I've played them all and I have read a lot of books so I was curious to see what Chronopia had to offer. Wow is the first thing that comes to mind. The book is just fantastic.

It starts with a detailed history of Chronopia from its Third Age into the Fourth. This history is rich with detail and clever ideas that present a world unlike anything we are used to seeing. Sure it has Elves, Dwarves, and Orcs, but they are presented so clearly it was like seeing these races for the first time.

The rules for game play are simple enough, but the richness of the setting translates directly into the eight kingdoms presented in this book. They are full of rich detail and interesting in the extreme. I found myself unable to put it down as each page promised something exciting with each turn. I haven't had this much fun reading something since Game of Thrones.

From a book standpoint, it is a delightful read. From a game standpoint, it is equally vibrant and chock full of permutations that will appeal to any gamer. If you weren't into miniatures games, this still makes an excellent backdrop for a role playing game.

Best [X] I've spent in a long time.

I have always loved the novels of Henry James, particularly Portrait of a Lady and my real favourite, The Turn of the Screw. When I saw this book I thought it would be very hard going, but I soon realised that Flannery's book was clearly written but also sophisticated and at times surprising. Its a pity there isn't more coverage in it of the Turn of the Screw but Flannery's discussion of The Portrait of a Lady and stories by James like The Aspern Papers and The Figure in the Carpet more than make up for this. This book is written with real grace and sometimes wit, e.g. the chapter on the Tragic Muse and the books discussion of sexuality and aesthetics in the last chapter on The Golden Bowl. Flannery looks with cool and sympathetic eyes at other critics on James. You feel that he really loves James and is not just using him as an opportunity to demonstrate his own powers as critic and egotist, as I find with many literary critics. This book is informative whilst being non-judgemental. Anyone interested in James would, I am sure, find this book extremely helpful as insight and discovery. I also feel that it is driven by a sense of the complexities of James and the complexities of the real world.
I look forward to discovering more works by this author. A great read!

"A Gap in Nature" is a truly extraordinary book. It gives details of many species that are lost to us forever. The illustrations are beautiful. Each species that is covered has a matching picture, its range, and reasons why it became extinct. The human species is mostly to blame for the loss of many of these creatures with destruction of habitat, over hunting, and introduction of disease and predators. Some of the species like the Dodo bird, the Great Auk, the Passenger Pigeon, and the Carolina Parakeet are well known whereas others are not known. It's very sad in a way. We have been able to save the California Condor and the Whooping Crane, but have probably lost the Dusky Seaside Sparrow, the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker, and Bachman's Warbler in recent years. This book is excellent, but really only covers the tip of the iceberg when it comes to species we've lost forever.

We've often heard about the loss to our world due to extinction. Flannery and Schouten put "faces" to this loss. These 'Ghosts of Species Past' represent just a handful of the things that we have directly or indirectly caused to disappear from the Earth. Many books try to give us an idea of the loss through descriptions and stories. What sets this book above the rest are the illustrations by Schouten. Often working with only skins, parts of the animal, or old drawings, he has created hauntingly beautiful illustrations of what these animals might have looked like were we to see them in their natural habitats. And that is what you will take away from this book, more than just the scope of loss, but the physical beauty and diversity that these animals represent. And that is a shame. Many of these animals were only seen a few times, so the information on them is sketchy, yet Schouten breathes life into these ancient corpses. The book's message will stay with you. Let's hope that we can cut back on contributing to the next volume in the world today.

The author and illustrator in this book collaborate to show the reader some of the many species that have been lost to us. The illustrations are just beautiful and the blurbs are informative and to the point. After a while it seems that rats, cats, and Captain Cook caused the extinction of most of these. Fascinating reading.