The final story in the ATLAN SAGA has many differences from the rset - Cija's daughter, not Cija, narrates it. This time around we have a five-year-old narrator, who manages to be more cynical and insightful than her rather innocent mother, and this offers a whole new angle on the Atlan Saga. The old characters return but they learn their lessons, some in rather memorable ways. The destruction of Atlan is moving and beautiful as is Cija's "rebirth". However, while the first three books in the series were pretty shocking, this one breaks the mold. There are some rather unsavoury moments. While the characters are excellent, there are some flaws- no mention is made of Cija's foster family, by all logic, Judz the Atlantean should have died with his country and again Cija forgets friends from previous installments somewhat, including the father of her third child. But all in all, this book puts a fresh twist on an artistically brilliant series. You are not a serious collector of fantasy titles if you don't have these books!

In this, the last of the books of the Atlan Saga, the reader gains a clearer perspective on Cija's wild adventures. Through the eyes of Cija's mute daughter Seka, we follow Cija through yet more and wilder blunders and triumphs. Brilliant and clearsighted Seka's tale is poignant and believable, and always gripping. Loaded with the same shocking detail as all the books in the Saga, this one manages somehow to be even better.

An interval of roughly 10 years between "the City" and this book - with a real cliffhanger ending to "the City" - presents a challenge to the author and the reader. I'm a real Cija fan from way back and "SSL" doesn't disappoint. Plenty of action, adventure - and sex. As told through the eyes of Cija's mute and most-observant daughter Seka. The Atlan Saga stands alone in fantasy. No other heroine fascinates like Cija, and Gaskell's style is peerless.

There are calendars and then there are Calendars. The art works by Boris Vallejo and Julie Bell are exceptional. Each month is set out with it's own mythology story and picture. The centre fold is a full length picture. This calendar is a must to own and definitely worth displaying for all you friends and family to admire; so make sure it is the focal point in your home.

The illustrations are great, is a show of hands. It's a lavish extravagance of color and virtuosism but the human figures appear to be posing very much as if they were ready for a photo session, and that lack of spontaneity. And if you like painting things like that you will find a -what to do guide in those artworks. A wild calendar!

The final battle is about to commence!

Lokith returns for revenge against Bloodsong and Guthrun. He is to pave the way for the Goddess of Death, Hel, to overtake the Earth.

By the sides of Bloodsong and Guthrun, remain the Freya-Witch (Huld), the shape-shifting Berserkers, and some ex-slave/warriors. However, to win this final battle Bloodsong must accept her shape-shifting abilities, just as Guthrun must risk using the newly awakened Hel-power within herself, without losing their true selves. ONLY THEN could they reach the lair of an ancient army that waits for Bloodsong to awaken them. Then they would have the chance to send Hel back to Hell!

*** An awesome conclusion to an extra ordinary trilogy! These books are "Keepers" to be read many times over! Author, C. Dean Andersson, has proven his skill for weaving magical stories of unforgettable characters. Highly recommended! ***

The final battle is about to commence!

Lokith returns for revenge against Bloodsong and Guthrun. He is to pave the way for the Goddess of Death, Hel, to overtake the Earth.

By the sides of Bloodsong and Guthrun, remain the Freya-Witch (Huld), the shape-shifting Berserkers, and some ex-slave/warriors. However, to win this final battle Bloodsong must accept her shape-shifting abilities, just as Guthrun must risk using the newly awakened Hel-power within herself, without losing their true selves. ONLY THEN could they reach the lair of an ancient army that waits for Bloodsong to awaken them. Then they would have the chance to send Hel back to Hell!

*** An awesome conclusion to an extra ordinary trilogy! These books are "Keepers" to be read many times over! Author, C. Dean Andersson, has proven his skill for weaving magical stories of unforgettable characters. Highly recommended! ***

As a professional illustrator and fan of the brothers Hildebrandt I was pleased this book was made. Since my purchase of this book I studied it carefully from cover to cover and it's contents are well worth the cost of the book. Although the book isn't written by Hildebrandt himself it's full of good information on how Tim Hildebrandt works. I recommend this book to artist's of all levels of experience due to it's technical info and to fans of fantasy and sci-fi art as well for it's entertainment value.

Boris Vallejo is one of the best artists who can create and depict fantasy art like no one else. I really believe that if someone is not turned on to fantasy art and they recieve a chance to look at the contents of Mirage they will be a fan at the least. This is my favorite book out of his collection and I like to look it over before I work on my drawings and paintings of women. It helps me focus on what I am trying to create and what I want to create. Buy this book you will not regret it.

Boris Vallejo, to me, is an exceptional artist. He is also my first inspirational artist. At school, I had seen his images but never knew directly anything about Boris. So, I went and found some information and as soon as I discovered the many books on his art, I made it my business to try and get them all. Mirage is truely a beautiful part of my collection. The images of the women embracing demons, in seductive poses and their fleshy vibrancy really make this book attractive. At the start of the book, which I found helpful with my drawing, are graceful images drawn in pencil. Delicate particles of graphite sculpted to create beautiful images. What makes Boris a great artist is his ability to see, not just to view a body in 2D but to see all the angular parts of the body. This is best demonstrated in his shading and the way he captivates light illuminating the body. This book also contains erotic landscapes, and I say erotic because they clearly depict forms of an erotic and sexual nature. The text pieces accompanying the images are abstract but they do add to the mystery and interpretations of each and every picture. If you are a collector of art books or anything to do with the fantasy art genre, I would honestly recommend this as a book to have, simply because of the depictions, the colour and because it's Boris, Boris at his best. Look for the washing image and the soapy bubbles and the woman's rear!---Magnificent and realistic.

For many years now Boris Vallejo has been at the top of my favourite artists, no other painter comes close (perhaps Michael Whelan?). A collection of erotic fantasy paintings from a time when Vallejo was at his best. A must for any budding fantasy artist (like myself!).

As the mother of an autistic son, we have had a great deal of difficulty in getting him to enjoy reading. He doesn't understand a great many words, but has a few "subjects" he really enjoys. Star Wars,Episode 1 is one of them. This book has been a real find that he loves! I am getting more of them, as they don't "talk down" to kids, really explain the movie in detail, and help kids understand many things (in life, as well as the movie!) better. We are really looking forward to the next Star Wars movie this summer- as well as the books that will follow it!

DANGERS OF THE CORE takes a section of the movie 'Phantom Menace' and, step by step, breaks down the action that flies by so quickly on the big screen. This makes it easy for children to follow. The excitement starts with the first sentence and never lets up!

The illustrations are expressive and dramatic; nicely done.

DANGERS teaches children to respect all living beings. Qui-Gon Jinn is the epitome of patience (especially with Jar Jar!), and remains calm, steady and in control even in the midst of danger. Excellent life lessons for children!

Another plus: The story doesn't 'talk down' to children. It assumes an appropriate level of maturity and intelligence.

I'd take off half a star because Jar Jar's speech is impossible for some children to understand when reading the book on their own.

Nevertheless, all the children to whom I read DANGERS OF THE CORE just loved it! And with such a variety of characters and emotions, it's fun to read out loud, too.

Highly recommended for children as well as old fogeys who are young at heart!

"Dangers of the Core" is a great beginning reader, especially for a boy. The book carefully summarizes the underwater chase from the Episode 1 movie into easy-to-read language that captures a boy's attention. I have had trouble finding interesting early readers that my son will read; but when we found this book, he would not put it down. He read it TWICE in the first day--without prompting! Thank you for sparking his interest in reading!

Vallejo's techniqe is awe-inspiring and really very simple. He does a rough sketch, poses his models, takes pictures, and composes a finished drawing. He transfers this to a canvas, does an acrylic wash for the lights and darks, then adds colors with oils.
And that's it!
Well, he makes it look that easy, anyway. Vallejo let's you in on the medium he uses right down to the fast-drying ordorless turp used by housepainters. This book really disects the methods of an icon of fantasy artwork.

Thanks, Boris

WOW! i have been a fan of his work since 1985 . He is the greatest artist ive ever seen . I was proud to have one of his works from his 1985 calender tatood on my belly. I WANT MORE !

Boris Vallejo's renderings of the human figure are unmistakeable. The way he uses paint to depict a 3-dimensional form on a 2-dimensional surface is amazing. The work is so life-like. (And in many cases, erotic.)

I liked reading about Vallejo's humble beginnings, where we see samples of his early, unpublished work. It was also a relief to know that even this master of the figure uses photographs. Contrary to many student's belief, it is not "cheating". To make his point, Vallejo is convinced that if the Old Masters had had access to photography, they would certainly have preferred to use that rather than rely on a model who gets bored, tired, etc. Vallejo uses both the model and the photograph.

In addition to advice about colour, tone, light, and how to "see", we are also taken through some step-by-step paintings, to show how the image is gradually built. Advice about portfolios comes at the end.

I have a board game called "Hero Quest", a sword-and-sorcery type adventure. The painting on the box looks like it was done by Vallejo, but I couldn't find his signiature. The colours and brushwork looked like his. The main figure was a Conan-type character swinging his sword. If you read Vallejo's "Fantasy Art Techniques" there is a good chance you will also paint like this eventually.

Titans mainly covers the art Boris Vallejo and Julie Bell produced for the Marvel Masterworks trasing card series in the mid-80's, with a few covers and misc. art thrown in for good measure. While it's nice to see the art at a larger size, the limited variety of poses gets old after a while. Boris and Julie use each other as models, so most of the faces look alike; The ones that don't look like them are based on bodybuilders, so the female characters have a very hard look to them, facially speaking. The colors are gorgeous, though. The real problem with the book is the text, by Nigel Suckling, who manages to live up to the first syllable of his last name. The book is riddled with spelling errors (Ogum, instead of Ogun), characters have the wrong names attatched to their paintings (Mariko and Yukio's names are transposed, as well as Yukio being called by the wrong name). The text passages show that Suckling didn't bother to get more than a passing familiarity with the comic characters; He describes Spider-Man as being bumbling...? His passages about Boris & Julie's views on time-travel & Geography are hilariously bad.

Titans is a nice book for fans of Boris & Julie; I would have liked more information on their techniques, and their opinions of the pieces, though. Anything to save me from Suckling's turgid prose....

I didn't buy this book for the big names of Boris Vallejo and Julie Bell. I bought this book because of the art of the comic book characters. I have been extremely pleased with my purchase.

This book is a collection of some of the most breathtaking art images of comic book characters. Most of the pictures are of Vallejo and Bell's work on Marvel and DC's masterpiece trading card collections. There are also some miscellaneous art pieces added, but these are also of the comic character nature. Since the pictures are much larger, you can appreciate the detail much better than anything you'd see on a little trading card.

The book is bound well, with thick high gloss pages. Most of the pictures are accompanied with a brief description by Vallejo or Bell. The book is also split into chapters to try and give a logical order to the collection.

Titans is a must for any comic book enthusiast as the art brings much more life to the characters. I would imagine that this would be a good book for any Vallejo or Bell fan as well. However, I have not seen much of their work outside of comic paintings. So, I cannot speak much on the comparative aspects here.

Titans provides original paintings of superheroes from Marvel Comics, gathering the complete collection of these artists' paintings under one cover. Fans of either the artists or Marvel Comic scenes will consider this indispensable for a fantasy collection; packed with full-color and full-page fantasy images in all their drama. Highly recommended: a fine gift choice.

If you know a little about mythology it will be interesting to read about the same tales in the point of view of the goddesses. I liked the story from the eyes of the gorgons epsecially. But if you are looking for a great collection of art by Boris Vallejo, I suggest getting yourself "Mirage" or "Fantasy Art Techniques". "Ladies" only has about 10 colored paintings and maybe 20 pencil drawings. The paintings aren't nearly as beautiful as in his other books. (but you may like them more if you are interested in mythology) Many of the figures have big 80's-looking hair that just doesn't look good. (as do several figures in "Dreams")They do not look well-planned. But if you are a fan of Boris Vallejo, you should get this book to add to your collection.

I love fantasy books of any kind and this was a book I thoroughly enjoyed

This book has magnificent drawings and paintings and the stories are well-written. Definitely a choice for Vallejo fans as it is a good sampling of his ability. "Deianira" is my favorite for sure, and the reader will find Persephone, Gorgon, Ariadne, Coronis, Medea, Circe, Eurydice, Arachne, and Pandora. Some consider Vallejo's drawings sexist, but I consider them to be symbolic of the beauty and complexity of women, and that is true in the fantasy world as well as reality.