(...)

Daniel Keys Moran is an insightful and creative storyteller who combines a beautifully detailed universe with a hard, gritty, fast paced future filled with political, societal, and technological uncertainties and dilemmas.

Moran's style of writing satifies the classic SciFi fan while it entertains and enthuses those with the borderline post apocalyptic bent of Blade Runner and the Cyberpunk genres.

_The_Last_Dancer_ is the fourth book in the Continuing Time saga falling in line a couple years after the events of _The_Long_Run_ (a masterful piece ISBN 0-553-28144-5).

The story details the events in the life of Denice Castanaveras, a genetically engineered telepath and daughter of the notorious David Castanaveras (_Emerald_Eyes_). It is 2076, 14 years after she was believed to have been murdered in the massacre of "genies".

The TriCentennial Fourth of July is approaching in an occupied America held together by the iron rule of the French led UN. Denice finds herself poised to alter the events of the burgeoning rebellion, and the only person able to halt or help the ambitions of the mysterious and charismatic Reb leader Sedon.

This book was fabulous! I really didn't know what to expect, since the back cover is kind of vague, but what a wonderful surprise it was to find myself immersed in a truly gripping story of heartbreak, betrayal, acceptance, friendship, love, vengeance, secrets, lies, and loyalty. There are also some key points of humor, and plenty of tense and exciting action. Andrea's story is not as cut and dry as you might imagine in the beginning, and the plot twists and secrets that are revealed along the way make for a wonderful page-turner that teases the mind and leaves you begging for more.

The world building was wonderful, and the characters were rich and multidimensional. There were times when I really wondered, who were the good guys and who were the bad guys? ... and I'm still wondering about some of them, even at the end of the second book (Tenebrea's Hope), which was just as amazing as the first. The plot is woven together with such expertise that I was doomed to read the entire book in one sitting, never once having to skim over a dull spot ... and that is very rare indeed. I highly, highly recommend this book!

The characters are a blend of purpose and psychosis. Andrea is downright scary, irreverent, yet oddly maternal-perhaps fiercely maternal? I would not want to catch her in a dark alley in a bad mood. The description of her cutting the Cor Hunter's throat is chilling-although strangely just. Her chance encounter with Cor Hunter's children is a sobering comment on the violence that had forever change her life.

Far from predictable, the plot carefully prepares the reader for twists yet to come in rest of the trilogy. I can't wait to find out what happens to the sympathetic although often cruelly pragmatic K'Rin. Will Andrea's only ally, H'Roo-Parh, reconcile after he rebukes her for her brutality. Will the clone Tara get tough and do what she needs to do? Will Brigon, sort of a clone bandit, leave the wilderness to join the resistance? Will Andrea's rage go over the edge to insanity? I see hints that Andrea and Brigon's rocky start portends a deeper interest.

The treatment of clone technology is accurate and troubling. The Quazel Protein operates much like the protein that causes mad cow disease. Where do Dawson and Graham get their material? I checked their reference to the stranger-than-fiction Bat Flower--origin India, Earth. It's real.

All in all, this book is a must read for anyone who wants a page-turner that makes you think.

In part one aspects of brewing technique are covered with chapters on hitting target gravity, hop selection and utilization, malt profiles, and several other useful technical subjects.

In part two we are treated to 14 mini style books. History, techniques, and commercial examples relating to the styles are presented. Accompanying this information is Ray's unique presentation of the profiles of ingredients used in commercial and winning homebrew recipes. If you've ever asked "What really goes into a _____?" This is the place to look. Chapters also have sidebars that summarize the contents -- like the box at the end of each chapter that lists tips for successful brewing of the beer style.

This is a wonderful book I can't imagine not owning.

However, the second section not only profiles many of the classic beer styles, it analyzes the recipes and techniques used in producing competition winning entries for the styles. While one can argue that strict style guidelines and competitions based on style guidelines are counterproductive in the craft beer industry, it is very interesting to see how accomplished brewers are formulating their recipes. Many of the formulation compilations are surprising. If anything, they show that you CAN deviate from strict recipe guidelines and produce a quality beer.

I have two shelves full of brewing books. This is the one I would hang onto if I was allowed only one brewing reference.

Dos Passos wrote this trilogy almost as a documentary. It is a history lesson, with newspaper articles, biographical sketches, beautiful train of thought prose poems, and, in the midst of it all, fictional but brutally realistic characters who each experience the times through a unique set of eyes.

Since I have read this book it has become one of my favorites, and there are few titles with more meaning to me than _U.S.A_.

It is intersting to note that at the time that this book was written, Dos Passos was a frevent socialist/communist. By the time of his death, he had renounced the communist idealogies for a more conservatine viewpoint.

Although, the fictional prose is simplistic and the dialogue somewhat cliched, a powerful story is told. The world is seen through the eyes of several ordinary citizens, all with different backgrounds and from different classes. The characters lives interwave through important world events such as labor unrest, Mexican revolution, World War 1, and the Russian Revolution.

Interwoven throughout the fiction are snippets that attempt to educate the reader. The 'Camera Eye' passages are newspaper headlines and attempt to capture the mood of the day. There are sections of Dos Passos's own thoughts of the day, some of them written as Dos Passos as a child might have seen them. My favorite sections were the short autobiographies of important citizens- among them Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Eugene Debs, Woodrow Wilsoon, and Emma Goldberg.

If you are lookiong for a passionate or suspenseful fictional story, this is not the book for you. But if you are intersted in history, especially American History, this book is excellent in capturing the mood of first third of the 20th century.

Although Wendy seems a little prim, she is sweet and motherly. John was offhand and brave, Michael was tiny and believing. My favourite character was, however, Peter. The author really outdid himself on this one. Peter's innocent cockiness and love for dangerous adventures endeared him to me at once. He still has all his first teeth, and his first laugh - what more could we ask of him? His frightful happiness in danger reminds me of my seven-year-old self.

The book retains a magical quality right up to the last page. The midnight scene where Peter coaxes them out of the window has always stood out in my mind; there is a kind of magic in an ever-young boy, small and innocently cocky and always up to some mischief. The ending of the book is very sad, for only those who are gay and young and light-hearted can fly.

Definitely a book worth reading. Adults, trust me on this one: you might think you're too old to read this book, but once you do you'll find that a piece of Neverland still resides in your heart.