I'm still on the Old Testament (2 Kings right now) and I've throughly enjoyed most every single chapter so far. Thanks to the well-written and not-too-long commentaries on many verses it's easy to comprehend the significance of the passages and understand some of the ancient practices prevalent at the time.

Great maps in-text and at the back, helpful tables of dates and events, thorough cross-referencing, definitions of especially meaningful words in the Hebrew context, as well as in-text discussions of major concepts make this a definitive study bible for any NKJV reader and also as a reference work.

I appreciate the lofty literary style of the King James (Authorized) version, and wanted to try the New King James (NKJV). I have spent hours comparing the two versions. The poetic books are almost unchanged except for long obsolete words, pronouns and inflectional verb endings. The meter is unchanged. Other books have been further updated with modern sentence structure where it is most needed. The result still sounds magnificent and timeless, and glows like a freshly restored work of art.

The Nelson SB contains a remarkably comprehensive concordance which contains proper nouns and describes them within the concordance listing. Thus the concordance can also be regarded as a Bible dictionary.

There are eight pages of color maps in the rear. I would have liked a color map showing the twelve tribes at the time of the judges (after Joshua's conquest of Canaan), but the intext maps show this very nicely, so this is a quibble.

Nelson's SB is most remarkable for its highly tailored, complete and accurate annotations, which can only have been achieved through a devotion to the work and a lot of toil. This book is quite evidently a labor of love, and this, more than any other quality ranks it as the finest SB I've encountered.

I received the black bonded leather edition. Its Gold stamped quality leather cover and gold edged paper, as well as the overall high quality of workmanship make this book a delight to the senses. A real treasure all 'round.

The reader doesn't learn about the origin of Andy's nightmares straightaway. He thinks his solitary thoughts on a much anticipated fishing trip in the Ozark Mountains. Andy welcomes isolation, and seeks to refresh a world weary spirit with the rugged beauty of his surroundings. . His underlying decency and humor come to the fore when he meets Fran Whitler, a widowed mother who keeps a secret past to herself. Their attraction for each other is immediate, and then Fran's hidden past returns to haunt them both. Andy is drawn into Fran's nightmare, and in the process must relive his own shadowed past.

In this first book by Richard Alan Nelson, I found myself at first sharing Andy's love of nature's peace. Descriptive passages of mountain scenery served as a pleasing backdrop to the tension building rapidly around the ex-military hero. While reading, I struggled to "assist" Andy Paul and his top notch SEAL team pals in their unofficial covert rescue of a kidnapped child. It was a thrilling read, regardless of your preferred genre. I won't give any more of the story line away. This author has created an exciting story that proceeds at breakneck speed, with enough twists, turns and surprises to keep the reader guessing.

review by L.A. Johnson for Midwest Book Review

I usually shy away from first time authors with self-published works.

However, the author's email and follow-up correspondence were so clear and concise that I decided to give this one a chance. I'm glad I did.

Nelson Aspen is an author to watch. I'm sure he'll find an agent and a publisher after the word gets around about his story-telling abilities. SACRED BLOOD is a great story, well-told, and peopled with characters who face great difficulties.

Ann Gunter, an unwed pregnant teen-ager at the height of Hitler's domination, finds herself in the French countryside at Chateau Blanche, the Nazi's own personal baby factory.

Her journey through the maze of Nazi lies and trechery forces Anna to grow up fast and face the horrors of a world gone mad.

I read this book in one sitting and I look forward to more from Aspen. He's got a great voice....and hopefully, more stories to tell.

Enjoy!

The characters in the Irene Adler series are complex: after reading the first three books, I still can't figure out whether or not I love or hate the character of Irene herself. Irene is the ultimate diva-detective, solving mysteries for the sake of curing her own boredom, and approaches everything with an impish enthusiasm. Impossibly radiant and beautiful, she eclipses the series' true heroine, the "Watson" to Irene, Penelope Huxleigh: a plain and proper parson's daughter who gets mixed up in Irene's life by mistake, in a very similar way that Watson met Holmes. Nell is the most intriguing character in the series, and easiest to identify with, even if she comes off as a prude at times. Anyone who has felt a "third wheel," or has been left in the shadows because of a more attractive friend, will relate to Nell. Barrister Godfrey Norton makes up the third of this main-character trio, who is astonishingly likeable - he adds a definite spark to the series that would surely be lost without him.

_Good Night, Mr. Holmes_ and the books that follow it (two or three of which are out of print and hard to find at present) will probably best liked by women, because it very accurately (and bemusedly) presents a female version of the Victorian era - one from a "modern" woman and one more subdued and conformist, and two different feminine views (from Irene and Nell) of Sherlock Holmes himself. It's very interesting to see Holmes as a minor character and adversary - and don't worry, Holmes fans: Nelson writes Holmes and Watson well.

I strongly recommend reading "A Scandal in Bohemia" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (found in _The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes_) before turning to the Irene Adler series, in order to get acquainted with the characters and see the Watsonian point of view on the case portrayed in _Good Night, Mr. Holmes_.

This is a deeper look at Irene Adler who was a character in Doyle's, "A Scandal in Bohemia". She was one of the few people and the only woman to outwit Sherlock Holmes. The book retells the story from Adler's viewpoint and goes on to solve some other puzzles. Irene Adler, as she appears in the Douglas books, is truly an amazing woman. One would be hard pressed not to have admiration for her and her enormous abilities. She is shown as a virtuous, honest, married woman in this book instead of the "fallen woman" she is portrayed to be in the Doyle book.
All the narrative is done from the supposed diary of Penelope Huxley (Adler's Doctor Watson). Ms. Huxley is a dedicated spinster who apparently is meant to be the conscience of Victorian London. Some of her straight laced, over done morals are a bit trying but she is probably representative of the outlook of "proper" Victorian England. Penelope is a whiz at taking notes, much as Archie Goodwin is a supposed human tape recorder (Nero Wolfe series). It's very convenient to have someone on hand to do nothing but observe and record, thereby giving more credence to the story. There is much name dropping in this and all the other books of the series. Famous characters appear here and there for no apparent reason except to give added spice to the book. I think anyone who likes the Holmes series or who likes to boost the status of women in general will enjoy this book and the ones following it.

This is a 3 star book with some 4 star parts.

All the characters are fully-formed now and we reap the benefit of understanding their actions and their foibles; I think Smeaton is excellently portrayed - the aristo with a chip on both shoulders and an obsession with finishing Isaac off - he is pivotal in this gripping 'factional' tale of how the British were forced to abandon the occupation of Philadelphia.

Again we see Isaac's headstrong character take over and cause him trouble, as he loses two boats in quick succession (though not entirely his fault) and almost loses his wife and his life in the protracted vendetta with Smeaton.
The sub-plot of rescuing and fitting-out the 'Foulmouth' is a great counter to Isaac's stranding and attempt to find her, as the two plots run side by side, interspersed with Smeaton's gradual descent into mania.

Although this appears to be the last in the 'Revolution at Sea' saga, I suspect that there is more to come before Isaac is finished with the British - at least I hope for more...