In this book you can see how a woman can hate a man and the man can still love that woman, but the hate of these persons is because he kills her adoptive mother, but in book never say why he killed her, all the book is rolling in that hating all the time, and you don't know why he did that, you hate him and maybe he killed her in self defense. The rest of the story is full of action and courage of all the protagonists.

As I have always said Wilbur Smith brings me the taste of Africa all the time. I am in Zimbabwe and some these things happened so close to home such that when you read his books it is like you have rewinded history. Mr. Smith's knowledge on mining, banking, firearms, politics, love, hate, the African wildlife and research is too good and accurate to be fiction. I have enjoyed the Power of The Sword such that I almost forgot about my exams. His twist and turns, plots and sub-plots are excellent and I am looking forward to the next book in the set. The Poer of The Sword is very powerful.

This book was great - I plan to read all five in the series. I'm fascinated with Africa as described by Wilbur Smith.

I wish to draw attention to the inadequate binding on several of these books. Every time I turn a page, it just falls out of the book. If it were any other author, I would not buy a Fawcett Crest paperback book - 600+ detached pages, it's outrageous. I'll bet the whole series is like that.

Two things were always true with Philip K. Dick: first, that whenever you looked in the direction in which he waves his wand, nothing was as it seems. And second, that whenever you looked at the magician himself, what you saw was what you got.

In this collection of transcripts of taped interviews, made with Dick during what turned out to be his last weeks on earth, we are treated to the unedited, off-the-cuff ramblings of the master. Are they worth it? They are, on at least four counts.

The first pleasure is just hearing his voice again. The second is learning various little bits that we didn't know before: about his reactions to seeing the first rushes of _Blade Runner_, which was just going into editing (he was pleased and enthusiastic, and not at all put out that the whole Mercerism theme was excised.) And about the book he was planning to begin next, The Owl in Daylight. The third pleasure is watching his creative process unfold as he massages the material for _The Owl_, plotting it and composing it right before our eyes. And the fourth is the confirmation that he is as quirky, as compassionate, as obsessed, as unpredictable, as brilliant, when speaking ad libitum as he was in his written work. What we saw in his novels turns out to be what his friends always got.

Other major themes include his 1974 "pink light" experience, and his relationship with the characters in his last novel, The Transmigration of Timothy Archer.

For the completist fan, this short book is a delightful find, and one worth snapping up quick since there's no telling how long it'll be in print. But for those with only a few PKD novels under their belts, and a curiosity about what made him tick, there's a far more indispensable volume to check out first, namely the extracts from his diaries which were published in 1991 as "In Pursuit of Valis: Selections from the Exegesis".

...And,if you read this book you'll realize just what a crying shame it truly is...The world was cheated out of "The Owl in daylight",a book that just might have ended up being his greatest. This book,(What if our world is their Heaven?)is simply a transcription of some tape interviews PKD made shortly before his untimely death in 1982.Of course this could be seen by the cynical as an attempt by those in the late PKD's circle of friends to somehow cash in on the mystique that surrounds this enigmatic science fiction legend,Its a quick read...not terribly lengthy...but the true genius of this book is the glimpse a hardcore PKD fan can get of two things...One,"The Owl in Daylight",still in the conceptual phase at the time of his death(Oh,why oh,why'd ya have die Phil?) Two,just how quickly this man's mind worked,especially as to regards the way he wrote a novel(ABSOLUTELY mind boggling).I will say that If you haven't read the Sutin Bio,parts of PKD's exegesis and I'd say,at least 10 or so of his key works you may not get a whole lot of enjoyment out of this book,But a real delight for the hardcore fan as well as a heartbreaking reminder of all the great books we could of had in the last 20 years if Phil was still around.

Reading this book is like sitting down to a one-on-one conversation with Philip K. Dick. His unique and surprisingly upbeat personality shines though more here than in any biography. Despite personal trials and delusions Philip K. Dick retained a sense of humor and it's fascinating to hear that come through in his own words. I appreciate the fragmented sentences and "and um's" left intact because they truly convey the atmosphere of being in a room listing to Philip K. Dick. One of the most interesting things about reading this book is seeing Philip K. Dick's momentum and thought progression as he plots out a story idea (tragically one that he never had time to finish.) His interpretation of the well-known interferences in his life from either extraterrestrial or divine sources is fascinating but somewhat brief, it seems not to overshadow his existence, but merely become another accepted aspect of it. This book brings this sci-fi legend into human terms. For those interested in Philip K. Dick's personality this book is probably the most authentic and enlightening available.

300 pages - not encyclopedic - but a rich, thorogh introduction to Linux system programming and how to go about it using Kylix. Well worth the money.

This one contains so many useful Linux tidbits and "How to get things done" sections, it is always the Kylix reference I pick up first.

I'm a long-time Delphi programmer and relatively recent migrant to Linux. This book absolutely fills the gaps for me in the numerous places where I'm asking "Now, how the heck do I go about doing THIS on Linux?".

It's not about Kylix (although the samples and solutions are in ObjectPascal, of course) so much as about accessing the nuts and bolts of Linux through HLL calls to the OS, MMS and filesystem. Although it is primarily relevant to ObjectPascal it will be a great resource for developers using other HLLs on Linux too. It really fills in the bits that are missing from Linux books, programming books, FAQ forums and so on if your history has been with DOS and Windows and, especially, if you want to cross-plat your Delphi components.

I needed this book a year ago and I'm overjoyed to have it, now that I'm using Kylix 2.

Powers is best known for his "secret history" novels and, unlike most sf authors who started in the '70s, he actually hasn't written all that many short stories -- maybe a dozen, total. He says he takes him as long to outline a short story as it does a novel. But the seven he's published are (naturally) far above average. This small limited-edition volume includes all of them, two in collaboration with his close friend, James Blaylock (who also contributes an Introduction). Not all of them really work for me, but I like "Night Moves," "The Better Boy," and "Where They Are Hid" very much indeed. (The first two were finalists for the World Fantasy Award.) And there's a very welcome Bibliography at the end of the book, listing all of Powers's publications, in all languages.

Tim Powers is most well-known for his fantastic novels ranging from subjects as diverse as Blackbeard the pirate to ghosts haunting Los Angeles. Here, the marvelous and indispensable Subterranean Press collects all six of Powers' short works of fiction.

All of the pieces in this collection are exceptional. Powers is an accomplished fantasist. Two of the stories are collaborations with fellow purveyor of weird fiction, James Blaylock. ....

My favorite stories in this collection are 'Where They Are Hid' and 'The Way Down the Hill'. 'The Way Down the Hill' is a fascinating look at an enclave of immortal beings. This is a story we've seen before in science fiction. It concerns the ethics of being an immortal being and their relationship with humanity. What really interests me in the story is Powers' unique take on the manner of the enclave's immortality. I won't say more for fear of giving the story away.

'Where They are Hid' is a fabulous story. Powers tells us that Philip K. Dick enjoyed reading it before he passed away, which is particularly noteworthy since the story deals with all the normal Dickian tropes; reality, identity and hallucinations. I'm afraid the story is too complex to give a concise description of it here. Suffice it say that it blew my mind.

I recommend this slim collection to all Powers' fans. It's worth buying for the excellent stories and the extras. The introduction by James Blaylock relates a hilarious story about an encounter between Powers and 50 or 60 dwarfs. The collection also contains informative notes on each story (including a humorous Phil Dick anecdote) and a definitive Powers bibliography. Highly recommended.

Fantastist Tim Powers writes very few short stories. He has published over 10 novels, yet only a half-dozen short stories, all now collected in this handsome edition by Subterranean Press. Anyone familiar with Powers knows his penchant for densely plotted, magical stories with a unique bent on history. He has written about poker and the Fisher King, vampires stalking Keats and Shelley, pirates and voodoo, and much more. In Night Moves and Others, Powers gives us a different side of his writing style, yet equally intense as his longer works. The title story is an excellent ghost tale, about a man who dreamed of an imaginary friend called Evelyn, and his parents who fled this ghost from town to town. Two stories are collaborations with another great writer, James Blaylock. Both are urban fantasies; one, a ghost story concerning a man and his dead wife is solemn. The other, entitled "The Better Boy" after a tomato variety, is amusing in the protagonist's desperate battle to save a tomato from garden worms. "The Way down the Hill" is the oldest story in this collection, but perhaps one of the best, about a clan of soul parasite who jump from body to body across many lifetimes. "Where they are Hid" is a marvelous tale, one that can be read several times, each time shedding new light on the events in the story. Although slim in size, this collection is must for any fan of Powers. It includes an introduction by Blaylock, as well as story notes by the author.

I like Tim Powers' books. I don't like this one too much though. Powers love of the grotesque is in full force here, but what you've really got here is two stories that don't need each other. Post holocaust LA and the mysterious evil thing don't need to be in the same story, and one basically distracts from the other. Also, what's Powers' deal with mutilation? Why ask here? Might as well here as anywhere.

This is the first Tim Powers book I've read, and though I can't compare it to the rest of his work, it seems that he is more inclined to writing fantasy than science fiction. Yes, the setting is L.A. after some (unmentioned) armaggedon, and, without revealing too much, there are alien beings here, but the treatment is closer to a sword-and-sorcery tale... with swords exchanged for slingshots and guns, and religious mysticism for sorcery. And then, there are Powers' grotesques, like the hemogoblins and those weird trash men within the Holy City, that don't seem scifi at all.

So: the tale IS about a man, Greg Rivas, bent on rescuing an old flame from the clutches of a religious cult, and the subsequent confrontation with the entity behind it. It IS NOT about this post-apocalyptic world the action is set in.

In my opinion, the one weak point of the novel is character development: Greg goes through several mood swings that don't mesh together well. But the plotting is strong, giving an envolving tale.

To those willing to taste this fanciful dinner, enjoy.

I have to disagree with the previous reviewer regarding Gregorio Rivas as a weak spot in the book. While on this "quest" for his long lost love, Rivas actually changes and grows as a character. Here we have someone who is affected by his enounters instead of just a fellow meeting external obstacles. Rivas doesn't have mood swings. He confronts himself as he revisits people and places from his past. He gradually goes from being a rather arrogant egotistical jerk to an empathatic decent human being trying to do the right thing instead of a one dimensional idiot bent on just earning his "brandy." Here Powers has created a man capable of learning some things as the story progresses. How many contemporary authors of any genre can pull that off without making readers snicker and say, "Yeah, right."

In this very academic and scholarly book intended for the graduate student in psychology or professional psychologist, the editors have compiled writings from the top researchers and theoreticians in their fields to explore the intersection of emotion and cognition. Although some of the chapters are weighted down by summaries of research, most of the authors strike a balance between addressing the most interesting issues and questions in this area and informing their conclusions by empirical evidence. One of the historical debates which appears to be a thread which ties many of the chapters together is the question of "primacy"; does cognition or emotion have primacy either in terms of which occurs first in a temporal sense or in terms of importance. A reading of this book leaves the reader with the impression that both are interdependent and reciprocal, leaving the reader without a simple answer to an extremely complex subject. This handbook, furthermore, looks at the interface of cognition and emotion in normal as well as abnormal behavior. Although there is a section on the implications of experimental research in this area for clinical practice, this is not primarily a book about clinical practice. If you are interested in such erudite questions and issues, you will find a wealth of material to be mined in The Handbook of Cognition and Emotion. If you are looking for simple answers or reductionistic approaches, you will either be put to sleep, or end up using this voluminous text as a door stop.

This excellent little book is purported to be a collection of the work of a purely fictional writer named William Ashbless.
The authors originally created him when they were literature students at Fullerton State University near L.A. Over the years he has either appeared in or been referred to in most of their books and Tim Powers considers him a "good luck charm".

I normally can read a novel of this length in a couple of days. This one took me ten to finish. When this happens, it indicates one of two things: either the book is an extremely complex, difficult read or it simply did not engage me as a reader, did not make me want to hurry back to its pages. And for this book, both reasons apply.

The story line itself is a very convoluted mating of urban ghosts, two rather well known historical figures, and a large set of major characters who are apparently unrelated to each other at the beginning but who eventually are all intertwined. The driving force behind the plot is the idea that ghosts can be captured, bottled, and inhaled by the living, imparting their memories and life essence to the inhaler. Certain people have become addicted to this habit, and will do anything to capture a really strong ghost, murder being almost the least of that 'anything'. Into this idea Powers drops the ghost of Thomas Edison, a man almost reverentially talked about in schools for his multitudinous inventions, but not exactly the nicest man in the world, as a really powerful ghost that everyone who is capable of sensing his presence wants to get.

The set of ideas that Powers introduces here is impressive: inhaleable ghosts, 'rotten' ghosts that once inhaled make it impossible to inhale more ghosts, the possibility of a freshly dead person's ghost continuing to use his body, ghosts who slowly obtain a substantial physical form by ingesting trash, an ingested ghost's personality may take over the consciousness of the inhaler, and many more. None of these ideas are directly laid out at the beginning of the book, but slowly become obvious as you proceed through the story - but while you are learning Powers' ghost rules, you are likely to feel somewhat confused.

Also impressive are the portraits Powers paints of Edison and Houdini, combining known historical facts and foibles of their characters with his story line in an almost seamless mix. His descriptions of Los Angeles, both past and present, add to the sense of realism that is so necessary for a book of this nature to succeed.

The large set of characters, though, is the major problem with this book. While Pete Sullivan, Angelica Elizalde, and Koot Hoomie Parganas, the three major point-of-view characters, are each described with enough detail about their past and their current thought patterns to enable me to recognize them as real people. What they failed to do was emotionally engage me. And this same problem applied to Solomon Shadroe, Sherman Oaks, Neal Obstadt and all the other characters here - I could not find myself caring what happened to all of them. Perhaps this is because for a large portion of the book, there does not seem to be any definite goal that these characters are trying to reach - a real plot direction doesn't emerge until almost two thirds of the way through the book. While this is certainly a common trait in the modern 'life realistic' novel, where things 'just happen' and people bounce from one experience to another with no goal or direction, here it hurts, as the point is not to paint reality but to present the fantastic as commonplace.

This also points up the fact that there is almost no deeper level of meaning to this book. The actions and events portrayed do not have any relevance to everyday living, nor are the character's reactions explored in enough depth to provide new insight into the human condition. This leaves the book as an 'entertainment' only type story, which is perfectly fine as an objective for a novel, but without strong reader engagement with the characters or a strong plot, the entertainment level does not tip the meter very far into the 'enjoyable' range.

Some great ideas, some impressive historical research, but stretched across too nebulous a plot from too many viewpoints to be a real page-turning grabber.

If someone told me that they had just read a novel which attempted to blend urban legend, magical realism, and ghost-story horror together into a complex, plausible novel with excellent characterization and a convoluted, wonderful plot, and it all worked perfectly, I'd likely laugh in their faces.

That said, I'm going to ask you not to laugh in my face. "Expiration Date" is all that and more. It is further proof that Tim Powers is utter genius and easily the best living author in his field. Do yourself a favour and read this in relatively small sections, when you're fully awake, despite the admitted temptation to try to get it all in one sitting (despite the novel's impressive length), because if you miss some of the story's subtle twists, you might not be able to live with yourself later.

Tim Powers is THE brightest light in modern fantasy, and this book is a must-read.

Just when you think Tim Powers' novels can't get any weirder, they do. Expiration Date begins with the premise that ghosts not only exist, but that inhaling them into your lungs prolongs your life and is the best high one can experience. In the Los Angeles of Powers' novel, there is a thriving underground dealing in black market ghosts, sometimes called "smokes" or "L.A. Cigar".

It is impossible to do justice to a Powers novel with a synopsis. His plots are wildly inventive and beyond description. But they are not pure flights of fancy. His books are grounded in the real world, but it is a world in which magic exists, hidden from the uninitiated. Powers' descriptions of L.A. are very evocative, reminding me somewhat of the hard-boiled detective fiction of Robert Campbell.

When Powers switched from historical fantasies to novels set in the present day, I had momentary regrets. But having read his two present day fantasies, Expiration Date and his previous novel, Last Call, I'm not at all sorry that he has moved on.

I loved his previous two books -- Last Call and Expiration Date -- but found Earthquake Weather, where the ghost gobbling and Fisher King storylines have been merged, heavy going at times. Set in the American West, this book still manages some classic Powers moments and should still be read if you're a fan.

Ensure you read Last Call and Expiration Date first - both are highly recommended. If you don't really enjoy them, you'll probably want to give this one a skip.

Powers has really hit his stride. Last Call was brilliantly engrossing, and Expiration Date perhaps a bit of a letdown to many (not to me), but Earthquake Weather fulfills all the promise of the first two books and then some. (BTW, don't try to read this without reading the first two.) Powers is unmatched in creating a "real" world where fantastic things happen, and they happen a lot in this book. Sit back and enjoy the author's mastery of the off-kilter. When I finished it, I was moved to go back and reread the first two volumes all over again..... Powers, like Jonathan Lethem, is comfortably inhabiting the house Philip K. Dick built, and each is adding new wings. I eagerly await his next offerings.

Let me preface this by saying that I generally avoid reading fantasy. I've never read Lord Of The Rings and I bet I never will. But some fantasy will entertain my skeptical, scientific, hard-to-shut-off-the-BS-filters mind. Tim Powers' Fisher King trilogy is one such set of fantasy novels. First, there's Last Call, which introduces Scott Crane and future-telling poker hands. Second, there's Expiration Date, where the ghost of Thomas Edison leads Koot Hoomie Parganas through a hellish version of Los Angeles. The final book in this [as described by the author] loose trilogy is Earthquake Weather. What a wild ride! All of the important characters are back from the first two novels [which is why you should read those first - each of the first two can stand alone, but this one reads better if you know the backstory of the first two]. This novel introduces three (if the Janis character only constitutes one character) important new characters: Janis Plumtree, a person with multiple personalities and the murderer of Scott Crane, Fisher King of the American West; Dr. Armentrout, a psychiatrist in desperate need of healing himself and a frequent companion to Long John Beach [Sherman Oaks from Expiration Date]; and Sid 'Scant' Cochran, a recent widower with the mark of Dionysius on his hand. From various locations in southern California, the characters, both old and new, converge on San Francisco and the possible resurrection of Scott Crane. Be ready to hit the reference books; this novel requires knowledge about a wide range of things - all the way from Androcles to Zinfandel. Yes, the story can get confusing, even when you've read the first two novels. If I could give fractional ratings, this novel would rate more than 4 stars, but less than 5 stars. Even though they are not easy reads, Earthquake Weather and the preceding two novels are well worth the effort.

This book excels in pragmatically introducing PowerJ to those of us who are neither Dummies nor Software Engineers. Mr. Hatton clearly understands how adult learning works, and the real-world context in which we must rapidly absorb and apply knowledge. Subtleties, such as reinforcing previous learnings while introducing new topics, make the difference to the vocationally-oriented reader; the learning process is both efficient and effective.

The structure of the book readily supports two critical purposes for the prospective PowerJ user: functionally introducing PowerJ, and providing a desk reference for the journeyman practitioner to quickly and easily locate specific topics. Simply stated, Mr. Hatton adds substantial value to the PowerJ product by organizing and communicating information from the results-oriented reader/user's point of view.

And, somehow, it's readable, too. The author's style is conversational, and he transfers knowledge at an intellectually-manageable rate. His presentation is instructive and concept-based, going well beyond simple documentation of product attributes, properties and procedures. Overall, as a business practitioner with a working knowledge of several 4GL's and development environments, I found the book delivered well to its intended audience who, like myself, are neither Dummies nor Software Engineers, and have real-world requirements.

Tim Hatton's The Awesome Power of PowerJ, far from being the advanced nuts-and-bolts examination of the Java language, is actually an excellent overview of the PowerJ development Environment. He obviously knows Sybase/PowerSoft products, and communicates this familiarity in a really user-friendly manner. The book details how to make the most of the drag-and-drop programming editor, which is a great way to familiarize yourself with Java, and at the same time produce real applications. The book is a must-read if you aren't already a C or Java expert, and need to produce Web-ready applications.

Hi, I thought this book was a great introduction to the PowerJ environment. It is little different than other PowerSoft products, and "Awesome..." helped me feel much more comfortable in the environment. As a new programmer, who has not done Java before, the explanations of drag-and-drop programming were especially useful. A great beginner's reference.