Moore provides a suitably chilling answer to these queries, positing a special branch of the armed forces created to handle just such a task, a grim cadre of soldiers dressed in high-tech body armor, their faces concealed by black visors. Immediately after the crash landing, these soldiers descend on Collier, cutting it off from the rest of the world under the pretext of battling terrorist activity. Their main objective: to secure the apparently inert craft. Their secondary objective: to maintain secrecy, even if it means killing everyone in the town.

This then is the focus of Moore's narrative, as he chronicles the reactions of everyday people to the invasion of their town by their own country. Although at first they are cooperative, the townspeople come to realize that they are in fact prisoners. Their resentment and anger grow by the day, building to a surprising crescendo. Moore populates his book with living, breathing characters, human beings on both sides of the conflict who, despite their fears, are only doing their best to cope with a stressful situation.

Moore is more in control of this narrative than he was of his prior effort, the flawed but highly readable Under the Overtree. The writing here is crisp and clear, the pacing is almost flawless, and, with the exception of the appearance of the spacecraft which triggers these events (its origins and purpose remain a mystery throughout), the subject matter is utterly believable and involving. Moore effectively milks the situation for all it's worth, filling the novel with telling incidents and detail, forcing readers to confront the brutal reality that true horror may lie in something as simple as losing the simple freedoms that Americans take for granted. A twisted combination of Sinclair Lewis' It Can't Happen Here and Thornton Wilder's Our Town, Fireworks is a great read, a book that merits your attention.

Top secret elite military cadre ONYX arrives in town to secure the perimeter. No one will enter or leave quarantined Collier. To the surviving townsfolk, the operation looks more like an invasion force, which turns worse as the soldiers obey orders of strict security enforcement. Violence between both sides of Americans break out even while the UFO remains under the waters of the nearby lake. Unless cooler heads prevail, further tragedy seems like the only outcome.

FIREWORKS is not an Independence Day or War of the Worlds ET invasion tale though the alien craft crash serves as the catalyst to the theme of how will the Feds react to a UFO and how will locals react to the heavy handed Feds' response that "incarcerates" them? Instead the novel feels more like the Hoffman thriller Outbreak though the impetus varies. Though why the UFO was flying over earth is never revealed (sequel perhaps) the action is loaded, but James A. Moore forces his audience to ponder what seems like believable actions and reactions of real people, soldier and resident alike.

Harriet Klausner

Of course I could wax lyrical about little known writer Alan Moore, co-creator of Halo, about whom very little has been written. However, I think that the real star of the piece is Ian Gibson, who is probably one of the most underrated comic artists of all time. The art continues to improve, finally reaching the wonderful black and white, heavily inked line art of book three. Moore's abilities as a writer also widen and mature through the three books. The three books are filled with wonderful images and ideas (the future-speak and the idea of a matriachal society are just two great ones). The way that Moore's writing and Gibson's art grows over the three books and entwines together results in this book being one of the best writer/artist combinations, I, at least, have ever seen. This is definately the best thing to ever appear in the pages of 2000AD. And thats saying a lot. Now all we need is to try and persuade Moore to write the further six remaining books.
This is Swifty Frisco signing off.

Such things happen in this story to young Halo, who trades in the futilities and disappointments of her childhood Welfare State environment for adventure in outer space -- which of course proves to have futilities and disappointments of its own.

The last third of the novel deals with Halo's experiences in the military --like Heinlein's STARSHIP TROOPERS or SPACE CADET -- although Alan Moore's take on space combat is decidedly less gung-ho than Heinlein's. Closer to Joe Haldeman's THE FOREVER WAR.

This book is his reaction against the violent century which he was born into and which was born into him. He speaks against issues including such things as the true nature of the monastic relationship with the world (he calls "separation from the world" an illusion); unity/ecumenism; war & violence; false "truths" (particularly what he calls the American myth); technology versus nature, etc.

He calls himself a "bystander" relating to his aloofness as a monk. He calls himself "guilty" in relation to not living up to his responsibility for the outside world. As a monk, he calls himself a contemplative activist. As a collection of "conjectures," it is a compilation of thoughts or pensees grouped together loosely, only slightly tied together by five section titles. Because of this format it is not the easiest thing to read; it is helpful to read topically (a good guide for this can be found in Something of a Rebel by William Shannon). But I would say the experience is worth it. The book is deeply moving and convicting. Merton stands out as an authoritative voice on how Christians, all people in fact, should be aware of the world around them, while they also should not neglect the contemplative life that feeds their love for that world.

There is a short observation Merton gives us in his Conjectures as he witnesses the way of the world around him:
"This morning, before Prime, in the early morning sky, three antiquated monoplanes flew over the monastery with much noise followed by a great heron." (15)

Commenting on this thought, Thomas Moore writes in his introduction to Conjectures:
"Many antiquated machines have come and gone in the time since Merton wrote these lines, an explosion of technology giving the illusion of progress, while Merton himself continues to fly, pulling up the rear, a great silent heron reminding us that the noisy are not necessarily the knowledgeable." (v)

Here, the mischievous god of love, Eros, sets them aflame with love for each other. Both Daphnis and Chloe are extremely innocent in their affections throughout the novel, experimenting with their feelings and exposing the amusing limits of their little knowledge. Various incidents involving pirates, kidnapping, inter-city war between Mytilene and Methymna, and the suit of Chloe by a host of lusty young men all provide interesting diversions from the main love story. With a very casual cultural attitude towards homoerotic love, we also see the impertinent male slave, Gnatho, make advances toward the clueless Daphnis. Daphnis's run-in with Lycaenium, a married woman of Mytilene, is also an episode of note in the complex sexual landscape of Longus's novel.

Another intriguing factor in Longus's novel is the relationship between humanity and nature. The figure of the goat is omnipresent throughout the novel. Standing apart from our own cultural/religious associations with the goat, in "Daphnis and Chloe," the goat is all at once associated with maternity, reverence, respect, and honesty. In the novel, we see humanity in general in harmony with the natural world all around: plant, beast, and natural divinities.

Into this seemingly innocent landscape, Longus introduces the problematics of class and wealth. The love story between Daphnis and Chloe is further stalled while these issues play themselves out. Society's intrusion into the pastoral story seems to indicate the fantastic nature of the idyll itself. "Daphnis and Chloe" is a brilliant and beautiful ancient tale, and well worth the short time it takes to read.

That, however, is a minor quibble. You must read this. It could even save your life: let's say you've read it, and then, sometime later, for whatever reason, you decide to commit suicide. You'd be very likely to think, at some point, 'hey, wait a minute--I can't die now; I need to reread Daphnis and Chloe!' So then you'd turn the engine off, and after you finished your rereading, you'd realize, 'hey--life is GOOD! What was I thinking?' And you'd be right. Something like this couldn't exist if the world wasn't in some sense fundamentally good.

With twenty years experience as an interior designer, Tamara L. Hawkins is well equipped to offer a tour of the diverse structures to be found in this area. The homes vary both in size and architectural style from contemporary adobe overlooking Phoenix to a remote desert home with elements of an old adobe mission and a distinct south-of-the-border flavor.

We learn that while America's three hot deserts - the Chihuahuan, the Sonoran, and the Mojave have many unifying characteristics, they are quite different in geologic formations, animals, plants, and history. Our largest desert, the Chihuahuan, spans 200,000 square miles, primarily in Mexico, while the Mojave is a mere 25,000 mile area in California, Nevada and Utah. Each of the deserts has a unique history which often determines the ambience of architecture and home interior.

The three cultures, Native-American, Spanish, and Anglo-American, which have contributed to the Southwest are found in the homes as art, rugs, artifacts, paintings, crafts, even dishware.

With over 225 photographs and a well researched, readable text "The Desert Home" both a source and reference for decorating inspiration.

- Gail Cooke

Benet wrote this a while back, but it's worth reading, particularly in view of some of the shenangians going on in the Monica affair. Stone sold his soul and lived a long and fruitful life, the devil not bothering him at all due to the promised eventual payoff.

Came time for the payoff, Jabez Stone hired the F. Lee Bailey of the time, silver toungued orator Daniel Webster. The jury was picked by the Devil, no voir dire there. And Webster started his talk. It's good reading today if you can find it.

I have searched hard for a Complete Works of Benet, prose and poetry. His ouevre is not so great that it should be difficult to do. There are many other good stories in there, Johnny Pye and the Fool Killer, By the Waters of Babylon, and poems, too, John Brown's Body of course, but How Hillbilly Jim Won The Georgia Fiddler's Contest, too, and a host of others. Benet is not an author to shove away on the back shelves and forget. He deserves to be read.

I find the Moore text to be very concise - drawings are clear and well labled - good discussion questions at the end of chapters - and the book is very well laid out, esp. in the always intense "head and neck". I highly recommend this volume.