What I like most about this book is the dramatic colour and layout. Like all the previous Guinness Books, this one is jam- packed with lots of trivia, amazing facts and figures. The colour, however, is what truly sets this book apart from previous years. Each page seems to come to life and captures the reader's attention.

The only downside to the book is the print, which I find a little too small for my liking. If you are young and have great vision, you will not have a problem, but for those of us who are in that mid-life age bracket and wear glasses, the small print eventually becomes very hard on the eyes.

If your a person who is fascinated with facts about the world, then this book is a must have. It has facts pertaining to the Biggest, Fastest, Longest, Tallest, and Largest on just about everything you can think of. The facts are accurate and interesting. Comes complete with colorful photos with fascinating side panels of information that can keep you reading for hours. This book has been being published for years and it keeps getting better every year. I know I sound like an infomercial guy, but this book is a must own for Fact lovers!

I am a 13 year old and I liked this book a lot. The pictures were colorful and it is a good source of useless information. I would reccommend this book to people of all ages. Even if you're five and can't read, you can look at the pictures. This book makes a great gift, or just something where you go into the bookstore and want to pick something out. This book will really catch your eye with it's silver cover. Overall this is a great book.

I clearly am not in the target audience for John Douglas's 'Anatomy of Motive'. I picked up this book thinking it was a scientific look at how mentally ill criminals think. What I read, while interesting, is such a far cry from what I consider science that to name it such would be paramount to calling a stapler a chicken. This is emphatically not to say that this is a bad book. I found the look into the mind of a profiler very interesting, and even managed to learn a bit about what he does. The thing I take issue with is the constant references Douglas makes to his subjects as 'losers', 'cowards,' or 'creeps'. These people are, to begin with, mentally ill. While their crimes are undoubtedly awful, they should be judged in the context of pathology, not morality. I can't imagine why Douglas feels the need to remind us that it is wrong to eviscerate a woman and leave her corpse under a woodshed. I know this already, thank you. Equally irritating is the manner in which Douglas ignores two glaring facts. The first is that the most brutal of the crimes described in the book were carried out by individuals either enlisted in the armed forces or retired therefrom. It seems that Mr. Douglas's own military background hinders him from seeing a pattern of violence connected to the military. Then again, maybe these folks are just losers. The second is that his 'dominate, manipulate, and control' formula is a fair description of the goals of most corporate CEOs. If one is going to moralize, they should acknowledge that the violence that these offenders commit has at least some relation to the very values our society celebrates. To play these very sick people off as 'losers' ignores that their illness is the logical extension of our own. Of course, this sort of statement does not belong in a book purporting to be about the science of criminal profiling. What are appropriate here are a description of a crime, and how the profiler determined what sort of personality the offender has. I would think that labeling the "'UNSUB" a 'loser' would hinder the objective analysis necessary to find him. While there is enough of the kind of information I wanted to keep me reading, I couldn't help feeling like I'd just been preached to. If Douglas had left out his completely unnecessary pedantic rambling, this book would have been about fifty pages shorter. It also would have been more interesting. In the end, I felt that the main person who had been profiled was John Douglas.

Some people believe that John Douglas comes off as a bit arrogant in his writing, and I could not agree more. However, once the reader is able to get past the author's arrogance, the author compiles a very interesting read.

Douglas takes into account all of the types of killers including arsonists, assasins, poisoners, bombers, serial, killers, mass murders, and spree killers. He goes into detail to explain who is likely to commit the specific crime and what makes them snap to go on their murderous rampage. Once the author gets into a specific story it is hard to put this book down.

The final chapter allows the reader to try some profiling of his/her own on some specific case. For this reason, the last chapter is called "you make the call."

Overall, I enjoyed this book and would suggest it to all true crime fans. Just for the record, I do intend to read some of Douglas's other books in the future, based on my enjoyment of this book and the other book I have read and reviewed by him.

This book is simply a must read in light of recent events in Maryland, Virginia, and D.C. Many people all over the world are currently asking the question: What kind of person would do this and why? In The Anatomy of Motive, John Douglas answers this very question. As Mr. Douglas has stated in his previous books, the primary motivation of sexual preditors is manipulation, domination, & control. However, in this book, Douglas delves deeper, looking into the personality differences to uncover the causes which make these extremely dangerous criminals act out in the various ways that they do. Arsonists, Bombers, Poisoners, Snipers and others are all covered in a detailed, yet very understandable format. Therefore, the reader does not have to be a Psychology major to comprehend what Douglas is saying. Moreover, the numerous case studies included help to make the book an extremely interesting read while, the "You make the call" portion at the end gives the reader a chance to put their newly obtained knowledge to the test.

This book is different and worthwhile. I've been through all sorts of jobs, from high tech exec to recently becoming a student again. During each transition in my life I would go to the book store and buy a stack of books, hoping to find the answer inside.

This book doesn't have the answer either. Instead it acknowledges that each of us has our own truth. What it does give you is:

1. hope that you can find your own (for-profit!) career that helps people in whatever area your own gifts lie, thereby adding meaning and fulfilment to your own life 2. inspiration that the path may not be short or easy but IS possible 3. key questions to help draw the answers from your soul 4. quotes from all sorts of people that ring so true you'll want one or more on your mirror 5. direction to resources to help you at both the makingalife.com site and other places

I have known Mark since college. He could be making megabucks, not writing books. Why isn't he? Because he genuinely believes that all of us can and should be able to have purposeful work that makes us feel good about who we are and what we do every day - and be able to make a decent wage doing it. Anyone who has made "enough" money and found themselves feeling empty can tell you that money isn't all there is.

Schools measure how many graduates get jobs and the size of their starting salaries. Mark is trying to help these same talented people see that money won't make them happy. See that once you get on that treadmill, it's not so easy to get off of it (email me if you don't believe this) like you say you will. I say, "Bravo!"

This book can't give you your own answer to what the music is that plays in your soul. But it can and does tell the story of a dozen people's search and ultimate success in doing so. Let yourself be inspired by the examples, and I wish you the best of luck on your path. Have FUN!

I have read most of the reviews and they seem to fall into two camps. Positive reviews for inspration, negative reviews for practical advice or "elitism". If you are looking for a book that will give you a program to become financially, emotionally, and spiritually wealthy, this ain't it. (I am suspicious of any author that claims to do that.)

If you are looking for positive stories about people who are commiting their professional lives to improving the lives of others, I think you will enjoy this. I have read and reread this book several times over the course of my career change, and it has helped ease the fear that comes with the transition. I have read a number of meaningful and life changing books, but none of them individually "showed me the way". This book's greatest strength is showing what is possible. Not all of the examples will survive the test of time as businesses. That's not the point. The point is that you can live a truly engaged life in pursuit of the dream, even if you don't achieve it. For more practical career advice on making a life with meaning check out Laurence Boldt's Zen and The Art of Making a Living. Buy Making a Life for someone who is unhappy with work but doesn't know there is another way. Buy it for yourself if that is you.

I found this book MAKING A LIFE by Mark Albion inspired me because I was reading about real people who were making meaningful changes in their lives and were not just waiting around for opportunities to find them.

His story about his loving relationship with his mother and his pride in her success in her business despite the ravages of her bout with cancer portrayed his humanness. I was touched and so admired both of them.

For many people who are at a crossroads in their lives., Mark opens doors of opportunity to examine their careers and inspires them to expand into new territories. As a result, they, by the examples he writes about, are able to further make a new contribution to a society which is in need of human contact and attention.

I kept reading and kept marveling at the way each story he told unfolded to show the reader how it has been done by others who achieved success, financially and spiritually. I respect the people about whom he wrote and respect the people whose quotations he so frequently used to reinforce his stories.

I have reread the book because it was so interesting to me. Most of all the author confirmed for me that the changes that I have made in my own life have all been worthwhile. I have made a life and a living and have made a contribution to society. I have recommended the book to many of my friends.

Thank you, Mark Albion, for bringing truly meaningful life stories to me and to thousands of readers all over the world. Good Luck in all your present and future endeavors. Your book is your contribution to my life and I will always remember it.

A few years ago Wendy Kaminer wrote a book, I'm Dysfunctional, You're Dysfunctional, that took on self help books and programs. Now Christopher Buckley assigns himself the same task writing a fictional account of a monastery headed by an abbot who is a devotee of Deepak Chopra. It's a fluffy, hilarious, yet incisive probe that makes a lot of self help writers and their readers look silly. Its a slim book, but with about 3 laughs per page you get you're money's worth. Don't read it if you are a fan of Chopra, Robbins or Covey though, as I'm sure it will stunt your spiritual growth, and set you back on your path to make millions of dollars in this lifetime.

When I first bought the book I thought it was a self-help book for recovering market losers (like me) to help me refocus into the spiritual aspects of life. As I read the book, I started wondering if the story was true. The later chapters seemed so absurd that it couldn't have been true. At the very end, it really was a pleasant surprise. What turned out to be a quest for self-help turned out to be a book that panned all the self-help gurus. Bravo to the authors! The witty biblical quotes and expressions were gems that kept me laughing. I only gave four stars because I found the Market Meditations at the end a bit too much.

This is an extreemly humorous book detailing the path to success in life. I laughed aloud at the well written genuinely "true-to-life" situations Brother Ty narrates in this personal tale of his journey to "Spiritual AND Financial Growth." There is a very tender and heart touching element found in the development of the characters introduced in this story which makes it a delight to read. Also, as a minister myself, (protestant & Presbyterian...so pray for me, my Catholic friends!) I appreciated the accurate use of theology and Scripture found throughout the story, an element missing in many popular "self-help" books. Overall a great book about the insanity (and cure) found in our "growth" oriented modern society. I couldn't help visualizing how this will appear as a screen play. (Now that Robert Downey Jr. is "out and about," he has my vote for "Bro.Ty"!) A fun read that will leave you feeling good about life.

This book was recommended to me as a must read for non-coffee drinkers around the world. Although not a coffee-drinker, I was relieved to find that the book doesn't hang on this! Not even remotely... Instead, Memoir from Antproof case is an amazing story from cover to cover!

I must confess, despite being a good read from cover to cover, I found it a little slow to get into the first couple of chapters or so of the book. The only thing that kept me going was the extraordinary fluid way the words flow across the page, seamlessly blending to create melt in your mouth sentences... Its hard to describe, but Helprin has a beautiful command of the english language and if all his work is like this, he can probably make the dryest legal document readable...

However, after the first couple of chapters, the plot explodes to completely engage the reader - and a couple of VERY late nights ensued while I powered through the rest of the book... And Helprin's beautiful sentences underly the unfolding story, adding an extra dimension. The plot twists are amazing and you HAVE to keep turning pages as the book builds up to a climax. My only grumble in that area was the climax probably came just marginally too soon, leaving the book with a 2 chapter wide down.

This novel is written as what I call "Big novels" i.e. a riveting work of fiction describing someone's life, with all its highs and lows. I loved the fascinating life described by the narrator in this book, and recommend this book to anyone - whether they like coffee or not! In fact, the coffee is just an interesting trait in the book (adds humour...) so don't EVER let that put you off reading this book if you are coffee drinker!

Mark Helprin is one of the most gifted writers in the English language. If you don't believe it, read A Soldier of the Great War, one of the most wonderful novels in many years. Ant-Proof Case displays Helprin's incredible use of language, but it's in the service of story that is merely diverting, rather than profound, as in Soldier. The protagonist's account of his life veers between acute sensitivity and buffoonery. There are images that will stay with you, perhaps for a long time, such as his exaggerated contempt for coffee and his descriptions of dogfights in the Second World War, but the truly insightful observations on life that are sprinkled throughout the work tend to get overshadowed by the clownishness. It's almost as if Helprin was embarrassed by his emotional refinement and wanted to laugh his way out of it. In Soldier of the Great War, it is his unabashed embrace of that sensitivity that makes the book a masterpiece.

Helprin starts by recalling Melville, "Call me Oscar Progresso..." and then lets us know we are in for a wild ride, "Or, for that matter, call me anything you want, as Oscar Progresso is not my real name.Nor are Baby Supine, Euclid Cherry, Franklyn Nuts, or any of the other aliases that, now and then over the years, I have been foced to adopt". In a book with flights of fancy that soar every bit as high as those in the bestselling "Winter's Tale", but infinitely funnier and less grandiose, Helprin charts a course few writers dare. Giving away the story is betrayal to the reader, so suffice it to say that Helprin's newest hero is defined by his hatred for the "evil bean that enslaves half the world", coffee. His life struggles put him in harms way and at the top of the world. He knows riches and love, he knows betrayal and poverty. I laughed out loud continuously while reading our hero's description of his fall from corporate grace, defined by the ever changing quality of the art hanging in his office. Helprin has always been a comic writer, his "serious" works had a deftly comic touch, but this is his first work of pure comedy, and of course as all of Helprin's books are, it is a morality play of sorts and an exploration of life's abusrdities. But don't let that thought deter you, this a funny, brilliant, eccentric, even dazzling book. Read Antproof Case and let this extravagantly gifted author take you where he will.

I would doubtlessly recommend Ivanhoe to read. History may be often dull but Sir Walter Scott makes history extremely exciting by romanticizing his novel. It directly deals with hatred between the Normans and the Saxons, the discrimination of the Jews, chivalry, and politics--but it is a unforgettable tale of heroism, honor, and love. I felt that the characters were so fascinating and fun to read about. I was enjoying and cheering on the good characters like Ivanhoe, King Richard, and Robin Hood to beat the hated and evil villains. I liked the idea of love added in the story, like how Rowena and Rebecca were both in love with Ivanhoe. I even felt a little sorry for Brian de Bois-Guilbert who would do anything for Rebecca's love but is constantly rejected. I thought how it was appealing how the author questions Ivanhoe and Rebecca's feelings for each other. Suspenseful and action sequences also added entertainment to the story. This book may be a little too detailed for some readers, but I didn't mind. I felt that the details were brilliantly used to decorate the story in an outstanding fashion. The old English wording made me feel like I was actually in the medieval England. I have to admit that it took a great deal of persistence for me to finish this book and it was a challenge for me to read. However, I found Ivanhoe to be a wonderful pleasure. It is no wonder that Ivanhoe is such a well-loved tale!

I enjoyed this adventure yarn on many levels.

I was glad to learn about the Knights of Templer and that they were crusaders. I always wondered how Sam Spade in the Maltese Falcon knew that and it is because of this classic.

I was surprised that it talked so much about Robin of Lockesley. The story of Ivanhoe seemed to be the same only told by Ivanhoe's friends and not Robin's.

I thought that the DeBracyn and the Knight of Templer Brian de Bois Guilbert were pretty evil guys which made the story interesting. They were weasels when they had their backs to the wall but did preform with honor when required like when Richard gets DeBracy.

I guess I did not understand the prejudice of the time because they treated the Jews like dirt and they were so sterotypical. I really thought that the Jewish girl Rebecca was going to end up with Ivanhoe instead of that Saxon Lady Roweana. I guess you have to appreciate the times that they lived in.

It was a different look the Richard/Prince John history.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but this book, by Sir Walter Scott, was the progenitor of what was to become a venerable tradition in English letters (and in other European literatures as well): the historical romance. There have been many after IVANHOE, and frequently with a finer eye to the period in which the tale is set (for IVANHOE contains quite a number of anachronisms -- even Scott acknowledged it), but few have done it quite as well as Scott. He uses an archaic English to give voice to his characters, but one which is readily absorbed because of the speed & quality of the tale. So, though these people certainly wouldn't really have spoken as he has them speaking, they yet sound as though they should have. Peopled by many 'stock' characters and situations, this tale was fresh in its time & still reads well today -- a testament to Scott's skills as a teller of tales and a sketcher of marvelously wrought characters. In this tale of the 'disinherited knight' returning home to find the world he left turned upside down, young Ivanhoe, after a stint with King Richard in the Holy Land, must fight the enemies of his king and kinsmen anew. Yet the hero is oddly sidelined for much of the tale as events swirl around him and the brilliantly evoked villain, Sir Brian de Bois Gilbert, in the pay of Prince John, struggles to win treasure and the beautiful Rebeccah, who yet has eyes only for Ivanhoe, a knight she can never hope to win herself. There's lots of action and coincidences galore here and Robin Hood makes more than a cameo appearance, as does the noble Richard. In sum, this one's great fun, a great tale, and the progenitor of a whole genre. All those which came after owe their form to it. Worth the price and the read.

This follow-up to "Mindhunter" is penetrating in flashes, butin the end is disjointed, poorly focused, and periodically boring. Itseems not to know what kind of book it really wants to be. Is it, as the subtitle suggests, an analysis of "the minds and motives of the most terrifying serial killers?" Not really. Douglas offers interesting analysis of selected serial killers, but their cases don't occupy as much of the book's 372 pages as you'd expect. For one thing, there's an extended, three-chapters-long section on Susan Collins' murder that starts with the first meeting between her then-twenty-something parents, slogs through Susan's childhood and young adulthood, and ends with a full chapter devoted to advocacy of victims' rights. The killer's mind and motives occupy very little of this 82-page discussion. What's more, although the profiling and eventual capture of the killer are interesting, the man turns out to be a one-time murderer, in other words NOT a serial killer. Similarly, Douglas' analysis of the Nicole Simpson / Ron Goldman murder scene is instructive, even incisive -- but this crime, too, was not the work of a serial killer. The same is true of several key crimes examined in the book.

So "Journey into Darkness" does not deliver what its subtitle advertises: extended analysis of serial killers. The result is a feeling of clutter and haphazard assembly of material.

"Mindhunter" was better, and portions of this book are worth reading if only because of the exceptional nature of John Douglas' professional experience. A better read than either of these books is "The Killer Department" by Robert Cullen (Pantheon, 1993), a suspenseful narrative account of the criminal career of the Soviet serial killer Andrei Chikatilo, who has been executed since the book's publication.

This book could make you absolutely paranoid! John Douglas, the FBI profiling agent recently called in by the Jon Benet Ramsey family, writes a fascinating account of the psychology of killers and rapists. Many of the cases described you will remember from the news. At times the book can be tedious because of lengthy personal opinions . The author is very blunt about his feelings. At other times the author can be self serving. But, if you ever wondered what the underbelly of crime is really like, read this book

Though this book still has John Douglas's usual pat on his own back all through it, it's truly a terrifying read.

The only unfortunate part of the book is Douglas's rehash of the Simpson case (yawn), and his showing us how he'd profile the killer is a big bore.....and it's in here because John Douglas likes to talk about how good he is (and I'm sure he is....but the man has an ego problem).

Aside from that profile, the reading is so scary that I couldn't sleep, and as far as true crime books, that rarely happens to me.

It's an excellent read, and gives some worthy "tips" as far as your own self-preservation, and the safety of your children.

In spite of Douglas himself, I enjoyed this book almost too much. I was afraid to go in front of my windows for days!

Absolutely worth buying and reading...

This book was a major disappointment for me, although that should not have come as a surprise since the quality of Mr. Douglas's books has declined steadily since the first one I read, Mind Hunter. The premise is a good one--he uses his modern "profiling" techniques to provide insights into some older, well-known murders. But his performance here is mediocre & this book proves to be his weakest yet.

The first four chapters deal in detail with Jack the Ripper, Lizzie Borden, the Lindbergh kidnapping, & the Zodiac killer. While the overviews are decent & his analysis more or less sound, of necessity he relies heavily on the writings & research of others & there is really nothing in these chapters that you could not find more extensively in a book devoted exclusively to any of those cases. The next chapter includes three more famous cases (the Black Dahlia, Bambi Bembenek, & the Boston Strangler) & the same criticisms that apply to the first chapters apply to this one except that his descriptions & analyses of the cases are much sketchier.

The book really falls apart though, in the last full chapter, which covers JonBenet Ramsey. Douglas has ties to the Ramsey family & their lawyers &, while he makes a couple of good points in favor of the "intruder" theory, his allegiance is obvious & he often does not play fair with his readers. His attempts to defend the Ramseys from any & all allegations are fairly pathetic & seriously call into doubt his objectivity. As an example, he makes a big deal out of the fact that the Ramseys submitted to having samples of their hair, etc. taken saying that if they were guilty they would never have done so. But this is disingenuous--the crime scene was the Ramsey house which would have been full of their hair & DNA so matching their samples up with something found in the house would really be meaningless. On the other hand, the Ramseys have consistently refused to be interviewed by the police--interviews which, if they were guilty, would be very dangerous for them. Douglas also belittles the fact that the Ramseys hired lawyers right after the crime saying that any potential suspect would have done so. While true, it was this "lawyering up" that prevented the police from having contact with the Ramseys & from properly investigating the crime. While one could understand a suspect refusing to talk with the police even if he were innocent, it is much more difficult to understand the motivation of a parent whose daughter had just been brutally murdered to impede the investigation of the crime in such a substantial way. Interviewing & clearing the Ramseys, or using the information they provided to match up with other leads, could have focused on some other suspect & possibly solved the case. Regardless of who committed this crime, & it could very well have been an intruder, Douglas's tortured excuse making for the Ramseys pretty much ruins this book & his credibility in general.

For someone who has never read anything on the crimes discussed in the early chapters, this book will provide a decent overview & reference for further reading. But the contents are nothing special &, in the case of the JonBenet chapter, are much less than that. Two stars.

I've read most of John Douglas' books, and most of the other books inspired by the work done in the FBI's Behavioral Sciences unit. I have a deep respect for Douglas and his many colleagues around the country who continue to work in law enforcement and are students of the criminal mind.

"The Cases that Haunt Us" is, for the most part, a work that deserves as much accolade as Douglas and Olshaker's previous books. The historical perspective and fresh evaluative light shed on such classic cases as Jack the Ripper and the Lindbergh kidnapping is fascinating and invaluable. However, upon reading the final chapter, I was left with the nagging feeling that every chapter in the book was a carefully calculated setup to prepare the reader for the final chapter, where Douglas presents his findings and opinions on the JonBenet Ramsey murder case.

I don't fault him for being unobjective. He admits that he was hired by the Ramseys' lawyers to provide his opinions on their possible guilt or innocence. He was not, as is often assumed by the public, hired to provide a profile of the killer (he was never given access to the autopsy reports, crime scene photos, physical evidence, etc., that would be necessary for a true profile). As with his style in the previous chapters, he presents the facts of the case. But his chapter on JonBenet is hopelessly contaminated by his own involvement with the family (none of the other high profile cases in the book involved him personally). The result is a missive that reads like a cross between a rationalization and an apology. Don't get me wrong, Douglas presents his findings in a clear and very logical manner, and I don't disagree with his findings. I just wish for the sake of this book, that he had left the Ramsey case alone and had added some additional historical cases (JFK or MLK Jr assassinations, for instance, or the OJ case) in which he was not personally involved.

Much has been written about the JonBenet Ramsey murder, and I was curious to see Douglas' own conclusions on this case. But by including it in this book, he busted what was easily a 5-star work down to 3 stars.

This is a fascinating read.

The idea behind this book is that John Douglas and Mark Olshanker look at some of the unsolved cases through out history that have continued to be of interest to the public. Through the evidence and accounts of each crime, they try to apply the FBI behavioral science that has been developed since these crimes as a way to 'solve' each crime.

Beginning with Jack the Ripper and ending with the Jon Benet-Ramsey murder with a wide variety of unsolved, famous crimes in between this book is just plain fascinating. They begin with a description of the crime, the crime scene and the people involved. Then they begin to explain and catagorize what they can learn from the known facts on hand. They explore possible solutions that have been provided by other authors and try to decide if these solutions fit the crime through a behavioral science point of view. They then provide what they think might be the appropriate solution.

One thing I appreciated about this book was that these authors constantly stress that they can not prove their solution is correct, only that it fits what they know to be facts and the behavior science views. They do not belittle other authors or police, in fact, they are constantly praising the good job the police have done in each case. The stress that this is an exact science at best due to it being a behavioral science and a people science.

Another thing I appreciated about this book was that it was peppered with a variety of cases that the author had personally worked on and stories of criminal the author had personally interviewed. Rather than being distracting, these short stories only support his theories and go a long ways to explaining exactly what the authors are talking about.

I rated this a four mainly for one reason: I find that many of the sentences are long and convoluted. I find that I have to go back to reread a sentence at times to be sure I understand what the sentence was saying. Maybe others won't find this to be an issue, but it occurs just often enough that it disturbs me.

Overall, this is a very fascinating read.

First I have to admit that I'm a big fan of McCaffrey's Pern series. I've followed most of the books in the series from the Dragonriders of Pern to the Harper Hall Trilogy, with Renegades of Pern, All the Weyrs of Pern, and (of course) the Dolphins of Pern. However, I feel compelled to give the book only 2 stars on the fact that her standards seemed to have sliped with this plot. I have nothing against dolphins, but as I was reading I alway had this impression that she (McCaffrey) is trying to salvage what's left of the series to create this story. Also, the "weaving" of the story with various scenes in "All the Wyers" left me the impression that some dialogue resurfaced that wasn't mentioned in one or the other. I wouldn't be so harsh, if not for the fact that she did a good job of linking scenes between "The Renegades of Pern" and with "The White Dragon" from different perspectives with no change in dialogue (ie Toric @ ! Landing) unlike "The Dolphins of Pern." But the biggest problem that I can not swallow and am surprised that it passed the editors is the fact that Lord Oterel of Tillek Hold seemed to have a surprising resurrection for "The Dolphins of Pern" when supposedly he passed away, thus the contention for Tillek Hold in a chapter in "All the Weyrs of Pern." That error cannot be "smoothed over" since a man could be either dead or not dead. Unfortunatly, this shows to me that the author did not put much serious effort in keeping with the chronology of Pern.

I have to agree with several of the reviews that noted how Anne McCaffrey's later works about Pern seem to have lost something that she did so well in her earlier ones. I am a loyal McCaffrey fan, so please don't take this as some kind of "Anne-bashing"--but, The Dolphins of Pern just wasn't up to par with the first two trilogies. While the concept of the friendly, talking dolphins is appealing, the storyline goes all over the place, jumping over years in Readis' and other characters' lives, losing focus and generally feeling less like a plot than an ongoing report on the amazing new dolphins. I hope Anne isn't just writing in response to pressures from fans and her publisher, but I have a bad feeling that she became bored with Pern years ago. Read this book only if you are a Pern fanatic.

A lot of people have said that Anne McCaffrey lost something with the Dolphins of Pern, but I disagree. I think that the book ties together a lot of loose ends from throughout the series. It adds on to The Renegades of Pern, and lets us know what happened to some of the charachters that were forgotten in All the Weyrs of Pern. The Dolphins of Pern occurs (mostly)in the same time period as All the Weyrs of Pern, so that it does get slightly boring at times hearing things we already know. I think that it's worth reading through whatever boring parts there are though. In my opinion one of the best parts of the book is seeing the main charachters(and the leaders of Pern) through the eyes of some of Pern's lesser residents. We also finally get to know F'lessan (F'lar and Lessa's only son), who we don't hear too much from in the other books. This book is a must read for all those dedicated to the series, but it definitely isn't the place for someone new to the series to start reading. You should really to start with one of the other books if you want to fully appreciate this one.

When I bought it I [knew] I would love this book, it had it all; apocalyptic visions, sentient computers and roleplaying. It was an easy read, [and] when I was finished, I was left feeling [awestruck]. In my opinion the only good part was the [part between the cover and the back of the book]. The characters in the book were all [n]-dimensional, and the story [was woven like Escher fabric]. In the middle of the book, Fabi suddenly introduces a way of connecting to the internet like the one in Neuromancer. I believe this is [a great idea, eventhough the story is set in 1999]. This is next year! Even if these interfaces existed, the internet would not have the bandwidth to support them [by 1999], even the [current] computers themselves would not be fast enough. [However, I understand this is why they call it Science Fiction.] The way Dworkins game translates text into a fully immersive experience is also [brilliant]. The large section of the book where the characters alter egos explore Roger Dworkins mud is [fantastic], [even at the risk that some readers may feel it] mocks serious roleplaying. In the game, all [of] the characters...collect magic swords and fight AD&D monsters Fabi hardly bothers describing [(and I'm thankful for this, because the best description is the one that forms in my own mind).] The connection between Roger Dworkin and Bill Gates as well as Macrobyte and Microsoft is [an expected metaphor]. This book was [wonderfully entertaining] for me. Mark Fabi tries [and does]...write about [many ideas] at once, therefore the book becomes a huge [techno-cultural-mythological tapestry that I recommend everyone wrap themself in].

Armageddon is coming in the form of a computer virus. Set in 1999, WYRM is about a virus hunter named Michael Archangelo who discovers a radical new virus while investigating a computer built to play chess. The plot thickens when Archangelo discovers the virus is more than just a virus; it's an artificial intelligence intending to inflict destruction at the beginning of the new millennium.

The story is the standard "band of good guys take on ultimate bad guy" formula, but it is a very entertaining story that handles the formula well. It switches between events that take place in the real world and in a role-playing game. There is a heavy emphasis on computers, MUDs, and viruses, but Mark Fabi makes sure he doesn't lose any readers along the way. The story flows smoothly and Fabi takes the time to explain the technology and computer jargon used in the novel, so readers who aren't very knowledgeable of computers won't get lost.

WYRM doesn't break new ground in the genre. The issues brought up in the book could also be found in more detail in William Gibson's Neuromancer or Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash. WYRM is by no means a bad book. It is a very entertaining story that pleases from the very beginning to the end.

Wyrm, by Mark Fabi, is simply put one of the best novels I've ever read. I don't say that lightly, either. Wyrm combines romance, technology (complete w/ computer jargon, and explinations!!!!), fantasy, and action. Some of the most interesting parts of the story take place INSIDE a CRPG (computer role-playing game)!!! All of the characters (which, by the way, are fanstastically developed) become characters in a RPG played over the internet, much like a AD&D game. Wyrm is an excellent book. While it is Sci-fi, it reads as quick as a adventure book. I couldn't put the thing down. Now - where's that sequel? An excellent first novel by Mark Fabi. I'd reccomend it to anyone.