Can anyone explain to me what the motivation of the central character was? For some reason we are supposed to believe that some kind of bond exists between Cat and Lucius but the nature of this bond is never explained. Why are they drawn to each other?
Supposedly suprising plot developments are seen coming a mile away. (Guess who else is a werewolf?) And the attempts at humor in the tabloid headlines interspersed throughout the book are groaningly awful. Lastly, the climax degenerates into a gory, splatterpunk-wannabe bloodfest. The reviews for this one led to me expect so much more.

On the plus side, the story moves along at a swift pace and the dialogue is well written and witty (the thudding attempts at humor aside.). I would just like to have seen the characters fleshed out a little more and the plot strengthened.

I know that creating a novel is hard work. I'll give Cacek credit there. But I'd really like to know what makes the central character in any novel tick. No explanation is given here and I suppose we are just expected to ignore that and get lost in all the bloodletting. If you want to read the real thing, try S.P. Somtow's "Moon Dance." (Curiously enough, Cacek cites that vastly superior novel on the Acknowledgement page.)

To sum it up, I just couldn't connect with this novel. There is an obvious setup for a sequel and I'll hope for better things. It does appear that Cacek has the chops. It just didn't come together on this one.

Tabloid reporter meets real werewolf. What's not to like with that, especially since the story is punctuated with tabloid story titles highlighting important scenes. This is a quick and interesting read. I think that I'd cut the character of Cat a little more slack than some of the other reviewers because, when you think about it, she found herself in some really weird circumstances. Some readers might be bothered by the graphic violence and incestuous relationships (but hey, they're lycanthropes not humans). My problem with this book was the ending. Throughout the whole book, Lucius seems to have some sort of mystical connection with Cat, saving her and pursuing her. The basis for this is never really explained, but it had to be more than her being a you-know-what in heat (which I'm just surmising here, because that was never mentioned). Yet at the end of the book his personality changes completely, and I don't think that the character development that led up to this justifies it. Here's hoping there'll be a sequel (since threads were definitely left hanging) that'll resolve some of my questions. Even having said all this, if you're a werewolf/paranormal genre fan, this book is definitely worth reading.

Although I agree with some of the other reviewers about this book being a bit graphic on the werewolf attacks, they fit with the story. I enjoyed the tongue in cheek humor used by the author when her main character, Cat Moselle keeps seeing headlines from her paper as the events are happening to her. I will be looking forward to a sequel, as the author ended the story with that expectation. One thing I did find interesting that I didn't notice mentioned by the other reviewers, was the idea of diffences-weremen & werewolves-also the family interaction was interesting because it was more like animals. Anyway, I enjoyed it & would recommend it for anyone looking for a dfferent type of werewolf story.

Blood Stone is the second book in Michael Allegretto's now abandoned series about Denver P I Jacob Lomax.It helps if you have read the series opener Death on the Rocks but even without having done so there is much enjoyment to be derived from the book which stands up well in its own right.
Lomax is approached by a fellow investigator,the down at heels Fontaine,who some 20 years earlier was chief investigator for an insurance company that took a bath when five million dollars worth of antique jewellery were stolen,and he was unable to trace the jewels.Fired by the company he has spiralled down in the world but insists to Lomax that he knows how to locate the jewels and asks for assistance which is not forthcoming.Fontaine is then murdered and Lomax assaulted and his office turned over.
The man thought to have masterminded the robbery,Soames,is released from prison and Lomax takes on the job of locating a man named Meachum who has threatened to kill Soames blaming him for the death of his brother, His client is Helen,a friend of Soames and he soons falls head over heels for her
Matters get complicated when Meacham is shot dead and Lomax is set up on a murder charge by Lieutenant Dalrymple who scarcely troubles to conceal his loathing for Lomax
Before the case is resolved Lomax is shot at ,assaulted,left to rot in an abandoned mine shaft in the mountains ,and finds out the perfidious ways of the women in the case.There are run ins with murderous native Americans,the Two Hawks clan,and shoot outs aplenty to keep the plot churning over nicely
It is a very traditional PI tale and Lomax himself is akin to characters like Marlowe,Walker and Archer .He is an ex-cop,a widower,with the ability to deliver snappy one liners and well able to take care of himself in a tight corner
The book breaks no new ground but traditional ingredients are assembled with enough smoothness to let us know why the series gleaned an Edgar on original publication
Private eye novel readers are urged to track down the book and others by Allegretto,which remind us that even below the very top of the genre tree there is still alot of good material awaiting rediscovery.

Noel's study of the saloon in Denver treads the line between being a rather parochial local history and a more analytical social history. He includes everything that you need to know about saloon ownership, local politics, and drinking habits, but does so without stressing existing historiography. This absence makes the book a quick and entertaining read, but there's little sense of how Denver compares to other cities. The book is very good at what it does, but what it does is limited. If you want a fun book on drinking in Denver, this book is more than adequate, but if you are looking for a more scholarly approach read Roy Rosenzweig's Eight Hours for What We Will.

Given free rein to investigate anything about the company, its operations, finances, and history, Athearn uncovered some interesting tidbits. Although sponsored by the D&RGW, this book is an unbiased review of the legal wrangles which shaped the railroad, as well as of the operational practices which twice led it into -and out of-bankruptcy. A bit heavy on the intricacies of court documentation and testimony at the many hearings, "Rebel" still imparts the entrepreneurial spirit which created the Palmer road, as well as the pioneering attitudes which ensured the Slim Gauge would become an institution into the late 1960s.

I met Kate Allen at the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival. I bought all the books which were available and had her autograph them. I read them by year of copyright. This was the first. I love Kate's writing. Excellent plot construction and character development. This particular one I had problems staying with. It had too many minor subplots going on. I still love a good mystery.

This was once THE John Denver songbook to have back in the day (1970s). It contains the following hits:

Follow Me
Leaving On A Jet Plane
Poems, Prayers and Promises
Rhymes And Reasons
Sunshine On My Shoulders
Take Me Home, Country Roads

...and 17 other (lesser-known) songs by Denver.

Obviously, later hits (e.g. Annie's Song; Calypso; Fly Away, For Baby (For Bobby); I'm Sorry; Looking for Space; Some Days Are Diamonds and Starwood In Aspen) are not included here.

This book is out-of-print. You may be able to find it used if you are only looking for one or two of Denver's songs, or if you are on a budget.

"John Denver Anthology" [ISBN 0895249111] is a more complete and up-to-date collection of John Denver's songs and Amazon offers it at a great price.

Expecting a book about John Denver and his interests, I received a dismal collection of unimportant personal recollections, some of which hardly had anything to do with John. The book also contains a dreadful story about its coming into existence: apparently the author sort of received the 'poems' (which are just as bad as the rest of the book) by some kind of miraculous dictation. The author says the purpose of the book is to honour John and to support the causes he was interested in- I think he will hardly be honoured by such a bad piece of work. Readers- if you want to support John, support Windstar, Cousteau etc but do not even think or ordering this book!

I read this book about a year after John's death and it brought me to tears. The book was not what I expected but I enjoyed it just the same! It had a couple of poems that expressed my thoughts after his untimely death. The opening was dull but told of its backgound and comming to be,some of witch was interresting and nessary to explain the book. Its a nice book to add to a John Denver collection.

John's autobiography will be re-issued--this short tribute does fullfill some insights that J.D. did not reveal in his book...he was unduly concerned to "exorcise demons". The PBS feature --his Alaskan ecological foray--& last recorded song.."Yellowstone' will bring new adherents to Denver's belief in conservation..& healing powers of nature- untamed. Support Windstar..keep the eagles flying...

I was recommended to bypass this book as it had very little information in it that those of us who have stayed with John all through his career don't already know - and that is true. However, I was curious so I got it anyway.

This book was not sentimental - it didn't bring tears to me eyes but once, that being at the end when the author states that John was cremated on Oct. 15th. I cried then for the loss of this amazing man. However, the book amused me as I watched a man who clearly started out not being an admirer of Johns, and who seemed to want to keep it that way, had to struggle in places to try and keep himself from falling over the precipice into the pit of John Denver admiration! I must thank Mr. Collis that at least the compliments that he paid to John, for the most part, did not come across as being given begrudgingly.

I would recommend reading this book if you would like to read some background information on John's family and musical comrades that you might not already have known. Some of this background added some depth to an already deep and complex man.

The dust cover is SO misleading (example: there is no reference to 'wife beating' in the actual book.) I was delighted to read Collis' critique of Denver's music; the author appears impressed with many of John's songs, and the explanations as to why are most interesting. Also, John Collis pays honest tribute to John Denver's generous efforts to improve this planet. This book is considerably less critical than John's autobiography 'Take Me Home'; however, there is little new in the way of biographical information. I recommend this book to readers who are eager to learn more about the musical angle of Denver's career.

As an avid John Denver "fan," and friend of his work, I believe it's about time someone did a profile on John Denver that delves deeper into the roots of his music and his love for the harmony he created. Along with others here who were cautious of this book, I found Collis' turn of attitude real and genuine. The relationship John Denver had with his family and friends were about love and devotion to all that is good. While this book has some glaring errors, it paints what appears to be a fair look at Denver's life. Collis admits in the beginning that he could not gel with Denver's music and serene portrayal of the world. Yet by the last page, he is obviously at least aware that John Denver made an honest place for himself in the one world we all call home. Anyone who has an appreciation for Denver should check this book out. Nice photos and a REAL effort in telling his story. Collis has written a keeper for JD faithful.

I had to read this book for school when we studied Japanese internment. And I can't say I loved it. The paragraphs were written in haikus, or something, and it took me two chapters to figure out who the main character was and if it was a boy or a girl. All in all, it wasn't a bad book about Japanese Internment in Canada, but I wouldn't read it over again if I could avoid it. "Shichan", the main character, was kind of blah, too. I think she should have spent mroe time thinking about her feelings and thoughts than talking about snow. It wasn't too long, though, which was pretty good.

"Back by popular demand!" reads the blurb. In a manner of speaking, perhaps. Having lost my original copy of this book years ago, I was elated to see it in print again. Upon its arrival, however, I was extremely disappointed to find this edition significantly altered from its earlier counterpart. I've been a performing folk musician for more than half my life now, and I no longer find sheet music necessary. In fact, it was not for the sheet music that I purchased this folio, but for the gorgeous color production stills appearing in the old version. Much to my chagrin, this wonderful material had been omitted from the new collection, the blurb's claim of "great color photos" notwithstanding. Furthermore, those of you who were interested in this book for its musical content should be aware that these are not authentic transcriptions, nor is the entire body of selections from the former collection included. I can recommend the current edition to the John Denver completist only.