Average customer rating:
- A new voice taking root
- Mystical and Enlightening!
- Wonderful!
- umm,ok..........
- Great Stories!
|
Sap Rising
Christine Lincoln
Manufacturer: Pantheon
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 General
| African American
| United States
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Contemporary
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Literary
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Short Stories
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Popular Fiction
| Literature & Fiction
| Book Clubs
| Specialty Stores
| Books
ASIN: 0375421408
Release Date: 2001-09-11 |
Amazon.com
In her debut collection, Sap Rising, Christine Lincoln gives us 12 linked stories of life among the black folk of Grandville, a small town in the rural South. Her characters are drawn to the city, but once there, they want to return to the country. Likewise, her prose pulls back and forth: a stark minimalism of form plays against a lush lyricism that reads at times like Southern-fried magical realism. In the opening story, "Bug Juice," young Sonny sneaks out of his bed and glimpses a wider world when his uncle brings a magnificent enchantress to visit from the city. The boy and the woman sit outside on the porch in the dark together, and Sonny comes to a strange new understanding of his own blackness. The whole town, it seems, dreams of escape--from the country, from poverty, from racism, from life itself and all its failures. --Claire Dederer
Book Description
In this spare and mesmerizing debut work of fiction, Christine Lincoln takes us inside the hearts and minds of African Americans whose lives unfold against a vividly evoked Southern rural landscape. As they navigate between the old and the new, between youth and adulthood, they find themselves choosing between the comforts of what they trust unquestioningly and the fearsome excitements of what they might come to know.
An abandoned seven-year-old girl living inside a fantasy of invisibility . . . a young woman weighing the life she’s expected to want against the freedom that will transport her to the unexpected . . . a boy whose world is both expanded and contracted by stories he hears from a beautiful stranger—the characters who inhabit this
profoundly moving collection are brought to life with a remarkably light touch and an extraordinary depth
of insight and emotion.
Christine Lincoln possesses a gift of great originality. In Sap Rising, she proves herself one of those rare writers whose work transcends its own rich particularity to speak with stunning clarity to the most fundamental elements of the human experience.
Customer Reviews:
A new voice taking root.......2003-04-23
Date Reviewed: April 1, 2003
A new voice in literature is screaming to be heard, as I learned from reading SAP RISING by Christine Lincoln. A collection of short stories reminiscent of Maxine Clair's Rattlebone, SAP RISING incites a hunger in the reader that is satisfied only by turning page after page.
The stories center around characters living in the South during a post World War II America, but their voices are even more resonant than the setting. In these pieces, whose names flow poetically with their storylines, events take place that make you suck in your breath in wonderment, and, at times, heartbreak.
Rather than tell you about each story, its plot, and the key players, I will tell you that if you enjoy fierce writing and in-your-face characters, this is a book you will want to read.
Reviewed by CandaceK
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers
Mystical and Enlightening!.......2003-04-17
Christine Lincolnýs debut novel, Sap Rising, is rooted in the mystical, rural Grandville where the tales of its townspeople are captured in 12 intertwining short stories. The sagas are told from varying viewpoints: fathers, grandmothers, young boys, nosey neighbors, teenaged girls, etc. and are rooted in themes of self-discovery, escapism, and hope.
All of the stories are symbolic and appealing, but a few that really struck this reviewer were the title story, ýSap Risingý and ýA Very Close Conspiracyý. In ýSap Risingý, we meet a very restless young woman, Ebbie Pinder, who runs away from the mediocrity of life as a homemaker in Grandville to the bright lights of the big city. She returns home alone and with her child, Pontella, in ýLike Dove Wingsý and Pontellaýs plight is recounted in ýA Hook Will Sometimes Keep Youý. In ýA Very Close Conspiracyý, we meet the town drunk, Hiron Fuller, who retraces his life, loves, and views as a black man as he succumbs to a fatal injury.
The author demonstrates her depth and range of character development by taking the reader deep inside the psyches of Hiron, a man worn down by racism and poverty, the self-doubting Pontella who was abandoned by her mother, Ebbie, and the painful episodes of Boagýs and Cinnyýs coming-of-age transformation. She paints a picture of the human condition and adds insight and emotion into each story. Ms. Lincoln is a great storyteller with a style akin to J. California Cooperýs yet distinctively her own. She has made her mark with a successful debut ý I am looking forward to her next release.
Reviewed by Phyllis
APOOO BookClub, The Nubian Circle Book Club
Wonderful!.......2002-09-24
I saw the author for this book on a local t.v. program and decided to give it try and I am very glad that I did. Sap Rising is a series of short stories surrounding the people in Grandville, Maryland. The stories are very interesting, poetic and vivid. Lincoln's style sort of reminds you of J. California Cooper. Each character holds a different significance and importance to the next story. The characters share they hopes and fears on racism, class, status, family positions, friendship, dreams and the ever changing world. I think we will see a lot more of Ms. Lincoln. Congratulations!!
Peace and Blessings!!
umm,ok.................2002-04-27
I kind of got confused with Ms. Lincoln's fusing of stories. I did enjoy the lanuguage and poetry behind her writing. She definately has a gift when it comes to description, and styling.
Where I was lost, however, was the link between the stories. some seemed to matter to others, some did not. What was the importance of the story involving Boag and his parents, or Pontella if we did not get to hear more about her attack. I need to sit down and talk to the author.
Great Stories!.......2002-04-14
I first heard about this book on The Oprah Winfrey Show about a year ago, and although I don't usually share the same fervor on books that Oprah does, I did enjoy this collection of 12 short stories on the lives on Grandville, MD residents. I found the stories to be heartfelt and I was left with thought after reading each story. I especially enjoyed the stories about Boag and also Cinny. The writing was very descriptive in a lyrical sort of way and I was able to visualize the surroundings as if I were there. What majic words can bring to the imagination. Great debut of short stories.
Average customer rating:
|
Sap Rising
Christine Lincoln
Manufacturer: Recorded Books, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette
ASIN: 1402562772 |
Average customer rating:
|
Sap Rising
Christine Lincoln
Manufacturer: Pantheon Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000J4XF5E |
Average customer rating:
|
Sap Rising
A. A. Gill
Manufacturer: Doubleday
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Contemporary
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0385407890 |
Average customer rating:
|
SAP Rising: Stories
Christine Lincoln
Manufacturer: Turtleback Books Distributed by Demco Media
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
Literary
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0606311653 |
Book Description
This digital document is an article from The Architectural Review, published by Thomson Gale on April 1, 2007. The length of the article is 752 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: Sap rising, spring in the air, Sutherland Lyall looks for signs of cyber life.(browser)(Column)
Author: Sutherland Lyall
Publication:
The Architectural Review (Magazine/Journal)
Date: April 1, 2007
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 221
Issue: 1322
Page: 97(1)
Article Type: Column
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Average customer rating:
|
SAP Rising
Manufacturer: Tandem Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: 1417669268 |
Book Description
A tale of humane wolves, beastly men, and a brilliant heroine who must find her way in a dangerous worldRaised by intelligent, language-using wolves, brought back to the human society at the court of Hawk Haven, young Firekeeper had to learn to cope with human society and its complexities . . . and discovered that, for someone raised in a wolf pack, the politics of a royal court were neither complex nor wholly unfamiliar.But the happy ending of Through Wolf's Eyes has proved to have consequences. Hawk Haven and Bright Bay are unifying, but the power balance of the neighboring lands is threatened by this prospect. New intrigues abound. The rulers of Bright Bay, it transpires, have been hoarding a collection of forbidden magical artifacts . . . which Queen Gustin took with her when she abdicated, intending to use them to restore her power. Melina Shield is still scheming to obtain them, and she's older, smarter, and more devious than the Queen. And the even-more-devious civil service of neighboring New Kelvin would like to get their hands on that magic as well . . . .Which will make life very hard for Firekeeper. Because the powers of the world have decided who'll be required to obtain those much-contended-for magical articles. It'll be her.
Customer Reviews:
Okay...but not great.......2007-07-03
Uh-oh. Melina Shield, a `sorcerer' fled with stolen magical artifacts. What to do? Luckily, Firekeeper and her trusted companion Blind Seer will be hot on her heels, followed by a worthless array of friends. It is their task to get the artifacts back and destroy them. But Melina is not alone. With her manipulative powers, she befriends an exiled man named Waln, but that's just to get his money, fame, and whatever. She also puts her own daughter under the torture of a group of pirates in a lighthouse. See, besides Melina, all the other bad guys are really pathetic and weak and don't really add much to the excitement.
That's all that `Wolf's Head, Wolf's Heart' is about. Firekeeper starts talking a bit better, but still talks in broken dialogue, even though she had many months to perfect it since not much has gone by from the first book. You get an assassination attempt to the new King and Queen of the society, but even though there was a good many pages explaining about it, it never felt clear to me except a muddy mention that Melina Shield was behind it.
New Kelvin is fully explained, and its exotic cultures are revealed, but it's still bland and dull as the other corny places like Hawk Haven. Kudos for the names. They beat stuff like Wain Cutter and Derian Carter. Just by looking at the names, you know the profession they're into.
The book is a lot better than its runner-up, `The Dragon of Despair' but there is no real depth. The Royal Animals put it into Firekeeper's hands to get the artifacts, and rescue Melina's captured daughter Citrine, but why they couldn't do it themselves is beyond me, even with a very dull explanation.
I continue reading the series because, even though a lot can be improved upon--and cut out entirely--it's still...grips me. It's unexplainable, but it's there.
Was an effort to get through.......2007-05-21
I really loved book 1, so it was with great anticipation that I picked up book 2. But, if I hadn't already developed a relationship with the main characters, I would have never have bothered finishing this one.
While the author's descriptions of the world and the character interaction are supurb, there just wasn't much STORY in this book.
It was filled with planning and traveling where, in my view, nothing of significance happens. Few new discoveries. Very little character growth and development. I kept asking why anyone should care to follow this part of the characters' lives. yawn.
There was plenty of potential, but it was never quite reached. For example, I was really looking forward to Firekeeper's meeting with the Royal Mothers. But, it ended up being routine. The "revelations" shared there were not near as deep and insightful as it tried to be.
For the most part, the characters were the same at the end of the book as they were at the beginning, with only a few minor "ahah" moments.
*** slight spoiler ***
And, in a shocking lack of continuity, the charcters are motivated to bargain with a bad guy's life in return for an object that they are supposed to know isn't genuine -- since they swapped the genuine with a fake in book 1. Yet, they agree to spare the man's life because of how important it is to get this object back. Very dissappointing.
I'm glad I plodded through it, though. The ending (other than the continuity issue) was pretty good. I'll be continuing with the series, but, I doubt anyone who were to skip book 2 and jump right to book 3 would find they missed anything important.
The Story Continues.......2006-12-26
I enjoyed this book better than the first. Probably because the main characters were already developed and the reader can get right into the plot.
I enjoyed the storyline and the character growth that occurs in this volume. Again, if you are looking for dramatic action, there is some, but Jane tends to concentrate more on human interaction, politics, and problem solving rather than her characters being the super heros you find in most fantasy books.
Wolf;s Head, Wolf's Heart - Fantastic!.......2005-09-09
Lindskold's second book is even better than her first in this series. This one keeps you going until the last page with fervent desire to reach the conclusion! Twists and turns keep you guessing what will happen. This is a must read!!
Loved it! .......2005-08-04
Man I just got done reading this book..I loved the first one and I really enjoyed this one. The main reason I read the first one was cuz I have an undying love for wolves. And once I began reading I forgot that and just fell in love with Firekeeper, Blind Seer and all their friends. I don't care what others have said to try and make it look bad. I love this book as well as the first one..and say with a strong heart that its worth the read. I got my dad hooked on the seires as well as my brother..and now that I finished this one he can read it. I'm really excited about seeing what happens next. And I hope that one day some one makes a movie of all four books. That would be really really awesome. Perviding they keep true to the books. If you pick up this or the first book READ IT! Give it a try...you just might fall in love with the story just as I did.
Book Description
The Years Are 2355-2357
Two men. Both defined by the personal tragedy that drove them apart. Both driven by their desire to serve, and their devotion to duty. Both haunted by the past, and uncertain of the future....And both unable to reach across the chasm that separates father and son.
In the wake of the Tholian attack that nearly cost him his life, civilian strategic consultant Kyle Riker becomes the target of an apparent conspiracy within Starfleet Command, forcing him off Earth and beyond Federation territory to evade the attempts on his life. But danger is never far off, even on a backwater world where Kyle's very name brings the promise of death.
At the same time, the Starfleet career of Kyle's estranged son William Riker is under way in earnest, from his turbulent formative years at the Academy to his first perilous missions as an ensign aboard the Starship Pegasus. And even as Kyle searches for the truth behind the events that have made him a fugitive, Will is pursued as well -- by a family legacy he fears he will never escape.
Download Description
"The Years Are 2355-2357 Two men. Both defined by the personal tragedy that drove them apart. Both driven by their desire to serve, and their devotion to duty. Both haunted by the past, and uncertain of the future....And both unable to reach across the chasm that separates father and son. In the wake of the Tholian attack that nearly cost him his life, civilian strategic consultant Kyle Riker becomes the target of an apparent conspiracy within Starfleet Command, forcing him off Earth and beyond Federation territory to evade the attempts on his life. But danger is never far off, even on a backwater world where Kyle's very name brings the promise of death. At the same time, the Starfleet career of Kyle's estranged son William Riker is under way in earnest, from his turbulent formative years at the Academy to his first perilous missions as an ensign aboard the Starship Pegasus. And even as Kyle searches for the truth behind the events that have made him a fugitive, Will is pursued as well -- by a family legacy he fears he will never escape. "
Customer Reviews:
I thought Riker was more interesting than this........2006-01-06
The Lost Era series of Star Trek books has been interesting, giving us insights into the time period between Generations (and Kirk's death) and the Next Generation series. The stories within the books, however, have been hit or miss, with two outstanding ones, one good, and one simply average. With Deny Thy Father, Jeff Mariotte gives us the fifth book, with William Riker's time at Starfleet Academy and the truth behind the Tholian attack on a starbase that horribly injured his father, Kyle. As the series indicated that they had not seen each other in many years when they finally do meet, Mariotte has to take great pains to make sure that they don't see each other in the book, and he does a pretty effective job of it. Unfortunately, what he doesn't give us is an interesting story.
Kyle Riker, after a couple of years of recuperation from the Tholian attack on Starbase 311, is working his normal job at Starfleet headquarters. Late one night, he's attacked in his apartment by a Starfleet officer, who ends up dying in the attempt. Meanwhile, anonymous accusations about Riker's survival of the starbase attack have brought him under suspicion of colluding with the Tholians. Another attack happens, and with somebody in Starfleet Security supposedly looking for him, Kyle has to get off Earth as soon as possible. Meanwhile, William Riker is just ending his second year at the Academy, and the final project for his Survival class goes fishily awry. He goes through plenty of adolescent angst as well, trying to balance a social life and his studies, when his first two years weren't that successful and he's really ambitious. Will Kyle ever figure out who's trying to kill him? And what happens when Will finally gets out there among the stars? And how do they mesh without them meeting? You'll find out.
The book starts off with a bang, with the first assassination attempt on Kyle, and then gets a little more interesting with Will's last assignment in Admiral Paris' survival class: trying to survive clandestinely, without any of Starfleet's technology, in San Francisco for a week, along with finding the clues that will lead them to their goal. However, after that, it grinds to a halt. Kyle goes off planet and gets involved in the politics of the planet he's hiding on (after a long trip that also seems to last for 400 pages, despite the book itself only being slightly over 300). The entire planetary plot bored me to tears and seemed superfluous. Yes, it builds Kyle into the man who must go back to face his tormentors instead of running, but Mariotte spent a lot of time spinning the wheels before he gets there. And what causes the tragedy that sparks Kyle's return had to be one of the stupidest maneuvers by a character that I've seen in a long time, but I don't want to spoil anything.
Meanwhile, Will goes through stereotypical "career or love" decisions during his last two years at the Academy. I did really like the character of Felicia, so these sequences were a lot more pleasant, but I didn't really buy her reaction to what ultimately happens between them, which made the pay-off very unsatisfying. One problem is that Will is never that recognizable as the Will Riker we know and love. Sure, the events in the novel begin to lead him to the path of the man he will become, but he never even gets close in this book. He shuts himself off from everybody because he's too dedicated to his studies. I guess the future romance with Deanna Troi is what makes him finally become a ladies' man, but those events take place years from now.
Getting back to Kyle, the resolution to his story was seen miles away, as it's the only logical solution from a dramatic standpoint. Yes, the identity of the traitor is left in the dark, but that's mainly because we get no information about any of the Starfleet characters except Admiral Paris (who we know is a good guy, as he's Tom Paris' dad), and what information we do get about the others comes right before the final revelation. It's almost anti-climactic, and having trudged through the story on the planet to get here, it was also a bit annoying.
My final problem with the book is the gratuitous continuity. I can take Ensign Janeway showing up, as she's well-known as being a protégé of Admiral Paris. I can even take the mention of Geordi LaForge (at least we didn't meet him), though if they went to the Academy at the same time, I feel sorry for him, as Riker's three ranks ahead of him at the beginning of the television series. But what really killed it for me was the Ben Sisko scenes. There was absolutely no reason for them. The part that Sisko played could have been played by somebody else, as the fact that it was Sisko brought nothing to the scenes other than the "wow, it's Ben Sisko!" factor. It really griped me.
There were some good things about the book, however. The book moved very quickly and held my interest just enough to not make me put it down (though there were a couple of close calls). Felicia really makes most of the Riker sequences, and to see them come so close a couple of times before finally succumbing to their attraction was quite gripping. I also enjoyed seeing Riker as a raw ensign on the Pegasus. That made the ending pretty good. I do have to question the existence of two separate mass-murderers in a book like this. That seemed to be overkill (pardon the pun).
The best thing I can say about the book is that it is bland. Nothing too annoying (though there are parts), but nothing that intriguing either. If you're reading the series and you want to see Riker when he's young, give it a try. Otherwise, forget it.
David Roy
Deny This Book.......2005-06-09
Reading Deny Thy Father is like watching a train crash. I fear to watch, yet I cannot turn away. Jeff Marriotte's first full length novel, the next to last installment (and I hope that won't be for long) in the Lost Era sub-series, starts out well enough but quickly becomes probably one of the worst Trek books I've ever read. Luckily, the book is so bad that it actually rounds the circle of taste to something actually kind of entertaining and not just plain bad like the Stargazer books have been.
There were so many things that I found amiss about the book that I don't know if I can list them all, but I'll try. First of all, the basic story structure is baffling since the stories of the two Rikers really don't have anything to do with each other until briefly at the end. One can see the theme of the sins of the father revisited upon the son in both their behaviors, but I could think of any number of different combinations that would have brought this thread more to the forefront and been more entertaining.
Continuity takes a hit here and there. Most questionable is in the opening when Kyle's apartment needs all sorts of security measures to just get in and this is utopian Earth? One of the many gratuitous and pointless cameos is Ben Sisko at the hospital for the birth of his child, who just so happens to slightly know Kyle Riker and is then of course willing to help him escape. Now, I had always assumed that since they used the TNG sickbay set for Jake's birth flashback scene in The Emissary, he had been born on the Saratoga. However, that was just assumption, so that's not really the problem as so much is the statement that Sisko was in security/engineering colors and not command like in the pilot episode. Ensign Kathryn Janeway also makes an appearance, if for no other reason than the fact that Admiral Owen Paris is also shoehorned into the story.
Details aside, the book's largest problems are characters, story and the aforementioned structure. It really felt like this book wanted to be two separate entities. We're not really informed which is meant to be the lead story: the political thriller involving Kyle Riker or the coming of age school story about Will Riker. The Kyle Riker story is the most interesting in the first segment of the book as we try to figure out who is behind it.
It doesn't help when we get several episodic stories for both characters that get only the most superficial of treatments. The 11th hour story set on Hazimot was really bland and completely got away from why Kyle fled Earth to begin with. Kyle meets the most inexperienced and frankly idiotic group of rebels fighting against your generic corrupt government where the rich get richer etcetera etcetera. The rebels pull a prank on a government parade that's, I kid you not, straight out of Animal House. Now, these rebels already know that Dean Wormer and his police state deal with the local rabble in the most violent of ways for the most minor of things (such as public gatherings). Yet Kyle's airhead rebel girlfriend is totally shocked and indignant at how the army immediately goes into their neighborhood and starts slaughtering everyone for their parade prank. I so wanted to toss the book across the room at this point.
Michelle was just one of many unappealing guest characters in this book. Just about all of Will's Academy buddies were grating in one way or another and I didn't blame Will at all for ditching them and trying to focus on schoolwork. In some ways, it is interesting to see some stories set in a regular character's Academy days, but if this is how they'll come across, it's just as well they never did an Academy series.
For example, Dennis Haynes has been Will's friend the whole book and then quickly becomes an unreasonable jerk out of the blue. Then Will's girlfriend has the audacity to get angry at Will for not sacrificing all of his time to help Dennis with his studies. Of course, this really isn't out of character for her since she regularly came across to me as condescending towards Will Riker. Now, I don't sympathize with Will's "career-first" personality. In fact, it's an attitude I find abhorrent. But at the same time, I found Felicia's attitude of underlying superiority even worse. Estresor Fil was the only real compelling person who had any kind of compelling character arc.
But wait, there's more! The book just keeps going and going as we move on to Will's first posting aboard the Pegasus. You'd think we'd see the tragic events described in the TNG episode of the same name as the ship. It sure would fit in perfectly with Will's story of being gung-ho about a career in Starfleet wouldn't it?
You'd be wrong. We instead get an absolutely meaningless trip to a planet to pick up a war criminal. There's much made about beaming down to get this prisoner when here I am just wondering why they couldn't beam up the guy with absolutely no fuss. This planet is part of the Federation, but they have no starbase or transporters? We also get another unbelievable scene where a security guard (probably an subordinate to an Ensign remember) comes to Will just a day or two after he arrives and confides that he'd like to kill this war criminal! I did not buy it for a second.
About the only real characters to survive this mess unscathed are the main characters. Kyle and Will still commit a couple mistakes of supreme stupidity (Will's race with Paul Rice at Saturn comes to mind instantly), but their characters seemed spot on. That's about all I can say positive about Deny Thy Father.
I suppose I could on and on about the hackneyed finale where there's an attempt to bring the two stories together, but it's involves a fairly anticlimactic fistfight (in front of several Starfleet brass who apparently couldn't be bothered to lift a finger to help) and then just sort of ends. All I'll say is that it involves mind control! Da-Duh-Dun! After reading Deny Thy Father, I wouldn't mind a little mind control that wipes my memory of this.
Halfway interesting read marred by poor ending.......2004-11-24
Deny Thy Father jumps right into the action from the very beginning, and seems to promise an action filled book that will keep readers interested. It doesn't fail altogether, but the book does have issues with pacing and plotlines.
The A story involves a conspiracy against Kyle Riker, father of the famous Wil Riker, and how Kyle handles the threats against his life. It's a relatively interesting but sometimes rather slow story that has issues with keeping on topic.
The B Story is about Wil Riker's journey through Starfleet Academy. It is the weaker of the two stories, but ironically the more interesting of the two.
The major problem with the book is the pacing and plot point chosen to follow in both storylines. Kyle's progress with solving the conspiracy puzzle takes an abrupt halt early in the book into a tangent that proves frustrating and distracting in its resolution. The tangent in the A story could have been more interesting if given more space (due to a decision Kyle has to make, which I won't reveal), but as it stands in the book, I felt very frustrated with Riker's choices. I could tell they weren't rational, but rather the choice of the author to not only avoid keeping any strings attached, but to also get out of the tangent without working hard on the logistics of the story.
It wasn't until three quarters through the book that the purpose for the A story unfolds, in a terribly unsatisfying climax that not only didn't have a buildup (due to the tangent explained above), but also didn't explain itself very well. I was certainly a little nervous of the quality of the resolution when I saw there were only ten pages left, and Kyle had yet to begin solving the conspiracy puzzle. The final confrontation feels like a bad episode of Star Trek, where it's at 58 minutes in the hour, and everyone knows the resolution will only take two minutes. There's that sinking feeling that the buildup won't reach the maximum payoff because of space issues: it definitely came true in this book. The final pages are very disappointing, and laughable in the villain choice. I felt cheated.
The B story was, as I said, the more interesting of the two, but it read like what it was - a B story. Wil's time at the academy wasn't worth the space devoted to it, because it generally wasn't all that exciting. It's a story of a cadet going through school: nothing big happens, nothing huge occurs. It's just a student in school.
I wanted to scream at the writer with each "possible" threat from the A story against Wil Riker that didn't come true, because once again I could see it wasn't logic but the author's poor plot choices that were making those decisions. Why wouldn't Wil become involved with the A story? It's explained away much too quickly, and sounds too fake for my tastes. The author didn't seem to want to take any risks in the story, but instead kept bringing in new characters or events that he just as quickly removed via an unsatisfactory explanation.
By far, this is the worst of the series of The Lost Era books. Purchase it to complete the set, but don't expect much in the read. I'm not saying it's totally worthless - I stayed interested through most of the book, only losing interest within the last quarter when I could see my hopes for a good ending would be dashed. Keeping that in mind, there's a good chance a first read through will be more interesting for the reader who has heeded my warning.
Exceptionally well-written book........2004-08-21
In this book, we see Will Riker as a Cadet and then an Ensign; we see his father; we see Katherine Janeway as an Ensign, and we see Owen Paris, father of Tom Paris, already an Admiral. The story centers around Will and his father, although the twain never do meet; already, they're estranged. The plot, both the main one and various subplots, are all handled well, competently and with flair. We get more insight into both Will and his father; not surprisingly, Deanna Troi is not the first potential love that Will has broken up with in the name of furthering his career, nor is it surprising that his father has trouble with relationships too.
Not, perhaps, of interest to the reader who isn't already familiar with the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" background world and characters unless they would find a study of a disfunctional father-son relationship in which both men are reasonable, worthwhile individuals of interest, but definitely a must for fans.
An Unnecessary Read.......2004-07-24
I hate to be critical of an author who writes well, but there are a lot of things about this novel that I have problems with. First, it's always nice to learn about a popular character's history. This book is essentially 2 stories, one about Will Riker and the other about Kyle Riker. Concerning Will, it was nice to learn about his Academy days. However, I didnt really get much from it. If Starfleet Academy were real, I would imagine most cadets would have similar stories to tell (if not better). As to Kyle's story, it was interesting to learn about his past with the Tholians. And the setup concerning the conspiracy kept you turning the pages. But then it goes downhill real fast. Kyle disappears to let things settle, and hence begins a story-line I cant imagine anyone would care about. I didnt care about what happened, and I didnt care about the characters. All that kept me going were the interludes about Will. Second, the ending couldnt have tied up any faster if it tried. It was 300+ pages of build-up, with 1/2 page for resolution. (It was like a cartoon ending.) And at the end, I didnt care about that either. I guess what Im saying is that this book was a waste of time. It's OK if you have nothing else to do, but I dont think I would recommend it.
Customer Reviews:
This book is a must!.......2007-09-29
Every Catholic or any person wishing to know about Catholicism should read this book. Fr. Groeschal's presentation is stunning, challenging and moving. This book will move the reader from a nominal believer to a spiritual life that gives one a greater need for an intimate relationship with God.
Theology in plain english.......2007-01-03
Can't read Aquinas ? Read Groeschel !
Easy but profound and packed with
great insights and stories.
From the essentials of the faith to the four last things, Fr. Groschel is your guide.......2005-07-19
I love Fr. Benedict's writing style, he is very down to earth and because of this he is very clear. In this book he guides the reader towards understanding exactly what the Salvation that Christ gained for us is, what hallmarks our lives have to have in order to truly reflect Christ's presence in our lives, as well as to draw us heavenward. Throughout the book he illustrates the points he is trying to make with vignettes from the lives of his parishioners and his friends, from the tragic to the funny. I highly reccomend this book, particularly to all who think that we live, we die and then that's it.
This Is Catholicism.......2001-02-03
In this book, Fr Groeschel examines the consequences of original sin, and gives us reasons for hope in a world where God permits much that is tragic. Written in a conversational tone (compared to his earlier work) and in a tenor of affable tough-mindedness, Fr Groeschel illustrates his theses about hell, about penitence, about God's grace, using many incidents and real-life stories from his own experience as a Franciscan Friar of the Renewal in the South Bronx, an area which police have denominated "Fort Apache" and which priests call "Our Lady's Playground."
Unsentimental but never hectoring, clear-eyed and hopeful, acutely aware of the tragic and the sinful but nonetheless unwavering in faith, hope, and charity, Fr Groeschel has given us a book that you will read at least seven times a year. There is a marvellously restorative effect to "Healing the Original Wound," and without hesitation, this reviewer declares it to be the best of the friar's books.
It might be mentioned further that a book like this one reveals the crippling inadequacy of labels like "liberal" or "conservative." Benedict Groeschel is a Catholic priest who works among the poor in New York City, who has an ardent love of Catholic tradition, who doesn't take kindly to dissings of JP2, who reveres the memories of Archbishop Oscar Romero and Dom Helder Camara, and who on occasion has kind words to say about Mother Angelica. We think it safe to say that he is uncategorizable and inimitable. And we thank God for him, and this wonderfully magnanimous book of his.
A must read for all who believe in God!.......1999-09-01
"Healing the Original Wound" is a book that should be read by everyone. Father Benedict Groeschel does an excellent job of putting into perspective what the meaning of life really is. Father Benedict's faith, compassion and intelect flows freely in this easy to read book. For those that have read "Healing the Original Wound", putting into perspective everyday problems will no longer be a problem.
Books:
- Satin Doll: A Novel
- Seeing Salvation: Images of Christ in Art
- Selah's Bed: A Novel
- Servants of the Map: Stories
- Small Rocks Rising (Western Literature Series)
- Sonechka: A Novella and Stories
- Soundproof Room: Malraux's Anti-Aesthetics (Cultural Memory in the Present)
- South Station: A Novel
- Temple of the Winds (Sword of Truth, Book 4)
- Ten Years Later
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- The Eternal Summer: Palmer, Nicklaus, and Hogan in 1960, Golf's Golden Year
- Neuroscience: Exploring the Brain
- El Ultimo Encuentro / the Final Meeting
- History: Fiction or Science
- If You Want to Walk on Water, You've Got to Get Out of the Boat
- Learning to Eat Soup with a Knife: Counterinsurgency Lessons from Malaya and Vietnam
- History: Fiction or Science
- Family and Work in Ethnic Minority Businesses
- Gathering Wisdom: How to Acquire Wisdom from Others While Developing Your Own
- The Shape of Things to Come: 7 Imperatives for Winning in the New World of Business
