Jak Jinnaka has a reputation for getting a job done, and for doing it well, even if he has to betray a good "tove" along the way. Nothing is more important than following Hive Intel's orders and successfully completing his objective: Not loyalty, not love and not misplaced scruples. A good agent knows when to toe the line, however, and when to break free from it. It's too bad there's so little room for interpretation and improvisation in Jak's latest assignment, one that promises to be needlessly complicated, and has political and religious overtones to it.

A recent archaeological dig on Mars has unearthed the lifelog of Paj Nakasen, founder of the Wager, a prominent religion practiced by billions, and a man revered for his beliefs. Of course, rights to the lifelog are heatedly contested, spurring on a clamor to claim it -- and Hive Intel's insistence that Jak be the one to do so. Naturally, there are a few provisos he'll need to comply with, and a slew of obstacles he'll need to overcome before Jak Jinnaka can consider this particular mission to Mars a complete success...or a total failure.

No doubt, many of you are thinking John Barnes's novel, In the Hall of the Martian King, is a peculiar choice for a romance reader. Science fiction is a spectacular, out-of-this-world leap from pleasant romantic fantasy, after all, with its emphasis on alien cultures, surreal possibilities and technological jargon. At first, I wondered why the publisher had sent me a copy to review. As I cautiously turned the pages, however, the whys and wherefores no longer mattered. Suddenly, I was spiraling light years into the far-flung future and the fully realized worlds of Mr. Barnes, and there was no turning back. Joining a series-in-progress is always a little challenging, though -- but never mind that fish out of water feeling: it will soon pass.

An outrageous space adventure, spy thriller and sci-fi fantasy all rolled into one, the three tiered plotline is in constant, ever-changing flux, but nonetheless has a focal point to concentrate on: Jak's super spy and/or double agent status for Hive Intel. Strong hints of humor contrast nicely with the darker underbelly of this story, and Jak's helpless obsession with (and his conditioned response to) his evil ex-girlfriend, Princess Shyf. To be perfectly blunt, Jak has a sexual fixation for the Princess of Greenworld, which he has next to no control over. Yikes! And with his uncle and " toktru toves" -- or very good friends -- helping to further muddy the Martian landscape, so to speak, Jak's Mission Impossible is bound to experience a setback or two.

Yes, indeedy, tough choices are in store for Mr. Barnes's fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants, always-look-out-for-number-one, never-say-die hero. Paj Nakasen's lifelog is a very hot commodity, you see, and has the power to not only make or break Jak's career, but also to inspire an all-out interplanetary war. An action-packed, humdinger of a read (if you're looking for something new and different, that is), In the Hall of the Martian King will entertain readers on a grand, intergalactic scale. Keep in mind, however, that this gravity-defying adventure is light years away from romantic fiction, and doesn't really a heroine to root for or a happily-ever-after to speak of. Jak is too much of a space cowboy to settle down and embrace routine, I think. He has ambitions to fulfill, a legacy to carry on, and a great, big universe to preserve and protect, after all.

Reviewed by C.L. Jeffries

By the thirty-sixth century mankind has spread all over the universe. Jak Jinnaka has finally graduated from the Hive and was employed by the Protectorates Administrative Service Corps, stationed on Mar's outer moon Deimos. He is actually a double agent working to further the Hive's interests and goals. When his supervisor leaves him in charge of Deimos, he is given a mission that will take him to Mars.

In the ruins of Chrysepolus, an archeologist finds the lifelog of Paj Nakagen, the founder of the interstellar religion known as the Wager. The Martian king possesses the diary that Jak must retrieve by persuading the monarch to turn it over to him on behalf of PASC (actually, the Hive). Others will do anything to get their hands on these priceless records, but the most dangerous is Jak's ex-girlfriend the evil princess Shyf of Greenword. She conditioned him to love her unconditionally and give her anything she wants, an obsession that he has not been entirely erased which makes success for Jak quite difficult to achieve.

If one can imagine a futuristic version of the TV series Get Smart, than readers will have a very good idea of what IN THE HALL OF THE MARTIAN KING is like. The hero of this fast-paced, action-packed space romp is an adorable man who tries to do his job and ends up alienating even more people than he did in his last caper (see A PRINCESS OF THE AERIE). John Barnes has put the fun back in space opera and readers will love him for doing that.

Harriet Klausner

This Book is such good value. Not only do you get three plays but i tell you you get Some entertainment. A most enjoyable read!

SIVE- I love Sive it is an extremely sad story about a young girls who is being sold into marriage by her uncle and aunt. Her grandmothewr is againstit especially because the man is about 70 and also bercause Sive is already in love with Liam Scuab. On the eve of her wedding sive makes a decision that will chande everything-Forever!

THE FIELD- Everyone knows the bull but the bull will go to whatever lenghts he must to get the most important thing in the world(to him) and that is land. But will he succeed and will Mrs.Butler-the widow who is selling theland get a fair price. Main characters include the bull,the birtd and Tadgh. Is tadgh like his father-Is he his fathers son?

BIG MAGGIE- Now widowed ansd free Maggie decides that she will wear the trousers but she finds that the harder she gets the childrenb just fly thenest and all move away. even her son(the homebird) has to choose between his mother or the love of his life. His decision will also change what is to come. Will Maggie continue to fight alone? Does Maggie even know.

I may be biased but this book corrects many of the incorrect facts in other references. Enthusiasts either love or loath John Snetzler as an organ builder but he undoubtedly held and contibuted a great deal to English musical history.

Set almost a melenium in the future, in a universe where man has left a ruined Earth and is stratified into three distinct sects (The Christians, Communists, and Arabs) and has yet to encounter an "equivalent society", Barnes spins a captivating yarn on the freshly discovered world of Randall. In the Christian sphere of influence a world has been discovered where there are three intelegent species living in symbios. This is a great discovery for those who study alien life, since nothing of the sort has ever been encountered, but for the church there are more impotant considerations--such as converting the heathen aliens and opening the world to settlement.

Against what is a quite serious look at mankind's tendency to repeat his mistakes (It's been done before, yes, but Barnes does it quite well here) and a Resnick-like parable of 18th century European expansion (though focusing on the missionary aspect of it), Barnes has written an engrosing adventure novel that moves at quite a clip and is considerably more impressive than his first novel, The Man Who Pulled Down the Sky (not that that was a bad book by any stretch).

My one complaint would be a somewhat hasty ending--and looking at his first novel and other Asimov Presents that I've glanced at, which all clock in at 250 pages, I imagine that may have been forced by editorial guidelines. And while I'm mentioning editorial stuff: DON'T READ THE INTRODUCTION! Asimov blows a revelation that Barnes does his best to disguise for 240 pages.

Now go find it Barnes fans.

I'm part of a Drama Society in Ireland, and at the moment we are doing this play. Let me give you a short version of the play. There are 7 characters in them the most important being the Hiker himself. He has 3 children, 2 boys and a girl. He left his family 20 years ago because basically his wife's sister Freda would not give Kate (HIkers wife)and himself time to give the marriage a chance because Freda was in love with him too!!When he returns, Joe (eldest son) hits him. Simey(2nd son) hates the hiker and is only worried about his reputation as a vet even though the hiker is dying he doesnt care! Mary (daughter) doesnt even speak to him and has no time at all for him. Joe is the only one who will love his father through it all. He asks Kate and Freda not to go against his wishes and they dont. This is not our first year doing a play by JB we have done Big Maggie and also Many Young Men of Twenty and i enjoyed this more because of the size of the cast. With the other two plays we needed a cast of 20-25 and the audience would not get to know the characters really well. With this play the audience knew everyone. The play is in the form of two acts. Its a play that you could laugh at but there is also tradedy in it also.

Hope you enjoy is as much as i did. Its clearly one of JB best

There are some fine times in Gunning for Ho. My personal favorites are "A Lovely Day..." and the wonderfully mystic and deep "Stonehands..." This gives a glimpse into the author's not wanting to take responsibility for anything too heavy, though he certainly has and will in the future. It's like a fairy tale dream that can't come true. However the story has real merit and is wonderful.

The characters and stories are real and tragic. The Cat in the Cage horrified me. Here the writer actually got in touch with his sensitive more human side and touched me greatly.

However through the book, there is a distance between the author and his characters. As though he doesn't want to get too close. This is so blatant, I found myself not caring very much for them either.

More heart, more soul, more empathy, should be employed in this man's work. It goes without saying he is a superb writer. He simply needs to open himself up to his characters and likewise, he needs to open his characters up as well.

That sort of cutting off of emotions, is part of military training and being in a war, I suppose. But that war is over. A larger focus on the depth of emotion for writer and characters is what is needed.

Despite having been born in the latter years of the Vietnam War, and not having read deeply in the field, I am confident this collection of six short stories and a novella by a former Green Beret, is destined to be a classic of Vietnam War fiction. Destined because they resound with the truth--and aren't really concerned with making any political statement. Barnes's stories tell you about the young men who went off to war in an alien landscape, and how they--and those they left behind--were transformed forever. The first three stories are thematically joined by strong surreal elements that speak to the wider confusion and disorientation felt by many who served. More like Kafka than Conrad. The fourth and fifth stories are more straightforward tales of aftermath and picking up the pieces. I found the novella ("Tunnel Rat") to be somewhat more elusive than the stories, and less forceful. It may take a re-reading or two to really get at it. The final (and title) story is a direct descendant of Heart of Darkness, and succeeds in spite of traveling that well-worn path. As a whole, this collection is a testament to the humanity of the men who went to Vietnam.

H. Lee Barnes' collection of stories, Gunning For Ho, need not be looked at as just "Vietnam stories", rather they are stories of the soul, of man, of morality, and of America, uniquely America. This is a writer who doesn't shy away from wit or horror (often in the same paragraph, the same sentence) when describing the wars we fight with ourselves and the wars we fight with the enemy. A powerful, moving reminder that what matters is often not what is written on the page, but what we as readers take with us, to last a lifetime. Nothing short of brilliant.

This is a great book for youngsters. It is a classic adventure story. Edgar Rice Burroughs wrote a great tale of adventure. I read this book in junior high school and then again in high school. I recently reread it again now in my thirties. It is still a compelling read. One grows to care for Tarzan of the Apes. The movies do not do it justice. The original is the best. A lot of the subsequent Tarzan novels do not measure up to this one. It is a bona fide classic of adventure fiction. It deserves a place next to works by Rider Haggard and Zane Grey. I find myself waxing nostalgic for youth gone by and Tarzan of the Apes is right there. A fun read at any age.

I have had this book for years and never thought I would like it because of the Tarzan portrayals in the movies. But I was pleasantly surprised by the well written adventures of the jungle lord. Rice Burroughs has fully captured the essence of a man who comes to see civilization with the eyes of a child but the heart of a warrior. His great love for Kala the apemother and Jane his future mate were written beautifully. I recently saw Disneys Tarzan and the Chris Lambert film Greystoke the Legend of Tarzan and they both capture the story of Tarzan as Burroughs envisioned it. I truly enjoyed the book and recommend it highly. I cant wait to read more of the books in the series.

Edgar Rice Burroughs' classic - "Tarzan of the Apes" - is the first in the series of Tarzan books, and is a quite entertaining novel. This first book relates some classic events in the Tarzan saga - how Tarzan's parents were killed and he came to be raised by the apes, how he learned to communicate with animals of the jungle as well as educate himself in the ways of man, his meeting Jane, and his eventual journey to the world of civilization and man. The story was originally published in 'pulp-style' magazines, (as was most fantasy and sci-fi of Burroughs' day); however, this represents some of the great stories that were produced from that style of fiction.

Virtually all of the events related in the novel are interesting and handled intelligently. Readers who have certain expectations of the story based on the cartoons and movies ' such as "Greystoke: the Legend of Tarzan" - may be somewhat surprised by the content of the story. I personally liked how the author didn't spend too much time on any one aspect of the story, but rather, moved somewhat swiftly through the various events of story (those who like a quicker paced novel should enjoy it). Some readers may find Burroughs' depictions of the animals and natives who lived in the jungle to be a bit clichéd; however, while they certainly seem to be a product of his time (this book was originally published in 1914), I found his portrait of the jungle, and the "civilized" humans represented, to be somewhat quaint, but quite enjoyable.

Overall, 'Tarzan' is a well written story and one which can be enjoyed by today's standards. Those expecting a somewhat one-dimensional story or "super-hero" type Tarzan from the cartoons (and some of the book covers for that matter) should be pleasantly surprised. While this book may be most appropriate to read for adolescents through young adults, I'd recommend it for kids of all ages ' I'm 29 and enjoyed it, and plan to read others in the series!

The authors of the book take a neutral stance on these white supremacists. They present their ideas without actually condoning them. They have a reserved sympathy for these people since the authors live in the rural conservative culture of Texas that breeds this sort of extremism. They also mention that they had repugnance towards some of the ideas presented, but avoided editorial comments as part of their deal with the extremists.

Many racial extremists have the religious theology of an antisemitic variety of Christian Identity. They interpret the scriptures to mean that whites are actually the chosen people and the Jews are the seed of Satan. They believe that the stone of destiny that the monarchs in England swear themselves upon when being enthroned is Jacob's pillar in the Bible because English tradition says so. Not all Identity Christians are anti-semitic though.

The extremists are firm believers in conspiracy theories involving the Jews and their Gentile freemason cohorts. They believe everything is controlled by ZOG (Zionist Occupied Government) and that the Jews and freemasons involved shape society to their own benefit and to the detriment of the white population.

The authors do not sanitize their accounts of what the extremists truly believe. They believe in the elimination of homosexuals, Jews, race mixers, and the unproductive. Some of their beliefs on these matters are influenced by their interpretation of the Scriptures. (The more violent, younger and secular Neo-Nazi gangs believe in elimination of the unproductive.) The religious racists see themselves as soldiers of God in a righteous fight against what they see as evil. These religious beliefs make them very committed and sometimes they will attempt violence or lawbreaking to achieve their goals of having a Christian theocracy. They believe they are at war with a corrupt government that needs to be overthrown. However, they think that Timothy McVeigh was actually a government agent that worked to put the blame on racial extremists for OKC bombing and to create an incident to pass an anti-terrorists bill targeted against patriots.

They have problems with the theory of racial equality since they think affirmative action is used to promote people who do not merit the position and that blacks often make formerly all-white neighborhoods crime zones.

The authors do not try to confirm or deny any of the many conspiracy theories that they believe in and I think that this is weakness to the book.

The racial extremists have a battle strategy of leaderless resistance in which they form a small group of no more than seven people who know each other well. This strategy guards against infiltrators because the group remains very quiet about what they plan to do. They plan to have hundreds of these groups who will reek havoc upon what they see as ZOG controlled society as they attempt to implement a revolution.

I view the group as ultra conservatives with unorthodox Christian beliefs that do not want to live in a multi-culti society with race mixing and little adherence to some of the more thorny traditional Christian beliefs. They are unable to get what they want at the voting booth and are willing to use violence to get what they want. They also see through the weaknesses in the theory of racial equality and racial sameness when they observe reality. They are scary, but at the same time, fascinating to read about. Although milder conservatives may have the same complaints as the extremists do, they do not have the same nuances in their beliefs that will lead them to violence. Nuances in belief systems are important.

More people will probably be radicalized enough to join extremist groups in the future if the economy keeps sputtering and more foreigners come to live here making the nation less of a predominately white culture. Resentment will be stirred if non-whites are still considered a protected class as opposed to whites according to the law.

This is an informative and readable book that covers extremists in depth while avoiding the simplicity and distortion that the media usually resorts to when covering extremists.

The authors are to be commended for letting their subjects speak for themselves, rather than presenting the reader with an editorial on the evils of white supremacist movements and using selected quotations to back it up. That said, I find the book incredibly frightening: the members of the groups profiled have made the common mistake of confusing "We're sincere" and "We can find Biblical support for our beliefs" with "We're RIGHT." (In fact you can find Biblical justification for just about anything, but that's never stopped anyone.) They resent being lumped together with "racist groups" by the FBI et al., but they themselves lump all sorts of unrelated phenomena together and call it the Satanic plot to take over the world.
These groups may contend that they're not "racist," but according to the maxim attributed to the late Cardinal Cushing: if it walks like a duck, and swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, I say it's a duck.

This book is very informative for those that know nothing about the movement, and most people KNOW NOTHING. I encourage all White people to read this book and take to heart what it says. If you disagree with the Identity doctrine, try to disprove it. The beliefs are not only backed by Biblical truth, but as well as Historical proof. My praise to the authors for thier straight forward reporting. They said that they would not twist our words around, and they made good on the promise. Thank you Myra and Howard.

I have had very mixed feelings about Barnes' novel-length work. Descriptions of Barnes as the next Heinlein never sold his books to me as I stopped deifying the 'Dean of Science Fiction' long ago; indeed, in my view, Barnes' flaws often replicated Heinlein's stylistic and imaginative shortcomings. He also seemed to have a rather boring way of constructing his worlds whether they were supposed to be shockingly foregrounded or merely backcloth.

This collection managed to both surprise me and confirm some of my previous impressions. I found the author's commentaries on his stories engaging and enlightening, though I did not always agree with his opinions of his own work! For example, 'Under the Covenant Stars', a tale set in a near future USA dominated by religous dogma and fear of the outside, which Barnes describes as one of his most (thankfully) dated, I found to be still timely and disturbing. Perhaps more recent events have reawakened tendencies Barnes thought long gone. I also liked the one with the gay wolf sex! Barnes seems to encourage the reader to find this shocking - actually it isn't at all unless you have problems with the normal range of human sexuality - and is in fact quite an intriguing tale that could be read as a challenge to human speciesism, a tale of moral control, or a satire on the animal rights lobby depending on you mood and persuasions. There are a few really enjoyable and genuinely challenging stories in this collection: the first story, 'Gentleman Pervent, Out on a Spree' is strong stuff with some disturbing but worthwhile points about gender relations, although it outstays its welcome and drifts off course a little.

However there are some really bad stories too - another lengthy piece which worked hard at inverting mainstream fantasy conventions of good elves and bad goblins went on so long and aimlessly that I began to think that some publisher's trick had plunged me into the middle of another interminable fantasy trilogy. Many other tales are equally pointless or flawed: some, such as 'Stochasm, 'are just too clever-clever , others aren't as funny as they the author believes, particularly one abysmally unamusing alt-history satire about Christopher Columbus.

Interspersed with the stories are non-fiction pieces. These I found very interesting because they purport at least to be what Barnes really thinks about writing, about Science Fiction, and about world-creation. I say 'purport', because I was left unsure whether Barnes really believes what he writes and whether the pieces are merely self-justification. One example is an essay on style in SF, in which Barnes exalts good honest craft in writing over bombastic stylistic exhuberance. Given that Barnes' own style is workmanlike at best and dull at worst, this could be seen merely as an attempt to give a critical gloss to an inability to write in anything more than flat prose. Likewise his essay on how to construct a world: mathematically-correct maybe, but worlds are made of more than figures - where's the cultural content, where's the poetry? Whilst I appreciate his critique of the old hyperbolic SF description piling wonder upon ever more wondrous wonder, and whilst I can see the rationale in well-constructed coherent worlds, I would have given up reading SF years ago if everyone wrote like Barnes. Simple writing about workable futures may do for teenagers - that was when I DID like Heinlein! - but as you get older you need more subtlety, more strangeness, and, more style. Give me something stylish - anything from Attanasio at his headlong flawed but lush best, or Gibson at his most ironic and Chanderesque - over Barnes' mechanical writing any day.

After my criticism, you might be surprised to find me awarding this collection 4 stars. Well, the reason is that too many author's are selctive about what they present to the public. Collections often contain only the author's selction of their most uncontentious and well-liked pieces. In contrast Barnes has exposed himself completely: everything is on display, much of it unseen before. And, whether you like him or not, whether you believe him or not, like a middle-aged streaker at the Olympic Games, John Barnes has got to be admired for his honesty and daring in 'letting it all hang out' in this way.

I came to John Barnes' writing through his novels, and was very pleasantly suprised to find his short stories. They pack almost as much creativity as is usually found in a 300 page work into a scant 30 pages. The downside to this, of course, is that after being so drawn in to one of his universes, you want to stay with the world and the characters for another 270 pages...

One great thing about this collection are the essays interleaved between the stories. The insight into how Barnes arrives at his plots and universes is a special treat.

John Barnes is simply the best when it comes to hard sci-fi. I stumbled upon his work after reading a short story in the "Drakas!" collection based on the alt-universe created by S.M. Stirling (another fave). I picked up a copy of "Kaleidoscope Century" and was hooked. Barnes is a master of dark humor and has a keen eye on the human condition. The short stories in "A&A" are marvelous, a few laugh out loud funny, all thought provoking (I'll never look at wolves the same way again...). The essays are equally good. Barnes is wonderfully controversial, politically incorrect, irreverent, and one of my favorite writers of all time. Can't recommend this book enough.

I bought the 1996 version of this book in June of 2000 and within one month I was signed up for cosmetology school. Then I got to school and they used the 2000 edition so I was already prepared. For those who think this book doesn't go into detail please realize that this is a textbook and it is part of a series of books for teaching. There are 2 workbooks that go along with this book. One for Theory and one for Practical. I was given a 1990 edition of this book as well by a friend of mine. The most noticable change between the 3 editions is that the 2000 edition has more actual photographs and fewer illustrations. If you are using this book for school study then I do recommend you buy the state board exam review booklet. Then when you have free time you can quiz yourself. Just remember that this book is meant to be used along with an instructor. If you are looking for a haircutting book only then I don't think you want this one. It only has about 12 pictures.

When I was taking Cosmetology back in the 2000-01 school year, they recommended to purchase this version of Milady's Standard Textbook of Cosmetology. They were only available new in Canada and cost [money], and came with the theory book as well. Our teacher also had the old 1996 version of this textbook for sale, used. However, this is a better purchase. There are more pictures and colors, its not as drab as the previous version. I have to disagree with reviewers who said this is not a detailed book, I found it to be quite detailed and informative in its information. The book meant to be used in a classroom setting, where an instructor teachers and elaborates from this book. You cannot read this book and automatically cut hair, that is where the practical aspect of cosmetology comes in, when you are doing it hands on instead of reading. But this is a helpful tool for aspiring apprentices or students in cosmetology, whether you want to learn about Coloring, Perms, whatever the case, this is definately a worthwhile tool to have.

I bought the 1996 version of this book in June of 2000 and within one month I was signed up for cosmetology school. Then I got to school and they used the 2000 edition so I was already prepared. For those who think this book doesn't go into detail please realize that this is a textbook and it is part of a series of books for teaching. There are 2 workbooks that go along with this book. One for Theory and one for Practical. I was given a 1990 edition of this book as well by a friend of mine. The most noticable change between the 3 editions is that the 2000 edition has more actual photographs and fewer illustrations. If you are using this book for school study then I do recommend you buy the state board exam review booklet. Then when you have free time you can quiz yourself. Just remember that this book is meant to be used along with an instructor. If you are looking for a haircutting book only then I don't think you want this one. It only has a few pages on haircutting and about 12 pictures of haircut instructions.