Really atrocious. The story begins with the X-men disbanding, and then just reforming for no reason with new members. No explanation is given as to why these characters come in, or even what the point of it all is. The was decent in places, but on the whole pretty [disappointing], and there was basically no characterization. I felt cheated after reading this even though I hadn't even bought it. Thank God Grant Morrison came along and saved the X-men.

This TPB reprints X-Men #92, Astonishing X-Men #1-3, Uncanny X-Men #375 and X-Men #95.

The innocent and scared little Nina calls out to Jean Grey for help. A mysterious warrior called Death is hunting her and her friends down. Jean and Cyclops team up with Cable, X-Man and Wolverine to help them out. But as the story progresses, they find out that they're dealing with much more than what they expected.

This is the prologue to the unfortunately poorly executed Twelve storyline - with a truly surprising and questionable ending. The story in this one is average as the X-Men are perpetually searching for the children and their hunter - Occasionally retreating back to base. It has some okay twists. The action scenes are pretty good and there is another big surprising action scene that goes a little bit over the top.

My major gripe with this one is mostly the art. I mean, it's very good and the colouring is excellent (although a bit too polished at times - especially the characters), but the characters don't look anything like how we know them. They look entirely different. Cable looks a bit like MacGuyver and lost some pounds, while Gambit gained some in his chin, Nate looks more like a little boy (more than he already is), Cyclops also seems to have found the fountain of youth and some drawings of Jean Grey are a terrible disgrace.

But that doesn't take much away from the comic overall. Still a pity though, cos it would have raised my rating. And with no numbering of the pages (I don't think they should ever start doing that), the page numbers on the chapter index seem a bit useless. But it's nice to know how many pages this TPB has before you start reading it.

You might want to read the Twelve storyline after reading this anyway, but as of writing it's not out on TPB form yet. I'd suggest waiting for the TPB, which will be released sooner or later - Or if you're really in a hurry, head down to the local comic shop and get the induvidual comic issues.

The X-Men Dream Team, that's the cast of the TPB collection of the Astonishing X-Men-Cyclops, Phoenix, Wolverine, Cable, X-Man (Nate Grey) and Angel. Beautifully drawn by Brandon Peterson, this prequel to the end of the millenium X-Men epic "The Twelve" is well scripted and action packed and contains a shocker ending that will leave you breathless. I just wish however that they will follow this up with an X-Men "The Twelve" collection so the readers wont feel cheated by the shocker ending. All in all, the art, writing and most especially the cast, makes this collection a must have for old and new X-fans.

Yikes! Scott's aproach to the parables of Jesus is part commentary on IF there are His parables, and part deconstruction of said parables. How many people are comfortable with the idea of Jesus telling bawdy stories?
Scott, like so many of his colleagues in the Society of Biblical Literature, are so interested in seeming "objective" in approaching Scripture, they treat it with less respect than they would any other peice of ancient literature. When was the last time you heard of a Q source for Homer? Or of multiple authors for The Republic? Or a discussion of which lines of The Frogs are original to the play's author? These guys want to look intellectual, but end up looking petty.

This book is a stellar example of misassimilated information. Scott comes close -- and yet remains so far -- from "hearing the parables" the way Jesus' fellow Galileans would have heard them. He interprets the parables against the backdrop of Jewish myths and peasant world-views, which at first promises to yield some good results. But he ends up abandoning much of what he develops in favor of postmodern philosophical table-talk. The result makes for some awkward and bizarre readings. Indeed, if we believe Scott, then Jesus pretty much preached disaster for the Jewish peasantry.

For instance, in the parable of the Talents (Mt.25:14-28/Lk.19:12-24), a master departs on a journey, leaving three servants with money in trust, expecting them to act like good retainers -- to secure his investment, then double it. The first two servants do exactly as expected of them, but the third does not. He buries the master's money to be sure it remains intact. He thus not only refuses to partake in the exploitive schemes of the master, but he acts honorably, in accordance with Jewish law. When the day of accounting arrives, and the master rewards the two who increased his wealth at the expense of others, the third servant acts stunningly. He blows the whistle on the master, while at the same time giving him back the money he had buried in trust. He denounces his elite overlord: "Master, I know that you are a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, gathering where you did not scatter." From the peasant point of view, this servant acts not only honorable (with the money in trust), but courageously (by denouncing his oppressive master). He is the hero of the parable. But for Scott, he is the villain of the parable! And the servants who did the master's dirty work turn out to be the heroes! Time and time again -- especially with parables concerning masters and absentee landlords -- Scott turns the good guys into bad guys, bad guys into good guys. First-century Jewish peasants would hardly have heard the parables the way Scott has.

This book does do justice to a few parables (like The Mustard Seed and The Leaven), but it fails to do justice to the historical Jesus in general.

I strongly disagree with the previous reviewer. Brandon Scott provides a challenging reading of the parables by proposing ways of hearing them that are set apart from the later Christian interpretations of the parables that were edited into the Gospels of the New Testament. Scott's theory, which he successfully defends, is that Jesus' parables were much more revolutionary, much more critical of the social/political/religious culture of Jesus' lifetime than those versions that were more spiritualized, made more palatable for the widespread proclimation of the Christian faith in the late 1st Century. Do I agree with every theory of every parable in Scott's book? No. However, his reading is one of the most insightful and historically valid interpretations of the parables that I have read. Along with John D. Crossan's book, "In Parables," Scott's book brings Jesus' message to new light. As a United Methodist pastor, who preaches Jesus' parables with passion, Scott's challenging interpretation helps me broaden my understanding of Jesus' message.

I've never read such a sloppy account of the Surrealists... Ruth Brandon's book is littered with errors and omissions of all sorts. Surreal Lives also suffers from any sense of strong narrative. Brandon leaves out so much that was important to the movement, esp. in the so called 'Heroic Period,' the early days of the movement. She attributes quotes to the wrong people... To name just one thing...

The most unforgivable sin is even though it's supopsed to be about everyone in the movement, it's Breton heavy and doesn't at all write about the striking discoveries being produced and imagined by others at the same time. To me this is a cheap, bloated, cut and paste attempt at history. And shameful because she seemingly dismisses so many important people in the movement (Benjamin Peret, to name just one) with almost no mention at all.

Oddly enough, Mark Polizzotti's biography of Bretion, Revolution of the Mind: The Life of Andre Breton - is THE best, most COMPLETE and COMPELLING history of the WHOLE movement. Please, don't waste your money on the Brandon book - buy the Polizzotti. He makes you feel as if you were there with all those people, while Brandon's tome feels like she sat at a huge desk, littered with books (incl. the Polizzotti one, which she cannibalizes - along with tons of other sources) and made a collage, which just doesn't work at all. Through and through a totally boring account - which was in life so exciting. She made me feel absolutely nothing about people I've revered since my teens. It's cold and totally passionless. Ironic - since those are two qualities the Surrealists themselves abhorred.

This book is awful, riddled with errors and totally boring. I just wanted this review to be a warning. This IS NOT a complete or even good account of the Surrealists! Please - don't wate your money. Buy the Polizzotti - then you'll be dazzled and amazed and completely enlightened and entertained.

An interesting but not overly amazing look at one of the most misunderstood art movements of the 20th century. Brandon's work functions mainly as a collection of biograpical sketches of the major players of the movement. Forerunners like Tzara, Duchamp, Ducasse are given a fair ammount of time, as are Breton (of course) and Soupault. Other important players are quickly glossed over, like Eluard, Desnos and Peret. Far too much time is given to Dali; although a talented man, he spent very little time with the group.

Brandon's conclusions and insights are few; the one of most interest is that of Breton continually searching for the ultimate anti-artist he found and lost in his friend Vache and could never fulfill himself. This book would be a nice introduction to someone not too familiar with the movement and could act as a good jumping platform towards studying the specific artists that interest the reader most. The writing is clear, and what is explained is done well. More knowledgable readers, however, should move on to other things.

Perhaps the author got a little bored with covering the details of the artist's lives. It couldn't have been all action-action-action, they had to write, paint, create sometime. It's when she starts to dive into the murky waters of their disagreements and breaks over the minutae of esoteric intelli-quibbles that the reading drags. Decent in parts, and a worthy education, but a little like taking medicene in parts.

Although most entries in this series are usually rather dependable, this volume fails to offer truly workable solutions to encounters with difficult people. Anyone who has had to deal with difficult people will undoubtedly know that it is not an easy challenge, and that for the most part, a little common sense and a lot of patience are the best way to cope. Unfortunately, the solutions suggested in this book provide little more than that. Granted, it may be impossible in one volume to deal with the large variety of difficult personality types that we encounter every day.

I love elfquest, but this is one of the worst books in the readers collections. There are a collection of stories that don't fit anywhere else, and all but one shoudln't have been published at all. The store of Egg's meeting with Timmain is wonderful, good art, good story. It is the only one worth while. The others have poor art and chatoic story lines. The store where sutter was a cross breed between elf and human, rather than a wolf rider wear bearable to read, but not really enjoyable. The other stories I couldn't get through. Don't wast your money. Find a back issue with the the storry about Egg.

Right off the top, it's important to know one fact about the author, because his perspective colors everything he writes about, and the colors are red, pink, gray, and black. Yes, Brandon Scott is a charter member of the Jesus Seminar, so that means that "Jesus" here is actually the reconstructed, reduced Jesus as promoted by the likes of J.D. Crossan, and, furthermore, the non-canonical Gospel of Thomas stands on equal footing with the biblical gospels we all know and love: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and, well, John isn't dealt with at all here, because there are supposedly no parables in John (umm, what about the Vine and the Branches, or the Good Shepherd?)

First the positives: the author is an expert on parables, and there are some excellent interpretations here of a few of them. What is often lost to a modern readership when dealing with the parables is the fact that they were often shocking and scandalous to their first-century audience. Therefore, while "Good Samaritan" may be part of our vernacular, the very idea was just unheard of by his Jewish listeners. The best interpretive job, or the one that resonates with me the most, is concerning the Prodigal Son(s), where the conventions of Jewish family life are ripped apart by what transpires. The father is shown as being degraded by the young son, and degrades himself in the eyes of the community when he welcomes him back. That only scratches the surface, but if there is any reason to get this book, the Prodigal Son story would be it. On other parables, there are issues raised which are often ignored by other interpreters. For example, in the story of the hidden treasure, was Jesus commending the man for his dishonesty in finding the treasure, hiding it, and then buying the field without notifying the owner of the hidden treasure? There are potentially some good discussion starters here for small groups.

Of course, the "historical Jesus" had more in mind than just telling stories. It was his way of re-imagining the world as he thought it should be, and here's where things get a little stickier. Just what was Jesus trying to communicate? Here are the main points, according to the book:

1. God is unclean. This rather shocking statement is derived from the parable of the leaven, where a woman "hides" leaven in three measures of flour (a huge amount) and the leaven works its way through the whole batch. Leaven is seen as corruption, as unclean, in other words, so to Jesus, the kingdom (or "empire") of God is full of uncleanness, therefore the rather shaky jump to "God is unclean". My question is, if leaven is considered unclean (and, frankly, it is seen in a negative light throughout Scripture), why was it just prohibited for the seven days of the Passover, and not the whole year round, as was pork and shellfish? That gives this first point a flimsy foundation.

2. God is present in absence. This means, basically, a world void a divine intervention. This is based on the Parable of the Empty Jar found in the gnostic Gospel of Thomas. The parable, like much of the Gospel of Thomas, really makes little sense, but what sense the author does make out of it (and, in my opinion, he really has to stretch to do it), is used to "prove" this point. However, those of us who believe in the healing ministry of Jesus, which implies divine intervention, would see that as totally dismantling that argument.

3. Cooperation, not competition. This is illustrated by the Parable of the Good Samaritan. This point I have no problem with, as far as it goes.

The author, finally, seems to have his own agenda here: a Christianity without Christ, which is an etymological impossibility. The argument that is made for this is so weak as to be no argument at all. So, I'll sum up this book with a parable of my own. "Re-Imagine the World" to me is like a breakfast buffet to a vegetarian, who takes what he or she can eat (fruit) and rejects the rest (bacon, sausage, and eggs).

I'm not sure what I expected, but this wasn't it. The story is clear enough, but the writing style is very bland. An attempt is made at Yoda's style of speaking, but without much success. The illustrations are not quite right. There's no excitement here, either in prose or pictures.

Though it's a book for kids (my guess, ages 8-12), it seems to me the small size would put off most children.

I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone except a Star Wars completist.

Pedestrian-even boring--thriller(allegedly)from Texan attorney Brandon who went on to write some capable and lively books.Its protagonist is Texas lawyer "Grey Stanton"who lives with wife "Judith"and baby daughter "Katy".He is taking a sabbatical to write a history of the Jury System and is distracted by a visit from an attractive young woman named "Marcie"calaiming to be a law student researching an old case of his-an unsuccessful defence of a low life named "Simon Hocksley"on an armed robbery charge.The visits grow in frequency and include a romp in the swimming pool
Marcie is not what she claims being an intimate of the now freed Hocksley and his crippled brother Waylon 'The money has disappeared and Hocksley is convinced Stanton knows where it is .Cue harrassment and intimidation leading to a frankly ludicrous and misjudged climax at the Stanton household

The villain is a genuinely chilling creation and there is a good piece of characterization with the well meaning but weak sheriff who was bullied by Hocksley in their younger days.The amounts of money involved are low and I wonder if the author is not making an oblique point about poverty and low expectations among certain of the criminal class in Southern society

It starts out as a plod and ends as ludicrous.Go to Brandon's better later work instead

Improbable. Here's a story about a lawyer, Grey, who's family is being threatened and stalked
by a former client, Simon, just released from prison who thinks Grey stole his stash of stolen money. Simon trespasses
on Grey's property (& INTO Grey's house), carries a gun, verbally threatens him, his wife and barely 2 year old daughter,
beats Grey half to death in a local restaurant and what does Grey do? Nothing. Grey tells everyone including the local
Sheriff, he doesn't want to violate the poor guys parole and get him sent back to prison! Can you believe that!!! Give me
a break. What man is going to let another do such a thing to his family? I stopped reading after the beating in a local
restaurant where no one lifted a finger (including Grey himself) to stop the beating. Not even Grey's wife. Unreal.

An attorney (Grey Stanton)and his wife are stalked by a previous client (Simon Hocksley) who believes Grey stole the money he hid after robbing a local store and being sent to prision. At times, the book is rather suspenseful. At other times, you know exactly what Brandon is going to do with a certain character or situation, which does take the suspense out of a "suspense" novel. Still, it's an interesting read with a twist at the end that I suspected was coming, but in a different way.

This is a book for kids, not an informational book about alpacas! I bought it thinking it would have good information about raising alpacas. The description is sufficiently vague. I'm sure it is a nice book for kids, but the description should say it is a picture book! Then folks like me wouldn't have to pay return postage for the wrong book!!

Fun book to add to the personal library
The children enjoyed it.