Exit Strategies: A Novel

Book Description

Becky Weston might be brave, funny, and smart, but she's scarcely living the life of her dreams. A single mother, she's put herself through six years of night law school after her divorce. She has a headstrong teenage daughter and an eccentric elderly mother who demand what's left of her time. Long gone are the predivorce trappings of affluence -- the Spanish-style house with a view of the Pacific, the Volvo in the garage; now she can barely make the payments on her tiny house in the upscale Southern California community of La Jolla. And what's a first wife to do when her ex-husband dies and leaves his younger, sexier, and greedier second wife wielding the purse strings on all of his assets? There's no time even to think about looking for a relationship, and as the oldest new associate in the aspiring law firm where Becky started out as the receptionist, she's expected to devote the second half of her now manless life to nothing but work.

When glamorous anti-aging guru Bobbie Crystol, the author of a bestselling book about life extension, strides into the firm and offers Becky the chance to represent her interests on the West Coast, the offer seems too good to be true. No matter that Dr. Crystol -- who brandishes designer outfits and earrings like Christmas ornaments on steroids -- turns out to be Becky's archnemesis from college. The firm needs the business and Becky needs the client. But when some of the doctor's patients leave the life-extension spa sicker than when they entered, Becky begins to have doubts about the frantic pursuit of longevity at the expense of living well.

Trying to hang on to both her legal career and her integrity, Becky not only learns to let go of bad choices but also devises a foolproof exit strategy, a strategy that proves to have unexpected dividends....

Customer Reviews:

If you like Jane Heller, you'll love this!.......2002-04-30

Written in the same vain as Jane Heller, this novel portrays a middle-aged single mom, stuck in what we call the "sandwich generation." Alternately worried about her kids and her elderly mom, while trying to juggle a career as a newly-graduated corporate attorney, this novel is realistic in showing her struggles, but always with a keen sense of humor. Just enough love interest and intrigue to keep you going. A perfect novel, and I'll look for more of Catherine Todd's books.

Adventures of Becky Weston.......2002-04-29

Becky Weston is now a first year associate at the law firm of Roth, Tolbert and Anderson in upscale La Jolla after having worked her way through law school while working as a receptionist at the firm. She divorced her physician husband years ago and has raised two children while also caring for her elderly mother. In a cruel twist of fate, her ex-husband died and left his new spiteful wife as the executor of the trust fund upon which Becky is dependent for her son's tuition at a private college. When her mother falls and breaks a hip the delicate balance of her life starts to crumble. The trust fund payments are reduced, her younger daughter needs a prom dress, her son's tuition payments are overdue, and she must check her mother into an assisted living facility.

When Becky is chosen by a college friend, who is now a glamorous anti-aging guru, to be the lawyer for her firm everyone, including Becky, is amazed at this coup. She hadn't known Bobbie Crystol very well during school, and is puzzled by this appointment, but vows to do her best to represent the company's interests. Some of the rumors she starts to hear about the company concern her, and she is suspicious of the treatments and supplements that are offered at the spa to which she is invited as a guest.

Becky also meets again the man who had been her therapist during her divorce, and wonders what kind of relationship she can have with a man who already knows her innermost secrets and weaknesses. He seems too good to be true, but the balance is off, because he knows so much about her and she so little about him.

Throughout the book, Becky struggles with balancing her home and work life and questions the ethics of her profession and her associates at the firm. The expectations of a fledgling lawyer overwhelm her, and she wonders whether she can make the commitment to spending the rest of her working life as a workaholic.

I enjoyed and commiserated with the challenges faced by Becky and the way in which she faced them head-on and resolved them. I hope the author considers writing this wonderful, resilient character into the plot of future novels.

As much fun as Susan Isaacs!.......2002-03-06

I have enjoyed Ms. Todd's books for years, before she was writing this genre, and her sparkle and sense of humor make this an extremely fun and absorbing read. Highly recommended!

West Coast Merry-Go-Round.......2002-02-09

2-8-02

Keeping yoyr options open while living a laid back, but fast-paced life is the epitome of what we think of as the California style. "Exit Strategies" by Catherine Todd, who lives in San Diego, knows the territory.
Our heroine, Becky Weston, a single mother, has put herself through law school and moved from receptionist to associate in a small, but prestigious law firm in upscale La Jolla. In the first paragraph, the head of the firm is described as "Armani Adonis" so with this snappy economy of language we know that he cuts an attractive figure and that Becky has a bit of crush on him.
It is this well-crafted use of description and dialogue that gives all of the characters dimension so that the reader is interested in their daily trials and tribulations and how they react with one another. When Becky's ex dies unexpectedly, leaving his second wife as trustee, life becomes much more complicated.
The frantic pursuit of youthfulness and the medical machinations that take advantage of the gullible is one thread; having a shrink, and money hiding in offshore bank accounts are others. How Becky keeps all her balloons in the air without a misstep keeps the pages turning to the amusement and enjoyment of the reader. The book is a well-crafted, light-hearted, sophisticated romp along our Pacific rim.

Thoroughly Enjoyable!.......2002-01-26

Cathy Todd is a wonderful modern author. Like her previous books, Making Waves and Staying Cool, Exit Strategies gets to the heart of women's feelings but does it through an exciting, amusing story. This is a thoroughly enjoyable book!

Novel strategy helps developer exit bankruptcy. (Rosenshein Development of New Rochelle): An article from: Fairfield County Business Journal

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Novel strategy helps developer exit bankruptcy. (Rosenshein Development of New Rochelle): An article from: Fairfield County Business Journal
John Jordan
Manufacturer: Westfair Communications, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Management | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Fairfield County Business Journal, published by Westfair Communications, Inc. on January 11, 1993. The length of the article is 491 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: Novel strategy helps developer exit bankruptcy. (Rosenshein Development of New Rochelle)
Author: John Jordan
Publication: Fairfield County Business Journal (Magazine/Journal)
Date: January 11, 1993
Publisher: Westfair Communications, Inc.
Volume: v32 Issue: n2 Page: p1(2)

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Book Description

Ehlanda, Queen of Elenia, has been poisoned. A deep enchantment sustains her life, but it will end soon. Then Sparhawk, Knight of the Queen's Champion, learns where to get to cure for the poison. He and his companions set forth on a dangerous quest to find the antidote before the queen should perish and the peace ends....

Customer Reviews:

OVERALL SCORE: (B+).......2007-04-17

The Ruby Knight (Book 2 of the Elenium)

OVERALL SCORE: (B+)
READABILITY: (A-), PLOT: (B+), CHARATERS: (A), DIALOGUE: (B-), SETTING: (A+), ACTION/COMBAT: (C+), MONSTERS/ANTAGONISTS: (A-), ROMANCE: (C), SEX: (Light), AGE LEVEL: (PG13)

This is a very entertaining fantasy story, by one of the best fantasy writers of today, while it may not be quite as good as his "Belgariad" or "Malloreon" series, it comes close.

The main character is Sparhawk, a militant knight, who is erasable and direct, (kind of like John Wayne playing a paladin). He and a group of Church Knights, his squire, a young thief, and a styric mystic, embark on a just to save the beautiful young queen, who has been poisoned by the evil Prelate. God's get involved and things get complex for poor Sparhawk!

In Book 2, the group splits up and the search for the cure continues, but the action and plot slow down. This is a typical middle book, not as good as the first or last in the series, but a bridge between. Sparhawk, really gets to travel the world and meet some unpleasant characters. One Lady who likes to sacrifice children then eat them is particularly nasty.

CONS:
Some of the characters actions aren't always logical. They are very quick to kill minor character without much provocation, but major ones they let live when they should kill.

The Ruby Knight - by Robin.......2006-12-22

I have read the two first books, The Diamond Throne and Ruby Knight, they are both very good. However, I will focus on the ruby knight.

I give this book five stars for an excellent story, short and good environmental descriptions and a great character build-up.

Sparhawk is the main character of the book, he is a Pandion knight, which is a religious knight order of the church. He and his fellow knights goes on a mission to find a magical stone whom can save the young life of their queen. On their journey in the Ruby knight they encounter magical beings and other evil creatures, they use different tactics and methods to get away from them, and solve the mystery of the since long missing stone, lost in the old battle by the Randera Lake. Azash, the evil god, sends out his spies to find and eliminate the Fellowship.

This is the second book of three, it brings an extra touch to the whole story, the first one mostly brings one detail about the land the live in (Elenium) and some character based story, completed with some background information. I love David Eddings books since they are so full of life, they are both romantic as well as exciting. He uses a quite simple language compared to some other authors, like Brian Craig - Plague Daemon, I never finished that book, it was great fun, when you could read a full sentence without checking the vocabulary.

Back to Eddings, this is the 14th book I have read, written by David and Leigh Eddings.

The Ruby Knight.......2006-12-19

I have read the two first books, The Diamond Throne and The Ruby Knight, they are both very good. However, I will focus on the Ruby Knight.

I give this book five stars for an excellent story, short and good environmental descriptions and a great character build-up.

Sparhawk is the main character of the book, he is a Pandion knight, which is a religious knight order of the church. He and his fellow knights goes on a mission to find a magical stone whom can save the young life of their queen. On their journey in the Ruby knight they encounter magical beings and other evil creatures, they use different tactics and methods to get away from them, and solve the mystery of the since long missing stone. The magical stone called Bhelliom was lost in the old battle by the Randera Lake. Azash, the evil god, sends out his spies to find and eliminate the fellowship.

This is the second book of three, it brings an extra touch to the whole story, the first one mostly focus on giving you details about the land they live in (Elenium), and some character based story, completed with some background information. I love David Eddings books since they are so full of life, they are both romantic as well as exciting. He uses a quite simple language compared to some other authors, like Brian Craig - Plague Daemon, I never finished that book, it was great fun, when you could read a full sentence without checking the vocabulary.

Back to Eddings, this is the 14th book I have read, written by David and Leigh Eddings.

Trolling for Sapphires.......2005-07-22

After some innovative medical research (use violence when in doubt), some help from a nine year old, flute-playing sorceress, and a visitation from a dead king, Sparhawk finally knows what is wrong with Ehlana and how to cure it. Now all that remains is finding the cure (Bhelliom, the sapphire rose). Not only must Sparhawk retrace his steps, but he is due for a confrontation with some deadly sendings from Azash, and an argument with an extremely ugly troll. One can only hope that Ehlana will live up to expectations and put a stop to Annias's efforts to become head of the Elene church.

And so Sparhawk, Sephrenia, Kurik, and a small crowd of other knights set about a quest that in all likelihood will kill them all. Of course, 'supposed to' and 'does' are two very different words, but they definitely have their work cut out for them. Have not fear with enough enemy hacking, enemy magicking, and a bit of divine intervention hope will spring eternal. After all, how else would Eddings be able to write the next volume of this story.

Sarcasm aside, The Ruby Knight continues to prove that the Malloreon was just sophmore slump. This time the story, filled with detail and personality, continues to be entertaining throughout. More characters, honest and not will appear, and new friends increase the complexity of the novel without bogging it down. Eddings is an up and down author, so there is always a hitch somewhere, but thus far nothing serious has materialized. I wouldn't call The Elenium innovative writing, but the series is good fantasy, and very pleasant writing.

"Middle-child syndrome".......2004-06-03

Unfortunately, the "middle child" syndrome continues its time-honored tradition here. Although there is some action, for the most part "Ruby Knight" is a place-keeper, marking the time between when Sparhawk figures out what he has to do and finally does it.
At the end of "Diamond Throne", it was revealed that the only thing that would save Queen Ehlana was the Bhelliom, a legendary sapphire of enormous power. Once it was a part of the Royal Crown of Thalesia, but was lost during the monumental Zemoch War several centuries earlier. Now Sparhawk has to track it down, dig it up, learn how to control it, and get it back to Ehlana, before the spell preserving her life fails, and those of his friends who are supporting the spell die with it.
So Sparhawk and Co. trek across the continent, fighting a few battles, meeting a few characters (some of whom will become important later, so pay attention), avoiding the Bad Guys (as led by Annias, the churchman who's seized control of Ehlana's kingdom and is looking to take over the Church as well, and Martel, Sparhawk's nemesis) and learning much more than they planned about the REAL history of their world. We finally find out what the heck is the deal with Flute, the Styric orphan Sephrenia adopts, but as I said, this book mostly exists to keep Books 1 and 3 from bumping into each other.

The Ruby Knight [Book Two of the Elenium]

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The Ruby Knight [Book Two of the Elenium]
David Eddings
Manufacturer: Del Rey
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Similar Items:

ASIN: B000GQX6F4

Average customer rating:

My favorite book

Ruby the Red Knight: Story and Pictures
Amy Aitken
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster (Juv)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: School & Library Binding

General | Baby-3 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 002700340X

Customer Reviews:

My favorite book.......2007-06-26

My mother read this book to me until I was old enough to read it to myself. It promptly became my favorite book and I carried it around with me until I lost it.

It is the very awesome story of a girl who is playing make believe as a knight and becomes the hero in her own adventure. She defeats the terrible wizard by tickling him with a feather and thus bringing laughter back to the land.

It's got great values (feminism, peace, laughter) but it's also got all of the elements of a fantastic adventure. A wonderful book for boys and even better for girls who only get to see princesses as heroes.

I wish they'd reprint it!

The Elenium: The Diamond Throne The Ruby Knight The Sapphire Rose

Average customer rating:

Not the usual Eddings
Mindless drivel

The Elenium: The Diamond Throne The Ruby Knight The Sapphire Rose
David Eddings
Manufacturer: Del Rey
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0345500938
Release Date: 2007-09-25

Book Description

Now for the first time in one thrilling volume–the three magical novels that make up David Eddings’s epic fantasy The Elenium.

In an ancient kingdom, the legacy of one royal family hangs in the balance, and the fate of a queen–and her empire–lies on the shoulders of one knight.

Sparhawk, Knight and Queen’s Champion, has returned to Elenia after ten years of exile, only to find young Queen Ehlana trapped in a crystalline cocoon. The enchantments of the sorceress Sephrenia have kept the queen alive–but the spell is fading. In the meantime, Elenia is ruled by a prince regent, the puppet of the tyrannical Annias, who vows to seize power over all the land.

Now Sparhawk must find the legendary Bhelliom, a sapphire that holds the key to Ehlana’s cure. Sparhawk and his companions will face monstrous foes and evil creatures on their journey, but even greater dangers lie in wait: for dark legions will stop at nothing to reach the radiant stone, which may possess powers too deadly for any mortal to bear.

Customer Reviews:

Not the usual Eddings.......2007-10-01

I was introduced to David Eddings earlier this year and have since devoured the Belgariad and the Mallorean. I'm giving this 3 stars as it was quite a disappointment. The book was quite enjoyable until the very end. I was quite caught up in the adventure and the battle if you will in Azash's palace and couldn't put the book down because I couldn't wait to get to the next part - but found myself skipping thru (can't remember now if it was the second to the last chapter or just the last chapter) because it was all so very boring...don't really know what happened except that the end was just so different from the usual Eddings style that it does appear to me that he just up and left the room and left someone else tell the rest of the story. I had read other reviews of the Eddings' work and tend to agree that so far his earlier works - The Belgariad, The Mallorean are his best...the Diamond Throne and The Ruby Knight of this compilation of the Elenium are quite good - but the Sapphire Rose definitely is a washout for me.

Mindless drivel.......2007-09-25

Eddings writes mindless drivel, but it is ENTERTAINING mindless drivel - great for telling the world to go soak its head and just sitting back and having a good time.

The Ruby Princess and the Baby Dragon (Jewel Kingdom)

Average customer rating:

dragon
I loved this book.
Roxanne doesn't listen!
How a friendship can go too far.
This is a great book, and Roxanne learns a lesson.

The Ruby Princess and the Baby Dragon (Jewel Kingdom)
Jahnna N. Malcolm
Manufacturer: Little Apple
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

Royalty | People & Places | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0590978772

Customer Reviews:

dragon.......2007-08-02

Ruby found a baby dragon and took care of it until someone came to her. Dragon told her that baby dragon should be care of its mother.

I loved this book........1999-07-11

It was a very good book and I really liked the end. It was so sweet. I think other kids would like to read this. The Jewel Kingdom is a very good series, if you like princesses.

Roxanne doesn't listen!.......1999-03-27

Roxanne, the Ruby Princess, finds a dragon egg and the dragon turns out to be playful. Roxanne feeds Sassy, the dragon, from a bottle that her sister, Demetra, the Diamond Princess, gave her. All of her sisters love Sassy. One day the dragon gets terribly sick. Will he get better? Read this book to find out!

How a friendship can go too far........1999-02-02

An extra exciting story, telling, that you should never do something when it could hurt something.

This is a great book, and Roxanne learns a lesson........1999-01-28

Princess Roxanne finds an egg and it hatches. Inside is a cute baby dragon. The adventure really gets exciting when Roxanne doesn't listen to her own dragon, Hapgood, who tries to warn her. This is a great book!

Knights of the Ruby Order: Torn and Crag (Knights of the Ruby Order)

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Knights of the Ruby Order: Torn and Crag (Knights of the Ruby Order)
Kate Hill
Manufacturer: Ellora's Cave Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Erotica | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Fantasy, Futuristic & Ghost | Romance | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 1419954148

Product Description

Knights of the Ruby Order - Torn By Kate Hill Book 1 in the Knights Of The Ruby Order series Drenched in blood and sweat, Sir Torn is thrust before the healer known as Honey Wine that she might prepare him for the brutal Entertainment to come: a slaveTornfighting another slave to the death for the depraved ruler's amusement. The new slave's arrogant nature piques Honey Wine's interest in more ways than one. Against her better judgment, she begins to notice him as a man. And begins to suspect that he is so much more than a slave... Knights of the Ruby Order - Crag By Kate Hill Book 2 in the Knights of the Ruby Order series With her village destroyed and her child ill, Lily's only hope is to seek the aid of the Knights of the Ruby Order. What she finds is a disillusioned trainee who matches her in desperation. Crag has learned the hard way that Knighthood isn't about glory. After nearly two years of hellish service, his faith has disappeared. Then he meets Lily, a woman who has lost everything except her will to survive. Touched by her inner strength and seized by passion, Crag learns the true meaning of Knighthood and love.

Adventure of the Strange Ruby (Knight Books)

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Adventure of the Strange Ruby (Knight Books)
Enid Blyton
Manufacturer: Hodder & Stoughton Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

The Black Knight of Avalon Chronicles, Book 1 (The Ruby Phoenix, Part 1)

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The Black Knight of Avalon Chronicles, Book 1 (The Ruby Phoenix, Part 1)
Sunbow Pendragon
Manufacturer: Xlibris Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

General | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

Historical | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

The Black Knight of Avalon Chronicles, Book 2, The Ruby Phoenix, Part 2

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The Black Knight of Avalon Chronicles, Book 2, The Ruby Phoenix, Part 2
Sunbow Pendragon
Manufacturer: Xlibris Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

Historical | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

The Diamond Throne; The Ruby Knight; The Sapphire Rose (The Elenium, 1, 2, 3)

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The Diamond Throne; The Ruby Knight; The Sapphire Rose (The Elenium, 1, 2, 3)
David Eddings
Manufacturer: Del Rey
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000RBIYGO

Product Description

The complete series of the Elenium.

Book Description

Here is the ssential index of one year in SF and fantasy, full of winners and nominees of the prestigious Nebula Award. For groundbreaking works in the genre, the Nebula is perhaps the highest honor in the field-and a beacon for readers looking for the best quality science fiction and fantasy around.

Download Description

Here is the essential index of one year in SF and fantasy, full of winners and nominees of the prestigious Nebula Award. For groundbreaking works in the genre, the Nebula is perhaps the highest honor in the field-and a beacon for readers looking for the best quality science fiction and fantasy around.

Customer Reviews:

Introduction to Sci-Fi or Sample of Best Works.......2003-09-29

The Nebula awards showcase, 2003 edition, actually highlights award winners from the 2001 Nebula awards (which were actually held in 2002), with many of the pieces having year 2000 publication dates. Even with the dramatic events that have occurred in these last three years, the Sci-Fi stories remain as relevant as ever. The book also includes commentary from various Sci-Fi field luminaries on various seemingly un-related topics of their choosing which may serve to introduce the novice Sci-Fi reader to various sub-genres. The anthology (donýt let the word scare you, this book is about 1/6th the size of a Nortonýs anthology ý with much bigger print!) contains six short stories, the first three chapters of the novel The Quantum Rose and two Sci-Fi poems. As these all are discrete works, unified only by their award or runner-up status, I will look at each separately:

The Cure for Everything

Maria is an administrator at the Xingu forest preserve, a reservation for displaced Amazon natives whose home-lands have been assimilated by civilization. A group of natives arrive from the Hiller project, which Maria learns is a drug-company front, using the nativeýs unique biology to develop cures for diseases ý like Mariaýs. Maria learns that with the right husband, called by the author ýThe Cure for Everythingý she can have children. She quickly resolves her ethical dilemma ý

The Ultimate Earth

Set in the far-future, The Ultimate Earth presents a utopian society where birth and death are carefully controlled. Since humans never die, only when people leave for colonization can others breed. Most of the story takes place on a moon base which is being restored. The moon base was developed by old humanity (before the genetic modifications) as a refuge from which to re-start the species if the unthinkable happened. Though it appears to have been used once for that purpose in the past, it has since crumbled. Now it remains as the only record of old-humanity.

The children-turned-young-adults are told that there is no place for them now on earth, but sneak to the surface by lying to a shuttle (the ability to deceive has been eliminated by new humanity). They learn first-hand that there really is no place for them there, where they are regarded as savages. When a colony ship surprisingly returns and, due to population control, must leave immediately for another destination, the moon-children leave on it and find a planet where a plague is wiping out new-humanityý

Louiseýs Ghost

In a story that illustrates the problem with labeling and shows us how well we can recognize others ý not by their name but by what they say and do ý Louiseýs ghost deals with two women named Louise and oneýs daughter Anna

When Louise (the one without the daughter) finds that a ghost of a naked man is haunting her house, Louise (the one with the daughter) brings over her musician friends to try to convince the ghost to inhabit their instruments. Louise (without daughter) accidentally sleeps with Louiseýs current love, which causes a feud between them until she dies a Louise finds that she has been designated as Annaýs guardian. Then she wishes that she could be haunted by Louiseýs ghost ý

Undone

What if you could go back and forward in time on command? What if you could alter your biology on whim? These three fundamental rights are guaranteed to all of the Trueborn: The right to remain individual, the right to manipulate your physical structure and the right to access the timeline. Their foe, the utopians, though seek to provide harmony through homogeny. They have blockaded the planet and placed an identity mine, which strips anyone who travels back in time more than five minute of being able to remember their identity.

To flee the Utopianýs attack, Mada commands her ship to travel forward in time ý she just doesnýt specify how far. The ship travels two-tenths of a glactic rotation or about twenty-million years. Her Trueborn society is gone, and the Utopians appear to be as well. What she does find is a new society where attention is the only currency. The only think that is expected of her is to comment on every experience ý eating, listening, etc. She meets a poet who writes about death ý but like everyone else in this society ý suppresses all bad memories by checking them into the library. The two go off to another planet and have children. Mada prepares to make the ultimate sacrifice for them ý her identity ý but is saved when the ship gains consciousness and creates something of a paradox ý

My Wife Returns as She Would Have It and January Fires

These two poems (both under two pages in length) both comment on the human condition. The former discussing the desire for life after death, the latter questioning whether a dream is worth dying for.

The Elephants on Neptune

Men land on Neptune (who knew it was solid!) and meet a pack of Neptunian elephants. They discuss the long-time relationship between men and elephants (who not surprisingly are now extinct on earth). As the men try to convince the elephants (who have not forgotten how their species was eliminated) that they are friendly, they start turning into elephants and the elephants turn into men ý

The Quantum Rose

In this full-length novel, of which only the first few chapters are presented here to wet readers appetite, we discover a planet which has evolved far beyond modern earth, but forgotten how to make the technology, thus reverting to the stone age in many ways. The frame work of the present economic system remains, though, but due to a loss of understanding of the language, it has become somewhat perverted, thus forming an odd commentary on the present corporate culture. When Kamoj is forced to marry a man she has never seen (and who remains cloaked at their wedding), we are left in suspense as she goes to remove the cloak while he sleeps ý

Overall, if you like Sci-Fi, this book will introduce you to a variety of sub-genres and excellent long-time and new Sci-Fi writers. This is a must-own for any Sci-Fi addict.

for those who appreciate the vastness of the genre.......2003-04-13

Though interesting and fun to see what is contained inside this volume, there is no question that this anthology is for science fiction diehards. The collection includes the 2001 winners of the Nebulas in four basic categories: Best Novel (an extract from "The Quantum Rose" by Catherine Asaro); Best Novella ("The Ultimate Earth" by Jack Williamson); Best Novelette ("Louise's Ghost" by Kelly Link); and Best Short Story ("The Cure for Everything" by Severna Park). Additionally two runner-ups (Best Short Story: "The Elephants on Neptune" by Mike Resnick; and Best Novelette: "Undone" by James Patrick Kelly). A fifth category, Best Script lists the winners. The five categories are clearly defined with the four print ones based on number of words. Other information about the awards including a complete list of nominees makes for an entertaining time for those who appreciate the vastness of the genre.

Harriet Klausner

Book Description

Discover the Living Wisdom of the Ancient Celts

The ancient Celts and their spiritual mediators, the Druids believed in the communion of all living things and sought harmony between nature and the human soul. Now, with this inspiring book of day-by-day mediations, renowned Celtic scholar CaitlÍn Matthews shows you how to reawaken the power of this age-old spiritual inheritance.

Using poetry, myths, reflections, rituals, and visualizations, Matthews leads you on a yearlong pilgrimage that will help connect the cycles of your soul to the circle of the seasons. From the winter months of Samhain the summer months of Beltant, from mediations on the gifts and blessings of life to the insights and promises of the soul, she enables you to complete your own sacred circuit of the turning year.

Brimming with the legends and lore of Ireland, Wales, Scotland, and Britain, The Celtic Spirit is a brilliant introduction to the sacred wisdom of the Celtic path--and a potent resource for daily spiritual renewal.

Customer Reviews:

Great Daily Thoughts.......2007-03-27

This is a great book. The Daily Meditations are each on one page. It is a quick little thought for the day and a suggestion on how to apply it to your life. We all need reminding of the simple, common-sense ways to look at life and improve it. This book is a good way to get that reminder. I plan on using this year after year.

very good.......2007-03-09

This product is a very good book. I read it every morning befor I start my day.

Lovely.......2006-12-29

This book and Ms. Matthew's Celtic Wisdom Tarot are two recommendations I make. Both items make explorations of Celtic culture a joy. The Celtic Spirit is a daily reader that incorporates Scottish, Irish, Welsh, Cornish, (etc.) stories into topics pertinent to the changing seasons. I admire her writing style, her knowledge of lore, and the spirit she breathes into her vision.

Terrific as a companion to Celtic Devotional.......2006-06-08

I use The Celtic Spirit together with Caitlin Matthews' Celtic Devotional. The two together weave a kind of tranquility into my day. The Celtic Spirit has a thought, question or exercise at the end of each daily reading that takes one beyond merely reading the entry for that day, evoking a more thoughtful, heartfelt response. Of course, each book is entire unto itself and each is significantly different from the other in both content and format.

Inspirational.......2006-02-19

The Celtic Spirit gives an overview of Celtic lore and relates it to the modern world in a way that gives one a moment to pause and reflect. A very good book for those looking to get in touch with their spirituality, particularly for people who are interested in Celtic tradition.

The Celtic Spirit: Daily Meditations for the Turning Year

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The Celtic Spirit: Daily Meditations for the Turning Year
Caitlin Matthews
Manufacturer: HarperSanFrancisco
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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