I had never read one of Dickens book before Nicholas Nickleby, though I had always wanted to. I particularly enjoyed this book because of Dicken's subtle sense of humor and colorful characters. It was easy to hate the villains such as Squeers or Ralph Nickleby, and laugh at the amusing chracters of Mr. Mantalini and John Brody(whom I found to be the funniest) Authenticity of personality and speech allows you to connect with the various chracters. Although he was probably the least complex, my favorite was Smike, the pitiful victim of the Yorkshire schools of the 1800s.
The one drawback was the size of this book. Dickens spent much time giving detail of many places and people (and did a good job of it), but we must draw the line somewhere. Just when one thinks enough words have been spent on one topic, it diverges into yet another irrevelant matter.
I'd recommend this book to almost anyone, unless you have a great fear of commitment. But the book has plenty of plot and satire to hold you to the end. I certainly was, but I don't think my librarian would believe me.

Nicholas Nickleby is a marvelous novel. It is the young Dickens at his best. I almost feel guilty for giving it four stars, but giving it five would be unfair, I think, because his later works, such as Great Expectations, are bettter. The novel is written enthusiastically and contains some of Dickens' best humor. I especially found funny the character Mr.Lillyvick, the revered and dignified water clerk. And I will never forget Ralph Nickleby. Mr.Squeers and Arthur Gride were detestable and colorful villains, but they pale before Ralph Nickleby. He is such a cold and heartless character that he steals nearly every scene he is in. He has a certain magnetism that most of Dickens' good characters lack. And his suicide at the novel's end is so perfectly written that I read over it several times before I finished the novel. My only problem with the book was Nicholas's lack of psychology, but let us remember that this was written by a young man, not the mature artist of Great Expectations and Our Mutual Friend. The novel's strengths easily make up for its weaknesses. Nicholas Nickleby will be enjoyed by fans of Dickens and all other readers for centuries to come.

"Nicholas Nickleby" is one of the best works of Charles Dickens overall. This novel is about the brave adventures of Nicholas, his sister Kate and their mother. The story begins at about the time Nicholas's father dies and the family has to encounter the struggle of life with no imminent prospects of fortune. At this time they make an appeal to the brother of Nicholas's father, Mr.Ralph Nickleby. From this point on, the parallel developments of the honest Nickleby family and their villanous uncle begin to unfold. With many twists and turns the story is as captivating as any of the author's best books. The tale is characteristically filled with the Dickinsian people such as Mr.Vincent Crummles and his family, in particular the "phenomenon", Arthur Gride, Newman Noggs and others. Overall, this book is a pleasure to read and I recommend it to anyone who is interested in good story-telling.

This book could have been entertaining reading if the writer had only stuck to the story line. It was diverting the way the book hopscotched here there and everywhere.

This is a good example of the old adage, "You can't tell a book by it's cover". At first glance the reader might expect a lusty romantic novel, but instead Mr. Nicastro's novel of John Paul Jones is a pleasant and memorable read, the kind of prose one likes to savor in large doses. He sets his tale up in France at the turn of the 18th Century, using the characters and the vernacular language to put the reader in the tone of the times. As the events of the American Revolution and the early exploits of our hero unfold, using now the present day vernacular, this reader was captivated by the stories. They were at once easy to follow and very often quite witty and clever. Without giving the entire novel away, let me say that fictitious characters blend so well with the real people and the real events blend so well with the humorous interpretations that one would like to believe that every detail was, in fact, true. The story, and the writing of it, is so good that I hope we shall have a sequel to enjoy for next summer's favorite book of the season!

Gripped by the flawed bravado of John Paul Jones, I was further pulled in by the book's clever framing device--a bet that revolves around a potential menage a trois. Nicholas Nicastro delivers an amusing historical tale that takes the reader in directions one would never expect from a book about America's first naval hero. Though the author presents the virtues of his character he seems to take greater relish presenting the character's flaws--a tactic that only adds to the reader's enjoyment while giving flesh and blood to an, up-until-now, dusty figure in American Revolutionary lore.

Forget about high school history books that describes Jones in one paragraph with the inevitable quote "I have not yet begun to fight." Did he actually say this? Who cares seems to be Nicastro's answer as he departs from this tired question, and doesn't even bother with that particular battle, when it was supposedly stated. Nicastro instead takes us into lesser known, choppier waters--more day to day battles that Jones fought as an imperious gnat leading an almost non-existent American navy against the powerful seafaring British. Jones's incursions against the Brits, as amusingly described in this book, amount to strange, even funny, misadventures.

The book also gets into Jones's post-war hobnobbing in France with such dignitaries as a very randy Benjamin Franklin.

As a lover of history and very human adventures I was only disappointed that the book wasn't longer. This fan waits with excitement for Nicastro's second book. If the author actually reads these, he should know that he's building a fan base.

People in my line of work (that is, teachers and critics of literature) seem to be paying more attention to "The Sea Gull" these days, but my money is still on "The Cherry Orchard" as favorite Chekhov play. Dover's incomparably priced edition lacks a little in the readability of the translation, but it's still a nice version of a powerful piece of work.

For me, the real strength of "The Cherry Orchard" is its unwillingness to come down propagandistically on one side of any issue. The intellectual and eternal student Trophimof levels a critique against capitalism, but one must bear in mind that it is capitalism that engineers the upward rise of the erstwhile peasant (and now landowner) Lopakhin (and, in the context of this play's being labeled a "comedy," I think Chekhov codes this rise as a conditionally good thing). Trophimof in fact seems to be granted a great deal of authority by the play, as he complains about the lazy intelligentsia and the useless aristocracy, but, sure enough, not wanting to make things too simple or simplistic, Chekhov has Madame Ranevsky put him in his place. If this is a commentary on turn-of-the-century Russian society and politics (and I think we must read it as such), it is a very balanced, multi-perspectival and complex one.

Even the criticism of the play's upper classes--the focus on Gayef's irrational obsession with billiards or Pishtchik's naive assumption that, when he is in the deepest of financial troubles, something will always come along to bail him out--is delicately balanced against the workaholic insensitivity of Lopakhin, who leaves Varya Ranevsky stranded at the play's end and expecting a proposal of marriage from him that is hinted at but never comes. What Chekhov seems to be supporting is not, perhaps, Trophimof's over-intellectualized and propaganda-like insistence on work, or Lopakhin's materialistic actual obsession with work, but maybe a revaluation of the priorities that have led to social divisions and the problematic reactions to them.

One crucial translation hitch appears early on, as Gayef passionately addresses a cupboard and praises it for holding, for so many years, wisdom and knowledge and the keys to social betterment. All other translations I have consulted have rendered this "cupboard" as a "bookshelf," and, to be honest, that makes a lot more sense, in context. Other issues of readability (or the slight lack thereof) in this Dover edition are best seen in comparison to Hingley's imminently readable and enjoyable Oxford UP translation and edition, which, to my mind, remains the standard. This Dover edition's dialogue is occasionally stilted and impenetrable.

Still, though, for the price, this copy of "The Cherry Orchard" is unbeatable. It's an impressive and provocative play, and even more so when one is reminded of its original context. It's problematic, of course, to pin events to each other and argue for direct influence, but I have a hard time seeing the workers' uprisings in Russia during the winter of 1905-06 as completely unrelated from this play's release in 1904, which set many of these still vital issues into motion in a very productive way.

Anton chekhov's "the cherry orchard" is a captivating, but somewhat confusing tale of an aristocratic household that comes face to face with adversity. His impressionistic portrayal of characters delivers a power packed package of meaning that both appeals to and appalls every human heart. Through a subtle messages and powerful passages chekhov purveys his sentiments about a world that is tainted by a dark cloud of selfishness. Although the play itself is tragic-like the characters are not tragic. They seem to blindly stumble upon the pages of life accomplishing absolutely nothing. Through checkhov's genius they still remain human, with dreams and fears like the rest of us. It is through these characters that chekhov's beliefs are made known.

Anton Chekhov's play "The Cherry Orchard" has been published as part of the Dover Thrift Edition series (that's the version I read before writing this review). No translator is credited for this edition. According to the note at the start of the book, the play was initially presented by the Moscow Art Theatre in 1904.

The play takes place on the estate of Madame Ranevsky, the matriarch of an aristocratic Russian family that has fallen on financial hard times. She faces the possible loss of her family's magnificent cherry orchard.

The play is populated with interesting characters: Lopakhin, a wealthy neighbor whose father was the serf of Madame Ranevsky's father; Firs, an aged servant who longs for the "old days"; Trophimof, a student with lofty ideas; and more. There is a great deal of conflict among the characters.

"The Cherry Orchard" is about people dealing with very personal conflicts and crises while larger socioeconomic changes are going on around them. The orchard of the title is a memorable image that is well handled by Chekhov. The play contains some really effective dialogue, such as old Firs' reflection on the apparently lost art of making dried cherries. This is definitely one classic play that remains compelling.

Bones of the Earth, Spirit of the Land: The Sculpture of John Van Alstine will be of interest to working artists, as well as to all readers with an interest in contemporary art and the process of turning ideas into visual form. An extensive collection of color photographs (images of sculptures supplemented by drawings and landscape photographs, a less well-known aspect of his work) documents the evolution of Van Alstine's stone sculpture, from a smooth, polished Modernism to the aesthetic of raw, unfinished stone favored by Noguchi and the land-based Postminimalist strategies of Richard Serra. In the 1970s, he began assembling unworked stones, adding wood and metal to create works that respond to the landscape and allude to a narrative impulse beyond the rigors of form. His later works continue to synthesize stone and metal (the signature of Van Alstine's sculptural vocabulary), now throwing found objects, such as a fuel tank and anchor, into the mix. These recent sculptures move from a response to the landscape to an exploration of humanity's relation to the land through forms that evoke tools, vessels, and transport. The introductory essay by Nick Capasso reinforces the story told by the photographs, discussing the sculptures, public art commissions, and works on paper. Here we learn of Van Alstine's early memories of stone and his various personal experiences of the landscape-whether in the Adirondack Mountains of his childhood or in Laramie, Wyoming, where he taught in the '70s. Capasso provides a succinct and informative discussion, guided by the principle that for Van Alstine "stone is everything," and shows an acute sensitivity to the artist's feeling for his chosen materials and the nuanced changes in their treatment over the years. Van Alstine also has the opportunity to speak for himself in an interview with Glenn Harper, Editor of Sculpture magazine. (Another version of the interview appeared in the May 2000 issue of Sculpture.) In this illuminating discussion of materials, process, and content, the artist identifies key technical realizations and pivotal conceptual leaps behind the changes in his work. Harper draws out several fascinating explanations of the layered meanings underlying the abstractions and found objects in Sledge (1992) and Ara (1989). Bones of the Earth as a whole gives a detailed portrait of an artist committed to his materials, his craft, and his place in the real landscape. Its pages reveal Van Alstine's unique mediation between, in Capasso's words, "image, object, and place."

I used this book for a term paper and it was quite useful. It is insightful because it delves into why books are banned. I recommend this to anyone interested in the topic, however this books is VERY thorough.....read a few times!

Iannuzi has written a well organized book filled with practical advice. Although most of what he says is very good, he does make a few false steps on the way. For example, he counsels too much reliance on the judge in handling a recalcitrant witness. Most judges I've been before feel that you ought to be able to control a witness without judicial intervention.

Iannuzi's suggestions for note taking during direct examination provide a workable methodology for the fledgling advocate. users of this system will likely get writer's cramp, however. Because my handwriting is horrible, I abandoned Iannuzi's system long ago for the system espoused by Stern in "Trying Cases to Win: Cross Examination." For those who are computer literate, a laptop or notebook PC makes Iannuzi's system much more workable.

The Loop is the first book I've read by Nicholas Evans and it won't be the last. His description of Hope (the characters and the setting itself) made the reader feel totally engrossed in the story. Each character was extremely well developed and had a necessary place in the story (which is something I often criticize other authors for not doing). The momentum of the storyline is a little slow through the middle but once the novel picks up memomentum, it doesn't disappoint! Very interesting subject matter (you can understand how both sides of the coin could feel very strongly about the wolves and their place in the community) but also light and entertaining (I loved Helen's relationship with her family and her own descriptions of herself. She very was humble from the first person narrative even though other narratives described her as very attractive and well respected by her colleagues). VERY SATISFYING READ!

I enjoyed reading THE LOOP. It was interesting to find out about the behavior and family structure of wolves, which I consider beautiful creatures. The portrayal of animals in general and the adventures that occur in daily forest life were very descriptive and vivid -- almost to the point of being disturbing -- illustrating what lengths animals must go to in order to survive.

However, the characters were one-dimensional and predictable stereotypes. And I wish that writers did not feel that they always have to include romance in a story order to make it more interesting. It was kind of silly, and I think the two lovers would have been more realistically portrayed as friends or co-workers.

The writer obviously favored the environmentalists, and presented the ranchers as ignorant and aggressive lunatics. The ending was disappointing as well. Again, it was not realistic. I won't give it away, but I would have ended it differently.

But -- overall, I would recommend this book. It was an interesting and enjoyable read.

Do the words "The Horse Whisperer" remind you of Nicholas Evans? Ah yes, I see you nodding your head. Did you read the book or maybe see the movie? Both were excellent and his newest book "The Loop" is no exception. Once more Evans has masterfully portrayed the savageness and beauty of the human spirit at the same time making us treasure the magnificence of nature that surrounds us.

The small western town of Hope, Montana thrives on the cattle ranchers that inhabit the area. When wolf biologist, Helen Ross comes to town due to claims of wolves attacking children and cattle, she almost gets more than she bargained for. Buck Calder proves to be a worthwhile adversary as she struggles to prove the innocence of the wolves and keep the town from shooting them all. With a population of about 519 wolf haters, it's not an easy task convincing these people the motives behind the actions of these animals.

This is an excellent book and a seamless read. The slow beginning is a clever disguise for a fast-paced riveting novel that you won't be able to put down until you finish it. This is definitely a book that will make you laugh and cry alternately every moment until the very end.

John maeda is not a designer. He wishes he was, and he makes every effort and spares nothing to achieve the recognition that he is more than just a mere computer technitian having a craze for graphic play.
But it is apparent from this oversized and bloated book that his real talent lies in programming, and the vast majority of the works desplayed (hundreds and hundreds of them, most of them repetative versions of several original ideas)are computer genertaed graphics with (mostly) no regard for composition , and lacking the most basic elements that any serious graphic designer pays attention to. Most of what we see are endless ,intricate textures produced by the click of a button. Where is the designer in this process? The potential of this kind of intricate imagery is clear, and there is no doubt that if Maeda would collaborate with a true designer, the results will be stunning. But they are not. seen one - seen them all.

I hate to be the one to go against the other reviews, but I had to with this one. I just didnt see why people liked the book. I found the designs to be very techy and old school...mostly examples of what computer design used to encompass. I wasnt inspired by any of the work in the this HUGE book. If you want cutting edge inspiration, look elsewhere.

Easily my favorite book I've read this year, Maeda @ Media is a sumptuously-produced chronicle of Maeda's work, printed on three kinds of stock and using a metallic ink in addition to CMYK. Believe it or not, Maeda even designed the software used to publish his book! A real, DIY kind of guy.

My favorite section so far is his pictorial documentation of the tofu-making process from his childhood--I found it to be a very telling and poignant introduction to his work.

I also love the care and thought he put into designing the edges of the pages in the final brown paper section. It was more than just a visual essay on squares, as each page helped to spell out the words along the cut edges of the paper. It made me appreciate the composition of the individual pages even more because their existence as a design had been assigned a purpose and meaning. No longer were they just images, but they were part of a greater visual system. Logic and beauty coexist harmoniously here. It's wonderfully inspiring: a real treat for both the eyes and the mind.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and was very impressed with it. I checked it out from the library to read it but I'm definitely buying a copy for myself. First of all, it was just a well written and entertaining book. Some scenes were hilarious while others were postively heartbreaking. Secondly, I found it to be very true to the spirit of Doyle's stories and to his Holmes and Watson. I felt that Meyer did an excellent job with Holmes' character. Holmes was slightly different from what he was in the canon but I felt that this could have been how Doyle would have written Holmes had he ever chosen to write a story such as this. Meyer also had Holmes and Watson's relationship down to perfection. I loved how he seemed to realize how important Watson was to Holmes. The deductions in the book were also very good. Most of them were worthy of Sir Arthur himself. I also liked Meyer's footnotes. I thought they were cool. What I loved most about the book though was that I got the strong impression that it was written out of a love for the canon and not out of a love for the money. The book appeared to have been written by someone who had read and re-read the canon and not by someone who was getting all their information from the Basil Rathbone movies.

I should add that the book does deviate from the canon so I have to advise caution if you're a purist. The book gives a different explanation for the Great Hiatus and Moriarty isn't portrayed as Doyle wrote him. I can understand how some people could have a problem with this. I admit that I did too at first. But I don't anymore. Although I love Doyle's Holmes stories, I realize that they are not perfect. They are not without their faults and contradictions and I feel that those who love the canon the most are the ones who will try to correct the faults and explain away the contradictions. And I felt that that was the reason for the book's deviation from the canon. So I would highly recommend it unless you just can't tolerate a deviation from Doyle's work.

THE SEVEN-PER-CENT SOLUTION is a story unparalleled in the annals of criminal detection. Discovered in Hampshire, England, where it had lain neglected since 1939, then painstakingly researched and annotated for two years by editor Nicholas Meyer, THE SEVEN-PER-CENT SOLUTION marks the first publication of a heretofore unknown and astounding episode in the career of Sherlock Holmes as recorded by his closest friend and chronicler, Dr. John H. Watson.

Even more remarkable than the historic discovery of Watson's transcript are the revelations it contains concerning the real identity of the heinous Professor Moriarity, the dark secret shared by Sherlock and brother Mycroft Holmes, and the detective's true whereabouts and activities during the Great Hiatus when the world believed him dead.

Most astounding of all, THE SEVEN-PER-CENT SOLUTION details the events that led to the meeting in Vienna of the world's two most brilliant investigators and their collaboration on a sensational case of diabolic conspiracy.

John Hamish Watson was born in England in 1847. After a childhood spent abroad, he returned in 1872 and enrolled in the University of London Medical School, where he took his degree six years later. After finishing the course at Netley prescribed for Army surgeons, he was attached to the Fifth Northumberland Fusiliers and sent to India. Severly wounded by a Jezail bullet at the Battle of Maiwand during the Second Afghan War, in 1880, he returned to England, his health ruined, with no specific plans other than to live as best he could on his Army pension. In January of the following year, quite by accident, he met Sherlock Holmes, who was then looking for someone to share his lodgings. The ensuing friendship, which lasted until Holmes' death found Watson his niche as the great detective's biographer through more than sixty cases. In his spare time he resumed the practice of medicine. In 1889 he married Mary Morstan. He died in Britain in 1940.

First, the review from "henry@coombs.anu.edu.au" contains several mistakes. Lestrade does not appear in "The Valley Of Fear", and that story is a prequel to "The Adventure Of The Final Problem". Second, it is probable that Watson altered events in FP in order that it would appear as though it was his first look at Moriarty, since it was the reader's as well. By "Valley Of Fear", readers know who it is, so it is unnecessary to do the same thing. Watson has plainly stated that he altered facts to make stories suitable for the reading public. Third, there is no "official" Holmes continuity. You accept what you, the reader, wish to accept. Nothing more. I disagree with his thoughts on the later Doyle stories, but that is a matter of opinion.

That said, this is a great book which does what Doyle never bothered to do; make the narrative an intense character study where we find out some of the deepest corners of Holmes' mind. This is Sherlock Holmes at it's best, filled with splendid characterization and a cunning mystery. The drama is this story is incredible; Holmes' confrontation with Sigmund Freud is heartstopping, and his moments of weakness are heartbreaking. There are also many nice touches that warm a reader's heart, like examining Watson and his wife, Mary Morstan, and her references to "brandy and soda" and calling him "Jack".

The mystery is also quite good, and appears halfway through the book (but does not forget to deal with Holmes' addiction). There are moments of high drama and action which are integrated nicely and paced swiftly. Holmes' deductions are excellent and well thought out.

If you have ever felt that Doyle's stories lacked emotional investment for the reader, then this is the book to read.

Doyle was an excellent writer, but he did not truly understand what a wonderful character he had created in Sherlock Holmes. He saw him as merely a calculating machine, perhaps never noticing the hidden passion that he placed within the character; the kindness and heart within Holmes.

But Nicholas Meyer did.

And he displayed it in a novel that was a bestseller, that led to a feature film, and revitalized Holmes in the late twentieth century. With creators like these, with people that care so deeply about him, Sherlock Holmes will survive for another hundred years.

Final notes. Meyer is the director of several movies, including the movie adaptation of this novel, and a few Star Trek movies.

This book does have it's mistakes, and one is that if Moriarty is what he is in this novel, then "Final Problem", "Empty House" and "Valley Of Fear" are lies that slander an innocent, if annoying man.

Ten years ago, Harding failed to protect a young girl from her sexually abusive father. He went after the man and revenge ended up costing him one-and-a-half years in prison, not to mention his private investigator's license. Nowadays, he does work on the side for his old friend, Donnie Wilson. The case Harding is presently working on consists of getting the goods on one Dr. Stephen Rosenberg, whose wife, Elenya, is looking for a divorce and possibly access to the supposedly two million dollars hidden in a Swiss Bank account. Dr. Rosenberg is an adulterer to the tenth degree. He not only cheats on his wife with other women, but with men as well, getting heavily into S&M and other forms of kinky sex. It doesn't take Harding long to get the pictures that will insure Elenya an easy divorce and a nice settlement. The only problem is that someone else is after the good doctor...someone so despicably evil that he makes the Rosenberg's escapades look like a day at a church picnic. This monster, for want of a better word, calls himself Gaelen, and he is gruesomely killing everyone Rosenberg has been sexually involved with in an effort to set the doctor up for murder. When Harding starts getting too close to what is going on, Gaelen comes after him and his tough kickboxing partner, Alison. After a couple of encounters with this creature, one of which puts Alison in the hospital, Harding, who isn't an easy man to scare, knows that he is going to have to put this demon from Hell down the hard way, even if he has to drive a stake through his heart. Harding will also have to figure out why Gaelen is so interested Dr. Rosenberg and his wife, Elenya, and what the hidden agendas are. THIS FAR, NO FURTHER by John Wessel demonstrates what top quality writing is about. The reader is not a bystander on this journey through the gritty side of Chicago and into the heart of unthinkable evil, but rather a participant. You will literally feel the depraved evil of Gaelen and understand why the fear it generates in our hero makes Harding a more dangerous adversary. Mr. Wessel lets us know that a person never entirely escapes their past, and for Harding, it must come full circle. As he attempts to keep himself, Alison, and the Rosenbergs alive, Harding has to eventually face the results of a passed action, and in doing so, perhaps find redemption for his failure to live up to his own expectations. Few authors are able to write such a compelling novel on their first try out, but John Wessel succeeds wonderfully in THIS FAR, NO FURTHER. Its darkness will remind you of the earlier "Burke" novels by Andrew Vachss and the later "Matthew Scudder" books by Lawrence Block. Buy this book, read it, and then pick up the second novel in the "Harding" series, PRETTY BALLERINA. After that, you going to have pray like I'm doing, that John Wessel will to write more books.

John Wessel's _This Far, No Further_, introduces us to an ex-PI named Harding.

Though he no longer holds a license (because of a sequence of events which are gradually filled in during the course of the book), Harding still does some occasional work for his friend Donnie, an old friend from his Chicago neighborhood who now works in a corporate security office.

As the book opens, Harding is tracking Dr. Stephen Rosenberg, a plastic surgeon, who has some decidedly unsavory sexual practices and preys on the nurses and students at the University of Chicago hospital. Rosenberg's wife, Elenya, is getting tired of the physical abuse she must sustain at her husband's hands and is looking for a way to divorce him.

This decidedly simple premise sets in motion a very complicated chain of events and gruesome murders, which, ultimately, I don't think, was ever satisfactorily solved. When I came to the end, I still had a lot of unanswered questions.

Still, the book was very good in its depiction of winter in Chicago; of the post-graduate hangers-on around campus, including Harding's friend, Boone; and of the unusual relationship Harding has with his former girlfriend, Allison, a woman into Goth and kick-boxing, and who now appears to be a lesbian. Harding is a memorable creation--a very well-educated, moral, romantic detective who loves horror movies. I wouldn't mind spending more time with him, though I hope subsequent books aren't as complicated.

Those who dislike a very dark, grim, at times even grotesque read, will be turned off by this book.

I've read all three of John Wessel's books about Harding, the ex-con PI. All three have kept me up late nights, reading "just one more chapter." I can't put these books down! This Far, No Further is the first book in the trio, Pretty Ballerina is the second, and its latest (but hopefully not last!) installment is Kiss It Goodbye. All three books are fast-paced, loaded with action, and are damn good mysteries that will keep you scratching your head until the end. Harding's cynical world view leads to some hilarious observances, but this guy's no slouch as a PI; he never misses a trick. Well, almost never. His girfriend, Alison, is equally intriguing as a kick-[butt] femme who keeps Harding on his toes and watches his back. She could give Xena a run for her money! All in all, the characters and the stories in John Wessels' novels a well-worth the price of admission. Wonderful books, all!