Well, this small E-book ain't so bad after all. I just finished it and it was a good story, though it was too short (about 115 pages). The author speed up the story and the character doesn't stay in one place too long.

I don't want to tell anything about the contents, because I don't want to spoil the story. To all the Diablo fans, I just can say, read it. I already read Diablo - Legacy of Blood, but it's best to read this first, in case you have to start. Demonsbane is a great prelude to the series and you should definately read it.
By reading these books, I like playing the game more, since I understand the world better.

Have fun with this book.

Greetz,
Geoffrey

Overall, I applaud Mr. Marks effort in the first official story set in the vivid wold of Sanctuary. I did enjoy reading this novella. But there are some flaws. The most fun of reading a book based on a game is that you can relate. You can say,"I've done that." Or, "I've met that person." Things like that. With Demonsbane however, the characters were not fleshed out enough. There was none of the mystery and excitment of the story that the Diablo universe is famous for. He did have some recognizable characters but in name only. Tyreal, although essentially the same, was basically a mystical human being instead of an angel. I wished there were more involvement in the story. A good thing is that the book left off with plenty of room for a sequel. Which we can all hope for.

I enjoyed reading Demonsbane, and its a book I'd recommend to others. To be honest, its more of a novella, as it comes in at just over 100 pages, but its a good story.

I have mixed feelings about the characterization and plot of the book itself. I would've liked to have gotten a deeper look at the personalities and motivations of the various characters in the book--but--that's only because I found them to be interesting as characters to begin with. I hope and expect that later books by Mr. Marks will continue to expand on the dramatis personae he provided us with in his first work.

Overall, he paints a vivid picture of Sanctuary (the Diablo world). Heroes such as Arkaine, Velund the Smith, and Tyrael make appearances, and earlier events and critical wars are discussed.

I would say that Mr. Marks had a very difficult job. Honestly, I believe its impossible to build a deep, complex, and completely immersive world, PLUS add excellent characterization in 100 pages. What Demonsbane does best is set the stage for the books (hopefully others by Marks) that will come after it. It's a worthwhile read, a good story, and I expect that the books that come after it will continue to expand the world of Sanctuary and populate it with interesting and deep characters. Worth your time.

Apart from a TWO PAGE section headed "Reading Hindi Script" in which the Hindi alphabet is presented, this book does not teach you how to read or write Hindi! This little book of 143 pages of big type teaches conversational Hindi with transliterations (into the English alphabet) only. After completing this course you will not be able to read any Hindi signs, menus or periodicals, and you will have no clue as to how to write Hindi.

This book would be useful only for someone who just wants to be able to exchange a few phrases with Hindi speakers during a trip to India. Only tourist-oriented situations are presented in the dialogs, and even then the vocabulary and the total amount of material presented is extremely small. The tapes are relatively good because the native speakers read each dialog once at a normal pace, then they read the dialog slowly, line by line, so that the learner can repeat and learn pronounciation. Unfortunately, the tapes also contain a lot of filler in English that becomes annoying after repeated listening, and worse yet, in an effort to "simplify" the grammar, the tapes (and the book) will teach you some sentences that are not entirely grammatically correct.

This book seems to be meant primarily for travelers who need some basic street Hindi to be able to communicate with native speakers easily. The Devanagari alphabet is ignored entirely, and grammar is not emphasised any more than is necessary. What the book does give you is a very solid and basic grounding at basic communication skills. The conversations on the tape are very useful in practical situations such as at the airport, marketplace or so on. But the book doesn't get very in depth, so if you want anything more than a casual introduction to spoken Hindi, you will need additionall resources. but as a starter course, this book can't be beat!

I am a huge fan of The Prisoner TV series and go cuckoo for anything associated with it. I'm even keen on the so-so novels by Thomas Disch, but the DC Comics graphic novel "Shattered Visage", by Motter and Askwith, is an absolute mess.

The basic plot is interesting, in a nostalgic way, and if the authors would have gone deeper, maybe this story could have been salvaged. Focusing on a grim-and-gritty "post-Village" life for Nos. 2 and 6 sounds like an interesting read (especially No. 2's incarceration and subsequent book, and 6's breakdown). The problem is that you barely get to read about them at all. The focus is instead on bland new characters who are uncovering the existence and purpose of the Village, and 2 and 6 are secondary. Furthermore, it undoes some major points that were established in the series finale "Fall Out", and once they go messing with that, I don't get interested; just angry. So I guess that this book isn't meant for long-time fans of The Prisoner, because why would we want to read about the adventures of a bunch of nobodies uncovering (or undoing) what we already know?

The writers, however, try to reel the fans back in and impress us with their "clever" use of dialogue and scenery from the TV series, but this is another thing that makes the book so irritating. It's as if they picked their favorite blocks of dialogue from the show, and purposefully wrote the entire book around their incorporation. An occasional "be seeing you" would be fine, but Motter & Askwith use SO MUCH dialogue from the TV series that I challenge their claim to be the writers of this book.

Let's not forget the art: horrific pencil scratches that benefit little from the inking, and flat washed-out colors that make deciphering the panels a chore. Also, would it have hurt to include some backgrounds in the panels? Overall, the art has no detail or depth and makes this a visually boring tale. My advice is, watch the TV series, revel in its greatness, and skip this book.

Probably the closest we'll ever get to a Prisoner sequel, SHATTERED VISAGE is all the more disappointing as it could have explored literally any storyline and expanded on any character, yet did so very little.

A revisitation of the Village and Numbers Six and Two (appearing in the favorite Leo McKern incarnation), SHATTERED VISAGE is likely to leave the casual fan entirely befuddled and even the hardcore enthusiast scratching their head. As obtuse as the final series episode, FALL OUT, and poorly illustrated, SHATTERED VISAGE satisfies only in that it faithfully maintains the clever wordplay of the series in its dialogue, but this is little compensation for the lack of a cohesive story.

Many Prisoner fans enjoy the mystery of the series' finale, forever exploring possible meanings behind its intriguing images, but a successful sequel must answer at least some existing questions before asking others. Therefore, SHATTERED VISAGE fails in nearly every department. Only the most devoted completist need bother - and even then, this title is likely to simply take up space on your shelf.

I had never seen The Prisoner prior to picking up this graphic novel, but this book was intriquing enough and so well written it lead me into collecting the episodes of the TV show.

The art is a bit of an acquired taste (particularly the coloring), but the story riffs on some of the same themes and ideas that made the original such a cult favorite, while bringing it into modern times.

Some reviewers have complained about it not making any sense, or being obtuse, but I disagree. Like anything worthwhile, it takes a bit of effort, and if you only try to passively "be entertained" you may not get everything out of it.

Overall, solid story work by Motter with art that grows on you. A worthy "sequel" to the TV series.

I am the same Tom Cai who reviewed this book about 1 year ago, and feel it is necessary to review it again. I admit Dr. Freeman has written many successful detective stories, but they can not be credited to this particular one. This book holds a place in the history of detective stories, because it created Thorndyke, but as a detective story, it is definitely not a very good one. It borrows various parts of Holmes and then pieces them together with a slightly different character and slightly different narration, then the job is done.

Many people disagree with me, because the thumb mark is made in a way different from the Norwood builder's. But this is really a minor issue. Once the author decides the thumb mark is fake and actually conveys this idea to the readers, it is no good to spend much pain on how it is made. A detective story is not supposed to be a science story. The former emphasizes on DEDUCTION rather than profound science knowledge, because not every reader is a PhD or MD as Freeman. Even if someone is, he might well be in a different discipline. Doyle is in no way less educated than Freeman, but he always applies the most practical method with the least scientific knowledge in the conducting of a crime. This makes Doyle's story not only full of surprises (Watsons would say: ah, it's that simple), but also more read-able than Freeman's lecture. Even in the view of science story, people would question whether Polton's (Thorndyke's assistant) various patents are realistic.

Nevertheless, I can't deny it is helpful for Freeman's future career, which makes Thorndyke a distinct character rather than a mimic of Holmes. The only difference between Doyle and Freeman is that the former is a genius while the latter is just talented.

Edwardian London: a city of squalor, pea-soup fogs, and primitive detective work. Into this city, is introduced Dr John Thorndyke, a pathologist, who appears as an expert witness in court cases for both the defence and prosecution. He is also a detective who seeks to solve cases.

In this first Thorndyke story by R Austin Freeman (the first of many in the series), Thorndyke takes on a new assistant Dr. Jervis. Dr Jervis is the foil to Thorndyke, just as Dr Watson is to Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. Thorndyke also explores more than just the case, by having Jervis fall in love. Dr Jervis' love affair is an interesting diversion in how it reveals middle-class values at the turn of the century.

The basis of this story is interesting: can forensic science be wrong; can you fake fingerprints on evidence ? The book is not a 'who dun it' in the conventional sense. Most readers will identify the obvious villain early on. The challenge is to work out how the crime was done and then to prove that it was done that way. Of course, Thorndyke frees the innocent man in the end.

Thorndyke is a more scientific detective than Holmes and achieves surprising results, even within the primitive knowledge and techniques of his day.

The Red Thumb Mark is the novel that introduces to the world one of the greatest "scientific" detectives in all literature: Dr. John Thorndyke. It is rightly regarded as one of the all-time classics in mystery fiction. Raymond Chandler, for example, who typically hated British detective fiction for its consistent implausibilities, found Austin Freeman's work and The Red Thumb Mark highly entertaining and readable.

The novel concerns Thorndyke's attempts to clear the name of a young man accused of stealing diamonds from a safe. A thumb mark (finger print) near the scene of the crime is the only evidence against the young man, but it is decidedly damning. Add a little romance, a sinister villian lurking in the background, and you have the ingredients that make up this story.

I found the work to be wonderfully exciting. Watching Thorndyke break down the evidence against the young man is a fascinating expereince. Though a person could argue that too much detail is given to the "science" aspect, you have to understand that these scenes are the backbone of this type of detective story.

In a day and age of corporate villiany, brutal crime bosses and hideous serial killers, The Red Thumb Mark might seem to some readers as painfully old-fashioned. Freeman's writing is similar (and often compared with) Conan Doyle, and there's little doubt that Freeman found inspiration from the Holmes canon. However, the novel's old-fashioned flavor is the very reason to recommend it. It's fun to walk the streets of Edwardian England, to see the sights, to hear the gentlemanly discussions, to share the thought processes of one of the great detective minds. This is the real magic of the novel.

Sadly, most of Freeman's work has long, long been out of print. I would recommend hunting among the used book stores for his other great mysteries, especially The Silent Partner, The Eye of Osiris, and my all-time favorite Mr. Pottermack's Oversight. These great novels are as highly recommended as The Red Thumb Mark. Someday, I hope the world rediscovers this highly talented writer and that he is placed along side with the other great names where he belongs.

I was very disappointed with this book. Alice Walker seems more intent on showcasing her own writing, poems, and emotion than drawing much needed attention to FGM in Africa. There are compelling real-life accounts of FGM--read Desert Flower or Do They Hear you When you Cry.

"Female circumcision" or "female genital mutilation" is a hot topic. Unfortunately, there is "more heat than light" in most writings on this topic: this is a good example. The book and the movie are more about Alice Walker than about this ancient, puzzling, disturbing tradition. It is easy to confuse a topic such as this one with the book that covers it. Those whose first introduction to this subject comes through this book, will probably find it moving. Those who approach the subject seriously and professionally either as clinicians or anthropologists, will find this book a disaster: superficial, arrogant, condescending, ethnocentric, outraged, uninformed, manipulative, anecdotal, loaded with personal bias and without any serious research methodology. It is not a particularly useful contribution to the debate. If you are interested in this subject, the best thing you can do is move immediately beyond this book and come to grips with the real issues. Alice Walker is an intelligent, articulate woman; but she is hoplessly out of her depth here. Overall, a disservice to the women she wants to help.

I first became aware of female genital mutilation (FGM) when reading "The Color Purple," and again when reading Fausiya Kassindja's "Do They Hear You When You Cry." These two books led me to read "Warrior Marks." Female genital mutilation is a crime, an outrage, a sin before God. How dare the originators of this heinous procedure presume that what God created is faulty or a mistake? "Warrior Marks" enhanced what I had already learned about FGM. Any man (or woman) who tries to uphold this procedure as something that benefits girls and women is of a criminal mind. There is no benefit to putting a woman through this torture. If men were required to experience a similar experience, we would soon see the end of FGM. Please read this book if you seek another point of view. The addition of Alice Walker's poetry and the sharing of her experiences as she and Pratibha Parmar traveled through Africa is an eye-opener, and the way the book is written gives the reader a personal view in the same way that Ms. Kassindja's book does. Ms. Walker gives the women that she writes about a certain dignity, and while the reader may not be able to identify with the physical pain, some of the emotions may be felt. This is definitely a 5-star book.

It's so stupid, we skinheads are just as much different as other people! To be a skinhead has nothing to do with being racist!

The reviewer, who claims that anyone who is not an academic or social-scientist of one degree or another will be unable to understand the depths of this book, is a prime example of why this book should be read. People who wrap themselves in the pompous cloak of degree-ism--those who defend their opinions by claiming others are not smart enough to understand the intellectual intricacies of their position--are the reason that skinheads are never truly understood by those writing from the safety of their tenured chairs. There is no theory or idea within this book that is above anyone with a highschool reading and comprehension level. The problem with this book could be resolved with a simple change of the title American RASCIST Skinheads.....
As for the reviewer, spare us the condescension, you're attitude is the driving force behind social/economical class-ism in the US today.

Mark Hamm elucidates one of the most complex questions in American gang origins. The American "racist" skinheads that have formed a subculture in the U.S. have done so by social forces, and by the help of certain subcultural leaders. This is the major thesis of the book. Many potential buyers do not understand that this book is for academics that can understand Hamm's perspectives and theoretical viewpoints. He states up front that not all skinheads are racists, which sets the pace for his sociological study on the one faction of skinheads that are. Do not buy this book if you are not an academic, for you will not be able to undertand the scope of this book like the other reviewers you read here. Hamm has illustrated what great social science research is about that helps shape policies, programs, and understanding in our great nation.

I just started reading Teach Yourself Books' Beginner's Spanish. I'm on page 5 on which the authors write:

"*ll*...is pronounced like the *lli* in *million*"

"*a* is nearer to southern English *cup* than *cap*"

"*o* as in *pot*-never as in *know* or *toe*"

That's too much bad information for one book, let alone one page. Authors (or at least editors) have a responsibility to check their facts. Anyone following these authors' advice would be unintelligible. I can't trust the rest of the book now and wish I could get my money back.

What I generally forget with most Teach Yourself books is that they are Euro-Centric. The authors are generally British, and speak with British accents, confusing an American when they speak of certain pronunciations.

This book was no exception. I bought this book, planning on brushing up some more with my "North American Spanish" (the type an American learns in School, which is essentially a mix of numerous dialects, and depends on who your teacher learned from). The problem is this book teaches hardcore Castillian Spanish, which sounds slightly different and doesn't have the traditional flow that an American is used to. Regardless, this book simplifies grammer greatly, and is able to explain some of the easiest concepts of survival Spanish with relative ease. This book is clearly for begginers though, because it only teaches Usted, which is the formal word for you, for most of the chapters only introducing the informal "tu" later. This seems rather absurd because they make it seem extremely informal, although this is just to cut down on the verb endings, but one needs to learn them all at once instead.

Besides all these mistakes though. The book does teach a begginer Spanish as it intended to, and can probubly do that rather quick.

In regards to pronunciation confusion on page 5, one must remember that these are according to BRITISH pronunciations, and therefore 'pot' IS the correct pronunciation, and so on. One can look past this and learn useful vocabulary and phraseology, although it must be noted that it is teaching Spanish spoken in Spain. It is by no means the best cassette-and-book series, but for the price (less than $.....) it's quite a deal and a provides a solid base for the amateur language enthusiast. After all, if you want to master a language, enroll in classes...I would even use this book to teach my adult conversation class. De todos modos, es un buen libro.

I have a word for Crissypoo in So. California, obviously you ARE NOT a Christian Scientist, and Know nothing about it! Also ..UMMM.... where is YOUR proof that Mark Twain's Daughter was not healed by Mary Baker Eddy? Really now before you start making assumptions why DONT YOU DO SOME MORE RESEARCH! The one reviewer with the lengthy review gives some very good starters for research! Also look further in to Mark Twains writings 12 years after his bashing of Mary Baker Eddy where he writes HIMSELF about the healing of his daughter by Mary Baker Eddy!

Although Mark Twain will never be diminished for his works, I am dismayed by his attachs on Mary Baker Eddy and her church. Maybe he had one or two more whiskeys to paint his fence, but Truth stands.....who carry's your banner into the 2ky or who now paints your fence?

The first part of Mark Tawin's work on "Christian 'Science'" is very funny; he shows through parody and wit just how ignorant, stupid, superstitious, and gullible human beings can be. The second part is much more serious: Twain shows how the sinister organization came into existance, and remarks upon Eddy's criminal and abusive acts when starting the business, as well as mentions some of the plagerism she committed.

This is by far one of the best books about how the "Christian 'Science'" organization came to exist. While the book is a classic, it is also timeless.

If you are interested in Eddy or "Christian 'Science,'" this is the single best source for you to explore. I recomend this book HIGHLY!

For a person new to this environment this book gives a good general description of what is available on the market today in relation to several different disease processes and how many of them are being treated. My wife and I both read the book in an effort to try and find some information on the Evista product because her doctor suggested that she should consider using it. The first thing that both of us noticed was that there was no information on who Dr. Stolar or Greg A. Anussek were and what there affiliation with the product was. After reading the book and reading other information we were able to make a decision about which road to take. To be quite honest we decided not to use product Evista based on alot on the information we read in the book Evista. We discovered that SERM's are still in the study phase and the school's still out on what Evista is capable of doing. The side effects of Evista are listed and there are many questions and answers. My wife was actually invited to participate in a blind study between Tamoxifene and Raloxifene to determine whether Evista could be used to prevent breast cancer. We decided not to participate. There are positives and negatives about Evista in the book so I don't believe it is totally biased. The ultimate decision on any therapy is between that person and their doctor. The more information that a person has to base decisions on the better off they are. I feel that Evista helped in the quest for information but shouldn't be by any means considered the ultimate unbiased authority on the subjects listed within.

If you are specifically looking for information on Evista, this book offers a lot of information. Are you looking for books on menopause - hormone replacement therapy? Is estrogen perhaps not right for you? This book gives information about Evista (raloxifene), one of the newer SERMS (Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators).

It can be difficult enough to understand HRT (see my other reviews on this topic) - and now we're given yet another possible treatment to replace the loss of estrogen that leaves menopausal women open to heart disease, stroke, fatigue among other things. This book focuses on the effects of Osteoporosis, ways to prevent, treat and live with it (6 of the 10 chapters focus on it). Chapter 4 is dedicated to Evista, giving lists of ingredients, women who should NOT take Evista, side effects and its interaction with other medications. There is a chapter on other HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapies) that can help a woman decide what is right for her.

This book is a good source for information on why to use Evista rather than estrogen, estrogen-progesterone if you are worried about Osteoporisis. For those of us more worried about heart disease, stroke and breast cancer, it offers one chapter "The Future of Evista and SERMS Treating Heart Disease and Breast Cancer."

The book has bits of general information scattered throughout - another decent source of information on a topic of interest to woman of a certain age. If you are reading lots of books, I'd add this one to the mix. Don't use it as your only source of information, though. Please check out other books on Hormone Replacement Therapy and Menopause, too.

Almost half the book is about osteoporosis, not Evista, which I think tells you something about how much information is available on this drug. These chapters were actually pretty helpful though, especially if you aren't already an expert. The rest of the book does read something like an advertisement for the drug , but it's consistent with the information I've put together from other sources. So on the whole, it seems like a good summary of what is known about Evista (which isn't always a whole lot), dangers included. Like the other reviewer said, I'd like to know more about Evista's authors andwhether they have any connection to the drug company. I also wanted more information on Evista and breast cancer, and the long term effects of taking it.

Don't waste your money. There is about 5-pages of this book that are of value regharding relative strengths and weaknesses of defensive formations. Other than that, it is like an instruction manual with larger type and pretty pictures. The publishers should be ashamed of theselves calling this a "strategy guide" it is nothing of the sort.

The main reason I was interested in this strategy guide was for hints on beating the Mini-Camp challenges. The guide was not helpful at all in this respect, the tips for the challenges are a mere sentence or two. Very disappointing.

As far as the rest of the book goes, a lot of it seems to be extraneous material meant to take up space, such as a list of all the Madden cards, a list of every player in the game, a section with one person's walkthrough of the fantasy draft, etc. This was interesting from a certain perspective, but ultimately not too helpful in actually playing the game.

The thing I liked most was the tips on rushing plays. The guide does give some good advice on when to juke, spin, stiff-arm, etc. Outside of this information, I thought this strategy guide was nothing special. A couple of pages on each team and some eye candy (in the form of unhelpful screenshots), and that's about it.

i agree with the other review i noticed all the same mistakes that were in the game, but being a first time buyer of madden(I am extremely impressed, best game ever) i found that it helped a lot. I definintely think that they could've done a much better job, but i still found it enjoyable.