In her book Phyllis Eisenstein says she first read about pantothenic acid in Adelle Davis's book "Let's Get Well." I read Adelle Davis's book over 10 years ago and tried the pantothenic acid (500 mg. twice a day) with food and it absolutely works for me. It took about a month for me, but the pain and swelling in my hands miraculously subsided. I've realized that I'll have to take this the rest of my life because when I quit taking it the pain, swelling and burning of my hands and joints returns.

This is an excellent book for anyone who is suffering from arthritis. I personally know from relatives who suffer from arthritis that the alternative treatments in this book actually work! And I am not a fan of alternative medicine.

I own and have read this book and the previous one "Born to Exile", and have read both several times. Alaric is minstrel who has the unique ability to travel instantly to any place he has already been. But, his real magic is the lyrics and music that touches the heart of all how listens to it. In the novel "In the Red Lord's Reach" he has come into his man hood using his ability to help the people of the north survives. Buy, borrow, or steal it, then read it. Tell your friend to read. Then demand through the publishers, booksellers and Ms. Phyllis Eisenstein to please let Alaric live again in new stories.

Seven of the nine stories that make up this speculative fiction anthology were written between the mid-seventies and early eighties, insuring difficulty in finding them. The other two were furnished within the last six years. Each tale is dark as Phyllis Eisenstein shines a light on the innermost secret dreams of her varying protagonists. As the author explains in her introduction her contributions can be classified as fantasy or science fiction as she seems to have a leg in both genres. All the tales are top notch and fans of short fiction in a twilight Zone twist kind of way in which nothing is as it first seems will want to read NIGHT LIVES.

Harriet Klausner

I have to say: I absolutely loved the Sorcerer's Son (the book that this is the sequel to), and I thought that this book started out good as a sequel and as a normal book. However, although the book had many twists and surprises I thought that the overall experience was duller than the first book, and there are some errors that do not fit with the first book.

It seems that although Eisenstein has in some areas expanded the sequel from its origin, in other areas she has shrunk it back, at the expense of the book; for instance (no spoilers except if you haven't read Sorcerer's Son yet, and even then it's a minor one), we are now told that Cray's mother is the only sorceress/sorceror who is not evil and doesn't recruit demons in the whole world, wiping out a lot of possibilities for other characters and contradicting in a way with the first book.

I also thought that too big a chunk of the book was spent inside the crystal palace with somewhat repetitive talk going on between Cray and Aliza. I have nothing wrong with character development, but I would have preffered that Eisenstein had drawn out a story in which the character development could happen "on the move" as it did in the first book.

Another splotch for me was the badly chosen "evil" in the book. (possible spoiler) Having wiped out other possibilities by saying that Cray's mother was the only one who practiced magic besides recruiting demons, we get barely a sense of real danger from the evil sorcerer in this book since we see that he's not even as strong as the one in Sorcerer's Son. It seemed like Eisenstein kept on trying to add on special evil powers to him all through her book to cover what she realised was a rather weak archfiend.

However, I can't deny that I still love Eisenstein's writing more than most other authors'.

So I give this book a "4". In comparison with Sorcerer's Son, however, I would give it a "2.8"

This book has great memorable characters that you can identify with as well as think of them as your own friends.A fantastic sequel to the book,Sorceror's Son.Kudos to Phllis Einstein for her effort.A third book would very welcome.

This book was, I think, one of the best fantasy books that I have ever read. In the previous book, Cray finds that he has inhereted a powerful legacy not only from his sorceress mother but also from his similarly empowered father. The Crystal Palace shows within its pages how Cray's knowledge - not his enthusiasm - of sorcery increases.To fill this void within himself Cray must look beyond his life and his world. Eisenstein is a mistress of her art and this book serves to exemplify her skill.

After having read several of the reviews for this book, I decided to give it a try. Never before have I read a book with such cookie cutter characters. They are simple and unchanging, with no depths, thoughts, or emotions (the one exception is the knight's mother, she diplays her everlasting sadness, but even then, that is her only emotion.) The young knight, the loyal squire, the recluse sorcerers, the nonspecific seer, etc. You needn't waste your time reading this book. Halfway through, you'll throw it down and say "Who cares?"

This is honestly the best book i have ever read. I had Pottermania for a while, but not anymore. I'm surprised this book is so underrated, because none of my fantasy/sci-fi friends have ever even heard of it! Trust me, it's absolutely wicked!

This book was published in 1979, a few years after the original Ballantine Adult Fantasy series had ended and right before the amazing fantasy fiction boom of the 1980's. As a result I've always considered this book a major transitional work in Fantasy fiction. The story of Cray (the son of the title) is a great coming of age story and shows how an author can create a Fantasy novel that does not require huge armies or huge casts of characters but focuses on a boy trying to find out something about himself. The love between son and mother is also heartwarming and quite a feel good. The writing is clean and descriptive with no false dialog or emotions. The ending is satisfying and touching (I love to re-read the ending). A book on a small scale that grows into a large wonderful read.

Born to Exile was a really good book but i wish it had a sequel. It ended rather abruptly. The story was good though.

Excellent book.The magic was very good and believable, and the power of teleportation was a new idea instead of the usual point and shoot my lighning, etc, kind of magic.I noticed a lot of writers want the name of the sequel. The sequel is, "In The Red Lord's Reach" by the same author and that too was an excellent book although not as good as the first in my opinion. Any fans of magic, castles, and that plain medieval feel will love this book.

I originally read this book Freshman year in high school and lost my copy, I've been looking for it since. Born to Exile is easily my favorite fantasy book, and I stongly recommend reading it. Now, where can I find the sequel?

Celia, a Midwest graduate student who tutors Spanish, has a new boyfriend, Larry- who came to her for language lessons and has now become her lover. Larry has found the gate to a parallel Earth. On this Earth, however, the Spanish Armada was not defeated by the British Navy, the Protestant Church never gained a foothold, the steam engine (nor any technological advance since then) was never invented, and North America is a Spanish-speaking wilderness. Enslavement of any commoner without a protector abounds in this parallel America.
And Celia finds herself trapped there...