From Christmas to New Year's this book has stories for all of them. Even the holidays less known, such as Boxing Day. Some of the stories are written by famous authors such as Carole Nelson Douglas the author of the Midnight Louie series. While others are written by unknowns.

This was an enjoyable book, but slacked off at times, producing somewhat boring stories. I recommend this book to any fans of mysteries, and cat lovers.

The seventh entry in the short story series starring feline detectives overall is very good, but has some disappointing tales. Each of the stories involve a crime occurring on a different holiday. The holidays range from the obvious such as Christmas and New Years Day to the less celebrated (at least in America) such as Arbor and Boxing days. Some of the most renowned cat detectives,d including the world famous Midnight Louie, are featured.

This collections is well written, but some of the more famous cats like Louie only whet the audience's appetitie for the longer full length novel format. Still, fans of the sub-genre or just cat fans in general will enjoy this and the previous six cat crime books.

Harriet Klausner

A great deal of astrological monkey business and fun. Lawrence Block tells a terrific tale as do Simon Brett, Peter Lovesey and Anne Perry herself. There are astrological clues, astrology murders, detective work by astrology and a great deal of well written stories. Some that may even scare a Scorpio or a Taurus! This is a really fun book and all mystery lovers of any sign should love it.

It's a star spangled banner, this collection of short stories by some 16 luminaries of the printed page, themselves! While most readers will be familiar with the novels of many of these authors, it's a refreshing change of pace!

Edited by Anne Perry, the stories revolving around astrology and astrological themes goes over with a big bang! In the Introduction, Perry asks, "Do you believe in horoscopes?" Then she invites us to "meet those who care passionately about the real stars and the astronauts who journey toward them."

The acclaimed authors who are included know their stuff and that's no mystery. From Peter Tremayne's Sister Fidelma--who's always given us a turn for our money and time--to Edward Marston (departing from his usual Medieval mystery setting) to Lawerence Block to Peter Lovesey to Simon Brett and concluding with Anne Perry herself, this is a delightful read. Granted, a change of pace, but a delight nonetheless.

What a clever idea to arrange such a collection around such a theme! The sky's the limit! ...

It's a good collection - something for everyone. Here's one beef: James H. Cobb writing of the Royal Navy in WWII did quite well on the whole - but OOPS! British helm commands do NOT include "hard left rudder!" That caused an unfortunate "suspension of belief" (to modify a phrase). The command is "hard a-port" or "hard a-starboard". And it's "full ahead both" not "flank". And you don't "make your course 060" - it would be "Steer 060". I was once Quartermaster on HMS Diamond ... But overall, the stories are a good bunch, nicely varied. Enjoy.

In an excellent follow up to First To Fight. The novel First to Fight II delivers ten tales of past, present, and future military themed stories by some of the genre's most read authors. The short stories for the most part are all very good, and hold the interest of the reader quite well. if you are fan of the military genre, but are unfamiliar with authors such as Brendan DuBois, John Helfers, Jim Defelice, or James H. Cobb, then this book is perfect for the uninitiated, or the long time fan. It provides the reader with a variety of authors, and styles, and from there, the reader can follow up on the author's longer works. I personally love this format, and the freedom it allows me to experiment with new authors. I can only hope that they continue to publish the First To Fight series.

I found this book very enjoyable and it moved well, its not slow on the get go, I also liked the ending, very different from his other books, which usually end with the guy getting the girl in the end, this time they.... enuf said (: And I liked the mention of a New Zealander, Cheers Bova...:

This was a book I just happened to look at because it had a cool cover and decent premise, so I decided to give it a shot. Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised by how entertaining and how fast-paced it was - the kind of book you can read in one sitting. In addition, the book has a good, surprising ending - I don't want to spoil it for you. Peackeepers is the kind of book that should be made into a movie - although maybe they should wait a while because, on the surface, the plot seems similar to the movie The Peacemaker with George Clooney and Nicole Kidman (although the Peacekeepers is a much better story, trust me). Either way, even though this isn't Bova' most popular book, it's worth checking out.

Davis, Russell: "Father of Shadow, Son of Light" The warrior Kham-Ridhe, sweeping into conquest of a new continent, are great believers in fate. One of their prophecies is that a child will cause them to take up the cause of peace forever - and their commander's newborn son is that child. (This story is part of the foundation for a novel, working title _The Crown of Sands_).

DuBois, Brendan: "The Cross of God" follows (in 3rd person, time of the 1st Crusade) Brother Frederick, an abbot in Germany, woken in the dead of night because his cousin Sir Geoffrey has returned from Jerusalem to see him. But Geoffrey won't trespass on holy ground, because a wizard in the Holy Land cursed him with a horrifying vision of things to come.

Edghill, Rosemary and Edghill, India: "Killer in the Reign" combines elements of the legends of Tam Lin and Thomas the Rhymer in the same hard-boiled style as "The Maltese Feline" (see _Catfantastic V_), as a serial killer stalks the neighbourhood of Carterhaugh. Hired wand Artos of Pendragon & Lake is called in because all the victims resemble the Queen, who doesn't permit the Table Knights to handle her security arrangements.

Friesner, Esther: "In Days of Old" opens with the Sir Weylin early-warning system: Camelot's watchmen are to notify the king IMMEDIATELY whenever Weylin returns from a quest. This time, though, Llew and Baird argued too long over who'd deliver the bad news; they're dead meat if they can't get him to leave by sunrise. [I *like* this one. Guenevere being the kind of woman who'd design dopey-looking uniforms is a nice touch.]

Hoffman, Nina Kiriki: "Faint Heart, Foul Lady" (From the saying 'faint heart ne'er won fair lady.') Setting's like Malory's England, but the characterization's better and the cast differs. Young Sir Bran, the narrator, really wanted to be a bard; instead, he's a poor knight in several ways (no money, can't repair armour, terrible lancework), because his mother reared him to avenge his father's death. He's a good person, though; when Nix (a commoner who wants to be a knight) saves him, his mentor, and a damsel from a dragon on Bran's first quest, Bran wants to help Nix out. Makings of a deal, here...

Huff, Tanya: During one of the "Nights of the Round Table", Camelot's cleaning lady shows her granddaughter the ropes - and *nobody's* a hero to his cleaning lady. :)

Norton, Andre: "Red Cross, White Cross" were the emblems of the Templars and the Hospitallers, respectively - and now that Philip of France's greed has forced the Church to outlaw the Templars, the Hospitallers are to take their lands. But Michael, last left alive to keep the Templars' trust, has a brother among the Hospitallers, although he himself in a cruel jest is now a knight without a sword hand.

Patton, Fiona: "The Captain of the Guard" - Viktor Endrik - is his guards' only protection from the demon they serve: the Malik Lord, who used to hunt his own people in his nonhuman form before Endrik's bravery convinced him to prey only on his enemies. Now under siege from the kingdoms of the south, Malik captured a knight from the encircling armies who asks Endrik the key question.

Rabe, Jean: "Buried Treasures" follows the viewpoint not of the elderly Templar, last to escape from Philip's dungeons, but (in 3rd person) of Rogan, the ship's captain promised rich payment - including fabulous maps - if he can get the Templar safely away with the last of the Order's treasures. The old Templar's great integrity, more than his still-formidable fighting ability, is the most notable thing about the nameless knight, determined to continue to protect his charge from mortal greed.

Reichert, Mickey Zucker: "Squire Thorian's Trial", one way or another, marks the end of his life's dream of joining the Order of the King's Knights. Since he has not only his lady but their disabled daughter to support, if he can't earn knighthood he'll need to find a safer career than the usual runner-up choice of the army. Knowing Thorian must win at least 2 of his 3 final fights, his own squire offers him a terrible temptation, bought from the king's magician.

Schwengel, Kristin: "In a Lifetime" Gedyr, though he appears youthful, has been a sellsword for several lifetimes, always moving on. In the aftermath of the fight at the beginning of the story, Gedyr realizes that there are gaps in his memory - and that perhaps the secret of his fate lies buried therein.

Sherman, Josepha: Like Alan Dean Foster's Mad Amos, Andris has a mount at least as smart as he is - Meg, unusual enough as a "Knight Mare" even if she couldn't talk. But five years of spectacular success have brought their own punishment: a bored, aging king has set them a task designed to force Andris to choose death or dishonor.

Sinor, Bradley H.: "And the Wind Sang" Be warned that this story immediately reveals the secret of Lance's survival, although not the details provided by _Merlin_'s "Central Park". Here Nimue has a greater role; she's recalled Lancelot to post-Arthur Camelot because an old enemy has returned to kill again. The greatest shock, though, is the stranger claiming *he's* Lancelot...

West, Michelle: "The Knight of the Hydan Athe" Hydan Athe is unique among the Athelands - specially protected from the abuses of the outside world. Sanna, the innkeeper's daughter, loves the knight's only son - but Neville's only written twice since the prince took him away. Now he's returning in a time of ill-omen, as the mysterious 'white athe' - its more ominous name is not spoken - has begun growing in the wisewoman's garden, forshadowing death. [I've never seen West put a foot wrong in a short story; they're all good.]

Yolen, Jane and Stemple, Adam: "Rodergo's Song" goes one step past Yolen's poetic contributions to other anthologies, providing sheet music as well as lyrics.

This fourteen story and one song collection focuses on Knights as the lead protagonist. The prime knight or in some cases knights perform bravely and chivalrously difficult dangerous deeds of daring against impossible mundane and magical odds.

KNIGHT FANTASTIC is a fantastic anthology as each of the fourteen tales is well written and keeps reader's attention. The knights are all heroes that strive to meet the expected code of conduct in a medieval world filled with deadly mystical and human foes willing to cheat to kill them. The opening ballad is different, but adds credence that the editors and all the contributors were paying homage to one of the more interesting characters of history, The Knight of the Realm.

Harriet Klausner

I enjoyed this book, and although not EVERY story was great, they were very good. I think that it makes a fine book by itself, and a great book in memory of the late Roger Zelazny. This is a must have for Zelazny fans.

I was one of the contributors to this book, which was originally to be titled FRIENDS OF ROGER. I still wish it had been . . . although a book by all of Roger's friends would be a very thick one; I don't believe there was anyone who knew him personally who didn't love him - and I think everyone who knew and loved his writing felt they had lost a friend when he died.

I won't comment on my own story, but there are plenty of others of outstanding quality, well worth the price; John Varley's is my pick for best of the bunch, with Walter Jon Williams in there pretty close . . . but really, you could hardly go wrong just opening this book at any one of the stories and beginning there.

The cover is, admittedly, butt-ugly; and this should have been a hardback - as much money as Roger made for Avon in his lifetime, you'd think they could do a little better by his memory - but never mind; the contents more than make up for the exterior.

If you are one of those (us) who cherish Roger's memory, buy this book as your expression of appreciation for his memory. Or if you're just looking for a lot of damned good reading . . . .

This book is great for those of us who like stories with a twist, stories about Mardi Gras, or just plain good reading. Overall, I think it is a great collection of short stories that, for the most part, are entertaining to read.

Here's one of the main problems that I have with the book. If it's a collection of stories about New Orleans Mardi Gras, why do most of the stories appear to be written by British authors? If you look, you'll see some traits of UK vocabulary and spelling, such as using "realise" when a US author would have spelled it "realize". That doesn't give these authors as much credibility to me, but, who really cares?

I think the last story of the book was DEFINITELY the best. If you've ever been to New Orleans and done one of the Haunted History tours, you'll surely recognize the characters in this story. Wonderful!!

Mardi Gras Madness is a collection of eleven stories by as many authors, the topics ranging from the light-hearted to the macabre. All of the stories are set primarily in New Orleans during Mardi Gras. Definitely recommended for those who enjoy dark tales of murder and the supernatural. The stories will send delightful chills of terror down your spine, and make you want to sleep with the lights on.

This book would make a good purchase for those with a-- twisted-- sense of humor. All eleven are short stories, but there are elements in many of them that will have you going back to read it again.

One of my personal favorites out of this book was "The Invisible Woman's Clever Disguise", one of the more light-hearted pieces about a middle-aged woman from Portland who discovers she's become invisible, and decides to have a bit of fun. She goes to New Orleans for her first Mardi Gras, where she gets an surprise invitation from a new and rather unorthodox krewe.

Two more of my favorites are "Farewell to the Flesh", a decidely darker tale about a vampire who gets involved with a group of cultists; and "Down in Darkest Dixie Where the Dead Don't Dance", another dark story about the spirits of New Orleans and the ones that return to do their evil work, year after year.

I highly recommend this book, all of the stories are absolutely wonderful!

This is a good collection of ghost stories, many by authors who are known for other genres of literature, such as Edith Wharton, Graham Greene, Charles Dickens, Joyce Carol Oates. I recently have been told that this collection is going out of print. I wish it weren't! I've been using this collection in a class I teach, with good results. It's so hard to find a good collection of shorter horror fiction.....

I used this in an English course and my students loved it. It is one of the most accessible ghost-story collections ever. Many other anthologies focus on just Victorian era (langauge too difficlut for many) or modern (subject matter too visceral or abstract). This had a beautiful blend of everthing from artistic use of langauge to psychological and visceral themes. It did not bore anyone in the class. I wanted to use it again and discovered it was out of print. HISS-BOO! PUBLISHER TAKE NOTE: If this book isn't revived, it will come back to "haunt" you!

Here I'll consider the stories organized by author rather than order within the book.

Edghill, Rosemary: At six, when Mykene first showed awareness of the dolphin songs in the water, the Pilot's Guild took her as an apprentice "Child of Ocean". The story's in braided format, the past-thread showing her selection and learning the significance of the pilot's voyage-token drawn secretly by lot, and the present when her "luck" has run out. [Good as far as it goes, but the ending isn't a complete resolution.]

Grubb, James: "Catch of the Day" In a world - the future? - where some catastrophe drowned much of the world under perpetual cloud cover, humanity lives on scattered mountaintops, and ships sail the clouds. The scholar August Gold wishes to test ancient legends speaking of dragons, "fishing" for them by trailing a bait to tempt their territorial hearts.

Huff, Tanya: "Oh, Glorious Sight" Zoane Cabatto - now John Cabot - is obsessed with leading an expedition to the New World. He's almost unaware of the wild-animal kid he casually rescued from a beating on an English dock, and gave a place on board. Everyone but he can see young Tam's devotion and hear his music, wasted on this man looking ever over the horizon and never at wonders nearer home.

Kupfer, Allen C.: "The Sir Walter Raleigh Conspiracy" - from the diary of Robert Defoe, writing in fear for his life: an impoverished attorney ordered by James I to 'defend' Sir Walter in a secret trial in the Tower - giving a veneer of legality to the necessary death of one who chose to go native in Guiana rather than remain loyal to the established order. But everyone connected with Raleigh's imprisonment seems to be dying horribly, although he's in solitary confinement and appears insane.

Kupperberg, Paul: Since Atlantis' founding, Thalis has been her highest-ranking mage-priest - and since her people have spurned their gods for science, seems doomed to be last as well as first. Thalis, however, ventures forth to "Walk Upon the Waters" one last time - 'I do not presume to speak for the gods. I must go and ask them.' Most of the remaining story is spent in memory. [An anti-science slant (particularly with *no* attempt at rationale) is guaranteed to irritate me, and Kupperberg's world-building is too thin for the short-story format.]

Murray, Frieda A.: "The Winds They Did Blow High" Setting: an alternate early-19th-century England, where the narrator listens to Captain Northcott's tale of his magical confrontation with a French fleet. (Even without magic, the history's a little different, but magic has been mostly kept out of naval warfare up to the narrative present because it erodes discipline: superior officers and subordinates both mistrust wind-whistling and wave-singing, and tend to blame all problems on any nearby practitioner.)

Odom, Mel: "The Colossus of Mahrass" occupies a full quarter of the book. As in 'Smoker' (_Vengeance Fantastic_), the protagonist - the privateer Captain Jaelik - opens the story with a character-revealing barroom brawl, although in this case the revelation is that he's spoiling for a fight, any fight, despite the fact that he's looking for a good exorcist to deal with a ghost only he can see. (His sidekick figures 1) maybe the captain got one too many blows to the head or bad batches of rum, 2) that Jaelik, not he, is spoiling for a fight with the 7-foot-tall Deathwatch guard, so 3) he, Alff, is going to have a drink.)

Ordover, John J: "The Devil and Captain Briggs" - the captain of the _Mary Celeste_, mysteriously left drifting with no explanation. But if Father Dominicus hadn't destroyed a certain manuscript left behind by a survivor unknown to the world, the mystery would be only a footnote in an even more famous story.

Patton, Fiona: "The Sacred Waters of Kane" Makani's friend Kai is gifted at reading signs written in wind and wave, but his teacher openly doubts whether he has the discipline to be kahuna kilo - and Kai sets out to prove how spectacularly correct old Alaula is. As Makani says, "You're going to risk your life to harvest a night-growing plant in haunted waters for [mythical] kahuna...because you haven't the patience to listen to Alaula instead of fighting with him?" (The specific setting is near Peahi on Maui.)

Reichert, Mickey Zucker: As the price of passage aboard _Salty Rainbow_, priest-mage Alzon swore to use no magic while aboard - a vow binding him no matter *what* happens, on pain of losing his magic. So when sacrificed to become "The Sea God's Servant", Alzon is trapped, his freedom in pawn to his magic.

Resnick, Mike and Gerencer, Tom: "Ocean's Eleven" The North Atlantic recently vanished from its bed, but it was voluntary; after trying 10 other jobs, it has sought out Bob Zellinski at Intellitemp Employment Services. "I was an ocean 200000000 years ago. I was an ocean 5000 years ago. I was an ocean last Tuesday. There's no advancement."

Rusch, Kristine Kathryn: The narrator, serving as intelligence officer aboard a battleship in the Pacific fleet, was in a better position than any to answer a pirate ghost's demand for a crewman as "Tribute": as censor, he'd literally read the hearts of every man aboard.

Ward, James M.: "Midshipwizard" Blithe is green as grass, on his first ship, a half-living dragonship of the Royal Navy in this Hornblower-like setting. But someone aboard tried to sabotage the ship by poisoning its heart soon after he came aboard - and the magic he used to save it violated one of this navy's equivalent of the 39 articles: a court-martial, capital offense.

This book definitely makes my top ten list. Some of these stories really made me stop to think. Once I started "Oceans of Magic" I just couldn't put it down. To quote the critic of Stephen King, "This book will make you stay up past your bedtime". I hope that you all pick up this book and once you do I dare you to try and put it down. It will be a spellbinding experience, promise.

I have always enjoyed Mr Ludlum's books "The Holcroft Convenant" was the first discovered when in hospital having my first son. These book have made me very cynical about the Establishment - so you can imagine my surprise whe half way thru the Matarese Countdown when the Asian stockmarkets took a nose dive and there was general global unrest; This was followed by the renewal in interest of the alleged sex shenanegans going on in the White House. what is a girl to think? Where does Mr Ludlum get his inside information? Does this prove the conspiracy theory of world politics in which Fox Mulder has become entangled? Keep up the writing Mr Ludlum. I also LOVED the book about the Pope taking an unscheduled break. Hope you are fully fit and well, and I would love to have a wee message from Mr Ludlum...

A Mature and aging 50's would say that having read every book published, the Matarese Countdown struck me as a "goodbye". I don't quite understand it, but let me tell you that the books produced by Ludlum have taken me from the lows that this earth can throw to you to the highs of anticipation. Having been through the ropes more than once on a world wide level, it is scary to say the least, that the consolidated minds of humans, allow someone within that range, to affect a regrouping of its thoughts and put itself back into reality. In all due respect, I call you Mr. Ludlum, and if I would be able to contribute what you have to mankind, I would have solace within myself. You have touched the "botton" once again. You have drawn me from the depths of hell, back to the ordinary, no matter what the inners tell you your duty is in this world. Touching on the abstract, which you know to be true, but unverifiable, allows you to enjoy human nature among its ! splendid scenery and the decency of human abilities. Thank YOU.