An excellent visual coverage of the controversial exhibition of Young British Artists. Includes a few essays at the beginning of the book, and a few photo examples of each artists work. I would have liked a bit more information on the artists, under each of their names for easier reference. Overall an excellent catalogue of one of the best exhibitions of the decade. Artists included are Jake and Dinos Chapman, Damien Hirst and Tracy Emin.

Great piccies...plenty of authority types spouting about art...a key catalogue on yBa's...especially recommended for art students desperately seeking quotes from the stuffed shirts of art, on Saatchi's girls and guys...don't get hung up on the media controversy...it's only art...it can't bite you...and if you don't get it, then 'Sod You Gits!'...as Sarah Lucas says.

I went, if you didn't, buy this. Lots of love, Liz Delag xxx (young, British and an artist...shouldn't I be famous by now?)

Recommended for any serious artlover, especially those with good taste. Oh yes.

When I sat down with "The Beast", I was not planning to read the entire book in a single sitting. Terry Adams did a superb job at putting the reader into the lives of the real life characters. Book very well researched. Its a must for those who prefer "fact" rather than "fiction". Very well done with particularly good detailing of events.

The Eye Of The Beast was the most awesome book I have ever read! I read it straight through in one day because I could not put it down. As soon as I picked the book up, I was instantly hooked. I guarantee you will love this book!

This book was a must read for my family. We grew up with his family. The way the writer explained David Haggards involvement was great. It shows that family doesn't always protect family when someone is doing wrong. David is a very nice and gentle man and I am glad that the book did nothing to show differently. I have read this book twice and it has helped me to caution my daughter on how to not trust strangers. It also explains to her the dangers of people in this world.This book also shows the hard work and emotional toll that being a police officer takes on people. Even when they do their best it isn't always enough to make things safe. This world has some evil people in it that are often protected by the judical system.

The new Star Wars movie had the potential to rival the original trilogy, but just about everything felt forced. The drama felt forced, and so did the comedy. It was more an exercise in world-building than storytelling, and if Lucas can get his act together by Episode II, this will be easier to forgive.

None of this is Terry Brooks's fault, of course, but I would have expected him to recapture the movie's visual magic in the book's prose, which he does not. I think Lucas could have chosen an author more skilled at visual description, like Ray Bradbury or Alan Dean Foster. To add on to that, the movie's funniest moments come off pretty flat on the printed page. That may not be Brooks's fault either, but humor has never been one of his strong points as an author.

What makes this novelization worth reading is the detail it adds to the movie's narrative. Well, most of the detail. The first couple of chapters, detailing Anakin's history as a pod racer, are boring as can be. I'd almost suggest just skipping that first section. But most of the additions only lend clarity and depth to the story. Just a couple of examples: We get to see Anakin's evil foreshadowed when he beats up a kid who accuses him of cheating. We also get to see his ability to predict the future when he tells Padme he's going to marry her. Both of these scenes should have been in the movie, in my opinion. From what I understand, however, Lucas was the one who conceived of these scenes, so I'm not so sure that Brooks deserves credit for the way they improve the story.

The much briefer "Queen Amidala's Journal" does a much better job of bringing the characters to life. Brooks does give us more details about the characters than we were given in the movie, but he has a similar weakness to Lucas in that he often states motivations, emotions, and temperaments without showing them through a character's actions. If Obi Wan is a "headstrong young apprentice," we just have to take Lucas' and Brooks's word for it.

This is unfortunate, because people who have never read Brooks before might incorrectly assume that he's a mediocre writer. Under Lucas' constraints, Brooks has no chance to show his talents as a storyteller. I encourage anyone who was less than impressed by this novelization to go back and read "The Sword of Shannara," the novel which made Brooks famous. You should be pleasantly surprised, like I was.

Terry Brooks works around George Lucas' script to give an expanded view that a movie can't. Reading this helps fill in all those holes that were there in the movie and what gave it such a poor rating by the critics.

Eventually we will see a re-edited version of the movie the would match the book, sometime in the future

I loved this book. Personally, I've seen the movie 3 times already (due to change to higher number soon). The 2nd time I saw the movie, I went and brought the book. It was worth every cent. Now, I was introduced to Star Wars when I was four. My grandmother had it at her house and I thought it was scary as anything. My brother got it for his 7th birthday (when I was nine) and we watched all of them straight through and I finally understood the plot. Then I was hooked. My dad started to let me read the Star Wars books. I enjoyed most of them (save some Kevin J. Anderson books). Until this day, my favorite SW book is "Jedi Under Seige", surprisingly by Kevin J. Anderson/Rebecca Moesta. When the new movie came out, my friend and I skipped school to see it. For those of you who haven't seen it, get off the internet, get your shoes on, and haul your butt to the nearest threater showing Episode One. The book, in my opinion is just as good as the movie, which was killer. Terry Brooks is a talented writer (unlike some. I'm not mentioning any names, Ms. J. V. Jones. And Mr. Kevin J. Anderson (Adult Star Wars)) and keeps strictly to a plot line. He doesn't give away any secrets about the movie until they're supposed to be given (Sound familiar, Ms. P. C. Wrede?).The one problem I had was that the battles could have been more descriptive. As an unpublished novelist, I'll say firsthand that battles ARE hard to do, but when you're doing Star Wars, blood and gore, and lightsabers, and ships, and big explosions work. Thank you and have a nice day.

So I was getting ready to reread Don Quijote (1605)(Miguel de Cervantes 1547-1616) in the excellent Burton Raffel translation and as I was looking for information about the book and author, saw repeated references to Fielding's Joseph Andrews. I'd read his Tom Jones a couple of years ago and found it kind of tough sledding, but when I stumbled upon this one at a library book sale for a quarter, it seemed a stroke of destiny.

The parallels with Don Quijote are readily apparent. First of all, the book consists of a series of humorous travel adventures; second, the travellers involved seem too innocent to survive in the harsh world that confronts them. When Joseph Andrews, the naive footman of Lady Booby, deflects the amorous advances of both her Ladyship and Slipslop, the Lady's servant, he is sent packing. Upon his dismissal, Joseph, along with his friend and mentor Parson Adams, an idealistic and good-hearted rural clergyman, who essentially takes the physical role of Sancho Panza but the moral role of Quijote, sets out to find his beloved but chaste enamorata, Fanny Goodwill, who had earlier been dismissed from Lady Booby's service as a result of Slipslop's jealousy. In their travels they are set upon repeatedly by robbers, continually run out of funds and Adams gets in numerous arguments, theological and otherwise. Meanwhile, Fanny, whom they meet up with along the way, is nearly raped any number of times and is eventually discovered to be Joseph's sister, or maybe not.. The whole thing concludes with a farcical night of musical beds, mistaken identities and astonishing revelations.

I've seen this referred to as the first modern novel; I'm not sure why, in light of it's obvious debt to Cervantes. But it does combine those quixotic elements with a seemingly accurate portrayal of 18th Century English manners and the central concern with identity and status do place it squarely in the modern tradition.

At any rate, it is very funny and, for whatever reason, seemed a much easier read than Tom Jones. I recommend it unreservedly.

GRADE: B+

If you like playing mini gods then this book is alright. If you like this book then let me suggest Secrets of the black hand for vampire. Do you think your enemys really stand a chance if your mage can creat your own univers...

Hey peeps, this is actually a good book, basically it's telling you all about those who dont achieve ascension, and nolonger can, by making any of the characters in the book or following any of the paths in it, you can no-longer achive ascension even the oracles, failed in achieving the thing the game is mainly about.

Although I would never let a player have so much power as to have spheres above 5, it was intresting to read about the Arch-spheres. Plus it clarified the whole Oracle,God,Archmage thing. All of which are cool concepts and could make for intresting plotlines. such as if a player manages to get his Arete up above 7 as a gift from his storyteller (geez it's hard to do) it could be intresting to have to go on a search for one of these GREATER beings and garner some knowledge from them before they can complete a seeking. Accually thinking about it I would possibly allow players to get up to lvl 6 spheres just because it takes 5 years worth of study and practice to gain it and every dot above. I guess if a player had spent that much time and effort into getting the darn dot I'd let him have it, but it may take a year real-time for 5 years to go by in my games anyways.

Sorry rant. Great book though.