"The Glimpses of the Moon" (1978) was published twenty-six years after Crispin's penultimate Fen novel, "The Long Divorce" (1952). It is sandwiched between two collections of short stories: "Beware of the Trains" (1953) and "Fen Country" (1979- published posthumously.)

In this novel, Professor Fen is on sabbatical in the Devon countryside. He is house-sitting for a couple of friends, writing a book that critiques the post-modern novel (this is funnier than it sounds), and pre-masticating pansy petals for his friends' finicky, gourmand tortoise. Since this is another of Crispin's fine pastorals, there are also a variety of pigs (living and dead), cows, a sex-crazed tomcat, a narcoleptic horse, and a cocker spaniel that plays a minor role in the murder mystery.

In fact the mystery of who killed whom is almost buried under the goings-on of the livestock, the rural electric board, and the church fete. Fen concerns himself not so much with the identity of the murderer, as he does with the identity of the person who kept sneaking into a tent at the rector's annual fete and cutting bits off of the concealed corpse.

One might even classify "The Glimpses of the Moon" as a 'locked tent' mystery.

Fen seems to have lost a great deal of energy since "The Long Divorce," twenty-six years past. He does not detect so much as get detected upon by his friends, the Rector, the Major, and the Horror-film Composer. There are huge digressions that are interesting, but have nothing to do with the plot. For instance, the bumblings of the South Western Electricity Board (Sweb) and the fox-hunt protesters get more page time than the murders. There is also a great deal of satirical commentary on the "over-developed sensibilities of under-developed nations" by a foreign correspondent who is rusticating in Devon, after getting kicked out of yet another African country (some readers might find this offensive).

However, a Fen is a Fen and this is his last novel. First-time readers might want to begin at the beginning of the series with "The Case of the Gilded Fly." My own favorite Fen is "Love Lies Bleeding," followed very closely by "The Long Divorce." "The Moving Toyshop" is the most-published of Crispin's mysteries, and probably the easiest to locate. And don't neglect "Frequent Hearses," which features a maze scene that is frighteningly reminiscent of M.R. James (in fact the woman who is lost in the maze quotes M.R. James at length---a very Crispian characteristic.)

Crispin's short stories featuring his remarkable detective-professor were originally published in a newspaper, to be read (and solved) on the train home from work. They are fiendishly clever intellectual exercises but lack the depth of characterization and the sparkling, erudite conversation of his novels.

My favorite mystery ever. At times, the author's sense of humor and cynicism just makes me laugh out loud. Gervase Fen is surely one of the more noxious, but lovable, detectives in the literature, and Crispin writes with a sure, erudite hand.

"Deaf since birth, Tesa is the perfect ambassador to the alien Grus-whose sonic cries can shatter human ears..."

A young starbridge interruptor is brought into the middle of a first contact, that has gone horribly wrong. Between the planet's 2 inhabitants trying to kill each other, and her own people waiting to betray her, Tesa must prove the intelligence of the crane like Grus, or watch them be destoryed.

I'd say it compares with Janet Kagans work (which is quite a compliment!)

While the first in the StarBridge series seemed a bit confrontational about a female lead character, this second work appears to have found a very comfortable place for the main character (Tesa) to exist.

It's a scenario that seems to have been created perfectly for the main character, yet doesn't come off as being contrived. A.C. Crispin then wastes no space drawing you into an environment where Tesa fits beautifully.

Her Indian heritage being played off of the avian aliens is fascinating. The ping-ponging of traditional imagery against these new alien species is really well done. It is obvious that quite a bit of research was put into this area, and it certainly shines through.

This facet would have been enough for me in and of itself. Yet the fact that one of the avian species has a voice that shatters human eardrums, making the deaf Tesa a perfect candidate for diplomacy, adds another richly meaningful layer to an already terrific story.

There seems to be a more feminine approach to the storytelling. It appeared more focused on the characters, emotions, and goals than "traditional" SciFi. It took me a bit of getting used to, but once that transition was made, it had a refreshingly different (and deeper) impact on my involvement with the story.

i (obviously) highly recommend this book. While the approach may take a little getting used to, it's definitely worth it in the end.

As anyone who has ever tried to track down books on Syracuse's history can tell you, they are few and far between. Mostly, they look like something your 8th grade history teacher photocopied and stapled together. This is a professional effort; the description above mentions that some of the photos are of "indifferent" quaility. Obviously they had never seen previous efforts. This is a nice little book with lots of cool little remembered facts that have been buried by Syracuse's present state of dispare. If you're interested in Syracuse's history, you could do much worse. I personally like this book a lot.

I seriously think this is a great book. It is the only really Syracuse tour book I know. And it has a lot of history. Buy it now!

I really enjoyed this book as a 13-year-old, but I haven't re-read it as an adult. For those who have seen the NBC miniseries "V", it's the story of the same events, only told about a New York resistance group

This was a good book. I first read it back in 1984. It's about a New York resistance group called White Christmas. It opens with the Vistors, led by Roger, the commander of the New York Mother Ship, and his second-in-command, Angela. Lisa, one of those on the New York Mother Ship, is lied to and told that they've come to Earth on a peaceful scientific mission. That's not true. The Visitors are here to conquer us without a fight. The two miniseries were the pilots for the short-lived 1984-85 television series. It's mentioned in the Larry Niven-Jerry Pournelle science fiction novel Footfall but not in the 1996 science fiction movie Independence Day. Read this book and Footfall.

This has to be one of the strangest concepts and executions I have ever born witness to. Actor Crispin Glover, best known as George McFly from Back To the Future, takes a book written in the late 1800's about catching vermin and randomly inserts several sketches and ink blots, as well as changing the text when he doesn't like the way things are going, before releasing this thin "book" under his own name. Long known as an eccentric(check out some of his recordings,)this certainly comes close to broaching the line of full blown insanity. Interesting only as a curious example of "outsider art," Rat Catching is best approached cautiously, and preferably while intoxicated.

Rat Catching isn't exactly a normal book, as in one you pull off the shelf for a page to page read. What Crispin has done is a very William Burroughs-like cut and paste method, taking an old book from the 1800s and re-doing it his own way. This includes cutting out words, adding new ones, inserting odd photos and text captions, and illustrations and.. umm, blots. It isn't easy to describe. It's unusual, it's creative. It's almost like Andy Warhol's influence slipped in to give Crispin some spark. If you enjoy seeing Crispin in his offbeat movie roles and his music album, you should think about this one for your shelf.

This is more than a book. It's as if God Himself decided to reach-down from above and create a tome of enlightenment, one illustrated-page at a time. BRILLIANT. Buy two copies and leave one in yr local hotel's dresser-drawer. You'll be glad you did.

As my title says, this book is really NOT about GWB's quirky verbal stammers. It is about George W. Bush the man. It is an analysis of his political positions, his background and his personal politics.

Beware: after reading this book you will have good reason for thoroughly disliking this man, but not because he makes a bunch of funny verbal mistakes. If you're afraid of being thoroughly skeptical and possibly oppositional to the policies of our "commander in chief", then don't buy this book.

There are many many things in the book that I already knew, but the author defintely does lay out a very damaging portrayal of our current President's personal politics and ideology.

Please, get the newest paperback version, released AFTER 9-11. Do NOT get the old hardcover version printed before the September events. You'll miss out on a lot of extra materials if you don't.

This book is very parochial and does not go very deep into foreign policy, class analysis, or deeper and longer standing issues of US society (issues that are often laughingly painted as "class warfare" in the commercial media whenever they are hinted at, and thereby sidestepped in favor of fluff), but it does paint a very convincing picture of a president who is fully devoted to the most reactionary and privileged elements of the ruling class in the United States.

This is NOT about some supposedly "stupid" president who is "incompetent" or "dumb". These kind of appeals to Goerge Jr's supposed "stupidity" only show how stupid and gullible Democrats and "Liberals" really are, and how they really fall all over themselves to play into the hands of the Bush administration who want nothing more than to portray George W. Bush as a "regular joe" who cares about the "working man" and is trying his best to protect "America" from any number of mysterious and devious enemies waiting to pounce on us.

"Make no mistake", GWB is none of these things, but instead is as much a blue-blood, silver-spoon ivy-leaguer as is Al Gore and actually quite more so. And, is as thoroughly calculated and schooled in propaganda, public relations and polls as was Bill Clinton or his father George Bush the First, or the Reagan administration before them.

It's about a president who is very much aware of what he is doing to America and who seeks to, and IS using the deaths of 3000 people to advance a reactionary and regressive agenda, all wrapped in the flag.

I actually suggest that readers that already realize this NOT read this book, don't bother, but rather read some more in-depth analysis of foreign policy of the kind of class warfare and nationalism that is now and always has used "patriotism" (since the dawn of recorded history and beyond) as a tool to convince the general population into accepting policies that thoroughly harm them and to draw them into subservience under protection of the fearless leader.

If what I've said above seems odd or outlandish to you, then just read this very good book on the personality of our president (the best currently available), get from it what you can, and then move on to more broad analysis later.

Josh

Not only does Mark Crispin Miller's book expose the political facade of G.W. Bush, it goes deeper into the political culture that allows these things to happen. He analyzes how language is twisted, television soundbytes and political slogans rule our thoughts, and how Bush's stupidity is a clever facade, that masks a political genius that would give Machiavelli chills.

I initially glanced at this book with amusement because it seemed to be a compilation of his infamous grammatical gaffes.

However, Miller paints a devastatingly bleak picture of George W. using the most damning material of all: Dubya's own words. Make no mistake: this book is not a pocket guide to Dubya's great bloopers, it is a shockingly disturbing portrait of a president who takes pride in the fact that he has little attention span and scorns at intellectualism. When you see his quotes in the context of answers to questions he's been asked, you realize that the often times he is merely trying to "get it over with"--offer a vague, no-answer "answer" to get through the debate/interview so he can get on to becoming president.

Miller takes it a step further by showing how the so-called "liberal media" did nothing but softball him on his way to the White House and make itself absolutely pliable to GOP spinmeisters. Not only is the media hardly liberal, it's become scarily compliant when it comes to being manipulated, and you have to wonder how "free" we really are if this is the case.

Miller also brilliantly suggests that, in the absence of the cold war, right wingers have been able--through propaganda, media and rhetoric vehicles like Fox News--to create Democrats as the new communists ("liberals"). We've got Americans demonizing their fellow citizens for not marching in lock-step to the far right agenda.

This is a wake-up call. Miller also outlines Dubya's other skeleton in the closet: his record in Texas. Again, nothing does in Dubya more than his own record in his own state... yet again, the "liberal media" happily gave this short shrift.

All the way up to, and through, the troubling election travesty in Florida, this is an unblinking, harsh look at what we've really got here in the U.S., both in a president and in our media. And that is not good news.

Highly recommended. But truly troubling. Although, there are many, many LOL moments.

This is an excellent, well-written story with good characterizations, both in terms of creating new characters (notably Spock's son, the title character) and in faithfully portraying the established characters and the interrelations between them. I could easily envision this story as being canonical, as being made into an episode of the original Star Trek series if only it had been written fifteen years earlier.

In it, the author begins in what may be the ideal way to begin a Star Trek novel: she starts with an episode from the series, and builds a "what if" sequal to it; in this case, she builds on the episode, "All Our Yesterdays", in which Spock and McCoy are trapped (temporarily) 5000 years in the past, during the ice age of a planet that is (in the present) about to be destroyed when its sun novas. During that episode, Spock (for reasons never adequately explained, but apparently having something to do with the unplanned nature of their time-travel) reverts to the barbaric, emotional, pre-logical state of Vulcans in that time period. (Why McCoy didn't revert to the superstitious, unscientific state of humans at that point in time is never explained, either.)

In any case, this book assumes what is only hinted at in that episode: that Spock and the woman Zarabeth who was (sort of) native to that time became lovers, physically as well as emotionally, and that unknown to Spock, she was pregnant with his child when he and McCoy returned to the present. When Spock learns of this through archaeological evidence, he uses The Guardian of Forever (from the episode "City On The Edge Of Forever") to return to the past and rescue the boy, and the rest of the story builds on that concept. The plot is handled extremely well, although I did find the ending rather unsatisfactory. (Though I must admit, it, too, would have fit very well into an original series story; it seems to follow the series guideline, "Never make a change to the cast or status quo of the characters; any change of that sort must be eliminated by the end of the story.")

This book was the best!The character of Zar(Spock's son)was believable and very well conscieved.Plot:Spock goes back in time to the planet Sarpeidon to find his son,Zar.After braving dangerous blizzards,Spock finds Zar,and brings him to the Enterprise.Then,all of a sudden,the Romulans attack the Time Planet(home of the Guardian of Forever)led by Spock's old nemesis,Subcommander Tal("The Enterprise Incident")!Kirk then leads an away team to the Time Planet to stop the Romulans before they alter history!

In the classic episode "All Our Yesterdays", Spock and McCoy were transported to the planet Sarpiedon----5,000 years before it would be destroyed----while trying to help Kirk, who had also ended up there in a different region of the planet. This particular time machine had the effect of causing Spock to act as Vulcans would have in their warlike past before Surak's philosophy of logic would spread: he ate meat, showed no shame for emotions, and fell in love with Zarabeth a woman whom he ultimately had to leave behind.

Two years later, Spock is shocked to discover that Zarabeth give birth to his son, Zar. He uses the Guardian of Forever to bring Zar forward in time, as tradition dictates that he must teach his son the Vulcan mental disciplines and culture so that he may be accepted into the family. But can Zar accept his father for who he really is before the Romulans discover the secrets of the Guardian and serious consequences arise for the course of history?

I enjoyed reading Crispin : The Cross of Lead, but do not feel that it quite reaches Newbery quality. Other of Avi's books, notably Nothing But the Truth and The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, are much better reads. In the genre of Medieval Fiction for kids, Karen Cushman's books rate higher. I will recommend Crispin to my students, but not with quite the enthusiasm of the others mentioned above.

Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi was a little bit of a disappointment to me.
The book goes through the story of an outcast boy in his small village in about the early 1700?s. His mother dies, and he is forced to leave the town, as the royal ruler of his town is after his head, accusing the boy of being a thief.
Throughout the boy?s travels, he is trying to find out the truth about his mother and family, but seems to fall short more than once. He meets up with a large, jester man, named Bear, and becomes the man?s apprentice after promising never to try to escape. The man at first seems like a mean, cruel, dictator to the boy, but seems to warm up to the boy, becoming a sort of father figure.
After entering a large town in England, where the boy thinks he is scheduled to perform with the jester, the boy finds that his dangers have followed him, and the pursuers are hot on his trail. Well, lucky for the boy, he has his new friend to protect him, for the most part. The boy finds that his new friend knows about his past, and his family, and is doing all to protect the boy from knowing about it.
I?ve heard the book being compared to Harry Potter, and that Potter fans will love it. Well, truth be told, the book is nothing like Harry Potter. Other than the boy on the cover being a shoe in for the Danielle Radcliff role, this book contains no magic, and can?t even compare to Potter.
The story line sometimes seems to get off track, but in the end, you?ll find it all come together. Some points are boring, but don?t skip past! I found this story to be hard to put down, after you?ve gotten into the heart of the story.
I?ve given this book 4 out of 5 stars, as it is a SUPER read for young fantasy/adventure readers, but it looses a star due to the poor ?wanna be? Harry Potter comparison.

I teach fifth grade and read Crispin aloud to my students. We all were spellbound by the story. They begged me to read it to them. I would highly recommend this book and so would they.

The Moving Toyshop has been enshrined as Crispin's best detective novel, but it is not, in my opinion. The people who admire this book talk about the humor, but rarely about the plot. Yet Crispin, when he disciplined himself, had a first-class mind for puzzles. Unless you really enjoy English donnish humor, with lots of literary quotations, of course, I would advise you to avoid this one and seek out The Long Divorce or Love Lies Bleeding.

This is probably the best of the Gervase Fen mysteries. All of the Fen mysteries are entertaining. The principal character, Gervase Fen, is an eccentric Oxford professor and successful amateur detective. All of them are marked by clever plotting, often with a literary element, and fine comic writing. This novel features a particularly clever plot, probably the best character development of all the Fen novels, and above all, great wit. It contains the comic chase scene to end all comic chase scenes.
This book, in an odd way, is also prescient. One of the characters is a middle-aged, somewhat dissatisfied, and prominent English poet. The book is dedicated to the author's good friend, Philip Larkin, and at the time of publication, both Larkin and the author must have been young men. Larkin went on to become the best known English poet of his generation and several of his best poems are about the dissatisfactions of middle age.

This is a fun read; definitely a Whodunnit, but Crispin's work is a lot more thoughtful than others of this genre. Lots of running around with an odd sort of eccentrics and very much in the British cozy style set in pre-WWII 20th century.

If you enjoy dry humor, literature and puzzles -- along with old movies and nostalgia, you will enjoy this book.

I loved the message of "Crispin, The Pig Who Had It All", however, the level of violence in the book disturbed me to the point where I have removed it from the bookshelf and no longer allow my 2 year old son access to it.

The story is charming and the illustrations are grand. Full of color and life, and with a message that is sure to warm your heart. But there is a problem in the whole book with the play between the children being mostly about shooting, attacking each other. Now I have a 2 year old and he is quite active, so I know this is a part of child play. However, the following issue was the final nudge that made me pull the book (though my son still asks where it is. Oh dear.)

There is a picture where the group of friends is playing store, the illustration depicts one of them using his hand to make the shape of a gun and holding the "gun" to the face of Crispin. Crispin's hands are up in the air. The other pal is taking items from the shelves. The picture is showing a store being robbed. The point of play is to develop adult skills and coordination. The book is encouraging my son to play at robbing others and threatening others with a gun. I don't think I want him developing such skills.'

There are other things as well- name calling (not too terrible- but the word "scum" is not in my son's vocabulary yet...) and some trademark logos by toy names that make me think of marketing ploys. These combined with the store holdup and shooting as the main form of play are just too much.

So sadly, this is not a book for my son. I loved the story, the images and the message, but don't want my son learning what this book is silently teaching.

Children's books with vivid illustrations and sense of humor have always been high on my list. "Crispin: The Pig Who Had It All" has this in spades.

The story centers around a spoiled pig whose parents indulge his every whim. He accumulates expensive toys that he rapidly tires of and breaks. (Boy, do I know a few Crispins!) But one Christmas he receives a gargantuan present that promises to be the most precious one of all.

Crispin learns several important lessons that many adults will have already seen play out in their own kids. And they are lessons that are keenly important for children today. When coupled with the astonishingly well-done illustrations that just jump off the page, the story springs to life. It maintains a view of childhood that resonates with my own and reproduces what many people with boys will experience. My son absolutely loved every second of the story.

Very good and well recommended.

My 2.5 year old son loves this book. The rich illustrations provide wonderful things to talk about. Even though he may not get some of the subtle messages of the story, he does understand that sharing makes things more fun. I would recommend this as a 2 year old and above book.