January 8, 2003: Finished listening to this on the way to work today. It ends with a gentle insult that cracked me up. Otherwise, I think I would recommend reading this over listening to this. I think it would go faster, and the conversations would be easier to follow. This particular reader is advertised as having a golden voice; not on my system, he didn't.

A man, Paul, was injured in college. Some number of fellow students felt responsible and guilty enough to undertake some degree of lifetime support (more or less) of him. He was not always fond of this. Some 20 or 30 years later, some of those fellow students begin dying, and later evidence indicates to the remaining that Paul has killed them.

Straightforward (in as much as any of them are) mystery with the twist that you don't know whether the deaths are, in fact, murders--and some may be, some may not be, there may or may not be more, and Paul himself may or may not have been the murderer. I liked that; it presented complications. Some other events (data) laid forth drew me to really basic conclusions ... which were wrong. But appropriately wrong: I had missed something or not been devious enough in my thinking. I had concluded on too little evidence, maybe. I liked that, too.

A hazing accident at a Harvard dormitory leaves a young man hopelessly crippled. The 35 men responsible for the injury form a League of Atonement to help support their victim. Eventually the victim discovers he has great literary ability and becomes a lionized author. All his books have as their theme the murder of various characters modeled after various members of the League of Atonement. The victim has become a Literary Avenger. Then one member dies violently at a reunion while in close proximity to the Literary Avenger. The survivors receive an anonymous poem suggesting the Literary Avenger has become a literal avenger. Another dies of poisoning shortly after a meeting with the Avenger. Another group of poems goes out. A third disappears without a trace. Another anonymous poem goes out to the League. They have transmogrified from the League of Atonement to the League of Frightened Men.

They consult with Nero Wolfe, and he undertakes to relieve their fears for an obscene fee. Wolfe feels that all he needs is the answers to three questions and he can corkscrew a confession out of the Literary Avenger. Before Wolfe can pull it off, his target gets himself arrested for the murder of a fourth member of the League, and it looks like an open and shut case. Wolfe stands to lose his fee. If the Avenger gets electrocuted for the fourth murder, the League won't owe him a cent.

Archie Goodwin, Wolfe's confidential assistant, sees the problem quite simply. All Wolfe has to do is exonerate the Literary Avenger in the fourth murder and get confessions to the first three. The pair of detectives travels a complex path to achieve Archie's simple solution. Archie gets poisoned, Wolfe gets kidnapped, and it all culminates in one of the most Machiavellian maneuvers ever to spring from Wolfe's fertile imagination.

Obviously a masterpiece of the genre.

The sample questions at the end of chapters and the exam prep questions on CD are NOTHING like the actual exams. They provide no help. I found numerous factual errors in these books. Many questions on the real exam could not be answered even using the book as a reference. Do not count on these books as your primary study guide or source of information.

These books are very well written, making them easy to read and understand. The content layout is well layed out with reference to the exam objectives, making it easy to see exactly what is required for the exam. The content I found to be sufficient for the exam but they do have minor bits of information missing. The practice exams usually identified these bits of information to me, so overall I consider the content to be adequate. The practice exams were a valuable aid in preparation for the exam, and were not too far away from what the real exam is like. These books are far better than the Sybex books that I used for the elective exams (they too have information missing). The Sybex books were difficult to understand and each exam objective was not clearly explained.

This book covers all aspects of the NT side of the MCSE quite well. It is written in a clear style and comes with lots of labs and exercises.

This book is useful but is sometimes puzzling.

Some of the definitions are simply wrong, in fact some are so far off that you will wonder if Andre-Driussi perhaps is referring to a condensed, abridged, and slightly altered version of the series. Some very minor terms and characters mentioned in passing only once in the series are described here in some detail, while some important terms, places, and incidents integral to the storyline (such as the Torturer's Guild/Order of the Seekers for Truth and Penitence, to which Severian belonged) are not listed at all.

Many of the definitions are, well, stretched. This book would be less than half the current size if you threw out all of the example sentences. For instead of just giving the definition, pronunciation and etymology of the listed term, the entry in many cases also gives the full sentence (from the book) in which the word was used. This is not necessary, since the entry also pinpoints the book, chapter, and page in which the term was used in the first place. Takes up a lot of space.

Still, this book will save you from browsing through stacks of dictionaries looking for that obscure term.

The definition will not always identify what language the word is, but the careful reader can soon learn to tell if it's Greek, Latin, French, or Spanish (as most of the "foreign" words here are). Some terms are defined in detail; they contain many examples of the word (and sentences/book excerpts), with real historical anecdotes, mythological references, hypotheses, comments, and squiggly line drawings. Some entries are short and abrupt: "marge: margin. (IV, chapter 13, 86)". Sometimes there is no definition at all; all you get for the entry is the sentence the word is in, and the location of the word. I found that rather odd. In some entries, more emphasis is given to explaining the mythological or historical figure rather than the book character (Wolfe named a lot of his characters after saints and Biblical characters).

Naturally, this book is full of spoilers. If you aren't at least halfway though the New Sun series, be very careful using Lexicon Urthus!

This book has been useful to me, but it's also full of stick-um notes and corrections I had to add myself. It didn't quite do Wolfe's masterpiece justice.

This book is really only for serious fans of Gene Wolfe. But if you fit that description, you should own this book. Lexicon Urthus is a brilliantly executed dictionary of Wolfe's Urth of the New Sun books. It includes not only definitions of all of the odd and wonderful words that Wolfe uses so well, but also entries for major characters and concepts of the series. Not only is the lexicon a good guide to Wolfe's world, but it is also a great treat to browse through at random. Even though I have read the New Sun books more than once, I still find new insights in Andre-Driussi's work.

Ghost stories, in spite of their association with tales of terror (almost any scary tale told around a campfire is referred to as a "ghost story"), have lost much of their luster in the days since Poe and LeFanu. With the occasional exception of a work like Shirley Jackson's The Haunting or Stephen King's The Shining , few modern ghost and haunting stories are scary, and even fewer, frankly, are good. Peter Crowther, in his latest anthology, Taps and Sighs , has assembled a host of top-notch authors to reinvent the ghost story, and for the most part, he has succeeded.

Most of the authors in this anthology recognize that ghosts aren't that frightening in this day and age, so instead of an anthology of half-rate horror, this is actually a mixture of subtle horror and mythic fiction. Richard Christian Matheson and Michael Marshall Smith set the tone with the opening tales. Matheson's "City of Dreams" is a tale of horror, not because anything nasty happens to the protagonist, but because the best of intentions lead to true tragedy. And Smith's "Charms" is a touching (but not sentimental) tale of urban fantasy that could fit well among Charles de Lint's Newford tales.

Speaking of de Lint, he provides one of the two most pleasant surprises in the collection, as his "The Words that Remain," a twist on a classic urban legend, not only is sweet, but is a rare Newford tale that doesn't require the reader to be familiar with ten years of backstory. Setting the tale outside of Newford, and getting rid of the alternating first and third-person narration that had bogged down so many previous Newford tales has led to the most enjoyable de Lint story in ages.

The other surprise is Ray Garton's "The Homeless Couple," quite possibly the best piece of fiction Garton has ever written. Like de Lint, Garton's ending is utterly predictable, but the road he takes in getting there, and the parallel tragic lives of the protagonist (who morphs, over the course of 20 pages, from an unsympathetic archetype into a truly sympathetic hero). Garton, normally one of the best at telling novels of terror, makes a wonderful shift this time.

The actual tales of terror in this collection are no less impressive. The always-amazing Graham Joyce, in "Candia," provides his own nasty little tale of folks trapped in their own personal hells. Ian McDonald and Mark Morris take the same twist in two different, but equally horrific, directions. And Terry Lamsley's "His Very Own Spatchen" is a fun little tribute to the classic DC House of Mystery comics.

The cream of the horror crop is Gene Wolfe's "The Walking Sticks," a tale that presents as untrustworthy a narrator as in any Edgar Allan Poe tale. Wolfe's tale nicely mixes personal madness with ancient hauntings. Like Garton's story, expect to find this one reprinted in any number of "Year's Best" collections next year.

There are a few stumbling blocks. The McDonald and Morris stories, given their similarities, really should have been placed far apart, not next to each other. Ramsey Campbell's "Return Journey" is almost deliberately bad (the only horror being the reading experience itself), and Poppy Z. Brite's "Nailed," although completely readable, simply fails to break any new ground (a bit of a disappointment from such a consistently groundbreaking author). Still, Crowther (who contributes a very nice story with Tracy Knight) has assembled some great authors, and Taps and Sighs , added to his earlier Touch Wood and Dante's Disciples , establishes Crowther as one of today's top editors.

In Douglas E. Winter's introduction, he qoutes a poem about the sounds a ghost makes...tappin and sighing, hence the title. Like nearly all anthologies their are some good stories, some bad stories, some horrible stories and, gratefully, some top of the line stories. This collection is about 25% of each. The bad and horrible stories, however are outweighed by the good and great ones.

I found that I championed the more Twilight Zone/trick ending stories over the more experimental ones. An example of this is Thomas F. Monteleone's contribution, "The Prisoner's Tale, versus Graham Joyce's "Candia". Monteleone excellently delivers a straight ahead tale of one prisoner's chance at freedom. Joyce just delivers a confusing nonlateral tale of deja vu.

Poppy Z. Brite shows why she is a favorite among the horror sect in "Nailed". A revenge tale with some voodoo thrown in is precise and perfectly laid out and ended. In Ramsey Campbell's "Return Journey", we get a time travelling train that is convuluted and unclear.

Graham Masterton gives us a look at what happens to the past if you dare forget it in the terrific, "Spirits of the Age". ; scary as well as thought-provoking is Ray Garton's "The Homeless Couple" where a man who ignores cries for help from people in need in turns needs help. Ed Gorman's "Ghosts" is a tale of caution about reprucussions.

All in all a recommended collection of differring takes on ghost mythology.

This past spring, Dr. Michael Wolfe-a United Methodist minister in the South Carolina Conference-published his first book entitled: The Abundant Life Prevails-religious traditions of Saint Helena Island. Having earned his doctorate in historical theology from the University of Virginia and spent over two years in research, Wolfe demonstrates remarkable expertise in his analysis of the faith-community that developed on the island and its subsequent impact on the world outside. While other writers have focused primarily on the unique linguistic culture of the islands off the Carolina coast known as Gulla, this book proves to be the first to deal exclusively with the religious tradition represented there. Saint Helena island is located off of the southern end of South Carolina's coast-line. Able to trace its history back to the native Americans and the early Spanish explorers, Saint Helana soon became the home of plantation owners and the hundreds of African slaves who labored there. This all changed, however, during the Civil War as Union naval ships set sail for Charleston and the surrounding areas, liberating all Confedrate-held property. Within a matter of months, and with the aid of Northern missionaries, Saint Helena island entered into the phase of its life that would soon prove to be its most famous (and useful). It is into this arena that Wolfe begins that history. Overall, I thought this book to be a solid, well-documented work that disspelled many of the myths that have arisen and been proposed by other writers about this time period and region (specifically, concerning the motive of the islander's religious practices and the amount of influence the island had during the civil rights movement and the origin of its concern). Going to great lengths to "back-up" his proposals, Wolfe demonstrates (through historical accounts and first-person interviews) the true origins of the religious life that arose on the island and which contributed so much to the islander's education and the island's influence. Covering over a century of history, this book deals with everything from the islander's faith, to the educational model the Penn School came to represent, to the island's critical role in the civil-rights movement during the 1960's. It cannot be over-stated how much of a disproportional impact Saint Helena island is shown to have made on the world outside of it. Stepping out into unventured territory, The Abundant Life Prevails lives up to its name as it beautifully demonstrates what the faith of a people can accomplish amidst oppression, poverty, calamity, and isolation. It is a lesson begun a hundred years ago on a remote island and one that can still be learned today.

This book can be a major help for those who suffer from heartburn and acid reflux disease. It covers the causes, symptoms, available treatments, and strategies for living with reflux disease.

Clear explanations are provided are provided for the problems that you suffer from, and the side effects such as chronic bronchitis. The book also covers tactics for living with reflux.

For most members of ITCOMS, this was their first experience reading fantasy. Some members had trouble following the names of the reincarnates. All of us felt the descriptions were awesome!! Ebony skinned Thor with the sky blue hair. The creatures could be visualized without the illustrations. We did feel the target audience was teens and young adults.

The book is well written and it is a easy read.

After first skimming through this book, I was impressed with the content and planning order. After reading the book in its entirety, Kathy and Mike has done an exceptional job at helping the home buyer to prepare for the tedious journey of homebuilding. For their efforts, I am sincere. However, because I purchased an electronic copy of the book, I would have liked for the content to be more organized. Utilizing MS Word 97 style features would make it easier to navigate through the document. Lastly, because the book is packed with so much information you walk away with a to-do list. Nevertheless the book has 17 pages of detail specification sheets to complete. It would have been nice to for Kathy and Mike to write a simple to-do's list, one that I could have checked off as I went along. The book suggest how to convert the specification sheet into spreadsheet format, but I guess I'm lazy and don't want to spend the time. It is apparent that Mike nor Kathy is fluent in MS Word 97, but I don't want to minimize their efforts on that fact. At least the content was solid as a rock and just what I was looking for.

This book was boring, reading it i got the impression it was an altered storyline to fit hte current civil rights movement of hte time. Wolfe was more annoying than usual and Archie more arrgravatingly natty. Even Fritz's usually neutral character got me down when reading this. If you are new to Nero Wolfe i would recommend starting with a lighter story, like maybe Some Buried Caesar.

Written during the height of the Civil Rights movement, it shows that even the classics are sometimes a part of their times. Stout usually transcends time and place by the exacting nature of his plotting and the smooth flow of his prose. He, however, wasn't content to rest on his laurels alone (although had he done so there would have been no recriminations); Stout wasn't afraid to take on the subjects of the day, from McCarthy in the 50s to the racial biogotry displayed here. Stout realized that people were not buying a Nero Wolfe book to get a treatise on civil rights, however, and the point that he makes about it is integral to the story but is not the story itself. I think that's the difference between good fiction and didacticism. So many authors lose sight of the ultimate purpose of fiction on their way to the altar of moral rectitude. Science fiction is particularly guilty of this sin--poorly conceiled political agendas under ill-drawn alien or future societies. And the stuff that gets published is nothing compared to what you might read in a workshop. I can write this because I am guilty of this particular problem, both in stories that have seen print and ones currently in slush piles across the world. It's a beginner's mistake that even hardended professionals find hard to shake. The pressure to make art is always with us; realizing that art is something that can't be forced, that must come naturally, is never easy. Sometimes it is just best to relax and view how the masters like Stout approached the same chasm, and note how they were able to bridge it.

A beautiful young debutante joins the civil rights movement and falls in love with a co-worker. They plan to marry. He is black, she is white. Today this would present no great problem. In 1964, such a marriage was unlawful in many states and unthinkable in most of the others. The young man's father employs Nero Wolfe to "dig up some dirt" on the girl so that he can use it to talk his son out of "ruining his life."

While Wolfe plays muckraker the girl gets herself killed and her fiance discovers her body. In the wake of the discovery he manages to act guilty enough to get himself arrested. Despite the incriminating circumstantial evidence, his innocence is obvious to everyone except the police.

Wolfe undertakes to find the real killer, and discovers that almost every single member of the civil rights group had motive, means, and opportunity to kill the girl. One of the group even volunteers to confess to the murder to save the young man.

Wolfe keeps Archie and Saul Panzer hopping as they run down leads and try to sort through the tangle of evidence, and of course they come out the other side of the maze with a surprising and satisfying solution.

I've taken a Windows 95 course and studied this book prior to taking the 070-064 Exam. This book had very little in it to prepare me for the exam which I failed. This book needs to be retired and a new one written to prepare you for the new Windows 95 Exam.

This book is a wonderful book. I used it as a supplement to 3 years experience as well as a course and the MOC. I passed the exam on the first try with a large margin. I attribute this book with alleviating stress and assisting me technologically. This was my first MS Exam and this book also did a great job telling me what to expect and how to prepare.

The reviews on this book seem to vary greatly. What can I say? I scored a 918 on the exam after using this book and a tiny bit of detailed info from the Resource kit. I use NO Novell networking at work and my test was 90% Novell networking questions so I have to give the book credit.