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- The hunting of the boar
- Chicago Reader
- Erudite and intellectually exhausting.
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In the Shape of a Boar
Lawrence Norfolk
Manufacturer: Grove Press
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Binding: Hardcover
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The Pope's Rhinoceros
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Lempriere's Dictionary
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Quincunx
ASIN: 0802117015 |
Book Description
Lawrence Norfolk has been hailed in his native England as "just about ahead of everyone in his generation of novelists" (The Observer) and acclaimed as "Britain's brightest young writer" by The Guardian. His award-winning novels Lempriere's Dictionary and The Pope's Rhinoceros were best-sellers there, and have gone on to win acclaim throughout the world. Now he has written his most ambitious novel yet -- a story that sweeps from prehistory to the present day in addressing the meeting point of truth and lies: In the Shape of a Boar. The story begins in the ancient Greece of myth, where King Meleager of Kalydon has assembled the sixty greatest hunters -- and one huntress, Atalanta -- to rid his realm of the supernatural boar sent by the vengeful goddess Artemis to lay waste to his lands. But as the hunters bear down upon their prey a darker tale unfolds, of treachery and destructive love. It is a tale that will reverberate in those same hills across the millennia in the final chaotic months of the Second World War, as a band of Greek partisans pursues an S.S. officer. Solomon Memel, a young Jewish Romanian refugee who was rescued by resistance fighters and subsequently joined them in their chase, will be inspired by the experience to write a poem, titled Die Keilerjagd, or The Boar Hunt, which mixes the elements of the mythical hunt with the historical pursuit of S.S. field commandant Heinrich Eberhardt. The partisans, from the charismatic leader Xanthos to the dangerous beauty Theyella, will themselves become part of modern mythos, as the poem becomes an international sensation. But the truth of what happened in the hills of Kalydon in 1945 is more complicated than it seems, and as the older Sol reunites with his childhood love, Ruth, in 1970s Paris to make a film version of the poem, the dark memories and horrors of those days emerge anew. Epic in scope and staggering in its mastery of language and character, In the Shape of a Boar is a tour de force.
Customer Reviews:
The hunting of the boar.......2006-06-13
Wow. This is a book which I picked up pretty much on spec. The description on the back sounded intriguing and it was on sale. And then it sat on my bookshelf for a long time waiting to be read. And now that I have finished I am somewhat dazed, uncertain as to what exactly I have just read. But I have given this story five stars, why? Because it is so rare for a book to leave me thinking - what was that really about, what was I supposed to take from this story, I understand some of what the author was trying to convey but part of me thinks I missed something very important.
In the shape of the boar is essentially a story in two parts. The first a poetic retelling of the greek myth of the hunting of Kaldyon boar heavily footnoted and referenced to original sources, the second half being the tale of the a middle aged Jewish author in the seventies, observing an old friend turn his poem covering the hunting of said boar into a movie. As the author interacts with his childhood friend who has lived many years in America he remembers his youth in Romania, his fleeing the Nazi's overland to Greece, his time with a partisan unit and then his participation in the hunt of a senior Nazi officer which forms the basis of his poem. Or does it? Did the events that he describe really happen, or as another childhood friend would accuse years later, was the officer just a minor official who died elsewhere.
In the end I take this book to be a meditation on the urge to survive, the need for heroic myths in time of upheavals and the banality of evil in the lack of a true monster. If you are looking for something challenging and very intelligent I would recommend "In the shape of a Boar"
Chicago Reader.......2002-07-11
This book kept me transfixed from the moment I picked it up. The first section's epic poem lays the framework for figuring out the rest of the story, which is riveting.
I can't wait for Norfolk's next one.
Erudite and intellectually exhausting........2001-12-08
This is a Very Serious Work, one that cannot be read (or summarized) quickly without doing it an injustice. A newly created, "classical" epic for the first hundred pages, it has larger than life heroes from Greek mythology fighting great, ancient battles in which the survival of a culture is at stake. King Meleager of Kalydon, the lone huntress Atalanta, her dog Aura, and her cousin Meilanion are, with sixty other hunters, trying to conquer a ferocious boar unleashed upon the country by the angry goddess Artemis. As the other hunters fall prey to jealousies, duplicities, and betrayals, these three alone face the final battle, the outcome of which is never clear.
The rest of the book tells parallel stories from three 20th century time frames, involving modern characters whose lives involve similar battles with "the boar" and what it represents. Solomon Memel, Ruth Lackner, and Jakob Feuerstein are teenage friends in Romania in 1938, when the Russians and, soon afterward, the Nazis, occupy the country, create ghettos, and bring the Holocaust. In 1952, Solomon publishes a poem, "Die Keilerjagd," in which he describes his World War II experiences with partisans in Greece, paralleling the boar hunt of the ancient heroes, as they chase a Nazi field commander through the same mountains in the war's waning days. Some years later, when Sol is 49 and a heroic icon to schoolchildren, Ruth, a successful theater figure, decides to make a film of his poem and experiences, and the accuracy of his poem and memory are challenged publicly. Sol's battles to fill the gaps in his memory and to recall uncertain events represent yet another battle with the boar.
Time is flexible here, filtered through the consciousness of Sol, as memories from all three time periods crowd his life in no particular order, and he recollects one event after another, perhaps imperfectly. Norfolk does not always dot all the I's and cross all the T's as Sol tells his story, requiring the reader to bring his/her own consciousness to the interpretation of events, and, like Sol, to keep an open mind to alternative interpretations. His concern with myths, both ancient and modern, how they are created, what they reveal about human needs, how they reflect reality, and why they are perpetuated give tremendous impact and broad scope to his several stories. The hypnotic, musical cadences and the elaborate, minutely detailed descriptions lend a weightiness appropriate to an epic. The action is intense, the themes are universal, and the scope of the author's vision seems almost limitless. This is a slow, but ultimately rewarding, reading experience, sometimes requiring the reader to fight his/her own battle with the boar. Mary Whipple
Average customer rating:
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In the Shape of a Boar Poster
Manufacturer: Weidenfeld & Nicholson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Poster
Contemporary
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ASIN: 0297644750 |
Book Description
A
Dungeon Master 2-pack that includes both a new
D&D screen and a bonus
d20 Modern screen -- in landscape format with new art.
Useful to anyone running any type of roleplaying campaign, this Deluxe
Dungeon Master Screens 2-pack contains both a
Dungeons & Dragons screen and a bonus screen for the
d20 Modern Roleplaying Game.
The tables on the back of the
Dungeon Master's Screen have been revised and updated to comply with the changes made in the new version 3.5 core rulebooks released in 2003.
Every table includes a page number reference you can use to look up more detailed information. You’ll also find some tables modified specifically for this screen that will help you get the information you need as quickly as possible during play.
Also included is a bonus four-panel screen geared toward the action-packed world of your
d20 Modern campaign. Because both screens fully support the d20 System, they can be used separately or together by an experienced
Dungeon Master or Gamemaster.
Customer Reviews:
Not bad if you can find it under 10 bucks w/ shipping.......2007-05-09
The tables include:
-Equipment hardness/hitpoints
-Substance hardness/hitpoints
-Break/Burst DCs
-Items affected by magical attacks
-Size and AC of objects
-Object hardness/hitpoints
-Wall stats
-Door stats
-Turning undead
-Increase/Decrease weapon damage by size
-Attack roll modifiers
-AC modifiers
-Influencing NPC attitudes
-Missing w/ a thrown weapon figure
-Climb check DCs
-Listen check DCs
-Combat Actions (AoO)
-Concentration Check DCs
-Skills list (Armor check, AoO)
-Ability modifiers
-Movement and Distance
-Hampered movement
-Armored/Encumbered speeds
-Max distance for spot checks
-Detect Magic stats
-Detect Evil stats
-Light sources and illumination
While the list is comprehensive, I was looking for some random encounter tables, oh well. The screen is short and while I didn't think that would be an issue, it is. I'm now paperclipping the D20 Modern screen (which has a few D&D relevant things on it, but not many) on top of the D&D one (they're the same size exactly).
Cool, but not necessary.......2007-04-03
Cool looking, but you could do without them. Nice quick info on inside, but again could do without.
Never shipped.......2007-02-08
We ordered this a month ago. We kept waiting and checking.. not shipped yet. Wait some more, not shipped yet. The item said "usually ships in 1 to 2 weeks" however, in 4 weeks, still "not shipped yet". Recomend if you want this, to buy it somewhere else. We ended up canceling this order and getting it somewhere else. Amazon doesn't know how to ship this particualr item.
Nice, but pricey.......2007-01-12
The charts selected for the inside of the screen are surprisingly useful; basically, they selected a lot of the things that most frequently come into play during a dungeon crawl, but that most people wouldn't bother to learn or remember. Things like various item and material hardnesses, common modifiers to AC, various types of actions and whether they provoke Attacks of Opportunity, skills, movement penaltes, light, and auras for both magic and evil/good. The creators were thoughtful enough to include the book and page number for various charts in case you need to get more info. On the downside, as other reviews mentioned it is surprisingly short for a screen, and pretty high-priced considering what you get. Yeah, yeah; you get a bonus D20 modern screen. Wow. I'd say that seven bucks would be a more reasonable price; five if it didn't come with a D20 modern screen.
It ain't that bad -- it's actually pretty good.......2006-09-22
Generally my opinion is that a screen is a screen is a screen. However, this screen is actually better than most. I like the landscape, 4-panel format because it means I can see and be seen over the screen, while it still hides my map, my notepad and my dice rolls. It also has a better center of gravity since it is lower and wider, which means it almost never falls over, even when struck by a handful of dice or my marauding 18-month old. That is not a claim that most portrait-oriented screens can make.
Is the screen a black-out room and cone of silence rolled into one? Of course not. If you need the full height of the older-styled 11" screens, this one won't work for you. But really, if you are playing with people who can't keep their eyes off the occasional flash of paper behind the DM's screen, don't blame the screen; get new friends.
For my part, the most important part is that WoTC (a company I don't think much of normally) actually gave some thought to what was on the screen. The inside is well thought out, with useful charts and tables easy to hand. Easily the best part is the full listing of all actions, and whether they are free, standard, or movement equivalent, and whether they provoke an Attack of Opportunity or not. The table with hardness ratings for standard items is also useful for those spur-of-the-moment actions when the PCs want to break down a random door, chop that chest open, or split a table in two.
Normally I wouldn't bother to review a screen, but this one has such an unfairly low rating that I almost feel sorry for it. It's a good product; I use it in every session, it keeps the players' eyes off the important stuff, and it's durable enough that even after 2 years of use it's in quite good shape. If for some reason you don't have a screen already, you could do a lot worse than this one.
Book Description
A Dungeon Master's screen designed especially for the Eberron campaign setting, including a bonus poster map of Khorvaire.
Produced by popular demand, this DM screen is useful to Dungeon Masters running campaigns in the Eberron setting. It includes all the tables from the D&D Deluxe Dungeon Master's Screen, with modifications and additional material appropriate for game elements unique to the Eberron setting. The front showcases a beautiful widescreen-format piece of Eberron artwork, never before seen in its full glory. Also included is a poster map of Khorvaire, the primary setting of the Eberron campaign, with borders, trade routes, and other details not printed on any previous full-sized map.
Customer Reviews:
Comes with a Wonderful Map of Eberron.......2007-09-11
I really like this DM screen. My kids and I are playing and the art helps them feel like they are in Eberron. The map put me over the top. I purchased this product knowing of its errors a priori. However, the map was a nice surprise. I must have missed it in the other reviews.
The Only DM's Screen You Will Ever Need.......2006-09-03
I bought this expecting it to be only used during my upcoming Eberron campaign - I was dead wrong. This has every table you will need, and some you won't for the non-Eberron games. It's horizontal so I don't feel like I'm at a seperate part of the table than the gamers. It provides all the privacy I need for rolling dice and stashing papers. I can wrap it all the way around, almost to both edges of the table around me, at a comfortable visibility level. I could have a player sitting next to me and successfully hide my rolls.
Definately a recommended purchase - especially for the low price.
Warning about the Eberron DM Screen.......2005-08-22
Overall the screen is good;
The landscape format is fantastic, you can see over the screen when you need to see what's going on, yet it still provides the DM some privacy.
The artwork is great (even if it is a reprint of artwork from "The Order of the Emerald Claw" adventure cover, it is expanded).
The details and tables on the screen, in general are excellent.
And the map that is included is an awesome play aid.
BUT.....
HOUSE JORASCO IS MISSING FROM THE LIST OF DRAGON MARKED HOUSES!!!!
I mean it's just a basic cut and paste from previously printed lists of Dragon Marked Houses OR any basic editing should have caught this oversight.
UNFORGIVABLE, especially when, of the 3 Eberron specific tables included on the Deluxe Eberron Dungeon Master's Screen, the main one is incomplete!
This poor quality is becoming more and more common from Wizards D&D releases of late. Very, very disappointing. As you may be able to tell, I am still furious about this oversight, so I just wanted to warn people of the incompleteness of the product, when compared to its description on the back of the product.
Enough said...
The only screen you'll ever need.......2005-08-21
This is, quite possibly, the best screen yet released for D&D, regardless of setting. Including tables for everything from Cleric's turning checks to Influencing NPC attitudes, as well as a handy Days of the Week and Months of the Year guide for Eberron's calendar (among a large number of other goodies), it's clearly meant for a high-roleplay campaign. Things like Item Breac DC's and what actions provoke what are also included, and it does quite a bit to lower the ammount of time some of the more rules-driven areas of the game take up in game time. Also, since it uses the D&D Deluxe Screen landscape format, I really don't feel half as "cut-off" from the players as when using my Forgotten Realms screen.
Still, there are areas in which the screen could be improved. There are three emblems (the same as the O in the Eberron logo) on the DM's side of it in which another table could be placed. Also, when viewed from a high angle the text doesn't contrast very well with the table background... and since my group generally plays around a coffee table, my players can easilly tell when I'm looking something up when I have to lower my eyes almost to the level of the screen. It's something to look over before the game while players are building characters (or before they arrive) or during the occasional in-session break, but otherwise to be reserved for really sticky deal-with-the-rules-lawyer situations.
Customer Reviews:
What Battletech was built on!.......2006-05-25
While this book might not crack the top 10 for many people, it's my all time favorite! Now I must admit that I am a fan of Battletech before FASA sold the rights, but this book was a large reason why.
The second book about Grayson Carlyle and The Gray Death Legion, this book is where the Gray Death Legion is really formed and Carlyle's character develops into something special. William H. Keith Jr. paints some very colorful and entertaining characters that grow on you so fast that you'll hit emotional highs and lows as they train and suffer through this Kurita held planet's rebellion.
A must read for any fan of Battletech, even those new to the game. While it's built in a time than Wizkid's version of Battletech this is what the original game was all about. Give it a try as it's well worth a shelf all it's own.
I only wish this book could have made it to the big screen. I imagine the opening scene of Bannockburn (a Riflemen Mech) standing within the jungle in camo paint as a couple of fighters screeching overhead. Then all hell breaks loose...
Happy reading and good hunting!
A "keep-on-reading" tale about the Gray Death Legion.......1997-09-13
The Gray Death Legion, a mercenary group formed by Grayson Death Carlyle, takes on its first assignment -- to train rebels on a Draco world in anti-mech tactics. But when their way off the planet is destroyed, they must ally with the untrusting natives to free the capital city, the only way off the planet.
Personally, I found this book very entertaining. It deals with freedom, loyalty, and life. This story will keep you reading way into the wee hours of the night. A must for any Battletech reader!
Product Description
This issue contains 11 short stories and an introduction by the editor. The stories are 1-E For Effort, 2-The Weapon Shop, 3-The Wabbler, 4-Hawk Among the Sparrows, 5-The Mercenary, 6-No Shoulder To Cry On, 7-The Bully and the Crazy Boy, 8-Thunder and Roses, 9-Late Night Final, 10-Conquest by Default and 11-Warrior.
Average customer rating:
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The Mercenary (Five Star First Edition Romance)
Marlys Rold
Manufacturer: Five Star (ME)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0786240784 |
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Mercenary's Star
William Keith
Manufacturer: New Amer Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000K3X50Y |
Average customer rating:
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Mercenary's Star
William Keith
Manufacturer: New Amer Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000K3HTFQ |
Average customer rating:
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Mercenary's Star
William Keith
Manufacturer: New Amer Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000K3HTEW |
Average customer rating:
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Mercenary's Star
William Keith
Manufacturer: New Amer Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000K3R65E |
Average customer rating:
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Mercenary's Star
William Keith
Manufacturer: New Amer Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000K3V2ZE |
Book Description
In this book, Anne Carolyn Klein, an American scholar and teacher of Buddhism, and Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, a rigorously trained Tibetan Lama who was among the first to bring Bon Dzogchen teachings to the West, provide a study and translation of the Authenticity of Open Awareness, a foundational text of the Bon Dzogchen tradition. This is the first time a Bon philosophical text of this scope has been translated into any Western language, and as such it is a significant addition to the study of Tibetan religion and Eastern thought. Klein and Rinpoche provide extensive introductory, explanatory and historical material that situates the text in the context of Tibetan thought and culture, thus making it accessible to nonspecialists, and an essential reference for scholars and practitioners alike.
Customer Reviews:
Incredible Work.......2006-12-19
Even without the plethora of exerpts from Bon Dzogchen tantras, this text is worth its weight in gold. Many important questions relevant to Dzogchen practitioners are discussed including the role of virtue, the place of effort, and the nature of the base in the Dzogchen teachings.
Good root text but overly philosophical/difficult commentary.......2006-07-27
This is a translation/commentary of "Authenticity of Open Awareness"--a Bon 8th c. Dzogchen (Dz) terma (discovered treasure--like the Dead Sea Scrolls). Bon Dzogchen is like Tibetan Nyingma Buddhist Dz; p. 308: "Bon & Dharma differ only in terms of their disciples; their meaning is inseparable, a single essence." The fine Preface discusses relationships among consciousness, cultural development, myths, & logic--p. viii: "logic alone cannot authenticate wholeness & it need not," p. 7: "Open awareness cannot validly or arithmetically be known conceptually," & p. 34: "The ultimate is...`immune to logic.'" This appropriately limits the value/applicability of rationalism epistemology (way of knowing/believing) as p. x: "The intended readers of this work were practitioners as well as scholars." But most of the book is commentary (287 pp. vs. 88 of root text) with some fine observations--p. 154: "Authentic scriptures are the direct expression from--not about--reality," p. 157: "God becomes God when creation says God, observed Master Eckhart," p. 171: "Tibetan literature has not been thematized along the lines of fact & fiction, & p. 182: "'Authenticity' can be read as a story of language." The authors provide web sites p. 332: comparing similar texts & history but say p. 146: "At this stage of our knowledge, we remain embarrassingly speculative." They elaborate on differences between insiders' (emic) & outsiders' (etic) views but overlook Jeffrey Rubin's Eurocentric vs. Orientocentric views ("Psychotherapy & Buddhism"). They say p. 162: "Reason is the fulcrum on which objectivity turns" w/o identifying it as the epistemology of rationalism (though using "epistemology" ad nauseam). But, science utilizes empiricism/data & rationalism/theory as checks/balances while Philosophy (rationalistic logic) lacks self-regulation. Most of the commentary is extremely academic, philosophical, boring, & difficult reading. The best part is its fine Tantra/Sutra quotations e.g. pp. 121-2: "Mirror of Miraculous Primordial Wisdom Sutra--Even the 84,000 afflictions are without ultimate production or cessation, hence the 3 poisons are neither abandoned, transformed, nor purified"--strongly differentiating Dz from other Vajrayana vehicles.
The root text relies on scripture=tradition/authority, direct perception=phenomenological empiricism, & logic=rationalism epistemologies. To the authors' credit, p. 229 note 66: "Here & elsewhere some liberties are taken with line arrangements for a more felicitous presentation in English" & p. 230 note 68: "As elsewhere, poetic license permits loose translation of non-technical terms." It is a dialog of Objections & Responses. The former IMHO are at a lower Level of Abstraction than the latter, like a Rinzai Zen Master (Response) & student (Objection) koan-like interview--a teaching mode more than a defense of Dz. The Objections have incorrect assumptions (see Elgin's "The Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense"). The first ½ of the text is more philosophical & difficult reading, but the 2nd ½ is far better--e.g. p. 245: "According to the Mindnature or Great Completeness system, objects are not included within mind...Therefore, we are not like the...followers of Madhyamika tenets" & per p. 280 note 317: "Madhyamika logic depends very much on the idea that if you accept one thing, you have to reject its opposite" per the Objections. This is an exclusive OR vs. inclusive OR (where a both condition is allowed e.g. exclusive OR parent: "Do you want waffles or eggs for breakfast?" Inclusive OR child, "yes" or "both"). Dz is inclusive & rejects pervasive, ingrained assumptions: p. 279: "Scripture of the Blissful Samantabhadra--Like a caterpillar ensnared in the thread it unravels, through the main & ancillary vows & so forth, thoughts arise & bind one ever faster! Asceticism & holding vows counter the principle of completeness." Per Master Eckhart's quote above, p. 269: `Song of Truth Sutra'--"Whatever the conventional nature, that itself is the ultimate meaning"--we make meaning (it's convention)--according with modern Knowledge Management, there's no meaning in data or information, only in contextual knowledge. And, p. 282: "If one does not have an eye for identifying jewels, they might as well be ordinary rocks."
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- Johnny Mad Dog: A Novel
- Kalki (Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics)
- Koolaids: The Art of War
- Logan's Storm: A Novel
- Lydia Bailey
- Making Waves #4: Thrill
- Mala Onda/bad Vibes (Punto de Lectura)
- Modern Korean Fiction: An Anthology
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