Chet is nowhere near Jake's standard. In Jake, I was led to believe that the oncoming books in the series would be just as good, if not, even better. Chet wasn't a page turner...I felt that Ms Greenwood could have exploited Melody's anger towards Chet's stubborn refusal to accept her...or further elaborated on the estrangement that existed between Chet and his brother, Luke. This could have lend the story with a bit more depth than just the superficial issues that were focused upon in Chet.

Ms Greenwood seems to have lost her touch after Jake. By far, Jake is still the greatest amongst the series.

The characters seemed to have fallen in love too easily. There is no challenge, no suspense, no excitement. The only highlight of the entire book was when Melody joined in with Chety's scheme to frighten of her enemy.

I would rather wait for Luke.

I've read all Greenwood's Seven Brides books as they came out and waited for this series, "The Cowboys", to appear. I live in Texas and do NOT find stories including dirt and heat appealling. 102 degrees is never romantic if you have lived through it a few times. Yet, Greenwood overcame my adversion and JAKE was great. . . compelling people and enough about the boys to make me really want to know how they will grow up and find their lifemates (the purpose of romance novels, you know). And that is the best part of BUCK. There is alot of character development for many of the boys. However, Buck's story was no page turner and his lady was just too ordinary. Still, a good read and I'm waiting for the next one...

I have read the Seven Brides series and just finished the 3rd in the Cowboy series, Buck. I thought Buck and Hannah's story was riveting. In fact, I read the last 100 pages or so without putting the book down! Ms. Greenwood has a way of making the characters so real, with real feelings and emotions, such as Buck's struggle with feeling the Maxwells were not his "family" because they weren't blood, and his longing to find his "real" family. All 10 books I have read by this author have been thoroughly enjoying and I am ready to start the next one. I have enjoyed all 3 Cowboy books I have read and even though Jake and Buck were fabulous, I think Ward has been the best so far.

Just so you know, if you're buying this book to use in a d20 city campaign, you might as well save your money.

First, there's absolutely no statistics for any NPCs save their race, class, and level (ooh, thanks for all the help!).

Second, there's not hooks, twists, story lines, miniadventures or anything! What the . . . what player wants to sit and listen to a 3-page history of Foreign District?!

Where's the building maps?! Don't expect any here!

One good thing, though, it did have a nice walkthrough of the entire city included on the large, full-color map that comes with it.

To summarize, do NOT get this book thinking you're getting something that you can simply piece together with your own ideas. In order to make a worthwhile campaign, you're going to have to devote a lot of time and energy to maps, NPCs, and twists that, in my opinion, should have been included in an accessory such as this.

If you have time to do this, that's great! If you're studying for the Bar Exam in July like I am and don't have 5 hours a day to devote to making a decent adventure, don't get it!

Okay, so I actually like a recent TSR publication, and why not? It is a well written tome filled with skads of detail of a place that has until recently been the purview of the RPGA. Greenwood does an excellent job in detailing the city-and most importantly, the families of note complete with histories! Wow! Best of all, it isn't overly replete with characters who made pacts with every god and major demon lord to get where they are. Aside from Greenwood's obsession with mages and the fact that there are just too darn many of them to be found anywhere in the Realms, Raven's Bluff is an ideal book to base a series of adventures, but I wouldn't run a campaign in it. It could have done with a better thieves guild, but other than that, this is well written book, and it's layout and maps are extremely well done. Well worth the money.

At last - the authoritative text on the irresistibly alluring City of Ravens Bluff! Drawing on the famous LC modules, and the best creative writings of the players and DMs who have participated in the RPGA over the past decade, Ed Greenwood creates an unbelievably detailed and fascinating look at the best-developed city in the Forgotten Realms. Even Waterdeep pales in the shadow of this intricate work! This huge compendium is 160 pages, in microscopic print - you'll literally need a magnifier if you plan on reading much of this in one sitting. In the back is a glorious full-color poster, unveiling an entire world of adventure. If you've been looking for an exciting new setting from which to base your next adventuring campaign, look no further - this city is as detailed and fascinating as Greyhawk itself, which makes it one of the best urban settings of all time, for any game!

I felt that whoever wrote the introduction to this book on this website has obviously never read the book or they'd know that Drew is a girl...short for Drucilla. Furthermore, those of you who have written bad reviews on this book don't seem to know that Leigh Greenwood is not a woman, but a man. His books are even more exceptional for this alone. There aren't many men who are able to dive in a woman's mind and seek out not only her emotions so completely but those of other characters as well. I thought that this was a fantastic book. Mr. Greenwood has created yet another fearless heroine, just as he did in the other Cowboy books as well as in the Seven Brides series (which I'm reading all over again because they were so expertly written). Thank you Mr. Greenwood for a job well done!

Leigh Greenwood has written yet another fine historical romance. This time about a girl 'cowboy'. His stories are always lively and deal with old fashioned morality, which just suits me to a T, though frankly, I am a little intimidated by a woman who can shoot a gun and ride a horse....at the same time. And she hits what she aims at. You'll like Drew. Go back and read all of Leigh Greenwood's books. He's a really good author. I recommend everything he's written.

In a recent interview, Leigh Greenwood said that it just about killed him to write three books (this one included) in quick succession. Despite the stress, when came to writing the next installment of his series, "The Cowboys," he has surpassed his already considerable skill as an author and given us one fantastic story! So apparently, he writes well under pressure.

If you are a writer who aspires to become a published author I suggest you read "Drew" very carefully. The admonishment for all writers to "show, don't tell" is demonstrated, if you are unclear on the meaning of the concept. Greenwood doesn't say, "Drew felt angry and betrayed," he shows it by crafting one of the most powerful scenes I have ever read, where markswoman Drew just about shoots the hero's clothes right off his body! Not only are we taken into the heart and soul of both the central characters, but we also are immersed in the culture of the mid to late 1870's and to know more about the itinerant wild west shows which toured the United States during that time.

But I don't want to forget that Leigh Greenwood also writes with a sense of humor. There are moments when I just had to chuckle. I've read all of his "Seven Brides" and "The Cowboys" series: Greenwood's characters and stories are memorable, because they are about human beings struggling to come to terms with life and love. I'm not sure I can convey the depths of feeling that reading this book generated for me, other than to admit that perhaps I identified with Drew, who could be described as an early feminist: a woman who struggled to maintain her independence at a time when society wasn't all that supportive of strong women.

This book is a "keeper!"

Leigh Greenwood is slipping in her dialogue as she moves further and further from the original series. The interchanges between Melody and her stepmother are insipide after the first episode and they seem to go on forever. Leigh has the potential to be an outstanding romance writer right up there with Norah Roberts but she needs to improve the meat of her stories.

I've read the first 4 in the Cowboys series and look forward to the next ones. Leigh Greenwood is a great storyteller. His westerns are balanced between the cowboy adventure and the sensual romance. So far, Ward is my favorite, but it's a close call. If you haven't read the others, start right now with Jake and read them in order. I intend to re-read them. These are keepers.

Chet and Melody will capture your heart within the first few chapters of this heart warming tale.Leigh managed once again to captivate the mind by bringing you into the lives of Melody and those she loves most. It is the tale of an average american Family set in the 1800's when Texas was still wild and held only by those strong enough to fight and keep what is thiers. In this story Melody has just arrived from the East after her father is killed in an unfortunate accident. Melody is immediately caught between being loyal to her step mother by acting the lady, her horror at how men manipulate and control the vast wilderness of the west and her need to save her young brother before he falls over the edge, and is lost between becomming a man and managing his inheritance and still being a boy to young to do so. When she is at the end of her rope and about to give in a marry a man she is sure she would never be happy with along comes Chet. Chet is just stopping by for some friendly Texan hospitality and to trade his horse for one that will allow him to run faster and further from his past. but then chet did not figure on meeting up with Melody or becomming involved with her family and ranch. Then again we all know who raised Chet and he is the gentleman to the end no matter how he fights his emotions, he could not possiablly leave Melody on her own when she doesn't even know one end of the horse from the next. This is a loving and witty book very well written with alot of action. you do not want to put it down to the end. Would have liked to seen more of the entire clan from previous books but that is just me I miss them when the book is at a finish. Keep on writing Leigh and we will keep looking for the next tale in a cowboys life!

I truly did not want this book to end. Watching Mr. Rubin discover the south (through the eyes of a New Yorker, no less) was positively captivating. Being a transplant to NYC myself, I admired his openess to embrace a people and place like Greenwood, not to mention the twists and turns of a murder mystery wrapped up in the whole thing. The richness of Rubin's story telling ability shines, coupling his own search for self with the unfortunate loss of self suffered by Handy Campbell makes for a wonderful duality. It also brings home the sad fact that racism is alive and well in some parts of our country. Being fortunate enough to live in such a richly diverse part of the states, it is sometimes easy to forget the struggle that still goes on in some places not so far away. I eagerly await Mr. Rubin's next book, in the mean time, I'll read "Confederacy" again.

Having spent my formative years in Mississippi, I approached Mr. Rubin's book with some trepidation. I do love Mississippi-warts and all. I am all too familiar with books written about the South that berate the people based upon their history and the stereotypical depiction of their actions. Refreshingly, Mr. Rubin does not fall into this trap. Yes, there are sections of the book that are difficult to read due to the hateful, racist language referenced. Thankfully, Confederacy of Silence doesn't stop there. The beauty of the place and the generosity and graciousness of the people are crucial aspects of the Mississippi experience that the author astutely depicts for the reader.

I found the section of the book devoted to the writer's experience in the Delta truly fascinating. I found the second half of the book to be a genuine 'page turner.' While I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book, I wanted to finish it quickly to find out what happened to Handy Campbell. I did approach the ending with some hesitancy-would Campbell be found guilty even though he was innocent or was he actually guilty? I must admit that the final outcome of the trial was something I never even considered.

I highly recommend this book. As a native of Mississippi, I strongly urge those unfamiliar with the state to experience second-hand the good in the people that Mr. Rubin encounters-it is easy to see the bad. The author uses a clear voice from which the reader can draw his or her own opinion.

I didn't know what to expect when I started reading Confederacy of Silence, but I immediately found myself drawn into the world of Greenwood, Mississippi. I'd never been to the deep South, and never known well anyone who was from there. I was charmed, repelled, and amazed by Greenwood -- and shocked that within this country of ours there exists a place so different from any I've known. I felt like the author took me right to Greenwood in 1988 and left me there for a year!

One passage I liked in particular is the account of the author's trip from Memphis to Greenwood by bus. We all have times in our lives when we experience the trepidation of starting something new, be it college or a new job, but the courage involved in making a move like this, sight unseen, knowing no one -- truly amazing, and beautifully written as well.

I'm not a big football fan, but my attention never flagged. I found the trial so suspenseful that I couldn't take it -- I actually skipped to the end to read the verdict! (Note: I don't recommend doing this!)

I loved this book because it gave me a window on another part of the world, then drew me in and showed me how you can at once love people and hate their prejudices; it expanded my view of the world. Anyone who enjoys a well-written story will love this book.

Greenwood's done a great job of getting me started in ABAP/4. I went through the material from cover-to-cover, and don't regret the time spent. However, I feel the book suffered a bit from the strictures of the "21-Days" format. I think I detect some severe editing in later chapters; chapters where I needed the same thorough treatment as in the earlier data dictionary material. This is a good one to start with, but plan on buying more books. In particular, don't look for any mention of SAPscript or dialog programming here, and don't try to use it as a language reference. Caveats notwithstanding, I'll recommend it to the next rookie.

This book is extremely well written and provides a good basic introduction to ABAP and the fundamental development tools in R/3. I was disappointed however to reach day 21 without creating any interactive screens and having no mention of creating batch inputs. If this were expanded to 42 days it would definetely get 5 stars. With this book, SAP Help, and the Gareth M. De Bruyn book Advanced ABAP Programming for SAP most of what I needed was available but sometimes a struggle to find.

The book is really good. I thought because of its release date that it would cover the latest version of ABAP and it does not. So there are some discrepancies when the book says go to menupath or go to button and no such menu path or button exists. The book comes with a CD with about 100 screen cams, which literally walk through various processes. These are uniquely helpful, and if you were new to ABAP this book would be an ideal starting place. The CD also loads tables and programs directly into your SAP client. My install worked without a hitch and all the correct tables and programs are working so far. The book comes with great quizzes, exercises, and solutions but the format for these could be a little better. Lastly the book (and I am only 200 pages in so far) has some errors. I have found about 6 so far. No major mistakes that will screw up your programs, but enough just to confuse a new user a bit. In summary, if you are a new user and you have a version earlier than 4.0 buy the book, it's tutorial format is good and you will learn a lot.

I really liked LUKE , the Characters, LUKE and Valeria were so good together, when I was reading the book I almost felt like I was there, the only thing about the book was I don't understand how Valeria , a rich ,spoiled self-involved young women could change her ways so fast, but it was only a book, I think in the real world it wouldn't happen
DJ

I have read all of the Cowboy series books and have enjoyed each one. Greenwood does a wonderful job of bringing each character to life. I am eagerly anticipating the rest of the series and hope that they will be completed soon!! I fell completely in love with Luke!

I've read all of Leigh Greenwoods books and I've enjoyed most of them greatly, but after reading Drew I was kind of put off the Cowboy series. Drew was BORING! Luke, however, was fabulous. I found myself laughing out loud! This was a great book. My only complaint is I wish Leigh Greenwood would write a story for Zeke and Hawk.

I'm a recent transplant to the fantasy genre, having arrived via the Lord of the Rings movies, thence the books by JRR Tolkien. Hungry for some heroic fantasy-adventure, I bought a bunch of books with interesting covers. Sadly, this series is too mindless even for me. Since it is a series founded in video games, I suppose I have nothing to complain about. The Band of 4 is interesting enough, and they manage to plunge into one pointless adventure after another where they use magic to extricate themselves. Failing that, someone with greater magic comes along and rescues them. Without realizing its foundation, I thought the book much like a video game, where players advance from one level to the next to confront different hazards and a multitude of villains. In fact, this book has so many villains, it should have a playbook, not that most of the bad guys are distinguishable from one another. They exist only to cause mayhem for the heroes. But if you like your reading so shallow that the author should be accused of causing a creative drought, this might well be the series for you.

Over forty years of reading fantasy novels, I find they are either: brilliant (very rare), good but flawed (lots of those), and drek. This new Greenwood book is good but flawed. It doesn't try to be anything more than popcorn-and-beer reading, and gives the reader a whumping good ride. Lots of cinematic scenes and blasting action but little touches of characterization here and there that tell us these people are real and we should care about them. I really liked it, and will buy any sequels that appear. Expect the Lord of the Rings, and you'll be disappointed. Expect a really fun read, and this is it.

I buy about twenty fantasy and sf titles a month, and best like books that I can relax in, enjoy again and again, and that don't try to impress me with "the greatest since Tolkien" stuff. This was one of the best of those I've read in the last four or five years...just good fun. The bad guys are bad, everybody in the story is well-rounded, I can see sequels ahead...and I'll line up to buy them, you can be sure. Aside to "James" from France, who posted a review here: Richard Knaack wrote the Huma Dragonlance book, not Greenwood.

This book is the result of a collaboration between two authors, one an experienced, artful writer of fantasy fiction, and the other, Ed Greenwood. They seem to have divided the chore up by setting the novel's four characters in different areas within the realm of Cormyr, with Troy Denning handling the action with Talaslanta and Vangerdahast, and Ed Greenwod handling the war in the north featuring Alusair and Azoun. As a result, half of the novel is competently done. It is pretty easy to figure out which author did which section, because Denning's half completes the story he started in "Beyond the High Road" and is written in fairly engaging prose. Greenwood, on the other hand, writes as though English literature reached its apotheosis in the lesser works of Sir Walter Scott. Consequently, his sections are peppered with snappy dialogue such as the following: "Sir Messenger, rest your horse. We shall tarry here for a time, while the Princess Alusair essays an attack, planned yestereve, on those who harry us." Bad prose and worse dialogue were not a problem in the first book of this series, "Cormyr: A Novel," which was also a collaboration with Ed Greenwood. The first book had as a coauthor Jeff Grubb, one of Greenwood's fellow game designers at TSR/Wizards of the Coast. My theory-- and this is just a guess-- is that due to his greater prestige at TSR Grubb had either the confidence or the clout to tell Greenwood what to do with his dialogue. (I could make a few suggestions along that line myself.) The story is good, with only two plot holes, and Denning's half is easily worth reading. But if you want a combination of story and unleavened writing ability set in a world that looks suspiciously like Cormyr, read Simon R Green's "Blue Moon" series.

An additional note about the series. This is the third book in a trilogy. If you do choose to read this book (not an altogether bad idea-- I've read much, much worse books, like one of Greenwood's solo efforts, for example), I would suggest reading "Beyond the High Road" first, as it does set up much of the plot of "Death of the Dragon," and I rather suspect that someone who read the latter book without reading the former would find "Dragon" confusing. Additionally, volume 1, "Cormyr: A Novel" is genuinely quite good in its own right, beyond what it adds to the understanding of volumes 2 and 3. I'd advise picking that one up whether or not you have any plans to read the last two novels.

Though it's presumably the third book in the Cormyr Saga, Death of the Dragon is more the continuation of events that begin in Beyond the High Road. I didn't much like that story, but taken in whole the pair of novels is excellent. These two books should really be one, and probably would be if they weren't so long. A lot of things that didn't make much sense in High Road are cleared up, for example- what made the ghazneths and what exactly is their purpose other than wreaking wanton carnage and destruction. You also learn what exactly happened to Vangerdahast, which was a bit perplexing at the end of High Road. There's a lot of orc-killing in Death of the Dragon (hard to do Forgotten Realms without at least some of that!) and visceral battle. While the plot isn't precisely ingenious, it is exciting and generally fun to follow.

As a matter of fact, Death of the Dragon is great reading- I couldn't put it down... at least for the first 375 pages. I seriously urge readers to STOP there! It is odd, really, since I've found that usually fantasy novels either stay strong all the way through or start weak and end strong. In Death of the Dragon, it starts strong, stays strong, and concludes with a whimper- the ending is probably the lamest conclusion I have EVER read in a novel. It's a real pity, because the rest of it is so great. I'm baffled as to why Greenwood and Denning chose to drag it on for 12 more pages of what amounts to useless drivel that breaks the breakneck pace of the plot and is sopping with ridiculous sentimentality. For a second it looked as if they were trying to end on a happier note, but they didn't succeed in that- and I don't think this would be a good idea anyway.

If you've already read High Road, definitely read Death of the Dragon. It would be a shame to suffer through that novel and not get to this rewarding read. At this point, I see two ways the Cormyr Saga can be resolved- either another book with a well-written finale, or a truncation of the last 12 pages of this one. Since Death of the Dragon was so good for the better part, I would recommend the latter.

Other reviews of this book say that you should read Cormyr: a novel and Beyond the high road before reading this book. I say you should read every FR novel bfore this one if you really want to get everything out of this book. This book has a huge impact on the realms as a whole. I was so wraped up in this climatic book that I didn't do any homework the whole time I was reading it. If you are a long time realms fan this book is gong to have a great deal of meaning to you, if you are a casual fantasy reader this book is going to be a hack and slash book with minor other characteristics. Me being a long time FR fan found this book to be very emotional. It shows the horrors of war and the casualties.... It is noce to see author collaborations such as this, because Denning and Greenwood have played such a big part in making the realms come alive in the past, it only seemed fitting that two authors such as this would take on such a task. Anyways read this book if you enjoy FR novels. If you don't read them, you may be dissapointed.

Ten years ago, Harding failed to protect a young girl from her sexually abusive father. He went after the man and revenge ended up costing him one-and-a-half years in prison, not to mention his private investigator's license. Nowadays, he does work on the side for his old friend, Donnie Wilson. The case Harding is presently working on consists of getting the goods on one Dr. Stephen Rosenberg, whose wife, Elenya, is looking for a divorce and possibly access to the supposedly two million dollars hidden in a Swiss Bank account. Dr. Rosenberg is an adulterer to the tenth degree. He not only cheats on his wife with other women, but with men as well, getting heavily into S&M and other forms of kinky sex. It doesn't take Harding long to get the pictures that will insure Elenya an easy divorce and a nice settlement. The only problem is that someone else is after the good doctor...someone so despicably evil that he makes the Rosenberg's escapades look like a day at a church picnic. This monster, for want of a better word, calls himself Gaelen, and he is gruesomely killing everyone Rosenberg has been sexually involved with in an effort to set the doctor up for murder. When Harding starts getting too close to what is going on, Gaelen comes after him and his tough kickboxing partner, Alison. After a couple of encounters with this creature, one of which puts Alison in the hospital, Harding, who isn't an easy man to scare, knows that he is going to have to put this demon from Hell down the hard way, even if he has to drive a stake through his heart. Harding will also have to figure out why Gaelen is so interested Dr. Rosenberg and his wife, Elenya, and what the hidden agendas are. THIS FAR, NO FURTHER by John Wessel demonstrates what top quality writing is about. The reader is not a bystander on this journey through the gritty side of Chicago and into the heart of unthinkable evil, but rather a participant. You will literally feel the depraved evil of Gaelen and understand why the fear it generates in our hero makes Harding a more dangerous adversary. Mr. Wessel lets us know that a person never entirely escapes their past, and for Harding, it must come full circle. As he attempts to keep himself, Alison, and the Rosenbergs alive, Harding has to eventually face the results of a passed action, and in doing so, perhaps find redemption for his failure to live up to his own expectations. Few authors are able to write such a compelling novel on their first try out, but John Wessel succeeds wonderfully in THIS FAR, NO FURTHER. Its darkness will remind you of the earlier "Burke" novels by Andrew Vachss and the later "Matthew Scudder" books by Lawrence Block. Buy this book, read it, and then pick up the second novel in the "Harding" series, PRETTY BALLERINA. After that, you going to have pray like I'm doing, that John Wessel will to write more books.

John Wessel's _This Far, No Further_, introduces us to an ex-PI named Harding.

Though he no longer holds a license (because of a sequence of events which are gradually filled in during the course of the book), Harding still does some occasional work for his friend Donnie, an old friend from his Chicago neighborhood who now works in a corporate security office.

As the book opens, Harding is tracking Dr. Stephen Rosenberg, a plastic surgeon, who has some decidedly unsavory sexual practices and preys on the nurses and students at the University of Chicago hospital. Rosenberg's wife, Elenya, is getting tired of the physical abuse she must sustain at her husband's hands and is looking for a way to divorce him.

This decidedly simple premise sets in motion a very complicated chain of events and gruesome murders, which, ultimately, I don't think, was ever satisfactorily solved. When I came to the end, I still had a lot of unanswered questions.

Still, the book was very good in its depiction of winter in Chicago; of the post-graduate hangers-on around campus, including Harding's friend, Boone; and of the unusual relationship Harding has with his former girlfriend, Allison, a woman into Goth and kick-boxing, and who now appears to be a lesbian. Harding is a memorable creation--a very well-educated, moral, romantic detective who loves horror movies. I wouldn't mind spending more time with him, though I hope subsequent books aren't as complicated.

Those who dislike a very dark, grim, at times even grotesque read, will be turned off by this book.

I've read all three of John Wessel's books about Harding, the ex-con PI. All three have kept me up late nights, reading "just one more chapter." I can't put these books down! This Far, No Further is the first book in the trio, Pretty Ballerina is the second, and its latest (but hopefully not last!) installment is Kiss It Goodbye. All three books are fast-paced, loaded with action, and are damn good mysteries that will keep you scratching your head until the end. Harding's cynical world view leads to some hilarious observances, but this guy's no slouch as a PI; he never misses a trick. Well, almost never. His girfriend, Alison, is equally intriguing as a kick-[butt] femme who keeps Harding on his toes and watches his back. She could give Xena a run for her money! All in all, the characters and the stories in John Wessels' novels a well-worth the price of admission. Wonderful books, all!