"Benediction" could be every Catholic girl's nightmare or dream come true. Grace and Meg are two wholesome teenagers whose friendship develops into more...first the kiss and then much more. The coming of terms with Grace's mother finding out and sending them for couseling with the priest. With any young life there's hurt and devastation. But there's also much to learn and other former school mates come to Grace's aid in her seach for truth and happiness.

This is the story of two girls, Grace and Meg, who met at their Catholic school and fell in love with each other. This book allows you to live through their friendship, attraction to one another, their first kiss, the discovery of their love for each other... The story covers all of the phases and feelings of two young girls who are not even capable of calling themselves lesbians because all they know is their love for one another. You feel their frustration for knowing that their love would never be accpected by others, their fear of being discovered and ultimately separated, but most importantly their fear of not being strong enough to allow themselves to be who they truly are. Although the main characters are young, I feel that this book touches many issues that are very much alive in our society today.

The story of Max Factor as he rose from Russian immigrant to Hollywood royalty-the man who brought glamour to the stars and regular folks alike with the invention of pancake makeup, no fade lipstick and the idea that makeup should fit a woman's coloring. (He had rooms in his store for blondes, brownettes, brunettes and redheads-all color coded and enhanced to work with the skin tones of the women in each category!) The star of this book is definitely the photographs, however. Make-up test shots, his early years in Russia, wig making contraptions, print ads of the stars endorsing his products-the pictures tell a better story than the text!

Filled to the brim with glamour shots of some of the Western World's most beautiful women, this book shows us the man beind the mask, the incomparable Max Factor. Almost every shot is shown behind the scenes, how the look was created, etc. . .Truly a masterpiece work.

If you are looking for a trucking book with lots of pictures of trucks, this is not for you, however if you want a photographic pictorial book which captures the mood of truckstops and the variety of patrons who frequent them, this is a worthwhile addition to your library.

This book truley captures the life of an average truck driver. It shows the experiences of the road and best of all the truck stops. The truck stops are wonderfully photographed.

Dr. Attardo is a fantastic professor with an extensive knowledge on pragmatics, syntax, morphology, as well as nearly every facet dealing with linguistics. He is truly a joy to work with and learn from.

This book is probably the best which I have read on its level. Packed with useful information, organized, and containing many clever examples and some humor as well. Most importantly, Professors Brown and Attardo provide many differnt viewpoints of linguistics concerning theory, rather than some of the one-sided books I have read. This is a must read for anyone wishing to jump into linguistics.

I absolutely love the unicorn tapestries, and I fulfilled a childhood dream when i saw them at the Cluny museum in paris. The colors are vivid and beautiful and do justice to these awesome tapestries.

If you can't see these gorgeous tapestries in person, ***this book is a great way to view them up-close. Each tapestry, circa 1500, is shown in full (in color!) and in detail. All of the brilliant colors are from three dyes: madder (red), woad (blue), and weld (yellow). The hunt of the unicorn theme is possibly an allegory for love, marriage, even the death of Jesus Christ.

These now-famous works of art apparently belonged to François VI, duc de La Rochefoucauld, in the late 1600s. They were taken from his chateau and later used by peasants to protect their food from frosts. Fortunately, they were recovered in 1850 and later (1922) purchased by John D. Rockefeller who gave them to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

I was fortunate enough to see them last October. My fiancé and I made the trek from Times Square, via subway, to Fort Tryon Park, where The Cloisters are peacefully nestled. We crawled from the sub-terrain and entered the lush, fragrant park. It's a bit of a walk up to the museum, but the garden atmosphere astonished us. We couldn't believe we were in NY! The Cloisters were quiet and uncrowded in the morning. There's a center court complete with bubbling fountains and plants from the Medieval era that is open to the sky. We crossed this courtyard and entered into the small room where the tapestries occupy their personal space. I will never forget the experience. They took my breath away.

Publisher Weekly once said about this book that it's "Salvatore at his best" No way. "Streams of Silver" is his best. This book...I don't know, there was something missing. We had everyone you know? Regis, Drizzt, Bruneor, Catti-brie, Artemis, Jarlaxle, Wulfgar, etc. So why is it so mediocre? Well, for starters, it was too slow. That chapter with Wulfgar and Drizzt fighting giants? 31 pages. Also, Drizzt is not questionable and not finding more about him. Also, the Artemis in Calimport was a pain to read. Personally, that was of little importance and should've been put in another book. 10 new charecters in one place, 8 of them die. Also, the endless talk of Regis's love of food. Somewhere i'm screaming CHARECTER DEVOLPMENT. The only thing from saving it was the giant battle at the end. But then Drizzt fakes a death. Why is our hereos invincible? None of the Drizzt gang has REALLY died. Just, near fatal wounding. And let's not forget the battles. It seems now that they can take whole armies. But the greatest thing about this book was Wulfgar. That saved the book from disaster. I loved hearing about Wulfgar and his leaving the group. I feel sorry for him. I'll be glad to hear more from him in the next book. For now, however, this is parring with Legacy.

at first I was exited about reading the "brand new Drizzt Novel". I thought, "wow! RA wrote ANOTHER?". I was facinated by the drow since I got my copy of The Crystal Shard in Paperback. Then I got a hint of the plot..I dont know, it was ok..but when I read Drizzt novels usually, I'm drawn into RA's world..this book didnt so much have that feel. especially with the characters..they werent as deep or meaningful as they used to be. (needless to say, I still prefer the Dark Elf Trilogy to any of the other Drizzt books, but that's not the issue here). In no way am I thinking I can critisize Mr. Salvatore's work, I know from experience how difficult it is to write even one novel and keep the reader interested till the last page. he has done more than his share of writing, and I commend him for making Drizzt the icon of Forgotten Realms with a following of millions. The Silent Blade is worthy of Drizzt, IMHO, and I take my hat off to Salvatore for once again captivating the readers. I hope in the future to see Drizzt as his old self..but honestly, to all you hardcore fans out there, why would out friendly neighborhood Drizzt return to the mentally anguished, constantly on edge drow when his life has changed so much? give him a break people..there's only so much intrigue and mental instability one drow can take..even Drizzt. and to Robert Salvatore, I take my hat off..after eleven books, you deserve all the credit for making Drizzt who he is today.

-bow-

Like so many other Drizzt-philes, I had been on the edge of my seat practically since Passage To Dawn hit the shelves, wondering when the next installment in the saga of the life of the drow ranger would hit the shelves. Upon learning that Drizzt was not to hold center stage in The Silent Blade, I will admit that I was a *little* bit skeptical, despite a long-standing desire to see more of the other interesting characters in that series--- the Harpells, for example, or canny Jarlaxle. Now, as one of the fortunate few to have read this book before it hits the shelves, I feel an obligation to my fellow Salvatore fans, especially the Drizzt-philes of the world, to tell you all that The Silent Blade has completely demolished my slight skepticism about the Drizzt-free book lurking in RAS' computer! The Silent Blade is excellent, looking into the mind of a Wulfgar still scarred after his imprisonment in the Abyss, and--- interestingly enough--- into the mind of an Artemis Entreri whose pride eats at him after his unfinished encounters with Drizzt and his stay in Menzoberranzan, city of ten thousand Entreris... TSB reminded me once again that the strength of RAS' books is in his characters, first and foremost. Not just one character... Not even just the core group of heroes in the books. *All* of them. I am now eagerly looking forward to the day when that as-yet-nameless sequel hits the shelves. Whatever the wait, The Silent Blade convinced me it will be worth it. The Silent Blade has everything we readers expect of RAS: Amazing characters, incredible battle scenes, pages that seem to turn of their own accord. I will not spoil anything for the rest of you by saying anything specific about whose path leads where, who fights who, or even who fights *what*... but there are enough turns and forks in the road that I guarantee anyone who thinks they can predict the storyline and outcome of this book is going to embarrass himself trying. Buy it, read it, you'll see what I mean. One last note: Between my name and RAS' signature in my treasured galley copy of The Silent Blade is a single line which says more about the story than any review ever could. That line is, "The tale of fallen men"...

I'm not a big fantasy reader, but I really enjoyed this book. Totally loved the characters. Drizzt is an awesome hero. Loved the inner turmoil as he tries to remain true to his noble beliefs despite being connected to a race of evil elves. The assassin Entreri was a great opponent. Totally obsessed with killing Drizzt. Very good job with Drizzt's fighting companions, who have to save him from being sacrificed by his evil sister to the spider queen. Cattie-brie is one self-assured, determined woman who's deadly with a bow. King Bruenor was great. Very tough, loyal dwarf. And Pwent the battlerager ruled!! The guy was nuts! Salvatore does an excellent job with his fight scenes. Very vivid and action packed. Also loved the fact the evil elf foot soldiers were all good fighters and not just cannon fodder as is usually the case with henchmen/bodyguards, etc. Gave Drizzt & company a lot of headaches and a lot of bruises. I like to see the good guys have a hard time in situations like this. Definately makes me want to read more in this series.

This book starts the 3rd series starring the famous Dark Elf Drizzt Do'Urden. As the reviewer before me said, I would highly advise that you read the Dark Elf Trillogy and the Icewind Dale Trillogy before starting this series.

This book starts soon after the book "The Halflings Gem" (icewind dale book 3) ends. In "The Legacy", we find Drizzt and the Companions of the Hall living happy lives in the new home of Mithril Hall. But the peace doesnt last long. The evil world of the Drow is not finished with Drizzt and want revenge for leaving their city in torment. The spider queen orders the 1st house to the drow city to attact Mithril hall and find Drizzt.

This soon to be war with the Dark elves starts in this book and continues throughout the series "The Legacy of the Drow". Drizzt is forced to begin this war with his evil kin and his life will never be the same, also, we will lose a dear friend in this great novel.

5 stars for this book. READ IT.

Having read nearly every book Salvatore has written in his Drizzt series, it is obvious I know and enjoy Salvatore's writing style. While I find all of his books above average so far (I haven't read Silent Blade or Spine of the World yet), I believe The Legacy was the best of the series. Once I started reading this book for the THIRD time, I STILL could not put it down. Even though I knew the outcome, it was still an amazing novel. Salvatore's ability to portray swordplay with words is amazing, and he was at his best in this novel. If you have read the Icewind Dale and/or the Dark Elf trilogy and want to hear more of Drizzt's adventures, or even if you haven't for that matter, READ THIS BOOK!

This was a decent read if you have enjoyed the other books in Salvatore's series. It had a good amount of action, subtelty, and some political intrigue thrown in for flavour. It was also nice, on several levels, for him to visit some old story lines and tie up loose ends.

That being said:
Salvatore seems to work best with characters currently in development: Drizzt while overcoming his past and the scars that he carried because of it, Cadderly through his trials and tribulations, more recently Artemis's character along with Jarlaxle, &c.

In this book he makes a critical error: he revisits many characters who's development is essentially over. Complete characters who are ready to be shelved and brought out as occasional NPCs, not to be put into the spotlight unless something critical is going on. He has taken steps to further their development, but he has failed to provide anything truly refreshing with these characters that will move them forward and make them interesting--in the Salvatorian style--to continue reading about.

Essentially the "Companions of the Hall" are a "Veni. Vici. Vinci." group. They have no weaknesses, few internal demons, none of them can ever die, and they can overcome anything together.

Further, Salvatore is showing a lack of willingness to kill a main character when it is appropriate to do so: a heroic death that will be sung by bards around the world for ages to come. Salvatore sets it up perfectly and then has an almost unbelievable circumstance save the character. A few times (Gandalf comming back, Bruenor's return) I'm more than willing to accept, but it keeps getting more and more unbelievable.

I did enjoy this book and recommend it to anyone who has read the series leading up to this book (particularly if it is fresh in your mind), but Salvatore's style needs to evolve to fit the characters that he is trying to portray.

Salvatore brings back everyone's favorite Dark Elf for another installment of the Paths of Darkness series. The book itself was a fast read, as are most of Salvatore's works, but it left me wanting a bit.

To his credit, the author resolved and wrapped up many hanging treads left throughout the series.
The characterization of the pirates was wonderful, but the opponent Salvatore lined up for Drizzt came of as a shadow of Entrari. I felt that he could have completely left this character out or developed someone within the pirate crew to cover the need for a dramatic closing fight (Salvatore's greatest strength).

If Salvatore continues to write books with the Heroes of Mithiril Hall (which I pray he does), I look forward to seeing who or what he comes up with to challenge the party.

Bottom Line: A good book, and worth the wait. Even Salvatore's B work is better than 90% of the rambling epics on the fantasy market.

I honestly wondered if R.A. Salvatore could pull off another book about Drizzt Do'Urden. After all, with fourteen previous books in the series, who was left for the scimitar-wielding ranger to fight? The Crystal Shard was shattered, Drizzt's malicious family was long dead, Artemis Entreri had recovered from his obsession with the drow ranger, and the demon lord Errtu had been banished to the Abyss for a century. (Though if the series runs long enough, Drizzt may eventually have to face Errtu once more!) And with Salvatore's last two Forgotten Realms books focusing on the tormented barbarian Wulfgar and the aging assasin Entreri, it seemed that Drizzt's days had perhaps come to an end. But fourteen books prove, if nothing else, that Drizzt cannot be kept down.

The book opens with Drizzt and his friends chasing down highwaymen in the frozen reaches of Icewind Dale. When one of the surviving bandits is found with the mark of Aegis-fang, Wulfgar's magical hammer, Drizzt decides to discover what has become of his missing, tormented friend. The hammer is actually in the hands of Shelia Kree, a ruthless pirate chief. Wulfgar, meanwhile, pursues Kree aboard Captain Deudermont's pirate-hunting ship, conflicted between his old life as a warrior and his new roles as a husband and a father. And while Drizzt hunts for Wulfgar, a mysterious moon elf named Le'lorinel hunts Drizzt, obsessed with killing the drow ranger.

These seperate plot threads could result in a tangled mess, but Salvatore weaves them together well. Mixed in with the main plot are scenes with dozens of minor characters from previous novels: Captain Deudermont and the wizard Robillard, Morik the Rogue and the owners of the Bloody Cutlass in Luskan, Lord Feringal, Lady Meralda, Priscilla, and Terimgast at Castle Auckney, and others. A large portion of the book's appeal comes from the growth of these lesser characters: Robillard's transistion from crusty curmudgeon to crusty mentor, for example, and Morik the Rogue's altrusitic side comes to the top once again, despite his best efforts.

"Sea of Swords" does start out slowly, with Drizzt and companions seemingly having nothing better to do than harass highwaymen. But the pace soon picks up, and how do the pages fly! Five stars.

I am a HUGE Dark Elf fan. Mr. Salvatore has incredible talent writing vivid combat scenes and fleshing out the characters to make them seem almost real. Otherwise, we wouldn't care so much about Drizzt and his friends. Trilogies are always fun, as they let you become attached to a character, or group of characters.

While this was one of this series' greatest strengths, it was also one of its most painful weaknesses. I won't spoil it for you, but I will say this: anyone who loves a happy ending will be sorely disappointed. The writing is excellent, the plot classic good versus evil, and the ending makes you groan. A LOT. While I can understand the need for just a little strife at the end of a trilogy to make room for more, I dislike watching characters I've grown attached to die.

But then, this is only my personal opinion and preference. The books really are well written, and anyone who likes to see overly stuffed shirts get just a little deflated will have fun.

Well, I thought the trilogy was well-written. Salvatore clearly had fun with his characters and his battles and bad guys and all that good stuff. And I will not deny that it's great to add a twist to the end, so that you're sucked right into a sequel if there is one, and so that you don't have that too-easy honky-dory ending feeling. However. It does not draw me into another series if my favorite character is dead. I won't tell which one, or why, or who, or anything like that (the other reviews already say this much so I feel safe). I was disappointed, and while I want to know what happens, I'm not drawn to another book on this subject, despite all that was left hanging (which makes this much more of a series and less of a trilogy, if you ask me). The book was well-written, though, and I don't think the ending was necessarily bad. I do recommend this trilogy. Just be prepared to be a little discouraged if you let yourself get caught up in Salvatore's (very good) characters.

Once again the fertile imagination of R.A. Salvatore pushes the boundaries of fantasy to the breaking point. With characters that are so alive and a world that is so vivid, RAS grabs the reader by the imagination and takes them on a wonderous ride. The Demon Apostle finishes off the first Demon Wars Trilogy in grand fashion. Action, Love, Philosopy, and Political Intrigue make up what I believe to be RAS's best yet. The Demon Apostle caps off this first Demon Wars Series beatifully and opens a door to many more books set in the mystical world of gemstone magic. What struck me most about The Demon Apostle was RAS's ability to explore the human condition. He takes the reader on a such rollercoaster ride of Love, Hate, Rage and Sadness that this reader just can't wait to see what he has in store for us next! Also in the end there isn't the clear cut winner that is so often found in fantasy books today, which makes the book even more intriguing. It makes you sit back and decide...Who made out better in the end? Did the means justify the end? Who was right? RAS's portrayl of a fanatical Church is just too scary in the fact that it could (and has) happened. This aspect just adds a new dimension to RAS's writing and makes Corona an even more exciting place to visit. So if you are in the mood for true epic fantasy, grab onto R.A. Salvatore's coat-tails and hold on, because who knows where he's gonna stop!

As a whole, the Drizzt saga is extremely good. Salvatore has an excellent way of tying the personal and fantastic elements in a fantasy story together in order to create the feeling of real people living in a real (though fantastic) world. Unfortunately, this book does not do the series justice. It is weak. While the stories of Drizzt and Catti-brie fighting pirates on the sword coast are excellent, the book takes a downhill turn from there. The single worst thing that ever happened to this book was Harkle Harpell and the "Fog of Fate", which is a silly spell meant to move adventures forward without all the tedious waiting for them involved. The spell sounds like a contrivance, which is exactly what it is, as demonstrated by where it ultimately takes the main characters (could Salvatore have found a way for them to arrive there on their own without the aid of this silly spell?). This book, unlike many of the previous Drizzt books, likes to be cozy and safe, with everyone friends at the end and no sacrifices made. None of the character development that had been seen throughout previous books is evident here- again, Salvatore flourishes in depicting personal relationships that, in this book, either do not exist or fall flat. Even the "unexpected surprise" at the end as to the "prisoner"'s identity is really no surprise at all. Unfortunately, this book has the same kinds of problems that infest "The Demon Awakens"- often Salvatore uses many words to describe that which requires few words. Subtlety is not a strength of this book. On the other hand, the book contains many good parts, as well. The customary fight scenes are quite impressive, as are the parts that include old friends revisited from this series and from other Forgotten Realms adventures. In short, I recommend this book because it is a book in the Dark Elf tradition. However, this is certainly not the best this series has to offer.

Once again, Salvatore writes a captivating adventure that I could not put down. You feel like you're RIGHT THERE with the characters...I loved the haunted island scene, when Catti-brie looks in the water and sees those dead people holding candles...creepy. And the resulting wizard battle on the beach - I thought that was very humerous. Basically, it's a great book, and any fan of Drizzt Do'Urden should read it.

That aside, I'll tell you what bothered me about the book. First of all, I suppose Drizzt is a heck of alot more arrogant then I thought, or else he's incapable of deciphering a tough poem (think Emily Dickinson). I mean, I, personally, have no idea how he got the fact that Zaknafein was held captive from the witch's poem. There was the word "father" in the second line, but it was obviously talking about Drizzt - as was any future references of Zak. I won't recite the poem here, but I'll just say that I had raised eyebrows when Drizzt announced that Zaknafein must be captured. I mean, come on. It's not always about just you, Drizzt!

Another thing that started irking me was the simple fact that, after six years together, Drizzt and Catti-brie still hadn't hooked up. Throughout the entire series, they have been attracted to each other, and after Wulfgar died I was sure they would hook up. Instead, they hold hands and said, "Just friends...for now." I thought that was sweet, but I was fully expecting a little romance between them, especially after six years of adventuring together. But...I guess not! And I doubt there will be any future romantic conflicts - Drizzt will undoubtedly fade back into the shadows and live the rest of his life without ever kissing a female.

The battle scene at the end was good, and yet..you knew that they would survive. Every character, Drizzt included, was thought to be dead at least once. I sort of thought that Guenhwyvar was gone, and I was glad when Drizzt was shook up about it - rarely does he show any emotion at all, and he always says just the right thing.

Much emotion was shown in this book - tears rimmed my eyes when Catti-brie reunited with Bruenor, and of course the reunion at the end.

Ok, so this is more of a ramble then a review, but I had to do it somewhere.:)

This may be the last book in the series "The Legacy of the Drow", but only a turning point in Drizzts life. Drizzt thinks that the Drow threat is gone, but what he doesnt know is that the Spider Queen has sided with an evil demon in the Abyss. A demon that Drizzt sent to the Abyss. And this Demon holds a dear friend with him in this Hell. In this book we follow drizzt and his friends to confront the feind and to retreive this "valuable" prize. But there is much more in store for Drizzt then he knows. This is a thrilling finale to a thrilling series. A must read.