The prologue of this book alone is better than many other books I've read. I read it through several times before even proceeding to the rest of the book, simply because it was so novel and absolutely delightful. And the book is also excellent, though not as stunning. Highly recommended.

This novel easily makes the top five of my favorite novels. A technologically advanced civilization launches an automated resource processing ship into the cosmos. Close proximity to a supernova causes a large portion of its programming to be wiped out, leaving just enough for the system to be marginally functional.

The ship lands on Saturn's moon, Titan. After several thousand years, the machines dispatched evolve into a sentient life form. An exploratory probe launched from Earth stumbles upon these "creatures," causing a hurried effort to make contact.

Humanity contacts these robotic aliens at a stage in their societal evolution roughly equivalent to our dark ages. They have their own versions of the inquisition, feudalism, religion, etc.

At this point, the story really takes off, offering a hilarious, satirical and fast paced view of humanity and human history through the eyes of the robots.

It's unfortunate that this book hasn't received more recognition. Not only is it a fine work of science fiction, it is also an, at times, disturbing view of homo sapiens.

If you enjoy hard science fiction, this is among the best work ever published.

According to American labor law,does an employee has a right to legal representative during disciplinary hearing in private companies.

Anyone working with the NLRA needs to have this text close at hand. It is the most complete work detailing the history and application of U.S. labor laws. It is complete with case citations.

Even if I hadn't written the profile pages for this tpb I'd still go out of my way to tell people that it rocks. The introduction by Johns alone is worth the price of admission. Hawkman has been given a new lease on his four-color life and has never flown straighter nor looked better (with art by RAGS MORALES predominantly, the listing up there for Patrick notwithstanding). This is a trade collection that you'll go back to time and again for adventure and mystery.

Geoff Johns is perhaps the best comic book talent to surface in a looooong time. His passion for characters and story telling are never more apparent than in this collected edition of Hawkman. Following the Winged Wonder on his newly reincarnated adventures, these stories will entrance you with mystery and enthrall you with a unique romance. If you missed out on these books, pick up this trade. You will enjoy the flight!

This is, without a doubt, one of the funniest books I've read. Donleavy's bizarre wit and lyrical style are superb. If you enjoy absurd humor, you will love this book.

I am actually a publisher and we have a line called Humour Classics, in which we reissue out of print classics of humour. And a book I read many years ago, that I loved (I love all of J.P. Donleavey - he is one of my all-time favourite writers) is Fairy Tale of New York. I was checking on Amazon to see if it was available and in print. It is. But I was amazed no-one had done a review. SO here goes: it's brilliantly funny, it would make a great film. The action sequences in the funeral parlour are superb. His prose style is pure magic. Read it!

Japanese martial arts way is intrigingly explored in Lessons From the Japanese Masters. The story of Japanese fighting arts unfolds through its history and philosophy in the beginning of the book. Philosophic concepts are explained that make the self-defense taught in later chapters more relevant. I especially like the way that author Fred Neff explains how the philosophic concepts can apply to not only physical conflict but life generally. Included is a superior cross-section of Japanese fighting approaches for description and depiction through pictures. I found the joint locks taught to be fascinating and plan to make them an enduring part of my martial arts practice. Throwing techniques are also well presented. There is even a part of the book covering how to defend with locks and throws when you are forced down on the ground. Commendable is the emphasis on ethics and safety in the use of fighting techniques. This is a book that should be highly praised and well received for use by children and adults alike.

Ancient Japanese principles of fighting are well explained in Lessons from the Japanese Masters by Fred Neff. There are misconceptions spread about self-defense, that reading Lessons from the Japanese Masters can dispel. Having been invovled with Japanese Karate for many years, I get sick of hearing the so-called do whatever it takes crowd of self-defense theorists. Equally unrealistic are those naive people that say you do not ever need to take any offensive action in a fight just stand back and try to exploit and attack with a simple trick. Neither of these tactics work, because the former theory of do whatever it takes may not only be immoral but illegal. The later naive stand back and exploit theory, ignores the fact that you cannot always just evade harm or counter with something simple. Lessons from the Japanese Masters is all about real fighting situations including the need in an all out fight to use strategy to set up an adversary for techniques that may end the fight. The book provides concisely and in an easy to understand manner the necessary historical and philosophical foundation for the Japanese fighting arts and then proceeds to explain and show how to fight both standing and on the ground. It not only provides necessary lessons to prepare for a simple attack, but for an all out fight as well. Lessons from the Japanese Masters is right on point.

This is a great book. I loved it. James Patrick Kelly has written a book that's facinating. How do I know this? I met James Patrick Kelly and had him autograph my copies of Look Into The Sun and Planet of Whispers. This is the story
of Philip Wing, an architect who'd built the New Wonder of the World. However, the aliens who'd provided the technology, the Messengers, have returned to Earth with a
new message of "religious" significance. It saps the human
aggressiveness and Philip loses his wife, Daisy, to the Messengers. In the process, he meets Haruman, a Chani,
from a planet around 82 Eridani. When he loses Daisy to the Messengers, he turns to Harumen.

The conventional wisdom about Jim Kelly is that he's first and foremost a master of short fiction, but this terrific novel argues otherwise. One of the rare novels about a creative artist in which we are actually shown, not just told about, the work of art being created -- not just Kelly's character but Kelly himself has solved the problem of devising a suitable tomb for a goddess! I read the first half of this a bit at a time, finding it engaging and thought-provoking but not compelling. Little did I know that Kelly was just putting his many plot pieces on the chessboard; I read the second half in one sitting.

This awesome little treasure is simply a tease for the real treasure... the full-length feature film is simply the most creative animation that has come out since the Iron Giant & Joseph: King of Dreams. The "back to basics with lots of funk & soul" animation helps protray a suberbly written script full of wittiness and crazy laughter. "S.Shaolinski has done it again"

This book is a great book. After I read it I wanted to see the movie. But it's not out yet. It is greatly written. You should get this book.

The SBL Handbook of style is designed for those who are writing papers or dissertations in the field of ancient Near Eastern, Biblical and early Christian Studies. Most matters of style are comprehensively addressed, and where they are not, the editors refer the reader to the Chicago Manual of Style. The book is extremely useful for those who want to standardise their abbreviations and references. Nonetheless, several issues will have to be resolved in the next edition. First, although the book is nicely printed, the binding is extremely poor, and fell apart only after I had used the book a few times. Second, several essential abbreviations are missing from the list of Greek and Latin works. Third, not all abbreviations are located in the same part of the book, and so one has to keep going backwards and forwards to find the appropriate reference. Fourth, the editors sometimes display a dogmatic approach to style and appear at least to this reader to be a inflexible. For example they insist that writers ought to use Miriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary for their spelling. This dictionary however is only one alongside many other excellent dictionaries such as, the American Heritage, and the Random House. These criticisms should not detract from the importance and usefulness of this volume, which I recommend wholeheartedly.

This easy-to-use, inexpensive volume is a must-own for all who write in the fields of biblical and ancient near eastern studies. College and seminary students, graduate students, teachers, and researchers will find this book a fine substitute for Turabian and/or the CMOS for all but the most obscure situations. The discipline-specific nature of the work also allows greater depth of coverage without making it overlong. Get it today, or be behind the standard tomorrow.

James Patrick Kelly is one of the 'best' writers currently active in the speculative fiction field. I seem to say that a lot, therefore I say 'one of the best.'
The other --first reviewer-- was partly right in assuming that it's unfair for some writers to have such a limited audience -- at least that's what I read in his/her review. Writers who tend to write at a more slow pace than some of their colleagues --and who are also published by small presses {like Golden Gryphon, which is a very good publisher, believe me} have a difficult time in trying to reach a large enough audience.
Quality is much more important than quantity --IMO-- and if you too share this opinion, then it might me a good idea to read --and to buy-- this collection.
There is one terrific story in this collection that makes you forget the purchase-price.
There's actually a whole bunch of talented writers, so I think the future of SF look fairly bright. Some of these are: the above mentioned Kelly, Chiang, Swanwick, Ford {Jeffrey}, Egan, Vandermeer, etc.
A reprint of Kelly's first collection is on its way {in paperback, so the price should be more friendly}.
Conclusion: buy this book if you...Do you like short stories? Do you like quality reading? Do you like SF? If only one yes BUY this book. The more yesses means the less likely you'll ever forget Kelly's name.
Thanks for reading my opinion.

Why has James Patrick Kelly not reached a mass-market audience? Why have his two short story collections been published by small print houses? "Why" has always been a difficult question to answer, but I believe there are two reasons for this. The first, of course, is his relatively slow writing pace. American audiences demand things that are NEW; new films, new books, new television shows. They don't seem to like things that are over two years old; they feel it has bad karma and could feasibly destroy their eternally youthful outward appearance. If you've never read The Pearl by John Steinbeck, or Animal Farm by George Orwell, why aren't they considered new? As Charles Dickens said, any book you haven't read before is new. When do you suppose was the last time Average Joe, sitting in his favorite plush office chair and reading Stephen King's latest thousand-pager, read Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad? Or Catch-22 by Joseph Heller, or Cannery Row by John Steinbeck? You may be saying now that I've been unfairly critical and overtly patronizing. Well, you would be correct in that statement--but believe me, I include it here only to make a point that is, I believe, in essence, true.

And so, ranting aside, I present unto you my review of James Patrick Kelly's wonderful collection of short stories, Strange but Not a Stranger. By turns witty, funny, insightful, frightening, or intense, the word that practically springs to mind that describes the entire book is entertaining. Your attention quotient, as Connie Willis duly noted in the introduction, will be at a constant peak. Thus, I present as evidence for my cause: "Hubris," "The Propagation of Light in a Vacuum," "10^16 to 1," "Undone."

But where is the description of these aforementioned stories, you ask? Where are the cleverly placed lines of wit, the insightful comments? As with all James Patrick Kelly stories, you have to read it to believe it. But be forewarned: reading these stories is merely half of the journey, for the stories have hidden meanings that will haunt you until you're sure you've figured them out, sure that you've gotten your full money's worth out of them, and suddenly, without warning, they come at you again with another viewpoint or idea for consideration. To put it succinctly, and to practically make the rest of this review obsolete, this book is worthy of a spot on your bookshelf. Enough said.

This book was reviewed at the time as "The SOB's Emily Post" and I can't think of a better short description. Absolutely the wittiest and most laugh-out-loud book I've ever read -- and I've read a lot of books. Donleavy careens from one social faux pas and calamity to the next... "On being caught with your best friend's wife"... "On determining that you are on an aeroplane that is about to crash"... and provides true Looking Out for Number 1 self-preservation, the-world-can-bite-me advice. Beautifully crafted, as is all Donleavy's work, sometimes shocking in its juxtaposition of words, and deriving its true impact by couching its directives in the stilted language of the 1930's English Country Folk -- I must advise you: Do NOT read this book in a room or situation that requires silence; otherwise you will try to restrain laughter to such an extent that you'll give yourself a thrombosis. It's the only paperback book that I've guarded and kept for over 20 years.

I found it funny. If one likes Donleavy the book will not disappoint you. If you don't - probably stay away...