so, Fred takes on the identity of a drug dealer named Bob Arctor. And since Substance D--which Arctor takes in massive doses--gradually splits the user's brain into two distinct, combative entities, Fred doesn't realize he is narcing on himself.
Caustically funny, eerily accurate in its depiction of junkies, scam artists, and the walking brain-dead, Philip K. Dick's industrial-grade stress test of identity is as unnerving as it is enthralling.
Customer Reviews:
Bizarre mind-trip.......2007-09-24
"A Scanner Darkly" is, at its heart, primarily a story about drug use and abuse, told by watching Bob Arctor/"Fred" the undercover narc as he descends further into the murky realm of use and abuse, falling more into the double role until even he doesn't know who he is. With many blackly comic scenes of mind-tripping conversations, the earlier parts of the story mostly focus on Arctor's interactions with his friends and roommates Barris, Luckman and Freck; as the story progresses, more of the story is told from the outside looking in as Fred watches the holoscans.
Fred is undercover trying to track the source of Substance D, a highly addictive and deadly drug, which invariably burns out its users. When first Arctor's cephscope and then his car are sabotaged, he begins to think someone is onto him. Of course, Arctor himself inevitably burns out and is placed into a substance abuse clinic. Who is friend, who is foe and who is creating Substance D? These questions are answered as almost an afterthought, with the bulk of the story focused on Arctor/Fred's breakdown.
An interesting piece of fiction, if a bit difficult to get through due to the often jarring switches in perspective and topic. Fans of Philip Dick will not be disappointed.
Amazing reading.......2007-07-10
Fantastic book, a classic and a masterpiece in its genre. Dick is the author that, in my opinion, has most revolutionized science fiction. And this book proves it, with the very original ideas of the plot. But there is more to it. In this book Dick has surpassed himself in the geniality of the dialogues. The reader will find similarities in the dialogues to the Joseph Heller of the best novels. Everything is well balanced in this book, the funny ideas and the dramatic introspections, the way the plot develops, the crescendo of confusion in the mind of the main character, everything leads to the surprising end.
Other reviewers have stressed the originality of the subject and the rythm of the story; I like to underline that in this book the reader will be delighted by narrative at its highest levels. Recommended to science fiction enthusiast as well as general fiction readers.
A Scanner Darkly.......2007-04-13
The movie version of "A Scanner Darkly" was one of the most original films I saw last year. I loved it; the animation was innovative and fascinating, while the movie itself was hypnotic. Philip K. Dick has been responsible for writing the novel versions of several recent great films (including "Minority Report") and I was curious to read some of his work. After reading "A Scanner Darkly" I discovered why Richard Linklater made the film version the way he did. The subject matter of the film, its atmosphere could be caught in a live-action film; but I doubt it would have been as good. The book is great! Whether it's better than the movie or not, I really can't say...I barely paid attention to the plot of the movie, it was the animation that kept my eyes glued to the screen. The book is very close to the movie; Fred is an undercover narcotic agent trying to bust Bob Arctor, a man who's believed to be a big-time drug dealer of Substance D (as in death), a drug that causes split personalities in people. Scanners (hidden cameras) have been installed in Arctor's house so the police can have 24-hour surveillance; There's only one problem; Fred is Bob Arctor. He's doing surveillance on himself. His fellow workers don't know this because employees where a scramble suit (a suit which scrambles their facial features and vocal patterns, the movie couldn't have done a better job with it). Bob's life is relatively simple; He hangs out at his house all day dropping D with his two drug-addicted roommates James Barris (the most memorable character in both film and novel) and Ernie Luckman and hangs out with his drug-dealing girlfriend Donna. The only real BIG differences between novel and film are that in the movie, a character named Charles Freck (who plays a small but memorable role in the book) takes the place of a character named Jerry Fabin. And the ending of the book is more drawn out than it is in the film. Hopefully, I've made it clear that this is not a novel of science fiction but rather a novel about drugs. Science fiction does play a small role, but it doesn't deserve top billing. But drugs aren't 100% of it either. The book also captures the paranoia people felt after the Watergate scandal and it does all of it so well. This is a terrific book and is worthy of a read. I guarantee that if you see the movie you'll realize how good the translation to screen was.
GRADE: A-
A Battle Action Report from the War on Drugs.......2007-03-11
At the time that PKD wrote this story, the flower children of the sixties were falling into two groups: those who would never survive the onslaught of heavier drugs (the psychotics, brain dead and plain dead); and those who dropped out from dropping drugs and dropping out. PKD never really made it out himself, becoming a another casualty of the "War on Drugs (WOD)" because he just couldn't say no or even maybe. The 'deadication' at the end is the most poignant part of the story (he had lost sooo many friends, as many of us did).
The story itself is as black as a comedy can get, and the satire is so powerful to those of us who survived 'The Times, and the Summers of Love'. His autobiographical character is an undercover narcotics cop who has surrendered to the life. He is hooked on 'Substance D', d for death, and has gotten to the point where his cop personality (Fred) is spying on his drug personality (Archer) and he doesn't see the strange dialectic that is happening to him.
The conversation that he has with his dope taking roomates are to the point of hysterical goofs on the way people used to sit around in parks and discuss Camus and "Jules and Jim" versus "Laugh-in" and "Trout fishing in American or Watermelon Sugar". Those were the days when the words to every song had to have a 'hidden meaning' (i.e. Deep Purple's 'Smoke on the Water') even if it didn't. And as happened so many times in those days, the narcs spent more time watching each other than the 'real' drug dealers.
As in most cases from 'those days' we will never know if the drugs brought out the talent in PKD, or if he was able to transcend the drugs to get to a 'higher plain' (right!, cool man, realllll heavy dude). Later.
Autobiographical Look at a Paranoid Schizophrenic.......2007-03-08
This book is one of Philip K. Dick's most autobiographical, and is about the least well known time of his life. He had just left his wife and kids in a stately house north of San Francisco to live with the junkies and vagrants of San Mateo. The house that he lived in became well known as a place where people that were into drugs could go and always find more of what they were looking for, and usually something new as well. Dick himself only did acid once-he preferred the more predictable effects of prescription drug abuse-and he called his experience with LSD the most terrifying 8-hours of his life.
The loss of identity that this book takes to extremes really did affect the people of Dick's house in San Mateo. Paranoid theories ran rampant, and no one really knew who was a narc and who wasn't. As such, it is an interesting portrait of the collective state of mind that predominated this period.
As a work of fiction, this book has a lot to say about the sources and apparatus of control in society. The movie version does a poor job of conveying what is the central evil in the book-and in society-that Dick was trying to get to the heart of. NewPath is an organization that purports to be the only one in society to be able to deal with the epidemic of drug abuse that 'Substance D' is ravaging on society. They are however, the only group in society that is outside the realm of surveillence. To quote _Enemy of the State_, "who watches the wathchers?" That is definitely true of this book, and reflects Dick's deep distrust of the FBI/CIA. To see how far this analogy goes, read _A Scanner Darkly_ and then ask yourself some key questions about the War on Drugs.
Customer Reviews:
What is reality; Who is truly human? .......2007-09-24
In this omnibus, some of the Philip K. Dick stories that explore the borders of reality are brought together:
In "The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch," Dick works through the nature of reality and illusion. Set in a dystopian future, Earth is going through a "fire" age and humans cannot survive more than a few seconds outside during daylight; this has forced humanity to spend daylight hours in a warren of buildings and tunnels. Additionally, a draft is set up to send humans out to the colonies on Mars and various asteroids - whether they want to or not. These colonies are living at subsistence level and the colonists there invariably end up hooked on a drug called Can-D, that allows them to live in an illusory world populated by Perky Pat and her boyfriend Walt, thereby escaping their miserable existence. They use miniature items to create these worlds; these "mins" are provided by the same company that supplies the illegal Can-D, which is run by Leo Bulero.
When the famous explorer Palmer Eldritch returns from his trip to Proxa, he brings with him some lichen, with which he creates a product called Chew-Z - a legal alternative to Can-D. This is a more potent drug that allows people to create their own universes, without needing the mins. However, what most do not know is that all these universes are controlled by Eldritch. Is Palmer still human, or did something else come back in his place?
Playing onto our worst nightmares - namely those in which we continually think we've awakened, only to find we're still inside the nightmare - this story keeps you guessing as to what is real and what is hallucination. It is difficult to explain too much of the plot without giving away key elements that will spoil the story, which is why I've stuck mainly to what is given in the editorial review or on the book cover. However, I found the story to be very much in the lines of a typical Philip K. Dick story - twisted and convoluted. Well worth the read, however.
In "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?," we find ourselves alternating between two intertwining plot lines. One involves Rick Deckard, a bounty hunter who "retires" escaped androids. The latest model - the Nexus-6 - can only be differentiated from humans through use of a sophisticated psychological testing mechanism that measures empathy levels; empathy being the one thing that androids quite simply lack. The other plot line revolves around J. R. Isadore, a "chickenhead" (that is to say, a man who has mutated enough that he is starting to lose his cognitive abilities, but not so much that he cannot still manage to take care of himself and serve the public in some small way). He works for the Van Ness Pet Hospital, which serves people who own electric animals. However, his day gets off to an uneven start when first he discovers another tenant in his previously empty building, and then he is given a real cat - which subsequently dies on the way in to the hospital before he even realizes it is actually alive.
Similar in theme to "Stigmata," this book explores the differences between reality and fantasy by probing the differences between man and machine(sometimes that line is very blurred), electric animal and real animal, and so forth. Always in the background is the constant back and forth of Mercerism vs. Buster Friendly, who always gently (and sometimes not so gently) accuses Mercer as a fraud and fake.
I found the story enjoyable; dense and difficult at times, but the interchange and interplays are always deft and intriguing. This classic bit of surreal sci-fi is not to be missed.
When reading "Ubik," the first comparison that came to mind was Don DeLilo's White Noise (Penguin Great Books of the 20th Century)" Not due to any special thematic comparison, but because of the advertisements for great new products named Ubik at the beginning of each paragraph in the story; this reminded me of the constant low-level onslaught of information that came at you while reading "White Noise."
As far as the story itself - what can one say without spoiling it? The main character is Joe Chip, a tester for the Runciter Group, which is a group of "Anti-psis" - they null out psionic power to help protect people's privacy. I was by stages amused and appalled by the vision of 1992 painted in this novel - apparently we were supposed to have made our way to Mars and the Moon by now, with colonies on each, and we're supposed to be dressing even more outlandishly than we do now. However, it seems odd to me to note the things that are kept in the style of the 50s and 60s. Women are either young and in the service industry or they are matrons and stay at home. If they are other than that, then they are shown as . . . strange, even dangerous, such as Pat Conroy in this story. It is this that makes her such an appropriate foil for Joe Chip, as he stumbles through his attempts to keep the group together after a major fiasco occurs when the Glen Runciter - the owner of the company - takes a group of his most highly skilled workers to the Lunar colony for a job and is there attacked.
The rest of the story shakes down while the surviving characters notice a strange combination of entropy and growth - recession and coming into being. The world seems to be regressing to an older era, but at the same time, they keep getting messages from "beyond" instructing them on what to do. Then the question arises - who is really dead? Who is really alive? What is reality? Who is creating it?
Not for a light evening's read, that's for sure! But well worth the slodge if you have the time. Most intriguing and something to keep the ol' cerebellum stretched. Give it a try.
"A Scanner Darkly" was the most difficult of the stories for me, personally - I'm not quite certain why, but it just didn't hold my interest as much as the others in the omnibus. Telling the story (on the surface) of the deterioration of the undercover narcotics officer "Fred," living as Bob Arctor - due to substance abuse - into paranoia and split personalities when he is told to begin investigating himself intensely (undercover agents wear a "blur" suit and none of them know each other, nor are they aware of whom is who in the field). Additionally, the federal government is seeking the source of Substance D, a deadly and highly addictive drug that invariably leads to burn-out in the case of users. Darkly comical in the earlier parts of the story - and in general any time when Arctor and his friends and roommates are sitting around and shooting the breeze - it is also in its way terribly depressing.
Overall, however, I give a big thumbs up to this omnibus. If you're a fan of Philip K. Dick, obviously you don't want to miss it. If you enjoy fiction that challenges your perceptions of reality, you definitely don't want to miss it!
The best PKD novel collection.......2005-06-17
Counterfeit Unrealities, a hardcover omnibus published by the Science Fiction Book Club, contains four of Dick's best novels:
The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Ubik
A Scanner Darkly
While it lacks an introduction, notes, or any other exclusive content, the convenience of a single volume makes this recommended for any reader looking for all four novels.
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Artforum International, published by Thomson Gale on June 22, 2006. The length of the article is 2036 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Dick heads: Gary Indiana on Richard Linklater's A Scanner Darkly.(Richard Linklater's )
Author: Gary Indiana
Publication:
Artforum International (Magazine/Journal)
Date: June 22, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 44
Issue: 10
Page: 73(2)
Distributed by Thomson Gale
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Citation Details
Title: Random House Audio.(Love in the Present Tense)(Blow the House Down)(Challenger Park)(The Husband)(A Scanner Darkly)(10 Lessons to Transform Your Marriage)(Audiobook review)
Author: Gale Reference Team
Publication:
The Bookwatch (Magazine/Journal)
Date: August 1, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Page: NA
Article Type: Audiobook review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
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This digital document is an article from Cineaste, published by Thomson Gale on September 22, 2006. The length of the article is 2119 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: A Scanner Darkly.(Movie review)
Author: Michael Joshua Rowin
Publication:
Cineaste (Magazine/Journal)
Date: September 22, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 31
Issue: 4
Page: 75(3)
Article Type: Movie review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
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Chronicles of the Cursed Sword: (Gift Set) Volumes 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, & 9
Beop-Ryong Yeo , and
Hui-Jin Park
Manufacturer: TokyoPop
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Binding: Paperback
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Chronicles of the Sword, gift set. By Beop-Ryong Yeo and Hui-Jin Park. Set includes volumes 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, and 9. These have been voted by fans as the best volumes in the series. Buy as a set and save!
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Scanner Darkly
Philip K Dick
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Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000VW1GSC |
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Scanner Darkly
Manufacturer: GOLLANCZ (ORIO)
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ASIN: B000GRLYRK |
Customer Reviews:
The Message of We Are Not Separate..........2007-08-04
This book is my bible. I take it everywhere, and I buy it as gifts for my friends, searching for healing, whether through tough relationships, illness, bad fortune, etc. This "non-religious" based prayer book can be understood by all. There is no religious distinction, but there is a warmth and comfort that comes over one when reading through the prayers which conjure such "feeling". I took excerpts of Marianne's prayers and used it for our Thanksgiving blessing...family loved it...so down to earth. If we could get away from our "separate" beliefs, so much peace and harmony could be the healing that is needed for humanity. I commend Marianne for her strengths in keeping the awareness of the light in all of humanity at the forefront.
Excellent........2007-04-02
A beautiful book that I take everywhere with me. The power of prayer and positive thought have made me a more peaceful and stronger person.
Illuminata: A Return to Prayer.......2007-03-12
Truly Williamson's best publication! I keep a copy on my writing desk at home and my desk at work and rely on it often for "just the 'write' word".
Beware final pages before giving as a gift.......2006-06-01
I enjoyed the prayers in this book very much. I have enjoyed A Return to Love, A Woman's Worth, Healing the Soul of America and Everyday Grace.
I almost had this book wrapped and ready to give to friend when I read the last four or five pages. I was shocked at the type of language used in this section. It was very disappointing that what could have been a wonderful gift was ruined by this thoughtless addition.
Peace From Within.......2005-10-19
Marianne Williamson is a gentle soul who cares deeply about people and the world. She has shared with us some of her deepest convictions through her soulful words. She has a way with words that draws you in and she very simply shares her messages of peace and love. She has reminded us of how prayer is about being grateful and asking for help and about how it helps everyone. At some of the most trying times in my life, this book, Marianne Williamson's words, have been my saving grace. I have recommended this book to many friends and family and have purchased several to give away as gifts over the past few years.
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Illuminata - A Return To Prayer
Marianne Williamson
Manufacturer: Riverhead Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Williamson, Marianne
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ASIN: B000H7LK7S |
Books:
- The Reasons I Won't Be Coming
- The Redneck Manifesto: How Hillbillies, Hicks, and White Trash Became America's Scapegoats
- The Shattered Blue Line
- The Things We Do for Love: A Novel
- The Turkish Gambit: A Novel (Erast Fandorin Mysteries)
- The Virtues of War: A Novel of Alexander the Great
- The White Boy Shuffle: A Novel
- The Yacoubian Building: A Novel
- This Year It Will Be Different
- Through Violet Eyes
Books Index
Books Home
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The Gift Bag Chronicles: A Novel
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TWINS OF TRIBECA, THE
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Everyone Worth Knowing
