The Time Machine, by H.G. Wells is a classic science fiction/fantasy novel. It is based in England around the late 1800's and also thousands of years into the future. It is an epic tale of a journey through time. Every one of the Time Traveler's friends and colleagues doubted him. They didn't believe that he had gone into the future. But he did. He visited a gentle breed called the Eloi. They were all alike. They dressed the same, walked the same, looked the same, and even reacted to life's conflicts in the same way. These identical "people" served him gratefully, giving him all the fruit he could ever want. He tried to learn the Eloi language, but their short attention spans caused him to not learn very much. The Time Traveler began to dream as to why this race of people was so alike. He couldn't figure it out. He decided that he had found himself in a utopian society, where neither reason nor strength was needed. He didn't find the real reason out, until he had discovered his time machine to be missing. Night fell and all he could do was search. When he found it he also discovered a horrifying secret about the reason as to why the Eloi were so perfect. It was a terrible secret, one that you will only know if you read this book. Believe me, it's quite a twist. All in all, I would have to recommend this book to anyone. It has elements of every genre in it: horror, science fiction, fantasy, drama, and comedy. It is just a really well rounded book that all can enjoy.

What can i say about this book? It's a classic, and that sums everything up. As a young science fiction fan, i couldn't put this book aside and last weekend decided to read it. It was everything i hoped for.

A scientist builds a time machine. Why? Because of mere scientific curiosity. I know that's not enough for the modern fans, but putting the book in its historical contet, we go back to a time where the advancements of science were increasing every day, each scientific field being researched. Of course, Time wasn't the exception.

The time machine leads the scientist and the reader to a dark, bleak future, where the enthusiasm for knowledge has been exchanged by the pleasures of a dull, easy life withou work or preocupations, an utopia for a small group called the Eloi.

But underneath their feet live the Morlocks, a group of cave men who toil for the Eloi and are paid with their meat, for they are cannibals.

Wells surely wasn' an optimist regarding the future of our earth, for the time traveller ends his dark journey at the end of earth's existence, no longer inhabitted by men but by gigantic creatures such as crabs and butterflies.

Most readers might complain about the lack of characterization, thence my four stars, the weakness of the plot, nowadays very common,and even the lack of scientifical explanations, that makes today's science fiction novels so wonderfully complex. but this was a classic among the classics, that gave birth to so many books... A lot of people owing a lot to H. G. Wells, who never got anything for his unique book.

OK, we've all seen at least one of the movie versions of H.G. Well's The Time Machine, but none of them truly compare with the oringinal Sci-Fi classic. The book tells the story of the Time Traveler's journey nearly a million years into the future and the very unexpected and disturbing society he finds there. The Time Traveler formulates various theories based on what he observes of the society, which each, in turn, prove to be oh, so wrong! [Warning: mild spoiler] In the end, his realization of the future is especially terrifying considering it is the result of our current social structure (or H.G. Well's, anyway).

I especially recommend this book for those of us with short attention spans - it's only 140 pages (and that's the large print version). But don't get the wrong idea, this book still has more depth and creativity than most 500 page books i've read and is a great read, even compared with today's science fiction standards.

This book has to be considered a classic considering it spawned a whole genre of time traveling books, movies, and tv shows whcih imitated it. Get a hold of a copy and read it today!

Frank Peretti has become famous for his spiritual warfare novels. However, unlike THIS PRESENT DARKNESS, and PIERCING THE DARKNESS, in which evil was found in worldy people, organizations and philosophies, this time he finds evil within the church. The author uses the anti-hero--a demon-possessed false christ--to highlight the far more dangerous devils--ignorance, self-righteousness, hypocrisy, pride and cruelty--that call themselves members, and even leaders, of the family of God.

The writing is well-paced and enjoyable. Occasionally there seem to be too many subplots brewing, but the confusion does not last too long. Peretti causes us to smirk at times, but then catches us unaware--tossing out a bombshell insight that forces us to look more closely into the mirror.

Though the book is directed towards Christians, anyone who is active in a faith community will find incredible insights in this book. Those who are more passive about spirituality may mistakenly see The Visitation as a critique of organized religion. On the contrary, Peretti simply affirms that family life--whether with blood relatives, or with spiritual 'brothers and sisters'--is sometimes difficult and painful.

Bottom-line: This is an incredible read for those who enjoy a good story with spiritual depth, and who are not afraid to confront themselves.

Peretti refuses to be put in a box, tackling different issues in different ways, instead of resorting to the phenomenally successful formulas of his first two books. I like that. Sometimes it works better than others, though--that's the risk he takes. (More power to him.) Here, the risk was seeming shaky at first. I liked the initial premise--and no, the prologue didn't throw me off track as it did some of my friends--but I couldn't tell where this ride was taking me. Then, slowly, I found myself absorbed in the Travis' past, relating to every detail of his church experiences, laughing to the point of poignant tears at some parts. This book tackles some of the spiritual questions the church often avoids. It refuses to give pat answers, refuses to resolve everything in the usual casual manner, and left me feeling refreshed...I'd waded through some of my own struggles with this fictional character and realized others struggle too. Okay, the conclusion in the town streets got a little wacky and melodramatic, but the deeper issues hit home. Don't be put off by the slow-motion start--this book wants to slam-dunk you, if you'll let it.

Frank Peretti is probably one of the coolest Christian writers alive today. He comes up with the greatest plots, keeps you in the dark until the end, and crafts his story in the most imaginative ways. It's just like a regular movie plot, with Peretti's Christianity keeping close beside.

The Visitation is his finest work yet, taking into account his Darkness novels, as well as The Oath and The Prophet. You probably already know the basics of the plot...Travis Jordan, a pastor in the small town of Antioch Washington begins noticing the strange, allegedly miraculous events occurring around town. People of the town that he knows suddenly show up healed from all of their handicaps and giving the credit to Jesus. Then he receives a phone call from the healer. Before he knows it, he (and, since this is Peretti's first "First Person" perspective novel, so is the reader) is caught up in a chaotic present, a dubious future, and a painful past all at once.

Peretti wastes no time, catching your attention from the very beginning of the book. As with most novels, there is a period of calmness that, if you are an impatient reader, you must work through to get to the action, but don't you dare skip! You'll miss crucial elements of the story. However, I've yet to meet an impatient reader that didn't enjoy Peretti.

We gradually discover lots more about Travis Jordan, the protagonist of the book, through a series of flashbacks starting when Travis was at college, and leading up to his present situation. You gotta keep track of everything that happens, but it's worth it in the end.

Peretti incorporates something a lot different in this book than he has tried before...humor. This is the first book of Peretti's I've read that was so cool, and still so funny at times. Peretti has found a wonderful gift of inserting little tidbits of comedy here and there that provide tasty spice for the book. Example, we know that Frank Peretti once lived in a camper, so when he writes about the portable toilet that was first installed in the church of the story, you can tell he relies on personal experience.

And wouldn't you know it, Peretti can't stay away from towns that go bonkers, and this book is no exception. Ever since The Oath he's enjoyed doing that, it must be some sort of fantasy of his.

The plot, mystery, and characters thicken, the action intensifies, and the enjoyment peaks in this book. If you like good mystery, drama, action, comedy, and sound Christian truth, then this is the book for you.

The idea of an ex con artist telling his story intrigued me...until about the 3rd page. This guy is an imposter in every sense of the word, and his biggest con is getting people to spend money on this book. (There's going to be a movie??? Even worse). I erroneously expected there to be even a light undertone of remorse, now that he has supposedly been rehabilitated and makes his money "legitimately". Abagnale comes across as a sociopath with no discernible conscience regarding his past actions.
His stories ARE fascinating, not because of his cleverness, but because of his audacity. This is what enables him to get away with his cons. But I found them difficult reading, because his egomaniacal personality gets in the way. This is a guy that refers to women as "broads" and "foxes". Every thing he says and does results in people melting in his hands like butter, and smiling broadly at the opportunity. Equally astonishing is his persistent bragging that he never took advantage of individuals, only banks and corporations.
I won't go so far as to tell you not to read this book, most people will find his stories, if not him, amusing. But don't put more money in this man's pockets by buying it--borrow it.

Frank Abagnale's story certainly is a fascinating one and although many events can be backed up by the FBI, bank officials, etc., I kept smelling a rat while reading this book. Abagnale admits himself that he could charm just about anyone and I couldn't help thinking there was A LOT of embellishment in this story - possibly even situations that never actually happened - after all - this book WAS written by a con man! One example that comes to mind is when he talks about being in a French prison and sees a strange-looking person with waist length hair he didn't recognize: it turns out he was looking in a mirror. Well, no one grows hair that fast in six months...There are many more situations that will have you wondering about their truth. Still, one assumes the general story is true but don't believe EVERYTHING you read in this book.

This book covers many things that the movie left out. For example, you learn why if you are going to commit crimes around the world, you might not want to commit any in France. (Their prison system is ROUGH.)

Perhaps if Mr. Abagnale hadn't compulsively committed crimes even when he had plenty of money, he wouldn't have nearly died in a French jail.

There is also a great interview at the end of the book where Mr. Abagnale discusses how to fight the war on terrorism among other things.

~The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is a fascinating and adventurous book about a boy named Tom Sawyer. He has a major crush on a girl called Becky Thacker. In this book, Tom goes to an island with two of his friends, attends their own funeral, and look for treasure! Tom sees Injun Joe a killer with treasure. He wants it, but his only clue where Injun Joe hid it is that it has something to do with number 2. Tom is now lost in a cave all alone with Becky. Can he find his way out of the cave and~~ the way to the treasure? I agree with Mark Twain's decisions and ideas. I believe that I would be doing the same thing if I were in his position. His decisions are able to happen; yet The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is such a good book. I would recommend this book to people who like adventurous books, and likes classics. It leaves you at so many cliffhangers that you can help but read all of it at once, for the people who like cliffhangers.~

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is one of the best books I have ever read. The language,the thinking,the adventures-all of it was just incredible and enjoyable. The only thing this book needs is more pages! Mark Twain's skill in writing has created a book that all ages should read (or have it read to).Mark Twain reactivates the life and actions of a boy in the mid-1800's,and showed me that kids should be who they are- not what they will be. This is a classic for every generation to read and enjoy.

Mark Twain's,The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, tells about a boy loving and living his life to the fullest. Tom Sawyer is the kid that the world has seemed to forgotten. He is the kid who always get in trouble but continues to have fun with life. In this book, Tom does everything from being engaged, to watching his own funeral, to witnessing a [death] and finding treasure. Twain's creative character finds fun everywhere in his little town in Missouri, as do his friends. The storyline is basic, but it is a piece of the past that everyone should hold on to.

In The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, I learned mainly two things. The first thing I learned was that you can make life fun with just about anything if you use your imagination. Life is too short and precious to be wasted. I also learned that where you least expect it [help or protection], you might just get it. This book was just amazing-filled with unique characters, exciting events, and how a town can pull together to help those in need.

Set on the 19th century river banks of Mark's Twain hometown, the Adventures of Tom Sawyer takes you on the raft ride of your life. It is starts by a synopsis of the character of Tom and his friends, by cataloging a few of the queer things that they involved themselves in. Nonetheless as the story unfolds it deepens into a more serious nature. Tom and his friend Huck witness a murder. Moff Potter the town drunk, is accused of the crime and only Tom and Huck can save him. However, they fear that the real killer Injun Joe,will exact his vengeance on them. The story ends in the last scene with a dark rendition of finalty in the cave with wild Injun Joe. Tom and Huck end up rich with more than a dollar a day for the rest of their life.. " More than a body can handle".. This is a truly a remarkable book and a must for every young boy. It is filled with laughter, suspense and cheer for those of all ages and gender..But don't think it ends there.. Just wait till you read the adventures of Huck Finn!

BEACH MUSIC is one of the best books I've ever read. Pat Conroy's writing style immediately identifies him as a master at his craft. This is an emotional work and it is for the person who enjoys feeling the full range of emotions (joy, anger, helplessnes, etc.) while reading a book.

This book covers life in the McCall family, where the father is an embarrasing alcoholic, a brother has volatile, and sometimes comical instances of mental instability, and the mother is regal, despite all. BEACH MUSIC also goes outside of the family where there is parental abuse, accidental death, protection of a friend, and betrayal by another friend. There are many little subplots going on throughout the book, which all come together to form a marred, but realistic portrayal of family, friends and love.

The main characters are extremely well-developed, particularly that of the mother, whose history I found to be the most heartwrenching.

The majority of BEACH MUSIC takes place in costal South Carolina, but some action occurs in Rome, Italy. In both of these places, the scenes are so vividly described that it feels like the reader is actually there.

If you like to feel your emotions raging, this is THE book for you. Pat Controy may prove to be one of the best writers of our time.

Pat Conroy is my favorite author--I just wish he produced a new book every three months like John Grishom. There is absolutely nobody else who has the power of "description" and "Imagery" that he has.

I love Conroy's writing because it is always so contradictory. He makes you love and hate his characters at the same time. I started out by being completely annoyed with John Hardin in this novel, and then he ended up being my favorite character--he was so funny and outrageous. I felt the same about his mother--loved and hated her at the time time. I remember this was also true of his characters when I read "Prince of Tides." He has such an ability to play with the reader's emotions.

Beach Music was harder than his other novels because of so many subplots & characters, but instead of wishing it hadn't been so long and gone into so much, I found myself wishing it was longer, and he had developed the characters & subplots even more.

There is always a feeling of "letdown" when you finish one of Pat Conroy's novels because you don't want it to end. Nobody writes about "dysfunction" with his sense of humor.

Although Prince of Tides is still my favorite, Pat Conroy once again overwhelmed me with this touching saga. Conroy is a true master of the English language; his words are music to the soul and each page is another movement in his grand symphony. I lost myself in this book and when I reluctantly finished I just sat speechless in awe of such powerful beauty. Conroy creates magnificent characters that, though flawed, each reveal an aspect of the human spirit. Beach Music made me appreciate life: the beauty of nature, the importance of family, the virtue of loyalty, and the longing for home. A genius at storytelling, Conroy tells tales that make you laugh and cry and then all fall into place to show how human lives and experiences interconnect and touch each other in powerful ways. Those readers who are critical of the novel for the seemingly "over-ambitious" way the author weaves together so many historical events have obviously missed the point. History touches all our lives. It is impossible to take four generations of a family that have not been affected in some way by the events Conroy describes. He brings history to life through his characters in a poignant way, spinning a web of human pain and triumph accompanied by the strains of the beach music.

Treasure Island, a story about a boy who goes on an adventure of a lifetime (a treasure hunt!), is an action packed book for young adults to enjoy. Though the book had too much description to get to the point, it was a good read. From good guys, to bad guys, sailors, to mutineers, friends to enemies, Treasure Island has it all. The authors' word choice for this book is incredibly sophisticated and makes the book a little more descriptive, ( though I was not always sure what the words meant). Using "ship slang" and having the characters say just what they need to say at the right time. The theme in this book is one we always need to keep in mind "be careful who you trust, people aren't always to be what they appear to be". So if ever you need a good book to read I definitely recommend Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island.

Giving Treasure Island five stars is like declaring Helen of Troy homecoming queen. It's too little,too late. This is the classic tale of pirates. Its' themes have been worked and worked again,but it remains untouched. Stevenson is a master storyteller at the top of his form. From beginning to end the plot never lags,and the characters possess a richness and depth rare in an adventure story. Every reader of English ought to make their acquaintance--Jim Hawkins,Billy Bones,Old Pew,Silver,and the rest--at some time in his life,preferably when he is young,and his heart still believes it can find that treasure. Treasure Island has been francised,moppetized,filmed,and abridged,but never bettered. Accept no substitues! Read the entire book. There is plenty here for children and adults. Like all great literature,it works on more than one level. Dominating the whole Story is the figure of Long John Silver. As his name implies he has a lunar quality. He is attractive,facinating,powerful,but with a dark side. Again,he is murdering,lying,and infinitly self-seeking,yet like Jim we cannot help liking him and wanting him to like us. At this level Treasure Island is a study in criminality that asks: Why is it that the best,the most full of natural power, often turn their gifts to evil? And why do we find evil so attractive? A word about editions. There are many,but by far the best is the hardcover featuring the illustrations of N.C. Wyeth. No one has succeeded as he has in capturing the spirit of the tale. If you are looking for a cheaper paperback edition that won't blind you with cramped layout, or ruin the whole experience with goofy illustratons,choose the Puffin Classic. It's unabridged,sturdy,and features a beautiful cover illustration.

"Treasure Island" is the classic adventure novel by Robert Louis Stevenson. Set on the high seas amid treasures and pirates, it is the story of a young boy's adventure. "Treasure Island" has been done by everyone from Disney to the Muppets. It's been imitated many times and influenced countless books and movies.

A mysterious pirate shows up at an inn owned by Jim Hawkin's mother. The pirate is killed by a gang of rogues, but Jim finds a treasure map belonging to the pirate. Jim then embarks on a journey to far away island to find the treasure. Of course, nobody can be trusted - especially the cook, Long John Silver. With his peg leg and parrot, Silver is the stereotypical pirate. Once the island is reached, sides are chosen - the mutinous pirates against the ship's crew. Jim goes on a journey within a journey on the island, going from one side to another, as the treasure is hunted for.

Everyone should read this book at some point. It's especially good for young boys, due to the fact that the main character (Jim) is a young boy. It's well crafted, and easy to read. And it's hard to put down once you get going. What else can you ask for?

While God Emperor of Dune (GOD) is no easy read, it acts as a bridge for the first three Dune novels and the last two novels: Heretics & Chapterhouse. We are given a glimpse of a ruler who purposely combines politics, economics, and religion under his reign to ensure the survival of the human race. It is a somewhat slow read and focuses more on dialogue than action but plays a pivotal role in the Dune Chronicles. This book creates a lot of questions.

Taking place 3,000 years after Children of Dune, there is hardly any connection left with the Dune we were introduced to in the first three novels. All our beloved characters are long dead and instead we are presented with the descendants of the Atreides Family. Leto II is the only one who survived though as an amalgam of man and worm. He who controls the spice, controls the universe. Control the worms and you control the spice. Become the worm and you become the spice. Like his father, Muad'Dib, both see the future and while one cannot accept the fate laid out for him, the other selflessly accepts it and propels humanity into 3,500 years of enforced peace.

The writing is cryptic at times and like Moneo and Duncan Idaho, we were left pondering what Leto II means in his rantings. Does he create a renaissance to make humans understand the pitfalls of complacency? Is he saying that chaos is necessary for our survival? Is it possible that his Golden Path is an exercise to prepare humanity for what is to come, how to prepare for it, and more importantly how to overcome the threat and evolve? What is the threat? We are cast allusions that very soon, spice will no longer be needed for interstellar space travel (space fold) thus breaking the Spacing Guild's monopoly. It all points to the end of his empire of which he has always been aware. What has become of humanity after so many years of the spice's influence? How has humanity evolved? The crux of his Golden Path is not he himself but what arises from his death and years of tyrannical control. We know that he has been selectively breeding Atreides genes with the long successions of Duncan Idaho gholas for thousands of years but for what purpose?

The world of Dune in books 5 & 6 are so different from what was introduced to us in the first three books, that without GOD, we would be more lost that we already are. Well, some of these questions are answered in books 5 & 6, and others are left to our imagination or until the release of Dune 7 by Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson who will rely on notes left behind by Frank Herbert. Let's hope that they use an approach similar to GOD than their recent slew of Dune House and Butlerian Jihad books have demonstrated. They could use a splash of the metaphysical instead of the graphic.

After I read the first fifty pages of God Emperor Dune, a sudden sadness overtook me. I thought of all my friends that loved Dune, but got stuck in Dune Messiah. I thought of all the other ones that made it through Dune Messiah, but got stuck in Children of Dune. Can we please have a moment of silence for these unfortunate souls.

While I did like books 2 and 3 of the series, I'm the first to admit that they were not of "Dune" quality. God Emperor of Dune, however, may be its rival. It is so rare in a series, especially in Book 4, that you think to yourself, all the other books have been leading to this one moment. Leto II's Golden Path indeed shines through. For non-sci-fi people, this series is more than sci-fi. It's an examination of political philosopy, economy, and religion. One could almost call it allegory. Herbert's characters: Maud'dib, Leto II, even Moneo (in God Emperor) are so well developed as to become Messiah's, God's, and friends in their own right. The Dune books force you to think, they entertain, and they sweep the imagination to a world millenia away from now. God Emperor of Dune itself take place 3 thousand years after Children of Dune. If you are thinking of quitting the series, I counsel you to wait until after you have read this amazing fourth book. My idea: there's now way anyone could stop now.

This is an awesome book. I think that it is a lot like Messiah for a couple of reasons....In Children of Dune, we read about the soon-to-be Emporor. The same things happened in Dune. Then in this book, we read about his strugles and tyranies. The same thing that happened in Messiah! And in this book, the Emporer just like in Messiah is Super-Human and has to deal with reagular humans and how his prescience allianates him from his brethren. This book is Dune Messiah on a much greater scale.

This book takes place 3,500 years since we last left Leto II and he is still alive! The sandworm skin has mede him live super long, but he is far from human. He's turining into a sandworm. The planent of Arakis is far different from where we left it. It is green and lush. The Fremen are no longer really Fremen, and Duncan Idaho and been reincarnated again. This book is most philosophy but there is some action in it and its not that hard to understand because of two characters. Moneo and Idaho. Leto II says a lot of really deep stuff that is hard to understand, but he says it mostly to Moneo and Idaho. THey don't understand it either, so Leto II explains it to them and US making this book a relaxing read. If your looking for and action book don't read this. If your looking for a psycological triller, then you have found it in God Emperor of Dune.

In the novel Dune, Frank Herbert created an original world of fiction that could go toe to toe with Middle-Earth. In the subsequent novels, like an aging rock star, Herbert has thrown out uninspired mess. While an improvement over Dune Messiah, Children of Dune, the 3rd novel in the Dune series, isn't much better.

Leto and Ghanima Atreides, the twin children of Paul Atreides, are now nine years old and struggling with the curse of being pre-born. When you are pre-born, it means that all of your ancestors exist in your mind, all their memories and experiences are a part of your consciouness. The danger is that one of these memories can rise up and seize control of your mind, a state called "abomination". We could call it possession.

The two twins are being raised by their aunt Alia, also a pre-born, who has taken over the reins of the Empire after the almost certain death of her brother Paul. Along with her priesthood, she holds sway over the world of Arrakis, and thereby holds power over the spice and the universe. The twins learn that she is harboring a horrible secret.

Not everyone is satisfied with Alia's rule. Those Fremen who adhere to the old ways have begun to grumble and to seek ways to reverse what is happening to their planet. Also complicating things are the plots of Farad'n, the grandson of Shaddam IV, the emperor deposed by Paul Atreides. It is up to Leto and Ghanima to renew the dying spirit of Arrakis, and also to avoid the trap of prophecy that claimed their father.

I can't really say I enjoyed this book. I read it. The thing about the first book of the Dune series is that it combined action, politics, philosophy, religion, and other genres. In the next two books, Herbert has taken out all the action and just turned them into almost Platonic dialogues. It's almost as if he got consumed by his message of environmentalism and philosophy and ideas outstripped his talent to portray them. Maybe he was a one book wonder. I'll have to read his non-Dune novels to be a judge of that. When there is action, which probably adds up to two whole scenes comprising about 5 pages of the 400, this book is great. I don't know if I will continue with the series.

After reading Dune Messiah, I believe that any Dune fan has to feel a bit disappointed. My faith in Herbert was lowered when I saw he couldn't live up to what he had created. That all changed when I read Children of Dune. The ecological depth of the first book came back as the planet sat in the hands of humanity. With expansions on both the role of the Atreides line and how Duncan Idaho figures into the grand scheme of things, it was clear that Children of Dune walked right in step with the original. Paul's role, although seemingly degraded, possesed a very dangerous yet passive stature. The Ghanima and Leto II added an odd level of youth and maturity that was reminiscent of Paul's chindhood. While the Guild and CHOAM were where they should have been in the struggle, (away from the conflict) the Sisterhood showed how they could be a driving force. All in all, I would have to say that Children of Dune perfected how a sequel such as itself had to stand on its own yet be part of a cycle.

As the title suggests, this Dune novel, book 3 in the Dune series, focuses on Paul's children. It is an altogether different kind of story than the first two Dune novels, but a great read nonetheless. It starts out with Paul's children receiving clothes as gifts from someone who wants them dead. Publicly refusing the gift would be a slap across the face to the giver, which could start a war, so the Atreides children accept the gift. Larza Tigers have been trained by the giver of the clothing to attack and eat anyone wearing these specific clothes. And the story goes from there. Children of Dune and Heretics of Dune are largely considered to be the third/fourth best novels in the Dune series. If you liked the first two, you'll probably like this one as well. Frank Herbert has a captivating writing style all his own.
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I have read all the books in the Dune series, and I have to say that I feel "Dune Messiah" is the worst of the lot. After the initial novel, "Dune", the other books in the series took a turn for the philosophical. "Dune Messiah," perhaps more than any of the other books, concentrates on the philosophical, and leaves action and plot development by the wayside.

The story focuses on Paul Atreides after he has become, essentially, emperor of the universe. His legions of religious zealots spread the word of Muad'Dib to all the worlds in the universe, in a religious jihad. Paul, blessed or cursed with prescience, becomes more and more inhuman, he begins to question the Golden Path which he has created.

The book covers a very short period in Paul's life, during which he wrestles with his self-doubts, as well as contending with a plot which has arisen against him. Look for the first "rebirth" of Duncan Idaho, a pivotal character throughout the whole series.

I found it hard to read because, I was rooting for Paul, in "Dune," he was, in every way, the hero, and you wanted him to win. In "Dune Messiah," though, now that he has won, its sad to see how his initial dream has been has been corrupted by circumstances. I wanted Paul to be as heroic as he was in the first novel, but he is not. This may be more realistic, but its sad, and you really don't know who you should be rooting for, if, indeed, you should be rooting for anybody.

All in all, Herbert took a very long time to say very little. However, he says it well, and as in all his books, Herbert's characters are quite compelling, even if they are more tragic, so it still reads very well, even if it isn't as interesting as the first novel.

Dune Messiah, the follow-up to Dune takes place 12 years after the end of the first book. Paul is now emperor and is finding that the real challenge is not gaining an empire, but ruling it. He has become cynical and disillusioned, as plots against him abound and the jihad continues.
Although Dune Messiah is an enjoyable sequel it lacks the sweep and grandeur of Dune, while keeping its complexity. In Dune Messiah the complexity is the result of Herbert just not fleshing out the story enough. I've read the novel twice and I still don't understand exactly the nature of the conspiracy against Paul. Why the stoneburner if Duncan Idaho was programmed to kill Paul. Why did Paul feel that Chani's death was necessary? What was the point of the dwarf? It seemed as if Herbert had more in mind than he put on paper, and the reader is left to fill in the blanks.

Frank Herbert's DUNE is arguably the best novel of speculative fiction ever written. That book is a tour de force, binding wildly disparate elements of ecology, religion, politics and sex into a compelling plot about rebellion and empire. His follow-up, DUNE MESSIAH, is perhaps a less ambitious effort, choosing to frame the story in very intimate terms. But as with DUNE, the actions of individuals have galaxy-wide repercussions.

Trying to read DUNE MESSIAH without having read DUNE is an exercise in futility. Familiarity with the characters and plot of DUNE is an absolute necessity, as Herbert makes no effort to spoon-feed back story to his readers. DUNE MESSIAH opens years after the events of DUNE. Paul Atreides has not only retained his imperial throne, but has extended his influence over countless worlds. A jihad has spread from world to world like a viral outbreak, spearheaded by religious fanatics steeped in the traditions of Arrakis' ferocious Fremen warriors and fueled by the ongoing rule of their living god. A suffocating religious orthodoxy has constructed itself around Paul and his sister Alia. With this invasion of holy bureaucrats comes a web of conspiracy that draws in the old players of the Bene Gesserit and the Guild, as well as new forces such as the Bene Tleilax.

Unlike DUNE, which frequently leaped from planet to planet in the Imperium, updating the reader with short scenes that kept the reader updated about all the various plot threads taking place, DUNE MESSIAH chooses largely to keep the subtleties running in the background and focus squarely on Paul and his "abomination" of a sister, Alia. Herbert wished to make a point with DUNE about the ability of one man to make a difference on the universal stage. In DUNE MESSIAH, Herbert strives to demonstrate how grand events like the taking of an Empire can easily turn on their manipulator and destroy him utterly.

Those readers who cared little for the philosophical meanderings of DUNE will likely have little patience for DUNE MESSIAH. Because this work is primarily about issues of fate and Paul's rumination on same, whole sections go by when nothing is "happening" in the traditional sense. Herbert doesn't fail to keep the machinations of power in full view during the course of DUNE MESSIAH, but he's clearly far more interested in the topic of Paul, and what it must be like to be turned into a deity against one's will by one's followers.

There are still more layers to DUNE MESSIAH for those who care to look. As if the rest were not enough, Herbert delves into the nature of oracular vision, as well. Taken together, all the major issues Herbert has chosen to discuss could fuel late-night philosophical discussions for decades, and probably have. No single volume could possibly hope to adequately address all of Herbert's divergent interests, but DUNE MESSIAH does quite a bit with fewer pages than DUNE boasted.

In the final analysis, DUNE MESSIAH is a lesser work than its predecessor only because it doesn't pretend to stand alone. The book is entirely supplemental to DUNE, a true sequel in every sense of the word, as if Herbert had decided to pen a few hundred more pages and attach them to the conclusion of his masterwork. And thank goodness he did.

This is a middle book in the Lonesome Dove series; it's the one that comes before Lonesome Dove proper. Pleasantly, McMurtry doesn't subject any of his main characters to horrible deaths this time around. On the other hand, if you've read the other books you know what's coming, so the comforting effect of that is relative.

Native Americans get a slightly better portrayal here than in some of the other volumes. There are still psycho killers, including one really frightening bandit, but there are also brave and genuinely human characters. Overall it's a gritty version of the period just before the Civil War, with gripping scenes of torture and survival. As usual, there are strong female characters, but they generally come to bad ends, just as the men do.

I'd recommend this for readers of the series. I'm not sure how well it stands alone.

It sure seemed to me as if McMurtry and Simon & Schuster were merely completing some sort of contractual obligation to each other and emotional obligation to fans of the Lonesome Dove series with the publication of Comanche Moon.

Yeah, I enjoyed the book for 400-500 pages, before it degenerated into a progressively typo-ridden, rambling series of brief, occasionally poignant but mainly disconnected and even trite series of vignettes attempting to sum up the lives of the various characters.

Others have described the incredibly sloppy proofreading job on this book, involving typographical errors and repeated portions of dialogue. What a mess! What lack of respect for the reading public! And the editors failed to correct the author's numerous mental lapses, among them:

* Ranger Lee Hitch is shaggy-haired and Stove Jones is bald, but several pages later, when they line up for haircuts in the town of Lonesome Dove, Lee Hitch is bald and Stove Jones is shaggy-haired.

* Inez Scull complains that she dropped her buggy whip, then just a few paragraphs later, she begins to beat Gus with her buggy whip.

* Call grows bored with the rangers' conversation and walks away, then somehow contributes a comment to the same conversation.

Have I missed anything?

I greatly enjoyed the Lonesome Dove series, but would rank this book fourth in quality.

Comanche Moon is the last of the Lonesome Dove tetralogy revered as the Great American Western epic. Were I to write as well as McMurtry, I would have preferred his grand characters, Augustus McCrae and Woodrow Call, to have been literary guides through the true stories of of the Meir, Santa Fe, and Ross Expeditions, Quanah and Cynthia Ann Parker, Bigfoot Wallace, Buffalo Hump and the Comanche Retaliatory Raids after the Council House Massacre, and Billy Dixon's seven-eighths mile shot of the medicine man at Adobe Walls, rather than through literary license to have taken the actions and done the deeds themselves. I would have written more of Charles Goodnight, Oliver Loving, One Arm Bill Wilson, Bose Ikard, Captain Richard King and even John Wesley Hardin, and included the story of Col. Ranald Mackenzie's tactical decision to kill the Comanches' horses in the Palo Duro Canyon, instead of confronting a larger force of hostile Indians with a smaller force of cavalry. That victory ultimately subdued the Comanche, said to have been the greatest light cavalry force in the world. Introduced in Comanche Moon, is a new character in the saga, Captain Inish Scull of Boston. I had first hoped that Captain Jack Hays, great Ranger, Indian fighter, later founder of Oakland, California and philanthropist to California colleges, would be the inspiration for Captain Scull. That notion was quashed when the author introduced Scull's wife Inez/Dolly. Jack Hays would not have suffered such. The true stories themselves make splendid literature and need not be altered to be riveting and entertaining. But I am not such a writer as he, and it is his story.

McMurtry claims to be no student of Texas history and finds flaw in Walter Prescott Webb's The Texas Rangers (1935) for "inordinate admiration" [McMurtry, In a Narrow Grave (1968)]; yet he, like Webb, writes as a "symbolic frontiersman". His great Ranger captains must be composites of Captain Jack Hays, Captain Rip Ford, Captain L. H. McNelly, and Ranger scout Charles Goodnight, and his stories amalgams of theirs. His eye for the land captures the mystery and intrigue of the vastness and openness of the Llano Estacado. Its beauty, its starkness, its cultures, creatures and people, its geography, topography, archaeology and history all provide both setting, theme and metaphor. McMurtry writes well of a place he knows well, for as a boy he summered "above/on" the Caprock, at the McMurtry Reunions at Saints' Roost. (Neither preposition has ever seemed right, neither conveying what the Caprock meant to the shape of the lives of the people who lived there. Best said would be "of" as in "he was of the Caprock".)

Comanche Moon spends much time both in Austin and of the Caprock. McMurtry's descriptions fit my memories and my imaginations of what the country must have been like during the 100 years removed from my lifetime. One can still see in Austin the lone northeast sally port of what was to have been Texas Military Institute and know exactly the author's inspiration for the Sculls' castle-like mansion above Shoal Creek, with its view of the Governor's Mansion. Today's traveler across the Texas Panhandle can still see the mirages shimmering in the distance and dust devils and blizzards cutting across the flat plains. After traveling miles in the vastness and flatness of the treeless llano from Post, Texas, up State Highway 207 on the way to the Canadian River, stomach leaps to throat as the Grand Canyon-like beauty of Palo Duro Canyon reveals itself. Opening itself to the traveler slowly at first, the country gives subtle clue that something is changing. Then all of a sudden its proportions hammer, as one finally comes close enough to its sides to see its bottom and its drama. Looking down from its south rim, one can see the Canyon's juniper cedar filled floor and imagine the teepees of the Quahadi or Penateka Comanches along the banks of the Prairie Dog Town Fork of the Red River that carved the chasm.

McMurtry once claimed to be novelist, "unaccustomed to the strain of prolonged thought" of non-fiction, believing his voice in novel more stentorian and full and with greater range than in essay. [In a Narrow Grave (1968), pp. 138-39, 142] While disclaiming being any thing other than a writer of fiction, it is obvious that McMurtry has read Webb, Bedichek, Dobie, Haley, Graves and Fehrenbach. While not a writer at all, I am glad to say that I have read McMurtry, and Comanche Moon. To my eye and ear it is second only to Lonesome Dove itself. One sees in it the beginning McRae's great dialog which made the first 100 pages of Lonesome Dove worth reading over and over. Through it, one realizes that the western genre has in the past been more about gunfighters than cowboys. McMurtry's Texas Rangers are really not either. Today we see examples of why soldiers should not be policemen, and why policemen should not be organized as paramilitary groups. Unique times and territory dictated that the Rangers be neither, but both. They ranged. And it is the choice of the Rangers that sets the tetralogy apart and allows its epic status. Because I grew up in the Panhandle whose Anglican genesis is yet not so removed from the present, unlike others of my age from other parts of the state, I missed its settlement by only one wide generation and perhaps another not so wide. For this reason, perhaps, the myth and the reality of the Plainsman are to me but one. I never wrestled with any disparity between the sociology and the mythology of the cowboy as McMurtry apparently did. [In a Narrow Grave (1968)]

Although a worthy tome, its publisher missed the mark by waiting until November for its release, more mindful of Christmas sales than of its title and theme. It should have been released in early October, allowing the reader to spend late nights and early mornings reading as the big full October Moon traveled across the night sky. The Comanche Moon, the moon under which young Comanche warriors went down the Comanche Trail, from Kansas and the Panhandle crossing into Mexico at Boquillas and Lajitas, of the area now known as the Big Bend, to prove their courage and raid for horses, children and women. The reader could then experience both the beauty of the season and the settlers' fear brought by that the moon. Lonesome Dove was of former rangers, men restless to see new country under a good horse, realizing that action is needed while bodies can still cash the checks written by wills; of friendships and loyalties forged in adventures and hardships; of feelings that the conditions and reasons of one's society that once gave purpose to one's life may no longer be valid for one's present country, driving one to find another place and time where that purpose might still be found. Streets of Laredo is of evil men, despicable to the core; of the Mexicans along the border; and of stoic, solid women enduring severe hardship, while remaining steadfast, giving us McMurtry's notion of frontierswomen; of old men "whose wills had begun to resent their weakening bodies." Dead Men Walking is of boys and young men and fools. Comanche Moon is of men and the Indians. The Indians, The People, McMurtry's foils in the first three books, must be understood to understand those who opposed them, the history carved in that opposition, and the sense that man's relationship with the country has always been of one group displacing another by force, sometimes of arms, oftentimes by force of culture. McMurtry's genius is found in his ability through the written page to stir in and leave the reader with the exact feeling felt by his characters, Call and McCrae, at the end of the book, certainly if the reader has not read, or does not plan to immediately pick up and read Lonesome Dove. This is to be the last that McMurtry will give us of Augustus and Woodrow.