Average customer rating:
- a crucial attempt
- Fiction of the Highest Caliber! Kudos to Viken Berberian!
- relevant and nuanced work
- How Did This Ever Get Published?
- Style over Substance
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The Cyclist: A Novel
Viken Berberian
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ASIN: 0743222830 |
Amazon.com
In his debut novel, Viken Berberian offers a rich and vital portrayal of a prospective Middle Eastern terrorist. The Cyclist explores the background and motivations of its unnamed narrator, a Lebanese terrorist-in-training given the task of detonating a bomb (delivered on his bicycle) at a luxury hotel outside of Beirut. Much of the novel's first half takes place in a hospital, wherein the narrator, seriously injured after a collision on his bicycle, shares details of his past and ruminates on his extreme political sentiments and love of food and bicycling. As the day of his planned sacrifice draws near, new obligations arise and he gradually realizes the possible ramifications of his proposed retaliatory strike. Berberian skillfully constructs a humanizing account of a man who is a witness to acts of cruelty, who is driven by fear, anger, and hope of retribution.
In recognizing the cyclical nature of Middle Eastern conflict, the novel suggests the courage required of those similarly victimized to resist fatalism and act nonviolently in support of peace. Berberian displays sensitivity toward--and insight into--a difficult subject, and his evocative, detailed descriptions enliven this often maligned and misapprehended region. The novel's vibrant metaphors and similes associate typically contrasting elements, illustrating the complexity of life in an area where the relative frequency of bloodshed colors and politicizes every aspect of it. Berberian's perceptive and unconventional eye adds dimension to a region and a growing ideology in desperate need of understanding, and makes The Cyclist an important as well as enjoyable work. --Ross Doll
Book Description
The Cyclist is a stunningly original novel about food and political violence. It's a psychological ride into the tropics of terror, to the edges of our national and existential borders: the ones set at birth, the ones we are born into.
The enigmatic narrator is a young trainee of the Academy, a terrorist group in the present-day Middle East. This unnamed, transnational pawn has a single mission: to deliver a bomb by bicycle to a hotel, where it will explode, killing hundreds of civilians. But his story is anything but simple.
Combining surrealism, tragedy and humor, The Cyclist is a journey into the unsettling workings of the terrorist mind. Even as the narrator ponders his mission, only his musings about food and love reveal clues to his nationality and his agenda. But can such a zestful connoisseur also be a true agent of political violence?
Witty and wildly inventive, The Cyclist is a remarkable debut from a gifted novelist.
Download Description
The Cyclist is a stunningly original novel about food and political violence. It's a psychological ride into the tropics of terror, to the edges of our national and existential borders: the ones set at birth, the ones we are born into. The enigmatic narrator is a young trainee of the Academy, a terrorist group in the present-day Middle East. This unnamed, transnational pawn has a single mission: to deliver a bomb by bicycle to a hotel, where it will explode, killing hundreds of civilians. But his story is anything but simple. Combining surrealism, tragedy and humor, The Cyclist is a journey into the unsettling workings of the terrorist mind. Even as the narrator ponders his mission, only his musings about food and love reveal clues to his nationality and his agenda. But can such a zestful connoisseur also be a true agent of political violence? Witty and wildly inventive, The Cyclist is a remarkable debut from a gifted novelist.
Customer Reviews:
a crucial attempt.......2007-09-16
Viken Bernerian's first novel is a bold attempt to connect four crucial elements in modern life - sex, food, love and terrorism. It is the story of a young man who has been brought into a political cult called the Academy, and through a love of food as well as a love for life, he is brought to also believing in the bombing of a hotel while posing as the lagging element of a bicycle race.
Berberian's prose, in its attempt to be lyric, is also very cryptic at times. In a kind of updated Johnny Got His Gun, Berberian starts the novel in the hospital, where our unnamed narrator is in dire straits. This lets Berberian wander through his narrator's history as a kind of surrealistic dream, where characters enter and sometimes behave in mundane ways, like bringing in lentil soup, or float through unnoticeably for sexual trysts. The almost constant food references are palpable and lend a heavy cultural element to the story, but also become a kind of trap. While helping to create an image of the Middle East as a place full of great joys and horrors, the food references become almost too expected at around the three-quarters mark of the book, they become tedious and lacking (excuse, please) flavor.
The novel itself is quite a crucial document, or at least an attempt at one. While we may be able to sit from afar and condemn those who would agree to a suicide bombing, Berberian tries to take us through the steps that brings a man to that point, all the while showing the struggle of a zest for life paired with the resolve for one's own death to serve a greater cause. What will win out becomes the struggle through the book.
This book requires a bit a slow start, to get a feel for Bergerian's rhythms and narrative, but can prove rather interesting once engaged in fully.
Fiction of the Highest Caliber! Kudos to Viken Berberian! .......2006-02-10
Our unnamed protagonist, "The Cyclist," explains, "What makes our land such a volatile place is not that people get killed. It's that they get killed while waiting for a school bus, or they are blown apart in an open market, or they get shot eating hummus."
From a small village on the Galilee, our cyclist is a member of a progressive multicultural family. His father is a Druze, a small Arab minority which adheres to the principles of Islam, but "is not in the strictest sense of the word, Muslim. The Druze faith spans Sufism, Judaism, Islam and Christianity." And while it is never actually stated, I believe his mother is an Israeli Jewess. Both parents are intellectuals - one creates art, one teaches it. Their son, the cyclist, is an epicurean when it comes to food and one young woman, his girlfriend Ghaemi. He is also a terrorist. His political radicalization and dedication to violence were born with the tremendous bomb blast that splattered the blood of his neighbors, including his girlfriend's parents, all over the village square and shattered his innocence forever.
Enraged, he is determined to repay this terrible injustice with a terrible injustice of his own. He and Ghaemi join the Academy, a terrorist organization which schools them well. Their retribution is to plant a bomb at the Summerland, a five star hotel located along the Beirut coast. It is equipped with twin 12,000-gallon fuel tanks which, along with their powerful contribution, should light up the night quite well.
While terrorists are almost always portrayed as anonymous "evildoers," ruthless fanatics filled with blind hatred, Viken Berberian's cyclist epitomizes much of what is good in the human spirit - with the exception of his goal to perpetrate violence. When the novel opens, he is in a coma in a hospital room as a result of a horrendous bicycle accident. The initial narrative takes place in the patients head, a perfect place to get to know him as it is impossible to disguise one's thoughts when the reader is right there inside them. This is as up close and personal as it gets. The book, Berberian said in an interview, is an attempt "to slip inside the head of a man in the business of terror."
Berberian, with wit, insight and outrageous, poetic descriptions of food - of all things - makes manifest our terrorist's humanity, and his dilemma. The author's references to a delicious melting pot of cuisine - Eastern European Jewish, Israeli, Arab - give us a taste of how divided yet how united the peoples of the Middle East are. Hummus, babaganoush, noodle kugel, mujaddara, gefilte fish, are mouthywateringly described. He writes "as British as bacon and eggs," surely on purpose, so that his American readers will be brought up short, knowing that it should be "as American as bacon and eggs." Is falafel Israeli or Arab?
The prose is powerful. In a sentence or two the author can paint a clear historical picture that historians would need volumes to explain - "...in the Middle East, a year is an eon, the largest division of geological time; a centimeter of land can be more vital than a hectare, and every shred of memory is etched in ancient stone. In the Middle East, even the branches of the same olive tree fall in different countries."
I am truly surprised that a novel of this high caliber has not received more popular acclaim. "The Cyclist" is a real sleeper. I can only say that if you read this review and are considering purchasing or borrowing this book, by all means do so. I did, on the advice of a friend and found one of the best works of fiction I have read in many a moon. Highly recommended!
JANA
relevant and nuanced work.......2005-08-31
This is a somewhat strange and very relevant treatment of the
thoughts of a suicide bomber. Written well before 9/11, it
provides a 1) prescient treatment of a transnational globalized
bomber. 2) he is almost secular in his motivations as olivier
roy described in globalized islam years later.
How Did This Ever Get Published?.......2005-04-04
Amazingly bad prose combined with an anemic plot, an unsurprising denouement and fuzzy characters, this book isn't worth the paper it's printed on. It does absolutely nothing to elevate one's understanding of the forces at play that lead to suicide bombings in the Middle East. I had hoped to gain an understanding of those last-minute chaotic thoughts that rush through the mind of someone carrying out such a terrible mission, but this novel was a pure waste of time. Perhaps the worst element? His habit of rhyming within sentences which made me wonder whether his book had received any editorial guidance whatsoever.
Style over Substance.......2004-04-14
This absurdist debut is notable for its distinctive prose style, a highly manufactured cadence that sometimes sparkles with playfulness, and other times is cheezy and labored. The storyówhat little there is of itóconcerns a would-be terrorist whose mission is to deliver a bomb by bicycle to a luxury Beirut hotel in time for a major conference. Most of the book finds the roly-poly cyclist in intensive care in a hospital, recovering from a training accident. He lies there reminiscing over the events that took him to this place, and the people in his life, all of whom come to visit. The final part describes the actual day of the plot and the decision facing the cyclist when he instructed to graduate from delivery boy to suicide bomber.
If this sounds like a thriller, it isn'tóthere no dramatic tension, and there really isn't supposed to be. Instead, there is a series of loosely arranged vignettes, which serve to instill impressions rather than a concrete sense of the people or story. The terrorist in training belongs to a fringe group called "The Academy", whose views are ever-shifting but are apparently (per page 85) some kind of Israeli-sponsored "destabilizing" commando unit. The cyclist is given some motivation (a marketplace bombing in his village as a youth), but his group and his mission are so absurd (he's supposed to enter a cycling race in order to "blend in"?) that his situation can't be taken seriously as an insight to terrorist thought. What's more interesting is that he's an Israeli of mixed Druze/Jewish parentage, a choice Berberian makes for a reason, but it's not clear what that reason is. This is a point several reviewers have gotten completely wrong, calling him Lebanese (When he refers to fighter jets over Beirutóonly Israeli jets fly over Beirutóhe calls them "ours", and at one point he is brought a package of Bamba snacksóan Israeli productóto "remind him of home"). Other characters are ciphers: the flamboyant leader of his group, the loyal lover/childhood friend, the wizened grandfather, etc.
However, sights, sounds, and especially smells are quite vividly conveyed, especially when it comes to food, which is the central concern for the narrator. Indeed, foodies will revel in the lush descriptions of a wide variety of Middle Eastern dishes which Berberian writes about with a deft touch. Less deft is his use of simile: consider groan-inducing phrases such as "my dimensions were as big as a de Kooning canvas" or others like it. The prose is liberally dosed with rhyming couplets which can be fun to hunt for (they're not set off), but are at times too labored and coy. A neat trick, but in the service of what? Altogether, it's far too self-concious for its own good, and reads like a writing class project rather than a finished work.
Average customer rating:
- The Return of Will Ross
- Perfect Circles=Perfect Page Turner
- Highly recommended
- Perfect Circles loses its trajectory.
- Funny, exciting and exotic.
|
Perfect Circles: A Novel
Greg Moody
Manufacturer: NTC Business Books
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Binding: Paperback
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The Yellow Jersey
ASIN: 1884737447 |
Customer Reviews:
The Return of Will Ross.......2000-06-06
Perfect Circles brings back Will Ross, Greg Moody's hero from Two Wheels. I enjoyed this book, it was a great summer read but it is not as good as the first book. If you have never read any cycling mysteries, read Two Wheels or the Yellow Jersey instead. The first half of the book is well written, the second half tends to get a bit goofy...
Perfect Circles=Perfect Page Turner.......1999-05-06
I've never been to France. The only bike race I ever saw I cursed because it closed the streets I wanted to use at that particular moment. But after reading Moody's book, I had the urge to dig out the ten speed from the back of the garage and book a flight on the Concord. The story flashes from scene to scene so fast I got a blister on my page turning finger! The way this guy writes puts you in the middle of the action with such vivid detail you believe you're actually the one peddling the bike. Moody's wit and humor will have you re-reading some passages wishing YOU'D said that. The book taught me a lot about road racing and what might go on behind the scenes. If the thought of Groucho Marx on a bike tickles you, read this book!
Highly recommended.......1998-10-17
This is more of a recommendation than a review. As a road cyclist, I thoroughly enjoyed both of Moody's books and consider them must reads for those looking for entertainment who have an interest in cycling - real page turners. Sure, they're a bit tongue-in-cheek, bullets flying, comic book-esque and not Pulitzer prize material. But I loved them nonetheless.
Perfect Circles loses its trajectory........1998-09-07
The further adventures of Will and Cheryl flats early into the race--with no patch kit or spare. The novel establishes an intriguing tension between Will and Cheryl that for some reason is nearly forgotten, replaced by a femme fatale character who (together with the plot) becomes laughingly ridiculous halfway through the book. This is unfortunate, because one of the plot conflicts involves substance abuse similar to this year's Tour!! But frankly, the author writes a novel which any high school kid might have written, filled with silly male sex and 007 fantasies and precious few realistic bike scenes. Had the author written more of the world of bike racing (of which to his credit he seems knowledgeable--although the climactic mountaintop bike race scenes are absurd) and exercised more writing discipline (didn't this book have an editor?), this book might be worth reading. Unfortunately, Perfect Circles will satisfy neither bicyclists nor mystery lovers. It's like that time you weren't sure if you should race or not, went anyway, and broke a spoke or flatted. Save yourself the disappontment and read Moody's first book or The Yellow Jersey.
Funny, exciting and exotic........1998-06-26
I used to work with Greg and he writes just as he talks. He's wonderfully funny -- and I'm only slightly prejudiced. In Perfect Circles, Greg continues the story of Will Ross, an unlikely hero, and Cheryl Crane. I'm convinced Will IS Greg. Somebody is undoing the Haven cycling team and Will and Cheryl are right in the middle of the action. Will's ultimate nobility is remarkable -- in life and in sports. Give the book a try. It's set in France. How bad can it be?
Book Description
"Don't get me wrong. There was -- there is -- much love between my husband and me. We aren't miserable, we just aren't happy. And we aren't really together that much -- it didn't used to seem to matter. But it's starting to matter. It's starting to matter very much indeed."
With her marriage spiraling toward divorce, sexually confident and unapologetically sized-24 Sidney Stein finds herself drawn into an illicit affair with Geoffrey Fahl -- not only married and twenty years her senior, but also her father's business partner. Perilously close to falling in love with this man who is so very wrong for her and knowing there's no future in the relationship, Sidney decides it's time to turn her life around.
Newly separated from her husband, Sidney dives into the dating pool. And after more than a dozen dates, a disastrous transitional guy and reconnecting with a high school crush, she can't help but wonder if it might not just be easier to let herself drown. But just as she stops looking for the ideal man, someone else arrives . . .and he might just be everything she never knew she always wanted.
Experience the love, joy and heartbreak of Sidney Stein in Stacey Ballis's debut novel. Neither pat nor predictable, Inappropriate Men is laugh-out-loud funny without compromising intelligence.
Customer Reviews:
standing ovation.......2007-07-28
I loved this book so much that I read it twice and wrote footnotes. I love Sid, I love how she doesnt go on and on about her weight, she has fun, she does what makes her happy. I felt like at times I was reading about my own experiences. I bought 10 copies of the book, passed it out to everyone I knew. MY only hope is that there will be a part two, so I can find out what happens with Doug. GREAT book
I Really liked this book!.......2007-03-19
The book has been reviewed so you know what it's about. I just wanted to add that it takes a little while to get into reading this book, but give it the effort ... you'll be glad you did. I have to admit that I skipped reading a lot of the poetry but I really enjoyed reading the book. I couldn't put it down, once I got into it ... now I'm recommending it to my friends and looking for more books by Stacey to buy and read. It's a hit in my book!
Aside from the seven page long poems scattered throughout the book..........2006-09-08
I highly enjoyed it. Sure, the main character is a bit shamefull, but she's human. It's a good read, and for some odd reason, I could hear my best freind's voice narrating this book.
Great laugh.......2006-08-11
This is a great book..i loved it. It has many experiences that anyone can relate to. I gave it to my best friend and recommending it to everyone I know.
I've tried..........2006-07-30
so hard to finish this book.
I have read between 50 and 60 Red Dress Ink books and can't put them down. But I have started this book about 3 times, and can't get through it. There is way too much detail, and the poetry really detracts from the story at times. I am sure that I will try to get through it again (it bothers me that it sits on my shelf unread). Maybe her other book "Sleeping Over" is better...
Book Description
When Jason Goodwin explored the Ottoman Empire in Lords of the Horizons, The New York Times Book Review hailed it as “a work of dazzling beauty…the rare coming together of historical scholarship…with luminous writing.” Now he returns to Istanbul, with a delicious mystery—The Janissary Tree.
It is 1836. Europe is modernizing, and the Ottoman Empire must follow suit. But just before the Sultan announces sweeping changes, a wave of murders threatens the fragile balance of power in his court. Who is behind them? Only one intelligence agent can be trusted to find out: Yashim Lastname, a man both brilliant and near-invisible in this world. You see, Yashim is a eunuch.
He leads us into the palace’s luxurious seraglios and Istanbul's teeming streets, and leans on the wisdom of a dyspeptic Polish ambassador, a transsexual dancer, and a Creole-born queen mother. And he introduces us to the Janissaries. For 400 years, they were the empire's elite soldiers, but they grew too powerful, and ten years ago, the Sultan had them crushed. Are the Janissaries staging a brutal comeback?
The Janissary Tree is the first in a series featuring the most enchanting detective since Precious Ramotswe of The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency. Splendidly paced and illuminating, it belongs beside Caleb Carr's The Alienist and the historical thrillers of Arturo Perez-Reverte.
Average customer rating:
- Silly opening, followed by good execution
- Kidnapped by aliens!
- A Surprising Classic
- Good, but not great
- Great Book
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Janissaries
Jerry Pournelle
Manufacturer: Baen
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ASIN: 0671877097 |
Customer Reviews:
Silly opening, followed by good execution.......2006-08-26
A bunch of mercenaries trapped on a hilltop and about to be wiped out are saved by an alien spaceship that lands, opens its door and says, "Come on in." Goofy, yes, and worthy of some '50's space opera. After that, though, the novel picks up and becomes pretty absorbing. Pournelle deals a lot with military tactics, and this novel is no exception. There's also a lot of politics, and some religion. I've always found Pournelle to be a very interesting writer, who's never written a book I didn't like.
Kidnapped by aliens!.......2005-02-09
Upon opening the book and discovering the illustrations, I was prepared for a cheesy space opera, especially since the story starts with space aliens abducting a group of mercenaries from the jungles of Africa. However, from this rather pedestrian opening, the author has developed an intriguing story.
Set against a backdrop of an old and large galactic civilization that uses humans as administrators and servants, this is a story of survival. One race of aliens is illegally kidnapping humans and transporting them to a secret planet to cultivate periodic crops of an intoxicating drug. The mercenaries are dropped, with their equipment, into the middle of a human culture trapped in the middle ages. Can they gain the control and cooperation of the exisiting human society and produce the drugs required by the aliens? Should they even try? Can they use their twentieth century knowledge to help the humans prepare for the impending climatic shifts?
This book includes interesting analyses of military tactics from various periods of human history, together with a unique setting and a plausible science-fiction story. It also provides interesting food for thought, especially regarding the proper uses of military power and the use of advanced knowledge to improve the human condition.
A Surprising Classic.......2003-11-29
The original issue did far better than expected. Apparently, while both Pournelle and his publisher hoped for the best when it came out, the reception was superb.
Thence came the demand for a sequel and later, after that, for the next one. In the mid 1980s, Pournelle was asked about this at a Los Angeles SF Convention, and he replied "Soon". Indeed, the third volume was soon published. But, like any good author who knows how to write well and milk a successful series, dangling threads were left. It is from these that other reviewers here have asked for a fourth volume.
It has now been 15 years since the 3rd volume! Frustrating. Sadly, it appears that Pournelle's productivity has fallen in recent years. Still, we can only hope... And also hope for a reissue, maybe in hardcover, of THIS first volume. As you may recall, the first publication was in an extra large paperback format, with illustrations. It has been sufficiently long that perhaps now a hardcover with the lovely drawings might be justified.
Good, but not great.......2000-08-30
A group of soldiers is brought to a primitive planet, Tran, populated by humans by an alien race called the Shalnuksis, that are part of an interstellar confederacy. The population on Tran consists of the descendants of humans brought to the planet by the the Shalnuksis every 600 years at least since 1000 BC. Humans are part of the Confederacy as slave soldiers and administrators, bred for loyalty. Earth is used by the Confederacy as a source of strains of wild humans to crossbreed with their Janissaries. The story is about the fate of the soldiers, fighting against and with the local humans, working against a deadline, and of course for the survival of the human race, on and off planet.
The greatest flaw however is as only too frequently that the story is far too short. But I guess that's why there are the sequels.
Great Book.......2000-03-14
I've re-read this book many times. The theme is an old one but no one executes it as well as he does. The characters are believable and 3 dimensional. JEP's military understanding is good. The action sequences are authentic. I've read all 3 books but the other 2 are progressively worse because Roland Green wrote them. The next two books have incredibly boring and inane dialogue and that's what killed the series. To top it off, my Storms of Victory ended without any explanation of what happened next. If I could find another copy of this book I'm gonna turn it to the back page to see if I had a bad copy.
Book Description
From the fifteenth to the sixteenth century, the janissaries were the scourge of Europe. Their ferocious spirit allowed their masters to extend their conquests from the Danube to the Euphrates. Their power was such that even sultans trembled.
But by the end of the eighteenth century, they were more interested in trade than war. Ill-disciplined and arrogant, both rulers and ruled turned against them. Yet their political power was so extensive it took years before they could be suppressed.
Customer Reviews:
Janissaries.......2007-05-13
A good genral history of this Elite Ottoman fighting force. I recommend this for any who need or want a quick and dirty history of this facinating culture.
Book Description
The Janissaries comprised an élite corps in the service of the Ottoman Empire. It was composed of war captives and Christian youths pressed into service; all of whom were converted to Islam and trained under the strictest discipline. In many ways, Jannisaries reflected Ottoman society, which was itself dominated by a military elite and where there was much greater social mobility than in Europe. On top of this, the Turks looked upon Europe much as the early Americans viewed the Western Frontier – as a land of adventure, mission and opportunity. David Nicolle examines the history, organisation, weapons and uniforms of these élite Turkish troops.
Customer Reviews:
The Turkish version of the Pretorian Guard.......2005-08-01
A good solid book that looks at one of the Turk's better fighting Units that spanned several hundred years from Malta to Persia. Well done!
A Good Source for the Cenissaries........2005-06-23
This is a good source of information about thier lives and their ways as well as their units. I would recommend this to anyone interested in the period or the empire. While my field falls away from this as, I would recommend it in a heart beat just to show how they dressed and acted as well as thier units and weapons. A 5/5 for me.
Janissaries: From Slaves to Ottoman Warriors.......2005-03-08
"The Janissaries" by David Nicolle is a nice companion to his Men-at-Arms volume "Armies of the Ottoman Turks 1300-1774." Although the book is readable by someone with little to no background knowledge on the Ottoman Turks, it is not the best book for beginners. The book is loaded with Turkish words and names, so it can be a little confusing.
Overall, I probably learned more useful information from his other book. Essentially, there is a lot of attention placed on details of names and not enough attention on a general overview. Regardless, it is still worth reading "The Janissaries" if you enjoyed Nicolle's other book on the Ottoman Turks and wanted to learn more about them.
One thing that did strike me as being odd was the Turks were painted as being such tolerant people and that Europeans are somehow biased and dislike them. The brutality, conquest, and their encroachment on their neighbors was absent from the book. At least addressing the issue of what the Turks did to get their "terrible" reputation would have given a more complete picture of who they were.
Very good.......1999-06-04
This is certainly one of the best volumes in the Osprey Elite Series. Author David Nicole gives an excellent overview of the Janissary corps of the Ottoman army, without the usual western European bias. The chapters: Origin and evolution of the Janissary corps - Recruitment and training - Ottoman army infantry forces - Uniforms and weaponry - Strategy and tactics - Promotion, pay and morale - Support, services and other duty - Other infantry forces. The book is no easy reading, as David Nicole uses the correct Turkish terms for weapons, army units and the like; but he explains all terms, so with a little bit of effort one can follow his thoughts and learn a lot. The illustrations by Christa Hook are of outstanding quality. The book should even interest readers who are already familiar with the subject.
Customer Reviews:
The final chapter (or is it?).......2005-02-26
In the first two Janissaries books we were introduced to Rick Galloway and his band of mercenary soldiers as they are kidnapped by aliens and transported to Tran, a world trapped in the middle ages, to grow illicit drugs for the aliens. We followed Galloway's adventures as he befriended the locals and tried to introduce technology to improve their lives and defend themselves against their enemies.
This final volume to the Janissaries series was a disappointment on a number of levels. Most significantly, while it does further develop the activities of the human servants of the alien civilization off of Tran, that part of the story is never brought to a conclusion. Also not resolved it the question of the preparations of the humans on Tran for the coming "Time." We are not provided with any closure on the question of whether the mercenaries will be able to prepare their new friends and allies to survive the coming conflict with the aliens.
The first two-thirds of this book delve deeply into the political intrique, and it is only in the last third that we return to the faster paced military story. Unfortunately, the book ends with the battle, without resolving any of the important plot lines. In many ways, it feels like another book was meant to follow this, but no such follow up seems to exist. It isn't clear why so much time was spent developing these plot lines if the ending was intended to leave them unresolved. The ending of the first book was much more satisfying, and that book can clearly stand on its own, but by the end of the third book, the reader deserves a more complete ending.
Please, Please, Finish the series!.......2001-11-17
This is a good series. I enjoyed all three books in the series, even if it did take quite awhile for the third one to be published. The worst part to this series is not knowing if the author is ever going to finish it. We were left hanging at the end of the third book. I hate it when authors leave a series of books unfinished.
Still Waiting for Green to Finish.......2001-06-08
Perhaps if enough of us let him know, Roland Green will finish this series, or turn it over to someone who will! He has left other series unfinished as well, especially the Wandor series. Come on Roland, you are an excellent storyteller, and create wonderful characters. Can't you finish a series? I won't even start Peace Company, since I understand you haven't completed that series either.
Otherwise, an excellent book, but you need to read the books in sequence to understand the background, and to understand why the characters make some of the choices they do. That's why Green is so good at character development, they act in a manner consistent with their backgrounds.
moderate sequel.......2000-06-19
Note that this was reprinted in 1996 together with "Janissaries 2: Clan and Crown" by Baen as "Tran".
This book is not in the same class as "Janissaries" (1), but still is a pageturner. A bit spoiled by intrigue of the nasty sort.
fascinating / dissapointing.......2000-01-08
After reading the first book I started looking for the other 2 "definitely out of print" in the series. I purchased both from Amazon, and I've read both like the first part: fascinated and(almost) without a stop from first to last word. I senced a growing disapointment while advancing in part 3 finding out the story does not come near an end. I any of you know of a part IV, let me know. I expect humanity to conquer the universe and would like to read about it . .
Book Description
A story told in dramatic form about the "Sword of Christiandom," Skanderbeg ("Captain General") and the Janissaries ("Fighting Priests"), and its leading players: Mohammed II ("Conquer of Constantinople"); Pasha Ballaban (Albanian Renegade), the favorite and most effective general of the Sultan, chief Aga of the Janissaries, the elite corps of the Turkish forces, recruited as young lads from the conquered lands, a majority of whom were from Albania); Moses Goleme, confidant of Skanderbeg and spiritual leader of the Albanian cause. Most of the main players (from both camps) were bound together by family ties. Morsinia (leading lady), the Albanian beauty, provides not only the love interest of the drama, but also symbolizes the purity of Albania in its heroic struggle - under Skanderbeg - against the Turkish hordes with overwhelming odds of over 15 to 1...
Customer Reviews:
Fascinating story, but the writing is hard to follow........2007-06-30
Skanderbeg (whose Albanian name was Gjerj Kastrioti) was taken into service by the Turks (after the capture of the Albanian village Kruja) and brainwashed in order to convert him into a Muslim. He excelled in strategy and tactics and therefore became one of the most highly respected (and among enemies) highly feared commanders of the Turkish Army. Whe he found, however, that his beloved father had died and his superiors had said nothing (instead placing his beloved Albania under the rule of a Muslim), his longing for his home country set a chain of events in motion that led to Skanderbeg turning against the Turks, joining the Chrsitian forces, and liberating Albania. Today Albanians look upon him as a saint.
No problems with the story, which is fascinating. On every pagethere exists an obvious bond between the men of Albania in which loyalty, bravery and humility all play a part. One cannot help but feel the duty and love with which Albanians put their country above their lives. The story, however, needs either a proofreader or an editor. I found myself many times having to scan a page in order to discern what the writer was trying to convey. He will often end a paragraph with one character saying something, and then begin another paragraph with the same character saying another thing, but makes no distinction of this. There are many words thrown uselessly into sentences which do nothing but add to the sense of confusion, in some places.
Overall, a fascinating study of Albanians, their senses of duty, loyalty, and bravery in defense of their mother country, but you might have to read it a few times to get the whole message.
Average customer rating:
|
Janissaries
Jerry Pournelle
Manufacturer: Ace Books Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: 0441382878 |
Book Description
Knitting has become the hip new trend among twenty- and thirty-somethings, with celebrities such as Julia Roberts, Winona Ryder, Cameron Diaz, Hilary Swank, and Julianne Moore leading the way. This book explores what virtually everyone's grandmother always knew-that when passionate knitters become one with the craft, amazing things start to happen.
In Zen and the Art of Knitting, Bernadette Murphy explores how knitting fits into the large scheme of life itself as . . .
-Meditation
-Creative expression
-A way to cure writer's block
-A gift to express love
-A way for children to develop fine motor skills
-A way to connect generations, past and present
Throughout this magnificent work, readers find practical advice, including a knitted stitch per chapter and a basic pattern in the appendix. For serious knitters, casual hobbyists, creative thinkers, and those seeking to discover an unexplored spiritual channel, Zen and the Art of Knitting is a unique work that will be treasured for years to come.
Customer Reviews:
Zen and the Art of Knitting: Exploring............2007-03-27
I read this book, picking through, to explore the spiritual side of how I was spending my time during the dark winter evenings... I enjoyed the stories; they were well written.
The book provides inspiration and sparks the creative side. The book explores the common link between knitting and meditation and how knitting can break many 'holds on daily life', such as bridging the generation gaps in family, unlocking your inner creativity in writing and other forms of expression. Also, the importance of making a handmade gift of admiration and love for someone. The connection with spirituality was a little on the light side (for me), but none the less I enjoyed reading this little book.
It's the perfect size to stash in your bag and take with you, for those moments when you can not knit!
3.5 to 4 stars
Did she read her own title?.......2006-10-20
Bernadette Murphy gives true moments of insight and grace in this book, especially in her discussion of knitting in the Waldorf School curriculum. Unfortunately there seemed to be too many moments that felt like she was bragging to the reader, "I live in LA and see what FABULOUS the people I know!" Overall I liked the book, but I could have done without the detailed resumes of many of the interviewees. I didn't care what TV show or movie someone worked on. It didn't seem to have anything to do with spirituality (in fact, quite the opposite.) It really took away from the theme of the book.
Good stories, not much spirituality.......2006-07-06
This book, Zen and the Art of Knitting, was an enjoyable, quick read, but I felt a little deceived by the title. The book is mostly stories about knitting that come from interviews with knitters, but there is little in way of serious spiritual content. For those wishing to explore integrating knitting into a spiritual practice, looking elsewhere would be advisable. For those looking for a book of enjoyable stories about knitters, this one might be worth picking up.
Knitting to unwind.......2004-08-06
My aunt taught me to knit when I was a little girl spending summers with her. My interest in the art has waxed and waned over the years as my children grew up and my career evolved. Now I'm in a place in my life where I find my interest in peace, serenity and spirituality is growing. This book has been a treasure for me. I haven't tried the projects, but I really enjoy the writing and the ideas. It makes me want to go teach knitting at the Boys and Girls Club. It makes me want to knit for charity (several of us "knitticts" have started making premie blankets, caps, booties to donate to inner city hospitals). It makes me want to open a yarn shop. It's encouraged me to have knitting projects available for "pick up" at all times. There is one by my rocker in the living room. One on the sunporch. One in my office for lunch and breaktime. One project road-tripped for 2,000 miles this summer. And one will fly to California with me for my son's wedding this fall. Bernadette Murphy has shown me that the process of knitting is just as important as the finished product and that was a very liberating concept for me. I keep a copy of Zen and the Art of Knitting on my nightstand (and one on my sun porch) because reading it is so calming to me. It really helps me unwind (pardon the pun) when I need to relax.
Great book.......2004-06-20
It got me picking up my knitting again and knitting like crazy. Loved it.
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- The Floating Opera and The End of the Road
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- The Serpent in the Garden: A Novel
- The Testament of Yves Gundron
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- The Tinsmith's Helper and Pattern Book: With Useful Rules, Diagrams and Tables
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