I found this book really depressing. The main story is on Sam Brentwood being in a Hawaiian prison simply for supporting the Hawaiian queen. Janessa's tasks at Ellis Island is also dismal.

Still, I liked the love story of Mike and Eden's; it's the only thing that makes this book remotelt readable.

Unless you already know a good deal about the history of the Sudan, this is probably not the book for you. While the text is less than 200 pages (not counting maps, bibliography, and index), the stunning number of names, organizations, and regions in it makes this a slow read, requiring the kind of careful attention one would use for a textbook. It is not a general history for the general reader.

But even with careful reading, this text can be confusing at times. I'm interested in the relationship between Libya and the Sudan through the Nimeiri era, and this book refers to that relationship several times. But it does so in a haphazard and seemingly contradictory way. On pages 168 and 169, Libya appears to support Nimeiri. But on page 172, Libya is cited as supporting the SPLA and, on page 174, the north African country supports a coup attempt against Nimeiri by a rival. No explanation is given for the change of policy.

I happen to know the reason for the change, but that is not the point. Any general history should be clear as to why the major actors in its drama have changed their positions. There are other instances of this kind of lack of clarity in the book.

Old, Out of print, but one of the best high school geometry books.

After hearing high praise for Tom Holt, I decided to give him a try. I picked this book at random, and I was sorry I did. The plot, which is thin, was a loose idea around which several vague (and often un-funny) comedy skits orbited. Worse still, the plot is the same one that every thirteen-year old develops after reading Douglas Adams for the first time... God goes on vacation, hilarity follows. Well, laughter follows. Well, mild chuckling follows.

Not that it was a total loss... the idea of Hell having embassies on Earth is interesting. However, I will not be recommending this book to friends any time soon.

I can only say one positive thing about Only Human. It wasn't God-awful. In fact, it was cute in parts. I will be giving Tom Holt another try, and read Expecting Someone Taller or Who's Afraid of Beowulf. But this one will sit at the bottom of my bookshelf, next to the Piers Anthony books, collecting dust.

While not as humourous as some of his previous books, Tom Holt still delivers the fun. (Judicious editing will make that as good a blurb as any of Rex Reed's.) I think I missed out on a lot that was going on here because I can't read French and thus was unable to translate the many chansons included here. This was also Holt's first book to really utilize time travel; he had used the concept of long periods of time between characters in Who's Afraid of Beowulf and Flying Dutch, but this is the first time modern characters have moved backwards in time for him. The trick with humourous fantasy is that the fantasy must stick to certain rules for the humour to come across as funny rather than just another piece of fantastic. Unfortunately, by the wild nature of time travel, Holt got very close to stepping over the line here. In fact, my favorite Holt novels are the "Walled Orchard" duo, in which he meticulously draws realistic Ancient Greek culture (with some ambiguous insertions of the fantastic; by the way, he is an ancient history scholar) and then adds the humour (although it had a tendancy to be slightly black because of the realism).

There's some great bits here: the definition of Time & Overtime, and how they differ; the Anti-Pope; the Beaumont Street investment firm (the Crusades always provided the highest yield); a wonderfully done deus ex macchina; and how the world was made. But this seemed to be made of more bits than whole. Maybe that's the nature of time.

The series seems to be fading as it goes along. In "Saraband for two sisters" the story line follows with Angelet and Bersaba, the daughters of Tamsyn. The book was fairly predictable and relies too heavily on old story lines used by Carr. I also wonder why they never get in touch with the rest of the family i.e. the new Lord Remus, and the Pennlyons and such.
In any case, the story is told by both (twin) sisters and is easy to follow, if not completely satisfying. I would still recomend this book especially if you have an interest in the series. It manages to keep your interest if only to find out what happens so you can read the next one....which I'm about to do.

Thirteen year old Frederica (called so she tells us because there were many in her family line but she prefers to be called Fred) lives in what she calls "genteel poverty" with her mother and two maids. All questions about her Father are meet with a stone face and very little information from her Mother....the first secret surrounding Fred.

Soon Fred's Mother becomes so ill she has to be sent to a nursing home and Fred is sent to live with her Mothers sister in Wiltshire. Fred quickly makes friends with two of her new classmates. Rachel, quiet and reserved and Tamarisk, just the opposite! Other new acquaintances include Tamarick's much older widowed brother, who, much to Freds dismay finds her, at 13, plain. Fred dislikes him ....though she can not seem to stop thinking about the dark man. Also to be found here is Lucy Lane and her unbalanced (why she is this way is yet another secret) sister Flora. This is where Fred becomes reaquainted with the old child's rhyme One for sorrow Two for Joy Three for a girl Four for a boy Five for silver Six for gold and seven for a secret never to be told.

As the three girls grow to womanhood Fred finds there are many secrets surrounding their lives. When the truths are finally revealed will Fred be able to move past them and find happiness or will she be forever reminded haunted by them?

Many people complain that Victoria Holt's books are too alike. I think this is what keeps bringing me back. You can always count on a brave heroine, egnimatic love interests and of course a gripping story. "Seven For A Secret" is no exception. I found it a very interesting book. At just under 300 pages it is a quick and consuming read! If you have never read Holt it is a great book to start with... if you are a fan and somehow missed this book what are you waiting for?

I was curious about what kind of garden publications Chronicle Books would be putting out so I bought three in the series; Water Gardens, Paths and Walkways, and Small Patios. I think if I had seen these in the bookstore I would've probably put them back. I was expecting something a little heavier on the visuals from Chronicle Books.

But the examples are interesting. Nice range of elements, and tending to favor the quirky in design. The author describes the garden element in question (depends on which book you have) and uses one overall photograph and two detail shots. The detail shots seem there mostly for atmosphere and to break up the page. She also includes a one-page, how-to discussion, and a list of tools and materials.

I'm not looking forward to all the reading.

This book is a good example of historical fiction. This story takes place in central North Carolina in 1865. Lina's beloved Aaron does not come home from the Civil War and his brother asks to court her. They marry and raise a large family. I found it interesting that Lina tried to hide her own ill health. She feels that a woman should not complain about the pains of this life. This is a good book that gives insight to the every day life of women in the 1800's.

The Holt's guidebook to the D-Day beaches exhaustively locates each monument, cemetery and gun battery, putting each within the context of overall operations. Despite the large over-all map and the smaller maps that occasionally popped up, I would still have appreciated more detailed maps of what was being described in the text. Smaller maps of exactly where to walk at each site described would add make it easier to visualize, as one reads the book. Also, I would have appreciated more of an effort to highlight what one must see with limited time, what to see with somewhat more time, etc. One is left with a dizzying list of sites with not enough assitance in prioritizing them.