The 2nd book in the Hannah Swensen mystery series involves another case solved by an owner of a Minnesota bakery called The Cookie Jar. Hannah is also an amateur sleuth (having previously helped the police solve a murder involving a friend) and likes to get involved in police matters in between baking. In this book, the murder victim is Coach Boyd, a loudmouth, and nasty judge at the town's first Hartland Flour Baking Contest. He is murdered, and his battered wife enlists Hannah's help in finding the murderer, claiming her innocence. However, with her fingerprints all over the murder weapon and a strong motive of spousal abuse even Hannah will have trouble proving this abused wife's innocence.

This was an excellent read more for the character relationships than it was for the mystery. Although the mystery was interesting, I find the characters engaging and the town "warm" despite the cold temperatures. The dialogue between the characters gets repetitive at times (they are constantly repeating one another's names) but overall, this is a light, entertaining mystery series. Also included in these books are yummy recipes that you can try which is a nice treat while you read the books!

I would recommend that you read the first book in the series, The Chocolate Chip Cookie Murders, before you read this book as it gives a lot of background on the other characters in this series. Enjoy!

A Cozy Lover

WARNING: Do not read this book while attempting to diet. You're apt to start eating the pages.

Following up on her first Hannah Swensen mystery, Ms. Fluke again pits the Cookie Lady against evil forces when Hannah happens upon the body of Lake Eden's sports coach, Boyd Watson. Since Boyd has been known to abuse his wife, she becomes the prime suspect, but good friend that she is...Hannah doesn't believe it. And she sets out to try and find the real killer--of which many seem to fit the bill.

Interspersed among her sleuthing are mouth-watering recipes Hannah is using during the televised coverage of the 1st Hartland Flour Dessert Bake-off. Just reading the recipies made visions of Cocoa Snaps dance before my eyes.

There are a few interchanges between Hannah and Mike Kingston (who we met in Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder), but not enough to satisfy this reader. However, since the dust cover tells me that Ms. Fluke is working on the next Swensen mystery, perhaps we'll get to see more of Hannah's social life.

The author is an automatic-buy for me and I'm looking forward to the next book in this series as I've grown rather fond of the Cookie Lady.

Veteran author Joanne Fluke has produced another winner in the Hannah Swensen series. This time the cookie baking sleuth finds her friend Danielle standing over the dead body of her abusive husband, a local high school coach. Never doubting Danielle's innocence, Hannah, with the surprisingly able assistance of her ever so feminine sister, Andrea, tackles a private investigation of the murder. The twists and surprises don't stop and neither do the mouth-watering references to dinners and desserts.Part of the charm of this series is that Hannah is surrounded by nice people and loving, supportive family members. She also has two competing admirers, one, a fix-up by her mother and his, the other a police officer who works for her brother-in-law. Hannah thoughtfully debates the virtues of each since one is movie star handsome and the other is bright and kind. There is no question we'll see Hannah exploring her options next time around. The series is set in Minnesota where the weather is cold but the people are not, but don't start with this book. Please read "The Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder" first so you can meet Hannah, her friends, her family and her suspects and not miss a single detail. You won't be sorry, and you'll wait anxiously for next year's book.

Kage Baker churns out another of her fantastic novels starring a group of immortal time-traveling cyborgs. 'The Graveyard Game' picks up where 'Mendoza in Hollywood' left off. Mendoza, having violated Company directives, is exiled to Back Way Back, many many thousands of years in the past. 'The Graveyard Game' relates the quest of two cyborgs, Facilitator Joseph (a main character from Books 1 & 2) and Literature Specialist Lewis, to find Mendoza and discover the ugly truth behind The Company's secrets.

Secrets like, what happened to the prehistoric Enforcers? What lies behind the mysterious date of 2355? And what happens to good cyborgs gone bad?

I love Baker's Company novels. They're well-written and easy to read. Baker creates enjoyable characters that stay within their parameters. They don't veer off into directions that leave the reader shrugging shoulders in exasperation. I enjoy the fact that Baker incorporates Cyborg characters from her other novels and short stories. It's fun to see how the various characters mature and grow over the centuries (especially watching Latif grow from a child to a cyborg).

Baker's novels are light easy reading. They won't challenge you, but they will intrigue you and more than likely keep you up past your bedtime. Recommended.

This fourth volume in the series is a considerable improvement over the last two. Things are coming to a head among the cyborgs employed (owned) by the Company, as time marches on toward the Silence that will occur in or before 2355. Mendoza is still missing, and Joseph and Lewis find ways to search for her -- and for the mysterious reappearing tall Englishman who caused her to go AWOL in the third volume. However, Baker this time introduces another extraneous and unnecessary element in the form of "fairie folk" who have been hunting Lewis for some 1,700 years. This annoying development smacks of deus ex machina. Well, we'll have to wait for the fifth (and probably last) volume to see if the author can bring all this together.

There's something wonderful about watching an author's style evolve. In her earlier novels of the Company, Kage Baker was clearly having fun, but at times (notably in Sky Coyote), she seemed to sacrifice character development for cheap humor. In her fourth novel, The Graveyard Game, she has proven to be capable of fully integrating the tragedy of her erstwhile heroine, Mendoza, with solid, complex character development.

The Company is a shadowy organization (officially called Dr. Zeus) that has mastered time travel and immortality, and the cyborgs they've created as a part of their immortality process are the stars of the series. Mendoza, the heroine of the first and third novels, is this novel's macguffin. Her arrest at the end of Mendoza in Hollywood is unknown to all but a few Company operatives, and when, in the year 1996, Facilitator Joseph (who rescued Mendoza when she was a child, and views himself as her father), and Literature Specialist Lewis (who has been in love with Mendoza for centuries) find out about the arrest, they set out to discover what happened to her.

Of course, since the Company monitors its agents remotely, and since few know what has happened, their quest spans hundreds of years, and starts to uncover the vast conspiracy that was only hinted at in Sky Coyote. Joseph already knew something was amiss -- the Enforcers, a group of Company operatives from the old days, when violence was a more common tool of the Company, have all vanished. Joseph's own "father," Badu, is among the missing, and he left an encrypted clue about his fate with Joseph (from which the book gets its title).

Lewis, meanwhile, is uncovering even more unsettling news about Mendoza's fate, and that of her second human lover, Edmund Bell-Fairfax. Events that had previously been thought to be coincidences now appear to have been contrived by the Company. And the Company itself seems to have dark origins that were only hinted at previously. As Lewis and Joseph delve further into the conspiracy, and as the 24th century (and the official creation of the Company) approaches, the book takes our heroes down a paranoia-laden path, as they find reasons to distrust both their human masters at the Company and even some of their fellow cyborgs.

Although Baker takes us through three centuries of conspiracies and tragedy (especially as we discover the fates of Mendoza's colleagues from the previous novel), she paces The Graveyard Game wonderfully, fleshing out Lewis and Joseph as genuinely interesting characters, providing some wonderfully humanizing (and humorous) moments along the way, including a delightful scene in which our heroes go on a chocolate bender -- chocolate having the same effect on them as alcohol on mortals. Lewis's love of Mendoza (and his obsession with Bell-Fairfax), and Joseph's anguish at losing both his father and his daughter, add a depth to their quest for the truth about who they are, and who they work for. This makes the tragic denouement all the more poignant.

Baker's writing style has come a long way over the course of four novels. She has moved from writing fun romps to writing some of the best character-driven science-fiction out there. With The Graveyard Game, she has proven that she deserves to be placed on the same shelf as such writers as Connie Willis, John Barnes and Nancy Kress. It would be a delight to see her shortlisted (and even winning) a World Fantasy Award in the near future.

In the book The Tiger Rising a boy named Rob Horton is just getting adapted to the new changes that has been happening in his life. Rob has been lonely ever since he has moved to a new town and when his mom pasted away. All Rob really wants is a friend or two, but instead he keeps getting bullied.
I really liked this book because it was really about his friendship with a girl named Sistine Bailey. When Rob made a friend, Sistine was a good friend because they were always going on adventures and doing other things.
The author of this book wrote it with great detail. There is so much detail that it feels like I am with the characters. That is why detail is important in this book. By having detail it makes the characters come to life.
I recommend this book because it is every thing I said, and more. It has good friendships,adventures, great detail, and much more.

The Tiger Rising is a really GREAT book!!!! It's about this boy named Rob Horton who's mother died and now he and his dad live in a hotel called The Kentucky Star, even though the setting is in Florida. Rob and his father have no phone and eat Macaroni & Cheese every night. Rob has a diease in his legs that make them itch like CRAZY!!! Rob's only real friend isn't even a kid. The maid of the hotel, Willie May, is always telling Rob that the problem with his legs is that Rob never lets the saddness come out. She says it stays down at the bottom of him, down by his legs, and never gives it a chance to come out. Rob never cries. Ever since his mother died, Rob has never cried. He cried at his mother's funeral, but his father told him to suck it up, that there was no need in crying, that crying was for sissies. Ever since that unforgettable moment on that unforgettable day, Rob has imagined himself as a suitcase, locked up tight, never letting anything get out.
Rob gets picked on at school. The 2 bullies call hum "Diease Boy" and "Cootie Kid". He never stands up to them though. He just lets them tease him until they get tired and eventually leave. But one day a new girl gets on the bus. She was wearing a pink and frilly dress. No one at Rob's school wears pink and frilly dresses. When Rob next sees Sistine (the girl) her dress has a hint of blood on it, a torn shoulder puff, and a girl with a black eye and a few bruises wearing it.
Sitting on the bus after school that day, Sistine plops down next to Rob. She tells Rob about her father who is supposed to come and get her in a couple if weeks. She says she hates it in Florida. She says she hates her mother too. Then she notices Rob's legs. She asks Rob if it is contagious and, without waiting for a reply, rubs her hands violently up and down Rob's legs. Rob finally works up enogh courage to open his suitcase up a little peep and tell Sistine about the tiger he found caged up earlier that day. Sistine says they HAVE to set it free no sooner had the words come out of Rob's mouth. He's scared to lrt the tiger free because he knows it owned by the owner of the hotel and Rob doesn't want his dad to lose his job as all-around good-guy and handy man. Should Rob let the tiger go, in hopes of finding a new friend? Or stay a coward all his life?

I think the book, The Tiger Rising, should get five stars because it is an interesting book. It was about two kids named Rob and Sistine. Rob had a disease. The principal thought Rob's disease was contagious. He would have to stay home for a few days and have it heal up. The only problem is that his legs wouldn't heal up.
In order to avoid school, he went into the woods hoping he would get lost or eaten by a bear, that's when he found the tiger in a cage by an abandoned gas station. He told his friend, Sistine, about it. That's when the real story begins. So, when you buy this book and start reading it, you'll never want to set this book down until your done reading it.

We just spent 3 weeks in Costa Rica, carried 4 of the major travel books and Mr. Baker's was the one we used constantly. The others mostly took up space in our luggage. The long introductory section was very complete and interesting - history, ecology, geography, lots. We found that this book had much useful information about the many parks, about small towns and large. We liked the small local maps. We enjoyed the hotel reviews and found them to be reliable. Funny! Mr. Baker uses more adjectives per sentence than anyone we have ever read! The book only lacks a good map for drivers. Why not add one?

I bought 4 guidebooks before our trip to Costa Rica, and left "Explore Costa Rica" at home because the middle section of the book had already fallen out after a few looks. "Lonely Planet" was also left at home because the reviewer didn't seem to go inside most of the restaurants and lodgings he reviewed. I took "New Key Guide" and "Moon Handbook" and rarely opened the "New Key Guide". The writers of "New Key Guide" don't seem to like Costa Rica very much, making unnecessary and inaccurate comments like "Costa Ricans don't trust each other, and neither should you". This left me relying on the Moon Handbook, which more than made up for the inadequacies of the others. It has everything you need: first you need to find a place to stay. They're grouped by price and described accurately as to amenities and type of clientele. Then you want to eat. Same orderly presentation. Some of the other guides group the hotels and eateries all together, without sorting into price and type. What a hassle to do the sorting yourself when you're tired and it's late. Moon Handbooks also give lots of descriptions of things to do. But the best and most indispensible part was the town maps. I don't know how we would have figured out where we were going without them. This is the only one you need. And it is still intact after a month of daily use and abuse.

We purchased the 1999 edition directly from Moon (it was so new Amazon had not received it yet) hot off the press ! We also purchased several other competitors guidebooks to take with us. The Costa Rica Handbook came back from the trip very worn! Of all the books, this one has the most travel information, the best maps, most useful suggestions and funny traveler's stories that were relevant to our trip. We tried using and referring to the other books many times while in Costa Rica, but we found ourselves reaching for the Costa Rica Handbook by Moon time and time again! If you can only afford to buy one book with information on travel to this country buy this one! One shortcoming you should conisder before buying this book - it contains little about wildlife...you will need to purchase another book that contains pictures and identification information about animals, plants, insects, birds, etc. of this country if your primary purpose for going is to sight animals and birds native to Costa Rica ! Another note: If you are planning on driving outside of tourist areas you might want to learn a little Spanish...we speak intermediate Spanish and while I was in the country, I couldn't help thinking that someone who had no knowledge of the Spanish language would find traveling by car and stopping outside of tourist areas (lodges, restaurants and gas stations) a bit confusing (they speak almost no english outside of tourist areas)...Know your road signs in Spanish! it helps a lot - buy a beginner's guide to Latin American Spanish with a tape so you can hear pronounciation.

'The American Century' has been about the house for about a month, now. It is the quintessential 'coffee-table book'. For one thing, it is almost as large as the coffee table; for another, it is profusely illustrated, and contains no article longer than a page and a half. With so much material to draw upon, one might expect some depth somewhere; all that meets the eye are leftist polemics. The author, alas, commits the cardinal sin of the revisionist historian - he lets his prejudices get in the way of his reporting. He judges the events and people of the past hundred and twenty years by the standards of a modern ultraliberal, and is forever tut-tutting and waving his finger at the appalling lack of Social Conscience that prevailed until a week ago last Tuesday. He even has the gall to fling bricks at Paul Johnson, who is a better historian accidentally than most are on purpose. Well, everyone to his own taste, as the old woman said when she kissed the pig. If you want a big picture book to leaf through on dull evenings, 'The American Century' may be just the thing. If you want unbiased history, with some details in it that you never heard before, leave it alone.

This is a real tour-de-force in terms of the extensive material it covers with wonderful text and pictures. I had the opportunity to personally interview the author, Harold Evans, for our website. Despite its incredible volume and depth, it is accessible to the reader because it is written almost as if it were a series of magazine articles taking you through 100 years of US history. For many of our readers on the homeschoolzone, each of the bite-size pieces would make a wonderful jumping off point for a discussion or a research report for their children. I would strongly recommend this book not only for your children, but for yourself. As the author put it, "This is History for Browsers," and I most certainly agree with that and am continuing to pick the book up and browse.

Harold Evans has produced a tour de force. This is a tribute to America from a loving immigrant--a man who has gained international fame as an editor and writer, first in his native Britain and later in the United States. Evans has produced a superb history of 20th century America, but his book starts in the last century so as to give us a perspective on what was to follow. The research is prodigious; the selection of photographs is stunning; the writing is elegant and unintrusive. This is a book meant to be savored page by page--and to be handed down as a heirloom.

After reading such fabulous works such as Orwell's 1984, disappointment was large in M.T. Anderson's Feed. Anderson's book is told through a teenage boy who lives in a futuristic society controlled by a device called the feed. The feed is a computer chip that is implanted in the majority of the population's brains. It allows one to shop, chat, and have access to any bit of information he or she so desires. The narrator, who has been equipped with the feed since he was a small child, is obviously uneducated due to the fact that everything he needs to know can be simply looked up on the feed. The reader soon realizes that the book jumps between narrator and several italicized passages that represent what is happening on the feed. The book had an overall poor storyline that left the reader questioning its worth.
As Orwell captured my attention throughout his book, my concentration was hard to keep after the first fifty pages of Feed. Anderson tries to keep the reader's interest through a love story between the author and a girl named Violet. However, after the two become boyfriend and girlfriend, the story turns boring and drab. The story's setting did keep me reading the book though. Anderson sets the story during futuristic times that include travels to other planets and upcars, which are vehicles that fly around rather than stay on the ground. Moreover, people live in bubbles and are not allowed to go certain places, such as the ocean, without certain protective gear. Unfortunately, Anderson did not create this society enough leave me impressed.
All in all, Feed may capture the minds of young readers, but as for the more experienced reader, it is a disappointment. With a little more thought and drama, this book could have been comparable to 1984 as well as Fahrenheit 451. However, a word to the young reader: this is a good start to mind provoking books that leave you with the question of what will happen to society in the future.

Imagine instant-messaging your friends in your mind. Imagine all those obnoxious computer pop-up ads happening right in your brain. Imagine retailers knowing precisely what you've ever bought, your favorite color, your shoe size. Imagine liking it. This is the scary, weird world described in M.T. Anderson's "Feed". Titus and his friends are average middle-class American teenagers of the future. They take for granted the weird convergence of technology, corporate intervention, and mind-control they live with known as a feed. Enter Violet; a girl Titus meets on spring break, a girl who wants to 'fight the feed'.

There are important and compelling issues raised in this novel about advertising, privacy, conformity, individualism and technology. It's a book that demands discussion, explanation and consideration. Unfortunately, I think that much of it may be over the heads of its teenaged target audience. Readers who need things spelled out may be challenged by this book because significant aspects of the setting (and what a grim future it is) are implied, or only mentioned in passing. I think few teenagers will be satisfied with the ending. And fewer still will probably spend much time thinking about the issues in the story after they've put it down. It's too bad that the profanity and few mild references to sexual situations will keep this book out of most classrooms, because it's really a story that deserves to be discussed, especially by young adults.

I do recommend this book for advanced and thoughtful teen readers. Sci-fi fans in particular will enjoy it. Other readers should appreciate the accurate portrayal of teen dating, cliques, jealousies, insecurities and friendships. I hope the larger, more important themes of the book will be grasped as well.

I loved this. It's aimed at teenagers, but I'd recommend it to adult readers. The center of the book is very simple - two kids meet and fall in love and things fall apart. It's not about a fast-moving, exciting plot or even about the setting - details are sketched in enough to build up a picture of the frightening future, but the real focus of the book is the way it's written, in first person from the damaged, tilted perspective of a middle-class kid with a feed. Anderson tips you right into his perspective and keeps you there - farm country with the meat mazes, the little jolts when you realize he's trying to talk instead of IM'ing, his mounting confusion and pain at what's happening.

Halfway through, I thought it might be turning into a politic novel with espionage, riots and more, a "big" story, and I'm glad it didn't. They're just two kids, trying to grow up and live in a dying world. I love the way the story is told, the overlay of ads and images, the different layers of meaning and intent, the hints at what's happening and how he views it. I'm really glad he ended it the way he did. Definitely worth reading and re-reading.

"How should one live?" is the fundamental question driving most of Chekhov's work, and it is very overtly laid bare in The Cherry Orchard. Should the aristocratic family in decline stick to owning their cherry orchard (representative of the grandiose trappings of Russian aristocracy), or give in to modern commercialization in order to survive? What is the value of tradition, and how many trees should one own? Chekhov will not answer these questions for you, but he poses them in most interesting ways. In addition to wise insights into such fundamental dilemmas, Chekhov also provides a lot of witty banter, and a great slice-of-life view at 19th century Russian high culture. But this is not just a Russian play or a 19th century play; its themes, questions, and prospective answers are relevant for individuals coping with society and history in any place, and at any time.

The Cherry Orchard was me first experience with Chekhov, and I was surprised at the depth in this 49 page play. By no means would I considered myself a "literary expert," but this was very readable and you can pull a lot of the deeper meanings and its context in Russian history by yourself. I was confused at a couple people who write that the simply couldn't understand it and it put them to sleep! It's not THAT tough! If I could understand and appreciate it, almost anyone can!

What I like most about Chekhov is that he doesn't simplify his characters. He's a realist in this sense. Lopahkin and Trophimof each have admirable and detestable characteristics, just like you and I. While it may be set in the tumultuous period prior to the Russian revolution, the ideas and the discussions this play provokes are timeless.

Highly recommended!

Anton Chekhov's play "The Cherry Orchard" has been published as part of the Dover Thrift Edition series (that's the version I read before writing this review). No translator is credited for this edition. According to the note at the start of the book, the play was initially presented by the Moscow Art Theatre in 1904.

The play takes place on the estate of Madame Ranevsky, the matriarch of an aristocratic Russian family that has fallen on financial hard times. She faces the possible loss of her family's magnificent cherry orchard.

The play is populated with interesting characters: Lopakhin, a wealthy neighbor whose father was the serf of Madame Ranevsky's father; Firs, an aged servant who longs for the "old days"; Trophimof, a student with lofty ideas; and more. There is a great deal of conflict among the characters.

"The Cherry Orchard" is about people dealing with very personal conflicts and crises while larger socioeconomic changes are going on around them. The orchard of the title is a memorable image that is well handled by Chekhov. The play contains some really effective dialogue, such as old Firs' reflection on the apparently lost art of making dried cherries. This is definitely one classic play that remains compelling.

Leaving politics aside, this book is a lushly illustrated book on contemporary Kaleidoscopes and Kaleidoscope Artists. The illustrations are rich and aewsome, and are of both the outside and inside images of many kaleidoscopes. I'm not aware of a better book in print for kaleidoscope enthusiasts and all interested in the art of Kaleidoscope making.
To be complete, combine this book in your library with other of Ms. Baker's books--especially Kaleidoscope Renaissance. Kaleidoscope Artistry primarily concentrates on more recent works by many scope makers, and blends well with the older scope info from her previous book.
Now, to address some complaints by other reviewers: This book is not, and does not try to be, an all inclusive encyclopedia of all active scope makers. Nor is it a philanthropic work of charity. Of course Ms Baker plans on making money from this book--just like John Grisham and Danielle Steele. Ms. Baker heads the Brewster Society, her private business. Like it or not, this society is the closest thing scopemakers have to a guild for their art. You may not agree with the society, but as of yet, there is not another organization which represents artists and enthusiasts alike. If Ms. Baker's distractors dislike the society so much, perhaps they should form their own group and write their own book.
It is unfortunate that such issues creep into these reviews. This is indeed a wonderful book that will grace anybody's library!

Collector Baker provides not just a collection of images, but a survey of new kaleidoscope artists and their techniques. Over 300 color photos of kaleidoscopes accompany profiles of their designers. A gorgeous display of kaleidoscopes and their changing forms.

I adore this book. I know others have disagreements with the author and her selections, but even the cover makes an apology to an artist that was falsely harmed. The tree kaleidoscope is a definite "I am sorry" if I ever saw one. The book is great and so are the pictures and stories. I had wished to see a few more of my favorites in here, but do not blame the author who put in a lot of work! I am very glad to see the direction the book has taken as well as the author to make the kaleidoscope world one of true love, understanding, friendship and caring. I do hope this path continues with the disenchanted artists returning to the "family" they were once a major part of. Thank you for this book and it pictures and the stories, but most of all thank you for showing that you hold no grudges toward anyone and that you are truly the "first lady of kaleidoscopes!" I hope that one artist sees your apology and welcomes the hand of friendship you so kindly extended!

OK, so lots of people like this type of adventure - hundreds of caverns, sessions of dungeon-crawling, and no need to enhance your characters' personalities. But for me, I think this adventure is just too long.
My players spent around 9 hours on just PART of this adventure, and, as a DM, I found it highly tedious. There was simply no atmsophere! Just room after room of endless orcs, trogs and dwarves, with none having any special or memorable qualities. Like I said, some DMs relish the thought of not putting any role-playing into it - but for me, it just lacked creativity, and I was very relieved when we found an appropiate place to end it.
Also, it's not just the length of this adventure that makes it boring - factors like treasure and magical items are considerably weak, with PCs not gaining enough wealth to actually keep them up to standard with their appropiate levels. Or, they are given the appropiate amounts of treasure, but it's all in silver pieces and weighs a ton.
However, it's not all bad; the map is very well layed out, with plenty of winding tunnels and passages, and everything is very clear (no intense flicking through the monster manual for last-minute stats!). I particularly like the tactics that the orcs use, and the NPCs that Baker has created.
Well there you go; it seems that I have been quite disparaging of this adventure, but I don't want you to think it's all bad. I think at least one of my party enjoyed it, and it does give the DM a break for a while witinh regards to writing adventures.
Just buy it and decide for yourself!

This is a very mediocre adventure in many ways. In comparison to the Sunless Citadel, Forge of Fury lacked the fine writing that made Sunless Citadel fun to read as well as to play. There were enough nice things about Forge of Fury that I had to give it four stars.

First, I think it continues in the tradition of Sunless Citadel by showcasing the third edition and by helping the DM with its many sidebars and hints. In fact, I believe it does an even better job of helping the DM with new third edition rules. Secondly, it also showcases many of the creatures from third edition and it makes these creatures intelligent and worthy opponents. Third, it gives the players a slight chance to negotiate with one set of opponents and to surrender to a different one. I love when role-playing adventures actually suggest tactics that don't include "kill everything you see" and Forge of Fire does an excellent job with that. Now, onto the problems with the Forge of Fury.

This adventure brings first edition AD&D to mind with its large dungeons populated by creatures that seem to have little interaction. Though annoying, it's reasonably well explained. Also, a pet peeve of mine with Forge of Fury was the fact that there were so many coins. True, many of them are silver, but it made me wonder where they got the treasure since the dungeon is explicitly not located near any towns. Lastly, in many places the adventure states that treasure is hidden in the room, but doesn't give you a general search DC to use.

This adventure is rather hard, a killer in fact near the end of it. I suggest that a DM give the players many chances to break and rest. Some of the traps and creatures can outright kill players if they don't get chances to stop and get back spells. The cleric's ability to convert spells to healing will come in handy. PCs should be around third level when they begin this adventure. All in all, I recommend this because true to how it's described, it "highlights" third edition D&D.

We had fun with this one. Following rumors of a horde of weapons from a legendary smith, the PCs find themselves in a dwarven stronghold carved inside a mountain. After the dwarves were killed by Orcs, the Orcs took up residence in one section of the dungeon. In the lower levels dwell troglodytes who have a tenuous peace with the Orcs and come and go via an underground stream. The grey Dwarves have taken over the Forge itself and are trying to discover the secret to the smith's weapons.

The PCs went in looking to hack-and-slash their way through the adventure... they learned quickly that would not work. A stealthy approach did work and they made their way through with fewer problems.

This adventure works best if your players aren't always the 'frontal assault' type players. Especially since the game includes a couple monsters that are more powerful than the group is ready for experience wise. Smart players will know they're in over their heads.

This is a good game to make players think tactically because all the DM sidebars provide tips on the tactics the enemies use. And they use every advantage they can think of. The players will be hard pressed to achieve complete success in this one.

Mi Moto Fidel starts off promisingly enough, but sputters to a weak stop. Baker relating his apparently endless series of amorous conquests quickly becomes wearing (except possibly to 20-something males), as does his litany of complaints about Cuba's food (or lack thereof), heat, dust, and accomodations (or again, lack thereof).

While all probably true, I quickly tired of Baker's self-centerness and whining writing style. Except for sex, Baker seems not to have all that much liking for the Cuban people, his claims throughout Mi Moto Fidel notwithstanding.

Mi Morto Fidel belongs to that strange genre of travel books where the writer, after finally achieving his/her life-long dream. discovers that it wasn't worthwhile pursuing. You may find Mi Moto Fidel interesting if you think one man's pursuit of one-night stands is worthwhile reading. If you buy Mi Moto Fidel, as I did, to learn more about Cuba prior to traveling there, I think you'll find the book disappointing and depressing.

I used one of Christopher Baker's guidebooks over a year ago during my own 1 month adventure through Cuba. I found it to be an excellent book that was accurate and politically balanced (rare in most guidebooks). While in Havana, one of my friends told me he met Mr. Baker in a bar and that he was quite the "character". Naturally, when "Mi Moto Fidel" came out I bought it immediately. I had to know the story behind the writing of the guidebook and the man who wrote it. Other than Baker's initial political take on Cuba, his impressions were similar to my feelings about the island. He is able to love Cuba and it's people while still recognizing it's problems. He was also very honest about the change he experienced on his view of the current system. He gives a fair and balanced way of looking at the Cuba "situation". He essentially evolves and gains a much deeper understanding of Cuba and himself during his trip. I can understand how some readers might think Baker is a tad arrogant and self-centered, but he also was able to openly and honestly write about his mistakes and misconceptions; and actually grow from this. A rare quality in people. The book is also a great adventure story that will appeal to those who have or have wanted to travel independently. My only criticism is Baker's apparent disdain for most of the other foreigners he meets. I too despise many of the obnoxious package tourists I meet when traveling, however Baker seems to have trouble finding any redeeming qualities in most of the other tourists/travelers he meets. It seems he won't even give most of them a chance. He looks onto a beach and refers to fat, white skinned tourists. I am not sure how one can judge another person without actually speaking with them. Baker doesn't seem to realize that the content of someone's character has nothing to do with whether or not they have a tan or are thin (Although, I must admit, some of the tourists he meets do give arrogance and ignorance a new meaning). At times it seems he has the maturity level of a Southern California "frat" boy. I have no problem with his sexual adventures. After all, he was single and traveling in a very erotic country. But, I am confused as to why he seems to look down on other men who do the exact same as he. Maybe only tan men on motos have the right to enjoy themselves in this manner? I sometimes get the impression that Baker thinks he is "cooler" than other foreigners. Despite all this, I still highly recommend this book. It is well written, entertaining, insightful, funny, and accurate. Baker knows and understands this island better than most. He maintains his deep love for Cuba despite some of his unpleasant revalations during his trip. I look forward to his next book.

Baker's words utterly captivated my imagination. Each time I had to put the book down, it was like leaving a great party much too early. And, when I came to the last page it was as like a power outage in the midst of watching an enthralling movie. Bake deftly crafts scenes that are alive with the alluring sights, sounds and scents of Cuba. He manages to smoothly weave in to the mix, fascinating bits about Cuba's tumultuous history, some intriguing insights into Castro's childhood and early years as well as informative asides about Che and other pre and post revolutionary characters. His words flow like a heartfelt letter from a friend- or better yet, to read Me Moto Fidel is the next best thing to riding right alongside Baker as he explores one of the world's most enigmatic countries onboard his rugged Paris-Dakkar Beemer. Baker was also commendably frank and revealing about his socialist ideals and how his preconceptions and assumptions were sometimes confirmed, sometimes transmuted and repeatedly decimated as he explored Cuba's towns, cities and rural expanses. Mui Bueno, Cristobal!! Perfecto!