forbidden doors just isnt what it used to be. when i read the gaurdian a year ago i thought it was so cool, but now its changed drastically. the curse wasnt suspenceful or scary. the characters come across as wooden and dont act like normal teenagers.not to mention, the climax was entirely copied off the gaurdian!
im an advanced reader and i was very disappointed with this book. i used to love reading about ryan and becca and their adventures. but this book reminded me of the goosebumps books i used to like. if you like real thrillers, stay away from this book.

This is the coolest book!... I love it. It really honors God and it teached you about things that happen every day. Things that you might not think could ever happen to you, but they could. This is a great book if you are a teen or a pre-teen. I'm 13, and I think that this series rules!...

I am 10 years old and Bill Myers is really good. I recemend Forbidden Doors to any advanced reader or any teenager who likes books.

good combtion of histrocal fiction and sicne fiction, time travel in one book. the stroy is good to your really feel from and understand tom.

The teen book club at the neighborhood branch of our city library system chose The Grave for the February book -- but I was the only one who showed up for the discussion!

What was the book about? Well, the construction of a new school is no secret, but something the builders find is. Tom and Brian decide to check it out. What they learn is extraordinary: the excavation site is a grave with hundreds of coffins! When a guard discovers the youths and comes running, they begin to flee the gruesome site, but Tom stumbles into the grave. The next thing he knows, he's flying through time back to 1847, back to the Irish Potato Famine.

Well written, suspenseful historical novel that teaches as it entertains.

~ JFS

I found this book to be amzingly well written and the characters were built carefully and slowly. I am 12 and found this book to be one of the best I've read! WONDERFUL BOOK! You'll never be able to put it down so quickly order it now and read the best book of your life!

When Baron Soontir Fel, the greatest pilot of the Imperial forces, is captured by the Rebels, he tells all in the confines of an interrogation cell to Wedge Antilles, the greatest pilot of the Rebellion - also his brother-in-law.

Stackpole brilliantly shows the past carrer of Fel in the Imperial Navy, how he met Syal Antilles, Wedge's sister, and how it comes to be that Fel defects to the Rebels.

The story falls short in the cofusing final third, however. Not much happens and what does happen is very jumbled and not thought through. Then again, Stackpole isn't exactly the Master of the Hidden Plot. But it is well worth its cost in dollars in the first two-thirds; after all, I bought it.

'Blood & Honor' is basically two stories in one, including dramatically different art teams, so I'll do my best.

The first part, 'The Making of Baron Fel', is definitely one of the most unique pieces of SW ever assembled. Picking up right where 'In the Empire's Service' ended, Baron Fel is in Rebel hands and through the interrogation chair reveals his life in service to the Empire in a mix of narration and flashbacks that could only be achieved in comic book format. Fel's story is indeed a compelling one and does the rare feat of presenting a clear philosophical case against the Empire.

It has also been both praised and criticized for its extensive use of cameos. I, for one, will do some praising, as it does help to tie the SW galaxy together. Appearances by people such as Tarkin, Thrawn, Derricote, Isard, and so forth are key to the story, while people like Post ('Family Ties')and Turr Phennir ('In the Empire's Service') serve to tie together pieces of Fel's life and the over all XWRS story.

The art by Steve Crespo is good, with well-done people and a good amount of realism. The spacecraft, while reasonably detailed, are nowhere near those of John Nadeau and his wizardry with technology. The whole thing, for better or for worse, has a rather crisp look to it, as opposed to the very dirty style of Gary Erksine.

The slightly longer second part, 'Family Ties' is a little of a letdown. The art has little detail and the movement isn't very fluid either. The story itself is alright, a bit of a nice breakaway after 'In the Empire's Service'. It opens in the aftermath of the Brentaal Campaign, where General Salm gives a little eulogy for the dead Aggressors and Rogues. Following is Fel's introduction to the rogues and greeting that is not too kind. Then Wedge send Plourr, Hobbie, and Janson to Corellia on a mission that takes up the rest of the story. The appearance by Kirtan Loor was a nice touch, enhanced even more so when Corran Horn and Iella Wessiri from Stackpole's novels take on roles as co-stars.

'Family Ties' was colored by Perry McNamee instead of the usual David Nestelle, and, call me spoiled, but it shows. One particular scene, if you read the dialogue, takes place at night, but you couldn't tell that by simply looking at it.

Overall, its is a key link to the rest of the series and is recommended for that and because of the very interesting look into the Empire provided by 'The Making of Baron Fel.'

Blood and Honor, the follow-up story to "In the Empire's Service," is comprised actually of two stories, not just one. The first, "The Making of Baron Fel," is quite possibly the best X-wing comic ever. It was released on the stands as a special 48-page issue, and is quite outstanding. The second story is the 2-issue "Family Ties," which often vies for a position as the worst of the Rogue Squadron stories. Although these stories conclude some of the plots from the previous comic, they incidentally also pretty much completely drop the "Rise of Isard" story, leaving that to continue in the next Rogue Squadron story.

The Making of Baron Fel is simply an outstanding comic. Basically it is, as the cover implies, the life story of the Empire's greatest pilot. It is told by Fel as he sits in a Rebel interrogation room, and really takes the guy from "Imperial pilot extraordinaire" to one of the most sympathetic characters to show up in the Star Wars mythos. The art suits the story perfectly, and we get to see a ton of familiar faces. There are cameos by Isard, Derricote, Thrawn, and Hal Horn, as well as a bunch of Rebels before they defected from the Empire. This comic also gives us a good look at how truly corrupted the Empire was, and why so many people were so willing to serve under it. There are also several surprises, including the identity of Fel's wife, as well as Fel's offer to the Rebels. This comic alone is worth the cover price of Blood and Honor.

Unfortunately, Family Ties does not fare so well. Janson, Hobbie and Plourr (shouldn't she be back on Eiattu by now?) go on a mission to Corellia to ensure the safety of Baron Fel's family. Along the way they bump into a few familiar faces (including Corran Horn and Iella Wessiri in their CorSec days, as well as their Imperial liaison and nemesis, Kirtan Loor), as well as a few old enemies of Fel's. I didn't mind the art style, except that the characters were changed. Plourr was never before a buxom, spandex-wearing type, and Horn's X-wing as well as Horn himself and several other characters were also somewhat butchered. There were a couple funny running jokes, but no particularly wonderful dialogue, and there was only one space battle, thrown in at the end almost obligatorily, and then only to show off Corran's skills in a fighter so that the Rogue could make some jokes about how he'd never be a Rogue.

The Making of Baron Fel was exceedingly good and definitely worth reading. Family Ties was not. I definitely recommend this comic for the one, if not the other.

The contents' probably great, but what happened to the cover of the book? Did Young & Bernbach over-squeezed their "creativities" and left the cover of this book out cold? Wake up guys...bright yellow is a definite NO-NO for a book cover...leave the "neons" for Las Vegas...!!

How to Get Ideas and other books on the subject of creative thinking are mainly just elaborations on the core thoughts laid down by James Webb Young. This is a classic read; short, pointed, and truthful. If you are in the business, you will find your hunches confirmed in simple, memorable language. The other books on the subject are very rah-rah; this book just tells it like it is. Not a self-help book, more like an instruction manual for your brain.

without giving too much away, the "technique" is so darn commonsensical you will no doubt whack yourself on the head at the simplicity of it all

i have tried his technique and shared it with close friends and it has become (so far) a fail proof way of striking creative oil. won us a fair amount of new business.

another plus is the book so small and concise it fits in most purses and can be read cover-to-cover during your morning latte.

I thought the story of the book was really quite good but it definitely needed something more. More than likely, some editing. Also, it felt like he was trying to rush everything. I think he could have probably made this a 400 page novel instead of a 200 page kid's book.

Reviewer: Middleschool student
Wish Me Luck by James Heneghan.
Jamie lives in Liverpool during World War 2. During the first year of the war there were no air-raids or nothing, so kids and adults started ignoring the war, until one night when the war struck to close to home. Jamie's parents decided to send him to Canada on a boat along with the new kid, Beeker.
On the boat a Navy escort for protection followed them from the U-boats. When the Navy Escort left, Jamie and Bleeker knew they were in danger. That night the boat was bombed, and Jamie and Bleeker were in for the most horrible night of their lives.
Exciting and suspenseful. James Heneghan's creative writing makes you feel like your there. I recommend this book to eight graders and up because it's a little hard to understand sometimes and has bad language.

This is one of my favorite novels to date. The story is that a 12 year old boy is deppressed that he has to leave his parents and England behind, he makes friends and has to endure the teasing of a bully who is in the same cabin as him. However they do not know that the ship they are on will be sunk by a U-boat and that of the 100 kids abord only 14 will survive. Will they be among them? This is a gripping novel with a facinating look at life on a ship and at home from a kids point of view. This book has everything, suspense,horror,religion,and even some romance. The chapter on the sinking is very gripping and exciting. The only complaint I had was that there was not more coverage of the hospital ship and there were a few inapropriate scenes for anyone under 12. Otherwise its excelent.

The Good: Gripping story, excititing sinking sequences, good look at life during WWII

The bad: little coverage of the hospital ship

And the ugly: some inapropriate moments involving naughty bits.

A marvelous, if brief look at four military institutions in the South before and during the War for Southern Independence. At times bittersweet, Conrad does an excellent job of telling this tale. A nice side-bar addition to anyone's Civil War library, particularly those of interest in the Confederacy.

excellent book! I would have liked to have seen the author delve into several more of the cadets' lives, but what's there is great.

Excellent book. Conrad did his homework before putting pen to paper in writing this book. His knowledge of the subject, and his passion for telling the story of the confederate cadets at war, comes through loud and clear.

In brief, the following book tends back the pro-choice movement with cheap opinionated evidence of science. It attempts to supersede Gods law, and replace it with mans law. Additionally, the book conveys a grave an immoral message to its readers.Contrary to natural law, it states that by petty scientific proof, society can determine whether a fetus is human or not. Obviously, this book chooses to disregard Gods message-"It is immoral to produce HUMAN embyros intended for exploitation as disposable biological material". Not only is it futile to misinterpet the above, but it is simply a crime for pro-murderous writers to generate wimpy, relitivistic propoganda intended to distort the human race.

Morowitz and Trefil (M&T I shall call them), two teachers at Geo Mason Univ started this short monograph as a friend of the court brief for one of the many abortion cases to reach the Supreme Court, so that the justices might have scientifically accurate and factual information to work with in some of their decisions. When Justice O'Connor made her famous statement to the effect that Roe v. Wade was a decision which was being overtaken by scientific advances in neonatology which were making survival of ever more immature infants possible, she did not have available reliable information of the sort M&T have put forth in this small gem of a book. I have been involved in providing abortion in my Ob/Gyn practice for a very long time and have made a serious and ongoing effort to educate both the public and my medical colleagues about the abortion controversy since 1984. One of the most difficult things for the average layperson, and even for physicians, to get a handle on has been exactly why 24 weeks gestational age of the fetus should make such a difference in the abortion debate. M&T have done everyone except for the militant anti-abortion fundamentalists a tremendous service by bringing together most of the scientific knowledge which bears on fetal development as it pertains to the higher functons of the central nervous system and newborn survival. As they state in the introduction to The Facts of Life, while the two sides in the abortion controversy will never admit to the validity of the conclusions drawn by the other side, we should at least have accurate information upon which to draw those conclusions. Morowitz and Trefil had done us a true service by providing much valuable information. wfh

I see that a conservative Christian discovered the book, or this reference to it, and was afraid of what they encountered. Unfortunately for him, or her, this book is valuable precisely because it reveals the gaping fallacies in the antiabortion argument, and how its so-called "natural law" theory falls afoul of empirical verification of embryological development, which they always selectively cite. Pro-choice readers, buy this book!! I

I read the story "Summer of Love" by Annette Curtis Klause. I thought it was a really good short story. I like this story because it is funny and I think vampires are cool because they are wicked. I thought is was sad because Simon was alone until he meets a cat. Then when the cat died he was alone again.:( Other kids in my class think the story is sad, but they liked it too. :(

This book is so moving, especially if you are somone who has just lost someone you love, like a parent or grandparent or even a pet.In a way the book lets you know that it happens to everyone and it shows it from several differnt points of view. which lets you see how other people deal with some of the same losses teens go through today. I loved this book,I hope more people enjoy this as much as i did.

This book makes for a good read. it has theraupitc ways of dealing with death, loss, and ways of finding hope.

I found the writing to be excellent and the story flow to be very compelling. However, I did feel that the illustrations left much to be desired. Very crude drawings with very little artistic appeal. I feel that when one purchases a graphic novel like this, it is as much for the story line as the art work. The stories are wonderful, the art work is very lacking.

Because I'm a huge fan of Spike, I knew that I had to find a copy of this rare graphic. I'm very glad that I did. It contains 3 reprinted stories, and 1 original story.

ALL'S FAIR- takes place during the World's Fair of 1933. The story follows Spike and Dru as they maim. Slash, and slay their way through the glitter and lights of the Fair. They also encounter hideous demons from another dimension and highly skilled assassins out for blood.

THE QUEEN OF HEARTS- As the pair travel to Sunnydale to be near the Hellmouth, the star-crossed lovers stop in St. Louis to do a bit of gambling and cause major mayhem on a riverboat casino. But, their blissful vacation is cut short by river demons.

PAINT THE TOWN RED- this story takes place shortly after Spike and Dru leave Sunnydale at the end of Buffy's second season. Dru's renewed love for Angel drives a wedge between the lovers. The end result is both of them trying to hurt the other as much as possible- which is a whole lot! With James Marsters helping with the writing, and Ryan Sook's artwork, this is by far the best story of all four.

WHO MADE WHO- tells the tale of Spike and Dru's final break up in Brazil. This is an epilog to Buffy's season three episode " Lover's Walk".

The only downside to this graphic is the artwork. Highly stylized, it's a deterant to fans who like Spike for his rugged good looks.

Still, if you like Buffy, Dru, or Spike and can find a copy of this graphic, than by all means buy it!

Spike has gradually become one of the most popular figures in the Slayer world. A hopeless romantic when alive he managed to cross over to the dark side with his capacity for love intact. His loyalty to Drusilla, who made him, was remarkable considering Dru's own flighty nature. Of course, his complex relationship with Buffy once again showed us a Spike who can be stubbornly in love despite every possible roadblock.

Dru of course, is the mad mistress. Psychically hypersensitive and more than a little kinky, her relationship with Spike actually lasted for a very long time. Her beauty is hard to define and her mind is, well, let us just say she is a bit distracted. Sometimes it is hard to see what the two lovers saw in each other, other than Spike's willing compliance with Dru's every wish. Certainly, as Spike developed more independence, the relationship between the two deteriorated.

This trade paperback collects the contents of three Spike and Dru comics, two from 1999 and the other from the end of 2000. In addition, there is a short from the "Lover's Walk" comic issued in 2001. The stories run from the Chicago World's Fair in 1933 to a more contemporary Carnivale in Brazil. During this journey, we will learn much about what makes our anti-heroes tick.

"All's Fair" takes a short flashback to China and the Boxer Rebellion and then jumps forward to the Chicago Fair. Spike and Dru treat the fair as a giant delicatessen until they run into some characters bent on vengeance from their past and a demon who wants to make earth its home.

To open "The Queen of Hearts" the lovers eat an entire topless bar and then move on to a riverboat casino. No one seems to have warned Spike that winning too much draws the wrong kind of attention - in spades.

In "Paint the Town" Spike is so frustrated with Drusilla's obsession with Angel. He ends the relationship in a fiery blaze and heads of for Turkey for a prolonged escape. Unexpectedly Dru tracks him down with a new friend in tow - a necromancer. She wants to get even, but before long, everyone is in trouble.

The final story, "Who Made Who," is a short finds the newly made up lovers in Brazil. However, Dru's attention once again wanders and Spike spoils the party.

I don't care all that much for the pencil work in these stories. Two were done by Eric Powell and the other two are by Ryan Sook. The work isn't bad, just a little to simplified and roughed in for my tastes. Since Sook has become quite well known, I am probably in the minority. Regardless of the artwork, the stories are all excellent, Chris Golden doing the lion's share on all of them. Certainly, any Spike fan will find this required reading.

Although the basic priciples of logic are presented in a clear and orderly manner, this otherwise well-written text is marred by its overtly Christian agenda. A large percentage of the statements used as examples within the text are biblically derived. The secular student is not likely to have sufficient familiarity with these biblical references to judge whether a given statement is accurate or inaccurate (something the author seems to take for granted). Additionally, and most importantly, matters of faith are, by definition, beyond reason and logic and are therefore incompatible with the aims of a logic text. How is a secular student to judge the "truth value" of a statement such as, "Jesus healed the blind," or "The Bible is the word of God?"

This workbook is designed to teach logic, and to do it from an unapologetically Christian slant. Chocked full of easy-to-understand lessons, each section ends with one (and sometimes two) exercises. This book is well designed, and should be considered by anyone interested in teaching his or her children formal logic.

My one and only complaint against this book is that the exercises do not include an answer page. But, I found the exercises easy enough that I could do my own correcting. So, I must say that I found this to be a great book and an excellent tool. I highly recommend it.

In a day where feelings are often thought to be more important than truth, Christians need to be prepared. This book begins that process. Taking the basics of formal logic from a Christian perspective, this Mars Hill text is easy to use and is suited for ages 13+. The explanation of concepts is done adequately, and the review exercises are helpful in mastering each lesson. There is also a book on intermediate logic to supplement the ideas learned in this introduction. This book has been written for Christians, so non-Christians may have a different opinion on its quality than I do. However, I would highly recommend this book to anyone wishing to begin learning formal logic.