This book is a georgous book, from its looks (plush cover, ribbon bookmark, illustrations) to its content. It describes a slew of fictional places (and a few non-fictional) creating a surrealistic, dreamlike landscape. As nice as it is, this isn't a sit down and read sort of book, more of a coffee table type, wonderful to flip through and see what you find.

This imaginary guide to Paris is full of surreal imagination that will just make you smile. Helpfully divided up into sections on hotels, restaurants, the nightlife, sights, etc., you'll read about places and services you've never dreamed of! What a shame, they don't really exist! Peppered thoughout the text are helpful French expressions translated into English such as "Do you have a ladder so I can reach your airmail clerk suspended from the ceiling?" You can read some guest comments for the hotels which of course, are also bizarre, and learn about special services such as a kidnapping service or a food tasting service (so you don't get poisoned). The book has some quotes from real people too and the lavish artwork gives it an other worldly feel. It will transport you immediately to a wonderful alternative reality Paris.

There's a reason why this little book is subtitled "a wayward guide." The inverted Eiffel Tower on the cover should be a warning to those of faint imagination, that this book is not your father's Fodor Guide. Rather, Paris Out of Hand, is a handy guide to the hotels with fold-down balconies, volume controls on the phones for those who don't speak French, and turn-down services which leave a fish on your pillow. It is full of helpful French phrases, so you will never be caught short not knowing how to ask: "Do you come to this noctambupark often? Are the bats given annual rabies shots?" ("Venez-vous souvent a ce noctambuparc? Est-ce que les chauves-souris recoivent leurs piqures de rage annuelle?") It is loaded with delightful factoids such as: "Some Parisians don't have sheepskin covers for car seats, but drive around with live sheep in the laps. Thus 'Revenons a nos moutons!' is also the cry of the man roaming the levels of the parking structure in search of his bleating Peugeot." It's liberally illustrated with wondrous and slightly mad collages as fascinating as the prose.

If you cherish journeys of the mind, then this book is for you.

Considering that The Frenchman is an adaption of a "Millennium" TV script, the novel is re-worked with intelligence and care. The show's subtle nuances and characterzation are beautifully captured on paper by the pen of Elizabeth Hand. Much to my surprise, The Frenchman can stand alone as a serious and thoughtful work, full of poetic language, and not just as a novelization. I recomend it whole-heartedly.

I found the Frenchman a facinating and heart stopping book that I couldn't put down. After renting it in the Library, I went out and bought a copy for myself to keep for years to come. Now I can read it over and over again whenever I want.

I liked this book alot! It was a great adaption of the Pilot Episode(also known as The Frenchman,Who Cares?) of Millennium and I like Elizabeth Hand's writing.

I truly enjoy Hand's writing - lyrical, expressive and detailed. As an example of her early work, this novel is a phenomenal piece of writing. Her characters are magnificent and she breaks just about every taboo you can think of without losing her sense of style. However, I found the ending to drag slightly, as she had left a great many loose ends to tie up. At this point I often found myself loosing sight of the plot. Certainly worth a read, but I would recommend Aestival Tide and Glimmering over it.

This book impressed me so much that I've read literally every novel published by Ms. Hand since. The story has the feel of a gothic fairy tale. Such elements as a girl with Death in her eyes, ancient prophecies and a world that is, in equal measures, hi-tech wonderland, post-acopalyptic waste and fantastic feudal realm, Hand has transcended many of the standard boundaries around science fiction. In fact, if I were forced to name the genre of this novel, I would call it gothic sci-fi.

If you like painfully beautiful, ambisexual, amoral characters, then you should *definitely* check this book out. A must-read for fans of Anne Rice's _Interview With the Vampire_, as this book captures the feel of that novel in a way that Rice hasn't been able to since

Winterlong is a stunning, artfull, full throtle novel of unbelievable depth and style. Written with more imagination than most writers can muster in a lifetime, this is a novel that will leave you completely fulfilled and aching for more. Hand has created a civilization struggling to find it's place in a broken world that cuts so close to truth as to be disturbing. READ THIS BOOK!

Movie adaptations usually seem lackluster and play-by-play to me, but Elizabeth Hand was the perfect choice for this book. Her writing style is sardonically strange, and she seems to capture the spirit of Gilliam's vision of the future. For similar material, check out Gilliam's movie "Brazil" or Hand's novel "Winterlong" (recently reprinted in trade paperback form).

The imagery and spectacle created in your mind by this excellent novel is comparable with that of Robert Hienlin, Author C. Clark and Ray Bradburry. It provides a truly unique picture of a possible future of todays society

Isn't one Stephen King enough? This is horror (and horrible) and not science fiction.

I discovered this collection of stories after first reading Waking the Moon (also amazing). Elizabeth Hand uses words like an artist uses paints; they evoke textures and colors and feelings when you read them. Her descriptions are like none that I've ever read before - as well as her storylines. One or two of the stories presented didn't do much for me, but the rest more than made up for them. The title story and Snow on Sugar Mountain were favorites, the latter being particularly interesting (about the strange connection between a shapechanging boy and an ailing former astronaut). I also highly recommend her novels Waking the Moon and Black Light (read them in that order).

I wish these stories were longer. In "Last Summer at Mars Hill", Hand continues her journey through Magic, twilight, and Mrs. Byrne's Dictionary. She speaks from different points of view in each story, exploring dark purposes and good, varied enough that the collection could have been written by four or five different writers. Her stories are palpable and audible, and quite frequently, as in the case of "Prince of Flowers", you can smell them too.

I have read every novel written by Elizabeth Hand (in the order of their publication) and have been a devoted fan until now. The Winterlong novels featured a rich prose and surreal imagery reminiscent of Samuel Delaney's best novels (e.g. Triton or Nova). Waking the Moon was a truly spookey novel placed in a modern setting that was more accessable than the fantasy/sci-fi oriented Winterlong books. While much has been made of Hand's darkly atmospheric writing style, I also appreciated the characters and the ideas (though plotting has never been her strong suit). HOWEVER, the last two books, Glimmering and Black Light, seem to have been written on auto-pilot. It was as if someone else tried to write these books "in the style of Elizabeth Hand." In fact, I was so bored by Black Light, I stopped reading it on page 300 after 200 pages of following the main character around from room to room during the course of a party. In both books, the pacing was dreadfully slow and I just did not care about the characters. Both works needed a good editor, frankly.

Read this book for the stylistic surroundings, not for the plot. Lit is a teenager caught between this world and a world that she just learns she is a part of. She is faced with the decision of which world to stay with. While I appreciated the intricate and fantastic descriptions of the various times in history that Lit is suddenly able to see, and the dark changing house of Bolerium, I didn't really understand why all of this was happening until the the last few pages. I was minorly disappointed in the Hollywood-type ending when Lit is going through the streets of her hometown of Kamensic. Still, if this book were to end up a series, I would definitely read it. I'm rating it 4 stars because of the great descriptions, not because of the storyline.

Why this book, or her last 2 novels (WAKING THE MOON, and my favorite of her books GLIMMERING) are classified as Science Fiction is beyond me. The elements are much more in the lines of the horror genre... Inventive, totally original, beautifully written horror. BLACK LIGHT captures adolescent angst. 1970's New York society and the best of dark fantasy all wrapped up in a small New England town that could best be described as a Poison Peyton Place. I think Elizabeth Hand is one of the most underrated writers working today, and Ms. Hand if you happen to read this... I LOVE YOU, WRITE FASTER!!!

I was quite aggravated that I spent a couple of days of my life reading this novel. At first, the style of the book was quite gripping but after part 1 this pseudo- literary attempt flounders. The characters are described effectively but one never gets to the heart of their personalities. Frankly, several elements of the story are laughable: the Benandanti, the romance of Sweeney and Dylan being just two. As a Goddess worshipper I was not delighted with the overall hostile tone of the novel towards Goddess spirituality; don't fool yourself into thinking this is is a feminist take on Goddess craft. Plus, some of her 'facts' about particular Goddesses are wrong.

I would have liked this book more if Hand had not described everyone's outfits and faces in such mind-numbing ways. Many pages of this book leave you bored, bored, bored! Read this if you go more for style over substance.

All things considered, this was one of the best books I have ever read. Sure, the writing was awkward at points, and the narrative could be confusing, but the plot, the imagery, the characters and the obviously extensive research more than made up for any shortcomings. Waking the Moon tells of Sweeney Cassidy, a college student caught up in a battle between a patriarchal order of scholar/magicians and a reawakened Indo-European goddess. When Sweeney's best friend unwittingly inheirits an artifact of the goddess's original cult and becomes possessed by the ancient deity, Sweeney spends the next twenty years protecting those she loves and, in the end, all of humanity, from the goddess's power. Anyone interested in archeology, feminism, fantasy or simply a good read should definitely pick up this book!

A friend of mine told me to read this book, that it was one of her favorites. She went on to say that it was "You know, secret societies, witchcraft and Minoan things." I thought, okay...I have to give this book a try! Let me just say that it was absolutely mesmerizing! Sweeney is a great heroine with plenty of flaws to feel completely real to the reader. When I finished reading this, I turned to the picture of the author and saluted her. I mean, rarely do you find a book that just delivers on soooo many levels. My one and only complaint is the switching of first person/third person perspectives. It's not that I found the third person perspectives boring or somehow "less" but Sweeney and her view of the Divine is just so enthralling that you don't ever want to leave her. But, I realize there is so much that takes place in the book (especially later on) that we could never know if the author didn't do that, so I forgive it and usually tell people that "Waking the Moon" is as close to a perfect book as one can get.

Anna, a British woman came to Siam (old name for Thailand) with her son to teach the Siam King's son English. At first, Anna couldn't adjust to the people and the culture there. And first she got bad feeling inside for the king. But gradually Anna was attracted to the sincerity of the King. And the king also began to like Anna's sense of equity. Then they fell in love.
It's a great book. I think those who have watched the movie and those who haven't can both enjoy this book.

I enjoyed the book (and the movie immensely). The scene setting and the flow of the story, including the development of characters are well established. Being a Thai, I have to point out, however, that the story is 95% fiction. But I do believe it will help encourage people to do their own research about Thailand. Good entertainment!

For those of us who have seen 'Anna and the King' (the best movie ever made:) and left the theater wanting more, more, more, go get this book. I did. I'm quite familiar with movie novelazations, and Elizabeth Hand did a great job. Not many can do justice to the movie, or vice versa, but I can't believe how good this book is. It's a MUST for 'Anna' fanatics, because the book details a lot of scenes that had to be cut from the movie for length, gos into what the characters are feeling, describes rooms, everything the screens couldn't show.. I am SO reccomending this to everybody. My copy is worn and tattered now, I carry it around and pretty much have it memorized! Do yourself a favor, 'Anna' fiends such as myself, check this book out!!

From the Ministry of Whimsy Press, publishers of the fantastic LEVIATHAN anthology series, comes this first in a new series: ALBUM ZUTIQUE. "A series," the back cover notes, "devoted to the surreal & decadent." Yes, yes, and so it is. But is it good? You bet. The fifteen stories contained herein are all beautifully written, truly a feast for the eyes and the mind. There were a couple stories that I'm not quite sure I got, and a couple more that I'm quite sure I didn't get, but even the few that went right over my head in terms of content were so beautifully written that I almost didn't mind. Standouts are the pair of stories by the always fantastic Rhys Hughes, and the hauntingly beautiful entry by K.J. Bishop. But there wasn't a dud in the bunch; not a one I didn't enjoy reading. So why only four stars? Two reasons. First, as I noted, there were a couple stories that I didn't get. Second, and more importantly, while this is a beautiful, beautifully produced volume, the cover price is a little steep considering the 200-page, 50k word size of the volume. Even so, ALBUM ZUTIQUE #1 is a welcome and more-than-worthy addition to my bookshelf.

Next up: ALBUM ZUTIQUE #2, which will be Rhys Hughes' A NEW HISTORY OF INFAMY. I, for one, can't wait!

Recommended

Not a bad book, if it had been completely fiction. But the glaring errors distracted from my enjoyment. As for the "script-like" quality, the book was written from a script.

First - Jeanne did not have a happy childhood with loving Mommy and Daddy. She was NOT raised on the Valois estate. (Her father had sold off the land long ago.) Daddy was a drunk, not a nobleman brought down because he spoke out against injustice. Her parents did not have a happy marriage (they may not have been married at all). Her mother was a peasant and sometimes a prostitute. Jeanne was sent out to beg for money and beaten if she didn't bring enough home.

With this childhood, it is little wonder she turned out to be a grifter and conwoman. But that is what she was. I don't know why the film-makers had to sanitize her character.

She slept with both Rohan and Reteaux at the same time. She used anyone who could benefit HER. Her motive was money, not getting back her family's estate and rescuing the innocent peasantry. When she got that money, she spent it on HERSELF.

And for the record, she died BEFORE Marie Antoinette.

As for Marie Antoinette, she had THREE children at the time of the Scandal, and was pregnant with her fourth. They were not permitted to be spoiled, and would never have acted to others the way they were portrayed.

The plot is interesting, but the writing is more scriptlike than good literature. I wish that I had just waited to see the movie rather than taken the time to read this book.

I wanted to know more about this scandel but this book didn't go into the details I would have wanted. It's a movie book, and those as a rule are boring.