Glamorous Disasters: A Novel

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$395 an hour

A tale that needs to be told

Witty, Clever, Smart Prose from a Smart New Author

Ambiguous Morality Kills it's Aspirations

Smart, Mesmerizing Debut

Glamorous Disasters: A Novel
Eliot Schrefer
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Literary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0743281683

Book Description

Noah rose from humble beginnings and, through pure grit and resourcefulness, got himself through Princeton. Now staggering under the weight of massive student loans and dazzled by life in the big city, Noah enters the rarefied field of SAT tutoring in Manhattan, working one-on-one with the spoiled, gorgeous children of the American aristocracy.

He takes on the considerable academic challenges that are Dylan Thayer, a dissipated high school athlete-socialite, and his waifish sister, Tuscany. Dylan won't lift a finger to do anything but pick up a lacrosse stick, and Tuscany is avidly pursuing her own downfall via drugs and relationships with men more than twice her age. But their mother, a self-medicating pediatrician, has ambitious plans for them in spite of their shortcomings -- and she has plans for their SAT tutor as well.

With echoes of The Devil Wears Prada, The Nanny Diaries, and Bright Lights, Big City, Glamorous Disasters is an incisive portrayal of a small and privileged world, a cautionary tale written by a Harvard grad who was once an SAT tutor himself -- an outsider who became a magnificently observant insider.

Customer Reviews:

$395 an hour.......2007-06-12

I got hooked into purchasing this book because I wanted to read how the main character got $395 for tutoring. Alas, $395 is how much the tutoring agency charges and is not the tutor's take home pay. This story reinforces my reasons for never wanting to be a bartender or perform customer service of any kind despite the financial rewards.

I managed to get through this book more easily than I did Academy X which this title is linked to by Amazon. I think this book will encourage if not convince people to just be yourself and not want to be either the tutor or the people who can afford his services.

A tale that needs to be told.......2006-08-15

Before I get into the book itself, I have to get this pet peeve off my mind. Do publishers not use proofreaders anymore? I started tabbing the pages with glaring errors until the book had a ribbon of tabs. If on one page, Noah says his appointment with Dylan isn't until 2:00 pm but on the very next page he announces to the doorman that he's there for his 4 o' clock appointment, something is dreadfully amiss. In another place, Dylan had one week in which to take his test, Two pages later, he had two weeks. Seasons seemed to change literally overnight. Time condensed and then expanded. Truly inexcusable.

But the book itself was quite charming and to those who really know the truth about nouveau Manhattan wealth, absolutely true. Schrefer may exaggerate with poetic license but there is more truth in his tales than the more negative reviewers here realize. SAT tutoring is Big Business among the wealthy overindulged and pampered teens who populate the New York private and semi-private schools and cheating, not by the tutors though, is more rampant than people suspect. The author needs more seasoning to move his story along more briskly but this is a good first novel and I look forward to his next one -- hopefully with a proofreader in tow.

Witty, Clever, Smart Prose from a Smart New Author.......2006-07-03

Eliot's Schrefer's first book is a delightful debut and we hope a hint of more to come. Schrefer's characters are a step above real life, making them more interesting and sharpening the novel's focus on the modern moral dilemma of class conflict and the search for self-discovery. A great and thought provoking read.

Ambiguous Morality Kills it's Aspirations.......2006-06-26

Having at one time worked for a very wealthy family, I understand the dynamics that can exist within this enviornment. However, the main character is so vague within his sense of self to render the tale ambiguous and unsatisfying. Repeatedly, we're asked to make very fine moral judgements that do not jibe with either the characters or the tone. This could have been a much more interesting book.

Smart, Mesmerizing Debut.......2006-06-24

It isn't often that I plonk down hardcover money on a debut novel, but something about this book's description intrigued me and I tossed it into the Amazon shopping cart. When the book arrived, I circled it a bit warily, but finally decided to simply dive on in. Boy, was I thankful I bought this one purely on impulse!

Mr. Schrefer is a fine author with a sharp eye for both scenes and characterization. Whether he's describing the exodus of midtown Manhattanites to shop at a trendy health food grocery store in Harlem (arrive by cab and sprinting the ten feet to the store's interior, then leaving en masse by taxi again--touching as little of the hot Harlem pavement as possible in the process). Or, more often, turning his keen attention to the students that Noah teaches--and their families. From the briefer descriptions to the bigger themes of the book, it's a deeply satisfying read. I loved this book and will be recommending it to my reader friends, as I've already been doing!
Congrats, Mr. Schrefer, on a fine debut!

Book Description

Customer Reviews:

a lot of reading for little substance.......2005-06-03

The Alvin Maker series starts off with a unique and fascinating alternate history of a world where people have "knacks" which allow them to do what would be considered "magic" to most of us. Alvin's knack is "making" and the first two books explained his world and shaped his character through some interesting and unique experiences.

The third book signalled the beginning of a decline in the series as Card moves toward his favored story of a main male character (Alvin) who is supposedly noble and good above all else. The third book is saved by an interesting and appropriate storyline about slavery but the same cannot be said of the fourth.

Unfortunately, in the fourth book, he makes the Alvin behave so stupidly as a means of attempting to martyr him that the reader soon loses respect for the main character. There is honor in self-sacrifice but not in someone who thinks that covering up the lies and misdeeds of others is a form of "good". Doesn't Card ever think it might be interesting to explore the theme of fostering positive character growth in others by having their lies and misdeeds dealt with directly by the person who they have harmed? I'm not talking about Rambo-type behavior but the fact that the Ender's series, the Homecoming series, and now the Alvin Maker series have pathetic men who believe bad decisions make them strong and noble is getting tiresome.

The worst part isn't the retread of the same old story but the fact that this story simply goes on and on and seems to have very little point other than to drag poor undeserving Alvin through the muck and have him sit by and do diddly about it. This is not only uninteresting for the reader but actively annoying.

Other reviewers have pointed out that this book brings together a cast of characters that will eventually serve a purpose in future novels in the series. I believe that those characters could have been brought in through a much less drawn-out and tedious storyline. Essentially, a few chapters of a novel which continues the move toward building the Crystal City (Alvin's ultimate goal as outlined in The Red Prophet) should have done it rather than subjecting us to no less than 3 separate liars accusing Alvin of various misdeeds and us having to suffer through excruciating details.

I decided after reading this book that this would be absolutely the last series of Card's novels I'd ever read. He's an excellent writer but he needs to tighten up his writing and get a new character or two. Ender, Nafai and Alvin are all just too similarly spineless.

Slow but worth it.......2004-09-10

This novel was an interesting story to the Alvin Maker series. I did enjoy the story and the adventures that Card told but I felt that this story was a stopping point-a temporary detour as he regrouped. I felt that this tale was an attempt to finish the story he started and gather the characters he needed to reach the Crystal City.

This is a very important book in the series. It introduces characters that I feel are going to be fundamental to the conclusion of the Alvin Maker series. If have been enjoying this gift from Card, you need to pick this book up and struggle through the slight lulls and finish this one.

Another great story within a story.......2004-02-03

I originally read this several years ago, and re-read it recently after getting the new book in the series. As I read this series as a whole, I am staring to notice that the individual stories form each book (The war in Red Prophet, the story of Arthur Stuart in Prentice Alvin, and the trial in this book) and the new characters that keep coming along, are starting to overshadow the overall story of Alvin's quest to build the Crystal City.

This book started a little slowly, so I thought it might not have been as interesting as the previous books in the series, as often happens once you get this deep into a series. But with the introduction of Verily Cooper and Alvin's trial, the book really picks up the pace. I look forward to re-reading the next book (Heartfire) followed by the The Crystal City, which will hopefully conclude the series.

If you've enjoyed the other books in this series, you probably won't be disappointed by this one.

Maintaining the decline.......2003-02-16

The positive: Affable characters, fast moving, easy to read.
The negative: Uninteresting plot.

Although slightly better than the previous book in this series, Card still doesn't manage to recreate the magic of the first two. In this book, the bulk of the tale is involved in Alvin facing trial for being wrongly accused of theft. Many characters are introduced based on characters created in an AOL chatroom by Card's fans and this book gives the impression much of it was written to coddle those fans and feature their characters. Not an entire waste of time but don't go into this series thinking each of the books will be as entertaining as the others.

Thief!.......2002-12-11

Alvin is accused of theft by Makepeace Smith, his former Master. The book explores what happens as Alvin tries to clear his name.

Much happens in this book, which is a continuation of Card's "Alvin Maker" series. There are some real surprises and some characters I didn't expect to come back, which come back in unexpected ways.

Book Description

In this widely acclaimed series, Card has created an alternate frontier America where folk magic really works. The adventure that began in Seventh Son continues in "Alvin Journeyman," the fourth book in the series, when Alvin is driven from his home by false accusations back to Hatrack River where he must stand trial for his life.

Customer Reviews:

Another Great Addition.......1999-03-22

OSC continues to develop the characters very vividly in this fourth installment of the Alvin Maker series. Alvin's growth into manhood and out of angry adolescence brings a new aspect of Alvin into view. A departure from the same character base is refreshing and hopefully will bring more character development in future installments.

I'd say that the book is excellent and is a must read for all those who have followed the series. OSC continues in his masterful character development. The only thing preventing me from giving this book the 5 stars is my ability to put down the book for later reading...perhaps it is because I have been reading too many books recently.

Leaves you wanting more.......1997-06-26

The book was well written and keeps with the flow of the other three, but there are a number of characters that have been dropped. I read the book within a week and enjoyed the new plot twists, but I am wondering if Card can finish this series in 5. It would be quite a task, and I hope he ties everything up better than this book would leave you to believe he can. I recommend this book for those that have loved the previous titles, and hope you don't come to the same conclusions I have

The story grows in interest and wonder.......1997-01-06

I cannot recommend this book and series enough. My wife turned me on to the series and I am eagerly awaiting all future installments. Alvin seems destined for greatness, but like all great men, considers himself "just a normal man". I can't wait to see how he and the Indians of this alternate U.S. build his glorious city. This story also is terrific in how it shows the love/hate relationship between Alvin and Peggy, and how she had to voluntarily lose him in order to find him and their relationship together.

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Alvin Journeyman
Orson Card Card
Manufacturer: New York Tor 1995.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OYM6HC

Alvin Journeyman , the Tales of alvin Maker IV

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Alvin Journeyman , the Tales of alvin Maker IV
Orson Scott Scard
Manufacturer: Tom Doherty Associates
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000VJVYWI

Average customer rating:

ALVIN JOURNEYMAN - THE TALES OF ALVIN MAKER IV

Manufacturer: Tom Doherty Associates
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000H1650G

Alvin Journeyman: Tales of Alvin Maker, Book 4

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Alvin Journeyman: Tales of Alvin Maker, Book 4
Orson Scott Card
Manufacturer: Blackstone Audio Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: CD-ROM

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

Product Description

A 1996 Locus Award Winner for Best Fantasy Novel

Alvin is a Maker, the first to be born in a century. Now a grown man and a journeyman smith, Alvin has returned to his family in the town of Vigor Church. He will share in their isolation, work as a blacksmith, and try to teach anyone who wishes to learn the knack of being a Maker. For Alvin has had a vision of the Crystal City he will build, and he knows that he cannot build it alone. But he has left behind in Hatrack River enemies as well as true friends. His ancient foe, the Unmaker, whose cruel whispers and deadly plots have threatened Alvin's life at every turn, has found new hands to do his work of destruction.

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Alvin Journeyman: The Tales of Alvin Maker IV
Orson Scott Card
Manufacturer: Tor Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OTEOYA

Average customer rating:
THE Tales of Alvin Maker: Seventh Son, Red Prophet, Prentice Alvin, Alvin Journeyman, Heartfire, The Crystal City (Set of 6)
Orson Scott Card
Manufacturer: TOR
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000NE6RX2

Average customer rating:
Alvin Journeyman
Orson Scott Card
Manufacturer: Tor Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000NXYHTE

Average customer rating:
Alvin Journeyman & Treason ( Set of 2 Books )
Orson Scott Card
Manufacturer: Tor Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000UE7HCA

Average customer rating:

OK but felt ripped off

A treat for Alternate Historicians

Policing Realities

Classic SF still worth reading

lateral time travel

The Complete Paratime (Ace Science Fiction)
H. Beam Piper
Manufacturer: Ace Trade
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Military | History | Subjects | Books
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Null-ABC

ASIN: 0441008011

Book Description

From the creator of the Terrohuman Future History and the bestselling Fuzzy novels come all the classic Police Paratime stories in one volume. Includes the original Paratime, which introduced the elite time-traveling police force, and Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen, the story of a state trooper's conquest of a parallel Earth. The Complete Paratime is a grand science fiction experience.

Customer Reviews:

OK but felt ripped off.......2007-07-12

This book includes LAST ENEMY, TIME CRIME, TEMPLE TROUBLE, HE WALKED AROUND THE HORSES and POLICE OPERATION. I would have saved my money for another book as I had read the others. Amazon should list titles of stories in a book they have for sale.
Still great Beam reading.

A treat for Alternate Historicians.......2007-05-30

Eric Meeks - Author of the Author Murders says:

I never knew this author before I read these stories but the premise of sliding sideways through timelines was a unique enough concept. It reminded me of the string theory of time whereby there are many alternations of the same timeline.

H. Beam Piper wrote a captivating storyline which held my attention throughout a week a reading and it usually takes me three weeks to finish a book. It's actually a collection of short stories centering on a single storyline and one main character.

Good police work, good science fiction all wrapped into one. I'll definitely look for more books by this author.

Eric Meeks
The Author Murders

Policing Realities.......2006-11-04

"The Complete Paratime" collects all the works from H. Beam Piper that deal with paratime, i.e. the existence of alternate universes and people either accidentally or purposefully crossing from one to another. This collection, published in 2001, contains a previous collection called "Paratime", which was published in 1981. The previous collection included five stories. Also included is the novel called "Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen" which was originally published in 1965 and itself was a collection of two previously published stories along with a new one.

"He Walked around the Horses" is Piper's first paratime story, and doesn't directly fit with the other stories collected in this book. This novelette was first published in April of 1948, and is the story of a British envoy to the court of Austria who vanished while en route from Vienna to Hamburg in 1809. The story is cleverly told as a series of statements from witnesses as being reported by the Minister of Police.

"Police Operation" is the first story to feature Verkan Vall, a Paratime policeman who in tracing someone, learns that they have broken the law by bringing along a pet from another time-line, which ultimately threatens to reveal the existence of paratime. This is another novelette which was first published in July of 1948, and it serves as a good introduction to the Paratime Police and Verkan Vall, both of which are present in the rest of the stories in this collection.

"Last Enemy" is perhaps the best of the stories in this collection. This novelette was first published in August of 1950. This novelette brings in the character of Dalla, and is an interesting story involving a time-line where reincarnation is considered an established fact. This is his only story which involves a Second Level time-line, which means a civilization nearly as advanced as that of the First Level. This story was nominated in 2001 for the Retro-Hugo for novelettes written in the year 1950.

"Time Crime" is the novella story, which was first published in February and March of 1955. The story involves a criminal slave ring operating out of the First Level. This is the longest individual story of the series, although the joining of the three Lord Kalvan stories did create one longer work. Much of this story deals with the First Level, which makes it very different than the other stories.

"Temple Trouble" is a novelette which was first published in April of 1951. In this story the Paratime Police are called in to help fix a problem with a commercial venture, only to find that there may be a bit more to the problem than they originally thought.

"Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen" is a novel created out of three pieces of shorter fiction. The first was called "Gunpowder God", in which Corporal Calvin Morrison is accidentally taken from the "Earth" time-line to a Fourth Level time line. There his knowledge of how to make Gunpowder makes him looked at as a powerful sorcerer, and a potential threat to the Paratime Police. This novelette was first published in "Analog" in November of 1964. The second part is "Down Styphon", which picks up the story where it was left off, and covers the war between Hostigos and Nostor. This novelette was first published in "Analog" in November of 1965. The last section, as far as I know, was never published apart from being the conclusion of the entire novel. Here Kalvan becomes the great King Lord Kalvan in pursuing his war against Styphon.

This is an interesting series of stories, and there is a good variety of themes explored in them as well. I would definitely recommend this to fans of Piper, as it is an interesting blend of science fiction and fantasy.

Classic SF still worth reading.......2006-08-26

H. Beam Piper's Paratime stories are considered today to be classic SF of the old school. This book prints all these stories, in chronological order, under one title at last. The best known story today is "Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen", and having read all these stories it is easy to see why it strikes such a positive note with many people - especially if you like war stories in parallel universes.

This book contains the following short stories and novellas:

He Walked around the Horses
Police Operation
Last Enemy
Time Crime
Temple Trouble
Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen

These are a fine collection of classic stories that are worth taking the time to read and they easily keep you entertained for the length of this book, and while they are dated to some degree (It would be hard to credit so many characters in one book which smoke today) they have not dated to the extent that they are no longer enjoyable.

lateral time travel.......2005-08-11

I first met H. Beam Piper in the pages of Analog in the mid-'60's. The 3 installments of the Pennsylvania State Trooper series are in this volume and their merit as storytelling is obvious.

This volume re-unites those three stories about Corporal Calvin Morrison, later Lord Kalvan, who but for the sideways time travel aspect is pretty much in a late medieval story, albeit in the Susquehanna River country of Pennsylvania -- at, least, in this new time-line.

Other (non-Kalvan) stories in this volume are an undiscovered joy, notably the first, "He Walked Around the Horses," which is one of the best SF short stories of this genre I've seen -- indeed, worthy of an Ursula LeGuin in its plotting and concept.

And it is an original concept: _lateral_ time travel, in which multiple histories exist on parallel timelines. So it can be that someone from modern Pennsylvania -- Cpl. Morrison of the Pennsylvania State Police -- winds up in a timeline in which the Aryan peoples migrated east across Asia and the Pacific rather than west into Europe, a civilization roughly equal to Europe ca. the Thirty Years' War. The scenery may be the same but the kingdoms may not be -- especially as the dominant religion has monopolized the formula for gunpowder.

This author was a master, really, and we shall not see his like again anytime soon.

Down Styphon!

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Alternate Historicians Reincarnations Science Fiction

The Complete Paratime

Manufacturer: Ace Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0739418033

Customer Reviews:

Alternate Historicians Reincarnations Science Fiction.......2007-05-30

The Complete Paratime: Paratime; Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen

Average customer rating:

Very Rare Paratime Collection

The Complete Paratime: Paratime; Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen
H. Beam Piper
Manufacturer: Ace
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000KOQEG0

Customer Reviews:

Very Rare Paratime Collection.......2007-01-25

I have heard a few people claim this book doesn't exist. However, I own a copy of this hard to find hardcover edition of "The Complete Paratime," a compilation of H. Beam Piper's "Paratime" (which I edited) and the Piper novel, "Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen."

I do wish Ace had allowed me to update the Paratime introductions, as well as include the Kalvan novelettes (two of which were published by "Analog" as Gunpowder God and Down Styphon!, and the 'lost' novelette, Hos-Hostigos, as I have a copy of the original manuscript.) instead of the novelization. The novelettes are different from the final novel and this would have been an important addition to the Piper body of work... Sadly, this was not to be.

This hardcover is from Ace Books, but does not have a price on the inside dust jacket flap, indicating that it may be a book club edition. However, the quality is far superior to most of the Science Fiction Book Club editions I have encountered in the past. So it may be a short run, like the hardcover of Jerry Pournelle's "Janissaries," which I also own. Highly recommended.

Before a friend gave me a copy, I didn't even know it existed. Although an inch shorter in height, it does make a good companion to the Ltd. edition hardcovers of "Great Kings' War," "Kalvan Kingmaker" and "Siege of Tarr-Hostigos."

This hardcover edition is very hard to find, although it ocassionally crops up on E-bay. Good hunting.

Average customer rating:

This is a must read

Ascended Master Instruction (Saint Germain Series Vol 4)

After the first 3 books, this one will free your soul

Ascended Master Instruction (Saint Germain Series Vol 4)
Saint Germain
Manufacturer: St Germain Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1878891189

Book Description

This series of twenty-eight Discourses by date, precede the Discourses in Volume 3. They are presented in the straight- forward simplicity with which they were dictated from the manuscripts of Mr. and Mrs. Guy W. Ballard.

Customer Reviews:

This is a must read.......2007-09-25

I have red the first three of the series and after reading it and applying it to my lifestyle I cannot explain the changes it has done from my life as in myself and career-wise and no harm can be done observeing this series but I assure you this series is the most positive steps in someones life I could recomend to anybody......honestly

Ascended Master Instruction (Saint Germain Series Vol 4).......2007-03-20

Suggested Readings First-
The Gospel of John- The Bible
The Life and Teachings of The Master's of The Far East by Baird T. Spalding (6 vol. set)
The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz
The Magic Presence- Saint Germain Series Vol. 2
Read the above mentioned wonderful books- then this book will be an essential. The Ascended Masters are Here and Very Real. May God's Love, Light and Peace Be With You Always...John 1:3Life and Teaching of the Masters of the Far East (6 Vol. Set)The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom (A Toltec Wisdom Book)The Gospel of JohnThe Magic Presence (Saint Germain Series - Vol 2)

After the first 3 books, this one will free your soul.......1999-09-09

Look at the title: Ascended Master Instruction. Have you dreamed of joining the Ascended Masters? Of serving in the highest good? To be the love you feel in your heart? This is the 4th book in a 15 book series. But you only NEED the first 4 to achieve your freedom (IMHO). I cried as I read these books and accepted what they have promised. Don't be afraid. Get all 4 volumes, read, and APPLY them to your life. You can write to me. You can ask any question. But you DO want and need these books if you have been spiritually seeking.

Average customer rating:

Ascended Master Instruction
Ascended Master Saint Germain
Manufacturer: Saint Germain Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OZ0ALA

Average customer rating:

Ascended Master Instruction: Vol. IV
Ascended Master Saint Germain
Manufacturer: Saint Germain Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000O2PHXO

Average customer rating:

Ascended Master Instruction
The Ascended Master Saint Germain Through Godfre Ray King
Manufacturer: Saint Germain Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000HAYMDE

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