Amazon.com
It's as if Stephen Mitchell had been working on three books and decided that instead of finishing them separately, he would just combine them into one. There is the fictional story of a Jewish man who has the jarring experience, while high on broccoli (prepared in the secret Hasidic fashion), of identifying himself with Hitler. He exterminates Jews and feels proud to have done it. Subsequently, in the back of his mind, he is preoccupied with unraveling the problem of evil, a process that leads him to Zen practice and a brilliant account of its tribulations and rewards. Then there is the nonfictional essay "Against Angels," an erudite lambasting of the popular fascination with angels. We get not only a summary of it but a philosophical history, an outline, and extensive passages. The third story is of a man's encounter with the angel Gabriel, who doesn't know why he's there, but who initiates the man into the orgiastic bliss of archangeldom and troops him through the heavens--and the resemblance to the Divine Comedy doesn't stop there. What (barely) links these stories is that the Zen practitioner is the author of "Against Angels" and, ironically, the one to whom Gabriel appears. If there is an abiding theme, it is that the suffering of humanity is redemptive. In this first fictional outing for Mitchell, it is his laid back, whimsical tone that really holds it all together and makes each story worth reading for its own sake. --Brian Bruya
Book Description
When the archangel Gabriel appears to a narrator who has written a bestselling book called Against Angels, our whole view of the world is turned on its head. What is the nature of bliss? What games do angels play? What is angelic sex like? Gabriel gives an intensely erotic and moving demonstration of this, leaving us, as he leaves the narrator, breathless. Later, he takes us on a guided tour of the heavens and introduces us to, among other spirits, William Blake. The three chapters of dialogues between Gabriel and the narrator--surprising, poetic, instructive, funny, and improbably real--may be as fascinating to those who can't stand angels as to those who are enchanted with them.
Customer Reviews:
Not worth reading.......2007-01-17
I'm surprised at the amount of good reviews here. I will read just about anything and I was barely able to finish this book. I thought it was ridiculously pretentious. The author tries to make a book out of disconnected, half-baked ideas that he doesn't feel like explaining. Some of the reviewers seem to love his 'poetic' style, but I personally got annoyed at that 'style' which generally consisted of someone trying to explain overly-lofty ideas with a metaphoric style such as hearing colours and tasting sounds. It doesn't tell you anything about what the character was experiencing and just leaves you feeling completely disconnected from what is happening in the story.
I also wasn't aware of the amount of Zen I was getting into when starting this book. I don't mind, I'm Buddhist myself, but it definitely didn't make for a good story. And the amazon review at the top of the page mentioned something about having 3 books into one...I would have to agree, but not in a good way. It jumped around and most things had nothing to do with each other, no matter what 'higher meaning' spin you wanted to put on it. I would skip over this book. It was a chore to get through and I felt empty and annoyed at the end that I just read that whole book.
the most amazing manipulation of words you'll ever read.......2001-07-07
Even before I finsihed with this book, i found myself going back and re-reading sections. The author has the most amazing talant with words that I believe I've read to date. While the book can be a little slow, it is definately a must read for anyone with an appreciaiton for fine writing. It is funny, moving, and more than worth the time I've spent re-reading and highlighting my favorite passages. I tend to loan out books after I've read them and sometimes don't get them back. This book hasn't left my room for fear that I'll never see it again. I plan to tell any would-be borrowers that it's worth their money to buy their own copy.
Revelations.......2000-03-14
What an astonishing experience this was -- I had just decided Zen was too cold and empty (like Jack Kerouac, another Catholic-turned-rabid-Zen-Buddhist, who later repudiated Zen, saying: "Zen leaves me cold now. I have felt the presence of angels.") So when I saw this title, "Meetings with the Archangel," I thought, "Yes! Let's forget Zen and read about gorgeous, colorful, swooping angels!" Imagine my surprise when the most riveting part of the book turned to be about, you guessed it, Zen. My mind is still reeling.
A self spiritual reconcilation.......2000-02-27
This is the first spiritual book with a deep literary, poetic, full of wisdom that I'd have ever read. It was very helpful for me to reconciliate with my soul and to accept my human nature. I recommend this book to all the people who had read spirituallity books and are worried to solve their karmas and lift their good vibrations stat. This book is helpful to relax your soul and understand your human nature.
Excellent book on tape.......2000-02-16
I highly recommend the tape version that i listened to. Mitchell has an excellent understanding of the world and presents it in a very approachable way.
Amazon.com
Australian author Cecilia Dart-Thornton's American debut, The Ill-Made Mute, earned praise from fans, critics, and colleagues; the lyrical novel's admirers include no less an authority than the Grande Dame of Fantasy, Andre Norton. The sequel, The Lady of the Sorrows, garnered further acclaim. Now, Dart-Thornton concludes her high-fantasy trilogy, The Bitterbynde, with The Battle of Evernight.
Once a scarred and nameless mute, Tahquil has regained her voice, her looks, and some memory. But she and her companions, Viviana and Caitri, are stranded far from the man she loves, and are being pursued by the tireless and dangerous Lord Morragan, Crown Prince of Faerie. Tahquil may not regain the rest of her memory in time to save her companions or herself. And even if she does, a shocking discovery may doom any possibility of love.
The Battle of Evernight is not for newcomers to Dart-Thornton's fantasy universe. Her trilogy has a complex plot and her world of Erith is developed with uncommon depth. Additionally, The Battle of Evernight has some structural problems. Too many of its early events don't really forward the plot. The climax occurs too far from the conclusion. And the ending's coy note may annoy fans as well as newcomers. Also, while not a structural flaw, the three main female characters are disappointingly passive, and seem to exist mostly to be acted upon by the males; for example, Tahquil observes the critical titular battle from a distance. If you're new to the Bitterbynde, start with The Ill-Made Mute. --Cynthia Ward
Book Description
In the breathtaking conclusion to this powerful fantasy trilogy, our heroine, now known asTahquil, has finally regainedmuch of her memory and embraced her history and her quest: to stop the battle that is raging in the land of Erith. For she alone holds the key to the Gate of Oblivion's Kiss, the only wayback to the mystical land of Faeran, home to the squabbling king and prince at the center of the dispute. Now, as the number of casualties on the front lines grows, and with her own beloved Thorn missing in action, Tahquil's time is running out. She must race across Erith and cast the warmongers out....before all is lost.
Customer Reviews:
Longish and anticlimactic........2007-09-21
The Battle of Evernight is the third and final book of the Bitterbynde trilogy (after The Ill-Made Mute and The Lady of the Sorrows).
Now that Tahquil, our heroin-with-too-many-names, has gotten most of her memory back, she's gnawed at by the Langothe, an unendurable longing for the Faêran Realm, in addition to her yearning for her lover Thorn.
Tahquil knows now that she is the only one who can open the magic door to the Fair Realm, left ajar with three strands of her golden hair several hundred years ago. Which is why she is sought after by Angavar and hunted down by Morragan and his hordes of unseelie creatures: the Faêran King and his twin brother and nemesis, the Raven Prince are trapped in Erith.
In the company of her maids Caitri and Viviana, she sets out on a journey to Arcdur, to find the Gate of Oblivion's Kiss. Starting near Huntingtowers, together they'll travel all across Eldaraigne, successively through: the flowery Arven Meadows, the jungle of Khazathdaur and its tree-top catwalks, the river-ridden hills of Lallillir, the orchards of Cinnarine, then changing their course to go to Morragan's lair, through the labyrinthine hedges of Firzenholt, the wasteland, and the volcanic desolation of Tapthartharath, making friends with helpful wights along the way: an Urisk, a Waterhorse and a Swanmaiden.
Does this description sound like a tedious enumeration to you? Well, it actually echoes what reading the story felt like to me. Although the vocabulary used in this volume is less intricate, the book is mostly longish and uneventful. Even the long-expected clash between good and evil falls flat, anticlimactic. Still, there are a couple of passages I enjoyed: a moment of respite when the girls make a halt in Appleton Thorn, enjoying the villagers' traditions and rites, and the unexpected fifteen-or-so last pages.
A glorious train wreck of an ending.......2006-06-17
I was rolling right along with the book, liking the rich description, enjoying the strong female protagonist who doesn't use a sword, breezing through all the half-familiar folklore Dart-Thornton has woven into her story, and BAM! I hit the ending, and it's like a blow to the gut.
Not in the sense of an unhappy ending, but instead a wrenchingly clumsy ending that feels bolted on to the rest of the narrative. Some of the main characters make some staggeringly stupid decisions, which seems standard for fairy tales, and a stunning betrayal comes around that throws Tahquil back to square one and should have been the beginning of another book. Instead, the reader is torn away from Tahquil's POV and slam-dunked through the rest of her life, as told in three pages. The paperback version has a postscript from the author that clarifies the ending and makes it much happier, but it feels like a bone tossed to the fans. The average reader will be able to think up half a dozen more graceful ways to end the book before breakfast.
The rest of the book, though, is pretty good. I particularly enjoyed the swan-maiden and Tahquil's other companions, and it never bogged down like the second book did. There are some sappy parts, and some great characters from previous books never really get a chance to shine, but it's all right. The author's penchant for overdescription, as with the food at the coronation feast or what Tahquil wears on a daily basis, breaks through, but again, not as bad as in the second book.
A Big Let Down.......2006-04-10
After totalling looking forward to reading the 3rd & final book in this trilogy I felt really let down by this book. I found the heroine became annoyingly perfect and put on a pedestal, her great love who always was portrayed as perfect continued to be so until right at the end when suddenly he makes stupid yet significant bad decisions, and the fact that it was becoming evident that this love story wasn't going to be what one expects was unfulfilling. In addition, many of the great characters in the earlier books are underutilized by either dropping out altogether or make cameo appearances. It made wading through all the long long journeys she found herself making which were arduously described accompanied by not very interesting or useful companions, albeit in beautiful language, not really worth getting through.
The end is just a big let down. Instead of having a fabulous indepth story written in first class language and style, it becomes a tragic folk story that one wades through 3 volumes to find out.
Overall Dart-Thornton is a fabulous writer and I love her use of language/prose and descriptive script, but the end of this story was unfulfilling. I really hope she perseveres to write more great stories.
Of journey and battle.......2006-03-01
Being helpless and chased by the Hunt, Tahquil decides to take an undercover journey to look for the gate. The journey takes her, her friends and more acquaintances made along the way through a large and scarcely populated region of the world.
After many adventures along the way, she will finally meet the makers of the current situation of Aia, and participate to the final battle.
The finishing of the trilogy is somewhat surprising.
Unfortunately, the final book doesn't live up to the 2 first ones, the journey is very long but does not really bring much to the story, and the plot is a lot less elaborate. The book is good however as the reader can enjoy more of the richness of Aia and its denizens, in the same flourished writting as the other books. The much-awaited-for confrontation of the actors of the closing of the gates is more than satisfying.
A terrible disappointment........2006-01-13
I loved The Ill-Made Mute, the first book in this series. I loved it so much that if you had told me that I would someday give a book by the same author two stars, then I would have at the least been very surprised. Yet, here I am.
To be honest with you, I had gotten worried about the series after The Lady of Sorrows. The complex and strange fantasy world had started to look rather unfortunately like a novelization of the graphic book Faeries and the character of Tahquil was beginning to irritate me. Unfortunately, The Battle of Evernight takes almost everything that I disliked about The Lady of Sorrows and multiplies the offense.
The biggest problem in the book can be summed up in two words: plot and character. There is never any real tension about the outcome of the story. The main character is never in any real danger or doubt. Everything is pretty much predictable and foreshadowed to death. I also liked the character much better as a deformed mute than as a pampered and protected fairy princess. Furthermore, the lush description that served the series so well in the beginning is overdone nearly to the point of self-parody in The Battle of Evernight. When everything is described with superlatives, it is as tiresome as though it were not described at all.
As a final note about the book's flaws, I will only say that if a novel has to have an afterword to explain its own ending, there is something terribly wrong.
I am going to take the unusual step of saying that fans of The Ill-Made Mute may want to think twice before finishing the series. At the very least, they should seriously consider taking this book out from the library and buying it used. Shame, really. Dart-Thornton is clearly a talented writer. I hope that she can find a fresh start with something less ambitious.
Average customer rating:
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Battle of Evernight
Manufacturer: MACMILLAN
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000GSQSZC |
Customer Reviews:
Read this second!.......2007-02-28
I (and many others) believe the best place to start with Doc Smith's "Lensman" series is Galactic Patrol; and as I've said why, at length, in my review of that opus, I won't repeat it here.
"Gray Lensman" begins where "Patrol" left off, and never flags, from the start to the finish.
Smith at this point is a massively improved writer from the author of the earlier Skylark series, and much more confident in his characters: Richard Seaton, for instance, never has the moments of self-doubt that trouble Kinnison, and would certainly never burst into tears (as the latter does when his nurse won't feed him beefsteak in hospital!).
Even more unexpected is the development of an impish sense of humour, manifested in several places, but most notably in the exploits of Wild Bill Williams of Aldebaran II, in the present volume -- surely one of the most entertaining episodes in the whole of Golden Age SF.
I've never understood critics -- including the normally-perspicacious Brian Aldiss* -- who say that Smith couldn't write. True, he probably never gave T.S. Eliot (his exact contemporary) any sleepless nights, and better authors have certainly stood on his shoulders; but the Lensman series is F-U-N, and without it the SF world would be a much duller place.
*in Billion Year Spree, later revised as Trillion Year Spree.
Customer Reviews:
Read this second!.......2007-02-28
I (and many others) believe the best place to start with Doc Smith's "Lensman" series is Galactic Patrol; and as I've said why, at length, in my review of that opus, I won't repeat it here.
"Gray Lensman" begins where "Patrol" left off, and never flags, from the start to the finish.
Smith at this point is a massively improved writer from the author of the earlier Skylark series, and much more confident in his characters: Richard Seaton, for instance, never has the moments of self-doubt that trouble Kinnison, and would certainly never burst into tears (as the latter does when his nurse won't feed him beefsteak in hospital!).
Even more unexpected is the development of an impish sense of humour, manifested in several places, but most notably in the exploits of Wild Bill Williams of Aldebaran II, in the present volume -- surely one of the most entertaining episodes in the whole of Golden Age SF.
I've never understood critics -- including the normally-perspicacious Brian Aldiss* -- who say that Smith couldn't write. True, he probably never gave T.S. Eliot (his exact contemporary) any sleepless nights, and better authors have certainly stood on his shoulders; but the Lensman series is F-U-N, and without it the SF world would be a much duller place.
*in Billion Year Spree, later revised as Trillion Year Spree.
Customer Reviews:
Super Reader.......2007-08-27
Kimball Kinnison has earned the right to wear the Gray. This is the Lensman's Lensman. A member of the Patrol so good that he is no longer under the direct command of the organisation, and can do whatever he wants. He has the ability to requistion, people, materiel, or whatever he wants, to get the job done. They are 'unattached'. This means if he wants his old friend, the ex-space marine giant Van Buskirk and his crew, then he gets them.
Having taken care of a Boskonian base, Kinnison the Gray wants to search out where the Boskonians came from and check for any still remaining in his own galaxy.
The search leads to another galaxy, and an ever increasing arms race on just a crazy scale. Want to blow up some bad guys? Then throw an anti-matter planet at them, no problem.
In the process, Kinnison learns to again expand his abilities, leading to the next book.
Read this second!.......2007-02-28
I (and many others) believe the best place to start with Doc Smith's "Lensman" series is Galactic Patrol; and as I've said why, at length, in my review of that opus, I won't repeat it here.
"Gray Lensman" begins where "Patrol" left off, and never flags, from the start to the finish.
Smith at this point is a massively improved writer from the author of the earlier Skylark series, and much more confident in his characters: Richard Seaton, for instance, never has the moments of self-doubt that trouble Kinnison, and would certainly never burst into tears (as the latter does when his nurse won't feed him beefsteak in hospital!).
Even more unexpected is the development of an impish sense of humour, manifested in several places, but most notably in the exploits of Wild Bill Williams of Aldebaran II, in the present volume -- surely one of the most entertaining episodes in the whole of Golden Age SF.
I've never understood critics -- including the normally-perspicacious Brian Aldiss* -- who say that Smith couldn't write. True, he probably never gave T.S. Eliot (his exact contemporary) any sleepless nights, and better authors have certainly stood on his shoulders; but the Lensman series is F-U-N, and without it the SF world would be a much duller place.
*in Billion Year Spree, later revised as Trillion Year Spree.
Book Four of the Lensman Series, 253 Pages, Publ 1951.......2006-07-26
I thought the series started to trail off starting with this book. I've missed two of the six book series due to their unavailability, but I really enjoyed Triplanetary and Galactic Patrol, books 1 and 3, respectively. Book 1 really sets up the background of the Arisians and the Eddorians and the great confrontation that eventually will have to come between them. Galactic Patrol goes heavily into what makes a Lensman, what a Lens is, and the integrity of a Lensman. Kimball Kinnison is the best of the best. He goes from Lensman (of which only 100 are graduated per year on Earth) to Unattached or Gray Lensman, and eventually even further to Second Stage Lensman. The book Gray Lensman misses the edge of the impact of a lensman, I thought, that Galactic Patrol had. Certainly what the book does is bring up the dangerous potential risks to a life of a lensman. The one scenario of torture written here is one of the most horrific I've ever read and is absolutely hair-raising. And certainly, from what Kinnison has to go through regarding drug use, for the good of the galaxy, it's a good thing lensman are of absolute integrity.
The originality of the series is not to be understated and one can see the influences from this series on science fiction shows and movies from Star Trek onward.
The Saga Continues..........2005-04-29
"Gray Lensman" is the fourth book in the Lensman series and it picks up right where "Galactic Patrol left off. As with the previous book, this is the collection of material that was previously published in "Astounding Science Fiction" from October of 1939 through January 1940. The book was first published in 1951, and was ranked 13th on the 1952 Astounding/Analog All-Time Poll. The series as a whole was nominated for the Hugo for best all-time series in 1966.
In this book, Kimball Kinnison searches for traces of Boskone after the destruction of their base in our Galaxy. The search takes him to the Second Galaxy where he stops the Boskonians from destroying the Medonians. He also searches out remnants of Boskone within our own Galaxy, and he continues to learn how to better use the Lens. The book leads up to a climactic battle against the Boskonians in the Second Galaxy.
As with the previous books in the series, the science is the weakest part of the story. Despite this, it is still worth reading for the characters and fast paced storyline. This is a great example of Space Opera from the golden age of science fiction.
GALACTIC JAMES BOND.......2002-02-01
Kim Kinnison is Doc Smith's James Bond. What fun the author must have had putting this one to ink. Wouldn't bond have enjoyed using a negasphere, black hole-like wave of hyperspace, to destroy one bad guy planet? The next bad guy hideout planet squashed like a walnut between two colliding planets. What a gas! Your hero loses both hands and feet but not to worry. Brilliant geneticists discover how to excite the dormant pineal gland. Soon all body parts are regenerated (like a starfish grows new points) and the hero is good as new. Just in time to let him marry his beautiful, red headed nurse. Hollywood, here comes Kim Kinnison!
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1951 Fantasy Press Gray Lensman (Lensman Series)
Edward E. , Ph. D. ("Doc") Smith
Manufacturer: Fantasy Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 Smith, E.E. 'Doc'
| ( S )
| Authors, A-Z
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Science Fiction
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
Lensman
| Media Series
| Series
| Science Fiction
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: B000MUXX16 |
Product Description
Of all his works, Edward E. Smith's Lensman stories are his greatest contribution to science fiction, and by many of his multitude of enthusiastic followers, Gray Lensman, fourth in the series, is considered his best.
Average customer rating:
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Gray Lensman
E. E. Smith
Manufacturer: Jove
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: 0515045896 |
Average customer rating:
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Gray Lensman
E.E. Smith
Manufacturer: Pyramid
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000KTY6UG |
Average customer rating:
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Gray Lensman
E.E. Smith
Manufacturer: Pyramid
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000V97XL4 |
Book Description
Nearly three decades ago, Paula D'Arcy began to write letters to her unborn child--letters in which she chronicled her emotions, hopes and dreams. A few years later, Paula's daughter and husband were killed in a tragic automobile accident?and the diary to Sarah became a journal that today brings tremendous healing, peace, and comfort to those immersed in their own grief.
This new edition includes a foreword from Gerald Sittser, author of A Grace Disguised. As well, it updates the original edition with two new afterwords: one from the author, the second from the author's second daughter, whom Paula D'Arcy was carrying in her womb at the time of the accident that killed her first child and husband.
Customer Reviews:
Heartfelt.......2005-07-26
This was such a great help for me when I was going through the grieving process. I connected with the author's spirituality in finally finding hapiness after grieving the tradgedy she suffered. I am quite a fan of many of her books. She seemed a warm person when I had seen her speak at a local book discussion.
Books:
- Mistler's Exit
- Moral Hazard: A Novel
- Next Stop Hollywood: Short Stories Bound for the Screen
- No Matter How Much You Promise to Cook or Pay the Rent You Blew It Cauze Bill Bailey Ain't Never Coming Home Again; A Symphonic Novel
- Northern Trails: Book I
- Only the Heart Knows How To Find Them: Precious Memories for a Faithless Time
- Our Arcadia: An American Watercolor
- Pelican Watch
- Peter Camenzind: A Novel
- Pocketful of Pearls (Elect Trilogy #2)
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