Download Description
"In her passionate and atmospheric debut novel, The Painted Kiss, Elizabeth Hickey reimagines the relationship between Gustav Klimt and the woman whose name he uttered with his dying breath. Vienna in 1886 was a city of elegant cafés, grand opera houses, and a thriving and adventurous artistic community. It was there that twelve-year-old Emilie Flöge met the controversial libertine and painter Gustav Klimt. When Klimt is hired by Emilie's bourgeois father to give her some basic drawing lessons, he introduces her to a subculture of dissolute artists, wanton models, and decadent patrons that both terrifies and fascinates her. The Painted Kiss follows the developing relationship between Klimt and Emilie, who blossoms from a naive girl to a sanguine woman, becoming mistress to one of the twentieth century's most fascinating artists and the owner of an exclusive fashion house, which Klimt helps design. Fin de siecle Vienna glitters with wealthy, beautiful women for Emilie to dress in her salon and for Klimt to undress in his studio. It is a world overflowing with the greatest artists, composers, and writers of the era, and yet doomed by the imminent collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Although she is never sure of her place in Klimt's life, Emilie is a constant presence, supporting him through tragedy, self-doubt, triumph, and scandal -- and ultimately serving as the model for his greatest masterpiece. The Painted Kiss is a moving love story that is as sensual and compelling as a work by Klimt himself. "
Customer Reviews:
A fine debut.......2007-08-16
I read this novel over a year ago, but was inspired to read it again after a visit this summer to the Neue Galerie in NYC, which now houses Klimt's most famous painting of Adele Bloch-Bauer. (Ms Hickey should be pleased to know that her book is perched on a display stand next to the cash register in the Neue Galerie's bookshop.) I found the author's choice of Klimt as a subject a compelling one, and overall I enjoyed this novel very much. The only big question I'd have is about the pacing. Events toward the end get rather rushed along (WW I is here - oh, it's over) whereas toward the beginning scenes feel more drawn out. The author's second novel, The Wayward Muse, suffers less from pacing, so perhaps that's just a debut-novel thing. Both here and in The Wayward Muse, Hickey keeps her prose largely lean and to the point, which serves the subject matter well. It was interesting to stand in front of the painting of Adele Bloch-Bauer, remembering how Hickey had characterized her!
A few reviewers of this book here on amazon have complained about accuracy issues. In my opinion, for a novelist to use artistic license is not a problem as long as it's done in the service of the story, remains faithful to the spirit of the real person/time period, doesn't change clearly observable facts, and doesn't try to deceive the readers into thinking what is made-up really happened or that the fiction-writer has "discovered" some previously hidden "secret" (see: Dan Brown, don't get me started). While not being a Klimt expert myself, I didn't come away thinking Hickey had done him an injustice with her novel. She's certainly straightforward in her author's notes about her intentions and her artistic choices. She looked for 'windows' where she can create her story, which is how it should be.
The best book I have read in a LONG time........2007-08-16
I grabbed this book from the library shelf, just looking for anything to take home before my kids totally lost their minds. It sounded interesting, so I thought it was worth a shot. I was wrong, it was worth far more than just a cursory glance.
A terrific book, compelling and interesting. I can't believe this a debut novel; I am so excited to read more by this author.
NO LOVE LOST HERE.......2007-02-11
This imagined relationship between Gustav Klimt and Emilie Floge does not really engage the reader. Rather than presenting a sensual love story, both characters come across as cold and detached. The "supporting cast" is equally haughty and unsympathetic.
In addition to producing exceptional art, Klimt also produces numerous children by his various "models" yet accepts no responsibility for them, and Emilie seems steeped in doubt about eveything from her feelings for Klimt to her ability to produce fashion designs without his input. (Could they be the Viennese version of Brittany and K-Fed??). If you love Klimt's art, as I do, read about the "real" man and pass on this fictionalized version of his life. It definitely leaves much to be desired. 1 1/2 stars
Klimntomania.......2006-11-10
This novel, written from the point of view of Gustav Klimnt's mistress, provides a vicarious peek into the life of the Viennese bohemians known as the Successionists. The story will be appreciated by those who like fictional takeoffs on the life of famous artists.
A luminous look at a decadent Vienna on the brink of change.......2006-09-16
Although I dabbled in art during my formative years, I never rose to the level of "artist." That didn't stop me from falling in love with the genre I've dubbed "historical art fiction," however. In recent years, talented authors have treated us to the stories behind the paintings, including those by Vermeer ("Girl with a Pearl Earring" by Tracy Chevalier, and "Girl in Hyacinth Blue" by Susan Vreeland), Leonardo Da Vinci ("Leonardo's Swans" by Karen Essex), and Artemisia Gentileschi (Susan Vreeland).
In "The Painted Kiss," Elizabeth Hickey plunges the reader into the beautiful, hectic world of turn-of-the-century Vienna, in full Art Nouveau swing. Her debut novel traces the backstory of Gustav Klimt's famous "Painted Kiss," in which a man and woman pause during an intimate moment of quiet rapture. Her narrator is Emilie Floge, one of Klimt's many lovers, and the novel begins with twelve-year-old Emilie's first glimpse of the Klimt twins as they paint during the emperor's visit.
Emilie is fascinated by Klimt, and her father secures drawing lessons with the maestro. Although she possesses some artistic talent, she knows that she will never be great at drawing, and instead turns to the world of fashion. The novel cuts between World Wars, with an elderly Emilie in exile sewing blackout curtains and awaiting the fall of Vienna. The colors, sights and sounds of Vienna's teahouses and concert halls are brought to life in a riot of fabrics, smells and sound.
Over the years, Emilie realizes that Klimt's wandering streak (including many mistresses and illegitimate children) is part of his nature, along with his bouts of melancholy and depression over his brother's untimely death. She also knows that Klimt will never exclusively be hers, but decides to take each moment she is given. Emilie becomes a renowned designer in her own right, but as tastes change, so do the clients' demands, and she eventually falls out of fashion before the start of the war.
A fascinating glimpse of the privileged world of fin-de-siecle Vienna and the unglamorous world of its artists, contrasting with the stark isolation and poverty that WWII brings, "The Painted Kiss" is a luminous debut and a welcome addition to historical art fiction.
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Hickey imagines the bonds between Gustav Klimt and his younger loverwhose name he pronounced with his dying breathin her expressively written debut. Before Emilie Flöge became the owner of a successful Viennese fashion house and Klimt became a famed, controversial painter, she was a privileged 12-year-old reluctantly taking drawing lessons and he was her starving artist teacher. From her WWII hideaway in the Austrian countryside in 1944, where she has transported Gustav's drawings ("all I could bring from Vienna... [perhaps] the only things of his to survive"), the aged Emilie flashes back to her fin-de-siècle hometown. Hickey traces the changing relationship between Klimt and his protégé from when she first became his art student as an adolescent through their on-again, off-again romance as she matures to their complicated relationship that culminates in the famed painting The Kiss. While the novel bears some obvious similarities to Girl with a Pearl Earring, it doesn't quite have that novel's power. But Hickey's language is sensual, lush and unhurried, and the prose wears its author's research gracefully. (Apr.)
Average customer rating:
- Can't Get Enough of Heyer
- Witty funny, a grin from start to finish, a great pleasure
- Wonderful and different -- Heyer's Regency has some suspense!
- Major Darracott, an unusual hero
- Wit, Romance, Ghosts & Crime -Another Georgette Heyer Winner
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The Unknown Ajax
Georgette Heyer
Manufacturer: Arrow
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Historical | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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Lady of Quality
ASIN: 0099474360
Release Date: 2005-02-22 |
Book Description
The family of the irascible Lord Darracott are unprepared for the arrival of the weaver’s brat and heir apparent to Darracott Place.
Customer Reviews:
Can't Get Enough of Heyer.......2007-01-12
Here's my sister, Shannon Hyle's feelings on this author (and I heartily agree):
"I hate it when I get in the mood for a certain author and nothing else will do. Sometimes one book will satisfy and I can move on, but right now it's Georgette Heyer or nothing! I read The Masqueraders, The Toll Gate, Sprig Muslin, The Black Moth, These Old Shades, and Cousin Kate all in a row and still I hunger. I have a few more Heyers somewhere, but apparently the book thieves have been to house and I can't seem to find them.
I yearn for them. My mother-in-law had said she had some in her motorhome. Maybe she's been holding hostage my False Colours or Faro's Daughter or Sylvester, the Wicked Uncle. But once we arrived, she says they must have packed them up and put them in the shop. Aggh! She's killing me here!
This accelerating addiction to Ms Heyer is a troubling sign. It's not like a candy bar, I can't run to the nearest store and pick one up. As far as I know, all of her titles are out of print. There was a brief revival of some of her titles 2000-2004 but most of her 54 books have been out of print long enough that used book stores won't take them in trade.
Yeepee! We happened past a Borders and I begged to stop-just in case. They had single copies of three Heyer reprints snuggled deep in their romance shelves. The Grand Sophy, which I know I own somewhere, These Old Shades, just read-see earlier and Beauvallet! Yeepee...one I haven't read even!"
Witty funny, a grin from start to finish, a great pleasure.......2006-08-23
The Unknown Ajax is so good that I once read it cover to cover twice in a row (and these were perhaps my third and fourth readings).
Wonderful and different -- Heyer's Regency has some suspense!.......2006-05-31
Hugo Darricott is a handsome and charming former military major whose father was disowned by his family when he married a common weaver instead of someone who befitted his station in life. But now Hugo will be welcome to the family because he is the new heir to his grandfather's title and estates. His cousins will train him to behave like a gentleman so that he'd marry Lord Darricott's granddaughter Anthea (they are cousins) just to ensure that he won't marry someone below his rank like his father had done. But his cousins and other family members dislike him, including Anthea. Hugo decides to play along the role of ignorant country bumpkin, and through his act he discovers many secrets, deceit and a possible crime. He also manages to woo the spirited and independent Anthea in the process. There are various twists throughout the novel.
Georgette Heyer is one of the best historical writers I have ever had the pleasure of reading. The Unknown Ajax is more unique than the other books I have read because she adds a suspense subplot here (I know that Heyer jumped to the contemporary romantic suspense bandwagon later on in her career) and that the novel focuses more on the hero than on the romance between the two characters. Anthea is quite an interesting heroine as well. I wasn't thrilled with her conceit at first, but I like the fact that she couldn't help falling for Hugo in spite of thinking that he isn't educated enough for her. The secondary characters are all interesting and they somehow resembled characters in a mystery theater or film noir. But they are also wonderful and colorful and add great humor in the dialogue as well as the narrative. And as always, Georgette does a wonderful job with the historical accuracy. Regency England is seldom written so well by a romance author. A friend of mine tells me that she finds Heyer's writing style "challenging" because she uses a lot of exclamation points and emphasized words in italics. Heyer was an author during the early to mid twentieth century, which may explain her writing style. Jane Austen used lots of semi-colons and emphasized words a lot as well, but I was never put off by her writing style either. It is enjoyable to see how writers from other centuries write, which is better than many of today's popular authors. The Unknown Ajax is another enthralling offering by the gifted Georgette Heyer. As said earlier, this one is kind of different from her other efforts because a touch of romantic suspense is added into the mix and because it focuses more on the hero's point of view than on the heroine, but it is just as wonderful and readable as her other books. I have purchased several more of her novels and I look forward to giving them a whirl. In the meantime, I recommend this gem.
Major Darracott, an unusual hero.......2005-06-25
I just finished re-reading this book, and once again, it was great. This is one of my favourite Georgette Heyer books. I am quite in love with the hero of the story... he's clever, he's modest, he has a great sense of humour, he's charming, and he has a knack of making everything come out right. This story is really more about Hugo Darracott than it is a romance, although of course we do have a heroine, and also some mystery thrown in.
Hugo whose father was banished for marrying a weaver's daughter instead of a proper wife, returns to meet his estranged family when he unexpectedly becomes Lord Darracott's heir. Expecting the worst, they prepare themselves for an unschooled, foolish yokel, and poor Hugo is thrust amidst an argumentative and scornful family. Hilariously, they have no idea who actually has the upper hand.
Look for: Claud, whose manner of speaking is a bit like Freddy from Cotillion, but not as lovable, and more dandyish and clothes-mad. Lady Aurelia who is truly majestic and a prototype Earl's daughter.
Even though I'd read this book before, I still had to stay up all night to finish it!
Wit, Romance, Ghosts & Crime -Another Georgette Heyer Winner.......2003-10-08
Georgette Heyer, the reigning monarch of romance fiction, has contributed another winner to the genre with "The Unknown Ajax."
Lord Darricott calls his entire family together at his estate, Darricott Place, on the border between Kent and Sussex. His son, two daughters-in law, three grandsons and a granddaughter, are all present when he informs them that they are to prepare for a visit from his new heir within the week. Lord Darricott's son and former heir had been recently killed in a boating accident and Darricott has had the unfortunate duty of recognizing the grandson he has never met, who will inherit the title and all his worldly goods upon his own demise. Hugh Darricott, the new and recent heir, had been raised in the North country, far away from the family seat, and now, in his mid-thirties has left the military with the rank of major. Hugh's father was disowned by the family patriarch after marrying a common weaver, and never seen by the family since. Lord Darricott, who rules his clan with an iron fist, except for granddaughter Anthea, who fears him not at all, has made plans that Hugh is to be schooled in the ways of a gentleman by his cousins. He also plans for Hugh to eventually marry Anthea, to prevent him from making an unsuitable match like his father did. The family, forming all kinds of stereotypical ideas about this base born cousin, is prejudiced against him before he arrives on the scene. And he is the last man Anthea wishes to marry.
Hugh arrives and, finding the group predisposed to dislike him, puts them on and plays the country bumpkin. He discovers each family member's weaknesses and strengths, their characters, and comes to know each of them, perhaps, better than they know each other. Hugh Darricott is much more intelligent and adept than the family gives him credit for and manages to uncover some family secrets, a ghost or two, and a crime in the making. He also finds the way to Anthea's heart, not to mention into his grandfather's and the rest of the group's good graces.
As always Ms. Heyer's humor is delightful, as are her characters. Hugh Darricott makes a wonderful hero as he bumbles along, so sure of his own intelligence and common sense that he is not at all embarrassed to play the clown in order to become better acquainted with his family, without intimidating them. His courtship of Althea is funny, romantic and endearing. His solutions to the many problems that confront his relatives are unusual and creative. This is a wonderful story, beautifully told - one of Georgette Heyer's best. I highly recommend it.
JANA
Customer Reviews:
Excellent.......2005-10-28
Story is fascinating. At the beginning of the book, I too had my doubts about the hero Hugh and whether he was just as he seemed, very un heroic! The beauty of this book is that I found myself discovering and wanting to know more about each of the characters as the plot wore on. It has many twists and turns which are completely unexpected. You will not want to put this down. There is never a dull moment. Georgette Heyer was a brilliant writer of this genre.
an absolute gem.......2005-03-19
Easily one of Georgette Heyer's more entertaining novels, "The Unknown Ajax" is definitely a book that can be read and reread several times over -- esp if you need a pick-me-up after a trying day at work.
When Lord Darracott's eldest son dies in a sailing expedition, the old despot realises that he will have to send for the much despised grandson, Hugo. Hugo's father (the second son) had thumbed his nose on convention and had married the daughter of a weaver against his father's wishes. For this piece of impertinence, Lord Darracott, had barred son and family from Darracott Place and had forbade anyone to make any mention of either son or grandson in his hearing. But now, with the death of the heir, Hugo Darracott, much despised grandson of a weaver and son of an ungrateful child will become the next lord of all the Darracott lands, and the very thought of someone with so much unworthy blood in his veins stepping into his shoes is making Lord Darracott feel bilious. And to that end, he has summoned his entire family in order to give Hugo the polish he needs in order make him worthy of his inheritance and name; commanding his grandson Vincent to take him in hand, and proposing that his granddaughter, Anthea, marry Hugo so that she can help manage him, and "keep him in the family." Both Vincent and Anthea are outraged by his lordship's proposals; but while Vincent has little choice but to comply (he has a very expensive lifestyle and needs his grandfather's handouts), Anthea has every intention of sending Hugo away with a flea in his ear. What none of the 'noble' members of the Darracott family counted on, however, was the man himself, Major Hugo Darracott of the 95th. Realising at once that his father's family seems to think of his an unpolished and uncivilsed dolt who can be easily intimidated, Hugo decides to play the part to the hilt, rather enjoying the effect that his playacting is having on his new family, and on his prickly cousin, Anthea, in particular...
"The Unknown Ajax" definitely deserves to be considered as one of Georgette Heyer's gems: a masterpiece of wit, sarcasm and humour. From the very beginning the reader is let in on the big joke: that Hugo is actually a very intelligent and capable young man -- not the loob his grandfather and cousins assume he is. Reading of how he plays on their prejudices and sneaks in a jab or two at their expense makes for humorous and satisfying reading; and reading of how Hugo handles his prickly cousin Anthea, courting her with such wit and finesse (that even she little realises that he's actually trying to fix her interest until it's too late) was wonderful and romantic. In Hugo Darracott, Heyer has created a hero who is kind and considerate, with an impish sense of humour but who is no pushover (as his grandfather and male cousins will soon discover). Evenly paced, and well written, this clever and entertaining romance novel will keep most readers happily enthralled until the last page with all its happily ever-after endings. An excellent read.
The Unknown Ajax.......2005-03-09
I have been a Heyer fan for the past 30 years. The Unknown Ajax remains one of my favorites of her books.
It has the (dubious) honor of being the first book that kept me up until 2-3 a.m. in the morning when I was 14. (I was helped by the fact that my bedroom was far away from the rest of the house. ;-))
The next day my ribs hurt from laughing at the hilarious ending.
As has been better said by others, Hugo Darracott comes to meet his unknown family in the very bleak moors. The surprise heir to the family house & lands, he is met by a great deal of suspicion and disdain by most of the family, and promptly plays an uneducated dolt.
The eventual romance is quite satisfactory, particularly because the young woman, Anthea, is both intelligent and self-possessed, as are many of Heyer's heroines.
I'm delighted to see it back in print. I wore my last elderly copy to shreds.
Vastly Amusing.......2005-02-08
This may be the Heyer book with the most amusing scenes--and yet, it also has some of the most serious subplots of any of her Regencies (smuggling, and familial relationships gone awry). The conversations between the hero and his various sniping and sacrastic relatives are comic gems that I have read over and over. As in many of my favorite Heyer's, the romantic element is subordinant to the bigger picture, but it is satisfying nonetheless (and has its own delightful comic moments!).
Wonderful.......2005-01-19
This must be one of Heyer's best. "The Unknown Ajax" is entertaining, humorous, and moving. The character of Hugo is one of her best drawn heros. Although he puts on the act of a dolt, his intelligence comes through to the reader. He slowly gains the respect he derserves, but through ways that surprise us and carries the story forward. Through his easy-going ways he proves to his snobbish family that he is more a "Darracott of Darracott Place" than they are. This is a book you will want to read again and again.
Leslie Rosen Davis
Author of Dangerous Affairs
Product Description
Making the best of a bad situation, Anthea Darricot was civil to her newly-met cousin Hugh--but barely. For Anthea, reduced to accepting the charity of irascible Lord Darricot, had been ordered to marry Hugh, recent heir to the Darricot fortune.
Average customer rating:
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The Unknown Ajax/the
Georgette Heyer
Manufacturer: Jove
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Heyer, Georgette | ( H ) | Authors, A-Z | Romance | Subjects | Books
General | Romance | Subjects | Books
General | Historical | Romance | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0515060224 |
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AJAX ADVENTURE ANNUAL
Unknown
Manufacturer: TAYLOR GARRET EVANS AND CO
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000SAF7FA |
Average customer rating:
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Ajax and the haunted mountain
Mary E Patchett
Manufacturer: Bobbs-Merrill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
Children's Books | Subjects | Books | Baby-3 | Ages 4-8 | Ages 9-12 | Animals | Arts & Music | Books on Cassette | Books on CD | Authors & Illustrators, A-Z | Computers | Educational | History & Historical Fiction | Issues | Literature | Obsessions | People & Places | Popular Characters | Reference & Nonfiction | Religions | Science, Nature & How It Works | Series | Sports & Activities
ASIN: B0007F15CK |
Average customer rating:
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Ajax the warrior
Mary E Patchett
Manufacturer: Lutterworth Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
Children's Books | Subjects | Books | Baby-3 | Ages 4-8 | Ages 9-12 | Animals | Arts & Music | Books on Cassette | Books on CD | Authors & Illustrators, A-Z | Computers | Educational | History & Historical Fiction | Issues | Literature | Obsessions | People & Places | Popular Characters | Reference & Nonfiction | Religions | Science, Nature & How It Works | Series | Sports & Activities
ASIN: B0007JZ4OG |
Average customer rating:
- Finding an old friend
- Review of Ajax
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Ajax, golden dog of the Australian bush;
Mary E Patchett
Manufacturer: Bobbs-Merrill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
Children's Books | Subjects | Books | Baby-3 | Ages 4-8 | Ages 9-12 | Animals | Arts & Music | Books on Cassette | Books on CD | Authors & Illustrators, A-Z | Computers | Educational | History & Historical Fiction | Issues | Literature | Obsessions | People & Places | Popular Characters | Reference & Nonfiction | Religions | Science, Nature & How It Works | Series | Sports & Activities
ASIN: B0007E6KT4 |
Customer Reviews:
Finding an old friend.......2006-03-29
I read this book as a child and have never forgotten it. It is simple but entertaining reading for any child (or adult) that is an animal lover. I am so glad to find it so my Granddaughter will be able to read it too.
Review of Ajax.......2005-07-23
A true story of how this girl grew up on a station in Australia surrounded by dogs, horses, goannas and other creatures, with a native girl for a playmate and a fear of being sent away to school. Her golden half-dingo dog Ajax is a pup at the start and grows up with a fiercely protective love of his owner. They encounter floods, snakes and other dangers. The other half of the tale is 'Tam the Untamed' about her wild white stallion which became the model for 'Brumby'.
Average customer rating:
- A Sci-fi Linguistic Trip!
- Too short
- As good as I remembered
- unknown places
- Smart SF
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Babel-17/Empire Star
Samuel R. Delany
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
United States
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
| 18th Century
| 19th Century
| 20th Century
| African American
| Asian American
| Classics
| Collections & Readers
| Drama
| General
| Hispanic
| History & Criticism
| Humor
| Jewish American
| Letters & Correspondence
| Native American
| Poetry
| Short Stories
| Women Writers
Delany, Samuel R.
| ( D )
| Authors, A-Z
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Science Fiction
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
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ASIN: 0375706690
Release Date: 2002-01-08 |
Book Description
Author of the bestselling
Dhalgren and winner of four Nebulas and one Hugo, Samuel R. Delany is one of the most acclaimed writers of speculative fiction.
Babel-17, winner of the Nebula Award for best novel of the year, is a fascinating tale of a famous poet bent on deciphering a secret language that is the key to the enemy’s deadly force, a task that requires she travel with a splendidly improbable crew to the site of the next attack. For the first time,
Babel-17 is published as the author intended with the short novel
Empire Star, the tale of Comet Jo, a simple-minded teen thrust into a complex galaxy when he’s entrusted to carry a vital message to a distant world. Spellbinding and smart, both novels are testimony to Delany’s vast and singular talent.
Customer Reviews:
A Sci-fi Linguistic Trip!.......2007-07-29
This is not easy-reading sci-fi with gun battles and action sequences. It has all that, but the story is an amazing journey through a wild, corse world created by Delany. I found it hard to keep up with each new perspective and character he created because they were so varied and creative. The heart of the story and its true genius is language. The story gets so wrapped up in language though that without a linguistics background, the reader is going to have problems reading this and following along. But if you do, you'll love it and the possibilities. If you don't, you still have one heck of a world to explore.
This story is almost a marketing device for the power and possibility of language. After reading this, you'll at least think about things a little bit differently or want to actually take a few courses on Linguistics. You'll love the world of Delany too. The story is challenging but well worth it.
Too short.......2007-01-23
I liked B17 well enough I guess, it was just too short. I don't feel like I got to know the characters well enough; they remained shallow caricatures. The protagonist is one of your prototypical sf 'superbeings,' like Ender, Paul Muad'dib, etc. who is miraculously able to foil every obstacle set before her. I don't mind this device, except in this extremely compressed book. Somehow, her daring and implausible heroics are made all the more cheesy for lack of details and explanation. The plot certainly moves along at a brisk pace after she assembles the crew, but the speed comes at the expense of a truly immersive experience which is, for me at least, necessary to maintain that suspension of disbelief that scifi writers, especially, ought to be concerned with.
The good things: Delany writes very well, much better than a lot of the wooden prose that describes a lot of the genre (Niven, etc.). It reads almost like poetry, which is nice. The ideas about language and identity are interesting and thought-provoking. I wish he had made this more of an epic, where we get to know the characters more intimately.
Oh well, I liked it, and I suppose the fact thjat I wished it was longer only indicates what a good book it was. I'm planning on reading more Delany, that's for sure.
Oh, by the way, the included novella is wonderful. Loved it.
As good as I remembered.......2006-06-22
Rydra Wong is a poet - the poet of her generation, though only in her twenties, with a readership spanning five galaxies. Her readership also spans two sides of an interstellar war. Because of her past skills at decryption and current skills in many human languages, her help is asked in decoding messages that precede devastating acts of sabotage against our side.
Rydra discovers that codename Babel-17 is no mere cipher. It's a language instead, with its own words, grammar, and lethal internal logic. Rydra chases Bable-17 in a trail of sabotage across the star-streams, learning bits and pieces of the language as she goes. Every fact that sheds light on the language only darkens the real mystery: who speaks this language? And why?
It's a slim book, but dense. Fast-paced adventure pulls the reader along, with plenty of worthwhile characters along the way. Delany's writing is so good that we really care about that mousy little bureaucrat who approves Rydra's star flight. We also get a genuinely sick chill from the head of the weapons lab - as well we should, from the hypocritical genteelness of a man so dedicated to death en masse.
There's an extra in this book, like the flip side of an old Ace Double. That's Empire Star, a novella with many themes of personal becoming: slavery ending, an urchin rising from the gutter, and a princess seeking her birthright. The storytelling is highly nonlinear, a fact that explains much but becomes apparent only towards the end. I never found a satisfactory resolution within this story, though. Although Babel-17 is truly memorable, Empire Star is not.
Babel-17 instantly became one of my favorites when I first read it. A new reading, years later, shows why. I never know whether an old favorite will live up to my memory of it, but this one certainly does.
//wiredweird
unknown places.......2004-04-19
This being a book with two novels in one cover, so the review sould be about both of them.
Babel-17: Consider this-interstellar war is going on, we have a major problem that only one can solve, incidentally that one is the best poet in the whole universe and one of the best interstallar captains that can tranverse "universes" of different thoughts (racial segregation), so of course she is the only logical solution that fits the parameters we want. She then forms the space crew and they have a lot of fun in the galaxy. To spice things up some more-put a slitle incomprehensible linguistic bable (which makes even less sense if you're linguist) and we have Babel-17. Figure it on you're own do you want to read this or not
Empire Star: Well I didn't really grasp this one. As a novel it simply misses the intended function of novel, neither is fun, neither educates (just to keep in mind those two, most widely respected functions of a novel). But as a parable you could find some sunlight in it. Rather confusing actually and I'm not sure what to reccomend you about this book-read it and see for yourself. (Rating of two stars is for the sake of Babel-17, which got Nebula somehow, and I really do not know who (and in which condition he where) gave it to it)
Smart SF.......2003-02-14
After reading Dhalgren, this novel is just like summer beach reading. Not that it's easy, but for the most part the effort is worth it. One of the few SF books to deal with the relatively esoteric topic of language and how it defines us (which really seems to be a natural SF topic, being that they deal with aliens and stuff so much), something it sort of shares with Ian Watson's The Embedding. Delany however won a deserved Nebula for this book (actually he tied with Flowers for Algernon, also a fine book, but as different from this as can be), which probably wasn't at all what readers were expecting in 1966 when this was published. But who cares what the readers want, as long as it's good? And this is. As I mentioned before it's a mediation on how language defines us, both to ourselves and in relation to other people, all cloaked in a Space Opera type story. The Invaders (who are never really seen, weirdly enough, but I think they're human) are attacking the Alliance and are using a mysterious weapon called Babel-17. What is it? Nobody is really sure so the military recruits famous poet Rydra Wong to figure out what's going on. She has little idea either but has come closer than most people. What follows is layer upon layer of story as Ms Wong examines her own life as she tries to unravel the mystery of Babel-17, examining both the roots of language and doing her best not to get killed. Rydra is a rarity in SF, a three dimensional woman who stands on her own as a strong character who doesn't come across as an emotional maelstrom or an ice-cold witch. She's one of the most enjoyable and well-rounded characters to come down the pipeline in SF and there are very few characters since who can match up to her. Delany's story just a bit wacky toward the end and he makes up more than a few SF twists to explain the ending but the story holds together really well and it has brains and a soul underneath all the deep thinking. It's also very short, so all the people scared off by Dhalgren can come over here and see what the man can do in small doses. Then they can move on to the big stuff.
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Book Description
The Courage the Heart Desires is a spiritual resource for taming your fears and replacing them with peace, passion, and possibility. Written with wisdom and sensitivity, this powerful book is based on Kathleen Fischer’s experience as a counselor, spiritual director, and theologian. Throughout the book, she shows readers how to live fearlessly and courageously. Drawing from a unique combination of psychology and spirituality rooted in Fischer’s Christian practice and the world’s great spiritual traditions, this practical book shows readers how to overcome fears and anxieties large and small.
Customer Reviews:
Timely and Accessible.......2006-02-09
Kathleen Fischer has written a timely and accessible book on a universal topic. It is a wise and insightful mediation on personal and societal courage. The book gives hope in these dark and anxious times.
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