I'm afraid the makers of CE botched their attempt to go from a simply, direct revenge-type story to a complex tale of woven intrigue. The art, while still somewhat cinematic in stlye, suffers from highly unstable character depictions and cartoony inconsistencies. The change of Sinn's character and appearance is equally as annoying. While she was quite a bother in the original, its even more bothersome when they switch character personalities and appearance.

As for the story, Mastadge's title puts it well. Way too much. Masters of intrigue and complex plots like Stackpole and Zahn should stake their claim as such, as other writers' attempts at such tales are consistently going astray. Carivus is an annoying, bloated dolt, and my interest in Nom Anor dropped about the same time NJO began coming out and butchering 'Star Wars'.

And the Council. While some of the talks seemed to be only well-done examples of intrigue in the whole bloody thing, I still found that it was overdone at times. And why the aliens? I can understand a move toward a more inclusive Empire, but why add Whiphids, Givin, Defel, and other such races that have no real status in the overall galactic community? If they were going to add alien reps they would have at least added ones from species that had actual power in galactic affairs.

Oh, well. If you want to learn a bit more about what happens after CE you can do so, but I can't say I reccomend the book.

While the first Crimson Empire tale was very good and effective, this one fails in many areas.

The main problem with this issues is that they had so many subplots and characters, it was like they were trying to compress a thick novel into a comic book series. There was so much going on they couldn't focus enough on any one theme and develop it.

Also, as much as I didn't like Sinn, heroic rebel commander, being portrayed as a complete slut in the first one, I hate it even worse when they change how a character looks from one comic to another, in the same way that it annoys me when different actors play the same character in different movies.

This book did have pretty good renditions of ships, and it was cool how they introduced mysterious Nom Anor, one of the main baddies in the New Jedi Order series. Unfortunately, although the ship and landscape art was mostly very well done, the people were badly rendered and disproportianate. The Hutt was tiny sometimes, normal sized at others, Sinn's face was a complete disaster, none of the carry-overs from the first issue looked right, and most of the time the faces were just too thick and disgusting.

Another thing, the alien races on the Imp Council! Not only were several of those species known to be sided with the New Republic, plus the fact that the Empire is all anti-aliens, makes this not work. Plus several of those species are so obscure I'm not sure why'd they'd have a member on the council. Oh well.

Still, I am definitely looking forward to CE III, as it is going to tie in pretty heavily to NJO...

If you really love Star Wars, buy this one, but if you're just a moderate fan, I'd recommend skipping it over.

This addition to the Crimson Empire may not be as good as the first, but it still packs a punch and delivers to Star Wars fans.

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...

Cute ideas, but not much detail on how to do the projects

Bright colored pictures with details for various techniques to paint on fabric.

It was a time of unrest. Sovereigns, diplomats, and ministers from all over Europe gathered in Vienna to reestablish order after years of war and upheaval. (In simple terms, everyone gathered to redraw the map after the depredations of Napoleon.)

Miss Helena Devereux was the stepdaughter of the Prince von Hohenbachern. She was in Vienna with her mother, the lovely Princess von Hohenbachern. The two women were different in their looks, as well as, their interests. While Helena was intelligent and kept very close tabs on politics, her mother was downright beautiful and wanted only to have fun again now that travel was no longer dangerous. The prince was not in Vienna. Instead, he remained with his armies on the Saxon border.

Major Lord Brett Stanford was in Vienna as Wellington's aide. He was a war hero many times over and was constantly on the look out for possible spies. Brett and Helena meet, learn they share views on politics, and become partners, of a sort.

** No real danger or intrigue begins until shortly after the first 110 pages. Until then everything is setting up all the players, making sure the reader understands the political happenings, having Brett and Helena meet, and then begin to trust each other. Since so much is required to set up the plot of the book and the players, I found the first half of the novel very complex and often tedious to read through. I had to make sure I understood everything and everyone, which required much back tracking to re-read several sections to be positive I did not misunderstand something. The author did a wonderful job of explaining it all so that people, such as myself, who know little or nothing about the setting's era can understand it all. Yet I could not relax and just enjoy the story until the last half. I had to study history until then.

If you are looking for romance, light reading, or a bit of humor, pass on this one. However, if you are a European history buff you will adore this novel. **

The Congress of Vienna is in full swing as diplomats, politicians and heads of state flock to the city in order to reestablish order after years of upheaval and war. Of course social butterflies have also swooped down to enjoy the dizzy round of balls and entertainments that are bound to ensue once dusk has fallen. But the city is also humming with a different sort of energy, that of political intrigues and secret machinations...

Tired of the dreary isolation that the war had forced upon her, the beautiful Princess von Hohenbachen has decided to sample the giddy pleasures that Vienna has, currently, to offer. And she has insisted that her elder daughter by her first marriage, the quiet and serious Miss Helena Deveraux, accompany her. No mother and daughter pair could be more unlike -- for while the princess enjoys flirting and flitting from one social function to the other, her daughter, Helena, prefers political discussions, reading and riding. But all that changes when Major Brett Stanford catches both the eyes of both the princess and her daughter...

While Major Brett Stanford has been given a diplomatic assignment to assist Lord Castlereagh, his main brief (given to him by Wellington) is to keep an eye on the ladies -- like the Princess Bagration, the Duchess of Sagan and the Countess Edmond de Talleyrand-Perigord -- social hostesses of power and with an eye for political intrigue. A handsome and dashing lady's man like Brett Stanford would be the ideal candidate for what Wellington has in mind. And when Brett first meets the beautiful Princess von Hohenbachen and realises that the lady has a delicious flirtation in mind, he decides that he has been given the ideal opportunity to mix some pleasure with business. That is until he meets the princess's enigmatic daughter, who bewilders and intrigues the young soldier. Suddenly the urbane and sophisticated lady's man finds himself involved with two ladies from the same family! How to extricate himself from such an embarrassing situation? And how to indicate to one lady that he wishes to pursue a relationship with her without angering and alienating the feelings of the other?

For me, "A Foreign Affair" suffered from poor pacing. Evelyn Richardson did a fantastic job of developing the relationship and attraction that was growing between Brett and Helena, and she does a rather good job of showing why these two are a perfect match as well. Where things feel apart for me was when the authour suddenly remembered that there was supposed to be a spy-intrigue plot too, and when Brett began to wonder if Helena and her mother were actually very clever and devious spies. Up until that point, even though the plot was a very basic one that was moving at a somewhat sedate pace, the authour's natural storytelling skills and her brilliantly sketched in historical and descriptive tidbits, made this book rather good reading. I really didn't think that the story needed a boost from the spy/intirgue subplot and felt that it was a mild distraction for no good reason. Fortunately, it only went on for about a chapter or two, but it did spoil the smooth flow of the story for me.

On the whole, however, "A Foreign Affair" was a rather nice story about a serious minded wallflower and the dashing major who captures her heart.

The plot is straight out of Georgette Heyer's 'Regency Buck.' And since Heyer is by far the best Regency author of them all, this book is a pale imitation. I'm sure that if she come up with an original plot Richardson could cope, but there is no way I could read this book without remembering how Heyer did it.

The other reviewer was somewhat scornful of this book as "derivative" of Heyer's "Regency Buck." Perhaps there are plot points similar in both cases (and I note that they are plot points shared by quite a few other Regencies, including other Heyer books). But that shouldn't diminish the depth of characterization that is common in Richardson's books. While there is definitely an interesting plot in "GG," the book concentrates on the development of the relationship between the two characters. The growth of friendship and love in the relationship is well-paced and believable, and the secondary characters are delightful.

C'mon, let's face it -- Heyer is the best of the best. But that doesn't mean that other authors out there aren't contributing lively, interesting stories with well-developed characters. Richardson is definitely one of those authors.

This volume contains lectures which Thomas Merton gave to nuns of the Loretto community during late 1967 and early 1968. He manages to say almost nothing of substance, except that "contemplation" (however we define it) is good, and that authoritarian structures are bad. Only the most fervent devotees of the somewhat trendy Trappist would find this book ineluctable; the rest of us can profit by avoiding it. We look to his earlier work for nourishment: Thoughts in Solitude (1958), New Seeds of Contemplation (1961), and many of his poems and journals. THE SPRINGS OF CONTEMPLATION strikes this reader as needless chit-chat about silence. We do not find God in the book, but a tired talkative Merton who is a bit too convinced of his own sagacity. Alas.

Its odd, how things work out. In his Journals, Merton was ENTHRALLED by this reterat. He spoke in glowing terms of the participants,and praised the intamcy achieved. He states, flatly"this is the best reterat of my life." Yet none of that comes forth in this collection, which is more the pity. Of course, some of this is indeed dated[the world is radically changed in 33+ years]and perhaps, as it seems Fr. Merton was wont to do, he gets overly enthusiastic about something before he has completely immersed himself.Still, second level Merton is better then just about top shelf from anyone else.Some nuggets on prayer left me thinking that perhaps the great moments of this retreat were the celebration of the Mass that were held each day. In that silence was perhaps that ineffable moment that cannot be heard nor touched that Merton groped for so in his life and writings. So, in all not great Thomas Merton, thjough still necessary to see the entire picture of this good great man.

This book does not deliver on its promises. The information has not been researched in each field beyond a few actual cases, making the accuracy of the information highly suspect. There is much better information available on this subject from other sources, including the Occupational Outlook Handbook (put out by the Bureau of Labor Statistics). Very smug, very unprofessional writing. Save your money.

A lot of people talk about changing jobs and exploring new career options, but never follow through with it. Now there's a tool to help make it happen -- Jobsmarts 50 Top Careers. Like Jobsmarts for Twentysomethings, it's a down-to-earth look at today's job market with lots of great information and ideas to help you get started. Whether you're looking for your first or third job, this book can be an invaluable resource.

I really didn't know what i wanted to do, so I picked up this bok to find out what was out there. I chose it becuase the other industry guides seemed to give an overly rosey picture of every career. This book told be everything I needed and wanted to know. Good, Bad and otherwise. Great source to get the skinny on careers. Now my only problem is to figure out which one I want to go after.

Editor displays almost no knowledge of biochemistry and its relationship to the topic at hand. A big waste of time on an important subject.

I have been working i the chemical industry for 18 years. I have found 1 advantage for this book compared with "Perry's Chemicals ... handbook 6 edition", the price. I have benn reading some chapter very thoroughly, i was very dissapointed. Crystallisation, fluidisation, centrifugal separations. In every aspect Perry was better. I have breafly been reading and comparing some other chapters and the result is the same.
Coulson seems to me to be old, made by people that have not been out working in the factory the last 50 years. The text is also filled with information for filling the pages ( an american sicknes compared wit europe), to a higher degree.

One of the many things Bill Richardson doesn't know is what a limerick is. This book will be a great disappointment if you anticipated that five-lined verse form. It does have lots of sing-songs and some la-di-das, however.