Enduring? This book has been around since 1956 and is still in print, now that's enduring! I first read Hannah Fowler over twenty years ago and I also "re read" it every couple of years. It is my most favorite work of fiction. An incredibly simple and beautiful work of art, Giles weaves regional lore with a touching love story. Since I first read this book Janice Holt Giles has become my favorite author, she writes with an honesty and wisdom that draws you to her characters. If anyone is remotely interested in Hannah Fowler, please read it, you won't be disappointed. I especially recommend it to teenagers.

I've read most of Janice Holt Giles' books but this one (my first) has got to be my favorite. It certainly isn't your conventional love story; but then, Hannah isn't your conventional heroine. Nor are she and Tice a conventional couple (she asked HIM to marry HER) but they don't seem to be any less happy for it. Giles' beloved Kentucky hills are the perfect setting for the story, and her writing style is wonderful in its simplicity.

By the way, the best subtle reference to sex I've ever found is in this book. When Tice says, "Let's try out that new shuck tick of your'n" and gives Hannah a gentle shove in that direction... and the rest is left to the imagination.

I first read this book over 15 years ago. I have since gone back and read it over about every year or two. The writer has created such real characters and a story line that is just as readable as it was when it was first written. I can not recommend this books strongly enough.

This book is very similar in style as Moonrise, and since that is my favourite Anne Stuart book that is high praise.

Francey Neeley's life is turned into a nightmare because she thought she loved the wrong man. She fell for The lilt of the Irish voice, the dancing blues eyes and the charm of a man from Ireland, but learn all that was a facade, a mask to hide his real purpose in marrying her - to gain her fortune and use her to get back into Ireland. He planned to kill her afterwards. Francey learns this from his 'sister' who was actually his lover. She tells Francey of the plot to kill the Queen of England when she is visiting the United States, but says someone has blow his cover - she believes it is Francey and both rush to see if they can stop him from the suicide mission.

They arrive just in time to see her attempt to kill the Queen, but she is saved by her guard who takes several bullets before killing the Irish Terrorist.

Now months later, Francey is hiding out on a Jamaican island trying to heal her soul, when her cousin says he is sending a man to stay with her. A man supposed hurt in a car accident, named Michael Dowd. She instantly sees the man is weak and recovering and her heart feels for his pain.

He is recovering all right, but not from a car accident, but the bullets her boyfriend pumped into him while he nearly gave his life to save the Queen. He has come to find Francey, find out what she knew about the incident, how much she is involved. Make love to her to get the information, and then kill her if he discovered she is one of the terrorists.

From the instant her arrives on the island, it is clear someone is trying to kill them both so they must run from their lives.

This again is one of those beautiful gems that Stuart conjures so well!! Another of those Gamma rogues with black hearts and even blacker souls that you cannot help but love!

This book is very similar in style as Moonrise, and since that is my favourite Anne Stuart book that is high praise.
Francey Neeley's life is turned into a nightmare because she thought she loved the wrong man. She fell for The lilt of the Irish voice, the dancing blues eyes and the charm of a man from Ireland, but learn all that was a facade, a mask to hide his real purpose in marrying her - to gain her fortune and use her to get back into Ireland. He planned to kill her afterwards. Francey learns this from his 'sister' who was actually his lover. She tells Francey of the plot to kill the Queen of England when she is visiting the United States, but says someone has blow his cover - she believes it is Francey and both rush to see if they can stop him from the suicide mission.

They arrive just in time to see her attempt to kill the Queen, but she is saved by her guard who takes several bullets before killing the Irish Terrorist.

Now months later, Francey is hiding out on a Jamaican island trying to heal her soul, when her cousin says he is sending a man to stay with her. A man supposed hurt in a car accident, named Michael Dowd. She instantly sees the man is weak and recovering and her heart feels for his pain.

He is recovering all right, but not from a car accident, but the bullets her boyfriend pumped into him while he nearly gave his life to save the Queen. He has come to find Francey, find out what she knew about the incident, how much she is involved. Make love to her to get the information, and then kill her if he discovered she is one of the terrorists.

From the instant her arrives on the island, it is clear someone is trying to kill them both so they must run from their lives.

This again is one of those beautiful gems that Stuart conjures so well!! Another of those Gamma rogues with black hearts and even blacker souls that you cannot help but love!

Holy...

If i didn't say Bruce Jones could pen a movie script with the best of them in Hollywood, i would be lying through my teeth!...the Banner conspiracy deepens in this Volume bringing forth possibilities not many reader would have thought of..new readers picking up this volume without reading volumes 1 and 2 will be totally lost and muddled in the Huge storyarc which is by far one of the best plots in modern day comics...up to date.

I have been following Jones entire run on the series and knew his inventiveness of creating plot devices but he truly drops some magic cards here and does sleight of hand tricks...its as good as a movie , if not better with clues riddled throughout...this is by far the best of the bunch, i cannot wait for more...Bruce Jones is GOD.

With the regular changing of artists on this title and this long story arc, the only thing that remains common throughout is the inking and colors by studio f and co..which are needed to give a true impact of a cinematic quality and are the best in the business with everything taking a green color tone.

Stuart Immonen's artwork here is sexy..to say the least. thats the best i can describe it. his artwork is the strongest of the current series along with Mike Deodato's work...while the newer artists dont have the veteran hand of John Romita's pencils,they give the same justice that Bruce Jones incredibly story deserves. Immonen draws action scenes with a John Woo style and is somewhat remincent of Eduardo Risso's acclaimed work on 100 Bullets.

this story arc gets better and better...pick up vols 1 and 2...and get this;....Jones run should be in every comic readers shelf...

highly recommended

Phy-Olsen's command of Mary Shelley's creative ouvre is magisterial. Not only does she understand Shelley, but there's an over-arching concern that we not accept Mary Shelley as a WOMAN writer, so much as we see her as a creative one. Shelley was, of course, over-shadowed by her far better known husband. But few readers realize that her book, 'that hideous progeny,'Frankenstein, was written on a whim, more or less, during Lord Byon's famous ghost-story writing in 1816. The group effort, which Byron surely though he'd win, is known to us today because only Mary Shelley's work survived. For this alone she deserves remembering, though it was hardly her only effort. Phy-Olsen combines wit, scholarship and a panache for the little-known to make this a compelling and entertaing read. Moreover, she appears not to house, thankfully, a single feminist axe to grind, and in so doing, positions Shelley in the pantheon of writers better than any feminist harridan could have hoped to accomplish.

While the book is a fun read in itself, it is much more enjoyable if you have seen the 1932 film based on it and starring Edna May Oliver as Hildegarde Withers. Having the actress in your mind's eye as you read really brings the story to life. It's definitely one of those "they don't write 'em like that anymore" books.

This collection of shorts, created by some of the most prolific minds in the comic arena, couples the realms of silliness with a childlike darkness, giving the reader something to laugh at sometimes while wondering if this should induce laughter at all. Thirty-six pieces exist here, some little blurbs that are semi-enjoyable, others bigger, more captivating oddities on parade, and still others, like Mike Mignola's Au Gung and the Beanstalk, are something to purchase editions like this one because of.
The better pieces included here are:

Abu Gung and the Beanstalk, by Mike Mignola, is the story of a Gung man who happens across a tale only Mignola could have crafted. It comes from one of three sisters, two of them starving, that speaks of former riches and squandered fortunes, of jewels traded for food and of one sister, the greediest of the lot, trading her's for some magic beans. Deciding they were rightfully her's to consume, she shares them not and suffers a most horrible fate. A beanstalk rips through her chest and ascends to the sky, dancing far from the reach of men. Abu, plagued by curiosity, decides to climb it and see just what awaits in the sky, and what he finds is wonderfully entertaining and well worth the read. It alone elevates the book to wondrous proportions.

Fisher Price Theatre Presents: George Orwell's 1984, by Evan Dorkin and Sarah Dyer, is a wonderful depiction of 1984 through the use of everyone's favorite Fisher Price people. It takes memorable scenes, giving you a sculpted view of Orwell's vision in a nutshell. This, in my opinion, is also one of the best, most creative pieces here, ranking with the likes of Abu Gung and makes people like myself truly appreciate the minds behind it.

Pip and Norton in the Spinning Buddha, by Dave Copper and Gavin Mcinnes, is a three-part tale depicting Pip and the obsessive links he'll go to in acquiring the newest fad, The Spinning Buddha with flaming Zycbrobe action and patented spin-o-rama action.

Wanita and Glenn, by Craig Tompson, is simply a page filler with a semi-cutesy fill. Still, for some reason, blobs talking in barcode really touches something inside my soul.

Sour Milks: A tragedy in Five Pages, by Pat McEown, is an odd tale of crime and misfortune brought about by soured milk.

The Misadventures of Tommy T-Rex, by Brian McDonald and Brain O'Connell, is a wonderful piece about a young T-Rex and the extents to which he has to go to fit in with otherwise human counterparts. I think it sums it up in this conversation between Tommy and his human father. Tommy: "I miss my old friends." Father: "Well then you probably shouldn't have eaten them!" Its hilarity at its finest and deserves acclaim as well.

Life Could be a Dream Starring Montgomery Wart, by Mark Martin, is about an amphibian youth and his adventures in a surreal day of skipping school. I found it youthfully enjoyable and worth a read.

Hook, Line and Sinker: A castle waiting Short Story, by Linda Medley, was an enjoyable excursion into the fanciful, dealing with, amongst other things, a wonderful little demon trying to claim itself a youthfully naive soul.

Dog Drool Jewel, by David Sheldon, is a nice little commercial about mass marketing dog drool in dog drool jewels.

Bugged, by Sergio Aragones, is about an out-of-work extraterrestrial habitation engineer who is married to a woman who is, in turn, married to her work. Unfortunately for him (and for her) it happens to be Lepidopterology, the study of insects. Well, after snapping and running off to hide in space, he finds himself surrounded by three beautiful women conducting research. Sounds get? Maybe not.

Maxwell Escapes to Gillsville, by Dave Clegg, is the story of a fish named Maxwell that thinks he'll escape to a paradise called Gillsville by playing dead.

Rock, Paper, Scissors, by Evan Dorkin, depicting the evolution of struggle between these three, chronicling such events as Scissors sacrificing Paper to Satan and Paper using influential political and media contacts to malign rock and scissors.

Pip and Norton in Zzzombie Grrll, by Dave Cooper and Gavin Mcinnes, showing us Pip and his new love interest, a wonderful brain-eating sweetheart of a girl.

And, another one of the greats, The Musical Lump Wagon, by Craig Thompson, depicting for us the capture, slave trade, and monetary manipulation of lumps by the manipulative tweak of electricity.

Also included are The Particklers, by Kilian Plunkett, Kid Cyclops, by Steven Guarnaccia, Mud Monkeys, by James Kochalka, Pirates Featuring Tom the Dinosaur + Tom + Rainy Day Featuring Tom the Dinosaur (3 stories), by Daniel Torres, Bronco Teddy, by Jim Woodring and Tom Dougherty, Tales of Red Erchie, A Northern Fantasy, by Steve Parkhouse and Keith Young, Bring on the Robots, by Pat McEown,Oddette, by Jay Stephens, The Cluck of Fear, by Chris Garbutt, The Poet Who Loved Tea, by Greg C. Clarke, Ancient Joe, C.S. Morse. While these are bunched together, not all are bad. Some are better than others, some are bottom feeders, but the artists all got paid, so what the heck?

Anyhow, this collection is, by and far, something that anyone should go out and pick up because it has all the elements that the growing mind sadistically needs. People of all ages, lumps included, should get out there and consume!

This book is a masterpiece of the Italian contemporary literature. Flaiano wrote only one novel - the one I'm reviewing - but he's world wide famous because he is the scriptwriter and the screenplayer of Federico Fellini's masterpieces, such as "La Dolce Vita", "I Vitelloni". The novel was written in 1948, in Milan, in only three months. The Italian original title "Tempo d'uccidere" is a quotation taken from the Bible and it litterarly means "Time to kill". It's the weird story of a young Italian officer (based on Flaiano's experieces) portraited on the background of the Italian-Ethipian war in 1936. One day the officer suffers of a terrible tooth-ache and he's compelled to set out to seek for a dentist, but, on his way to the hospital, he meets by chance an Ethipian woman: it's the very begining of "the short cut" towards the discovery of human nature.

Also known as SwitchBack.This book is awsome! Lots of suspense.Can't wait to see the movie!

This fun book is filled with twists and turns and has an exciting and SURPRISING ending. My son read this and so did I. The young hero (WWW) is real without being predictable and his two sidekicks are more than just reasons for dialog --they are fully-developed and interesting in their own right. I certainly hope there will be another one of these!

The Black Dog Opera Library Series had outdone themselves once again. In this 1972 recording of Mozart's last opera, we are treated to a fine performance by fine singers, a fully illustrated book with liner notes and commentary, as well as information useful in biographies on the composer and his time. Mozart was close to his death bed at the time he composed The Magid Flute. He made an opera that could be enjoyed at many levels. At one level, it is a comic, brilliant fairy tale for children, at another level, it is deeply symbolic and layed with Masonic ideals of universal brotherhood and love. Mozart and his librettist were both Freemasons, a religous "sect" that was under hot water in 18th century Vienna for its pagan origins and its advocation of ideas of the Enlightenment. The story is about Tamino, a prince who is lost in a strange land (originally, a mystic Egypt), who is rescued from a serpent by three mysterious women and promised the hand of the daughter of the Queen of the Night if he saves her from the wizard Sarastro. Together with the help of the comic bird-catcher, Papageno, he sets out on his adventure. But halfway through the opera, he discovers that he has been deceived. The Queen of the Night is the true villain and Sarastro is really a holy man. After many trials, the forces of evil are defeated and the opera ends blissfully with a victory.

Musically and dramatically, it is Mozart's greatest opera. From the striking Overture to the use of dark strings, trumpet and soaring flute passages, the individual arias which express intense emotions to the neverending theme that good triumphs over evil, the Magic Flute stands out as a great opera to begin with for newcomers and a favorite for old time opera fans.

In this recording, conductor Wolfgang Sawallisch leads the Bavarian State Orchestra in a highly effective, thoroughly dramatic and sentimental, full interpretation of Mozart's score. Tenor Peter Schreir as Tamino is exceptional, passionate in his aria "Dies Bildnis" (This portrait), and again as he plays his flute in "Wie Stark ist Nicht dein Zauberton" (How powerful is your music, magic flute), his individual lines in the ensembles and his duet with Pamina as they undergo the final trial of fire. Annelise Rothenberger, a sublime German lyric soprano, is moving in her portrayal of Pamina. She has her moments in this recording. Note how her high, melodic voice seems to come from nowhere as she confronts Sarastro and Tamino for the first time "Herr! Ich bin zwar Verbrecherin ! (Sir! I am the transgressor). Her aria "Ach Ich Fuhls" (O, I feel that happy days have passed) is the finest interpretation, full of pathos and a kind of melancholic madness, as well as her lines in her suicide attempt, finally, she is sublime as a strong woman ready to face trials with Tamino, especially striking when she sings the line "Tamino!".

Kurt Moll's Sarastro is without question the best. His voice is suited for God. So divine and sonorous and full of grace, his voice is especially noticeable in the aria "O Isis and Osiris " and "In deisen Heilen Hallen"( In these holy halls). Finally, and not to be missed, is Edda Moser's incredible interpretation of the Queen of the Night. You have not heard the true Queen of the Night, until you've heard Edda Moser. She has a Wagnerian intensity and neurosis in her lines, apt and effective for the role of a Queen bent on deception and the murder of her rival, Sarastro. Her aria "O Zittre Nicht, Mein Lieber Son" (O tremble not, beloved son" is full of lyric dramatic passages and coloratura at the end. The vengeance aria "Der Holle Rache Kocht Meine Herzen "(Hell's Anger Burns Within My Heart) is full of fire. The way she attacks the dramatic, powerful lines is out of this world and the high F's she escalates are unsurpassed.

The re-release of the legendary 1972 recording of Die Zauberflote, conducted by Wolfgang Sawallisch, is a great blessing to all who know and love this great work. Edda Moser's interpretation of the Queen of the Night is justly celebrated, achieving not only transcendently perfect delivery, but also a chilling portrait of pure evil. All of the other cast members are excellent. The spoken role of Papageno is particularly striking, sounding sufficiently pungent to remind us that the role was originally played by Emanuel Schickaneder himself. The tempi are, for the most part remarkably well-chosen. In addition, the Masonic gravity of the subject matter is constantly respected. The chorus of the armed men is properly alarming, the cantus firmus stridently insistent above the counterpoint of the strings. Even more uncommon is the treatment of the secondary scenes of Act II, especially the chorus Welche Wonne, in which the evocation of the candidate's future "new life" is infused with the trepidation inevitably attendant upon any trial of life and death. All too often, this work, which is gravely serious in its intent, is presented as a fairy tale. This recording successfully conveys the philosophical context, and does justice to Mozart's attachment to Masonry. [The only flaw which I could detect is the inclusion of a very questionable musical fragment, inserted into Act II, Scene 11 {"Pamina, wo bist du?"). I could locate no reference to this anywhere in my extensive library on the subject, and can only speculate that it might be some unacknowledged retention from one of the infamous "reworkings" of the opera which occurred after Mozart's death....At any rate, it requires an explanation....]

In view of this, it is sad to see this beautiful recording issued in association with a perfectly vile and disrespectful book about the opera. The author has the temerity to liken this work to "a Broadway musical", "a rollicking entertainment for the common man" simply because it was composed as a Singspiel, or German opera with spoken dialogue. This is equivalent to likening one of Shakespeare's comedies to a street farce. The book also suggests that Zauberflöte was composed for purposes of pure entertainment, unless it is, perchance, a "work of profound insight" dressed up in the trappings of a "cartoon". Obviously, the writer is ignorant of the significance of the Egyptian setting in the time of Mozart, when it was a clear symbol for rational ideas and liberal politics. The details of the setting delineate the struggle which was then taking place in Europe, over the true nature of Masonry, philosophy and music, and which soon came to a terrible end, for that time at least, with the banning of Freemasonry in Austria, and the loss of much of the learning about ancient philosophy which had been so laboriously gathered in circles such as that frequented by Mozart. It is largely on account of Zauberflöte, which alludes with precision to much of that learning, that it was not entirely annihilated in the chaos of the revolutionary and Napoleonic periods. Rather than misrepresenting this vitally important work, those who have the privilege of coming into contact with it should do all in their power to contribute to the very difficult, vital, and continuing attempt to understand it. While the availability of this recording is of great value, it is scandalous to see it associated with a contribution to the generally prevailing ignorance about this extremely important, and very difficult, work.

An irate Mozartian

The re-release of the legendary 1972 recording of Die Zauberflöte, conducted by Wolfgang Sawallisch, is a great blessing to all who know and love this great work. Edda Moser's interpretation of the Queen of the Night is justly celebrated, achieving not only transcendently perfect delivery, but also a chilling portrait of pure evil. All of the other cast members are excellent. The spoken role of Papageno is particularly striking, sounding sufficiently pungent to remind us that the role was originally played by Emanuel Schickaneder himself. The tempi are, for the most part remarkably well-chosen. In addition, the Masonic gravity of the subject matter is constantly respected. The chorus of the armed men is properly alarming, the cantus firmus stridently insistent above the counterpoint of the strings. Even more uncommon is the treatment of the secondary scenes of Act II, especially the chorus Welche Wonne, in which the evocation of the candidate's future "new life" is infused with the trepidation inevitably attendant upon any trial of life and death. All too often, this work, which is gravely serious in its intent, is presented as a fairy tale. This recording successfully conveys the philosophical context, and does justice to Mozart's attachment to Masonry. [The only flaw which I could detect is the inclusion of a very questionable musical fragment, inserted into Act II, Scene 11 ("Pamina, wo bist du?"). I could locate no reference to this anywhere in my extensive library on the subject, and can only speculate that it might be some unacknowledged retention from one of the infamous "reworkings" of the opera which occurred after Mozart's death....At any rate, it requires an explanation....]

In view of this, it is sad to see this beautiful recording issued in association with a perfectly vile and disrespectful book about the opera. The author has the temerity to liken this work to "a Broadway musical", "a rollicking entertainment for the common man" simply because it was composed as a Singspiel, or German opera with spoken dialogue. This is equivalent to likening one of Shakespeare's comedies to a street farce. The book also suggests that Zauberflöte was composed for purposes of pure entertainment, unless it is, perchance, a "work of profound insight" dressed up in the trappings of a "cartoon". Obviously, the writer is ignorant of the significance of the Egyptian setting in the time of Mozart, when it was a clear symbol for rational ideas and liberal politics. The details of the setting delineate the struggle which was then taking place in Europe, over the true nature of Masonry, philosophy and music, and which soon came to a terrible end, for that time at least, with the banning of Freemasonry in Austria, and the loss of much of the learning about ancient philosophy which had been so laboriously gathered in circles such as that frequented by Mozart. It is largely on account of Zauberflöte, which alludes with precision to much of that learning, that it was not entirely annihilated in the chaos of the revolutionary and Napoleonic periods. Rather than misrepresenting this vitally important work, those who have the privilege of coming into contact with it should do all in their power to contribute to the very difficult, vital, and continuing attempt to understand it. While the availability of this recording is of great value, it is scandalous to see it associated with a contribution to the generally prevailing ignorance about this extremely important, and very difficult, work.

An irate Mozartian